We are finally starting to feel a little more fall like in the region. Up until the latter part of September we had maintained many days of temperatures in the mid-90s, but fortunately temperatures have started to drop, and the hot days are hopefully mostly behind us for this season. As we start October, we are mainly forecasted to have more days with highs in the 70s versus 90s. We are a little on the dry side and that gets worse as you head south from where I am. I recorded 3.42 inches of rain for the month of September, but totals decrease to the south.
Out in the field, apples are rolling in with varieties like Ambrosia, Evercrisp, Cameo, & Suncrisp. Pumpkin season is here and was off to a slower start in September mainly due to the heat, but the cooler weather of the last week has really peaked people’s interest in fall décor! Overall, the pumpkin crop has been fairly good. The main issues I have seen and heard is some growers having issues with limited fruit set mainly due to the heat in August and September and some bacterial spot from especially where they had heavy August rains. Varieties and farm conditions made this highly variable. On our farm, size and quality has been good. We haven’t had any bacterial spot issues, and the field was very clean of diseases up until mid-September and then the powdery mildew started to sneak in once harvest had started with the hot, humid weather. Some varieties are ok but there are a few that have been hit pretty hard by powdery mildew, but not to the point it is on the stems. Hopefully with cooler weather the powdery mildew will slow down.
Fall crops are doing fairly well. Some would appreciate some rain but overall are ok. My fall broccoli and cauliflower are just starting to set some small heads. Later plantings of summer vegetables still have markets full. Now is the time to get some cover crops out. We are running out of time this fall for winter killed species like radish and oats, but other winter grains, ryegrass, and clovers still have some time to be planted!