Pattern changes, like the one we’ve experienced in the middle of the month, are quite typical for August. The humidity decreases a bit, the soils dry out, and sometimes, as we’ve recently experienced, the temperatures drop quite dramatically. It can be refreshing and exciting for Fall lovers to experience some crisp, cool air in mid-August.[Read More…]
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Lasioglossum sweat bees are common pollinators in agricultural landscapes. These bees are small black, brown, or iridescent green/blue bees that belong to the family Halictidae. They can often be mistaken for flies due to their small size and nondescript appearance compared to other bees. These bees are historically overlooked as important pollinators for crops compared[Read More…]
Common names: Common ragweed, annual ragweed, hogweed, hay-fever weed, Roman wormweed, and bitterweed. Latin name: Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. “Ambrosia” is from Greek mythology and refers to the food or drink of the gods, often associated with granting immortality. Meanwhile, “artemisiifolia” indicates that the foliage of common ragweed looks like the foliage of plants from the[Read More…]
Root-knot nematode (RKN, Meloidogyne spp.) is a major problem in cucurbits such as watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumber, pumpkin, and squash. The reason RKN is problematic lies in their ability to persist for long periods in the soil and their wide host range, which includes more than 2,000 plant species, including crops and weeds. RKN infestations are[Read More…]
Welcome to the Vegetable Crops Hotline (VCH), Purdue Extension’s exclusive newsletter for people in the business of growing vegetables. This issue includes our regular insect and weed spotlight articles, an update on the Clearspring Produce Auction, a weather outlook update, and take a look at the impact of root-knot nematode on commercial cucurbit crops. Details[Read More…]
After a period of hot and humid weather where heat indices reached triple digits in some locations, we welcome cooler than normal temperatures for the next several days. It is still summer, though, so sweaters, mittens, and scarves will not be necessary! There were a few temperature records broken over the August 5-6, 2024, period,[Read More…]
Common names: purslane, pusley, pursley, wild portulaca, common portulaca, little hooweed, low pigweed Latin name: Portulaca oleracea L. Family: Portulacaceae (Purslane family) Life Cycle Common purslane is a summer annual that extends along the ground with its thick, fleshy stems and leaves (Figure 1). Thanks to its ability to reproduce not only by seeds but[Read More…]
Welcome to the Vegetable Crops Hotline (VCH), Purdue Extension’s exclusive newsletter for people in the business of growing vegetables. Everyone is probably seeing a glut of tomatoes and other vegetables coming in from the farm or your personal gardens. It is certainly the month of plenty! This issue includes an important notice from the[Read More…]
Extracted from a SARE email received on August 1, 2024. The North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (NCR-SARE) 2025 Partnership Grant Program Call for Proposals is now available online at: https://northcentral.sare.org/Grants/Apply-for-a-Grant/Partnership-Grant/. NCR-SARE’s Partnership Grant Program is intended to foster cooperation between agriculture professionals and small groups of farmers and ranchers to catalyze[Read More…]
The Clearspring Produce Auction is located just 2 miles south of US 20 in Clearspring Township in the Heart of the LaGrange-Elkhart Amish Settlement. It is within easy driving distance of the towns of Shipshewana, Topeka, Emma, and LaGrange. Produce is sold 3 days a week throughout most of the growing season (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday),[Read More…]
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