Flowers, Fruits, and Frass 2015

This spring, if you live in North America, put up a chickadee nest box in your yard. If you are lucky, a pair of chickadees will move in and raise a family. While they are feeding their young, watch what the chickadees bring to the nest: mostly caterpillars. Both parents take turns feeding the...

Zimmerman pine moth is a common trunk and scaffold branch borer in Scotch, Austrian, and red pine in Illinois. It is a shoot tip borer in Eastern white pine. Although it is difficult to control once inside the tree, its life cycle makes it relatively easy to control while on the outside of the tree...

Cool Kale Our Local Foods and Small Farms Educator, Bill Davison, says "kale is at least 30-40 percent cooler than broccoli. The reasoning behind this prevailing statement is the ease in which it is grown and how ornamental it can be", explains University of Illinois Extension...

Straw bale Gardening at Bloomington Library Straw bale Gardening has become a big hit with the recent introduction of Joel Karsten, book called Straw bale Gardening and has taken the garden world by storm and giving growers a new media to grow vegetables, herbs and annuals. If you...

Hydrangeas are known hosts to several leaf spots, both fungal and bacterial. Oakleaf Hydrangeas, in particular, are known to develop leaf spots caused by the bacterial pathogenXanthomonas campestris. Bacterial leaf spot on hydrangea overwinters in diseased plant debris. The pathogen...

Growing Perennial Vegetables to save the Garden Dollars The National Gardening Association has said a $70 investment can yield more than $650 worth of produce. "Most of this investment is needed to buy seeds and transplants of annual food crops like beans, tomatoes, peppers and...

Life as a Woodford County Master Gardener Bruce Brown of Congerville and Linda Simpson of East Peoria both proudly boast the title of University of Illinois Woodford County Master Gardener. Fourteen years ago, Bruce was looking for something to do after retirement and had a...

Keeping with the spirit of inside gardening, growing microgreens can be just as tasty as herbs but can be even easier to grow, with added benefits. Microgreens (micro-vegetables or micro-herbs or tiny greens) refers to the stage of growth between baby greens and sprouts. These tiny greens are...

Food Forest Work Day Join University of Illinois Extension in planting the first food forest located in a city park in Illinois. You can be a part of food forest history on May 9, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. as we plant this forest at One Normal Plaza, which is located at the...

So far this year we've had 5 confirmed cases of Verticillium wilt in woody ornamentals at the University of Illinois Plant Clinic. Four were Japanese maple trees, and the fifth was a redbud. Verticillium wilt is fairly common in Illinois. This fungal disease is usually lethal to the host, and...

ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TO OFFER FREE RECYCLING PROGRAM FOR AGRICHEMICAL CONTAINERS SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Illinois Department of Agriculture is encouraging farmers and agrichemical facilities to save their empty agrichemical containers. The department announced today...

Horticulture Myths "As a horticulture educator, it is my duty to dispel horticulture myths," says University of Illinois Extension Horticulture Educator, Kelly Allsup. Myth:Some mulch is good. A lot of mulch must be better. I am referring to the sad...

Miniature Succulent Gardening University of Illinois Livingston Master Gardeners will host a highly requested program on May 14 at 6:30 p.m. entitled "Miniature Succulent Gardening" as part of the Master Gardener Summer series. The program fee is $20 and registration is required...