There is a lot of interest by home gardeners to raise and produce organic fruit.
The good news is it can be done!
Home growers need to be attentive to their fruit trees and know when to apply control measures.
Producing fruit that is relatively free of discoloration and damage...
Know which plants are dangerous and protect your family, pets, and animals.
There are many poisonous plants in Illinois, some are native plants and others were introduced into the state.
Poisonous woody plants and...
A properly constructed and maintained water well can provide many years of trouble free service, but a well can deteriorate or become damaged allowing surface contaminants to enter the water in the well. In addition, groundwater can become contaminated. The safety of a family’s drinking water is...
In the past three weeks, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has been detected wild birds in the central U.S. flyway. The HPIA strains being detected are Eurasian H5 and Eurasian H5N1. Confirmed cases of HPIA have been confirmed in commercial and small flocks in Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky and...
With spring right around the corner and seed catalogs pouring in, many gardeners are anxious to get their hands in the soil, myself included. It may currently be a little early and damp to put shovel to ground, but it’s never too early to plan what vegetables and herbs you might grow. Gather your...
Are you wondering what to do with your fresh-cut Christmas tree now that Christmas is over? How about recycling it? If you have a landscape recycling center or compost facility nearby, take it there and it will be converted into a renewable mulch or compost. Before you recycle your tree, it must be...
When temperatures start getting cold in late fall, it's time to make those last-minute preparations that help your bees have the best chance of surviving the winter.
Check for Varroa mites
This is your last chance to treat for Varroa mites. In the late fall, your Varroa mite sampling should show...
I have been noticing tree frogs for the past month and a half. First, I saw a green one back in September on the porch door and then several on the kitchen window in the evening. This past Sunday, I noticed a gray tree frog sitting inside a storage shed. Locally, I have heard reports of people...
This is the “wheel bug.” While it resembles something out of a horror movie, it is actually one of the “good’ insects. The semi-circle crest of this bug resembles half of a cog wheel, hence the name. It is a member of the ...
Trees and shrubs are valuable elements in both public and private landscapes, and the wise investment of time and careful selection will only increase their value. Though there are several non-native species that do well in our fertile Illinois soils, we encourage the use of native species to...
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