Nebraska Extension in Thurston County
Local Interest
By Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator Kathleen Cue, Dodge County
Twisting, curling, and cupping of leaves are often symptomatic of herbicide damage on vegetable plants. The culprits that most readily cause this type of damage include 2,4-D (used to kill broadleaf weeds in lawns and pastures), dicamba (lawn and crop broadleaf weeds) and picloram (pasture broadleaf weeds). These herbicides are plant growth regulators, killing weeds by stimulating excessive growth and exhausting the plant’s carbohydrate reserves. When vegetable plants are exposed to smaller amounts of these herbicides, then distortion of growth results.
By Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator
As we plan for our much anticipated outdoor projects this gardening season, let’s discuss the tree-killing practice of building raised beds around trees. Don’t get me wrong here—I am not talking about planting hosta beneath a tree, I’m talking about building a RAISED bed around a tree. This unfortunate practice leads to many dead trees, often years later when the tree owner no longer connects the tree dying with the creation of the raised bed.
By Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator
You’ve seen this before—mulch piled so high around a tree that it resembles a volcano with a stick coming out of the center. So goes the plight of trees trying to survive under such conditions. Despite the research indicating how bad this is for trees, we see it time and again.
By Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator
As we get our containers ready for planting our amazing annuals or that coveted tomato plant, conventional “wisdom” dictates we must first add an inch or so of gravel. Problematic? You bet!
Rocks in the bottom of containers do not contribute to better draining soils and healthier plants. Instead plant roots encounter saturated soils that don’t drain efficiently. It all has to do with something called a perched water table.
The Master Gardener Horticulture Helpline is available to answer gardening questions and to take samples for identification/diagnosis during the following times and days. The helpline is a service to everyone, regardless of what county they are from.
May through September:
Mondays, 9:00 am to 12:00 noon, Washington County Extension, 402 426-9455
Tuesdays, 1:00 to 4:00 pm, Cuming County Extension, 402 672-6006
Wednesdays and Fridays, 9:00 am to 12:00 noon, 402 727-2775
By Kathleen Cue
Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator
With over 300 ornamental and edible plants they like to feed on, Japanese beetles (JB) can quickly become an overwhelming insect in the landscape. Last year, one gardener brought in his peach so covered in Japanese beetles that it was hard to identify the fruit as a peach!
If you didn’t have Japanese beetles last year, then hurray, you may not get any this year or if you do get them, they will be in such low numbers that hand-picking will take care of the problem. But if you had JB last year, chances are very good you’ll have them this year, too.
Pages
Jun 21 – Nebraska Extension will host a clinic on July 18 for the public to learn more about the components of soil health.
Read more
Jun 11 – Growers, crop consultants and educators are encouraged to attend Nebraska Extension's Weed Management and Cover Crops Field Day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 27 at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's South Central Agricultural Laboratory near Clay Center.
Read more
