What’s the Buzz… Tell me What’s Happening! – with ATTTA
ATTTA’s most recent blog post reports on some interesting research out of Université Laval. These workers look to improve our honeybee stocks and ensure that we are developing regionally adapted bees. We examine this research and see if science has the answers.
Honey harvesting and extraction are still dominating our activities this time of year. Do you know if your honey has the correct moisture content? If not, visit What’s the Buzz with ATTTA to find out!
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From Water to Wine – 2020 Grape Harvest Begins
In mid-August, veraison started with the earliest grape varieties in the province, such as Lucie Kuhlmann, Baco Noir and Marquette, showing the first signs of this phenological stage. A couple of weeks later, Vitis vinifera varieties also started veraison, such as Pinot Noir and Riesling. Now that they approach or have completed the ripening process, harvest is starting slowly in the earliest vineyards. Some varieties have already been harvested according to the requirements of the wineries for making a specific style of wines.
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Figure 1. L’Acadie blanc ready to be harvested for sparkling wine (left) and New York Muscat during ripening (right).
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Figure 2. Pinot noir (left) and Chardonnay (right) a couple of weeks after reaching 100% veraison.
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One of the most important things to remember at this time of year is to maintain good communication with the wineries so that you can provide information to vineyard managers and winemakers about the ripening process of all grape varieties on your property. Each winery has different requirements (Brix, etc.) depending on the harvest conditions and their winemaking protocols. Therefore continuous communication during ripening will facilitate the production of quality wine.
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Breathing Life into Sustainable Packaging
Finding the balance between reducing packaging and maintaining shelf life can be a difficult task. Nature Fresh Farms is taking a step toward bridging that gap with their new environmentally friendly, compostable wrap as an alternative to the traditional polyethylene plastic found on English cucumbers. Check out the details in a recent article from The Grower.
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Missed Perennia’s Virtual Field Days?
Perennia’s Virtual Field Days can be viewed on our YouTube page! Get the latest on insect pests, production systems and weed management with Perennia crop specialists and industry guests.
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Christmas Tree Events and Updates
- September 19th: Lunenburg County Christmas Tree Producer’s Association Annual Field Day & Trade Show. The event will take place at the Barss Corner Hall. Contact christmasproducers@gmail.com for registration details.
- September 29th: The next monthly Lunchbreak webinar session will be held over the noon hour on the topic Safety Series Part 1: Importance of a Company Safety Program with Forest Safety Society’s Al Angrignon. To get the login details, email outreach@ctcns.com and ask to join the mailing list.
- The Soil & Foliar province-wide survey sampling has begun for the 2020 season. If you have a Christmas tree lot that you would like to have soil and foliar sampling completed on, please contact research@ctcns.com to get on the list and set up a sampling date. The data from this project will contribute to streamlining fertilizer recommendations for Christmas tree lots across Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada.
- The Christmas Tree Council of Nova Scotia will be opening their first online course. Certification in Christmas Tree Grading in Nova Scotia will open this fall with instructor Jay Woodworth (Perennia). Students will have the option to complete the exam portion for credit towards a certification or will be able to browse the content for educational purposes at their own pace. Contact jwoodworth@perennia.ca for registration information.
- The Balsam Fir Forum (www.balsamfirforum.com) is still open for registration. This online conference offers a Netflix style platform that allows Christmas tree growers to view content created by experts across North America. Content can be viewed at your own pace and spans everything Christmas trees from pesticide training (eligible for points) to business management planning.
- Want more on Christmas trees? Industry-specific training videos can be found at the Christmas Tree Council of Nova Scotia’s Youtube page.
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Sharing The Root
Are you enjoying The Root and think other farming friends would appreciate the read as well? Please feel free to share this link with your contacts so that they too can be on the receiving end of timely and relevant horticulture based information!
Sign up link for The Root
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Here’s to a great growing year!
Your Perennia Horticulture Team
Andrew Byers, Apiculturist - abyers@perennia.ca
Amy Sangster, Soils – asangster@perennia.ca
Caitlin Congdon, Vegetables – ccongdon@perennia.ca
Hugh Lyu, Wild Blueberries – hlyu@perennia.ca
Francisco Diez, Viticulture – fdiez@perennia.ca
Jay Woodworth, Christmas Trees – jwoodworth@perennia.ca
Jennifer Haverstock, Manager of Horticulture – jhaverstock@perennia.ca
Jill MacDonald, Research Associate – jmacdonald@perennia.ca
Jonathan Bent, Research Associate - jbent@perennia.ca
Michelle Cortens, Tree Fruits – mcortens@perennia.ca
Nesli Ivit - Winemaking & Innovation Specialist - nivit@perennia.ca
Robyn McCallum, Apiculturist – (on maternity leave)
Rosalie Gillis-Madden, Vegetables - (on maternity leave)
Sarah Wood, Horticulture - (on maternity leave)
Shane Wood, Research Associate - shanewood@perennia.ca
Talia Plaskett, Protected Crops – tplaskett@perennia.ca
Thomas Harrington, Ag-Environment - tharrington@perennia.ca
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