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Eastern Nebraska tends to have high soil pH, also known as alkaline soil, which can cause problems for some plants, like river birch, pin oak, big-leaf hydrangeas and blueberries to name a few. Alkaline soil changes the availability of certain plant nutrients, often making them less available, resulting in deficiency symptoms. Other conditions contributing to... Continue Reading →
Is this the year you want to plant a home vegetable garden? If so, it's time to get your plan together for this summer's garden. Home vegetable gardening is a popular hobby for a number of reasons. Some people garden for exercise and some for the enjoyment of harvesting flavorful produce that can be eaten... Continue Reading →
Broccoli hails from the Mediterranean region and has been enjoyed there since Roman times. Other European regions eventually caught on and broccoli was popularized in France as “Italian Asparagus” in about 1650. The English adopted it about 70 years later. We have been broccoli fans across the US since the 1920s when ice-packed broccoli heads... Continue Reading →
Don't be fooled by plastic flowers glued on to these cacti. Image by Sarah Browning, Nebraska Extension. It grates on my gardener’s soul to visit a big box store this time of year and see shelves of cacti each with a flower - in an array of colors - because (spoiler alert) most are glued-on... Continue Reading →
As spring gets closer, questions about how to best maintain our gardens come to mind. A very common question I receive each spring is "How do I prune my hydrangea?" Pruning HydrangeaNo wonder it’s confusing - there are several hydrangeas species commonly grown by Nebraska gardeners, with a different pruning strategy and timing for each.... Continue Reading →
Acreage Life - Nebraska 