University of Illinois Extension

Events (1)

Virtual 2021 Gardenfest

7:30 AM - 4:00 PM

Sat, 04/10/2021 - 12:00

8900 U.S. Highway 14, Crystal Lake, IL

Garden Fest

Blog Posts (82)

Garlic goes in the ground now for a savory summer

garlic harvest. photo by Bill Davison.

Ornamental Brassicas

Strategic Garden Plantings

2019 Gardening Goals

Home Composting

American Ginseng

Garlic Planting

Cabbageworms

Wild Ramps

Vegetable Gardening in the Midwest

Planting Potatoes

Thyme

High Tunnels

The History of Squash

Cover Crops

Plant Your Fall Garden Now!

French intensive gardens root well in Central Illinois

full season french intensive garden

Cover Crops for Home Gardening

This bumble bee dangles from a flower of crimson clover, which is an attractive and valuable soil-building cover crop that can be easily hand-seeded into vegetable garden beds.

Landscaping Fiction: Don't believe it

tomado demonstrating blossom end rot

Growing and Harvesting Okra

The okra plant produces cream colored flowers. Once pollinated, these will produce the okra pods to harvest and cook.

Hornworm caterpillars on tomatoes

a large tobacco hornworm feeding on a tomato leaf

Tomato Care

Tomatoes are one of the most planted garden crops in the US, with several common problems here in central Illinois that can be managed through fairly simple cultural practices.

It's Time to Plant a Fall Garden

Bag of potting soil with planer next to it

Start your fall garden

cool season crops

Garden in a bucket

basil and pepper sharing a five gallon bucket

Sow seeds for comfortable fall gardening

kohlrabi fall season garden delight

Tomato Origins

Domestication of the tomato was long believed to have happened from plants with cherry-sized fruits, but recent genetic research indicates otherwise.

Vegetable garden tips for after a rain

Harvesting garden vegetables

close up of a person holding freshly harvested onions

Hot weather in the vegetable garden

Handling your fresh-picked produce

Freshly harvested cucumbers, eggplant, beans, potatoes, pumpkins, squash, beets, & turnips.

Watering tips for hot weather

Top 5 early summer topics for gardeners

Garlic: So easy even I can grow it!

Growing Garlic

Tropical Tuber Thrives in Illinois Heat

sweet potato held in black containers

Garden Journal: A helpful gardening tool

Garden journal info graphic

Growing tender and warm-loving vegetables

How to Grow Sweet Corn

Sweet corn

Plan for Summer's Tomato Harvest Now

tomato trellised on straw bale garden

How to Grow Peppers

green, yellow, and red habanero peppers

The New Victory Garden

Tomato and Basil plants growing in a homemade container. Be sure to allow for drainage from any container.

Read and heed the seed packet

Trouble(s) with Cucurbits

squash bug nymphs feeding on pumpkin vines

Welcome to My Jungle - May, 2020

The Many Different Types of Cucurbits

The Many Different Types of Cucurbits

How to Grow Cucurbits

bright yellow flower

Trouble(s) with Tomatoes

a green tobacco hornworm on a tomato stem

Different Types of Tomatoes

different types, sizes, and colors of tomatoes

New Vegetable Garden Maintenance – Weed and Watering

New Vegetable Garden Maintenance

How to Grow Tomatoes

How to Grow Tomatoes

Planting the first-time vegetable garden

Even Gardeners Have Their First Days

LEGO art in the garden. Photo by Kelly Allsup.

How to Grow Lettuce

three lettuce varieties

How to Grow Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potato harvest

How to Grow Carrots

orange, white, purple, red, and orange circles arranged in a circle. Carrots still have leaves attached.

Selecting Plants for the Vegetable Garden

Beets are a cool-season vegetable that can be direct seeded into the garden now.

Starting a Garden: Irrigation

Sprinkler head

Starting a Garden: Fertilization

corn seedlings with fertilizer

Advantages of early vegetable gardening and other spring notes

Starting a Garden: Season Extension

Cold frame with vegetables growing inside in the fall.

Starting a Garden: Hardening Off Indoor Seedlings

basil seedlings in seedling flat

Starting a New Vegetable Garden

Starting a New Vegetable Garden

A Beginners Guide To Worm Composting

Fruit and vegetable scraps for composting

Starting a Garden: Weed Management

Weed free tomatoes

Starting Seeds in Spring

kohlrabi at Garden of Giving

Starting a Garden: Soil Management

Spade in garden soil

Starting a Garden: Types of Gardens

lettuce and potatoes in an in-ground garden, vegetables in a raised bed, and herbs in pots

More Early Spring FAQs: Lawns, Trees and Seeds

Starting a Garden: Warm Season Vegetables

basket with tomatoes, peppers and summer squash

Starting a Garden: Cool-Season Vegetables | And my top 5 cool-season crops to grow

Kale

Starting a Garden: Supplemental Lighting for Indoor Seed Starting

Lighting

Starting a Garden: Begin with a Plan

Vegetable garden sketch

Starting a Garden: Seed Starting

blazing star seedlings under grow lights

Beyond 'Yukon Gold': Growing Purple/Blue Potatoes

Don't Grow Distant From Your Garden

beet greens and lettuce greens

Kitchen Scrap Gardening: Regrow Your Fruits and Vegetables!

base of celery stalk sitting in water

Vegetable Variety Recommendations for 2020

close up of cabbage

Answers for Early Spring FAQs

Creating an Edible Landscape

Scarlet runner beans growing on a fence

Illinois Vegetable Planting - Dates, Spacing, and Seeds

How to Achieve Asparagus's Perpetual Harvest

male asparagus ferns on left, female asparagus ferns with seed on the right

Homegrown: DIY Hydroponics for All Gardeners

Green herbs growing out of plastic tub in home hydroponic system

News Releases (13)

Falling into the Autumn Vegetable Garden

Fall Planting: Garlic program coming to Yost House in Pontiac

Harvest abundant squash for food, decoration

Benefit your health and environment by growing your own vegetables

Prolong shelf life of garden-fresh produce with good harvest habits

Color your garden with a rainbow of vegetables

Flavor summer with backyard basil

Vegetable Variety Recommendations

Enjoy home-grown asparagus with backyard gardening webinar

Starting a New Vegetable Garden

Improve your gardens: Four Seasons webinar offers tips

Get Growing webinar series announced for growing vegetables and fruit

The Cook's Garden

Staff (1)

Christopher Enroth

Christopher Enroth

Extension Educator, Horticulture