Green Thumb
Gardening has been a lifelong passion for Wende and she’d like to share her passion with her readers. Follow her as she writes about her gardening adventures, lists tasks to do depending on the season, and gives easy to understand gardening advice.
UW Extension Weekly Horticulture PodCasts and Reports
If you are interested in hearing what's going on "horticulturally" in Wisconsin each week, the UW Extension holds a weekly meeting where the Master Gardeners discuss the calls they have received from people and also the experts report on what plant, animal, disease or insect trends are happening. They create both a podcast and a pdf transcript of the meetings.
Taking Care of Your Lawn - 4 Step Program
The early Spring has done wonders for our lawns and I see most everyone in my neighborhood has already mowed at least once. We've applied crabgrass preventer and fertilizer a little earlier than usual (it should be done by the end of April in a "normal" year).
USDA Unveils NEW Plant Hardiness Zone Map
Great News! After 20 years, the USDA has updated the Plant Hardiness Zones! Beware, our Zone 4 (or 5 depending on where you live) has now become Zone 5b (-15 to -10F). The new 13 zone map has been brought into the internet age with GIS-based interactive maps and more accurate zones that take into consideration things like elevation, terrain, and closeness to bodies of water. Using a 30 year timespan (unlike the 1990 version that used a 13 yr span), many more weather stations, and expert input from the climatic and horticultural community, the map is much more accurate than it was plus it shows a 5 degree increase (warmer) overall for the US.
What To Do About Spring Bulbs Popping Up Early
With all this warm weather lately, the plants think Spring is almost here! I noticed buds on trees that are easily seen as I drive by, tulips are trying to poke through the ground, and my parsley is still green and growing in the back yard!
Be Careful When Salting in the Winter – What it Does to Your Yard
Winter in Wisconsin – of course we need to use salt to melt dangerous ice - but salting can be very damaging to many landscape plants and grasses, so please be careful with how much you salt your walks and driveways. Additionally, we can’t control how much salt is applied in the street that sprays up onto your yards. Here’s some good techniques (from the Steins Gardening Calendar) to help avoid plant damage: