Author: Natalie Hoidal, UMN Extension educator, local foods and vegetable crops It's been a busy week of quickly planting as much as possible between rain events. Pretty much everyone is a week or two behind due to the cold spring, but the week ahead should bring warmer weather and better conditions for heat loving crops. Crop updates Cucurbits: Most growers don't have their cucumbers, melons, and pumpkins in the field yet, but the week ahead of planting is a great time to start thinking about cucumber beetle management. Managing this pest is complicated and requires a multi-faceted approach. One of those approaches is to use an attractive trap crop BEFORE you plant your main cucurbit crops; if you have some quiet time while you work this week, check out the Vegetable Beet podcast episode titled "Ugh Bugs! Organic Cucumber Beetle Management". Cucumber beetles tend to show up right when cucurbits germinate / enter the field. Photo: UMN Extension Sweet corn: Soil condi...
