Most of us know a temperature lower than 32°F would kill tender vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, melons, and cucumbers. Home gardeners would wait to plant those crops after the last frost passed, but commercial farmers may take the risk of planting earlier to capture early-season premium prices. Farmers use various strategies, i.e., high tunnels, low[Read More…]
Protected Culture and Season Extension
Thanks to my University of California Cooperative Extension colleagues, I visited central valley vegetable production last week. Undoubtedly, I learned a lot on this trip. I want to share what I learned with Indiana growers in a few newsletter articles. This short article highlights two things I saw farmers use to extend early-season crop production.[Read More…]
A new bulletin “Scheduling Fall and Winter Vegetable Production in High Tunnels” is available from the Purdue Education store at https://edustore.purdue.edu/item.asp?Item_Number=HO-330-W . The publication brings together information collected on farms and research stations in Indiana and Ohio to provide detailed guidance on scheduling vegetable crops for winter high tunnel production. It includes a fillable scheduling[Read More…]
We are getting close to the time of year when I begin to get phone calls about strange symptoms on tomato plants in greenhouses. Too often, the problem is ethylene damage. Read on to find out how to avoid this problem. Tomato plants with ethylene damage often have leaves that are curled down and stems[Read More…]
Strawberries are primarily grown in matted row system in Indiana, in which bare-root strawberry plants are set in the spring. Runners are established. Fruit is first harvested in the second year and plantings are renovated each year for 2-3 seasons. Growers in the southern part of the state expressed interest in growing strawberries in plasticulture[Read More…]
A lot of things are different this year. With the changes come opportunities to try something new. Liz Brownlee with Hoosier Young Farmers Coalition mentioned to me that some markets, especially in rural areas, do not have a steady supply of Fall crops, and that farmers might be looking to extend the season with crops[Read More…]
Watermelon is best grown at temperatures around 80-90°F. Temperatures above 90°F reduce the growth rate; above 105°F may cause plant injury. Temperatures below 42°F result in watermelon chilling injury; below 32°F will kill watermelon plants. Extended cool days that lead to soil temperatures dropping into lower 50°F can also kill watermelon seedlings. Using low tunnels is[Read More…]
Strawberries growing in the matted-row system are in the blooming stage. Open flowers cannot tolerate temperatures lower than 30°F (Figure 1). Strawberry growers should be prepared for the coming low temperatures this week. Row covers (Figure 2) can be effective in protecting strawberry flowers. In our earlier trial, 1.5 oz/sq row covers provided 4-6 degrees[Read More…]
Two types of injury on young warm-season vegetable plants are caused by low temperatures: frost/freezing injury and chilling injury. Frost/freezing injury occurs when temperatures drop below 32°F. Ice formation in plant tissues cut cell membranes. When the tissue thaws, the damage results in fluids leaking from the cell, causing water soaked damage. Frost/freezing injury is[Read More…]