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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 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 --- 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 --- 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?

In this part two episode of our series on native plants, our special guests Martha Smith, Austin Little, and Layne Knoche answer listener-submitted questions about native plants. Want to watch the podcast? You can on YouTube https://youtu.be/9YJfLhH07vA Should we be planting nativars? What about the genetics spreading in the wild? Is it okay to dig up native plants you find in the wild? What native plants are recommended to plant in very dry and sandy soil? If you remove bush honeysuckle do you need to replant something to keep it from coming back? What can be planted in a shaded hillside that has erosion problems? Our dogwood tree leaves dried and turned brown last year. What's going on with these trees? How can we reduce all the aphids on the milkweed plants without hurting the monarch caterpillars? Harvesting wild native plants https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/ethics/index.shtml Alternatives to Invasive Plants (book) https://www.amazon.com/Native-Alternatives-Invasive-Plants-Greener/dp/1889538779 The debate on natives vs nativars continues https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/garden-scoop/2019-12-28-native-vs-nativar Contact the hosts Ken Johnson kjohnso@illinois.edu Katie Parker keparkr2@illinois.edu Chris Enroth cenroth@illinois.edu

Check out Part One of our talk on native plants with Austin Little, Layne Knoche, and Martha Smith. All talented landscape designers, each guest shares their top three favorite native plants. You won't want want to miss this one as you plan ahead for this growing season. Want to watch the podcast? You can on YouTube https://youtu.be/UqvnZc_Y7rY What is a native plant and why should people incorporate these into the landscape? Austin's picks American persimmon Oakleaf hydrangea Gray dogwood American beautyberry Martha's picks White fringe tree Black tupelo Butterflyweed Layne's picks Slender mountain mint Swamp milkweed Red chokeberry

In this week's Good Growing podcast we chat with Nicole Flowers-Kimmerle, an Illinois Extension horticulture educator. We get into the thick of it as we talk seed catalogs and tips for navigating your way through the inundation of marketing from seed companies in these winter months. Plus your questions! What’s the difference between hybrids and GMOs? How can I avoid purchasing GMO seeds? What about certified organic seed? Should I throw away seed from last year? What are all these different abbreviations next to the plant names in the catalog? Is it legal to save seed from a vegetable that I ordered from a seed catalog? Is there a way to get free seed? Bush or vining type? Determinate and indeterminate? What is best if I just want a small tomato plant? Seed viability chart from Iowa State Extension https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/1999/4-2-1999/veggielife.html Want to watch the podcast? You can on YouTube https://youtu.be/shGknomSQFw Contact the hosts Ken Johnson kjohnso@illinois.edu Katie Parker keparkr2@illinois.edu Chris Enroth cenroth@illinois.edu

In this week's Good Growing podcast we chat once again with Gemini Bhalsod, an Illinois Extension horticulture educator for Cook County. Gemini and the group dive into seed production and why we are already seeing shortages for the 2021 growing season. We also discuss how you can plan your garden for saving your seed this year. Plus your questions! Tomato seeds from last year have mold on them. Can they be saved? Is it too late to plant milkweed seed in January? Can I save seed from a sweet pepper plant being overwintered that is producing fruit now? Can I sow lawn seed in the winter? What can teachers plant now (January) which will grow in time for the kids to see flowers or harvest? Want to watch the podcast? You can on YouTube https://youtu.be/Uh09yv6Anao Contact the hosts Ken Johnson kjohnso@illinois.edu Katie Parker keparkr2@illinois.edu Chris Enroth cenroth@illinois.edu

In this week's episode, the Good Growing team sits down with Dean Kim Kidwell to talk about all things Illinois Extension and College of ACES (Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences). Dean Kidwell leads the College of ACES on the University of Illinois campus and oversees the efforts of Illinois Extension across the state. With so much on her plate, we cover lots of ground including the connection between Extension and ACES and how that translates to bridging the University of Illinois to our local communities. We also chat about Dean Kidwell's background as a University of Illinois student and life before taking the role of an administrator as a wheat breeder. Dean Kidwell also announces some big news for Illinois Extension and the University of Illinois campus. Interested in learning more about a degree in ACES? Check out their website and schedule a time to visit. https://aces.illinois.edu/ Want to watch the podcast? You can on YouTube https://youtu.be/5BTH6dZ6-fc Contact the hosts Ken Johnson kjohnso@illinois.edu Katie Parker keparkr2@illinois.edu Chris Enroth cenroth@illinois.edu

In this week’s episode of the Good Growing podcast, we talk with corn and soybean farmer Matt Duesterhaus about what’s life like for a farmer in Central Illinois. Matt talks about what led him to farming, what it takes to farm from money to knowledge, and what was farming like during 2020. Plus Matt answers your questions during our Ask a Farmer segment. Come learn about the people that cultivate our land to put food on our tables in this week's episode. Your Questions: Illinois seems to lag behind other states when it comes to cover crop use. Why and will we start seeing more cover crops being used? I’ve heard fall tillage described as “recreational tillage” or something bored farmers do in the fall. Why do we see so much tilling occur in the fall? What’s in those big white tanks in the fall? What’s it used for? What are the planes spraying on the fields in the summer? What are Illinois farmers doing to help protect the land to ensure we can keep farming into the future? Dicamba has been making the news these last few years. What do farmers think of this? Is it a good tool? Is it destined to lead to resistance? Want to watch the podcast? You can on YouTube https://youtu.be/LNV6z68nU1s Contact the hosts Ken Johnson kjohnso@illinois.edu Katie Parker keparkr2@illinois.edu Chris Enroth cenroth@illinois.edu

