What the words on the seed packet or food label mean…

This article was originally published (surprisingly?) by the Mother Earth News Blog.

What do the words on your food (or garden supplies) labels mean? Do you know the difference between organic, natural, and sustainable? Are there rules about who can use which labels? When you are shopping at the farmers market or grocery store, or when you’re buying seeds or plants at the garden center, it is important to know what the words used to describe the product mean.… Continue reading this article “What the words on the seed packet or food label mean…”

Bee Lawns: What’s all the buzz about?

A bee lawn is a way to benefit pollinators in our landscapes by providing additional floral resources, and often utilizes a mix of low-growing flowering plants in addition to turf species. Although flower gardens also provide flowering plants for pollinators, bee lawns can be multi-functional in their usability for recreational purposes with the added benefit of providing food for bees.

Habitat loss is one of the major factors implicated in the global declines of native bee species.… Continue reading this article “Bee Lawns: What’s all the buzz about?”

The 2022 Tropical Season: It’s Alive!

In my last blog post in early August, I noted how quiet the Atlantic tropical season has been so far this year. In fact, the period from early July through this week has been one of the quietest on record, with no named storms since the short-lived Tropical Storm Colin formed along the South Carolina coast and dissipated less than 24 hours later on July 3 in eastern North Carolina. The last time we had so few named storms was 40 years ago, so while it is not unprecedented, it is certainly unusual.… Continue reading this article “The 2022 Tropical Season: It’s Alive!”

People and Plants

In this episode of P&P we’ll take a look at the life and career of the aptly named Nehemiah Grew, the “Father of Plant Anatomy”.

Nehemiah Grew
1641-1712

Nehemiah Grew was born on September 26, 1641 in Warwickshire, UK. He graduated from Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1661 and ten years later was awarded a MD degree from Leiden University in the Netherlands.
His interest in plant anatomy began to bud in 1664. In 1670 his essay, The Anatomy of Vegetables begun, was shared with the Royal Society and resulted in his election to the membership.… Continue reading this article “People and Plants”

Fair Judgement: garden lessons from a fair (and crop trial) judge

I love a fair! Which is a good thing since I find myself at a lot of them as an extension professional.  It seems like fairs attract extension folks like honey attracts flies.  We’re always involved in the 4-H activities – the livestock, project displays, and contests.  Sometimes we pop up other places as well.  The one thing that I get asked to do multiple times each summer is act as a judge for horticultural entries. … Continue reading this article “Fair Judgement: garden lessons from a fair (and crop trial) judge”

The 2022 Tropical Season: What are Tropical Systems?

In the Southeast, almost nothing gets more press than the Atlantic Tropical Season, including the outlooks, real-time events, and post-storm analyses. If you live in another part of the United States or the world, you may not be as directly affected as the Southeast is, but you might be surprised at how far and wide tropical moisture is spread, either directly by tropical storms and hurricanes or by the remnant moisture which can be carried with the winds for long distances away from their original sources.… Continue reading this article “The 2022 Tropical Season: What are Tropical Systems?”

*Summertime, and the livin’ is easy…

If you listen closely you can hear the beasties in your garden just a-singin’ that tune. And who can blame them? Warm temperatures and lush green gardens? They enjoy them as much as we do. But sometimes they can be enjoying our landscape a little too much. So now what do you do?
Visit the garden chemicals section at your local big box store?
Reach for your favorite “natural” or DIY concoction?
Ask your neighbor?

Hmmm, maybe not.
… Continue reading this article “*Summertime, and the livin’ is easy…”

Water Woes

If you live in a place where water falls from the sky during summer this blog is perhaps not so helpful. However, gardeners in much of the western United States will suffer this summer from hot days (sometimes record breaking) and will need to irrigate their gardens and trees in order for them to survive impending drought conditions. The ongoing drought has drained reservoirs and flows of rivers are down or, in some cases, dry entirely.… Continue reading this article “Water Woes”

Barf! An ode to the fascinating life of slime mold

It may seem odd to sing the praises of a weird, sometimes gross, looking phenomenon that sometimes freaks gardeners out, but every summer I love educating gardeners about the fascinating lives of slime molds. Here in Nebraska we often get calls about “this weird thing that’s all over my mulch” after a rainy period in the summer and whether or not it will 1) hurt their plants, 2) poison them, or 3) some other horrible outcome they’ve dreamed up.… Continue reading this article “Barf! An ode to the fascinating life of slime mold”

People and Plants

This Independence Day weekend blog post is about John Bartram, the American gardener and botanist who revolutionized gardening.

John Bartram was born a third generation Quaker on a farm in Darby, Pennsylvania on March 23, 1699. While he had no formal education beyond the local school, he was interested in medicine and medicinal plants. Stymied by the lack of local medical schools, his interests gradually turned to botany and he became one of the first practicing Linnaean botanists in North America.… Continue reading this article “People and Plants”