Gardening

Homegrown bouquets: three species for your garden bunches of colorful flowers on display at a market

Homegrown bouquets: three species for your garden

Good Growing
We live in a fast-paced world. From food to information to travel, what took our grandparents hours, days, or weeks to obtain, we can have in seconds and minutes. Fresh produce and plant material are no different. Carrots, berries, melons, and bananas are available year-round in the local grocery...
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Garden trends for the new year flower filled garden with wooden seating area stone pathway and brick element with plants draping over

Garden trends for the new year

Good Growing
The internet is a wild place full of an endless amount of information, ideas, opinions, advice, arguments, and more. Tangled in this web, it will come as no surprise that my favorite spaces are those that relate to plants. I’ve been known to have many, many pages open in my browser window that...
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Brighten up your fall landscape with Tithonia. Tithonia plants blooming next to a house.

Brighten up your fall landscape with Tithonia

Good Growing
As summer transitions to fall, our landscapes also transition. The bright-colored flowers of summer begin to fade, and many plants begin to look ragged. Goldenrod and asters often provide much-needed color to the landscape. Another plant that can add color to our landscapes is Tithonia, also known...
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When should I clean up my garden? Picture of a garden with brown native bunch grasses and brown fallen tree leaves.

When should I start cleaning up my garden?

Good Growing
As the days get longer and the temperatures start to warm, we often get the itch to start gardening. On the first warm day of the year, I often find myself thinking I need to be doing something in the garden because it’s so nice out. However, we shouldn’t be in too big of a hurry to start cleaning...
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When should I start my seeds? packet of seeds on a table with small brown seeds coming out of the package next to orange plant labels.

When should I start my seeds?

Good Growing
Seed starting is a great way to scratch the gardening itch we often get during late winter. In addition to getting a head start on the growing season, there are a number of additional benefits to starting your own seeds....
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Are my seeds still good? Testing seed germination. White paper towel with small green seedlings emerging from black seeds

Are my seeds still good? Testing seed germination

Good Growing
Have you ever found a packet of seeds lying around and wondered if you could grow them? Every year when I get ready to start seeds, I inevitably find a half-full packet or a packet I forgot to plant altogether. Unfortunately, as seeds get older, their germination rate decreases. Fortunately, there...
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tiller

What a no-till garden can do for you

Growing up and working in my parent’s garden, I often remember the early spring when the tree buds are opening, the grass is greening up, and birds are singing. Suddenly, the roar of our massive Honda tiller broke through the serene spring day as it chewed and turned the earth and spewed exhaust...
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A half-mowed lawn

Lawn care advice for people who don’t care about lawns

The Big Three Mowing Tips Each year I try to write a couple of articles about lawns. Each time I’ve written one of these, I have assumed you, the reader, care about your lawn. Turns out, there are a lot of people who have lawns, that don’t care about having a perfectly manicured turf. You just...
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seedlings

Seed stratification: What seeds require cold treatment

Have you ever planted seeds, and nothing sprouted? This could be the result of many different things such as soil moisture, seed viability, soil temperature, planting depth, and many other factors; however, not all seeds are ready to sprout as soon as they are planted in soil. Some seeds require a...
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developing hazelnuts

Hazelnuts: A native plant is a new crop for Illinois

You’ve likely heard of hazelnuts, perhaps even used them in some delightful dessert or savory dishes and garnishes. If you give my children a choice between peanut butter or a chocolaty hazelnut spread, the peanut butter jar remains unopened. About 40 percent of global hazelnut production goes into...
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Tractor pulling anhydrous toolbar

How can we better manage our nutrient applications?

Whether you apply fertilizer to your lawn, pasture, or production field, the 4R principles of nutrient management is relevant information that can be used when making applications.  When making fertilizer applications, it is always important to consider if we are using the Right fertilizer...
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How to divide and plant bearded iris. person digging a bearded iris clump

How to divide and plant bearded iris

Irises are easy to grow, long-lived, and relatively carefree perennials, making them some of the most popular flowers in gardens. They can also be found in a variety of colors, ranging from pink, purple, yellow, peach, green, white, tan, bronze, to almost black, and bi-color. The American...
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squash vine borer feeding on vine

What could be killing my squash plants?

