Pecan pie season is just around the corner! Are you ready?

In this episode, Lenny Wells, professor of horticulture and extension pecan specialist at the University of Georgia, tells you everything you could know about pecans – where they come from, how they’re grown, and what it takes for them to land on your dessert plate.

Press play to explore:

• What it means to say that pecans don’t grow “true to seed” and the practical implications of this
• How long it takes to grow pecans
• The main varieties of pecans
• The nutritional benefits of pecans (hint: it has to do with cholesterol and antioxidants!)
• Disease challenges to pecan production

Tune in to hear the entire conversation and visit https://pecans.uga.edu/ to learn more.

Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3bO8R6q

Joining us today to discuss sustainable agriculture and food systems is Andy Smith. Andy is the Farm Manager at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU), where he works in collaboration with the Department of Sustainable Agriculture’s teaching faculty.

Andy and his colleagues are putting forth an effort to expand and enhance KPU’s 20-acre urban teaching and research farm – which includes acquiring organic certification for the farm. By allowing students to interact with hands-on agricultural methods, Andy is cultivating the next generation of sustainable farmers…

Join the conversation now to learn about:

• Challenges that farmers are facing in today’s age.
• The importance of providing students with hands-on farming experience.
• What peat moss is, where it grows, and how it affects seedling growth.

What does it take to grow plants efficiently and sustainably? Andy answers this question and others like it in this informative discussion on agriculture!

Want to find out more about Andy and his work with KPU? Click here now!

Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3bO8R6q

Enjoy wine with dinner? Many of us do! But few consider the challenges and delicate process behind producing wine grapes and other fruit crops.

Press play to learn from the experts and explore:

• The number one limiting factor in growing fruit crops
• Whether it’s better to grow grapes in greenhouses or nature (and why)
• How long it takes to grow wine grapes
• Strategies for reducing the risk of a dangerous, widespread infectious plant disease
• How one year’s perennial crop production impacts the following year’s
• The tradeoff between crop volume and crop quality

Jim Kamas is an assistant professor and extension fruit specialist in the AgriLife Extension Viticulture & Fruit Lab at Texas A&M; Jacy Lewis is the program manager at the same lab. Learn more about their work by visiting https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/vitwine/.

Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3bO8R6q