Americans are eating more greens, and salad mixes (i.e., spring mix, salad kits, packaged salad) are among the top drivers of this increased consumption. Salad mixes include different varieties of lettuce, spinach, cabbage, arugula, and other leafy greens. Salad mixes have gained popularity as a modern alternative to traditional vegetables, primarily due to their nutritional[Read More…]
Lettuce
This is an extract from a news release by The Ohio State University. The goal of this online course is to provide hydroponic growers with the knowledge and tools needed to implement best management practices specific to controlled environments (greenhouses, indoor farms, high tunnels, etc.) to reduce microbial food safety hazards in hydroponic vegetable and[Read More…]
The 2022 Purdue Small Farm Education Field Day was a big success. Nearly 72% of attendees reported that they learned something new. Nearly half indicated they plan to adopt recommended practices for diversified farming systems, and over a third (36.0%) plan to adopt recommended practices for creating, improving, or strengthening their business. Half (52.0%) indicated[Read More…]
The Midwest Vegetable Trial Report series includes reports of applied research relevant to vegetable and melon production in the midwestern U.S. The purpose of the series is to publish results and document the annual results of vegetable and melon research projects. In 2022, 16 trial reports from Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota were published. Variety[Read More…]
The 2023 cover crop survey is underway Adopted from NCR SARE news release, “Farmers: Share Your Thoughts on Cover Crops in the National Cover Crop Survey!“, March 1, 2023 Farmers are invited to share their thoughts on cover crops in an online survey. Why do you plant cover crops…or why don’t you? What do you[Read More…]
A new bulletin “Scheduling Fall and Winter Vegetable Production in High Tunnels” is available from the Purdue Education store at https://edustore.purdue.edu/item.asp?Item_Number=HO-330-W . The publication brings together information collected on farms and research stations in Indiana and Ohio to provide detailed guidance on scheduling vegetable crops for winter high tunnel production. It includes a fillable scheduling[Read More…]
Bolting of crops overwintered in high tunnels is common in the spring. ‘Bolting’ refers to lengthening and blooming of the flowering stalk. Bolting is often a problem because the quality of the marketable part of the plant declines. Also, plants subject to bolting are programmed to die once they complete flowering and seed production so[Read More…]
A lot of things are different this year. With the changes come opportunities to try something new. Liz Brownlee with Hoosier Young Farmers Coalition mentioned to me that some markets, especially in rural areas, do not have a steady supply of Fall crops, and that farmers might be looking to extend the season with crops[Read More…]
Although Indiana is not known for lettuce production, an increasing number of growers find that augmenting retail sales with leaf lettuce can be profitable. Since lettuce is a cool season crop, field planted leaf lettuce around Indiana may be reaching harvest stage. Leaf lettuce can generally be grown with few pests. However, lettuce drop was[Read More…]
It’s that time of year, where we are prepping high tunnels and getting back into the full swing of production, slowly, here in the Midwest. Many of you have already begun to transplant and may have encountered your first pests on these new crops. Aphids are one that remain a problem in high tunnels, and[Read More…]