Wheaton, Illinois
Illinois doesn’t have oceans. Illinois doesn’t have mountains. But one thing Illinois does have is PUMPKINS!
When it comes to pumpkin production, Illinois smashes the completion! Prairie State farmers grow more ornamental and canning-type pumpkins than any other state. In fact, Illinois produces more than twice as many pumpkins as second ranked California! Continue reading “Horticulture Report – October 2016”
What is 3-4 mm in length, has red eyes, tan thorax, black abdomen, goes from egg to adulthood in 8-10 days and reproduces at a ridiculously fast rate, with females laying up to 500 eggs! If you guessed Fruit Fly-you are correct! Fruit flies are common house flies that get their name because of their strong attraction to ripening or rotting fruit, which serves as a food source as well as a place to lay their eggs. Fruit flies became the bane of our existence this summer when, unbeknownst to us, we had brought in the little buggers (we think on some flowers) and then left for a long weekend only to come home to a full blown fruit fly infestation! Continue reading “September Horticulture Tip of the Month”
Think about Planting
In all but the coldest regions (Zones 5 and colder), early fall is an excellent time to plant perennials, container trees, shrubs, and roses. This month, however, it can still be hot. Do the planting on a cool, overcast, or rainy day to prevent heat stress.
Keep Your Lawn Looking Good
September also is an excellent month to reseed and repair lawns. You’ll need to water daily until the seed has sprouted and established. If the daily highs are still well into the 80s F, wait to plant grass seed until October. Continue reading “Horticulture Report – September 2016”
Remove a leaf from the plant you wish to propagate. Make sure the cut is clean, not ragged. Allow the cut to dry for about three days, then place cutting on moist potting soil. Keep moist until now roots and leaves sprout.
• Plant any perennials in your gardens now. Plant warm-season annuals, such as marigolds and impatiens, after your region’s last average frost date. That’s middle to late May in the Chicagoland area.
• Plant summer-blooming corms and tubers such as gladiolus corms, canna rhizomes, tuberous begonias and other summer bulbs. Continue reading “Finally! Time to plant everywhere”
Assuming we will all have Herb Gardens, the tip of the month is how to make a classic herb salt-that is good on just about anything. Nothing compares to the flavors of fresh herbs picked footsteps from your door. Preserving herbs in salt is an old method that works beautifully for three reasons: it’s fast, it’s easy and it’s delicious.
The method is simple: chop herbs and salt together, either by hand or with a food processor, then spread the mixture on a sheet pan. The salt dries out the herbs preserving their vivid flavors for months. You can improvise endlessly on the basic formula by improvising your own mix of herb.
Basic Tuscan Garlic Herb Salt:
4-5 garlic cloves, peeled
Scant ½ cup kosher salt
About 2 cups loosely-packed pungent herbs such as sage, rosemary, thyme, savory, or small amounts of lavender.
Cut each garlic clove lengthwise through the center, remove sprout, (if any) in the center and discard. Continue reading “Cheryl’s Tip of the Month – April 2016”
“In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours.”
– Mark Twain
• Apply organic matter, compost, and manure to soil.
• Seed cool-season vegetables outside, such as peas, lettuce, carrots, broccoli, Brussels sprout, Swiss chard, kale, onions, parsley and spinach.
• Cover tender plants if late frost is in the forecast.
• Plants started indoors should be hardened off outdoors in cold frames.
• Begin fertilizing houseplants again.
• Clean up your garden. Continue reading “Horticulture Report – April 2016”
Cheryl’s beautiful Blooming Branches.
“Come with me into the woods, where spring is advancing, as it does, no matter what, not being singular or particular, but one of the forever gifts, and certainly visible.”—Mary Oliver
It’s not hard to see the signs of spring all around. I’ve seen my first Robin. After Wednesday’s rains, worms were on the driveway. There are buds on the trees and tulip, sedum and daffodil greens are poking through the dirt. Your Hellebores might even be in bloom. But March is a guessing game in the Midwest garden. It is warm one day and snowing the next. We wonder Continue reading “Horticulture Report – March 2016”