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]
Vegetable Crops - General
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]
Many of the pesticide products Indiana farmers use do not include specialty crops on the container’s label. These uses are often added through 24C Special Local Need (SLN) or supplemental labels, which can be challenging to locate. In response, the Office of the Indiana State Chemist created a “Pesticide Products- Special State Registrations” webpage with…Read more about Where to Find “Special” Indiana Pesticide Registrations[Read More]
Call for Proposals Learn more about the North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Graduate Student Grant Program here; awards can be up to $20,000 for projects lasting up to 36 months. Applications are due by 4 pm Central on April 18, 2024. Indiana SARE State Coordinator Lais McCartney can read your grants and suggest…Read more about North Central SARE Graduate Student Grant Program[Read More]
The USDA 2022 Ag Census was released on February 13, 2024. What does it say about vegetable production in Indiana? The number of farms growing vegetables for sale is 1,456, just 1.9% more than reported in the 2017 census. The acreage of vegetables harvested for sale is 38,483, a decrease of 4.1% from the 2017…Read more about What Does the 2022 Ag Census Show About Indiana Vegetable Production?[Read More]
There are many traps available to help with monitoring insect populations. As you prepare for the 2024 growing season, I wanted to review some of them in case you want to implement trapping on your farm to help improve your pest management programs. Trap Design Traps come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors….Read more about Insect Traps as a Monitoring Tool[Read More]