Extending the Growing Season Through Root Crops

The ability to sell product year-round can be critical to the health of a farm enterprise. But with a growing season that ends in October and November, the northeast offers few opportunities for vegetable farmers to generate income from agriculture over the winter months. During summer 2015, Cornell Cooperative Extension Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture Program (CCE ENYCHP) organized a root crops variety trial at the Hudson Valley Farm Hub this season. As part of the variety trial, thirty-one types of carrots, eighteen beets, and seven parsnips were evaluated for yield, appearance, color, taste, and storage ability.