February 13, 2026 This afternoon senior staff for Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins called USApple to provide advance notice that they would be rolling out the Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers Program. This is the program that was first announced in early December, providing $11 billion to growers of major crops and $1 billion to growers…Read more about USDA Announces Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers Program[Read More]
Peter M Hirst
Facts for Fancy Fruit Editor & Professor of Horticulture
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
Area(s) of Interest: Commercial Tree Fruit Production
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
Area(s) of Interest: Commercial Tree Fruit Production
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Hertha Ann Meyer . Hertha died Wednesday, August 20, 2025 at her home with family by her side. Obituary notice below. Hertha Ann Meyer obituary
Making the decision on when to harvest can be a very tricky and complicated issue. The longer you intend to store the fruit, the more precise your timing needs to be. For summer apples, most growers only intend to store fruit until their higher quality fall apples come on stream, so storage times beyond a…Read more about Determining apple maturity[Read More]
Chandler’s Orchard and Country Market, located in Filmore, 30 miles west of Indianapolis, will host the Indiana Horticultural Society summer meeting on July 9. Chandler’s Orchard and Country Market, 2849 S Co Rd 825 E, Fillmore, Indiana 46128 During this one-day summer meeting, we will visit fruit production, vegetable production and get an overview of…Read more about Indiana Horticultural Society Summer Meeting[Read More]
Indiana Horticultural Society Summer Meeting July 9 Chandler’s Orchard and Country Market, 2849 S Co Rd 825 E, Fillmore, Indiana 46128 Chandler’s Orchard and Country Market, located in Filmore, 30 miles west of Indianapolis, will host the Indiana Horticultural Society summer meeting on July 9. The farm was founded by Jerry Chandler in 1975 and…Read more about Indiana Horticultural Society Summer Meeting[Read More]
I want to remind everyone that the summer meeting will be held Wednesday July 9 at Chandler’s Orchard and Country Market: https://www.chandlersorchard.com The orchard and market are located in Fillmore, IN, just a little west of Indianapolis All are welcome to join us for an orchard tour and discussion of all things fruit, from growing…Read more about Indiana Hort. Society summer meeting[Read More]
The window for chemical thinning is rapidly closing in many parts of the state. Carbaryl can be effective up to 20 mm fruit diameter. After this stage, options become limited and we’re in a “rescue thinning” approach. Below is some information from Penn State University on rescue thinning options: Rescue Thinning Options – 20mm and…Read more about Chemical thinning[Read More]
I’ve been plotting growing degree days for Lafayette for the last 15 years or so. This year we continue to track earlier than usual. This is a trend that seems to be continuing each year. See Figure 1. If you want to look at data more closely related to your location, the Indiana State Climate…Read more about Spring temperatures[Read More]
The summer field day of the Indiana Horticultural Society will be held July 9 at Chandler Orchard in Fillmore, IN just west of Indianapolis. More detail about the farm is on their website: https://www.chandlersorchard.com We’ll have more information on the field day later but for now put the date on your calendar and plan to…Read more about Indiana Hort Society Field Day[Read More]