DECORAH – Gardeners attending the Seed Savers Exchange annual conference and camp-out will benefit from the generosity of a past member. Mary Ann Fox, a longtime Seed Savers member from Shelbyville, Indiana, died in February at age 71, leaving behind her seed collection of more than 200 bean varieties.
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Month: July 2013
Iowa City homeowner gives up battle over...
IOWA CITY – The Iowa City homeowner whose front-yard garden led to a dispute with the city said he will comply with removing all of his plantings. Dr. Timothy Volm said he was given a July 31 deadline or the city would bulldoze the roses, native wildflowers and other plants that adorn his front yard.
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 […]
Floodwaters move Linn County 4-H silent ...
An auction to support the Linn County 4-H was postponed when floodwaters from the Wapsipinicon River were predicted to reach unprecedented levels, just at the Linn County Fair was underway. The silent auction has since been moved online, with bidding open until July 31, 2013. Here is more from Linn County ISU Extension:
Uptown Marion Market set for July 13
Marion will host its Uptown Market this Saturday, July 13, 2013. Here are details from the Marion Chamber and find other area markets on the Homegrown list:
Albino deer attracting attention near So...
Wildlife biologists stake the odds of an albino deer at 1 in 100,000 or more, with sightings reported only every few years in Iowa; the latest being a doe near Solon. Fortunately, these rare animals are protected in the state. I’m hearing there is some dispute over whether or not this is actually an albino, […]
Japanese beetle watch ends in Cedar Rapi...
They’re heeere… As much as I held out hope that the Japanese beetle population had been wiped out by an unusually fortuitous twist of fate, my watch for the invasive insect ended today with the discovery of several beetles on my raspberry bushes. If you have rose bushes, grapes, hollyhock, linden trees, pin oak, willows […]
Iowa City engages homeowner in a “right
IOWA CITY – Roses, hollyhocks, bee balm and numerous other plants grow harmoniously in Timothy Volm’s front yard, but the lush vegetation is creating dissonance with the city. Volm has been ordered to remove all of the plants by Tuesday, July 9, 2013, or city staff will clear the site and charge the costs to […]
Pre-Japanese beetle, a berry good year
I know this won’t last long. My raspberry bushes are heaving with berries, but it’s only a matter of time before my sworn enemy, the Japanese beetle, emerges to create havoc. Generally, there are several days between the time the berries start to ripen and when I spot the first foreign invader.
Iowa woodlands shrinking; first time in ...
Trees are being removed in Iowa faster than they are being planted, according to a new report from the USDA Forest Service. At one time, 18 percent of the state was woodland; now it’s down to 3 percent. Read more of the report, passed along by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources: Iowa’s woodlands have […]