In addition to peach harvesting in the southern part of the region of cultivars like ‘Glenglo’, ‘PF 5D Big’, and ‘Sentry’, sweet corn harvesting started the last full week of June in the St Louis Metro east. Comparatively, the northern part of the region is harvesting peaches in the ‘PF 8 Ball’ maturity group. Black raspberries are in the final week of harvest. Early blackberries like ‘Natchez’ and ‘Ponca’ are in season now, as well as blueberries like ‘Bluecrop’ and ‘Blueray’. Grapes and apples are sizing. Asparagus harvesting is done and has moved to crops like yellow squash, cucumbers, peppers (hot and bell), cauliflower, greens, greenhouse tomatoes, and zucchini. Sweet potatoes are in the ground as well as ongoing green bean and pumpkin planting. The last two weeks of June have been brutally hot and humid, pushing the heat index into the low 100s. Unlike the northern third of Illinois, the southern 2/3 are showing no signs of drought. The St Louis Metro East still has good soil moisture, but some rain in the next week would be welcome.
Peach Field Day in August
Eckert’s, at their Belleville Farm, will be hosting a field day on Wednesday, Aug. 20, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., focused on advances in peach production. Tour stops will include a SARE-supported project evaluating peaches grown on various rootstocks and trained to a planar/two-dimensional system for usefulness in commercial production; a small peach rootstocks block including MP-29, Controller 6, and Krymsk 86; and also, a look at the California style leader system. This program is free of charge, but online registration is requested by August 18 to give us an accurate head count for the included lunch. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this program, please contact Elizabeth Wahle at wahle@illinois.edu or 217-300-9541.
