Good Growing

In this episode of the Good Growing podcast, we sit down with University of Illinois Extension educator Carrie McKillip to talk about disaster preparedness and things we as residents in storm-prone Illinois need to consider. Carrie is a Community and Economic Development educator who specializes in helping communities prepare and respond to disasters. We chat about how she does that, keeping an emergency kit, should we be worried about earthquakes in Illinois, and preparing for the disaster we are most likely to face.

Plus we answer actual questions that came into the Extension office during past Illinois disasters.

How do you get debris out of the lawn following a tornado?

What should you do about trees that are damaged during storms?

Can you eat produce from a flooded vegetable garden?

How can we fix our lawn after being flooded for weeks?

Should we knock the ice off of branches during an ice storm?

How can you make your yard more sustainable from drought?

Native plant list from Indiana/Illinois Sea Grant https://iiseagrant.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/1-ILLINOIS-NATIVE-PLANTS-FOR-THE-HOME-LANDSCAPE.pdf

Watch us on YouTube https://youtu.be/uYxLlpKnASM

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Any products mentioned during the podcast are in no way a promotion of these products.

On this week's Good Growing podcast we share some recent photos of spring-blooming plants in our yards. Horticulture program coordinator and photographer Wendy Ferguson gives us some tips for improving our photography skills. Plus your home gardening questions answered.

I have an image of our saucer magnolia taken at night. The flowers seemed to glow in the dark so I grabbed my camera, but the photo didn’t turn out well. Can I take a photo at night and get realistic images?

Hellebores in bloom

Is there anything I can do about shadows? I always have my shadow or the shadow of something else in my pictures. I understand to move, but is there something else I can do?

Close up images

Image composition

Taking pictures at ground level

Some unique tulip cultivars; plus a field full of spring beauties https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/good-growing/2021-04-15-spring-brings-spring-beauties-landscape

What can I do about harsh lighting during the middle of the day?

I bought blooming spring bulbs in containers for Easter. Is it okay to cut the foliage and dead blooms off of my bulbs before I plant them in the ground?

Will the cold night temperatures affect my snapdragons I just planted in a container?

How do you get rid of creeping Charley?

When the best time to spray for bagworms?

How to control wild onion in turf?

Watch us on YouTube https://youtu.be/oySSB7hl614

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Any products mentioned during the podcast are in no way a promotion of these products.

In this week's Good Growing podcast we chat with Mary Fischer about her work in building a coalition of conservationists with Illinois teenagers. Mary is working to expand the Master Naturalist program to teens to build a land ethic in the next generation and create ideas for future careers. Plus we answer your home gardening questions!

Talking about Mary's work to build a Master Naturalist Youth program.

What are some easy and inexpensive activities parents can do with their kids outdoors? (maybe even educational)

We’re seeing lots of escaped ornamental pear trees flowering along our woodland. Should we cut it down now? How do we get rid of this?

We’ve heard a lot about night-blooming plants and how it may help pollinators like moths. What do you recommend? We have both full sun and full shade landscape beds we’d like to plant.

We would like to grow sweet potatoes this year, but we have no idea where to start. Plus, what is a sweet potato slip?

An old oak had branches resting on a powerline. I just trimmed them off then realized it is probably too late in the year. The saw was clean -- never used on oak before. Branches were 4 to 6 inches in diameter. Did I mess up and if so, is there something I can do about it? I know they don't recommend coating with a coating sealer. I don't know why I think about these things after I do them.

Does planting multiple seeds per pot is making their tomatoes taller. Is competition a factor?

Watch us on YouTube https://youtu.be/PaQkWxeG77k

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Any products mentioned during the podcast are in no way a promotion of these products.

On this week's Good Growing podcast the groups sit down with Dennis Bowman to talk about using drones in agriculture. How much do you know about drones? 8:52 We have a true or false pop quiz with Ken and Katie to test their knowledge about drones. 4:30 What is the difference between GPS and GIS. Plus, Dennis answers your ag questions!

Using Drones in Ag

9:38 Can anyone buy and start flying a drone?

15:24 What type of drone does Dennis fly?

17:42 Is it legal to leave while your drone flies a pre-mapped pattern?

19:16 Do drones take measurements using sensors, just like in Star Trek?

25:20 Where does most of the work take place when flying drones in agriculture? In the field or at the computer?

29:18 What amount of area can a drone cover on one battery charge?

30:36 How detailed can you get with drones? Down to a single plant?

33:20 It is legal in Illinois to use drones to spray pesticides?

37:29 Will new technology will reduce future pesticide loads in the environment?

38:50 Is being an ag drone pilot a viable career opportunity?

Your Questions:

40:43 Is it legal for a drone to be flying over my property?

42:32 What are the plants that cause farm fields to turn purple in the spring?

43:28 We have noticed lots of vole damage in our alfalfa field this spring. What can be done to control it?

44:37 During the warm early March weather, we tilled the field. Since then we’ve had lots of rain and large portions had standing water on it. Does it need to be turned over again?

Watch us on YouTube https://youtu.be/8uD5blfrTvg

Any products mentioned during the podcast are in no way a promotion of these products.

On this week's Good Growing podcast hosts Ken, Katie, and Chris share what's going on in their vegetable gardens and what yard chores are on their to-do list. Is it time for spring cleanup? Ken notices some bees are out and looking for nesting locations and gives tips on providing that habitat while cleaning out some dead plants. Katie talks about lawn care and what we should be doing this early in the spring. Plus your questions answered!

