CEDAR RAPIDS – Registration has opened for the 14th Annual Winter Gardening Fair, to be held Saturday, February 16, 2019, at Kirkwood Community College. Tuition is $59 for the all-day event, which features more than 40 workshops by Iowa Master Gardeners and other gardening experts. See photos from the 2018 Winter Gardening Fair Learn more […]
A look back at 2018 in photos
Iowa had its share of ups and downs in 2018. Take a look back at some of the highs and lows chronicled by Homegrown Iowan during the past year: Iowans braved the cold last winter to demonstrate in favor of common-sense gun laws. Advocates in Cedar Rapids also turned out to show their support for […]
Challenges to Iowa vegetable growers add...
For vegetable growers, some crops can be more challenging to grow than others. Practical Farmers of Iowa’s 2019 annual conference, Jan. 17-19 in Ames, will feature three sessions focused on specific crops — cauliflower, eggplant and storage onions — that present unique challenges to Iowa’s vegetable farmers. These sessions are among a suite of offerings […]
Pet-safe plants and other holiday housep...
By Cindy Hadish/for Lure magazine Anne Armitage turned her lifelong passion for plants into a career, which now includes shops in both Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. Originally called Bark & Bloom, Ms. Armitage and her husband, Alan Peterka, opened their first site at the NewBo City Market, 1100 Third St. SE, when the market […]
Solon couple transforms acreage into nat...
By Cindy Hadish/for Iowa Gardener Nearly two acres of turf grass continues its transformation into a nature-friendly habitat in rural Solon. Cindy Reed and her husband, Steve Lamer, have been working on that evolution for seven years, with a design by Iowa City-based Backyard Abundance to create a sustainable landscape featuring fruit trees and bushes, […]
Neighborhood hopes to put brakes on ag g...
(UPDATED: Dec. 6, 2018, with comments from Linn County Public Health and the city of Cedar Rapids) Residents of a southeast Cedar Rapids neighborhood are ramping up efforts to slow a fast-moving train. Cargill aims to build a rail yard in what was previously designated as a 28-acre wildlife refuge at Otis Avenue and Stewart […]
Time for treasured Czech holiday traditi...
St. Nicholas Day, or Svatý Mikuláš in Czech, is typically celebrated on Dec. 6, but festivities will be early this year in Czech Village in Cedar Rapids. The traditional Czech celebration will take place Friday, Nov. 30, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Aces and Eights, 62 16th Ave. SW. Related: Learn about other Czech events […]
Cedar Rapids Czech School to celebrate 1...
By Cindy Hadish Czech School’s history in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, can be traced to a written program observing Jan Hus Day on July 6, 1870, which referenced Czech School teacher John B. Šuster, a date often cited as the start of the school. California’s Gold Rush of 1848, the failure of potato crops in their […]
How to (hopefully) save a frozen rain ba...
(UPDATE: Nov. 30, 2021) Since this de-icer experiment, the rain barrels have successfully captured rain water in subsequent years, and lesson learned to empty them before ice forms. This fall, they were perhaps emptied too soon, as Iowa is predicted to experience 50-degree temperatures, even into December. A week or so before Thanksgiving every year, […]
The Czech artistry of Marj Nejdl
Marj Nejdl is a Master Czech Folk Artist from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who generously gives of her time and talent. She and a friend, Pat Martin, have collaborated on a book that explores Nejdl’s art, including her batik, or wax resist, Czech egg decorating. Related: Marj Nejdl teaches Czech School students the art of egg […]