Agriculture
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Family Feud Withered West Chester’s Waterloo Gardens, a Main Line Icon for 70 Years
West Chester-based Waterloo Gardens was a Main Line mainstay for over seven decades until family friction interfered. J.F. Pirro covered its long freefall into insolvency for Main Line Today. Financial troubles started to mount for the LeBoutillier family, the business’ owners, in 2008. Its new Warminster location, an expansion of the brand in Bucks County,…
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Pa. Farmers: What Profits Do Their Fields Yield?
While farming represents the backbone of Pennsylvania’s economy, some crops are more valuable and provide higher returns for farmers, according to a recently released report from Stacker. To determine which are the most valuable crops grown in the state, Stacker ranked them based on their total annual value of production as of July 16, 2022.…
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Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding Visits Local Farm to Dig into the Issue of Food Insecurity
Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding rolled up his sleeves at a Buckingham Township farm to highlight a statewide initiative to address food insecurity. WFMZ 69 News rooted out the story. Redding helped volunteers harvest fresh produce at Carversville Farm Foundation. The agribusiness has just recently joined the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System (PASS). According to its…
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Food & Wine: Two-Thirds of America’s Mushrooms Are Produced in Southern Chesco. And It All Starts with This
Margaret Eby for Food & Wine cites the excellence of two southern Chester County businesses that are pillars of our nation’s mushroom industry: Laurel Valley Farms and Phillips Mushroom Farms. Laurel Valley of Landenberg is owned by five of the region’s major mushroom farms in a co-op arrangement. Its excellence starts from the ground up:…
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Tomato Paradise: Rainbow Tomatoes Garden in East Greenville Home to Over 300 Tomato Varieties
Rainbow Tomatoes Garden in East Greenville is a true paradise for heirloom tomatoes with over 300 varieties available to choose from, writes Craig LaBan for The Philadelphia Inquirer. The farm is owned by Dan Waber, a former chef turned tomato evangelist, along with his wife Jenny Hill. They harvest different groups of varieties every day…
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Pa. Department of Agriculture: As Montco Bee Populations Drop, Region Faces Stinging Economic Loss
Bees. We duck them. Swat them. And stir their honey into iced tea. But according to the Pa. Department of Agriculture, we seldom think about bees’ role in the economy. Stephanie Sigafoos and Molly Bilinsky combed through those details for The Morning Call. Scientists and economists agree: For being such a relatively small insect, bees…
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Maple Acres Farm in Plymouth Meeting Welcomed State Agriculture Officials
Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding, state Sen. Amanda Cappelletti, and state Rep. Mary Jo Daley visited Maple Acres Farm in Plymouth Meeting last week, according to a staff report from The Ambler Gazette. The aim was to highlight the partnership between the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Pennsylvania Farmers Union, and Pennsylvania farmers to keep local produce…
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Bloomberg: Labor Shortages Force Kennett Square Mushroom Farms to Dig Deep for Workers
The consumer interest in mushrooms is starting to pick up significantly. Many Kennett Square mushroom farms, however, are dumping their crops. There’s nothing wrong with the product. There’s just nobody to harvest it, writes Breanna Bradham for Bloomberg. Rather than work the fields, potential workers are opting for jobs in landscaping and construction, as well…
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Online Tool Created by Penn State Researchers Helps Predict Seasonal Egg Hatch for Spotted Lanternflies
A new online tool, PestWatch, created using research by scientists in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences helps predict the seasonal egg hatch for spotted lanternflies, according to a staff report from the Morrisons Cove Herald. PestWatch uses weather records for specific dates and durations to offer an estimate of first instar emergence. The estimate…
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Are Spotted Lanternflies Disappearing From Montgomery County? Sort of.
Spotted Lanternflies seem to have disappeared or are traveling in much smaller numbers in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties. The operative word is “seem to,” writes Frank Kummer for The Philadelphia Inquirer. The lanternflies are still around us and spreading, but the numbers fluctuate from neighborhood to neighborhood. “We have observed that areas can see…
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Local Couple’s Transplanted Garden a Certified Wildlife Habitat
When they moved from West Chester to Downingtown, retirees Gary and Susan Erb took more than their furniture and closet contents. They transported their entire garden, writes Sally Downey for The Philadelphia Inquirer. “We were spending more time at home and wanted more space to garden,” said Susan. Before moving, the pair dug up 399…
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Highland Orchards Enjoys Fruitful Year for Strawberries; They ‘Practically Jump into Your Pocket’
West Chester’s Highland Orchards has enjoyed a fruitful year for strawberries, as more than enough have been available for both sale and the making of its popular strawberry rhubarb pie, reports Khiree Stewart for PHL17. “This is probably the best crop we’ve had in the last 10 years,” said farm manager Jeremy Zeager. “The fields…
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Fight Against Spotted Lanternflies Intensifies as Invasive Pest Starts Hatching Throughout Montgomery County
The state Department of Agriculture is intensifying efforts to contain the spread of spotted lanternflies as the invasive pest starts to hatch throughout the region, writes Pat Ralph for the Philly Voice. The department is treating rights-of-way, such as railways and interstates, with an insecticide spray that kills the spotted lanternfly on contact. Contact spraying…
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New York Times: Wayne’s Jonathan Alderson Landscape Architects Display Do-It-Yourself Rain Gardens
Being stuck at home has provided homeowners with the time to notice things they may otherwise have missed, writes Margaret Roach for The New York Times. These discoveries could include noticing a spot where rainwater runs off the roof too fast and is ending up in the basement or water rushing down the driveway that…
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Cameron Peters Floral Design in Phoenixville ‘Spreading Smiles’ Through Flowers
For Cameron Peters, owner of Cameron Peters Floral Design in Phoenixville, her love of flowers blossomed a lifetime ago, reports Vittoria Woodill for CBS3 Philly. A framed picture on the shop’s counter commemorates her long-term botanical bent, showing her at three years old, gazing at a basket of blossoms. “Somebody from The Evening Bulletin came…
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In the Garden With Andrew: Planting Tropicals in the Garden
By Andrew Bunting May is one of my favorite times on the gardening calendar. I like to give my garden a tropical touch by adding wonderful plants like bananas, cannas, and elephant ears. Over the last few weeks, I have been combing some of my favorite nurseries for some new tropicals. Last weekend, I made…
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Elkins Park’s FarmerJawn is Rising Voice in Region’s Urban Farming Scene
Christa Barfield, owner of FarmerJawn Greenhouses in Elkins Park, is a rising voice in the region’s urban farming scene, writes Hope Cohen for Billy Penn. Barfield, who refers to her business as “100% organically dope,” focuses on the intersection of education, environmental science, and food justice. The Germantown native started her CSA business two years…
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It’s Alive! Endangered Giant ‘Corpse Flower’ Blooms and Stinks at Temple’s Ambler Campus
Indonesia-native endangered giant “corpse flower” started to bloom on Sunday at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture Greenhouse Education and Research Complex in Ambler, writes Frank Kummer for The Philadelphia Inquirer. When it blooms, the Amorphophallus titanum corpse flower emits a rancid smell that has been likened to that of a rotting body.…
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