Author: Justin Ballew

Happy 2024! We’re back and ready for another great year of growing fruit and veggies! We hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year. Don’t forget to look at our resources tab for...

This cool-season weed called swinecress (Coronopus didymus) was found coming up in a mustard field. As a seedling, swinecress grows in a rosette, as seen here. As it matures and begins to flower, it...

While picking out the ingredients for my Thanksgiving sweetpotato casserole, I found this sweetpotato full of holes. The holes are tell-tale signs of wireworm feeding. Wireworms are the...

Today’s update will be our final update of 2023. 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...

This is an armyworm egg mass on a tomato leaf, possibly from the beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua). The beet armyworm is a pest of vegetables across the Southern US. In warm weather, these eggs will...

Coastal Region Zack Snipes We finally got some rain to speak of over the holiday. The cooler weather and rain have really put the fall crops into gear. I have not seen or heard of many disease or...

From the SC Grower crew, we hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving later this week! Be sure to eat lots of fresh SC grown collard greens and sweetpotatoes! Coastal Region Zack Snipes We...

This is a corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea) boring into a tomato. This common caterpillar pest is known by other names, including tomato fruitworm, cotton bollworm, and soybean podworm. Corn earworms...

Midlands Region Rob Last The area’s soil has been dry, with no significant rainfall recorded since mid-October until this past weekend. Following last week’s freeze events, growth is recovering well...

Common vetch (Vicia sativa) is starting to show up in vegetable fields. Vetch is a cool-season weed that begins germinating in the fall and begins blooming in the winter, peaking in the spring....

Midlands Region Rob Last Following last week’s freeze event, I am seeing some freeze injuries, as can be expected for sensitive crops such as tomatoes. Further damage may become evident in the next...

Coastal Region Zack Snipes We are very dry in the Lowcountry and could really use a good rain to water strawberries in. There is no mention of rain in the 10-day forecast, unfortunately. We are...