Feature | Thursday, September 4,2003

It’s apple-picking time!

What tastes better on a cool fall day than an apple plucked right off the tree? Well, maybe a fresh apple pie, homemade applesauce, or apple butter. This month the fruit is ripening in many bac

Garden - Jennifer Fishburn | Thursday, August 28,2003

Turf time

By Jennifer Fishburn

Tip of the week Lawn mower blades should be sharpened at least two times a year, April 1 and September 1. A sharp blade will make a clean cut, decreasing stress on the plants. If you use your m

Garden - Jennifer Fishburn | Thursday, August 21,2003

Watch your water

By Jennifer Fishburn

It's that time of year again: 90-degree-plus temperatures, accompanied by the snap, crackle, and pop of grass under your feet. Strolling through Conservation World last Sunday at the Illinois State Fa

Garden - Jennifer Fishburn | Thursday, August 14,2003

Making America’s favorite condiment

All you need to know to create your own salsa (including an easy recipe)

By Jennifer Fishburn

Tip of the week Regular watering and mulching can help prevent blossom-end rot on tomatoes and peppers. Prevalent during periods of high humidity, blossom-end rot is revealed in small, sunken

Garden - Jennifer Fishburn | Thursday, August 7,2003

Only for the summer

. . . but what a colorful splash!

By Jennifer Fishburn

Tip of the week If your petunias, impatiens, or other annuals are starting to look straggly and have few flowers, cut them back 6 to 8 inches after flowers have decreased to encourage compac

Garden - Jennifer Fishburn | Thursday, July 31,2003

W-e-e-d

That four-letter word

By Jennifer Fishburn

Tip of the week To view the best free garden display in central Illinois, drive through the Illinois State Fairgrounds in the next couple of days. The other day I almost lost my one-year-old d

Garden - Jennifer Fishburn | Thursday, July 24,2003

Bigger doesn’t mean better veggies

By Jennifer Fishburn

Most vegetable gardeners would agree with my four-year-old son: the most fun is planting the seeds and then eating the produce. We gardeners persevere through weeding, watering, and pest management, d

Garden - Jennifer Fishburn | Thursday, July 10,2003

Beauty for a day

The faithful blooming daylily

By Jennifer Fishburn

While there is no perfect flowering perennial, the daylily comes close. Classified in the genus Hemerocallis, which in Greek means "beautiful for a day," the plants may produce flowers for several wee