– Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County OSU Extension

A typical cylindrical millipede that invades homes.

The month of July often triggers a millipede migration in our part of Ohio. These small arthropods are of the order Diplopoda and are not worms, as they are commonly described by fearful homeowners that find them inside crawling on floors and walls.

The legs are the first distinguishing characteristic. Worms (and maggots) do not have legs. The second guess is often that they are a centipede, but they have shorter antenna, legs, and more segments of legs than centipedes. It really is good that the creature they find is a millipede, because they are Continue reading More Bugs In My House! →

– Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County OSU Extension

If you’d like to have currants ready for future 4ths, start planning now.

We recently made a visit back to our hometown for some family business and were able to enjoy my late mother-in-law Rosie’s garden in all its summer glory. Rosie passed away this spring just before Easter. Her favorite hobby was gardening. She spent all her free time selecting, planting, and tending the specimens in her care. Seeing the plants she cared for so lovingly thriving is a sweet reminder of her, both emotionally and literally. The baby and I picked black raspberries in the warm breeze. Naomi couldn’t get enough. We smelled the roses. We were delighted and surprised to find vibrant clusters of red berries in abundance in the garden too. We had forgotten about these fruits. They were currants.

I have never grown currants myself. But after seeing them at their peak, I had to learn more. I looked up one of our OSU fruit fact sheets and discovered that currants have an interesting history.

According to Small Fruit Specialist- Dr. Gary Gao, currants and gooseberries were very popular in the 1800s. Unfortunately, in the early 1900s, Continue reading Learning About Currants →

– Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County OSU Extension

Galls can appear on nearly all tree species.

Last week I had the opportunity to visit Punderson State Park up in Geauga County for our annual Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) Extension Retreat. During this event, ANR Educators, Specialists, and Staff get together to learn from each other in an environment out of our normal stopping grounds. The time spent together creates unity within our team while also expanding our appreciation for the diversity of Ohio’s agricultural and natural landscapes. The first activity I participated in at ANR Retreat was a woodland diagnostic nature walk around one of the trails that begins at Punderson Manor.

We did far more talking than walking. It was a good thing we had three hours to walk the trail, because almost every step we had something new to look at and discuss. One of the most common things that caught our eyes were galls. There were galls galore along the Continue reading Galls Galore →

The Ag Center on planting day!

In this issue:

• OSU’s Pollinator Research project
• A Message from our MG Coordinator
• Rain garden classes offered
• MG project updates (Ag Center, Wagnalls, Learning Never Ends, Georgian Museum, Sherman House, Fairgrounds entrance)
• Upcoming MG Training
• New MG project at Auditor’s Office
• State-wide increase in ticks
• Developing a watering plan
• Black Knot Fungus
• Garden Destinations: Pittsburgh’s gardens, South Florida highlights using Franklin Park membership
• Featured Book: Garden-pedia by Pamela Bennett & Maria Zampini
• Did You Know? Hardpan & double digging
• Food Preservation series
• In/Around the Garden

Find it in PDF linked here.

– Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County OSU Extension

The Northern house mosquito has been reported in every Ohio county and spreads many deadly and life-altering diseases. Photo: M.E. Meuti

Mosquito activity is greatest during the months of May through October in Ohio. Mosquitoes are more than just annoying flying bugs. They can be transmitters of dangerous diseases of humans and animals. Globally, the mosquito is the vector of diseases that kill 700 thousand to one million people annually. The most prevalent cause of mosquito related deaths is malaria. While malaria has been eliminated from the United States since the 1950s, there are several other diseases that the Ohio Department of Health tracks and works to suppress including eastern equine encephalitis virus, La Crosse virus, St. Louis encephalitis virus, and West Nile virus. Of the 59 mosquito species that inhabit Ohio, only five transmit human diseases. Occurrences of mosquito-borne disease varies drastically year to year and regionally depending on the weather.

Rainy and warm conditions are prime for mosquito development.  Mosquitoes breed in still water. Anything that can hold water can be a mosquito breeding site if Continue reading Mosquito Prevention Season is Here →

– Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County OSU Extension

Photo: Ag Safety S.T.A.T.

