Local Interest

Garden Update
Week of July 18, 2022
Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator

Japanese Beetles

If it were a simple matter of having plants Japanese beetles (JB) do not like to eat, we’d have less feeding damage to our favorite plants.  At 300 plus plant species they feed on, however, that quickly becomes a tall order. Typically, in the first year JB are found in an area, the amount of feeding damage is relatively low.  In the second and third years of infestation, however, their numbers are so high that it feels like an invasion!

Garden Update
Week of July 11, 2022
Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator Dodge County

The Intersection of Landscape Design and Call Before You Dig

Garden Update
Week of July 4, 2022
Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator

When Plants Defend Themselves

There is a great line in the first Jurassic Park movie when Ellie, the character played by Laura Dern, says, and I’m paraphrasing here, “Plants can be pretty but will defend themselves if threatened.”  Assuredly, not all plants are sweet and accommodating. Of course, there are plants that throw in their lot with humans, giving people fruits and vegetables for food, fiber for textiles, and medicines for health. We manipulate plants to get what we need, and we aid their survival by saving seed and propagating plants.  It begs the question, though, are we manipulating plants or are they manipulating us?

Garden Update
Week of June 27, 2022
Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator in Dodge County

Now is the time to...

Put down grub control to manage grub damage in lawns. The end of June/beginning of July is the window to complete this task, when grubs are small and more easily managed. 

Stop using herbicides to manage nutsedge.  Nutsedge has tiny growths at the end of roots, called nutlets, that will begin growth when the parent plant is killed, making for even more plants. 

Move potted violas and pansies to a shaded location to continue to enjoy their blooms, especially when spent blooms are removed.

Garden Update
Week of June 20, 2022
Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator in Dodge County

 National Pollinator Week

 It is estimated that just 1-2% of insects cause problems to human health, crops, and structures. For some, “bugs” is a derogatory term that signifies unclean conditions and a messy household.  For the roughly 98% of insects that don’t fit into this description, it is a giant leap forward to recognize the importance of pollinators during National Pollinator Week.

Garden Update
Week of June 13, 2002
Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator in Dodge County 

Why Lion’s Tailing is Bad for Trees

Lion’s tailing to reduce wind resistance or to have enough sunlight for a thick lawn beneath trees is a detrimental practice that reduces tree structural stability. Lion’s tailing is pruning in the extreme, removing a tree’s lower canopy and inside branches, leaving just a cluster of leaves and twigs at the end of large branches.

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Unveiling of Historic Knorr-Holden Plot Signboard

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Started in 1912, the Knorr-Holden Plot near Scottsbluff is perhaps the world’s oldest irrigated continuous corn research plot. It was recently commemorated with a sign to mark its significance to both Nebraska history and agricultural research history in Nebraska.

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Nebraska Equine Extension to host a second “Race Nebraska” Seminar

September 22, 2023
The passing of the Racetrack Gaming Act through a Nebraska 2020 ballot referendum has caused an expansion in horse racing. A series of educational seminars by Nebraska Extension’s equine program have been developed to help those interested in becoming more involved in the industry.

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Poll: Rural Nebraskans are increasingly pessimistic about present, future

September 18, 2023

Twenty-seven percent of respondents to the 2023 Nebraska Rural Poll indicated they are worse off than they were five years ago, up from 21% last year and 11% in 2021.

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Jansen discusses farmland valuations with RFD-TV

September 18, 2023

In Nebraska, ag land values are up about 14 percent over last year, mirroring a nationwide rise in ag real estate prices. Click through to watch Jim Jansen, an agricultural systems economist with Nebraska Extension, talk with RFD-TV about the impact of valuations.

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