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mower with leaves

Leave Your Leaves!

 If you are like me, you have been inundated with leaves of late – and with cold wet weather moving in, getting out to rake them is starting to sound less and less enticing.  I’ve always found great humor in the fact that many gardeners rake up leaves and pick to sticks to ‘donate’ to…

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What Went Wrong…..

 Problems in the garden are inevitable, but they also present a learning opportunity for savvy gardeners.  It’s really easy to want to just check out and retire yard and garden problems until next growing season, but give yourself a leg up next year and spend a little time learning about how to avoid problems in…

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leaves in flower beds

Why Do Leaves Turn Colors in the Fall?

 Hmmmmm?  These are the mysteries of our life!  Thanks to JayDee Gunnell, USU Extension Horticulture Faculty in Cache County – now you know why! What Causes Autumn Leaves to Change Color?   Plus Taun Beddes, USU Extension Horticulture Faculty in Utah County, provided some fall projects and pruning pointers!  Geez Louise – so much you…

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fall in an orchard

Fall Orchard Clean-up

 Ahhh, fall colors, crisp fall air and sweet fall apples – what’s not to love about this time of year?  Well, one thing, maybe fall clean-up – if you’re not a lover of yard and garden chores!  But fall maintenance is very important for fruit trees!  Check out the latest Utah Pests Team pest advisory…

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Happy volunteers at Wheeler Farm

So you want to be a Master Gardener?

 It’s the time of year again when the harvest is in full swing, kids are back to school and the Extension office is flooded with phone calls from those eagerly inquiring about the upcoming Master Gardener program. Throughout the year we keep an interest list with names and emails of those who would like to…

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A New Buzz Around Bees

 In case you happened to miss the recent radio program “The History and Necessity of Bees” – that aired on KUER Radio West on September 26, 2018 – I want to make sure you know about this EXCELLENT discussion on honey bees, native bees and bee habitat.  Take time to listen to the archived podcast…

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Scarecrow displayed in USU Demo garden

Summer 2018 Is Coming to an End!

 Summer months are often FULL of garden surprises, pests, disease, drought, hail and more!  This summer was no exception – we really saw some crazy stuff this growing season, but savvy gardeners will tell you it is important to take time to reflect on past season problems and learn how to avoid repeating the same…

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people applying biochar

The Skinny on Soil Testing

 Here at the Salt Lake County Extension office, we get oodles of questions on soil testing – how to, why do, and um what am I supposed to decipher from these results!  I like to stress that soil testing does not give you all the answers, but is important baseline information for properly managing soils…

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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…

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A Labor of Love!

 Love is in the air!  This holiday weekend we celebrate giving back to our seniors while beneficial insects give back to us in our garden – curious, check out this recent video from KUED’s The Modern Gardener!  Have a fruitful and safe holiday weekend! Companion Planting with USU Extension

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What’s Troubling My Tomatoes?

 Many gardeners have waited all summer to eat fresh tomatoes. Sometimes though, as the first tomatoes mature, they may be deformed, cracked or have other problems. In this case, the weather, not microorganisms, is usually to blame. Four conditions are especially common. These include sunscald, cat-facing, cracking and blossom end rot. Consider this information. Sunscald appears…

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Meet Me at the Fair!

 Come see our Master Gardeners at the 2018 Salt Lake County Fair Family FarmFest August 9, 10 and 11 at the Salt Lake County Equestrian Park and Fairgrounds in South Jordan, Utah.  For more details and the daily schedule click here. Also come and see us at the 2018 Party in the Park hosted by Jordan…

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Butterfly Wings Among Other Things

 Butterflies are so unbelievably cool – and quite complicated!  For example, did you know butterfly wings are made up of hundreds of tiny ‘scales’?  It turns out genes are responsible for forming the wing patterns of butterflies.  Check out this recent article on the Utah Pests website about recent research that has helped unlock this miraculous mystery.

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Banking on Beetles

 Wanna control slugs and snails naturally?  One idea is to build a beetle bank!  According to Gwendolyn Ellen from Oregon State University Integrated Plant Protection Center, “beetle banks are permanent habitat for predacious ground beetles” and predacious ground beetles, with their giant mandibles, prey on large soft bodied insect pests like slugs and snails.  Raised…

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Salty Soils – Saline Secrets

 Soil salinity secrets are once again dissolved thanks to Dr. Grant Cardon, our USU Extension Soil Specialist.  Grant digs deep into plant tolerances of soil salinity in his most recent edition of Dirt Diggers Digest.  Here is his post and stay hydrated out there – it’s hot! Plant Tolerance to Soil Salinity In my December…

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