With the welcome of spring comes lush green grass in lawns across America. So, tis the season to fire up the lawn mower. For some, mowing the lawn is a necessary chore and for others, a welcomed excuse to spend time outside. For all parties it is a task that requires keen awareness and good judgement.

If you have never accidently struck a stick, rock, or toy left out on the lawn with your mower, count yourself in the minority. Even if you meticulously scout your lawn for hazards before you mow, you can’t be sure that they’ve been eliminated. An item struck by a mower blade can be flung out the shoot before you even knew you hit it, which can cause damage to your home or worse, an unsuspecting bystander. Accidents with mowers can happen in a split second and sadly, they are not a Continue reading Lawn Mower Safety →

– Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County OSU Extension

Lilacs are most often shades of purple but can also be white, pink, or nearly blue.

Lilacs are already actively blooming in Southeast Ohio! According to my records of lilac bloom times, they are a bit earlier than I’ve seen in the past three years or so. Lilac bloom time will forever be stamped in my memory for comparison because last year when we brought our baby Naomi home from the hospital, the lilacs were just starting to bloom along our deck. Their delightfully sweet fragrance wafted in through the windows while I held that precious newborn close and soaked up everything about spring. That was May 13, 2022. That memory is just one reason I love lilacs.

Lilacs are most often shades of purple (my favorite color), but can also be white, pink, or nearly blue. They often cross-pollinate with one another creating hybrid seed and spread easily by root suckers, giving planted areas a Continue reading My Growing Love of Lilacs →

– Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County OSU Extension

Woven wire compost bins are easy to construct and economical. Photo by Pixabay.

One of the key elements of healthy soils is the presence of organic matter. Organic matter is the decayed residue of living things. Adding organic matter to the soil in your garden, lawn, or crop field can improve water infiltration and water holding capacity, nutrient access to plants, loosen dense soil texture, and lead to healthier plant growth on the surface. Every citizen has the ability to contribute organic matter back to the soils in their community in some scale through composting organic wastes.

There are many methods of composting that can be employed depending on the amount of waste generated by the household or business. Composting reduces excess deposition of organic wastes in landfills and recycles nutrients naturally by promoting speedy decomposition of organic tissues into soil media. From a coffee can on the counter to composting with worms in a vermiculture box to a 3-foot by 3-foot bin in the backyard, there are options to fit your rate of waste accumulation and site.

Yard waste like grass clippings, leaves, and pine needles can be Continue reading Compost is a Gardener’s Friend →

– Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County OSU Extension

Allow crowns or seedlings time to establish before harvesting. Photo: birgl, Pixabay

Asparagus is one of the first spring vegetables ready to harvest in Ohio. The enticing green stalks begin to pop out of the ground in early April and asparagus lovers start to get excited. Harvest time typically stretches through June. Did you know that a successful patch of asparagus can produce a crop for up to (and beyond) 20 years? However, getting it established can be tricky.

Asparagus is picky about the soil it grows in. It does not tolerate soils that are acidic and it prefers well-drained sites. Planting crowns (which are segments of plant roots and emerging stems) in your garden is quicker and easier than starting asparagus from seed. It is important to give the crowns or seedlings time to establish before harvesting the stalks. One-year old crowns should not be harvested until they have been in the garden bed for at least a year and seedlings need two years. The reason they need this time is that the Continue reading Anticipation of Asparagus →

– Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County OSU Extension

Chanterelles are bright yellow to orange and found from June to September under hardwood trees. Photo courtesy of B. Bunyard.

Every spring questions ring in about some of the most desirable and delicious wild foods you can find in Ohio- morel mushrooms. Foraging for wild edibles is a topic that I find incredibly challenging to address with clientele because proper identification of a plant or fungus can be the difference between a gourmet dinner and a grueling stomachache or worse, an untimely death.

Fortunately, morels are one of the easiest mushrooms to identify, but if you have any doubt that the mushrooms you have found are not true morels, you should not consume them or prepare them for others. There are false morels that appear in the same timeframe and habitat that are poisonous. Proceed to Continue reading Morel Time →