K-State Research and Extension News - RSS Feeds>Gardening, Landscaping and Forestry

Field Day to Include Tree Planting, Riparian Area Management

Kansas landowners often have challenging decisions for managing woodlands, riparian areas and wildlife habitat on their property. The Kansas Forest Service, in conjunction with the Cottonwood River WRAPS (Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy), will host a field day on Thursday, June 6 in Florence, Kan. to address several aspects of tree planting and woodland management.
5/17/2013 8:00:00 AM

ASIAN BUSH HONEYSUCKLES... Play Audio

Asian bush honeysuckles are a real problem in our community parks, woodlands and the more forested areas of Kansas, especially the eastern third of the state and near the Wichita area. These trees can grow so dense that they shade out everything on the woodland floor. This inhibits tree regeneration, essentially stopping forest succession. Kansas Forest Service health specialist Nicole Opbroek discusses how to identify and control these invasive shrubs.

5/16/2013 7:00:00 PM

K-State horticulturist Gregg Eyestone... Play Audio

Riley County Extension horticulture agent Gregg Eyestone talks about several aspects of planting annual garden flowers -- which will be done in earnest once soil temperatures are warm enough.

5/15/2013 7:00:00 PM

Upcoming K-State Research and Extension Events

K-State Research and Extension is offering these events, available to all interested persons. For more information about these, as well as more localized events, check with your local K-State Research and Extension office.
5/15/2013 8:00:00 AM

WATER QUALITY REGULATION... Play Audio

There is pressure on Midwest agriculture producers to grow the world’s food and do it in a way that reduces impacts to rivers and streams. Kansas Forest Service watershed forester Billy Beck discusses how producers can utilize today’s best management practices to bolster production and minimize stream impairments – and at the same time – help prevent additional federal regulations from being implemented.

5/9/2013 7:00:00 PM

Deforestation Will Impact Kansans for Many Years to Come

High crop prices are great for the Kansas economy, but the conversion of trees along streams and rivers into cropland will cost everyone in the long run. Removing riparian forests, forestland adjacent to streams and rivers, negatively affects water quality and quantity.
5/9/2013 8:00:00 AM

Disappearing Fountains Are Economical and Appealing

Looking for something small to add a focal point to your garden? Disappearing fountains can add an aesthetically pleasing water feature to your yard and provide a relaxing sound for your enjoyment. They are easy to assemble and can be fairly inexpensive.
5/9/2013 8:00:00 AM

K-State horticulturist Ward Upham... Play Audio

For this week's horticulture segment, K-State horticulturist Ward Upham covers a variety of topics, including using plastic mulch to promote greater garden tomato production.

5/8/2013 7:00:00 PM

Even Animal Lovers Prefer No Rabbits in the Garden

You’ve done it -- tucked those tender bedding plants into the garden just so. And now you’re looking forward to all manner of flowers and vegetables from your very own back yard. So what can turn this satisfying scene into one of big disappointment overnight?
5/8/2013 8:00:00 AM

Selecting Lilacs for Favorable Traits

Cheryl Boyer, nursery crop specialist with K-State Research and Extension, adores lilacs. The sweet smell of their strong fragrance made lilacs her favorite flower as a child.
5/6/2013 8:00:00 AM

SIGNS OF HYPOXYLON CANKER... Play Audio

There are many diseases that colonize stressed trees. One of the most common, hypoxylon canker, attacks hardwoods, especially species in the red oak group. Unfortunately, there is no treatment for this disease. Kansas Forest Service health specialist Nicole Opbroek looks at the symptoms and signs of hypoxylon canker and discusses how to deal with infected trees.

5/2/2013 7:00:00 PM

Johnson County Extension horticulturist Dennis Patton... Play Audio

Johnson County Extension horticulture agent Dennis Patton looks at several topics, including pruning landscape shrubs that are just now beginning to flower.

5/1/2013 7:00:00 PM

SOIL INFILTRATION CAPACITY... Play Audio

Streamside trees provide a number of benefits, including increasing soil infiltration capacity – the rate at which rainfall can enter the soil. A parking lot has the lowest soil infiltration capacity and a forest has the highest. Billy Beck, watershed forester with the Kansas Forest Service, explains how streamside trees reduce downstream flooding and help to recharge groundwater.

