Know How, Know More 2015

Have you wondered the aisles of your local garden center and had that same rush of adrenaline you get while looking through seed catalogs in the winter? Walking through a greenhouse in the spring is like going to the grocery store hungry – bring a list! If you are new to the vegetable gardening...

If you are a seasoned gardener or are just starting out with a new hobby, one way to glean numerous new ideas in a short time is by talking to other gardeners. You can share ideas, talk about lessons they have learned – the good & the bad, and ask some of those questions you've been wondering...

In the past ten days, the number of Avian Influenza infected flocks in the Midwest has increased dramatically. No Avian Influenza has been confirmed in Illinois, but it has been confirmed in the bordering states of Missouri, Iowa, and Wisconsin. This disease does not affect human health but can be...

As our gardens wind down the growing season, fall is the time to get our gardens ready for next spring. Have you ever considered planting a cover crop in your garden? Maybe you should, cover crops improve our garden soil in many ways. Cover crops add a blanket of green to our otherwise bare soil...

Recently I presented a program with a colleague about using edibles in the landscape. Eating out of your landscape can challenge your definition of "ornamental" versus "edible" plant. One of my favorite ways is to use plants traditionally relegated to the vegetable garden as members of the...

The weeds are beginning to sprout between the rows of my vegetables out in the garden, so I need to get busy weeding. First thing to remember when controlling weeds in the garden is that the younger and smaller they are, the easier they are to control. The second important thing to remember is a...

Not too long ago, the only winter squash that most people were familiar with were butternut, acorn, and spaghetti squash-- and of course Jack-O'Lantern pumpkins for Halloween. Today, a glance at even your average local grocery store or garden center is likely to reveal a wide variety of unfamiliar...