Garden

All Garden Content

Blossom End Rot on Tomatoes and Other Vegetables

Publication about the symptoms, causes and management of blossom end rot on tomatoes and other vegetables.

rows of leafy vegetables growing in a raised bed

Managing Salts in the Home Garden

Fact sheet about managing salts in your home garden.

fruit and vegetable garden with raised beds

Salt/Salinity Tolerance of Common Horticulture Crops in South Dakota

Fact sheet about salt/salinity tolerance of common horticulture crops.

A yellow dandelion growing among fall leaves in a yard.

Fall Lawn Weed Control

Fall is the time to control tough perennial broadleaf lawn weeds. The target weeds in the fall are dandelion, ground ivy, creeping bell flower, field bindweed and white clover.

Three common aphids. From left: Green peach aphid colony. Potato aphid colony. Foxglove aphid on the underside of a pepper leaf.

Are Your Pepper Plants Covered With Aphids?

During this time of the growing season, it is common to observe aphids on garden plants, including peppers. However, when dense aphid populations are present, they can reduce pepper yields and cause rapid plant health decline.

Orange beetle with black markings on an orange flower

Orange Beetles Are Killing My Flowers, or Are They?

Many gardens are being invaded by orange beetles that have a strong preference for flowering plants. Rest assured, these are soldier beetles and they aren’t feeding on the flowers! Instead, they are actually predators and pollinators.

Black, yellow, and brown wasp in a clear container

Huge Wasps on My Tree! No, Those Still Aren’t Murder Hornets.

Another insect that has been mistaken for the Asian giant hornet (also known by its media-popularized name of ‘murder hornet’) is the horntail wasp. Horntail wasps are wood-boring insects that are harmless to humans, as they do not have venom and cannot sting.

A color-coded map of the United States indicating precipitation outlook for June 2019.

June 2019 Climate Outlook for South Dakota

As South Dakota emerges from the wettest 12-month period in 124 years of climate recordkeeping (June 2018-May 2019), June has started warmer and drier than average. The outlook, however, turns towards cooler and wetter than average again for the middle of the month.

Color-coded map of the United States indicating predicted precipitation for July 2019. South Dakota is set to experience above normal precipitation.

July 2019 Climate Outlook: Challenges Continue

This year’s seasonal pattern of wetter than average conditions is projected to continue through July and the rest of the summer season. The latest climate outlook, released June 20, 2019, shows an increased chance of wetter than average conditions in the next one to three months for the state of South Dakota.