It was great to see many of you at the start of June at the Summer Hort Field Day up north at Jonamac Orchards. One of the takeaways I always enjoy from this event is the growers report, highlighting some of the challenges that growers have faced this winter and spring and the differences that we...
In our current research project, “Strategies for Improving Biological Control of Insect Pests for Vegetable Growers Utilizing High Tunnels”, cut flower, pepper, and tomato harvest has started. The cut flowers have been harvested for the past three weeks, since the first of June, while...
This month's weather information from Trent Ford, Illinois State Climatologist (217-244-1330 or twford@illinois.edu).A mild May wrapped up the 4th warmest spring on record in Illinois and the warmest since 2012. The warm spring added to a very mild winter...
Who ever heard of plasticulture strawberry season and peach season overlapping but it did this year. Combined with at least a two week early start to the season and cultivars like ‘Ruby June’ strawberry that just keeps producing, this year’s strawberry harvest lasted a good solid seven...
For some, the emergence of the two periodical cicada broods across Illinois went by without a single sighting or rise in decibels. But for others, it was a mass emergence of movement, scent and sound like no other. Dr Kacie Athey’s lab is now requesting fruit growers report any sustained...
Over the last few years of growing tomatoes in the high tunnels in southern Illinois at the Dixon Springs Agricultural Center, leaf mold has been observed late in the growing season, typically towards the end of August. At that time of year almost all of the tomato fruit has been harvested and...
The summer growing season is here and it feels like it. We are in the midst of a stretch of heat with continued highs in the 90s. We overall have had modest humidity and a breeze most days which makes it tolerable for us, but plants are really showing stress. There is some soil...
In our current research project, “Strategies for Improving Biological Control of Insect Pests for Vegetable Growers Utilizing High Tunnels”, the second treatment or strategy besides establishing and overwintering cover crops is growing a row of cut flowers within the same high tunnel as...
I stopped by a large produce grower in my area, Maddox Sweet Corn Farm, and Ted showed me their grafted versus non-grafted heirloom tomato trial. In the photo (photo credit: D. Gucker Illinois Extension 2024), the row of tomatoes on the left and the row on the right are the same tomato variety. The...
