Garden Help Desk » spring

Expand your gardening horizons and grow your plants from seed. Seeds offer the gardener some much for so little! Seed starting is a fun and rewarding activity that you’ll look forward to every winter! Indoor plant propagation provides a valuable learning experience for the whole family. Have fun with some...

Are you interested in starting an organic or natural garden in your backyard? Here are some helpful tips. Ditch the "blue" stuff You know… the stuff that prides itself on working "miracles" in your garden. Your plants do not need this to be fruitful. Instead feed with compost, fish emulsion,...

Starting Seeds Indoors Vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplant need a long warm growing season to produce a good harvest. In the Chicago area, it is best to start these seeds in early March. Containers and trays: Almost any container can be used to start seeds such as milk...

Magnolia Tree Looks Sick and is Dripping Sticky Black Sap All over the Plants below It.   Magnolia scale has become an increasingly common problem on magnolia trees in Illinois.  Magnolia scale, Neolecanium cornuparvum is one of the largest and most conspicuous scale insects in our area. The over-wintering nymphs...