Welcome to the Vegetable Crops Hotline (VCH), Purdue Extension’s exclusive newsletter for people in the business of growing vegetables. This issue is packed with invaluable information. Our featured article focuses on Food Safety Considerations for Vegetable Farms. This issue also includes our insect and weed spotlight articles. We also examine Marketing and Social Media for…Read more about From The Editor’s Desk[Read More]
Intense heat and long days serve as a reminder that we are officially in the heart of Summer, where Indiana consumers rush to grocery stores and farmers markets to purchase fresh, locally-grown fruits and vegetables. As produce farms strive to meet this demand, it is important that growers consider food safety and follow good agricultural…Read more about Food Safety Considerations for Vegetable Farms[Read More]
Greetings everyone! I am César Escalante, and I have recently been hired as the new vegetable pathologist by the Purdue Department of Botany and Plant Pathology. Starting July 1, 2024, I will be at the Southwest-Purdue Ag Center in Vincennes, IN. I will be serving as a liaison to Indiana’s vegetable industry. As part of…Read more about Meet Dr. César Escalante, the New Vegetable Pathologist at the Southwest-Purdue Ag Center[Read More]
Most Americans use social media to share information, find entertainment, and engage with businesses, which has made social media an important information source for all generations. Figure 1 shows findings from the Pew Research Center on the use of social media platforms, with Gen Z and Millennials more inclined to use Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok,…Read more about Marketing & Social Media for Vegetable Farms[Read More]
The use of silage tarps for weed management has increased dramatically in recent years, including in our own research in the Horticulture Crops Weed Science Lab at Purdue University. This article answers five common questions about tarping for weed management. What are silage tarps? Silage tarps are reusable, opaque plastic sheets that are black on…Read more about Silage Tarps for Small Farm Weed Management[Read More]
Common names: Carpetweed, Indian chickweed, whorled chickweed, devils-grip, green carpetweed Latin name: Mollugo verticillata L. Family: Molluginaceae General Description and Life Cycle Carpetweed is a summer annual. Compared to other summer annual weeds, its germination is usually later in the summer. The plant grows rapidly and reproduces by seeds. Carpetweed is mostly found in dry…Read more about Weed spotlight: Carpetweed[Read More]
Cabbage white butterflies are medium-sized white butterflies in the family Pieridae. They have black spots on their wings, and a black band on the top of their forewings (top wings), distinguishing them from other species. The butterflies themselves don’t do any damage, however their caterpillars do significant damage to plants in the Brassica family, including…Read more about Insect Spotlight: Cabbage White Butterfly (Pieris rapae)[Read More]
We want to introduce you to a predatory insect that you will find in your cropping systems, and it’s a fly! Predatory gall midges belong to the Cecidomyiidae family and undergo complete metamorphosis from egg through three larval instars, pupa, and finally, the adult stage (Figure 1). This insect overwinters as larvae in cocoons in…Read more about An Introduction to Predatory Gall Midges[Read More]
Date: September 4, 2024 Time: 3:00 – 8:00 PM EST Location: Southwest Purdue Ag Center, 4369 N Purdue Rd, Vincennes, IN 47591 Dinner Provided Join us for an informative workshop designed specifically for small-scale vegetable producers. This event will be held at the Southwest Purdue Ag Center in Vincennes, IN, on September 4th, 2024, from…Read more about Irrigation Workshop for Small-Scale Vegetable Producers on Sept. 4[Read More]
Recent high temperatures have been above optimum for vegetable crops. Around Indiana, from June 12 to 25 the daily high was more than 90°F on at least 5 days and the low overnight was above 70°F on at least 3 dates (Figure 1). High night temperature is a particular concern because it causes plants to…Read more about High Temperature Affects Fruit Set of Vegetable Crops[Read More]
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