Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center Field Day
Date: June 27, 2019. Registration begins at 8:30 am.
Location: Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center, 4669 N. Purdue Road in Vincennes, IN 47591
Topics related to vegetable production include:
- Organic Tomato Production: Dan Egel will discuss the Tomato Organic Management and Improvement Project — including foliar disease management of tomatoes.
- High Tunnel Grafted Cucumber & Specialty Melon Production: Wenjing Guan and Petrus Langenhoven will discuss cucumber and melon production in high tunnels.
- Applying IPM Principles across Cropping Systems to Increase Insect Pollination and Profitability: Laura Ingwell will discuss best management practices for watermelon production by quantifying pest pressures, pollinator health, and crop yields.
- Annual Strawberry Production: Wenjing Guan will discuss annual plastic culture for strawberry production in southern Indiana.
Other topics include:
- Termites to the Rescue: In this presentation, Rick Meilan will discuss the use of enzymes derived from termites to control invasive woody species.
- Removing Invasive and Cultivating Natives: Join Will Drews to see SWPAC’s work to remove invasive plants around the property and create a native pollinator habitat.
- Growing Hemp in Indiana: Chuck Mansfield and Valerie Clingerman will offer an update on the use of this versatile plant — grown for its fiber, seed, or oil — across the state.
- Eyes in the Sky…Decisions on the Ground: Bob Nielsen discusses the benefit of aerial “reconnaissance” via unmanned aerial drones to scout crop problems or augment data.
A meal will be included, and PARP classes also will be available after lunch. To register, email joynerb@purdue.edu, call (812) 886-0198, or go online at https://purdue.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8pnF8z1CwyglrGl by Monday, June 17.
Meigs High Tunnel Field Day
Date: July 18, 2019
Location: Purdue Meigs Farm, 9101 S 100E, Lafayette, IN 47909
The field day will focus on high tunnel production of cucurbit crops. It will feature tours of conventional and hydroponic high tunnel cucumber and melon production. The use of insect-exclusion screens to control cucumber beetles and bacterial wilt will be on display in the conventional high tunnel systems. Vegetable grafting and future research in tomato systems will be presented. Attendees will also have an opportunity to discuss current challenges and future directions of research areas for high tunnel production systems. Please contact Lori Jolly-Brown ljollybr@purdue.edu for more information.
Small Farm Education Field Day at Purdue Student Farm
Date: August 1, 2019
Location: Purdue Student Farm, West Lafayette, IN 47907
The Purdue Student Farm is proud to announce its second annual Small Farm Education Field Day. The event is packed with educational sessions during the morning, followed by a tour and hands-on experiences on the farm. Topics of discussion throughout the day include basic planning tools for a sustainable small farm operation, testing and restoring soils in urban and peri-urban systems, scheduling crops in high tunnels, using different cover crops to build your soil, calculating profits and return on investment using enterprise budgets and food safety plants for small growers and gardeners. During the afternoon there will be a rototiller versus power harrow, high tunnel tomato and sweet pepper production, leaf mold composting, vegetable wash station design, and solar dryer demonstrations.
Registration fee is $20.
Register here https://purdue.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3qQfl05iryF3COp
Registration closes July 29, 2019.