Fruit and Vegetable Weekly Crop Update Oct 7

Oct 08, 2013

Growing degree days since April 1: 3579 GDD (Average (11 year): 3476 at Springfield (From the Illinois State Water Survey Degree-Day Calculator)

4 inch soil temp: 55.3° F at Springfield (10 am 4-inch Soil Temperature Under Bare Soil; From the Illinois State Water Survey Illinois Climate Network)

Reminders on Season Extension. Extended-season vegetable production is increasingly becoming commonplace on several farms I work with. In discussing season extension, I typically receive common questions from new growers regarding the approach. A common issue to note is problems with crops bolting (flowering) during high temperatures early in the fall growing season, producing unmarketable crops. Most of these crops can be topped, and marketable harvests occur from regrowth. This takes time though. It is important to pay particular attention to temperature management in fall crops. One can easily have a false sense of security that temperatures cannot become extreme as we begin to feel the chill in the air of typical fall weather. Nothing can be further from the truth. While raising the minimum temperature is important, keeping the maximum temperature from exceeding an optimum for crop growth is equally important. On sunny days, even if outdoor temperatures are in the 50s F, air temperatures in high tunnels or other structures (cold frames) can quickly rise into the 90's unless ventilation is provided. As the table below illustrates (University of Minnesota data), season extension structures are very good at facilitating an increase in growing degree day accumulation for fall production of crops (83 GDD outside vs. 207 GDD inside), but it does require that we manage the system appropriately during the entire Fall/Winter season. A recent Extension webinar entitled "Growing Vegetables Year-Round" can be viewed here. (Dr. Kyle Cecil, University of Illinois Extension)

2014 Small Farms Winter Webinar Series. Register early. The highly popular small farm winter webinar series will again bring a wide range of speakers and topics on small farm production of fruits, vegetables and livestock.

Source: University of Illinois at Urbanac