Southwest Michigan vegetable update
Tunnel-grown yellow squash, zucchini and cucumbers are at early bloom, so producers need to remove tunnels allowing bees easy access for pollination. Direct seeding of these crops continues, as does watermelon transplanting.
East Michigan vegetable update
Zucchini, summer squash, beans and tomatoes are coming out of hoop houses now.
Pickling cucumbers have been going in. Acres are down because of end-users not consuming as much food-service packaged pickles during the pandemic
West central Michigan vegetable update
Cucurbit growers have been asking Dan Brainard, MSU Extension vegetable production systems specialist, about planting organic cucurbits into no- or strip-till situations with roller-crimped rye.
Southeast Michigan vegetable update
Direct seeded cucumbers have germinated and have one to two true leaves. Striped cucumber beetles are active and feeding, the threshold in cucumbers is one beetle per plant because their ability to transmit bacterial wilt.
Pumpkins and winter squash are almost done being planted. Note that cucumbers beetles are out.
