Watermelons
Planting Watermelons (Citrullus lanatus) are warm-season crops that grow best at average air temperatures between 70 and 85 °F. Melon seeds do not germinate well in cold soil. The soil temperature...
Author: Justin Ballew
SC Fruit and Vegetable Field Report – January 30, 2023
Statewide Tom Bilbo reports, “When spider mites first invade and establish in fields, they will be distributed in a series of clustered hot spots, usually near field borders, especially near a dusty...
What Is It? Wednesday – Discolored Cauliflower
What Caused Parts of This Cauliflower Head to Purple? This cauliflower has some purpling/reddening caused by exposure to sunlight. It is important to have enough healthy leaves on the plant to cover...
Pepper
Planting Peppers (Capsicum annuum) are warm-season plants that grow best at temperatures of 70 to 85 °F during the day and 60 to 70 °F during the night. Peppers generally require a long growing...
Eggplant
Planting Eggplant (Solanum melongena) is a warm-season vegetable that grows best when temperatures are between 70 to 85 °F. It generally has a long growing season and grows slowly during cool...
Collards
Planting Collards (Brassica oleracea) can be grown most of the year in South Carolina, though early spring or fall production is generally preferred. Mature plants will withstand frosts and light to...
SC Fruit and Vegetable Field Report- January 17, 2023
The Weekly Field Updates are back for 2023! We hope everyone had a great holiday season and is off to a good start this year. We have lots of fruit and vegetable meetings over the next couple of...
What Is It? Wednesday – Cudweed
This is a species of cudweed (Gnaphalium sp.). Cudweed grows in a rosette form through most of the winter until the weather warms up, allowing it to produce inflorescence. Inflorescence may appear...
SC Fruit and Vegetable Field Report – November 28, 2022
Today’s update will be our final update of 2022. With things slowing down in the field, we will take some time to focus on other projects, and the Weekly Field Updates will resume in January. We...
SC Fruit and Vegetable Field Report – November 21, 2022
The effect of row covers on spider mite pest problems is not entirely clear. Studies in NC found that row covers did not influence spider mites during cold winters and when transplants were NOT...
What is It? Wednesday – Florida Predatory Stink Bug
This is a Florida predatory stink bug (Euthyrhynchus floridanus) feeding on a species of plant-feeding stink bug. The photo shows the predator’s piercing/sucking mouthparts inserted into its prey....
SC Fruit and Vegetable Field Report – November 14, 2022
Coastal Region Zack Snipes reports, “We missed a lot of rain and wind from the hurricane that came through. The rain was much needed. We got pretty chilly last night, which will really help all of...