Good Growing
There’s nothing more devastating than walking out to your garden to discover your squash plants are wilted or dead. An insect known as the squash vine borer is one that will cause damage to your cucurbit plants by tunneling into the stems.  Once you have had an encounter with squash vine borer...
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Jumping worm

Invasive jumping worm confirmed in west-central Illinois

How full is your invasive species radar? All I can say is my view is overwhelmed. Dealing with the current group of Japanese beetles, emerald ash borer, bush honeysuckle, and so many more. Plus, in Illinois, we are girding for the impending arrival of the very destructive spotted lanternfly. Then a...
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landscape fabric fail

The disadvantages of landscape fabric

Landscape fabric. It’s what goes under the mulch. Right? I’ve had several conversations with home gardeners looking for a permanent solution to keeping the weeds down and each time I warn them about the use of landscape fabric. If you’re thinking, “Hang on! Landscape fabric doesn’t work?” Of...
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pumpkins

Want pumpkins for Halloween? Start them now

Why are we talking about pumpkins in June? Because if you want home-grown pumpkins for Halloween, it is best to get them planted now! Good Growing Fact Did you know Illinois is ranked #1 for pumpkin production with more than 10,000 acres planted in 2019? Morton, IL, is considered...
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garden with fruit and veggies

5 Tips for a successful second year gardener

The year of 2020 brought a new experience for many as over 20 million novice gardeners picked up a trowel for the first time according to Bonnie Plants CEO Mike Sutterer. New adventures come with excitement; however, as those rose-colored glasses become clearer with further attempts and another...
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How to successfully grow asparagus in your garden. purple-green asparagus spears emerging from soil.

How to successfully grow asparagus in your garden

Asparagus is one of the few perennial vegetables that is commonly grown in gardens. But don’t let that intimidate you - it’s a relatively easy crop to grow. However, you’ll need to exercise some patience when growing asparagus. What type should I grow? When growing asparagus, you’ll have a choice...
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Row cover protecting some lettuce

Use row cover to protect plants from more than just frost

It feels like spring has sprung and boy it sprang hard. Several days above 60 and 70 degrees has pushed growth in many early perennial plants. Buds on trees and shrubs are swelling ready to pop at a moment’s notice. Many cool-season vegetables have put on significant growth. But soon we...
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cover crop starting to grow in corn field in February

What’s that Smell? Decomposing Radishes used as Cover Crops

Ooooh that smell. Can’t you smell that smell (read to the tune of That Smell by Lynyrd Skynyrd). If you have been driving around the countryside recently, you might already know what I am talking about; however, for those of you that don’t, as the temperatures warm up, a foul smell may begin...
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winter loaded screen

How does winter help the garden?

I love winter. I love snow. However, I must add two caveats to my initial statements – I love winter and snow as long as I am warm and I can stay at home. It’s when my feet get cold or my car is fishtailing trying to turn a corner that winter weather goes from fun to miserable. When you turn on...
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chickadee at a feeder

What’s the best thing to feed the birds?

Good Growing
People love to feed birds. Aside from gardening, it is considered one of the most popular hobbies around the globe. And even some would argue, feeding the birds is a part of gardening. In the winter months, many find joy in watching a flurry of feathered friends, feeding at the feeder. The bird...
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worms feeding on food waste creating compost

Vermicomposting: A Composting Option for the Winter

Being two weeks into the new year, I hope those of you with new goals of healthier eating are still going strong. If things didn’t work out the way you had planned, no worries; vermicomposting can help you get rid of all those fruits and vegetables that have gone bad and provide a nutrient rich...
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sunlight through ice covered trees

Positive Change Can Make a Difference in Your Community

As I type out this article, I can’t stop thinking about my drive to work today. After days of clouds, ice, snow, and more clouds, the sun shone brightly as it crept over the eastern horizon. As sunbeams edged further across the landscape the trees became illuminated with a rainbow of light. It was...
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2021 All-American Selections winners

New plants for a new year - try growing something new in 2021

Out with the old and in with the new. A new year means the garden catalogs are starting to arrive and that it’s time to start planning this year’s garden. Whether you’re just getting started or you’re a veteran gardener, consider growing something new this year in your garden. If you’ve listened...
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frozen over fountain

