Local Foods and Small Farms Blogs

I am sharing some observational results from 5 lettuce varieties I grew this spring.  Five lettuce varieties were set out as transplants 2/28/2025 at my home near Waterloo, IL.  Since I don’t have a high tunnel but I wanted to afford some protection for the plants, they were covered with...

As of early April, most apple cultivars in northern Illinois had progressed past silver tip and were in early green tip, with some variability depending on the orchard and cultivar. By mid-April (week of April 15), certain varieties such as ‘Ida Red’ had advanced to the half-inch green stage....

Chemical thinning is a crucial step in successful apple production that could be done in May to June, helping to manage fruit load, improve fruit size, and ensure consistent annual yields, especially on cultivars with biennial bearing tendencies. With several options available, selecting the right...

James Santiago is the latest addition to the faculty roster of the Crop Science Department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. James earned his Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture (bitter gourd tissue culture) at the University of the Philippines, a Master’s degree in Horticulture (lowbush...

Fresh ginger rhizome (see photo) CAN be grown in Illinois, and it can fetch $20-25 per pound, retail, but is a challenging crop to grow. The best practices of ginger crop production in temperate latitudes such as Illinois are not fully understood.In spring of 2024, Extension's Illinois Specialty...

Overall, the last month has featured typical spring conditions in Central Illinois, with moderate temperatures and average precipitation. However, there were multiple severe weather events on April 2 and April 20 in the area during this period, including one confirmed tornado in Tazewell County,...

Since the last newsletter, several cold fronts have come through the region; not enough to take the fruit crop, but enough to slow development and do some damage to blackberry canes in the northern part of the region. Several reported hail damage to buildings and fruit trees after severe weather,...

A growing concern observed last year was the lack of lateral branches—or “feathers”—on young apple trees, especially in high-density training systems like tall spindle. This can lead to "blind wood"—sections of trunk without productive branches—which can limit yield and canopy development.One...

Illinois state climatologist, Trent Ford, shared this updated freeze risk alert for next week. After a warm March and first week of April, unseasonably cold air is going to move into the Midwest and bring a risk of widespread freeze across Illinois. The updated forecasts from the GFS (American) and...

It is starting to feel like spring.  Our area has actually been very dry for March until this past weekend when we got 1.23” of rain Saturday morning.  Prior to that the soil was exceptionally dry, having missed multiple other storm systems. Other than 0.35” of rainfall on March 5,...