We’ve had an early spring this year, and I’ve been noticing more weeds and more unusual weeds in my yard as a result. I hope others are not having this problem, but in case you are, I’m going to do a weekly feature on the weeds I’m finding — this could take all summer! Let me know if you have…
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I have been checking the internal temperature of my straw bales to see if they are starting to decompose inside. According to the information from Joel Karsten at strawbalegardens.com, the bales should start to heat up about now. I checked yesterday — in the 40-degree cold rain — and found that most of the bales were only about 60 degrees…
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Last week, I attended a presentation on straw bale gardening with my friend, Penny. We both left Joel Karsten’s talk very excited to try this new type of container gardening. So over the weekend, I located a farmer near New Trier who had some big, beautiful bales of wheat straw that I used to set up my straw bale gardens….
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I first noticed the tell-tale tents of eastern tent caterpillars (Malacosoma americanum) in the nature area near our house about a week ago. Sure enough, when I did my post-freeze assessment of the backyard, a tiny nest was clinging to one of the apple trees — although it looked like no one was home. These caterpillars have been regular visitors…
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My very unofficial thermometer read about 24 degrees F at 7 a.m. today, and there were definite signs of a freeze around the neighborhood. Last night, I covered up my little Bali cherry tree out front in hopes of keeping it a bit warmer against the freeze. I was surprised how big that tree has gotten! Even using two sheets…
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