What kind of maintenance should be happening for fruit trees in early spring?

What can be done about mole and vole damage to yards?

Bees are emerging in our basement from a wood table! What can we do to keep that from happening?

Bees are swarming the bird feeder. Why? What can a person with bee allergies do to stop it?

What are some tips to sustainably maintain our lawns?

Should we be doing grub control in the spring?

Watch us on YouTube https://youtu.be/LvNlLfp_KiQ

On this week's Good Growin podcast we chat about the team's upcoming Good Growing Garden Day all about pollinators. Andrew Holsinger joins us to dive into the topics we will discuss during the Garden Day webinar covering hummingbirds, pollinating insects, wildflowers, and native trees. Plus, we answer questions on these topics.

More information on the event page https://extension.illinois.edu/events/2021-03-27-good-growing-garden-day-pollinators-webinar

Register for the Good Growing Pollinator Day go.illinois.edu/GardenDayPollinators

When is the best time to put out hummingbird feeders?

When can I start cleaning up my garden if I want to try and protect overwintering pollinators?

Establishing a pollinator plot from seed versus potted plants.

How should I plant native trees and shrubs in my landscape for the most significant impact on pollinators?

How can I attract more hummingbirds to my yard?

I have a butterfly house in my garden, but I never find butterflies in it. What can I do to attract them to it?

What flowers that attract pollinators are recommended for part shade or under trees?

What can I do to make sure I get the best native woody plant for my site?

Watch us on YouTube https://youtu.be/rk2_VGj6S0k

This week the Good Growing team chats with Illinois Extension educator Duane Friend about cover crops and soil organic matter. They discuss a recent article about how the Midwest is quickly losing carbon-rich topsoil and if that rings true for Illinois. Duane gives possible remedies to help conserve soil and how cover crops can play a role and how cover crops can be used in the home garden. Plus your questions:

There is a funky smell in the air near the farm fields. Is this rotting cover crops?

What to do when your brand new home is left with lousy soil.

Can cover crops be planted in the spring before planting tomatoes?

Can cover crops become weeds?

Is there a way to kill cover crops without using herbicides?

I started using cover crops, but now I have voles in my garden. What can I do!?

Tilling my garden for years has caused the soil to settle. Will using cover crops stop the settling?

Check out Duane's upcoming webinar on Farm Pond Management https://extension.illinois.edu/events/2021-03-30-rural-pond-management-webinar

Duane also has a new blog All About Weather https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/all-about-weather

Want to watch the podcast? You can on YouTube https://youtu.be/3b-03cLAfr4

Do you want to get started with beekeeping? Spring is the time to get your hive up and running. Our guest this week, Illinois Extension horticulture educator Jennifer Fishburn, gets into the details of how to start a beehive. Plus, listener questions:

Can beehives be kept in town?

When should you start a hive?

What do you need to set up a hive and keep from getting stung?

What type of budget are we talking about for a beginning beekeeper?

Do you need to provide things other than what's in the hive? Water about water?

How do you harvest the honey?

How to transition mostly grass CRP into bee-friendly flowers?

Is micro clover a good groundcover for bees?

How do you keep your bee colony healthy?

Should beehives be kept in the shade?

Want to watch the podcast? You can on YouTube https://youtu.be/8hSLNLxn1jw

In this week's Good Growing episode we chat with Illinois Extension forestry specialist Chris Evans about maple syrup and how you can make maple syrup in your own backyard. Chris also answers listener-submitted questions on forestry.

Want to watch the podcast? You can on YouTube https://youtu.be/j8MmgCrfVeM

Maple syrup questions:

Did the prolonged cold-snap affect maple syrup production?

Does being in Southern Illinois affect maple sap?

Can you use other species besides sugar maple?

How was maple syrup harvested historically?

What kind of investment are we talking for a homeowner wanting to harvest sap for syrup?

Is this like canning where we have to keep things sterile?

Is climate change at play here? Will we lose the sugar maple in Illinois?

Forestry questions:

If someone would like to begin a profitable timber investment for their kids where do they start?

A landowner has cleared out a black walnut patch from his woods and would like to plant edible walnuts. What does he need to know about planting edible walnuts?

A vegetable grower has some old Austrian pines that are dying and need to rebuild their windbreak. They would like to include plants that may also contribute to their farm with edible crops for harvest.

How can you determine the value of trees?

How do you find someone local to harvest the trees?

Lots of great resources can be found at Illinois Extension's forestry webpage https://extension.illinois.edu/forestry

We are talking all about birds on this week's Good Growing podcast. We chat with Dr. Michael Ward on the plight of birds. Are the declining populations dire? Why are Midwestern migrating birds being found in shark stomachs in the Gulf of Mexico? Dr. Ward tells what is being done across the borders, in Illinois agricultural lands, and how we can help in our backyards. Plus, Citizen Science opportunities anyone can do. Dr. Ward is a senior ornithologist at Illinois Natural History Survey and associate professor at the University of Illinois. He recently won the distinguished Runge Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award.

Dr. Ward also answers listener questions:

What to do about barn swallows nesting above a patio?

Can you feed birds people food like stale bread and crackers?

What can be done to stop birds from hitting the window?

Should we feed birds all year?

How do we attract more than just sparrows to our feeders?

Should we clean our birdfeeders?