All this cooler weather especially at night is having an effect on all our plants in the landscape. The temperatures we have been having at night especially have caused changes in how the plants have switched from actively growing to getting ready for dormancy. The plants used as annuals or as...
All the rain and cooler weather has really started a change in the home landscape and vegetable garden.
The fall and cooler season vegetables really like this weather and have been growing well. Those warm season vegetables like tomatoes and peppers begin to shut down as night time temperatures...
Home lawns have come alive again as their fall pattern of increased growth has returned. Gardeners need to mow more frequently for the next few weeks to keep up and follow the 1/3 rule of not removing more than 1/3 of the grass blade at any one mowing. A sharp mower blade will also keep the lawn...
Gardeners would normally see damage from grubs or sod webworms this time of year. With our rainfall this summer, grub damage if they are even out there will be minimal. The winter weather took out a large percentage of the Japanese beetle grubs, so we have not seen that big population we have in...
Landscapes flower and vegetable beds sure needed some moisture; just getting it all at once is not ideal. Couple the high humidity, temperatures together, and we have great opportunities for disease outbreaks in the yard.
Some general precautions would be NOT to work in the beds at all while the...
We are lucky here in the Midwest to be able to enjoy spring and summer bulbs alike. We plant spring bulbs in the fall and summer bulbs in the spring. We let spring bulbs overwinter in our garden beds and dig up summer bulbs to overwinter indoors.
Our spring bulbs need a cold treatment to trigger...
Down the Garden Path
Richard Hentschel, Extension Educator
July has brought us a mild summer with a fair amount of rain. It was not until the end of July that our yards and gardens began to look more typical – drying ground with some cracking showing up as the soil did begin to dry. If you missed...
Down the Garden Path
Richard Hentschel, Extension Educator
Cucumbers, Squash, Zucchini, Pumpkins and Melons are all considered vine crops out there in the garden. Cucumbers are known for attracting cucumber beetles and a disease called cucumber wilt. Squash attract the squash bug and squash vine...
Down the Garden Path
Richard Hentschel, Extension Educator
Plants in the garden (and insects too) develop based on something called "Growing Degree Days" or GDD for short. This is an accumulation of heat units using a base of 50 degrees. For every degree above fifty goes towards the growing...
Down the Garden Path
Richard Hentschel, Extension Educator
In China it is the year of the snake, but here in the Midwest most gardeners will agree it seems to be the year of the weed. Weeds are everywhere and are not even slowing down as summer moves along.
Master Gardeners have been very busy...
