You may have noticed greenish/brown jelly like blobs appearing in your drive way or lawn. That is called Nostoc. It is a type of bacteria that gets its energy from photosynthesis like plants do. Following a period of rain, it may appear suddenly in lawns, pastures, paved surfaces, roofs or stones. Nostoc has many colorful names including witches’ butter, mare’s eggs and meadow ears, among others. In fact, one of the earliest names for it was star jelly, based on the belief that it was a remnant of shooting stars fallen to earth. Continue reading
Category Archives: Pests
Butterfly Gardens
This summer, many families plan to travel for vacation. Maybe a trip to the beach or out west to the mountains. Some of these trips require a day or two of driving long distances. One species of butterfly could be considered the ultimate trip planner. Continue reading
Wheel Bugs
When one studies insects he or she will quickly discover there are several beneficial insects. Yes, we all have heard of the praying mantis, but does the name wheel bug ring a bell? Continue reading
Can I Garden over my Septic System?
As we start to think about gardening and lawn care this year, one question may pop up: Can I garden on my septic system? Well, there are a couple of questions to consider:
- Can a garden be contaminated by bacterial and viral hazards which may be found in septic drainfields? A properly operating septic system will not contaminate the soil with disease organisms, but it can be difficult to tell if the system is working at optimum efficiency. Also, the soil type can make a difference. Clay like soil will eliminate any organism within a few inches of the system, while a sandy soil could allow for movement of bacteria several feet.
Tool Clean Up & Care
At the end of the gardening season, it’s so easy to just walk away from your garden and “deal with it” in the spring. And when it comes to tools, as long as they are back in the shed, well, you’ve done great and can find them again when you need them. However, even your gardening tools need a little TLC to keep them fresh (and disease free) for next year. So over the winter, spending some time caring for your tools will help them last longer and keep your garden healthier for the next season. Continue reading
Fall Care
Fall is a time to give some care to woody plants. Most shrubs and trees do not need to be fertilized, if the lawn is fertilized. Also, if leaf litter (fallen leaves) is allowed to remain on the ground below the canopy, then there is a good chance that is a source of nutrients. But if soil testing reveals a need for supplemental nutrients, then fall of the year is good for fertilizer application. Continue reading
Yellow poplar looking yellow? It must be summer…
Have you noticed that our state tree, yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), is looking less than stately right now? All around the bluegrass, yellow poplar leaves are turning yellow and dropping. Leaves on inside seem most affected but this yellowing occurs relatively evenly distributed top to bottom in canopy. Continue reading
Turf Disease and your Lawn
Every summer, it seems, our fescue lawns suffer with a multitude of ugly brown areas. Often, the areas start small, multiply, and by the end of the summer, have taken over the entire lawn. Most often, the brown areas are associated with some type of fungus that caused disease. Continue reading
Good Cultural Habits Promote Pest-Free Plants
There is nothing worse than coming into your garden to discover that seemingly, overnight, an entire crop was eliminated by insects. And once done, months of hard work can be negated for an entire season. While it seems like pests appear and disappear at random, there is a pattern to their movement and subsequently a pattern for prevention. Continue reading
I Got 99 Problems but Tomatoes Ain’t One
Tomato Problems
For all the joy and satisfaction that growing tomatoes can give a gardener, the frustration and aggravation can be equally as great! Several issues can plague the tomato grower. Here are a few non-disease problems: Continue reading
Kentucky Hort News 