Blog - Page 2 of 17 - The Organic Forecast

February 23, 2020

The Garden Professors

If you have never visited the Garden Professors blog, you really should. I love their motto “advancing the science of gardening and other stuff since 2009”! The garden professors never shy away from a good garden controversy and are quick to help us all understand why some home garden remedies are just bad advice (scientifically…

Pruning Fruit Trees: Clip with Confidence!

Correctly pruning fruit trees can lead to healthier trees that produce more quality fruit! Who doesn’t want that? Here at the Organic Forecast we want share tips on how to correctly prune as far and wide as possible. We promise pruning doesn’t have to be complicated! You can clip with confidence with some simple resources…

February 9, 2020

Garden Safe De-icing Products for Sidewalks and Driveways

Wow, what a wet, wonderful winter we have had so far in the Salt Lake Valley! Skiers and snowboarders love it, but homeowners sometimes loathe it – shovel after shovel load of winter wonderland! Streets can be difficult to maintain and driving/walking conditions slippery which brings up a concern for gardeners – deicing salts. Salts…

February 2, 2020

It’s All About Soil Structure!

We have started our 2020 Master Gardener training in Salt Lake County and the class just got done talking about soil science. I was reminded of the important relationship between organic matter and soil structure and thought it might be a good idea to re-visit and re-share Dr. Grant Cardon’s Dirt Diggers Digest post on…

text over image of seedlings in seed starting tray

January 26, 2020

Gear-up for the Growing Season – Disease Free!

It is certainly easy to get excited about the up-coming growing season, and indoor seed starting and greenhouse production provides real relief for the wintertime blues. But before you let the intoxication of seed starting mixes and seedling heat mats cloud your better judgement, make sure you take time to practice proper sanitation methods. Nick…

January 19, 2020

The Secret to Immortality is to Keep Growing – It’s Champion, the Gingko Biloba

If you are not familiar with the Gingko biloba, or Maidenhair tree, you are missing out! For starters, scientist have found fossils of the species dating back to the time of dinosaurs – Say What??? I found this recent article on CNN.com very interesting. Researchers are beginning to understand how some tree species can live so…

January 12, 2020

Be Legit-Get Equipped! Start Garden Seedlings Indoors

One of the best ways to beat the winter time blues is to start your own garden seedlings indoors. Nothing screams spring like watching your garden plants germinate and grow! Starting seedlings indoors is not hard and does not need to be expensive, but there are some necessary equipment purchases you need to make to…

January 5, 2020

My Heart’s A Flutter

Butterflies are always a delight to spot in the garden and one common Utah visitor is the painted lady butterfly. I thought it might be appropriate to take moment to pause and pay tribute to my lady, the painted lady butterfly. I pulled this segment from the broader June 29, 2019 Utah Pests Landscape IPM…

December 29, 2019

A Giant New Pest of Honeybees

Does a massive 2 inch long hornet sound scary? How about if you were a honeybee? I found this recent article on CNN.com about the Asian giant hornet that has been found hunting honeybees in Washington State. Yikes, watch out honeybees!

December 22, 2019

The Force Be With Yule!

December 15, 2019

Quiz – What Does Air Pollution Have To Do With Bee Foraging?

Well poor air quality days are certainly rough on my lungs but what about the bees? Food for thought – does poor air quality have any effect on bee foraging? According to researchers at Penn State University, the answer is maybe yes – read more in this Fisher Science Education article.

December 8, 2019

Hey Santa, I Want Cosmic Crisp Apples in My Stocking This Year!

I am completely intrigued about a new apple hybrid developed by plant breeders at Washington State University called ‘Cosmic Crisp’! I has a refrigerated shelf life of up to one year and high sugar and acid content. Proponents of the new apple variety at Washington State University are calling it the ‘Queen Bey of apples’! …

December 1, 2019

Utah Pests Quarterly Newsletter

Now that a nice white blanket of snow has covered up all our yard and garden problems, it’s time to catch up on some reading! Enjoy the fall 2019 Utah Pests Quarterly Newsletter – I guarantee you will learn something new! Quiz question, what is push-pull trap cropping? Read to find out!

November 24, 2019

Is the Insect Apocalypse Really Coming?

Okay sure, the media has a tendency to blow things out of proportion sometimes but I found this recent news story from CNN really interesting. Furthermore, it discusses things backyard gardeners – like you – can do to help some insect populations. Enjoy the story and check out this picture of a beneficial insect hotel one of…

November 17, 2019

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…

November 10, 2019

Rotten Pumpkins Got You Bummed?

Jack-o’-lanterns: Prevent Your Carved Creation from Becoming a Fungal Fiasco By Nick Volesky Carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns is an art form that comes in all shapes, sizes and levels of difficulty. The final product (usually) makes the pumpkin carver proud and anxious to display his or her work. However, often just a few…

November 3, 2019

Dig Into Another Edition of the Dirt Diggers Digest!

Oh man, we all patiently await these things – new additions of the Dirt Diggers Digest! And today I have a brand new one to post – I know you got sick of re-reading all the previous posts! So sit back, relax and learn something new about dirt…I mean soil…I mean black gold…I mean heaven! …

October 27, 2019

Don’t Get Spooked Over Spiders! – Redux

Some things are erringly predictable; as the nighttime temperatures dip; spiders start showing-up inside the house and in protected areas around the garden. Although spooky to some, it is important to remember that spiders are great generalist predators of common garden insect pests and are therefore considered beneficial in the garden. It is important to…

October 20, 2019

Fall Garden Checklist

Fall is a great time to prepare the garden for springtime. Sheridan Hansen, USU Extension Horticulture Faculty in Davis County, recently provided fall garden tips on Studio 5 with Brooke Walker. Check out her clip here.

October 13, 2019

New Pest Alert!!!!!

You know it’s serious when a blog title gets 5 exclamation points, but there is a new pest in town and it deserves all of them!!!!! If you’ve never heard of the Japanese beetle, you need to learn about it. We’ve seen it before in Utah and chased it out of town, that was then…

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