Dear Valued VCH Readers, Welcome to this week’s edition of the Vegetable Crops Hotline! As we move deeper into the growing season, this week’s edition brings you essential insights and timely updates to help navigate the opportunities and challenges ahead. From understanding how vegetable growers are integrating sustainable practices through our latest producer survey findings[Read More…]
Time is running short—register TODAY to secure your spot at this year’s Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center Field Day! Located in the heart of Indiana’s premier watermelon-growing region, the Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center (SWPAC) stands as one of Purdue’s eight agricultural research centers, uniquely positioned where specialty crops meet cutting-edge agricultural innovation. This field day represents[Read More…]
Small and medium-sized vegetable farms face unique challenges balancing profitability with sustainable production practices and food safety requirements. To better understand how these farmers navigate complex decision-making processes, the Soil to Market Team—comprising Maria Marshall, Renee Wiatt, Petrus Langenhoven, Betty Feng, and Nathan Shoaf—conducted a comprehensive survey of 500 small and medium-sized farmers across the[Read More…]
Trichoplusia ni, commonly known as the cabbage looper, is a moth in the family Noctuidae. Native to North America, it is a polyphagous pest (feeds on lots of different plants) that can cause significant damage in a variety of crops and potentially lead to plant death. While cabbage looper has a large geographical distribution, it[Read More…]
If you’re scouting for cabbage aphids (Figure 1) in your brassicas this summer, don’t overlook one of your garden’s lesser-known allies: soldier beetles, also known as leatherwings (Figure 2). These beneficial insects can be valuable predators, especially when aphid populations begin to surge in warm weather. Cabbage aphids are difficult to manage due to their[Read More…]
Welcome to the start of Hurricane Season, which runs from June through November each year. Why would Indiana care about hurricane season? Certainly, by the time any hurricane might impact the state, it will have been greatly downgraded to what is called an extratropical (i.e., poleward of the Tropic of Cancer (23.5° north latitude)) storm[Read More…]
Summer cover crops offer clear benefits to vegetable growers and the environment. Cover cropping offers clear benefits to growers and the environment. It is a valuable opportunity to add organic material to the soil, and it increases soil carbon, enhances soil fertility and nitrogen cycling, reduces erosion, and helps to reduce weed pressure in subsequent[Read More…]
I’m excited to share that the University of Kentucky Center for Crop Diversification (UK CCD) and the Organic Association of Kentucky (OAK) are partnering with Glacial Drift Enterprises to host a Mechanical Weed Control Field Day on September 23 at the University of Kentucky Horticulture Research Farm in Lexington. Like many of your states, Kentucky is home to a[Read More…]
Aspiring and established cut flower growers across Indiana will soon have a unique opportunity to learn, connect, and grow through a new series of Cut Flower Tours offered by Purdue Extension and hosted throughout the state this season. Hosted in collaboration with leading local growers and agricultural partners, these on-site tours are designed to give current and[Read More…]
We’ve made it! Meteorological summer started on June 1, but the official start of summer isn’t until June 20. The days are longer, temperatures have risen, and my allergies are in full swing. I let the dogs out last night, and there was still quite a bit of light in the sky just before 10:00[Read More…]
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