How to winterize outdoor plumbing - irrigation, hoses, spigots

Leftovers. Is this why we only eat turkey once a year? Because after all the leftovers we are sick of giant poultry? Nah! I think turkey is simply more of a seasonal thing. We grow up seeing a turkey as the Thanksgiving centerpiece. To eat a whole turkey any other time just feels wrong. It’s like...
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planting spring bulbs amongst fall perennials

Fall Gardening Tasks

Fall is here; not only does the calendar tell us that it is officially here, but our days are getting shorter, the temperatures are cooler, combines are rolling in the fields, mums decorate front porches, and the trees are starting to turn. As our summer activities in the garden wind down, there...
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cool season crops

Start your fall garden

As we enjoy fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and other vegetables from our garden this summer, it is time to start planning the garden for fall production. Many of the cool-season vegetables we plant in early spring can be planted again in late summer to early fall to extend the growing season...
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Summer Reading for Gardeners

Recommended Reading for Gardeners During a Pandemic

Boredom. I hear that’s a thing when living in a pandemic. During pandemics of historical note, Sir Isaac Newton uncovered the marvels of calculus. Before that, it is said Shakespeare wrote some of his best plays while sheltering-in-place. Was it boredom that inspired such achievements? Perhaps....
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Growing Garlic

Garlic: So easy even I can grow it!

I love garlic. I just so happened to marry a woman who did not. But something magical happened during her first pregnancy. She developed a taste for all things pickled and garlicky. Since then we have been throwing garlic into almost everything we make. Garlic is incredibly popular around the...
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Home Horticultural Remedies

Home Horticultural Remedies

Home remedies abound in the horticultural world. Some gardeners swear by their mixtures of a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but Extension does not readily recommend the use of homemade pesticides. Perhaps your anti-Japanese beetle potion warded off the critters last year. But what if...
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How to grow popular herbs

How to Grow Popular Herbs

Have you been there? A new recipe calls for some fresh basil or dried rosemary. After searching the fridge and spice rack, you realize you do not have what you need to give your meal that kick of flavor that herbs often provide. I have certainly stared down the barrel of an empty bottle of dried...
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Ears of opened sweet corn stacked in a wooden crate.

How to Grow Sweet Corn

Good Growing
Having 8+ years of experience with growing field corn and a master’s degree in crop science, I thought I knew all there was to planting sweet corn. However, my first time planting the crop, it was a flop. I planted the seeds as if I was raising 350-bushel field corn (who doesn’t want lots of sweet...
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The Many Different Types of Cucurbits

The Many Different Types of Cucurbits

Cucurbits are members of the Cucurbitaceae family and are home to some of the most popular garden crops in the world. This article will dive into the three main categories of cucurbit crops: cucumber, melon, and squash. Each one of these categories could become a book unto itself and we only touch...
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bright yellow flower

How to Grow Cucurbits

Cucurbits, which include squash, cucumbers, gourds, watermelons, and cantaloupes, are some of the most popular vegetables planted in the garden. Plants in the cucurbit family have similar growth habit and requirements for production. Cucurbits are best identified by their prostrate, vining growth;...
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different types, sizes, and colors of tomatoes

Different Types of Tomatoes

‘To-MAY-to’, “to-MAH-to’, they’re all the same, right? Well, according to Taste of Home magazine, there is a such this thing as using the right tomato for different recipes. Who knew? I guess this calls for some investigation into the different types of tomatoes. Starting small, tomatoes that are...
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How to Grow Tomatoes

How to Grow Tomatoes

I think my wife likes to torture me. Multiple times a year she buys grocery store tomatoes. You might know where I’m headed with this. These tomatoes are very often bland versions of their flavorful kin. Slicing into the tomato I am usually met with a solid white center. To turn up the flavor I...
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three lettuce varieties

How to Grow Lettuce

Did you hear about the tomato and lettuce? Well, the lettuce was a-head and the tomato was trying to ketchup. I haven’t seen any lettuce and tomatoes racing lately; however, being a fairly hardy, cool-season crop, lettuce tends to thrive more than tomatoes (a warm-season crop) in...
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Sweet potato harvest

How to Grow Sweet Potatoes

Very often what grows in a garden are those fruits and vegetables we enjoy eating. Though, sometimes our gardens may exceed our appetites. After growing fifteen kale plants, my family determined, we probably could live off of two. And ten cherry tomato bushes were nine too many. One vegetable, my...
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Sprinkler head

