Garden Update
Week of August 15, 2022
Kathleen Cue, Extension Horticulture Educator in Dodge County
Drought 2022
As much of the region deepens to severe and extreme drought, it is crucial to provide water to plants impacted by the dry conditions. Orchards, landscape plants, trees, conifers, shrubs, and windbreaks will need a deep soaking to survive the summer drought and increase chances for winter survival.
Garden Update
Week of August 1, 2022
Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator in Dodge County
Blossom End Rot of Tomatoes
A dark leathery lesion on the underside of tomatoes indicates blossom end rot. It’s not a fungal condition alone but a location of calcium deficiency that allows rot to develop. Typically, BER occurs on the first tomatoes of the season, often with the onset of high temperatures. A recurrence of BER can happen when conditions are extremely dry. Peppers, eggplant, zucchini, and other summer squash can also develop BER.
Garden Update
Week of July 25
Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator in Dodge County
Magnolia Scale
Garden Update
Week of July 18, 2022
Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator
Japanese Beetles
If it were a simple matter of having plants Japanese beetles (JB) do not like to eat, we’d have less feeding damage to our favorite plants. At 300 plus plant species they feed on, however, that quickly becomes a tall order. Typically, in the first year JB are found in an area, the amount of feeding damage is relatively low. In the second and third years of infestation, however, their numbers are so high that it feels like an invasion!
Garden Update
Week of July 11, 2022
Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator Dodge County
The Intersection of Landscape Design and Call Before You Dig
Garden Update
Week of July 4, 2022
Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator
When Plants Defend Themselves
There is a great line in the first Jurassic Park movie when Ellie, the character played by Laura Dern, says, and I’m paraphrasing here, “Plants can be pretty but will defend themselves if threatened.” Assuredly, not all plants are sweet and accommodating. Of course, there are plants that throw in their lot with humans, giving people fruits and vegetables for food, fiber for textiles, and medicines for health. We manipulate plants to get what we need, and we aid their survival by saving seed and propagating plants. It begs the question, though, are we manipulating plants or are they manipulating us?
