Michigan Vegetable Crop Report – June 11, 2025

By Benjamin Phillips and Benjamin Werling

Weather

Over the past week, most of the state saw weather that was 2-4 degrees Fahrenheit above-normal with variable rainfall. Degree day total are ahead for part of the Upper Peninsula, behind normal for the northern lower and very close to normal for the southern lower.

This week’s forecast calls for:

• A few isolated showers possible north early Wednesday. Mostly fair, windy and warm elsewhere. Scattered showers and thundershowers possible overnight Wednesday to the south spreading north on Thursday and continuing through Saturday. Mostly fair and dry Sunday and Monday with rain possible again Tuesday next week.
• High temperatures from the mid-70s to mid-80s Wednesday cooling to the 50s and 60s to the north to low 80s to the south Friday and Saturday. Temperatures will warm up to the 70s to low 80s Sunday into early next week. Lows from the mid-40s north to mid- and upper 50s south through this weekend.
• Medium range outlooks call for a progressive pattern with temperatures averaging out near to above normal with above normal rainfall.

Monday saw very spotty severe weather with some short-duration nickel sized hail.

On-farm soil moisture monitoring research opportunity

Michigan State University (MSU) researchers are looking for 10 farms to install soil moisture probes in up to two fields. Cooperators get access to real-time data for both monitoring stations for three growing seasons (fall 2025-fall 2028). Refer to the flier for more details.

Reach out to Alex Kuhl (kuhlalex@msu.edu) if you might be interested or have questions.

Crop updates

Asparagus

Picking continued in west central Michigan with growers hopeful upcoming rains and warmer weather will keep pickings going for a nice end to the season.

Shutdown is only a few weeks off, so it is a good time to scout asparagus fields to see what problem weeds are present. These may include problem perennials that are not well controlled by a standard glyphosate and 2,4-D burndown. Canada thistle is a prickly problem; clopyralid has good activity, quinclorac also has some activity. Field bindweed can be targeted with quinclorac. Resprouts of tree of heaven can be targeted with systemic herbicides. In non-crop systems-where land managers have experience combatting it-control often focuses on basal bark or hack and squirt applications in summer or fall.