The other day I went to a local zoo with my family. I’m not a big zoo lover. I hate to see animals in cages and kept from their natural wanderings and habits, but this zoo serves as a rescue, so I didn’t complain too much. As we were walking around I couldn’t help but notice the following container which I can only suppose once served as a food or water bin for one group of animals or another.… Continue reading this article “Scenes From A Zoo”
Author: jeffgillman003
Mark Stennes
This past week the world of trees lost a true friend. Mark Stennes was a tireless worker who selflessly promoted our urban trees and the people who worked with them and was a driving force behind elm research in Minnesota.
When it came to trees, there are few people who could equal Mark’s passion. He had an insatiable curiosity in the world around us. He lived trees and took every opportunity to discuss them. He discovered the St.… Continue reading this article “Mark Stennes”
Hello Charlotte!
I’m sure you haven’t been wondering where I’ve been for the past five months or so, but just in case you have, I’ve been reshuffling my life and relocating. Where am I now? The family and I have moved to Charlotte, North Carolina where I now work at Central Piedmont Community College. Why? Because we wanted to be closer to family, we wanted a warmer climate, and I wanted to spend more time teaching. That said, I had a great time at the University of Minnesota and have only good things to say about my time there.… Continue reading this article “Hello Charlotte!”
Phosphorus and Big Macs
Minnesota, and I were cruising through old pictures and files and getting all sentimental about the cool stuff we used to do. A lot of it was never published just because after we were done with one thing we were just too damn excited to move on to the next. Anyway, one of the neatest experiments that we never wrote up was a phosphorus experiment. Here’s what it looked like to the casual observer.
Now let me explain the neat part to you a little. … Continue reading this article “Phosphorus and Big Macs”
Lights!
Today I want to share something that I’ve been working on recently with Fine Gardening that is really cool! So you know all of those lights you can buy to get your plants started over the winter? Did you ever wonder which of those lights really work? I’m going to leave the final answer for my article, but let me tell you, there’s a world of differences between the lights. The best seem to be some LED lights that aren’t available yet, but are made by a company called Heliospectra. … Continue reading this article “Lights!”
My Thoughts on 14 Foods…
Yesterday on Facebook I posted a link to a list put out by the Rodale Institute which takes a look at 14 things that you should never eat. Some I thought were reasonable, and some I thought were a little nuts. All in all though, it was an entertaining experience that made me think.
Here are my thoughts on the 14 foods. Please feel free to disagree, and also realize that, while I am relatively familiar with the production of fruits, vegetables, and, to a lesser extent, staple crops like wheat, I’m not nearly as knowledgeable about meat and fish, and I’m certainly not a dietician. … Continue reading this article “My Thoughts on 14 Foods…”
What’s in the Worm Juice?
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I would be taking a look at the leachate that comes from vermicompost. Here is the worm house, owned by Master Gardener Meleah Maynard, from which this leachate came. This is a picture from when the house was new — it now has multiple floors. 
It has been running for a few years now, and the “ingredients” that she puts in, mostly table scraps, are pretty typical of what anyone would put into compost.… Continue reading this article “What’s in the Worm Juice?”
Applying pesticides when you don’t mean to
I’d rather we didn’t use them, but I see their value and I appreciate what they can do for us when they’re used properly. One of the things that I hate about pesticides though is that, even when they’re used correctly, sometimes they can come back and hurt us in ways that we don’t expect. You have probably heard that you should not use grass clippings where herbicides have recently been used as a mulch because they could injure them.… Continue reading this article “Applying pesticides when you don’t mean to”
Worm Juice!
There’s still snow on the ground, but I know that spring is finally coming to Minnesota because I FINALLY saw a crocus peeking its head out of the ground this week!
So perhaps you wonder from time to time what garden professor types get excited about. Well, here’s an example. Tomorrow I’ll be meeting up with a friend of mine, Meleah Maynard, which is nice, we always have a good time chatting, but I’m especially excited because she’s bringing me some drippings from her vermicomposting. … Continue reading this article “Worm Juice!”
Master Gardener Researchers Rule!
The Garden Professors test new products all the time. Fertilizers, pesticides, tree wraps,compost tea, etc., they’ve all found their way into our fields and greenhouses at one time or another, but still, we can’t test everything, it’s just not possible. New stuff comes out all the time, and it’s impossible to keep up, so one of the things we love to see is people who take the initiative to test things themselves. Recently we got to see the results from a group of Master Gardeners who tested biochar on growing vegetables. … Continue reading this article “Master Gardener Researchers Rule!”