Northwest Ohio Gardening Day

Join OSU Extension Henry County and the Henry County Master Gardeners for the first-ever Northwest Ohio Gardening Day on Friday, April 29 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Henry County Fairgrounds (821 S. Perry St., Napoleon, OH 43545). This event will be filled with many gardening topics, speakers, and hands-on demonstrations to help get your garden growing and looking great! Lunch will be provided as well as take-home materials.

Continue reading

Winter Garden Prep – “An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure”

By:  Stephanie Karhoff

Lower your chances of disease and pests next spring by taking these three steps this fall:

  1. Removed diseased plants and weeds from garden. Clean up your garden and remove any weeds or diseased plants that can provide refuge to overwintering pathogens or insect eggs that can cause havoc on your garden next spring. Consider leaving a strip of perennials or flowers for beneficial insects to make a home in this winter. Rather than leaving your garden completely bare, you can apply a layer of compost, straw mulch, or plant a winter hardy cover crop like cereal rye or wheat.

Remove and discard weeds and diseased plants from your garden. S. Karhoff, personal photo.

  1. Record a map of your garden. While your memory is still fresh, create a map of your garden from this growing season. By doing so, you will be able to avoid planting annuals of the same family in the same location next year. Rotating your vegetable crops will help reduce insect and disease pressure. Also take note of any disease or insects observed this past season, so you can select resistant varieties next spring if possible.

Continue reading

Cuyahoga County MGVs Present: Gatherings in the Garden – Forcing Bulbs on August 22

By:  Tammy Currier, Cuyahoga MGV Coordinator

What’s more welcome after a long, bleak winter than the fragrance and color of spring blooming bulbs in your home? With some planning now, you can create weeks of beautiful flowers to brighten your environment and your spirits. This presentation discusses the four steps in the process: selecting the right bulbs, potting, cooling, and forcing them to flower. Continue reading

MGV Volunteer Opportunity – Operation Spot the Spot, Survey and Monitoring for Spotting Lanternfly in Ohio

Contact:  Amy Stone, OSU Extension, Lucas County and OSU’s SLF Task Force

We are seeking volunteers to assist with new survey and monitoring activities as it relates to Spotted Lanternfly (SLF). SLF in a non-native invasive insect that was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014. The insect has been found in several surrounding states, but has not been found or detected in Ohio yet. As this insect continues to spread naturally, and unfortunately unnaturally as a ‘hitch-hiker’, we want to be part of the larger effort to find any SLF, early in the infestation, rather than waiting to populations to build and expand before the initial detection. Continue reading

Tips for a Successful Zucchini, Squash and Cucumber Harvest

Source:  Ohio State University Vegnet Newsletter

For many backyard growers, community gardeners and urban farmers, growing the cucurbits can be a challenge.  This vegetable (fruit?)  family is affected by a large number of garden insects as well as both bacterial and fungal disease.  There are a few tips and tricks that can be used to make sure some harvest makes it to the table or sales booth in 2019. Continue reading

Perspectives on Sudden Oak Death (SOD)

By:  Jim Chatfield and Joe Boggs, Ohio State University

Reviewed and Additions Provided by:  Dr. Pierluigi (Enrico) Bonello and Dr. Francesca Peduto Hand

The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) has announced in an official press release a confirmed interception of the plant disease-causing pathogen Phytophthora ramorum in Ohio.  You can access the press release by clicking on the hotlink at the end of this Alert.

Ramorum blight

Water soaked and necrotic lesions on a rhododendron, a major foliar host for P. ramorum. Photo by Steve Oak.

Continue reading