Welcome to the Vegetable Crops Hotline (VCH), Purdue Extension’s exclusive newsletter for people in the business of growing vegetables.
In this issue, we highlight watermelon recovery after hail, Honeyvine Milkweed, and provide an update on vegetable pricing at the Clearspring Auction. Included are lots of information about educational opportunities at the Pinney Purdue Agricultural Center (August 10 and August 24). We have saved a place just for you. Registration details for the Pinney Purdue Ag Center field days are now available. Register now to reserve your spot. Registration links are available in this issue and on the EVENTS tab of the Vegetable Crops Hotline Newsletter webpage. In addition, we are looking for sweet corn growers who are interested in submitting their sweet corn varieties in a taste test. More information is available in the newsletter.
On July 20, 2023, we had a very successful field day at Meigs, Lafayette. The Purdue Fruit and Vegetable Field Day attracted 74 attendees. Attendees visited eight demonstrations and had ample time to interact with growers, specialists, students, and Educators. Below are some pictures.
Figure 1. Laura Ingwell provides sweet corn pest management updates (Photo by John Obermeyer).
Figure 2. Petrus Langenhoven and Nathan Shoaf discuss soil health and pepper production (Photo by John Obermeyer).
Figure 3. Josue Cerritos talk about silage tarps for weed management in potatoes (Photo by John Obermeyer).
Figure 4. Elizabeth Long discussed insect management in Collards (Photo by John Obermeyer).
Figure 5. Leslie Aviles discussed high tunnel crop diversification and biological control (Photo by John Obermeyer).
At the field day, we also said goodbye to Paul Howard. Paul worked for 35 years at Purdue, first for the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture and later for the Throckmorton/Meigs Purdue Ag Center. Paul is a hard worker and will be missed. He is now going to devote all his attention to his farm and family. We wish you all the best, Paul!
Figure 6. From left to right. Peet, Chloe, Paul, Jay and Tristand (Photo by Chloe Richard).
Website links
Frequently we include links to websites or publications that are available online. If you can’t access these resources or can’t see the web address, don’t hesitate to contact your local Extension office or us to request a hard copy of the information.
Remember that all previous articles published in the VCH newsletter are available on the VCH website vegcropshotline.org.
We would like to hear from you.
ANR Educators and Growers, reach out to us if you are experiencing a vegetable production-related issue you think other growers need to know of. Remember, we have a great Horticulture Team that can assist you. A complete list is available HERE.
Send us pictures of success stories, activities, or issues in your county or on your farm. Please include a description and provide the name of the person that needs to get credit for the picture. These pictures could be used in future Vegetable Crops Hotline Newsletter articles. Submit your stories HERE.
Do not hesitate to contact me, Petrus Langenhoven, at plangenh@purdue.edu if you have any questions or suggestions to improve the newsletter.
Enjoy reading this issue!