Last Year's Fires and Floods Remind Us We Need to Plan For Our Business to Survive
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, only 40 percent of small businesses reopen after a disaster and another 25 percent that reopen, fail after one year. Preparing your business for a disaster can help save lives, merchandise, money, and your livelihood. The new year is an...

Soil and Water Management Seminar offers Continuing Education
Soil and water interactions will be the focus of a Soil and Water Management Webinar sponsored by University of Illinois Extension on February 20, 2020. The workshop will be held at the Clark County Extension Office in Marshall, Illinois. Presentations will be delivered via PowerPoint and web...

December 2019 Master Gardener Column
By Jan Phipps In the past, horticulture specialists recommended clearing your annual and perennial gardens of all debris in late fall after the first freeze when everything above ground was dead. No longer. Now we better understand the importance of leaving that debris for overwintering...

November Master Gardener Column
Master Gardener Column  November 2019  By Jan Phipps     “One year’s seeding – seven years weeding”. Now there is a depressing thought. It is one of the many gardening adages; this one referring to weed seeds. Actually, seven years is very...

Edgar County Hosts Conservation Day for Area Fifth Graders
The Edgar County 4-H Fairgrounds was recently host to nearly 200 fifth graders from Paris, Kansas, and Shiloh schools. Sponsored by University of Illinois Extension, Edgar County Farm Bureau, and Farm Credit Services, Conservation Day 2019 aimed to increase awareness of the earth’s natural...

October Master Gardener Column
By Jan Phipps      Get ready for the new invasion from Asia – jumping worms a.k.a. crazy worms, Alabama jumpers, or snake worms. I recently read an article by Cindy Dampier in the Chicago Tribune explaining the problem. Once you see them you will know why they...

4-H ROBOTICS SPIN CLUB TO FORM IN PARIS
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September Master Gardener Column
This summer I’ve received a few inquiries about an annual I grow, so I decided to write about a few common, yet uncommon plants. They are common in the sense one can easily find them as seeds or transplants, but uncommon in that few people grow them. The first, an annual and the source...

Crawford County Woman Inducted into 4-H Hall of Fame
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Edgar County Man Inducted into 4-H Hall of Fame
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August Master Gardener Column
By Jan Phipps                  With the liberal amount of spring and early summer rains, I’ve drawn a few conclusions about gardening and water. The main insight is I haven’t been watering enough. This...

Illinois Master Gardener Program Accepting Applicants for Fall Online Training
  University of Illinois Master Gardener Program in ­­­­­­Clark, Crawford and Edgar Counties Accepting Applicants for Fall Online Training For the University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener program, the last four decades can be measured by the millions of volunteer...

ILLINOIS EXTENSION MASTER NATURALISTS PROVIDE PROGRAM ON GOING NATIVE
Edgar County Master Naturalists Nancy Hansel, Liz Gough, Tammy Hess and Sara McCrocklin will present, "Going Native – Making a Difference" on Sunday, July 28 at 2:00 p.m. at the Edgar County Historical Society Annex Building at 414 N. Main Street in Paris. They will feature their...

July Master Gardener Column
By Jan Phipps   To be a good gardener, it helps to understand a little about soil, especially if you consistently have problems growing plants in the ground. About half of soil by volume is composed of partially decomposed rock material called mineral matter,...