Vegetable transplants are commonly grown in New England in greenhouses for field transplanting or spring sales at farm market stands. Many vegetable crops are grown from transplants in New England due to the late spring, short growing season and desire to obtain mature, harvestable crops as soon as possible.
Transplant production is a specialized part of vegetable production that requires a protected environment such as a greenhouse and careful attention to detail. Although vegetable bedding plants may only be in the greenhouse for a short period of time, it is important to produce high quality pest-free transplants. Scheduling, plant nutrition, greenhouse management, and pest management influence quality. Some vegetable producers choose to purchase transplants while others grow their own.
Transplant Production Resources
Aldrich, R. and Bartok, J. Greenhouse Engineering, https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/handle/1813/69429/NRAES-033.pdf?sequence=1
Bartok, J. Greenhouses for Homeowners and Gardeners: PALS Publishing (Formerly NRAES), https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/69450
Biernbaum, John. 2006, updated 2013. Greenhouse Organic Transplant Production. Michigan State University: https://www.canr.msu.edu/hrt/uploads/535/78622/Organic-Transplants-2013-13pgs.pdf
Most recent version, New England Greenhouse Floriculture Guide: A Management Guide for Insects, Diseases, Weeds and Growth Regulators, available from: https://www.negreenhouse.org/pest-guides.html
Organic Greenhouse Vegetable Production, Potting Mixes for Certified Organic Production, Organic Greenhouse Tomato Production, Plug and Transplant Production for Organic Systems. (ATTRA) - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service https://attra.ncat.org/horticultural/#Greenhouse
The National Organic Program Guidelines https://www.ams.usda.gov/about-ams/programs-offices/national-organic-program
University of Massachusetts Extension Greenhouse Crops and Floriculture Program: https://ag.umass.edu/greenhouse-floriculture
University of Conn Extension Greenhouse IPM Program: http://ipm.uconn.edu/pa_greenhouse/