… twofold, having positive and negative virtues. On a positive note, our soils tend to be rich in nutrients. But on a negative note, our soils are heavy and do not drain well. The soils at the … and are about to embark on another trial…biochar. Biochar has been used for thousands of years in the Amazon Basin of South America to greatly improve poor, unproductive soils for farming. The … . Amended terra preta soils created long ago still cover 10 percent of the Amazon Basin. It is important to understand that “slash and char” is different than “slash and burn,” which has …
Type: Blog
… With spring’s arrival, one can’t help but daydream about greener pastures, or in my case, lawns. Now is the time for spring lawn maintenance. The main purpose of spring lawn care is to get the turf … are a number of things you can do to ensure that your lawn gets off to a good start in the spring. Listed below are some things to do in April and May. Spring Lawn Tips 1. Rake Rake …
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… background. Most perennials are deciduous. They go dormant when their above-ground parts die in the fall and then rely on the energy and nutrient reserves stored in underground roots during the winter. Why do they stay green so long? Well, evergreen leaves … diseases or be browsed by critters. But the main reason that a perennial has evergreen leaves is to provide a place to store energy and nutrients while dormant. The leaves are tricky …
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… are filled with an abundance of foliage, plants, and animal life unlike any other ecosystem in the Chicago Wilderness region. Among other benefits, they help to filter rainwater. Rare … remnant woodlands, and fish are a part of this shadowed world that has long been entrenched in mystery for local residents and scientists alike. As urbanization, erosion, increasingly … rare plant species that can be found there. The data, now quite valuable due to its longevity, is a treasure chest for land managers and others who are trying to better understand the system …
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… Winter weather in Chicago often has surprises. Snow covered the grass of the Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden. This protected grass can expect good growth in spring. The yellow whips of this willow make an excellent contrast to the snow in most … and hoping winter will end, cheering a thaw and higher temperatures. What you might not know is that all this snow has a number of benefits that will help your garden and landscape later …
Type: Blog
… female. Most dragonflies have very different-looking males and females. This one was in the Native Plant Garden. Photo ©Carol Freeman. Some of the dragonflies migrate south toward … field of vision that helps it avoid predators. The most abundant dragonfly I’ve seen is the eastern pondhawk, with blue dasher dragonflies coming in a close second. I’m also seeing quite a few damselflies, which are generally smaller and more …
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… farm was the home base for my adventures with cousins and siblings. We spent hours in the breezy northern hills, picking the sweetest strawberries I ever had. They grew wild and tasted like candy. We often brought some back to share with the family, but there is nothing quite like a strawberry fresh off the plant. Time lapse of a strawberry, … , which has only been around for about 260 years, and has undergone a lot of breeding in that time. Fragaria × ananassa is actually a cross of the Chilean and Virginia (or wild) …
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… Chicago Botanic Garden. But to Jim Steffen , senior ecologist at the Garden, the oak woodland is a bustling center for natural processes and species, and may hold answers to unsolved scientific questions. Purple milkweed ( Asclepias purpurascens ) blooms in the McDonald Woods. “Nothing out there exists by itself. It’s all a network,” said Steffen. … to document, study, and breathe life into the systems that sustain a healthy woodland. In the late 1800s, most area native oaks were cleared, leaving behind a fragmented and altered …
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… incredible ability to harness the energy of the sun. But when you come to realize that there is a whole world living within them, you can’t help but be amazed. Imagine driving into a parking … tissue between the upper and lower surface of the leaf, leaving the edges and surfaces intact. In order to occupy the incredibly thin space within a leaf, most of these larvae are flat and … America . The details of the publication can be found at Charlie’s website charleyeiseman.com/leafminers. …
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… There is a Native American myth that is believed to have originated with the Onondaga tribe of the … animals including swans, pied-billed grebes, muskrats, and many others. The central character in the story is a turtle. The turtle, an island in a world of water, was chosen to carry soil and tree seedlings on its back, which eventually …
Type: Blog
