Have you seen black and yellow striped beetles crawling around the blossoms of your cucumbers, zucchini, squash, pumpkins and melons? They are cucumber beetles and along with chewing holes in your plants, they spread disease. The beetles lay small orange eggs at the base of the plants from April to June. The slender [Continue]
You planted that maple when your son was born. He climbed it when he was twelve and now you sit on a blanket beneath it with your grandchild. The willow was the first tree you and your spouse planted when you built your home. The stately oak was the reason you bought your property. [Continue]
For the second year in a row, we are very short on the amount of rainfall we should have for the growing season. Most everyone has had to do supplemental watering to keep yards and gardens looking nice. Rather than setting a watering schedule and sticking to it religiously, you can prioritize your plants [Continue]
Everyone is worried about their tomatoes this year. Either the bushes are growing like gangbusters but aren’t producing tomatoes, or the bushes are scrawny and overloaded with fruits for their size. Tomatoes are the most popular vegetable garden plant in the U.S. While they are easy to grow, they also have the largest variety [Continue]
Governor Doyle has proclaimed June 2005 as Invasive Species Awareness Month. Why does the governor care about invasive species? Why should we care? Just what is an invasive species? The Invasive Plant Association of Wisconsin defines an invasive plant as one that is a non-indigenous species or strain that becomes established in natural [Continue]
Have you noticed that no matter how often you water your garden, the plants don’t really perk up until a good rain falls? Plants respond so well to rainwater because it is naturally soft water devoid of minerals, chlorine, fluoride and other chemicals. A rain barrel is an easy way to do your [Continue]
What is the easiest, hardiest, longest-blooming, most adaptable perennial? Sedum! There are 600 species of sedum to choose from in the Northern Hemisphere. One of the most popular is Sedum ‘Autumn Joy.’ Like all sedums it has fleshy leaves that store moisture, allowing it to go at least a month without water. ‘Autumn [Continue]
Beginning gardeners are sometimes intimidated because it seems there is so much to learn even before the first seed or plant in put into the ground. Here is a primer on some gardening basics to put you more at ease. Last frost date. This is the last day, or night, that the temperature [Continue]
Dill is easy to grow and beautiful to look at, and therefore deserves a place in the herb, vegetable and flower gardens. Dill is a tender annual easily grown from seed. Its ferny green leaves and showy yellow flowers, along with its three foot height, make it a good summer background to tall [Continue]
Some plants do best in sunny areas while others thrive in shade. For best results, it is important that plants be placed in the type of light where the tag that comes with them, or the seed packet if grown from seed, lists as the light requirements for the plant. But what exactly does [Continue]