Growing Practices

Quantities of quality: Fruit quality of kiwiberry in Minnesota

August 4, 2021
kiwiberries spilling out of an overturned teacup

Quantity or quality? Fruit growers rely on both, but how is quality measured?

by Seth Wannemuehler and Emily Tepe

Timing is everything: Harvesting kiwiberries in Minnesota

August 4, 2021
kiwiberry fruit hanging on the vine

Harvesting can be tricky for a fruit that doesn’t change color. So how do we know when a kiwiberry is ready to harvest?

by Seth Wannemuehler

Choosing kiwiberry varieties

June 30, 2021
Hand holding several Actinidia kolomikta fruit

You’ve been hearing about an exciting new fruiting vine called kiwiberry that can produce tropical tasting fruit in Minnesota, but which varieties should you plant?

by Seth Wannemuehler

Testing tabletop strawberries in the Upper Midwest

August 24, 2020
strawberries growing in raised troughs

Are you interested in growing strawberries with reduced labor or on marginal land? We are testing a raised gutter growing system to meet those goals.

by Nathan Dalman

Vineyard cover crops, part 2: Buckwheat

August 10, 2020
buckwheat cover crop growing under grapevines
This week we’re taking a look at buckwheat, and how its use as an under-vine cover crop affects various aspects of a vineyard.
by Jayden Corliss

Vineyard cover crops, part 1: An overview

August 3, 2020
clover growing as an undervine cover crop
In this 4-part series, we evaluate common cover crop species for use under the vines in Minnesota vineyards.
by Jayden Corliss

New research evaluating cider apple cultivars

April 6, 2020
red apple hanging on tree

Which old world hard cider apple varieties will survive in Minnesota? Do our common Minnesota-hardy apple varieties have characteristics well-suited for making hard cider? Our research and extension team aims to find out.

by Emily Tepe

Exploring the invasiveness potential of kiwiberry

February 12, 2020
kiwiberries growing on vine

Kiwiberry is an exciting new fruit crop for Minnesota. Our researchers are working on the many aspects of growing kiwiberry, which includes evaluating the plant for invasive potential.

by Emily Tepe

Battling weeds in strawberry fields with living mulch - what we've learned

November 25, 2019
test plot with flat of harvested cabrillo strawberries

We experimented with living mulches for weed control and soil building between rows of annual strawberries. Here’s what we found out.

by Nathan Dalman, Emily Tepe

Berries, bees, and borage

December 3, 2018
Green sweat bee on strawberry flower

Planting borage next to a strawberry crop attracts bees and other pollinators, and may even boost strawberry yield.

by Nathan Hecht