The rain of last week was certainly welcome. Amounts varied but all was welcome. Lawns had begun to go dormant and many other plants were just hanging in there coping with the stress. All the rain we had during the summer weakened root systems and these plants just can't handle much stress. You may...
As I sit here and write this article I wonder where the summer went and where 2015 is disappearing too. It's now September and even though the temperatures in the first week have been in the 90s, September means cooler weather making it easier and more desirable to spend time in the garden. I know...
Fall is a perfect time for gardening. And considering how the spring weather treated us I think we can be assured that fall has to be much better. The variety of crops is limited for fall planting, simply due to the length of the remaining season. And also due to the fact that unlike spring...
August 15-21 there will be several restaurants in Quincy that will feature at least one course that consists of locally grown product. Termed "Locavore" Restaurant Week, Bittersweet Confections, BoodaLu Steakhouse, The Maine Course, Thyme Square Café and 2thirty4 have all agreed to participate in...
The constant rains and saturated soils have been causing havoc for many growers. Trying to plant, harvest, control weeds and diseases and just about anything related to plant production has been almost impossible. According to my records, 16 of 31 days in May I recorded precipitation, 16 of 30 days...
Monday night saw a large storm with extremely damaging winds blow through parts of the counties that I work in. The damage to trees was unbelievable, I saw pictures on Facebook and local media websites – trees ripped up from the ground, trees snapped in half, trees fallen on homes and vehicles,...
All this wet weather is causing issues with many plants, especially the annuals. Root systems aren't able to function in anaerobic soils which cause a variety of issues, including poor growth and reduced nutrient uptake. Leaf diseases have never been higher. Nearly all leaf diseases require...
All this wet weather is creating havoc on area gardens. Plants aren't growing or are barely hanging on and the disease situation is escalating. Many people I've spoken to have complained about their tomato plants, and how they're dying from the bottom up. This is caused by two fungal diseases:...
Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has recently been in the local news again. The City of Quincy began having city ash trees treated earlier this month and a comment was made by the applicator that they believed that EAB was already in Quincy. Since that time, I have been in contact with the Illinois...
I received an email the other day asking about Squash Vine Borer. The individual that contacted me informed me that they had already seen one out and felt that it was early as his squash were just beginning to vine out. Usually squash vine borer is more commonly seen in late June through beginning...
