Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is an invasive and destructive insect pest of Ash trees (Fraxinus sp.) that was discovered in Michigan in 2002 and first found in Illinois in July of 2006. Since that time EAB has been spreading throughout Illinois and 29 other states in the US. In 2017 EAB...
Last week my boyfriend and I were outside repainting the porch on the south side of my house. I was looking at the pillars and saw a number of Asian Multicolored Lady Beetles gathering towards the top. Look a little bit further down and I see a Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) on the same pillar....
Two weeks ago, my topic for this column was that we need to be watering our plants due to the dry fall weather. Two things have happened since that article. First – It rained. We finally received a nice steady fall rain event. However, the precipitation totals varied throughout West-Central...
Eeek!! It's October already. Where did September go? Wait where is 2017 going? Sometimes life seems to move so fast and we get wrapped up in the daily grind and we blink and the gardening season is coming to an end. There is still work to do in the garden – typical fall clean up, but there are...
"The cracks in my yard have cracks," I recently heard a colleague remark. In Central Illinois, spring and fall typically bring reliable rainfall. Dependable fall and spring precipitation is why we say these are the best times of year to plant trees in our region. Fall of 2017 is off to a dry start...
Everywhere I go I see huge displays of fall garden mums for sale. Beautiful colors and a reminder of cooler days to come. Mums are a great addition to containers and the landscape to add color when our summer flowers are faded or finished. With a little extra planning those mums you buy now can be...
The other week I received a call asking about small scale hydroponics. This is something that I had never really looked into before so of course it inspired me to learn more. One of the things I love about my job is that I am constantly learning about new things so I dived right into researching...
I always joke that I'm the kind of gardener that will try any plant and if it can survive my level of care then it must be pretty durable. It goes to the old adage of do as I say not as I do, but from my houseplant escapades it's given me pretty good insight into which houseplants are more...
One of the suggestions we usually tell gardeners is to have a soil test done especially on new garden sites. It's better to see where your pH and soil fertility levels stand prior to applying anything and leads to determining better soil management practices. Before applying fertilizers what are...
The tomato. A native to Central America and bred over centuries to become a staple summer crop. Gardener's across the United States compete openly and sometimes covertly to be the first with ripe tomatoes. Ribbons and trophies are handed out in nearly every community for the best-tasting tomato....
