Pickin’ and Packin’: 2016 Postharvest Produce Workshop Date: July 12, 2016, 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM (EDT) Location: Purdue University, Nelson Hall of Food Science, Rm 1195, 745 Agriculture Mall Dr. West Lafayette, IN 47906 Workshops will be offered for updating produce growers on the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Rule and other food safety issues. It[Read More…]
Vegetable Crops - General
There is a variety of commercial suppliers to choose from when purchasing predatory insects and parasitoids for biological control. Some of them rear the insects themselves and others are distributors for some of the larger rearing facilities in Europe and Canada. There are some key things to consider when choosing a supplier. The first of[Read More…]
Supplementing the natural enemy population to control insect pests, i.e. augmentation biological control, is of interest to many high tunnel producers. Augmentation biological control has proven very effective at managing a number of greenhouse pests and there are a variety of commercial suppliers. For high tunnels, the greatest challenge is keeping the released predators or[Read More…]
The vegetable extension team at Purdue University is always looking for innovative ways to get information to clients quickly. For this reason, we are trying out a new program called veggie texts. The idea is that if we have your mobile phone number and the name of your phone carrier, then we can send you text[Read More…]
Samples in plug trays, as well as unrooted and rooted cuttings, and plants in pots require extra care when they are packaged for submittal to a diagnostic lab. Before you mail the next sample, please take a few minutes to review these suggestions for packaging and submitting samples. This will help preserve the integrity of[Read More…]
As predicted last week, I have received a number of reports of damage to various vegetables from the root and seed maggots. These pests need to be managed preventively. First, by limiting the amount of decaying organic matter (cover crops, compost, manure) that attracts the flies, growers can reduce the number of eggs laid. Second,[Read More…]
The cool weather this spring means that many early-planted warm season crops have probably been stressed by cool temperatures more than usual. A number of herbicides labeled for vegetable crops include warnings not to use when the crop is or will be under stress. A stressed crop may not be able to detoxify the herbicide[Read More…]
Purdue Extension publication PPP-110 ‘Options for Dealing with a Pesticide Drift Incident’ describes causes and effects of pesticide drift. It discusses actions a vegetable farmer (or anyone) might take if they suspect that herbicide drift may have injured their crop. The first step suggested is to find out what caused the symptoms. The publication explains[Read More…]
Beginning Farmer Tours May 26, 2016: South Circle Farm, Indianapolis. Urban agriculture, organic farming and key tools for managing small-scale farming operations. June 25, 2016: Silverthorn Farm, Rossville. Organic fruits and vegetables, pastured pork and working with restaurants. July 14, 2016: Melon Acres, Oaktown. Community-supported agriculture and agritourism. Sept. 29, 2016: River Ridge Farm, Roann. Four-season vegetable farming, operating[Read More…]
The cost of high tunnel and greenhouse infrastructure is high. The purchase price of high tunnels can vary between $2.00 and $7.00 per square foot, while climate controlled greenhouse costs can vary between $7.00 and $30.00 per square foot. Several factors have an impact on the costs of setting up new high tunnel or greenhouse[Read More…]