There is a frost and freeze warning for 4/20, 4/21, 4/22. Vegetable growers should be prepared to take protective actions on early-planted warm-season vegetables (tomato, cucumber, pepper, summer squash, bean etc.). For high tunnel growers, medium-weight floating row covers should provide sufficient protection. Growers should close the structure when inside temperatures drop below 80°F to[Read More…]
Bolting of crops overwintered in high tunnels is common in the spring. ‘Bolting’ refers to lengthening and blooming of the flowering stalk. Bolting is often a problem because the quality of the marketable part of the plant declines. Also, plants subject to bolting are programmed to die once they complete flowering and seed production so[Read More…]
Three new vegetable IPM videos in Spanish are available on Youtube. They were made by a team led by Natalie Hoidal, Extension Educator at Univ. of Minnesota. Búsqueda de problemas en el campo (Scouting for problems in the field) Diagnóstico de problemas de las plantas (Diagnosing plant problems) Recolección de plantas enteras para el diagnóstico[Read More…]
At the Pinney Purdue Ag Center in northern Indiana we had plots in 2020 with no-till sweet corn, pumpkins and winter squash following a rye cover crop. As is common when adapting new planting and tillage systems, we had both challenges and successes. Check out the video presentations to see photos of the plots, and[Read More…]
Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports provide yield and quality data based on field test results under different cropping conditions. Reports based on projects in 2020 include variety trial results for asparagus, peppers – bell, specialty, and chile, cantaloupe, pickling cucumber, summer squash, and seedless watermelon. Cultural practice trials include no-till sweet corn and pumpkin after winter[Read More…]
A lot of things are different this year. With the changes come opportunities to try something new. Liz Brownlee with Hoosier Young Farmers Coalition mentioned to me that some markets, especially in rural areas, do not have a steady supply of Fall crops, and that farmers might be looking to extend the season with crops[Read More…]
When ground level ozone is high enough to trigger an Air Quality Action Day alert from the Indiana Dept. of Environmental Management (IDEM) it is a reminder that crops may be injured by ozone. A number of areas around the state have experienced alerts in recent days, e.g. July 14 in S. Indiana. If crops[Read More…]