Welcome to the Vegetable Crops Hotline (VCH), Purdue Extension’s exclusive newsletter for people in the business of growing vegetables.
Once again, we have a bumper issue. It seems that by Memorial weekend, we can look forward to even warmer days. If you have not done it yet, now is the time to get those heat-loving vegetables into the ground. Remember, the Midwestern Regional Climate Center has some great interactive tools like Mesonet. The Mesonet is a collection of observation stations that gather information about the environment, such as atmospheric, soil, and moisture conditions.
In this issue, we are highlighting pest pollinator management. In our cover crop series, the spotlight moves to sorghum-sudangrass as a summer cover crop. There is lots of information about educational opportunities. Registration is now open for three Purdue field days. The Southwest Purdue Ag Center field day (Vincennes), the Purdue Fruit and Vegetable field day (Meigs, Lafayette), and the Purdue Small Farm Education field day (Purdue Student Farm, West Lafayette). Register now to reserve your spot. Registration links are available in this issue.
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.