4/25/2013 7:00:00 PM

KARL Training Ends on High Point in More Ways than One

A month after reaching the Andean mountaintop village of Patabamba, Peru at 15,000 feet and Machu Picchu at 8,000 feet – a class of 30 agriculture leaders hit another milestone – graduation.
4/25/2013 8:00:00 AM

K-State horticulturist Ward Upham... Play Audio

For this week's horticulture segment, K-State horticulturist Ward Upham looks at broadleaf weed control in lawns, and the likely extent of freeze damage to garden fruit plants.

4/24/2013 7:00:00 PM

Agricultural news... Play Audio

K-State Radio Network agriculture director Eric Atkinson reports on the day's top agricultural news stories. Plus, this week's Tree Tales with Billy Beck of the Kansas Forest Service.

4/21/2013 7:00:00 PM

CELEBRATING ARBOR DAY... Play Audio

Arbor day, which started in Nebraska in 1872 and became a national holiday in 1882, is celebrated on the fourth Friday of April. This year’s observance falls on April 26th. Planting a tree is on Arbor Day is encouraged. However, according to state Extension forester Charles Barden with the Kansas Forest Service, there are many other ways to celebrate Arbor Day.

4/18/2013 7:00:00 PM

Kansas Forest Service to Host Event Agroforestry Field Day Set for Western Kansas

With the current drought in Kansas, it is important for landowners, farmers, ranchers and natural resource professionals to focus on conservation and management.

4/18/2013 8:00:00 AM

Horticultural entomologist Jim Nechols... Play Audio

For this week's horticulture segment, K-State horticultural entomologist Jim Nechols reports on a new study of coddling moth activity in fruit orchards, which will lead to better guidelines on when to treat fruit trees for this damaging pest.

4/17/2013 7:00:00 PM

Kansas Profile - Now That's Rural - Greg Peterson - Peterson Brothers

FOX News television studio, New York City. Today’s guests are an unlikely trio: Three young farm boys from rural Kansas. They are making national news, thanks to a parody music video which they created about agriculture. Today, in the conclusion of our two-part series, we’ll learn about these creative young men and their advocacy for agriculture and rural Kansas. Thanks to the Kansas State Agriculturist magazine at Kansas State University and writer Amanda Spoo, whose article provided a source for this feature.
4/17/2013 8:00:00 AM

Kansas State University to hold Ribbon Cutting For New Horticulture Building near Wichita

Kansas State University will host a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. on April 29 to celebrate the opening of its new building at the John C. Pair Horticulture Center in Haysville, Kan. The public is invited to attend.
4/16/2013 8:00:00 AM

2013 AGROFORESTRY FIELD DAY... Play Audio

The Kansas Forest Service is hosting the 2013 Agroforestry Field Day May 8th near Wakeeney in Trego County. Rural forestry program coordinator Bob Atchison says the purpose of the field day is to provide landowners, farmers, ranchers and natural resource professionals the opportunity to learn science-based information regarding the design, function, management and benefits of trees and shrubs within contemporary agricultural systems.

4/11/2013 7:00:00 PM

CONSERVATION TREE PLANTING... Play Audio

Conservation tree plantings are used for wildlife habitat, windbreaks, wood lots, timber plantations and Christmas tree farms. The Kansas Forest Service Conservation Tree Planting Program offers landowners the opportunity to purchase trees and shrub seedlings, as well as other items for use in conservation plantings. On today’s Sound Living: the benefits of conservation trees and tips for planting ornamental trees in the home landscape.

4/11/2013 7:00:00 PM

Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at K-State... Play Audio

For this week's K-State horticulture segment, the director of the Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at K-State, Judy O'Mara, returns...this time, to talk about the procedure for submitting a garden or landscape plant sample to the laboratory for diagnosis.

4/10/2013 7:00:00 PM

K-State Horticulturist Gives 10 Tips for Planting Trees

Spring seems to have finally arrived in the heartland, and with it, an interest in improving our landscapes. To help homeowners who are eager to plant trees, Kansas State University horticulturist Ward Upham provided 10 tree-planting tips.

