Melon is a crop with diverse fruit characteristics. They have different color, shape, rind pattern, texture, and flavor. In major food stores, cantaloupe and honeydew melons may be the only melon types sold, while the fantastic experience of melon consumption is far more than that. This created an opportunity for selling unique melon fruit at local farmers’ market and with a potentially higher price. It[Read More…]
Welcome to a new year of the Vegetable Crops Hotline (VCH), Purdue Extension’s newsletter for people in the business of growing vegetables. As usual, we will have fifteen issues throughout the 2021 growing season. The first issue of the year is sent to all who subscribed to VCH via US-mail in 2020 as well as new[Read More…]
Many vegetable programs are going virtual this year. Although we missed the in-person experience, the virtual meetings provide opportunities for participating in meetings we usually can’t. Even better, many great events are free of charge, and the cost to attend large conference is more affordable. Here are some of the upcoming free events that you[Read More…]
UC ANR and UC Davis are conducting a survey of consumers to identify which types of specialty Asian produce are almost always cooked before eating, so that Southeast Asian and other small-scale farmers can receive exemptions from federal food safety regulations for low-risk crops. The research team would appreciate your help in taking the survey[Read More…]
Cornell Cooperative Extension is a partner on a Rochester Institute of Technology project that is creating new methods for manufacturing plastic mulch and promoting its field break-down. The project aims to tightly match new product development to real-world grower preferences, on-farm use patterns, and current economic constraints surrounding plastic film use. This 5-minute survey is[Read More…]
On-farm Trial #1: Location: DeMotte IN Transplant date: April 24 Heating: Plants were grown in an unheated high tunnel Plant No. and plants lost: Treatment Original plant number Plants lost by June 12 Plants lost by July 20 Manny 31 19% 55% Manny/Carnivor 35 11% 34% Green 39 10% 38% Green/Carnivor 39 0% 8% Spacing:[Read More…]
On-farm trial #1: Location: Camden IN Transplant date: Feb. 22 2019 Heating: Plants were grown in a heated high tunnel Plant No. and plants lost: By the end of Mar. 2019, 21 out of 38 non-grafted cucumbers died. None of the 72 grafted plants died. Harvest duration: Apr. 17 – July 23 Yield: Treatment Yield[Read More…]
USDA is implementing Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2 for agricultural producers who continue to face market disruptions and associated costs because of COVID-19. Here is an expanded list of fruits and vegetables eligible for CFAP2. USDA will accept CFAP 2 applications from September 21, 2020 through December 11, 2020. More information about this program can[Read More…]