During the weekend of July 12 to 14 and the week of July 15, we had some farms that received quite a lot of rain and severe winds. Some farms reported receiving 7-8 inches of rain while others, like in the Freeport area, had about 3-4 inches. This was combined with very warm temperatures (above 90 F). The end of the week had us drying out and low temperatures dipping into the 50s and 60 s F.
In the same week, I visited Freeport High School’s (Freeport, IL) Student Vegetable Farm. They run a CSA, farm stand, and attend a weekly farmers market. These students are involved in all aspects of production before and during the growing season. Like other vegetable growers in the region, cool season crops are in peak harvest and warm season crops are right around the corner. Sweet corn season began last week for growers. Insect/disease pressure does look a bit low this year but still varies from farm-to-farm.
In the Rockford region, July marks a month of transitions. Blueberry season was well under way with many growers reporting a good season at their u-pick operations. Some growers did not denote that there were delays in ripening on some varieties. Particularly 'Bluecrop' was delayed compared to others. This may have been a result of warm conditions above 90 F impacting the color ripening. The blueberry season should start wrapping up the week of July 21st for most. For fall raspberries/primocane fruiting, some of these varieties are beginning to flower in the last week and may result in an early season for this crop. All will depend on August.
I was out at Valley Orchard in Cherry Valley two weeks ago to see how Raoul Bergersen's apple trees were looking. With the season to start a month from now with 'Zestar!', things look pretty good for the apple season. Growers are staying on top of insect-disease management. Weeds are on many growers' minds right now as they begin to prepare these rows for u-pick. I am seeing a lot of marestail, field bindweed, and yellow nutsedge, a pretty difficult weed to control. As always, the Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide 2023-2024 can provide the right options during this time.