Chris Enroth
MACOMB, Ill. — We are stuck with the trees planted by those who came before us. At least I am at my house. Mostly because they are so expensive to cut down. One species I am left dealing with is Norway maple (Acer platinoides). Am I referring to the maple with purple leaves? Yes, that…
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MACOMB, Ill. — So you want to move that shrub? I get it. Perhaps that shrub needs to go to a different spot in the yard. Maybe it wasn’t planted in the correct location to begin with. Perhaps a tree has grown tall casting more shade, or a tree has come down flooding the area…
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MACOMB, Ill. — Ticks! I can’t stand these parasitic arachnids. I have had far too many run-ins with ticks throughout my life. They seem to find me every year. So far this spring I have found one Lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) attached to me, and I have caught several other ticks headed my way…
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MACOMB, Ill. — Cicada-mania has been building to almost mythical levels in 2024. Nearly every story on my news feed references this historic event about to occur in Illinois. Despite the media frenzy, there are still lots of questions about the upcoming cicada emergence. So, I might as well hop on this cicada train answering…
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MACOMB, Ill. — You may be wondering, “What does artificial intelligence (A.I.) have to do with gardening?” Let’s say you have a gardening question. Before the internet, perhaps you reached out to your Illinois Extension office for an answer. With the internet, you could search for your question but had to wade through lots of…
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MACOMB, Ill. — We are only a few weeks into the new year, and 2024 has already brought an actual winter! At least for now. In the prolonged cold of this past week, going outside has been, well painful. Being stuck inside I have gotten so much accomplished. We organized our storage totes, I got…
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MACOMB, Ill. — It is time for another installment of “What’s under my sink and can I use it in the garden?” Today comes a home remedy that originates back to the 19th Century. In 1871, gardener Anne Hale recommended using spirits of ammonia for stimulating flower growth. Over 150 years later, peek under most…
Read Full Article MACOMB, Ill. — I met a good farmer today. In recollection, I don’t think I’ve ever met a bad farmer, but this encounter was different. Immediately we hit it off. The conversation turned from the windbreak I came to look at to our former dogs. We talked about marriage and kids. It seemed like I…
Read Full Article MACOMB, Ill. — As the winter’s chill lingers into spring, the itch to get out in our yards has never seemed more compelling. One of the ritual tasks performed by many homeowners in the spring is applying weed-and-feed products to their lawns. Contained within these products is a pre-emergent herbicide to combat germinating weed seeds…
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MACOMB, Ill. — Each year, I try to write a couple of articles about lawns. Each time I’ve written one of these, I have assumed you, the reader, care about your lawn. Turns out, there are a lot of people who have lawns, that don’t care about having a perfectly manicured turf. You just want to know…
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MACOMB, Ill. — Hold on to your hats! It is windy here in Illinois. Wind can be destructive to homes and landscapes, plus it can make being outside miserable. This is why many Illinoisians plant windbreaks around their homes to keep that biting wind from causing a drafty house, prevent drifting snow and make being…
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