Good Growing

Latest Posts

How to grow garlic

September 17, 2019

Want to get a head start on planting your vegetable garden for next year? Then garlic is the plant for you! Garlic (Allium sativum) has been grown for thousands of years as food and for medicinal purposes. It has a long growing season, which may seem daunting. Fortunately, it is relatively...

Finish this story

Enjoying the final hurrahs of a staple landscape tree

September 10, 2019

We bought a home! After six years of living in a townhouse on the edge of Macomb, we have started to burst at the seams. In that time, we have accumulated quite a few occupants in our current dwelling. Now with three kids, one dog, a cat, and a couple of Madagascar hissing cockroaches, it was time...

Finish this story

fall webworm webbing on tree branch with caterpillars inside

Fall Webworms

September 3, 2019

There are many ways we mark the end of summer. Some refer to the beginning of school or the closing of the pool, while others view Labor Day as the ‘unofficial end of summer’. Another way, if you’re more entomologically inclined, is the appearance of fall webworm. Fall webworm (Hyphantria...

Finish this story

The Importance of Biodiversity and Instilling a Land Ethic in the Next Generation

August 29, 2019

Last year I wrote an article on silphiums. Silphiums are a grouping of wildflowers native to the tallgrass prairie of the Midwest, with stalks of yellow flowers that you see standing tall over all other plants, often in a ditch or reconstructed prairie. This time of year, late summer, is a good...

Finish this story

Black and yellow syrphid flies feeding on rose

Syrphid Flies: Annoying but Helpful Impostors

August 20, 2019

Is it a bee? Is it a wasp? No, it’s a syrphid fly, and they are rather abundant this year. We’ve had several questions come into our offices about them. While at a cookout with my family this weekend, we got to experience dozens of them flying around and occasionally landing on us. Syrphid...

Finish this story

Compost Tea- Miracle Product or Snake Oil?

August 14, 2019

I love compost. If you have ever sat in one of my classes, you will know that 1) Soil tests can be so important, 2) Always read and follow your pesticides labels (and are those poisons really necessary?), and 3) I love compost! Compost is derived from once-living organisms, think weeds or...

Finish this story

Planting a Fall Vegetable Garden

August 6, 2019

Planting a vegetable garden doesn’t just have to occur in the spring. Many of the vegetables that we grow in the spring can be also planted in late summer or early fall. By the time summer rolls around many of our cool season plants that were planted in the spring are past their prime. They become...

Finish this story

Dog Gone Lawn

August 2, 2019

It never fails. Every time I present a topic on lawns this question arises, “How do you prevent lawn damage if you have dogs?” Turns out, I really enjoy this question! Being a dog owner to two yellow labs for almost nine years, I have had my fair share of ragged lawns and muddy paw prints. Let’s...

Finish this story

Blossom End Rot

July 23, 2019

Blossom end rot is the scourge of many tomato growers. In addition to tomatoes, it can also be found in peppers, eggplant as well as squash and watermelons. When it comes to tomatoes, it is most commonly seen on larger fruited varieties, with long-fruited varieties (Roma type) being more...

Finish this story

Pathogen That Causes Sudden Oak Death Confirmed in Macomb, Illinois

July 16, 2019

Emerald ash borer, Japanese beetles, bush honeysuckle, purple loosestrife, chestnut blight. These listed items are all types of invasive species, which have dramatically altered our landscape. An invasive species can be a non-native insect, plant, disease, or animal that causes environmental damage...

Finish this story