Poinsettias need bright light! They can actually probably handle full sun at this time of the year when the sun angle is low in the sky and we often have lots of cloudy weather. The important thing to remember is that if you want to keep your plant healthy, you need to give it enough light so that the green leaves can continue to photosynthesize and produce the carbohydrates that the plant needs to grow.
Aronia melanocarpa, or simply “aronia,” is an attractive shrub that has recently been gaining more attention in the Midwest – its berries are very high in antioxidants thought to be beneficial for human health.
One of the keys to growing healthy asparagus is to allow the plants plenty of time to develop the big ferny stems, starting about the first of July. This ferny growth produces the carbohydrates that the plant needs to grow and also store up for the winter and next year’s initial crop of spears.
Christmas tree lots are already beginning to spring up around the state and Thanksgiving marks the start of the Christmas tree season, with more than 30 million trees being sold between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Spring is coming and will be here before we know it. Gardeners are reading through catalogs, looking at that new variety of green bean, or maybe a gorgeous new tomato. The catalogs are written to hook you in by making these varieties look as good as possible. The photos are generally mouthwatering and the descriptions often seem a bit over-the-top.
Fall is a busy time for farmers in the northern Great Plains, harvesting thousands of acres of corn and soybeans. Not too far away, in central and northern Wisconsin the harvest was in full swing too, but the crop they are harvesting is a small fruit called the cranberry. Wisconsin is the leading state in cranberry production, growing 60% of all of the cranberries consumed in the United States.
It’s that time of year; the days are shorter and getting cooler, your tomato plants look pretty bad after that light frost the other night when you couldn’t cover them up and you are asking what the next step is for your garden. Fall cleanup can help with the success of your garden next year. Diseased plants left over the winter will provide fungal spores or virus particles ready and willing to infect your new plants.
It seems like everywhere I’ve gone this summer someone has asked about sweet potatoes. Usually the question goes like this “This is my first year growing sweet potatoes. When do I dig them? What do I do with them?” For all you who are growing them for the first time or have had limited success after they are dug, this is for you.
December 07, 2018
For many South Dakota crop producers, grain storage is top priority this harvest. "Over the past year, low commodity prices have caused some farmers to hold over more grain than in previous years," said Sara Bauder, SDSU Extension Agronomy Field Specialist.
Aquaculture has expanded beyond Asia, Central America and the farm ponds of southern states up north to South Dakota. Of course, fish production in South Dakota opens a new market for the state’s soybean farmers.