The Linn County Master Gardeners are expanding their reach. Their spring talks will be held at seven area libraries this year, so you’re sure to find one just a short distance away and they’re free! Topics range from container gardening and rain barrels to seed-starting and more. See the following schedule, with the month/day/town and […]
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Category: Master Gardeners
Registration opens for Winter Gardening ...
As Iowa heads into the deep freeze of January, it’s the perfect time to think spring and one of my favorite ways to plan for spring planting is the annual Winter Gardening Fair, sponsored by the ISU Extension Linn County Master Gardeners. Registration opens today, Monday, Jan. 5, for the 2015 fair, held at Kirkwood […]
Mike Nowak preaches the gospel of organi...
The circle of feeding, growing and maintaining a lawn is mind-boggling. Ingest the ground with chemicals and spend even more time running through it with a gas-guzzling mower. Yet, I know many homeowners want that pristine sea of green. Mike Nowak might be able to insert some common sense into our love of lawns. His […]
Photo gallery: 2014 Winter Gardening Fai...
The name of the Winter Gardening Fair was especially fitting today. Looking out the windows of Kirkwood Community College, we could see the snow accumulating as, indoors, master gardeners and other experts discussed perennial plant combinations, straw bale gardening, mushroom hunting and more. This is one event that I return to year after year because […]
Registration opens for Winter Gardening ...
With the wind-chill at 50-below zero, this might not seem like the ideal time to think about gardening. But really, there is no better time to dream about what the summer may hold when you have the clean slate that an Iowa winter brings. The Linn County Master Gardeners’ Winter Gardening Fair provides that perfect […]
Free prairie walk provides peek at Iowa’
More than 30 million acres of prairie enhanced Iowa’s terrain before development drastically reduced that amount. According to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, 150 years ago, nearly 85 percent of the state was tall-grass prairie. Today, less than .1 percent of that prairie remains. Some Iowans have turned to prairie restoration to literally return the […]
Garden walks in Linn County and Iowa Cit...
Two spectacular garden walks are coming up next weekend, June 22 and June 23, 2013, in Linn County and in Iowa City. The tours offer a great way to see lush landscaping and be inspired by gardeners who really know what they’re doing. Here is more from ISU Extension about the Linn County Master Gardener […]
Book review: “Getting Your Hands Dirty a
In reviewing their new book, I first have to admit a certain bias for Linn County Master Gardeners, who have been longtime contributors to Homegrown. At the same time, it’s those qualities I admire about this group of experts – their down-to-earth advice, practical experience and willingness to share their knowledge – that makes “Getting […]
“No mow” lawns; plants for problem areas
IOWA CITY – It sounds almost too good to be true: a beautiful, natural lawn that doesn’t need chemicals to maintain and even more remarkably, doesn’t require mowing. Fred Meyer of Iowa City was on board with a “no mow” lawn for all of those reasons.
Drought superheroes and blueberries; mol...
How I wish I had taken Linn County Master Gardener Deb Walser’s blueberry workshop 10 years ago. I planted two blueberries back then and the plants languished until last spring, when I finally decided to relocate them. They probably just needed more sun, I decided. That was, of course, the lead-off to Iowa’s drought. As […]