Project Overview

Reports

Commodities

• Additional Plants: greenhouse, herbs, other

• Community and Urban Pest Management: commercial, other

• Fruits: small fruit

• Vegetables: asparagus, beans, beets, brassicas, carrots, cucurbits, eggplant, garlic, greens (leafy), greens (lettuces), leeks, okra, onions, other, peas (culinary), peppers, radishes (culinary), sweet potatoes, tomatoes

Target Pests

Practices

• Pest Management: behavioral control, biological control, biorational pesticides, botanical pesticides, chemical control, compost extracts, cultivation, cultural control, decision support system, economic threshold, exclusion, flame, forecasting, habitat modification, mechanical control, monitoring/scouting, mulches - general, pesticides, prevention, row covers (for pests), sanitation, soil solarization, trap crops, traps

• Crop Production: cover crops, crop rotation, double cropping, grafting, greenhouses, high tunnels or hoop houses, intercropping, low tunnels, multiple cropping, no-till, nurseries, organic fertilizers, row covers (for season extension), season extension types and construction, shade cloth, varieties and cultivars

• Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, soil stabilization

• Production Systems: agroecosystems, organic agriculture

• Soil Management: composting, green manures, organic matter, soil microbiology, soil quality/health

• Sustainable Communities: local and regional food systems, public participation, quality of life, sustainability measures, urban agriculture

Urban agriculture enterprises and community gardens are an established characteristic of urban landscapes particularly in Rust Belt cities where land re-use is a critical priority for city planners. Urban farms are developed and managed as either social (not-for-profit) or for-profit enterprises. Urban farmers are often new and beginning farmers.  Inexperience and lack of knowledge of integrated pest management (IPM) strategies have led to decreased yields as well as decreased potential profits. In addition, community gardens provide access to fresh produce in limited-resource communities but often face a different set of IPM challenges with respect to garden rules and group production systems. To address these problems the Great Lakes Urban Agriculture IPM working group was formed in 2016 to share best practices and innovative approaches and to create resources for those engaging in urban agriculture production. The group is seeking renewal for the 2022-23 grant cycle.  The objectives for the 2022-2023 working group are: 1) Organize an annual networking meeting to provide networking and collaboration opportunities presentations and site visits 2) Offer three webinars on topics of interest to urban growers and 3) Create two new Urban Agriculture Pest Cards. The beneficiaries of the activities of this working group are urban farmers and community gardeners. These activities will help meet the goals of improved understanding of current IPM issues across disciplines, increased/new IPM knowledge, increased adoption of IPM practices, and improved economic impacts for urban producers. The outcomes will also inform Extension practitioners of the IPM research needs of urban producers.

The proposed objectives for the 2022-23 Great Lakes Urban Agriculture working group are to:

• Organize an annual networking meeting
• Offer 3 free webinars on topics of interest to urban growers
• Create two new Urban Agriculture Pest Cards