It started as any normal phone call. A homeowner had contacted the Extension office with a question on controlling a grassy weed in her lawn. A weed she knew was ubiquitous in the world of lawn care. However, when she said the name, "water grass", I was dumbfounded. The voice on the other end of...

The other day I bought a brand new bag of potting mix and with some warm weather happily potted up a new houseplant I had purchased in the wonderful sunshine streaming on my back porch. The smell of a freshly opened bag of potting mix makes any gardener's heart begin to sing. It's been a long dark...

There are some things I need to get off of my chest and what better place to vent, than a news column. In a profession from astronaut to zookeeper and all careers in between, we learn and do tasks, which in our mind, are the best practices. Imagine you are a professional shower tile installer, and...

There are many times people will call with questions about what they can do to help their trees grow better (cultural practices) or what they can use to help keep weeds out of the garden. One of my suggestions always is mulch. Now it should be stated that mulch is just one component of good...

Yesterday as I pulled into my driveway, I was looking at the shrubs in my front yard and that sudden realization of just how overgrown they had become. In the back of my mind I knew that they needed to be pruned, but I didn't really want to admit that I had let that happen, but sometimes things do...

Chirp, chirp, chirp. In my mind, the hum of crickets chirping away outside is very relaxing. In the spring we open our windows and sleep with the soothing sounds of the night outside. Chirp, chirp, chirp. Something changes when that lone cricket enters our house. Instead of a nighttime symphony, we...

Let it be known that in my family I hold the record for number of mosquito bites at one time. While on a vacation in the coastal swamps of Georgia (yes I said 'vacation'), I racked up over 100 mosquito bites. So what makes a person more attractive to mosquitoes than others? Here are a few things...

Producers are concerned about making a profit on corn and soybeans this year in light of declining crop prices and steady input costs. Looking back over crop prices the past few years, the last time period that saw soybean prices similar to today was in 2009. But input costs have increased sharply...

"We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect." –Leopold 1938 What is your land ethic? It is a question to ask of us humans these days. Our ethic toward the land...

60 degree days have already arrived even though the next day the temperatures fell back into the 30's, but spring is definitely on its way. Even my tulips are up out of the ground a few inches and it won't be long before the tulips will be in bloom. Not only does the thought of spring flowers make...

As usual some days trying to figure out what to write on can be difficult, that is until you are sent photos of a very large caterpillar that needs to be identified. A colleague of mine sent me a few photos of this very large green caterpillar that had what looked like yellow horns on its head and...

It was a hot late-summer day. A yellow school bus plodded away, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. Songbirds sang while the leaves rustled, patiently holding on till autumn called them from their perch. The forest was still, as the crunch of leaves beneath hopscotching squirrels echoed on the...

It's March and now is the time that everyone starts thinking about lawn care. The grass is greening up and plants are starting to grow again, daffodils are blooming, and garden work has started. You may be looking at your lawn and wondering where to start, maybe you have a few bare patches or the...

The tri state area will host a Local Foods Summit on Saturday, Feb. 20th, at JWCC in Quincy. The program has educational sessions for both producers as well as consumers, and will provide a plethora of information addressing the importance of local foods. Dr. John Ikerd, who is known throughout the...

April is almost here and the last Friday in April is celebrated as Arbor Day. Arbor Day was first declared by J. Sterling Morton in January of 1872 to be recognized on April 10, 1872. That day it's estimated over 1 million trees were planted in Nebraska. The Governor of Nebraska officially...

The other day a friend posted a picture on Facebook from a walk showing a young Monarch caterpillar happily munching away on some milkweed. I immediately ran out to my little patch of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) in hopes that I would see some Monarch caterpillars enjoying a plant...

August is right around the corner and by the time you're reading this it may well already be here. There are still gardening activities that we can do in August, one of which is relaxing and enjoying our gardens! Continue to water all your plants especially when we aren't getting any rain. Drought...

It seems we blinked and 2015 is behind us and 2016 burns bright with opportunity and chances to garden, enjoy plants, learn and grow in a new year. One of the things I love about horticulture and gardening is that there is always something new to discover, to learn about and to experience. The...

In mid-October, I walked around marveling at the outstanding color of one of our earliest trees to exhibit excellent fall color, the ash (Fraxinus spp.) And I realized, for many homeowners, this might be the last time they can enjoy the spectacular fall display of an ash tree. What I am...

If you are like me, you may enjoy the sight of deer browsing in the forest. They are fascinating creatures to observe and one of the largest wild animals in Illinois. My interest in watching deer waned one morning last week when upon opening the drapes to the backyard I found myself nose to nose...