Good Growing

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Starting a Garden: Supplemental Lighting for Indoor Seed Starting

March 25, 2020

Perhaps my least favorite part of winter is waking up to darkness in the morning. Even worse while being at home during the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order, it has been cloudy for nearly a week! This morning, as I led my half-asleep 6-year-old down the steps into the living room, we were greeted...

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Starting a Garden: Begin with a Plan

March 24, 2020

Starting a Garden: Begin with a PlanThe key to a successful and productive garden is a plan; it saves time and makes the garden easier to care for. By starting with a plan, you will be ready to get to work once planting time is here. So let’s get started!Site SelectionLocation, location, location...

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blazing star seedlings under grow lights

Starting a Garden: Seed Starting

March 23, 2020

Spring is finally here! March 19, 2020 is the earliest first day of spring it's been in 124 years. Many of us are finding ourselves spending more time at home and looking forward to ...

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Remember the Feeling of Spring

March 18, 2020

A Light Exists in Spring by Emily Dickinson A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period- When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad On Solitary Fields That Science cannot overtake But Human Nature feels In rural Illinois there...

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Peach Leaf Curl

March 11, 2020

Have you ever noticed the leaves of your peach tree becoming curled and puckered and turning reddish or purplish? If you’ve seen this, you’ve likely had peach leaf curl. Peach leaf curl is a fungal disease caused by Taphrina deformans. It is one of the most commonly encountered diseases...

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Frost Seeding Pastures and Hay Fields

March 6, 2020

Our recent cycles of warm weather and snow have been somewhat of a nuisance; however, for those of you with a thin stand of vegetation in your pasture or hay field, this weather may be a great aid in frost seeding these areas. Introduction to Frost Seeding As the name suggests,...

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The Reality of Growing Plants for a Living

March 5, 2020

Do you think at some point as children our imagination changes from imaginary friends, action figures, tea parties, and dolls to speculative market planning? How dull the adult imagination can be. However, if there is one thing about winter, it puts my imagination into overdrive. I create these...

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Creating an Edible Landscape

February 20, 2020

When we think of the typical home landscape, our garden areas are usually separated by the type of plant being grown. We have a separate bed for flowers and ornamental plants, one for vegetables and one for herbs. Often the vegetable and herb gardens are tucked away in the backyard and out of view...

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Landscape Drainage for Homeowners

February 12, 2020

Are you stricken with pools of water in your yard and you don’t own a pool? Instead of water moving away from your house, does it run into the basement? Are you constantly battling eroded hillsides? If you fight these common water maladies, then very likely there is a stormwater drainage...

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branches from cherry tree blooming indoors

Bringing Spring Indoors - Forcing Branches

February 6, 2020

The weather this year has been a bit of a roller coaster. One day it feels like spring, and the next, we are reminded that we’re still in the middle of winter. Despite some of the warmer temperatures we’ve had this year, we still have a way to go before the warm weather sticks around for the long...

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