Plants or Crops

All Plants or Crops Content

group of people gathered around a tapped silver maple tree

Harvesting Maple Syrup in South Dakota

As the weather warms in late winter and early spring sap in maple trees begins to flow. For many people that live in the Northeastern part of the United States, that means that maple syrup season has arrived.

financial paperwork sitting on a desk

Financial Record Keeping Software: A comparison of Quicken and QuickBooks

As fall nears many producers are beginning to gather their records to prepare for taxes. From these records many important operating decisions are made. Agriculture producers often use computer software to keep financial records. While there are software packages tailored for farm and ranch businesses, many producers successfully use general commercial software such as Quicken® or QuickBooks®. Both products can be useful for an agricultural producer’s record keeping. The question which often arises from producers is, “which one do I need”?

A lush, blooming garden with a variety of colorful plants

Creating a Sensory Garden

A sensory garden is a garden that has a collection of plants that are appealing to one or more of the five senses; sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch. Sensory gardens should be accessible for all people to enjoy - disabled and non-disabled. Sensory gardens are typically geared towards young children, but are enjoyed by people of all ages.

a shrub-like plant green leaves and dark purple, grape-like fruit

Honeyberries: A New Fruit for Your Garden

Honeyberries, shrubs with fruit resembling elongated blueberries, are gaining in popularity in northern climates.

a black weevil with red to brown legs and antennae

Root Weevils & Imported Longhorned Weevils Finding Their Way Inside

We have been receiving reports of small, black insects that are observed crawling up bathroom walls, hanging out in basements, or otherwise finding their way inside.

tree wrapped inp lastic near planting hole

Planting Bare-Root Trees

Bare-root is an excellent means of planting a tree.

a long, worm-like caterpillar with small black spots and white markings

Achemon Sphinx Moth Caterpillars

Achemon sphinxe caterpillars (Eumorpha achemon) feed on wild grape, Virginia creeper, and related vines.

ash leaves with orange to yellow gall-like spots

Tree Rust Diseases

Ash rust and crown rust are two common rust diseases that impact South Dakota trees.

brown red respberry can with drooping flower heads.

Pruning Red Raspberries

Red raspberries can produce a quart of fruit or more per linear row, but high yield fruit production requires annual pruning.

small garden plot with small rows and two wooden tomato cages

Tips to Make More Efficient Use of Your Garden Space

If you don’t have much garden space it is important to get the most from what space you have available.