Not to brag or anything, but we may be on a 2-week streak of what I consider perfect weather. The humidity levels have dropped making it easier to breath, and the temperatures have been in the upper 70s to low 80s during the day. We did receive about 0.1” of rain on September 21 which was just enough to settle the dust.
As a reminder, this is the time of year that our perennial small fruit crops (blueberries, blackberries, etc.) are setting fruit buds for next year and adequate soil moisture is necessary to ensure a full crop load so supplemental irrigation may be needed.
The first year of our Illinois Department of Agriculture HR 133 grant, Strategies for Improving Biological Control of Insect Pests for Vegetable Growers Utilizing High Tunnels, has been completed. All yield data and insect collections in all three locations (DSAC, Jackson County Extension office in Murphysboro, and the Student Farm in Champaign) have been gathered and we are beginning to reset for year two.
In our treatment tunnel at DSAC, all tomato and pepper plants have been removed but the cut flowers have been left as habitat for any beneficial insects. A very light tilling will be done to incorporate remaining clover residue from last year’s cover crop and prep the beds for seeding. Cover crops will be sown the first week of October. While the control tunnel still has tomato and pepper plants in it, they will be removed starting next week. Even though there is still some fruit present, this tunnel should be cleaned out around the same time as the treatment tunnel to keep conditions as similar as possible between the two tunnels.
Cover image: Treatment tunnel cleared out of tomato and peppers plants in preparation for seeding cover crops.
Right image: Control tunnel will have tomato and pepper plants removed next week. Photo credits: B. Aly, Illinois Extension 2023.