CCD-CP-63: Hydroponic Lettuce

Matthew Ernst, Cheryl Kaiser | Jun. 30, 2017 (Minor Revision)

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is one of the most commonly grown hydroponic vegetables. Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil. Plants may be grown in a nutrient solution only (liquid culture) or they may be supported by an inert medium (aggregate culture). In both systems all of the plants' nutritional needs are supplied through the irrigation water.

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CCD-FS-5: Vegetable Transplant Production

Matthew Ernst | Jun. 22, 2017 (New)

Vegetable transplants may be grown in the greenhouse as a stand-alone crop or grown alongside other plants. Information in this factsheet can aid growers in determining whether to produce their own vegetable transplants or obtain transplants from another source. It will also help growers evaluate transplant production as a primary enterprise.

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CCD-MP-23: Regional Food Hubs

Matthew Ernst | Jun. 19, 2017 (Minor Revision)

The term "regional food hub" has been devised by the USDA to refer to facilities that aid farmers in getting locally produced products to consumer markets.

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CCD-SP-8: Propagation Nursery

Matthew Ernst, Cheryl Kaiser | Jun. 5, 2017 (Minor Revision)

Propagation nurseries produce pre-finished plant material (liners), such as ornamental trees, shrubs, and grasses, fruit trees, and annual and perennial flowers. Plants are propagated either by seed or by vegetative means, such as by cuttings, grafting, or tissue culture. Some nurseries specialize in growing and selling pre-finished plants to other growers, making propagation their sole business. However, some wholesale nursery operations have their own propagation areas where plants are produced for in-house use.

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CCD-MP-1: Community Supported Agriculture

Matthew Ernst | May. 25, 2017 (Major Revision)

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)is relatively new to the United States, beginning in Massachusetts in 1986 and growing to 60 CSA farms in the U.S. in 1990. The CSA structure grew significantly in popularity among both producers and consumers during the 2000s; by 2009, as many as 6,000 farms were operating a CSA. The 2015 USDA Local Food Marketing Practices Survey reported 7,398 farms nationally selling by CSA for a sales value of $226 million. There were nearly 60 CSAs listed for Kentucky, in 2016, in the Kentucky Department of Agriculture CSA directory. The CSA marketing channel continues to increase in popularity, moving to new demographics besides the original core affluent urban consumer.

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CCD-FS-4: Weed Management

Matthew Ernst | May. 12, 2017 (New)

Weed management is a major crop production concern in Kentucky. Weeds compete for crop nutrients, water, light, and space as well as harboring potential pests and diseases, resulting in poorer growth and lower yields, leading to lower financial returns for producers. Weed management is a long-term concern, as poor weed management during one season can result in higher weed seed populations germinating in subsequent years. Weed pressure can greatly increase annual weed management costs in commodity row crop production, creating financial pressure on producers, especially during periods of low prices. Weed management is also a major challenge for organic farming in Kentucky and surrounding states.

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CCD-CP-103: Leafy Greens

Matthew Ernst, Cheryl Kaiser | May. 3, 2017 (Minor Revision)

"Leafy greens" or "greens" are broad terms used for a number of vegetable crops with edible leaves. Plants in this group belong to several unrelated taxonomic plant families that includes Brassicaceae, Chenopodiaceae, and Asteraceae. Greens are cool-season crops that are planted in early spring or late summer/fall in Kentucky. High tunnels and similar structures can be used to extend the season into winter; however, extreme summer temperatures make year-round production in Kentucky a challenge.

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CCD-CP-127: Lavender

Matthew Ernst | Apr. 25, 2017 (New)

Large-scale lavender production in Kentucky is limited by climatic requirements (low humidity and low winter temperatures ), poorly drained soils and the scale requirements for essential oils processing. Lavender could be suited as a specialty/niche crop for some Kentucky farms, especially those with ongoing agritourism enterprises. Marketing constraints and the scale requirements for essential oils processing make lavender more likely suited as a crop for ornamental or on-farm agritourism potential (lavender festivals) in Kentucky.

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CCD-CP-11: Juneberries

Matthew Ernst, Cheryl Kaiser | Apr. 19, 2017 (Minor Revision)

Juneberry (Amelanchier spp.), also known as serviceberry, is a small multiple-stemmed tree or shrub that bears edible fruit. This genus includes saskatoons (Amelanchier alnifolia), which are grown commercially for fruit production in Canada and the North Central U.S. Unfortunately, saskatoons are not considered winter hardy in Kentucky
and have serious leaf spot problems in this region. Most other species of Amelanchier are cultivated for use in landscape plantings; however, several of these ornamental cultivars show potential for fruit production. Among these are the Allegheny serviceberry (A. laevis) and hybrids (Amelanchier x grandiflora), which are hardy and have good leaf spot resistance in Kentucky

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CCD-CP-128: Black Walnuts

Matthew Ernst | Apr. 19, 2017 (New)

This profile focuses on Eastern black walnut for nut production. Persian walnuts are not recommended for commercial production in Kentucky, where Persian walnut is limited by cold temperatures, winter injury and late spring frost damage; walnut blight; and squirrels, which eat the nuts when they are immature. Detailed production information for both Eastern black walnut and Persian walnut is available in the University of Kentucky Extension publication ID-77, Nut Tree Growing in Kentucky. The University of Missouri offers a very detailed publication, listed in the Selected Resources section at the end of this publication, on establishing and cultivating Eastern black walnut for nut production.