Blog - The Organic Forecast

September 15, 2019

First Come the Squash Bugs, Then Come the Diseases!

2019 was a terrible year for squash bugs, and now its time to monitor for pumpkin diseases – yikes! The most recent Utah Pests Vegetable IPM Advisory is dedicated to all things that disease pumpkins. Check it out here.

September 8, 2019

Dealing with Nature’s Bounty – Your Guide to Garden Harvest!

Hello all, we are in the midst of garden harvest season and getting lots of questions on how to harvest and store your garden bounty. Shawn Olsen, Dan Drost and Teresa Hunsaker put together an excellent fact sheet on the harvest and storage of commonly grown vegetables and fruits. You can access it here– and don’t…

September 1, 2019

A Labor of Love

Happy Labor Day Everyone! I just want to give a thumbs up to my wonderful volunteers! It is my opinion that the single best way to give back is to volunteer your time and talents to those who can benefit from them. Doing a quick search, I found Labor Day is “dedicated to the social…

August 25, 2019

Beekeeping Not To Blame!

Does crowding bee colonies together cause an increase in honeybee disease prevalence – the answer to this question is unbeelievable! ‘Intensive’ Beekeeping Not To Blame for Common Bee Diseases

August 16, 2019

Meet the Master Gardeners at the 2019 Party in the Park

We – by we I mean the fabulous Master Gardeners – will once again be manning the youth scavenger hunt at the 2019 Party in the Park at Jordan Valley Conservation Garden Park on Saturday, August 17th from 4 pm to 7 pm. Check out this description: Celebrate summertime at the Conservation Garden Park with…

August 11, 2019

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)

Signs are posted at Wheeler Farm notifying the public about HABs or Harmful Algal Blooms. This post is devoted to 1) notifying you that HABs have been found in the Salt Lake Valley area and 2) educating you on how to identify them and why they are dangerous. HABs should be taken seriously as they…

August 4, 2019

Are Earwigs Really So Eerie?

No doubt, earwigs look eerie, like really eerie with those prominent backside pinchers and nocturnal activity. And earwigs are prominent in the garden – every gardener has seen them and wondered, are these insects friends or foes. Often I hear gardeners categorize them in the foe camp which in some cases is valid. But earwigs…

July 28, 2019

New USU Extension Fact sheet on Managing Field Bindweed – Take Two!

We’re getting a LOT of questions at the USU Extension diagnostic help desk on managing field bindweed, a.k.a field morning glory, so I thought I’d dedicate another week on controlling our worst foe! Suppression and Control of Field Bindweed – (Perennial Morning Glory) in Residential Areas Enjoy!

July 21, 2019

July Garden Tips

Enjoy some July gardening tips courtesy of USU Extension’s Gardeners Almanac! July Gardeners Almanac

July 14, 2019

Samurai Wasps Are Finally Here!!!

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as is the case with my 5 year old son. I recently asked him on a play-date with a classmate to name his favorite insect and his response surprised me – he said it was the Samurai wasp. The what you say??? His absorbent little ears heard…

Red, White and Blooms!

Those of you that follow our garden progress at Wheeler Historic Farm are bound to have noticed that the USU Extension Demonstration Teaching Garden is looking ‘bloomtastic’ these days! Flower gardens not only attract pollinators and beneficial insects, but also provide humankind eye-candy with firecrackers of color and texture. Here is a run-down of flowers…

June 30, 2019

It’s Time to Get to Squashing!

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but they’re here!!! Pests, Disease and Weeds! The recent Utah Vegetable IPM Advisory covers some of the common actors, thrips, cabbage moths, powdery mildew, and squash bugs – ARGH! Ready the troops, it’s time for combat – see the advisory linked below. Vegetable IPM Pest Advisory

June 23, 2019

Look for Symptoms of Fire Blight in Apple and Pear Trees!!!

Okay, so I normally don’t post on the same blog topic twice in the same spring but we are seeing symptoms of fire blight showing up in pear and apple trees so it’s time to take a close look at your trees NOW!!! Carefully inspect if there is any evidence of browning (apple) or blackening…

June 16, 2019

A New Pest Is Coming – And It’s a Bad One Folks!!!

Last week we hosted the Utah Association of County Agriculture Agents summer meeting in Salt Lake City – at Wheeler Farm to be specific, and we learned about some new and emerging issues, and pests, to be on the look-out for – and this one is a doozy, the Spotted Lanternfly. Albeit beautiful, it is…

June 9, 2019

The New Utah’s Gardening Experts Facebook Group Has Launched!

I’d like to invite you to join our new Facebook Group, Utah’s Gardening Experts. We have nearly 400 members already! The goal of this group is to create a gardening community, provide research-based information, and share new gardening resources from Extension.

May 31, 2019

Fireblight Risk is Extreme!!!

It looks like our bizarre spring weather has thrown us for another loop – apple and pear trees might be exposed to perfect conditions for fireblight infection. Check out this recent notification from the Utah Pests Team – and be on the look-out this year for fireblight infections! Fire Blight Risk on Late Blossoms

May 26, 2019

Do Weeds Leave You Wondering?

The good news is drier, sunny weather is on it’s way. The bad news is, so is a surge in weed growth. Go ahead to block out your weekend calendar for hours spent in the garden pulling baby weed plants! Many gardeners struggle with identification of newly germinated weed plants – but when they are…

May 19, 2019

The New Dirt Diggers Digest Edition on Phosphorus!

It’s hot of the press folks, the most recent edition of Dirt Diggers Digest – and it’s a lot to absorb! Take it away Grant…… “In my last post I discussed the sources and processing of mineral Phosphorus (P) for the many fertilizers available for this critically important plant nutrient. In this post I want…

May 12, 2019

You’re Smart as a Wasp – Hey That’s a Compliment!

It’s hard to comprehend the extent of insect intellect – we certainly blog a lot about it around here! But here’s a new one, wasps, and it turns out wasps are smart, like really smart! Check out this recent story I found on CNN.com – it’s a buzzer! Wasps are smarter than we thought –…

May 3, 2019

May 4th, 2019 Classes at Jordan Valley Conservation Garden Park

Thank you everyone for attending the Organic Vegetable Gardening and/or Herb Gardening classes this past Saturday, May 4th, 2019 at Jordan Valley Conservation Garden Park. As promised, here are the class notes! Basic Organic Gardening Herb Container Gardens Fact Sheet: Herb Container Gardens Growing and Cooking With Herbs pdf

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