4/8/2013 8:00:00 AM

Planting Grass This Spring? Consider Sod Rather Than Seed

For homeowners who are planning to establish a new lawn this spring, Kansas State University horticulturist Ward Upham reminds that sodding is more likely to be successful than seeding.
4/5/2013 8:00:00 AM

Spring Gardening - What a Difference a Year Makes

Message to gardeners: Don’t judge how landscape plants will behave based on last year.
4/5/2013 8:00:00 AM

FOREST LAND LOST TO CROPS... Play Audio

High prices for corn, soybeans and wheat are great for the Kansas economy, but not so good for the woodlands and forests that follow streams and rivers. Bob Atchison, rural forestry program coordinator with the Kansas Forest Service, says significant areas of forest land are being converted to crop land. He explains how this conversion adversely affects water quality and quantity issues facing the state.

4/4/2013 7:00:00 PM

Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory... Play Audio

For this week's horticulture segment, director of the Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at K-State, Judy O'Mara, talks about disease prevention steps to take early in the home gardening season.

4/3/2013 7:00:00 PM

Kansas Profile - Now That's Rural - Nick Gerety - Gerety Tractor

A tractor rolls across a field. That’s a common sight in rural Kansas, where tractors and farm equipment are a significant part of daily life and the rural economy. Today in Kansas Profile, we’ll meet a rural entrepreneur whose interest in tractors is helping build an equipment-trading business – with a little help from modern technology.
4/3/2013 8:00:00 AM

Community Garden Grant Program Expanded

While some might caution, “you can’t have too much of a good thing,” the Kansas Health Foundation is choosing to infuse nearly $50,000 additional dollars to fund a bumper crop of exceptional Kansas Community Garden Grant applications.

4/1/2013 8:00:00 AM

A THRIVING FORESTRY INDUSTRY... Play Audio

There is a lot we can learn about the forestry industry in Kansas. For example, its economic benefits are staggering. Kansas Forest Service rural forestry program coordinator Bob Atchison says the state’s forestry industry contributes 1.5 billion dollars to the Kansas economy, supports over 6.700 jobs and has a payroll of 360 million dollars.

3/28/2013 7:00:00 PM

K-State horticulturist Gregg Eyestone... Play Audio

Riley County Extension horticulture agent Gregg Eyestone talks about how to manage the weather delay in starting home vegetable gardening this spring. He also offers advice for pruning roses.

3/27/2013 7:00:00 PM

INDICATIONS OF OAK DECLINE... Play Audio

Many landowners have been noticing periodic decline of oak trees in their woodlands. This occurs when several factors converge, including advancing tree age, site conditions, climate, fungi and insect attacks. Kansas Forest Service health specialist Nicole Opbroek says there are clear signs of oak decline and that thinning and making timber stand improvements will help keep woodlands healthy by reducing stock and competition for moisture and nutrients.

3/21/2013 7:00:00 PM

K-State horticulturist Ward Upham... Play Audio

For this week's horticulture segment, K-State horticulturist Ward Upham discusses how to prune both young and mature landscape fruit trees this spring.

3/20/2013 7:00:00 PM

State forester Larry Biles... Play Audio

State forester Larry Biles with the Kansas Forest Service talks more about establishing conservation tree plantings this spring, through the Kansas Conservation Tree Planting Program. He lists the tree species still available through the program, and offers tips on successful planting.

3/20/2013 7:00:00 PM

Upcoming K-State Research and Extension Events

K-State Research and Extension is offering these events, available to all interested persons. For more information about these, as well as more localized events, check with your local K-State Research and Extension office.
3/20/2013 8:00:00 AM

BOUQUETS FROM TRIMMINGS... Play Audio

A late winter or early spring pruning of shrubs and small trees can do more than beautify the home landscape. State Extension forester Charles Barden says it also provides an opportunity to use those branch trimmings for bouquets. He explains how to care for the trimmings so you have sweet smelling blossoms this spring.

3/14/2013 7:00:00 PM

Johnson County horticulture agent Dennis Patton... Play Audio

Johnson County Extension horticulture agent Dennis Patton has advice for planting trees this spring in the home landscape.

3/13/2013 7:00:00 PM

K-State 4-H youth gardening specialist Evelyn Neier... Play Audio

K-State 4-H youth gardening specialist Evelyn Neier talks about 4-Hers planning their gardening activity as a community service...one option being by way of an established community garden.

3/10/2013 7:00:00 PM