I have been asked a lot about what the unusually high temperatures we have been experiencing lately will mean for insect pests this season. I don’t have a good answer and often must respond with “it depends,” which is not very satisfying to those who ask. However, in exploring the question, I found the seasonal…Read more about Seasonal Insect Pressure Forecast – Update for Indiana[Read More]
Vegetable Crops - General
Common names: Henbit, henbit dead nettle, henbit nettle, blind nettle, bee nettle, and giraffe head. Latin name: Lamium amplexicaule. “Lamium” is derived from the Latin for “throat,” referencing the flower tube’s elongated shape. “amplexicaule”, also derived from the Latin, means “embracing the stem,” describing the upper leaves of henbit that encircle the stem. Family: Lamiaceae…Read more about Weed Spotlight: Henbit[Read More]
The 2023 Purdue Small Farm Education Field Day was held at the Purdue Student Farm in West Lafayette, Indiana. With 105 participants registered, the in-person event featured an array of on-farm demonstrations and was a resounding success. Nearly 84% of attendees reported that they learned something they didn’t know before. A third (34%) indicated they…Read more about 2024 Purdue Small Farm Education Field Day – Registration Open[Read More]
Purdue Extension presented its second Fruit and Vegetable Field Day post-pandemic at the Throckmorton Purdue Agriculture Center’s Meigs Horticulture Research Farm, located in Lafayette, on July 20th, 2023. Extension Specialists and Graduate Students presented specialty crop research to 90 attendees. Attendees had only good things to say about the event. ‘It was an interesting program,…Read more about 2024 Purdue Fruit and Vegetable Field Day – Registration Open[Read More]
Over the past year, we conducted a comparative study on microclimate conditions within caterpillar tunnels and high tunnels at five farms in Indiana. This initiative was prompted by the growing interest in employing caterpillar tunnels for season-extension vegetable production among small and diversified farms. Caterpillar tunnels, typically lower in height than permanent high tunnels, stand…Read more about Comparison of Microenvironment between Caterpillar Tunnels and Permanent High Tunnels[Read More]
Featured Article Many Indiana vegetable crops begin life as transplants. If lack of nutrients, lack of light, disease, or other problems slow growth during this stage, it may reduce establishment success and/or growth and yield in the field or high tunnel. Good management of the following factors should lead to healthy transplants (Figure 1). Time…Read more about Planning for Successful Vegetable Transplant Production[Read More]
Welcome to the Vegetable Crops Hotline (VCH), Purdue Extension’s exclusive newsletter for people in the business of growing vegetables. What’s new in 2024? The VCH will publish seventeen newsletter issues in 2024. The publication day has been moved to Friday (it was on Thursday in the past). The decision was made to accommodate articles from…Read more about From the Editor’s Desk[Read More]
Are you still thinking about varieties for the upcoming season? Purdue has been keeping a record of vegetable variety trials in the Midwest since 1999. The Midwest Vegetable Trial Report series includes reports of applied research relevant to vegetable and melon production in the Midwest. Here are some abstracts of the most recent reports. Visit the Midwest Vegetable…Read more about Selecting Vegetable Varieties for Your Farm[Read More]
Hoosiers are hardy, but that wasn’t a quality that was important this winter. Meteorological winter—December 1 to February 29—is drawing to a close, and it doesn’t quite feel like it ever really happened. There was one notable cold weather outbreak in mid-January, but besides that, temperatures were generally at or above normal. Even when accounting…Read more about Winter: Where art thou?[Read More]
As the EPA works to update pesticide labels to comply with the Endangered Species Act, we will work to keep you informed of the recent changes. However, it is in your best interest to visit databases often to be sure that you are in compliance with current pesticide laws. One such website to visit includes…Read more about Enforcement of the Endangered Species Act[Read More]