District Blogs

With the current health situation, its best to avoid heading out to pick up plants, so why not start them at home from seed? What's required? Seeds- If you're new to seed starting, begin with easy, reliable seeds, including tomato, pepper, beans, basil, zinnia, marigold, cosmos, and sunflower. These all germinate readily and grow quickly. If you want more of a challenge, great pollinator plants such as milkweed and butterfly weed require stratification. This means that the s

The UN General Assembly proclaimed 2020 as International Year of Plant Health (IYPH). April 2020 is our FIRST Ohio Native Plant Month, and the 50 Anniversary of Earth Day! (from ohionativeplantmonth.org) Native plants are those that occur naturally in a region in which they evolved. They are adapted to the local climate and soil conditions where they naturally occur. They are the ecological basis upon which life depends, including birds and people. These important plant spe

If you are a boater, fisher, farmer, or just someone who cares about the world there is a good chance that you have heard about the...

When you hear the words "invasive species", people often think of the Emerald Ash Borer or Asian Longhorned Beetle, these are included...

Watersheds are considered an area of land that drains into a common body of water. They can be as small as your property draining into a ditch or as large as the Ohio River basin. No matter the size, we all live, play, and work in a watershed and should realize the impact we can have on the water quality downstream based on our activities. We all live downstream from others. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in charge regulating certain discharges, polluted ru

With cover crops becoming more mainstream many companies are beginning to sell seed mixes and specialized planting equipment for seeding cover crops. It is important to remember that they all companies have a goal, to turn a profit. I urge any producer interested in adopting new practices to start small and easy first. Find a no till drill and start with a single species mix, do some side by side trials and see how you like it. Producers who have a lot invested in their fi

Your compost critters are not going to be whispering sweet nothings in your ear, but they can tell us a lot about our compost's conditions.

As we begin to think about putting our gardens to bed for the coming winter, think about the winter habits of our friends the...

As the temperature begins to drop and the days become shorter, perhaps the last thing on your mind is yard work. Winter is right around the corner, so now is a great time to prepare your yard before the cold and wet months. Here are some tips from Butler Soil and Water Conservation District to ensure a healthy lawn for next year. Leaf management: It may be tempting to let the colorful leaves stay on your lawn for a while, but if you want healthy yard, it is important to preve

A recent National Geographic article had a great quote: "If plastic had been invented when the Pilgrims sailed from Plymouth, England, to...