As pumpkin season approaches, proper harvest timing and post-harvest handling become critical for maintaining fruit quality and maximizing storage life. Whether you’re growing Halloween jack-o’-lanterns or pie pumpkins for the holiday market, following best practices through harvest and storage will help ensure your season ends on a successful note. Determining the Right Harvest Time For…Read more about Maximizing Pumpkin Quality: From Harvest to Storage[Read More]
Harvesting and Postharvest
Harvest season is easily one of the busiest and craziest times of the year. Crops are being harvested, packed, shipped, and sold against a backdrop of perishability, weather, and ever-changing markets. Harvest and postharvest handling are also critical times for food safety. Handling of the crop by workers, transporting of produce, and aggregating the crop…Read more about Food Safety Considerations for Postharvest Handling of Produce[Read More]
This year, the strawberry season throughout Indiana seems to be early by about 10 days to 2 weeks, regardless of the production system. In southern Indiana, I heard the harvest lasted from mid/late April until mid-May in some fields. In central Indiana, the harvest started in mid-May and is nearing its end in early June….Read more about Do June-bearing Strawberries Harvest in June?[Read More]
For a few years, I participated in the Squash Hunger Trial led by Dr. Annette Wszelaki, where we grew a wide range of winter squashes at multiple states. One year, I failed to manage insects, leading to a squash bug and cucumber beetle outbreak. The insects defoliated leaves (Figure 1) and caused cosmetic damage to…Read more about What Happened to the Winter Squash?[Read More]
Farmers markets and farm stands will be opening soon if they aren’t already open. Vendors and market managers will be implementing new practices to reduce the spread of the novel corona virus. Guidelines for practices at Indiana farmers markets are summarized in a new publication from Purdue in cooperation with Indiana State Department of Health,…Read more about Keeping Produce Fresh at Markets and Farm Stands[Read More]
With the start of pumpkin harvest, it is a good time to review important considerations for harvest and postharvest storage of pumpkins and winter squash (butternut, acorn and hubbard squash etc.). Pumpkin and winter squash should be harvested fully mature to reach their optimal quality and fulfill their potential for long shelf lives. Characters indicating…Read more about Harvest and Postharvest Storage of Pumpkins and Winter Squash[Read More]
After harvest, storing vegetables in optimal conditions is important to ensure the whole season’s hard work has paid off. This article discusses the optimum storage conditions for tomato, pepper, cucumber, watermelon, cantaloupe and sweet corn. Tomato Ideal storage conditions for tomatoes depend on the maturity stage of picking. If tomatoes are picked at mature green,…Read more about Optimal Storage Conditions for Vegetables[Read More]
With the start of pumpkin harvest, it is a good time to review important considerations for harvest and postharvest storage of pumpkins and winter squash (butternut, acorn and hubbard squash etc.). First, pumpkin and winter squash should be harvested fully mature to reach their optimal quality and fulfill their potential for long shelf lives. Characters…Read more about Harvest and Postharvest Storage of Pumpkins and Winter Squash[Read More]
Pumpkin season is here. Keeping up with the best management practices through harvest and storage will help the year wrap up on a good note. The steps below are a reminder of actions that can make a difference. Handle fruit as little as possible. Harvest fully orange and healthy pumpkins. Half-orange pumpkins may turn orange,…Read more about Harvest and Post-harvest Care for High Quality Pumpkins[Read More]