Local Interest

Garden Update
Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator in Dodge County

 Late Fall Watering

 Now is the time to provide a last deep soaking of the soil prior to ground freeze. This ensures tree and shrub roots can take in the water necessary to stay hydrated, helping them to overwinter better and to arrive to spring in good condition. If you’re unsure about the dryness of you soil, the screwdriver test is the simplest way to determine moisture levels. Dry soils will resist your efforts to push the screwdriver into the soil, while a moist soil will be easily penetrated by a screwdriver. 

 In order of importance, these are the plants most in need of late fall watering: 

Enrollment is open for the 2022 Dodge County 4-H Program Year!

Youth ages 8 to 18 years old as of January 1 of the current calendar year are welcome to enroll in the 4-H Program. Youth 5 to 7 as of January 1 of the current calendar year may enroll as a Clover Kid in the 4-H Program. In Dodge County there is a $10 fee when enrolling for the program year. 

4-H Enrollment is completed online. Both youth members and adult volunteers will need to complete their online enrollment, annually. 

In order to participate in 4-H contests and events, you must be enrolled online by June 15, 2022. 

4-H Youth and Volunteer Enrollment - https://v2.4honline.com/#/user/sign-in

Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator in Dodge County 

People in the business of trees have been strong advocates for proper mulching, steering people away from the ill-advised practice of mulch volcanos around trees.  Real inroads have been made, though the practice continues, evidenced by new tree plantings with the mulch overkill. When these practices are perpetrated, the assumption this is a good practice is validated and then repeated at residences and other landscapes.

Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Educator in Dodge County

Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator in Dodge County 

Urban dwellers either praise or curse the black walnut (Juglans nigra). Some find the tree troublesome because of the nuts they drop, the juglone (a natural herbicide) secreted into the soil to kill nearby plants, and the increased number of squirrels in the neighborhood. Supporters of black walnut like the tree because it is native, well adapted to the precipitation and temperature variations of Midwest weather, is stately, grows valuable wood and nuts, and provides food for wildlife.

Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Educator in Dodge County

Does the woolly bear caterpillar forecast the weather?  Stories on websites, podcasts, blogs, newsfeeds, television, and radio like to add to the speculation, but could it be possible this furry caterpillar that rolls up into a ball when disturbed is just that—a furry caterpillar that rolls up into a ball when disturbed?!

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