Starting a Garden: Irrigation

Watering. The inescapable task of any garden. No matter what, at some point, you will need to water your plants. That’s just the fact of the matter here in Illinois. We do get lots of rain, but then there are times we go through some very hot, and dry weather. Can Watering Wait?...
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corn seedlings with fertilizer

Starting a Garden: Fertilization

Much like humans, plants require certain nutrients to live and grow. There are 18 essential nutrients that plants require to grow and survive. Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen are needed in the greatest quantity and are obtained from air and water. The next 6 nutrients are considered macronutrients; 3...
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squash vine borer larva inside of the stem of a zucchini plant

Starting a Garden: Pest Management

As the saying goes, the only things guaranteed in life are death and taxes. If you’re a gardener, you can also include pests to the list of life’s guarantees. Now that it's started to warm up enough to get out and plant the garden, it also means it’s warm enough for weeds, insects, and diseases to...
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cucumber plants growing up a trellis

Starting a Garden: Supporting Plants

Have you ever tried growing squash, and had the plants completely take over your garden? How about growing tomatoes without a cage? Many of our most popular garden crops such as peas, green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, and melons grow as vines. They can take up a considerable amount of space in the...
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Cold frame with vegetables growing inside in the fall.

Starting a Garden: Season Extension

Are you waiting on the edge of your seat, ready for that frost-free date to pass so you can safely plant your tomatoes in the garden? If you know any vegetable farmers, they already have tomatoes in the ground. But you can’t fit a high tunnel in your backyard. Maybe the front yard? Nah, the...
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basil seedlings in seedling flat

Starting a Garden: Hardening Off Indoor Seedlings

Much like humans after being cooped up all winter, plants require acclimation to the outdoors prior to being transplanted outside; for plants this is termed hardening off. Hardening off is the process of slowly introducing plants to outdoor conditions after being started indoors. Growing...
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Spade in garden soil

Starting a Garden: Soil Management

How well do you know your garden soil? Does it drain well or stay wet for a couple of days after a significant rain? What is the pH? Does it have sufficient nutrients available for your vegetables to use to grow? We often overlook the importance of soil management when it comes to building our...
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basket with tomatoes, peppers and summer squash

Starting a Garden: Warm Season Vegetables

Once the weather starts to warm up, we can start thinking about planting our warms season plants outdoors. Warm season plants can further be broken down by their frost tolerance to tender and very tender plants. Tender plants are injured or may be killed by a light frost but can withstand cool...
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Vegetable garden sketch

Starting a Garden: Begin with a Plan

Starting a Garden: Begin with a Plan The key to a successful and productive garden is a plan; it saves time and makes the garden easier to care for. By starting with a plan, you will be ready to get to work once planting time is here. So let’s get started! Site Selection...
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Image of spring

Remember the Feeling of Spring

A Light Exists in Spring by Emily Dickinson A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period- When March is scarcely here   A Color stands abroad On Solitary Fields That Science cannot overtake But Human Nature feels In rural Illinois there...
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purple garlic heads hanging to dry

How to grow garlic

Want to get a head start on planting your vegetable garden for next year? Then garlic is the plant for you! Garlic (Allium sativum) has been grown for thousands of years as food and for medicinal purposes. It has a long growing season, which may seem daunting. Fortunately, it is relatively...
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home garden

Pest Management in the Garden

Good Growing
Warm weather has arrived, and our plants are starting to green-up and bloom. That also means weeds, insects, and diseases are starting to become active too. As the saying goes, the only things guaranteed in life are death and taxes, and if you're a gardener, you can also include pests in the list...
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Oh, Deer! Managing deer in the garden

Good Growing
Many a gardener has faced the not-so-lovely experience of white-tailed deer using their backyard as their personal smorgasbord. I'll be honest: I've been lucky in that in every place I've lived, I haven't had to deal with deer in my backyard. Should I knock on wood now?At one time, in the late...
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A Primer to Supplemental Lighting for Indoor Seed Starting

Perhaps my least favorite part of winter is waking up to darkness in the morning. This morning, as I led my half-asleep six-year-old down the steps into the living room, we were greeted with streams of light coming through the windows. After the short days of winter and several days of cloudy, wet...
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Spring Lawn Care - What Should You Really Be Doing

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...
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