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…Read more about From the Editor’s Desk[Read More]
The author of this article, Dan Egel, retired from Purdue University in February 2024. This article is a brief review of the symptoms of foliar diseases of tomatoes in greenhouses or high tunnels. Remember that foliar diseases of tomatoes that are observed in greenhouses or high tunnels are different than those found in the field….Read more about Foliar Diseases of Tomato in Greenhouses[Read More]
In watermelon systems in Indiana, cover crops are extensively used with the primary function of acting as a wind-break to protect the seedlings when they are planted in May. Due to the nature of the landscape and the soil type (e.g., open areas with sandy soils), seedlings are exposed to physical damage caused by sandblasting….Read more about Enhancing Insect Pest and Pollinator Management with Flowering Cover Crops[Read More]
What can a relative of broom corn do for you on a vegetable farm? Build biomass while beating the heat! Sorghum-sudangrass (Sorghum x drummondii) (Figure 1) is a summer-loving hybrid cover crop species. Its parents are wild sorghum, native to sub-Saharan Africa, and domesticated sorghum, known as broom corn or milo in our part of…Read more about Cover Crop Species Spotlight – Sorghum Sudangrass[Read More]
Growing vegetable crops often involves utilizing our natural resources, which include the soil. Thus, maintaining the health of this asset on our farms and growing spaces is essential. There is an initiative in the state of Indiana whose mission is to improve soil health, but its focus is on Indiana’s urban and community small-scale agricultural…Read more about Urban Soil Health Program: What and why?[Read More]
To overcome religious-based objections to online exams, the Office of the Indiana State Chemist (OISC) will be offering paper-and-pencil exams at Purdue to ‘plain people.’ The remaining 2023 exam dates are as follows: June 13 and November 3 at 1 PM Eastern time. We will be offering CORE and Category 14 exams at the William…Read more about PARP News – Paper Exam Session for Plain People[Read More]
Cool mornings and warm afternoons have made conditions pleasant across the state. Through the first 17 days of May, temperatures ran 1.5◦F above normal (Figure 1). Indiana Climate Divisions 1 and 7 had the largest departures, which were 2.1◦F and 2.0◦F above normal, respectively. Since April 1, growing degree days (GDD) have accumulated between 260…Read more about Recent Localized Rainfall; Warm Temperatures and Below-normal Precipitation Forecasted[Read More]
Plasticulture strawberry harvest has kicked off in southern Indiana. These plants went through a winter of temperature ups and downs and survived the unexpected frosts in April. Finally, it is harvest time! This article’s title is a question from a grower. The straightforward explanation is that plants received more sunlight and warmed up faster on…Read more about Why do the East Side of My Strawberry Rows Have Way More Ripe Ones than the West Side?[Read More]
Join eOrganic for 4 webinars on the findings of the biocontrol project in April and May 2023! Register at the links below for the May 18 and May 24 webinars! Recordings will be posted here and on the eOrganic YouTube channel! eOrganic Webinars Date Webinar Presenters April 26, 2023 Marketing Value-added Grains for Local and…Read more about eOrganic Webinars on Predatory Mites and Whitefly[Read More]
Extract from a news release by SARE (5/15/2023). Sustainable farming emphasizes the need to consider the environmental, economic and social impacts of agriculture. For decades, sustainable agriculture research has focused more on environmental stewardship and profitability than on personal and social issues. SARE’s newest bulletin, Resilient Farmers, Ranchers and Communities: Social Sustainability in Agriculture, describes how…Read more about Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) News[Read More]
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