Search

Best Practices When Harvesting Leafy Greens for Market and Home

The harvesting of leafy greens to maintain quality and safety focuses on the key risk factors from the time harvest begins to selling at market. The food safety risk factors involve temperature, time, water, worker hygienic practices, and food contact surfaces.

woman wearing gloves preparing servings of vegetables. USDA Photo Courtesy of Bob Nichols.

Disposable Gloves: Guidelines for Food Handlers

Improper handling of food and poor personal hygiene by food handlers are leading causes of foodborne illness. Disposable gloves do not take the place of good hygiene and proper hand-washing.

Five jars of canned stewed tomatoes sitting on a gray kitchen towel with a gray background.

Canning Tomatoes Safely

Home canning tomatoes is a great way to preserve them for later use. It is critical to use proper methods of heat processing to ensure a safe finished product.

Several cans of homemade salsa sitting on a table.

Canning Tomato-Vegetable Mixtures

Tomatoes are unique when it comes to home canning recipes. Some tomato and vegetable recipes recommend using a boiling water bath canner, some recipes recommend a pressure canner, and some recipes offer both options.

Magnified image of a springtail that is hairy and dark blue in color.

What are those black bugs jumping on the snow?

One of the first critters you may notice in early spring or even late winter are snow fleas. These tiny arthropods can be an odd sight when they appear by the hundreds on top of snow drifts that are melting on warm, sunny days.

Black hairy caterpillar with a dark brown band in the middle of its body. The caterpillar is crawling on grey cement with visible pebbles present in the substrate.

Are those woolly bear caterpillars I see crawling?

Anyone that spent the weekend outdoors may have observed flies, wasps, bees, and others flying around for the first time this year. One of these insects is a familiar one, the woolly bear caterpillar.

a shrub-like plant green leaves and dark purple, grape-like fruit

Fruit Variety Recommendations for South Dakota

Fruit variety recommendations for home fruit growers in South Dakota

Growing Tomatoes in South Dakota

Few vegetables inspire us more than home-grown tomatoes, bursting with vine-ripe flavor. Tomatoes are easy to grow in containers or in the ground, and are excellent sources of vitamins A and C, as well as cancer-fighting lycopenes.

two whole apples behind a small pile of dehydrated apple slices

Dehydrating Apples

A food dehydrator is a good choice for drying apples and can be used at any time. It is a small appliance that has an electric element for heat with a fan and vents for air circulation.

bare field in spring waiting to be planted

Planting Considerations for a Late Spring

Farm fields in some areas are unusually wet this year with many low areas under water. These conditions will make planting a challenge for farmers this year.