Welcome to the Vegetable Crops Hotline (VCH), Purdue Extension’s exclusive newsletter for people in the business of growing vegetables.
This is, again, a bumper issue. It seems we can look forward to warmer days. Farm activity will increase in the coming weeks as conditions become more favorable for the planting of tender vegetable crops. Remember, the Midwestern Regional Climate Center has a great interactive tool with freeze maps https://mrcc.purdue.edu/freeze/freezedatetool.html and Mesonet. Mesonets are a collection of observation stations that gather information about the environment, such as atmospheric, soil, and moisture conditions. These tools will help you to plan your farm activities.
This is also the time of year when vegetable growers may start to apply fungicides. In this issue, Dan Egel discusses 10 rules that will help vegetable growers apply fungicides effectively and safely. He is also writing about an online tool that will help cantaloupe and watermelon growers make informed fungicide application decisions on the farm. There is no more guesswork for growers. A Purdue University program known as MELCAST will help you to make the right decision at the right time. Ask Dan Egel for more details by calling (812) 886-0198 or going to http://melcast.ceris.purdue.edu/.
The newsletter is also packed with lots of information about critters that can harm your young seedlings. There is a strawberry update and news from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. We are also featuring the first article in a cover crop series and talking about the impact of soil temperature on the establishment of tender vegetable crops.
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.
Enjoy reading this issue
Do not hesitate to contact me, Petrus Langenhoven, at plangenh@purdue.edu if you have any questions or suggestions to improve the newsletter.