Both plug plants and bare-root plants can be used to establish plasticulture strawberries. Regardless of the type of planting material used, however, proper planting depth is critical. Planting too deep or too shallow can result in poor establishment or even plant death. I have observed both problems during recent farm visits. Planting Strawberry Plugs Too Deep…Read more about Planting Strawberries at the Right Depth[Read More]
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According to the Midwestern Regional Climate Center’s “Number of Days since last Precipitation Observation” tool, there is an increasing area of Indiana that has not had at least a tenth of an inch (number of days since precipitation tool provides maps for the Midwest region with precipitation threshold amounts of ≥ 0.01”, 0.10”, 0.25”, 0.50,…Read more about Lack of Rain May Bring Drought[Read More]
Join for a full day tradeshow, weeding tool discussions, and in-field demonstrations for managing weeds in row crops, vegetables, and tree fruit, with steep registration discounts for organic and organic-curious growers from Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana. Each year, the Midwest Mechanical Weed Control Field Day moves to a different state. This year, in its…Read more about Mechanical Weed Control Field Day – September 16[Read More]
About a third of the farmer phone calls and texts I receive as a weed science Extension specialist center around a lack of weed control in vegetable crops. The lines, “What went wrong?” and “What do I do now?” generally follow. As the summer starts to give way to fall, now is a good time…Read more about Take a Moment to Assess Your 2026 Weed Control – Part 1 – Rainfall[Read More]
Dear Valued Vegetable Crops Hotline Readers, Welcome to issue 778 of the Vegetable Crops Hotline newsletter! Our mission remains steadfast: to deliver crucial updates on pest management, production practices, food safety, and marketing opportunities that directly impact your farming operations. What’s Inside This Issue Late summer has brought its share of challenges to Indiana vegetable…Read more about From The Editor’s Desk[Read More]
Preparing for a third-party food safety audit can be challenging for produce growers, particularly when navigating audit requirements, understanding the audit scope, and determining which documentation and practices are required. To help growers better understand the process, Safe Produce Indiana, using the Purdue Student Farm as an example, has developed a four-part educational video series…Read more about Understanding the USDA Harmonized GAP Third-Party Audit: A Farmer’s Journey[Read More]
It has been a wet summer across much of Indiana, and conditions became more challenging after historic rainfall hit east-central Indiana in mid-August. I recently had a chance to visit several pumpkin fields in the region. The amount of damage directly associated with the heavy rainfall varied considerably from field to field, clearly demonstrating how…Read more about Pumpkin Field Updates[Read More]
PRESS RELEASE – July 22, 2026. On September 10-11, the inaugural Great Lakes Tek Flex will be held at the Michigan State University Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center (MSU SWMREC) in Benton Harbor, MI. Vendor/Sponsor Update: We are excited to announce that we now have a total of sixteen (18) companies representing over twenty (20)…Read more about First Annual TEK FLEX – September 10-12, Benton Harbor, MI[Read More]
If you walked out to the garden or on the farm only to find your hard work submerged under murky water, my heart goes out to you. As a fellow gardener who has been anxiously watching the skies and the rain gauge, I know how much time and energy was poured into caring for those…Read more about Food Safety After Flooding[Read More]
After a drier-than-normal July, recent rains have put Indiana on notice for above-normal precipitation. Just two weeks into August, there was enough precipitation to cover the month’s typical August rainfall, and then some. Much of the state received over 400 percent of normal precipitation for the first two weeks of the month, and some locations…Read more about Soaking Rains to End the Summer, And Then Some[Read More]
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