Local Foods and Small Farms

Conditions in far southeastern Illinois have been similar to those around the St. Louis area as far as heat and high humidity levels. The sustained, elevated humidity along with temperatures in the mid to upper 90s have created conditions with heat index values ranging from 105 to 110 degrees...

While fertigation is a great way to give our crops an extra boost, we still have many crops grown that are not irrigated and could benefit from a midseason nutrient boost.  I am going to share the equipment I have put together to side dress nitrogen on pumpkins. It could also be adapted to...

Northern Illinois Orchards OpenApple season begins toward the end of August. Most orchards have announced their openings for the weekend of August 23rd, with almost all open by August 30th. This timing is driven largely by 'Zestar!', a...

This summer I observed something that I had not seen before. I am growing delicata squash in my backyard and I saw holes in one. I then observed a couple of other squashes with holes and frass (insect poop) coming out of the holes. I cut open the squashes and found both green and white caterpillars...

Important considerations:Check The Cucurbit Downy Mildew Forecast Homepage for development and spread of downy mildew. Spray your field when the disease is in locations near your field with chlorothalonil (i.e., Bravo Weather Stik...

WeatherJuly was wet, stormy and hot. End of story. But really, some farms received excessive amounts of rain all at once that left them with temporary flooding conditions that was then combined with days of heat. Between July 10-11, parts of northern Illinois received 3-5 inches of rain. Some...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration defines flooding as the flowing or overflowing of a field with water outside a grower’s control. This can result from an overflowing water body such as a river, lake, or a stream. Rainwater that pools in some parts of the field is not considered flooding. ...

This season has been hot and dry with scattered rainfall throughout the season for Northeastern Illinois. June average rainfall totals were approximately 3.80 inches, 0.50 inches below the 30-year average. July average rainfall totals have accumulated about 4.12 inches, 0.38 inches above the 30-...

No-till cover crop observationsPredator insects continue to thrive in the treatment tunnel (cover crops + cut flowers), including the many small spiders. The number of webs within all the tomato and pepper plants is impressive, especially as pest insects can be observed stuck in the webs. The white...

It never ceases to amaze me just how fast pumpkins grow at this point of the season.  For us moisture has been very good since the first week after transplanting.  These plants have been in the field right at a month.  Pumpkins are starting to vine out and I just put on a side dress...