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Master Gardeners Teach Youth, Adults and Create Beautiful, Sustainable Landscapes Soon the beauty of winter will be upon us, with frost on the trees and pristine snow-covered landscapes. It’s a time when many people prefer to stay indoors, enjoy a good book, a warm fire in the fireplace and a hot cup of cocoa, giving little thought to... Continue Reading →
We've already had a fore taste of winter, both snow and cold temperatures, and we know there’s only more to come over the next 4-5 months. While temperatures are still relatively warm, now is a good time to prepare your plants for winter to make sure they are healthy and beautiful next spring. Plants often... Continue Reading →
Traditionally, we think of seeding lawns in either spring (April-May) or fall (August-September). But increasingly, turf specialists are recommending a new option - dormant seeding. With this method, the area is prepared in fall but the seed is not distributed until after the growing season has ended. Seed remains in place, but does not begin to grow until soil temperatures are... Continue Reading →
If you’ve grown garlic before, you know that the cloves for planting are found readily in the spring. What many do not know is that fall planted garlic produces larger cloves than spring-planted ones. Using this opportunity to plant now means it’s not too late to reap the benefits of fall-planted garlic. In selecting a... Continue Reading →
Especially at this time of year, if you do much gardening and yard work, you’ll be carrying things. If it turns out to be a lot of things, then consider a garden cart, tote or wheelbarrow. The kind of work you’ll be doing, how often and how heavy the load is will help you choose.... Continue Reading →
For better or worse, another gardening season is over. This week, we could talk about reviewing your gardening year, selecting disease resistant cultivars, proper pruning, watering or mulching techniques, or keeping garden records of success or failures so next year’s growing season goes better. But sometimes, you just need a little commiseration to lighten your... Continue Reading →
Raspberry crowns live for many years, but their canes are biennial meaning they live for two years. Each year new shoots grow from buds in the crown. Late in that first summer, these new canes develop lateral branches with fruit buds on them. Early the next spring, fruit-bearing shoots grow from these buds. After fruiting,... Continue Reading →
“A garden that didn't change and grow wouldn't be a garden at all." Ken Druse How did your garden become what it is today? Is it just as you planned it and imagined it to be? Did it happen just like that, with all of it coming together in one year or one growing season?... Continue Reading →
With winter coming sooner than we want, our trees are starting to go into their dormant state. One tree that tends to confuse people with the manner in which it goes dormant is Bald Cypress. Bald Cypress, Taxodium distichum, is a deciduous conifer that has needles that look like most other conifer trees, but looses... Continue Reading →
Winter is a difficult season for roses. Rapid temperature changes, sometimes as much as 20-30° F degrees in 24 hours, is very hard on plants. Unseasonably warm temperatures in January and February, along with repeated freezing and thawing of the soil can do a lot of damage. What can you do this fall to help your roses... Continue Reading →
Planting flowering bulbs is a fall tradition for many gardeners, and there is still plenty of time to get your bulbs in the ground this fall. In eastern Nebraska, bulbs can be planted from late September through the end of October, ideally when soil temperatures are below 60°F degrees. This allows the root system to develop before the ground... Continue Reading →
Garden professionals often talk about sanitation as a way to manage insect and disease problems in a garden or landscape. But what exactly is garden sanitation and how does it help with pest problems? Pest Overwintering Strategies Many disease organisms carry over from one season to the next on infected branches, leaves or fruits. Diseased... Continue Reading →