On this week’s Good Growing Podcast, we chat with entomology specialist Sarah Hughson about pantry pests. Sarah dives into what to do about moths in your cereal and “maggots” in your flour. Still hungry? We also dig into cockroaches and ants. Put down the spatula because you won’t want to miss this episode! Plus your questions: What are those small moths flying around the kitchen and how do we get rid of them? Should you be spraying your pantry with bug killer? (Spoiler: it’s not a good idea) Will carpenter ants in a dead tree stump outside come into my house? I keep getting worms in my apples on my backyard apple trees. How can I get worm-free apples? I bought some Rid-X now I have tiny bugs crawling everywhere! Are they from the Rid-X? Questions about pesticides? Need to become a licensed pesticide applicator in Illinois? Check out the Pesticide Safety and Education website. https://extension.illinois.edu/psep/psep-homepage Register now for the 85th annual Pest Management Conference host by Purdue University https://www.extension.entm.purdue.edu/urbanconference/ Geared toward commercial growers, but still chocked full of good information for any tree fruit gardener the 2019-2020 Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide https://ag.purdue.edu/hla/Hort/pages/sfg_sprayguide.aspx Check out Ken’s article on common pantry pests https://extension.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/common_pantry_pests.pdf Want to watch the podcast? You can on YouTube https://youtu.be/TYHS4MdgFnU Contact the hosts Ken Johnson kjohnso@illinois.edu Katie Parker keparkr2@illinois.edu Chris Enroth cenroth@illinois.edu

Good Growing loves trees and we are excited to promote the Urban Tree Conference. A month-long conference in an online format for January 2021. The Urban Tree Conference is host by the University of Illinois Extension. Conference dates: January 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22. Register soon! go.illinois.edu/urbantree

On this week’s Good Growing podcast we sit down once again with Energy and Environment educator Peggy Doty. We catch up from our last meeting as we ponder what happened to Bruno the Bear who wandered throughout Illinois this past summer. Peggy also talks about wildlife and some of the problems humans may encounter when an animal happens in to our yards. Peggy says with more people working from home we are noticing more wild animals in our yards, but they were always there, we just weren’t looking. We talk about what is the most destructive wild animal and ways to minimize their efforts to eat our landscapes. We talk conservation efforts that can be done in the backyard, habitat loss, and if animal bridges over busy roads really work. Plus, your questions: 1. Does feeding wildlife disrupt natural patterns? 2. Do raccoons hibernate? 3. How can we stop deer from rubbing on our trees and eating our shrubs? 4. Is it possible to feed the birds, but not the mice? 5. What can be done to stop raccoons from using a backyard as a latrine? 6. Will a mouse live trapped in the house and freed outside come back inside? 7. Should you pass on a doe to bag a buck? Check out Illinois Extension’s Living with Wildlife webpage https://www.wildlifeillinois.org/ Want to watch the Good Growing podcast? Head over to our YouTube channel to see us in person! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEYBGqFXZS6Sn37n1mVcY1g?view_as=subscriber

On this week's Good Growing podcast we sit down with Robert Richardson, president of the Illinois Christmas Tree Growers Association. Robert is also an accomplished Christmas tree grower north of the Chicago area. During the show, Robert gives the scoop on the high demand for fresh-cut Christmas trees in 2020. We learn what all goes into growing a Christmas tree and the years of patience it requires. We also get into Richard's important work with Trees for Troops. Plus your questions answered: What are the most commonly grown Christmas trees in Illinois? Should you boil your water first before putting it in the tree stand? Does Aspirin or bleach in the water help tree last longer? What are some important tips to keeping a cut tree looking good the entire holiday season? When I'm done with the Christmas tree can I burn it? I want to grow my own live Christmas tree, but will digging it up damage the roots? Illinois Christmas Tree Growers Association https://ilchristmastrees.com/ Trees for Troops https://www.christmasspiritfoundation.org/ Illinois Extension Christmas Trees and More https://web.extension.illinois.edu/trees/index.cfm Contact the hosts Ken Johnson kjohnso@illinois.edu Katie Parker keparkr2@illinois.edu Chris Enroth cenroth@illinois.edu

On this week’s Good Growing podcast, Extension horticulture educator Jennifer Fishburn hangs out with the group to chat about gifts for gardeners. They dive into fool-proof gift ideas for the gardener in your life. From types of clothing to tools to entertainment, your list of gifts will be full after listening to this podcast. We even added to our own lists of what we would like to get this holiday season. Plus, your questions: What is a fast-growing tree that doesn’t drop a lot of debris? Who can neighbors contact when they are having a dispute over a tree on the property line? Are GMOs in local soybean meal safe to put in compost for an organic garden? Can you cut back a limelight hydrangea in the winter? Recently planted dwarf apple trees have settled and are now planted too low. Can these be reset at the correct height? Find Extension books and publications at our PubsPlus website https://pubsplus.illinois.edu/ Contact the hosts Ken Johnson kjohnso@illinois.edu Katie Parker keparkr2@illinois.edu Chris Enroth cenroth@illinois.edu