University of Illinois Extension Horticulture Educator Richard Hentschel discusses winter wildlife in the backyard. When you feed the birds throughout the winter, gardeners should expect to see other kinds of wildlife visiting, including the four-legged type from voles and ground squirrels up to racoons in size. Even if there is no obvious source of food, you can expect to see evidence of visitors to the yard. Late fall, squirrels will visit to uncover food they previously buried in garden beds and the lawn, and raccoons will routinely have a route they establish in search of food that may include your yard.

This week, Richard Hentschel, host of GSU, discusses our extended fall garden and bed cleanup in 2020. Unusually good weather has provided gardeners yet another opportunity to get caught up on tasks. Besides the usual cutting back of perennials, those garden weeds also can be dealt with before the cold weather arrives. A key to good weed management is separating the weed seeds from the vegetative plant parts so as not to generate a future seed bank from the compost pile or bin.

Richard Hentschel, host of GSU, tackles a hot topic – firewood. Differences in moisture content, wood density, and how firewood is stored, all make a big difference in how much enjoyment you get from the fireplace in the home, or even from an outdoor firepit. Another tip: never bring firewood indoors if you cannot burn it in less than a week so any insects hanging out on or in the firewood will not become an indoor nuisance.

GSU’s Richard Hentschel sends a strong reminder about getting our houseplants in long before frosty and freezing weather moves in. Houseplants need some inspection and care before being brought indoors. Disease is not nearly as important as checking for insects, both on the foliage and in the pots and containers. Timing also is critical for acclimation to indoor conditions.

University of Illinois Extension Horticulture Educator Richard Hentschel talks about how weather influences fungal foliar disease outbreaks. Many foliar diseases infected our plants back in early to late spring and are now really obvious, having fully developed. Getting to know the lifecycle of some of the more common diseases that impact our ornamental plants and lawns can give us a heads up on how to handle them in 2021.

This week’s podcast addresses the changes naturally occurring as the growing season shifts toward fall. Tree and shrub foliage can move from that nice shiny green to a duller solid green, and fall colors can begin to show up. Perennials can see a color change, often times to just a yellow with some reds. Our warm weather vegetables will really begin to slow without the heat. Cool and cold weather crops will continue to grow into very cool temps, or even a frost or light freeze. Plus, our insects are looking for a warm place to overwinter, which changes where you may see them.

Richard Hentschel, host of Green Side Up, talks about repairing lawns damaged by the summer weather and timing for seeding your lawn. Mid-August through the first week in September is a good window in northern Illinois. Richard also explains grass blends or combinations of species as a mix to increase disease resistance or drought tolerance.

GSU host Richard Hentschel gets into the expectations after rains return, and the good and bad that can happen in the yard and garden. All our plants, trees, shrubs, evergreens, flowers and vegetables really get a boost. Plants get that good green color back, and flowers happen more consistently. On the flip side, weeds will germinate and disease may get started and or spread more easily

Host Richard Hentschel discusses how the hot weather impacts garden productivity. Fruit development is affected as well as if they flower at all with the hot weather pressures. Consistent water, be it from rains or irrigation often from flowering through harvest is critical.

GSU Host and Horticulture Educator Richard Hentschel discusses National Pollinator Week designated for a week each year in June. Since 2007 when Pollinator Week was created, most consider the situation getting worse and not any better. We would be without our fruits and vegetables if the pollinators were gone. He shares tips on creating flower beds with longer bloom show to help keep the pollinators happy all growing season.

This week, Richard Hentschel explores how our plants are settling in to a good summer rhythm on care and putting resources away for flowers, fruits, nuts or seeds for 2021. Weeds will need to be addressed as they move through their live cycles for the season. Lawns, which favor the cooler and moist weather of spring, will naturally slow down as the weather gets into a summer pattern. One major gardening effort that needs a good rhythm is watering the vegetable garden. Vegetable crops from the time they flower through a harvestable vegetable or fruit need a an even supply of water.

Richard Hentschel, host of Green Side Up, addresses the difference between our tender and warm-loving vegetables. Tomatoes and peppers are often planted out in the garden at the same time, yet tomatoes are considered tender and peppers warm-loving, so we either miss out with the tomatoes or get the peppers out too early. He also talks about planting shorter rows and repeat sowing to give smaller, usable harvests more often.

Horticulture Educator Richard Hentschel talks about proper distancing of our vegetable plants once the seedlings are up and out of the ground in the garden. Over-sowing seeds can be a hard habit to break. Properly thinned, our plants will give us a better mature plant which in turn produces better vegetables. Hentschel also provides ideas for how you can get more produce out of that same space throughout the year.

GSU host Richard Hentschel talks to those first-time vegetable gardeners and what they need to know when planning a garden for the first time. No need for all the fancy stuff to get a vegetable garden going, just some basic tools you may already have like a shovel, garden spade, rake and some string, since small vegetable gardens can be worked by hand. Later, using the garden hose with a water breaker will be needed as is the need to do some weeding using a hoe or tined digger, and also a couple of buckets or plastic pots, one for weeds, the other for harvested produce.

Richard Hentschel of University of Illinois Extension discusses the expected order of spring things showing up in the home landscape. It all starts with the lawn, and spring bulbs are next to show up, followed by perennials. Flowering shrubs and ornamental trees follow with the opportunity to see blooms in the home and again outside later.

University of Illinois Extension Educator Richard Hentschel addresses the differences in getting a variety of vegetables sown or transplanted into the home vegetable garden. Timing can make all the difference for successful germination and transplant establishment. Learning about the average frost-free day is a great way to start your planning.

Host Richard Hentschel talks about our typical springtime delays that keep up us from doing those “green things” outside. Usually it is the cold weather or too much spring rain. There are a number of things we can do to get ready, such as making an inventory of where the water is puddling or of the kinds of weeds in the lawn and beds. We also can make sure the lawn mower is ready to go with a sharp mower blade.

Need a little spring this winter? GSU host Richard Hentschel shares how to “force” blooms indoors from your dormant pruning of the home orchard and flowering ornamental plants, such as lilacs. With a few simple stems, homeowners can enjoy spring bloom twice (once indoors and later outdoors). Before you prune, learn the visual difference between foliage buds and flower buds, and the steps to the “forcing” process.

Illinois Extension Educator Richard Hentschel takes some time to discuss an invasive species that can impact our garden soils. Jumping worms were first found in Wisconsin in 2013 and then in Illinois in 2015. The concern is how much organic matter they can eat during the summer as they grow from an egg to about 6 to 8 inches long. Depending on where you live in the United States this worm goes by a few names. Learn about identifying them, where they’ve been found in Illinois, and more at https://go.illinois.edu/JumpingWormsUpdate2020

Richard Hentschel, host of Green Side Up, discusses home orchard set-up and concerns in this podcast. He covers topics including winter hardiness of different fruit trees, siting the home orchard, and pollination requirements.

Horticulture Educator Richard Hentschel addresses how homeowners can recycle a real Christmas tree, outside of community programs. There are uses for the tree right in the backyard to help our feathered friends and the home landscape.

Richard Hentschel talks about cranberries this week. Cranberries have been around a long time and likely served up in the early 1860s. We often associate Cranberries with the holiday season, but given the good nutritional qualities, they should get to the dinner table a lot more often. There are quite a few states that produce cranberries in the United States. Other producers are in Canada and Chile. Listen in to learn more!