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 about From The Editor’s Desk[Read More]
Vegetable Crops - General
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 about NCR-SARE Announces 2025 Call for Partnership Grant Proposals[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 about Clearspring Produce Auction Update[Read More]
Description Spined stilt bugs are small, slender insects in the family Berytidae. Typically brown or bronze in color, these insects have slim bodies with long and thin legs (Figure 1). The antennae of stilt bugs bend at very sharp angles and frequently have obvious swelling at the tip. Occasionally, some stilt bug species will also…Read more about Insect Spotlight: The Spined Stilt Bug[Read More]
In a press release on August 6, 2024, the EPA announced the emergency suspension of all registrations of DCPA (marketed and sold as Dacthal® herbicide). The full press release can be viewed here: EPA Issues Emergency Order to Stop Use of Pesticide Dacthal to Address Serious Health Risk | US EPA Why did EPA do…Read more about EPA Issues Emergency Order to Stop the Use of Dacthal herbicide[Read More]
We’ve (already) flipped the calendar to the month of August, which means that you might be in the throes of seeding fall vegetables and purchasing some cover crop seed for the end of the season. But if you haven’t gotten cover crops yet, there’s still some time left to order your preferred varieties before they…Read more about Feed the Soil, Feed your Crops… Feed your Livestock![Read More]
Several weeks ago, Indiana received enough rain to eliminate drought across the state, leaving behind just a few counties in Abnormally Dry (D0) status. Fortunately, this week has been relatively quiet, allowing many areas to alleviate flooding issues. The U.S. Drought Monitor kept those Abnormally Dry areas nearly the same this week (Figure 1), so…Read more about A Break Before More Rain[Read More]
Under waterlogging conditions, oxygen depletion in the soil injures roots, limiting their ability to uptake nutrients and water. In response, plants close their stomata to prevent water loss, leading to a subsequent reduction in photosynthesis. Common symptoms include wilting, stunted growth, and yellowing leaves. If the stress persists for an extended period, plants may eventually…Read more about Recovering Vegetable Crops from Waterlogging[Read More]
Common names: Ground ivy, gill-over-the-ground, creeping Charlie, field balm, haymaids, cat’s foot, alehoffs Latin name: Glechoma hederacea L. Family: Lamiaceae (Mint Family) General Description and Identification Ground ivy is a perennial herbaceous plant that creeps along the soil surface and thrives in moist and shady areas (Figure 1). It was introduced to the US from…Read more about Weed Spotlight: Ground Ivy[Read More]
Orius insidiosus, also known as the minute pirate bug, is native to North America and a beneficial insect (Figure 1). They are generalist omnivores, feeding on other insects and pollen. Minute pirate bugs belong to the Order of true bugs — Hemiptera — in the family Anthocoridae. Orius insidiosus can be found in a wide range…Read more about Insect Spotlight: The Minute Pirate Bug – A Key Predator[Read More]