University of Illinois Extension

Events (2)

A Taste of the Food Forest: Black Currants

6 PM - 7 PM

Thu, 08/19/2021 - 12:00

Refuge Food Forest (701 E Lincoln Street, Normal, IL)

Be Ready for Blueberries

2 - 3 PM CST

Thu, 08/19/2021 - 12:00

Online

handful of blueberries

Blog Posts (36)

Keep hydrated with melon this summer

A slice of a watermelon on a paper towel with a pink background

Just peachy!

peaches next to the words peach recipes and preservation

Make the most of berry season

Text says "make the most of berry season" with a picture of a dozen blackberries in the background.

Get your fruits and vegetables in by sampling the seasons

Text says "Get your fruits and vegetables in by sampling the seasons" and image is of carrots.

Don’t lose your crabapple and apple foliage

apple blossoms

CSA: What is it, and why should I care?

Black currant: growing favor for a blast of flavor.

black currants

Growing strawberries and blueberries

blueberries on the bush

Winter pruning boosts blackberry and raspberry harvests

Photo credit Kelly Allsup. Gardeners prune brambles in late winter to help the plants produce more fruit in the growing season

Do you know when to plant in Illinois?

Seedlings growing in paper eggshell cartons

Ordering seeds from garden catalogs

Evergreen leaves live longer lives - October, 2020

Bringing Container Plants in for the Winter - September, 2020

Spotted Wing Drosophila

Pawpaw

Making Maple Syrup

Bring home the starfruit

A wicker basket on a table filled with a dozen starfruit.

Reaping the Apple Harvest

Elderberry

Sweeten up with kiwifruit

Various pieces of food creating a bunny face (pretzel sticks for whiskers, kiwi slices for ears) on a white plate.

Controlling Spotted-Wing Drosophila

Summer is prime time for growing sweet strawberries

Ripe and Unripe Strawberry Closeup. Photo Credit: Enoch Lau, Wikicommons

Expected and unexpected spring pruning

Try pineberry: A delicious pineapple-flavored strawberry

Everbearing pineberrries are unique white berries with red seeds. Photo source: Emmbean, Wikimedia Commons.

Fruit Trees and Winter Injury

Apple trees in our area are in full bloom this week. Unlike peach trees which suffered cold damage, many apple trees in central Illinois seem to have endured.

Sub-Freezing Spring Temperatures and Crops

How cold is too cold for my crop?

How to Plant a Fruit Tree

Planting a fruit tree requires digging a hole the size of the roots.

History of the Blueberry

The blueberry, commonly known as one of our “superfoods”, was not grown in cultivation until 1912 due a previous lack of understanding about their very specific soil requirements.

Landscaping with Blueberries

Blueberries offer attractive fall color as well as beauty in all other seasons.

Creating an Edible Landscape

Scarlet runner beans growing on a fence

Persistent Persimmons

persimmons

The Wisdom of Elderberries

elderberry

New Garden Plants for 2020

pictures of the 2020 AAS Winners Cucumber Green Light F1, Pumpkin Blue Prince F1, Tomato Apple Yellow F1, Tomato Celano F1, Tomato Early Resilience F1 Watermelon Mambo F1, Coleus Main Street Beale Street, Echinacea Sombrero® Baja Burgundy, and Rudbeckia x American Gold Rush

Incredible Cranberries

Cranberries

picture of cranberry plants and ripe cranberry fruit

Spring Sweetness: Strawberrries

News Releases (19)

Illinois Extension to Offer Get Growing Webinar Series

Small-space containers big with new gardeners

Southern Illinois growers rely on Extension's sound production advice

Stateline Fruit & Vegetable Conference: Pumpkin Varieties & Hard Cider Production

2021 Fruit & Vegetable VIRTUAL Conference

Fruits on Friday

Become a U of I Extension Master Gardener

Winter pruning boosts blackberry and raspberry harvests

Preventing fruit tree diseases starts in the dormant season

Use winter to plan for a fruit garden

Get Growing webinar series announced for growing vegetables and fruit

Over 50 Fruit and Vegetable Growers Attend University of Illinois Extension’s Stateline Fruit and Vegetable Conference

All About Berries Series in Christian County

Raspberry: The Herb of the Year Homeowners Learn All About Growing Raspberries at Information-Packed Workshop

Conferences Set for Fruit and Vegetable Growers Feb. 4 & 5

Pruning Apples and More Workshop - Macoupin County

Pruning Apples and More Workshop - Montgomery County

Put Peaches on the Grocery List this Summer

Requirements for Exempt Farms Under FSMA Produce Rule

Staff (3)

Richard Hentschel

Richard Hentschel

Horticulture Educator

Andrew Holsinger

Andrew Holsinger

Horticulture Educator

Ken Johnson Staff Photo

Ken Johnson

Horticulture Educator