Carpenter Ants: When to Worry

Carpenter ants make their nests in dead and decaying wood, and sometimes that results to damage to structural wood. People often worry when they see a large black ant crawling in their landscape. Does this mean their house is at risk? Learn about nature’s carpenters and how to prevent carpenter ants from entering and infesting your home.

Rethinking Sweet Autumn Clematis

When we first think about invasive plants, we often conjure images of plants that are not pretty. I often think of the brambles that Maleficent casts around the castle in Sleeping Beauty. Sharp thorns, jagged edges, overall, a barren landscape. Invasive plants are not new. We know that some thistles, leafy spurge, and palmer amaranth…

Read More

Black Swallowtails – Caterpillars in the Herb Garden

If you have a flourishing herb garden, you’re bound to get pollinators and pests alike! Learn about the black swallowtail butterfly and why it needs a little bit (or a lot) of tolerance when it comes to sharing your dill, parsley, and fennel.

Old But New

Plant breeders have given us some spectacular wonders for our gardens over the years.  We now have beebalm and phlox that are more resistant to powdery mildew. Coneflowers now come in bright bolder colors with sturdier stems.  We even have different Joe-Pye-Weeds that are shorter, more compact and even some like Eupatorium altissimum ‘Prairie Jewel’…

Read More

Indian Meal Moths and the Infestation that Never Ends

The Indian meal moth is a common household pest, infesting stored food products such as flour, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, cereals, chocolate, bird seed, powered milk, pet food, and spices. They are found indoors all year round.

Don’t Wig Out Over Earwigs

The earwig is a curious pest. It is considered a wonderful mother, a creepy crawler, a natural enemy, and a pest of fruits.

Crawling up the walls: Brown marmorated stink bugs at it again

Yes, they’re back and they’re right on time. The brown marmorated stink bugs (BMSB) have certainly made a name for themselves in eastern Nebraska for invading houses. Over the last few years, they’ve become known as a structural pest and indoor nuisance. Entomologists call them fall invaders or incidental invaders, due to the timing of…

Read More

Fall Invading Insects

It is September, which means all the outdoor insects will start coming inside or bothering us more when we enjoy the cooler weather in the evening. Fall invading insects are just another thing to deal with, but they can be managed. Photo above of Minute Pirate Bug is from Jody Green, Urban Entomologist, Extension Educator…

Read More

Fall Watering

One of the most common questions right now at the Nebraska Extension office, is tree and shrub leaf problems resulting from drought stress. If your plant has been developing brown leaf splotches which started to appear in July or August, it’s a good bet you have leaf scorch.

Saving for the Future: Seed Saving Tricks and Tips

Many gardeners turn their attention to saving seeds in the fall, hoping to save the best and brightest from this year’s garden to grow in future years. There are definitely some do’s and don’ts that start even before you planted the garden this year. Check out this article I wrote for the Garden Professors blog…

Read More

Plants for Fall Interest

In August, many of our flowers are starting to fade for the year. It also is one of our hotter months of the year and it makes it difficult to do much outdoors. However, there are some great plants that start to reach their stride in August and September. The photo shown is of Illinois…

Read More

Overseeding Your Lawn

According to our garden calendars, fall is time to overseed our cool-season lawns. Homeowners have been asking a lot of good questions:
• Why overseed and how to do it?
• What about the heat, drought, and water restrictions?
Let’s dig in to overseeding—no shovel required.

Turn the Compost Pile

Turn over a new leaf. One good turn deserves another. A turn for the worse. Turn the page. Turn the beat around. Turn to stone. Wait your turn. All common phrases or songs that have found their way into our vernacular. Turning applies to gardening too. About once a month you should turn the compost pile. Once a week would be better, but let’s be realistic.

Fall Gardening

Gardening is so rewarding and so much fun, why not extend it into the fall. Now is a great time to start planting a fall garden. Fall Garden Fall gardening can be more beneficial than spring gardening. Some of our spring crops will actually grow better and produce better under cooler fall weather than they…

Read More