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Periodical cicadas are here...now what? Adult periodical cicadas resting on a hazelnut bush

Periodical cicadas are here…now what?

The long wait is finally over! After spending 13 (or 17, depending on where you’re at) years underground feeding from roots, periodical cicadas have started to emerge (at least in central and southern Illinois). Soon, many places will be awash in cicadas. While this mass emergence may seem overwhelming or disgusting to some, it is important to remember that periodical cicadas are not...
Recent Blog Articles

Photo of the Week - March 13, 2017

Hooray! Winter has returned. While sane people stayed inside, horticulture educators like myself headed outside to take pictures. Many homeowners and gardeners may be feeling a panic rising in their chest seeing their emerging plants and spring blooming bulbs covered in snow. Oddly, I find it a...
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Not Your Average Stones: Nutrition & Kidney Stones

Waking up on a beautiful March day, you stretch, get out of bed, and start making your bed, when suddenly you feel a dull pain in your lower back. You simply shrug off the pain, associating it with the wrong sleeping position. The lower back pain becomes progressively sharper; eventually leading to...
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Pruning Fruit Trees

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Now is the best time to prune many of your trees and shrubs, including fruit trees. Pruning of fruit trees is done to improve fruit quality, develop a strong plant, facilitate harvest, and control the size/shape of the plant....
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“A Day in the Garden Patch” is always a day well spent!

A Day in the Garden Patch is always a day well spent! PONTIAC, Ill. – Join University of Illinois Extension – Livingston County Master Gardeners on Saturday, April 8 for a morning filled with colorful plants and new gardening insights at an event we like to call "A Day in the Garden Patch."...
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What to do with Spinach?

Spinach isn't just for Popeye; it's for all boys and girls, men and women, who want to be healthy and enjoy a good green! However, if you think it's packed full of iron and will make your muscles big, you may have been misled. History has it that a German chemist misplaced a decimal point and...
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Gardeners' BIG Day is April 29, 2017

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Once again, University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners and their partners have rounded up a top-notch Gardeners' BIG Day. The 18th annual event will be Saturday, April 29, 2017, from 8:00-3:00 at Dickson Mounds Museum....
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Big and Historic Trees

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Big trees seem to fascinate and almost mesmerize us. They bring wonderment as we surmise how old it is and what it has "seen" through its life. Here are some of my favorites. No words can describe what I felt when I saw my first...
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Let's Hear it for Potatoes!

March is National Nutrition Month and what better way to celebrate than by debunking the great potato myth! In honor of all the Irish, or those who wish they were, we will talk about the lowly, much maligned potato. Myth #1: potatoes are fattening. In fact, potatoes are delicious and nutritious!...
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We Have Blogs on Many Different Topics

Personal Finances

Illinois Extension can guide your family through all of life's stages.
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Great retirements don't happen by accident. Tips for saving and investing your money.

Plan Well. Retire Well.

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Money talk by college students, for college students.

Be Centsible

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Develop and maintain thoughtful and effective financial behaviors using these trusted methods.

Fearless Financial Future

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Find the financial balance that fits your personal budget and financial planning goals.

Finding Financial Balance

Family

In today's hectic lives, families find themselves raising children, caring for elders, and working.
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Read these timely resources for wellness across the lifespan.

Family Files

Health

Living well means taking time for ourselves so we can be healthy for others who need us. 
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Take steps to living a healthier life.

To Your Health

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Genuine, sustained self-care is an art.

Refill Your Cup with Self-Care

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A journey of wellness dedicated to awareness and the power of knowledge to help you on your health and wellness journey.

Walking the Line to Wellness

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Empowering people to make healthy, respectful and responsible choices.

Community Health: Empowering People

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Working together to address social and structural health inequities

Health Insights Illinois

Nutrition and Wellness

Eating healthy shouldn't be this hard.
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Healthy information for better living

Live Well. Eat Well.

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Nutrition information you can use.

Be Smart, Eat Well, Get Healthy

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Highlighting food, recipes, and ideas for a healthy lifestyle.

Healthy Eats and Repeat

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Helpful tips to make meals easy, healthy and tasty!

Simply Nutritious, Quick and Delicious

Community and Economic Development

Illinois Extension helps communities develop strategies to thrive.
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Strategies for strengthening local economies.

Building Entrepreneurial Communities

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Participants in Illinois Extension Illini Science Scholars Program share their experiences in this unique opportunity. 

Scholars Speak

Natural Resources

We have one planet. Let's work together to ensure its future and ours.
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Dig deep into the types of grasses and their uses in our world.

Grasses at a Glance

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Read the latest news in natural resources.

Naturalist News

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The Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy guides efforts to improve water quality at home and downstream.

Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy

tornado

Weather impacts food production, transportation, homes, and lives.

All About Weather

Horticulture

From the flowers you enjoy to the produce you eat to the plants that add value to our life, we offer help for growing strong.
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Keeping you (and your garden) growing with good ideas.

Good Growing

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Gardening in Illinois including everything from vegetable gardening to native plants.

The Garden Scoop

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Where northern Illinois gardeners come to find out what's happening out in the yard.

Over the Garden Fence

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Local and statewide information on a variety of current topics for home gardeners and market growers.

Flowers, Fruits, and Frass

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Helping new and experienced gardeners develop their skills and knowledge while encouraging everyone to enjoy the outdoors.

Illinois River Horticulture

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Archive of the most popular blog articles from Illinois Extension

Our Greatest Horticulture Hit Blogs

Local Food Systems and Specialty Crops

Growers are diverse, from urban agriculture and beginning small farmers to farmers markets and organic agriculture.
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Learn new resources for urban growers.

Local Foods | Local Farms | Local People

strawberries

The "Jungle" refers to Elizabeth Wahle's personal St. Louis Metro East garden and it provides the backdrop for her writings about building and sustaining viable food webs and ecosystems within the home landscape.

Welcome to My Jungle

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A blog for growers, consumers, and backyard gardeners to grow, eat, and connect in the local food system.

Raise, Grow, Harvest, Eat, Repeat

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Connecting you with your food, farmers and community.

Know How. Know More. Connecting Food, Farmers, and Community

carrots in the ground

Ramping up local food production in the second-most populous county in the US.

Cultivate Cook County

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Conditions can change quickly. As a commercial fruit and vegetable grower, get the latest information as it is available.

Commercial Fruit and Vegetable Growers

 

Agriculture

angus bull

The cattlemen's connection to timely topics, current research, and profitable management strategies.

The Cattle Connection

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Whether you're a farmer or landowner, trust the advice from Extension's farm coach.

Farm Coach

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Emerging news and best practices for pesticide use and testing.

Pesticide News

corn

All issues concerning Small Farms, Agriculture, Local Food Systems, and the Natural Resources.

Acres of Knowledge

crops

Current topics about crop production in Western Illinois, including field crops research at the NWIARDC in Monmouth.

Hill and Furrow

Youth Development

We're the friend you've been looking for.
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4-H’s learning opportunities are intentionally designed around four essential concepts necessary for positive youth development: a sense of belonging with a positive group, independence and self-determination, a spirit of generosity toward others, and a wide variety of opportunities to master life challenges.

Our Stories from Illinois 4-H

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Timely information, activities, and resources to help you stay connected to loved ones, the world around you, and yourself.

Connection Corner: Activities for Families