Blog Archive

Good Growing 2016

Mulching and Wood Chips

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...
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Tri State Local Food Summit

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...
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Mosquito management: Avoid the bite

Good Growing
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...
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August Gardening To-Do List

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...
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Get Growing with Cool Season Vegetables

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...
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Feeding Caterpillars and Butterflies

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...
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Don't Move Firewood

Good Growing
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...
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Horticultural Pet Peeves

Good Growing
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...
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Spectacular Spring Bulbs

I was out shopping the other day and what greeted my eyes – stands of spring bulbs for sale. Then you stop to look at the calendar and realize that it's almost the end of September and that the perfect time to plant spring bulbs is right around the corner. Bulbs are awesome and amazing plants to...
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