We are seeing some unfortunate incidents of fire blight in our area, very much connected to the extended rainy spring we experienced. Fire Blight (Erwinia amylovora) is a devastating, yet common bacterial disease affecting an estimated 75 species of plants in the Rosaceae family. Most...
Recently people have been noticing large numbers of brown moths fluttering around flowering trees and resting on the sides of homes. These are newly emerged Armyworm Moths. According to Kelly Estes at the Illinois...
If you have recently seen a bright yellow or yellow-orange slimy blob after our recent stretch of rainy days, then you may have seen a slime mold. It is not unusual to see them in the summer after a period of heavy rainfall or in areas that are heavily irrigated. They commonly appear on wood-...
June is Men's Health Month. So, to the guys, this is all about you! According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 4 men die from heart disease. Food choices can help reduce the risk of heart disease and complications such as heart attack and stroke. One way to improve...
As we approach the end of April and the temperatures warm into the 70's, we get the "itch" to plant our gardens. But when is it safe to plant our warm-season vegetables and to move our tropical house plants outside? Our warm season vegetables like cucumbers and squashes need a soil temperature of...
Ever heard of an Ugli fruit or a tried a purple carrot? What about kohlrabi or jicama?
In the last six months, I have taught a couple programs titled "New and Unusual Foods." The design of the classes were different, but the central idea was this: let's try a new food.
Not that Unusual...
This winter, like many, has taken a toll on evergreens in our gardens and landscapes. Just driving down the highway or through a neighborhood, you can notice browning on evergreen shrubs and trees. So the question is, why does this happen?
Since evergreens retain their leaves throughout the winter...
To my knowledge, people generally do not purposefully go to the grocery store to purchase a potted plant from the floral department; or have it on their shopping list unless maybe at Easter. Frequently, it is a purchase made on the way to a friend or family members home as a gift to the host, or as...
With winter in retreat, the garlic in my garden is growing well after a rather rough winter. From the picture, you can see what looks like dead grass stems on either side on my garlic row. Well those are my spring oats that I planted at the end of August when I formed my garlic row beds. At the end...
Frozen fruits and veggies are some of my favorite convenience foods. I enjoy raspberries, but buying fresh means I get very few raspberries per dollar compared to what I can get frozen. I admit the frozen raspberries are not the plump fruit of fresh and fall apart, but that is okay with me since I...
