Recent News

Insects and diseases can wreak havoc on your landscape plants, and in your woodlands. The damage can be unsightly and can become costly if not properly addressed.

Mushroom season is here, and before you hit the trails and go searching for your favorite specimens, make sure you refresh your memory and understand the risks associated with hunting and consuming wild-harvested mushrooms.

Butterflies and pollinators are fundamental to our ecosystem and way of life and just plain fun to see and observe. You can help support these colorful and important insects by selecting the plants they prefer.

Black Botanists Lecture Series.  The Holden Arboretum (Kirtland, OH) is presenting a black botanist lecture series.

Unfortunately for gardeners, there are many times of the year or living situations that make gardening difficult or impossible. Whether it is during the late fall and winter, living in an apartment, or having little spare land to grow on.

2021 Workshops for Morel and Oyster Mushrooms Certification Scheduled

Listed below are opportunities for gardeners and producers to learn new tools, tips, and techniques.  Also, see the EVENTS list on the ISU Master Gardener website. 

Iowa Turfgrass Conference (virtual)

One of the necessary skills in integrated pest management is the ability to make accurate pest identifications.  For insect pests, that starts with the talent to distinguish insects from their close relatives.

The Iowa Butterfly Survey Network (IBSN) was established at Reiman Gardens in 2006 to educate Iowans about butterflies while at the same time encouraging people to take an active role in conservation.  IBSN conducts research using volunteer c

As 2020 winds down, the holiday gifting season is heating up!  If you have a gardener on your gift-giving list this year, below are several gift ideas from gardening experts.  

Tools

The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Pesticide Safety Education Program will host a statewide, "last-chance" 2020 Commercial Continuing Instruction Course (CIC) opportunity for Commercial Pesticie Applicators.  Atte

NOTE: Please do not send photos from outside Iowa as they will not reach the proper authorities if your state is tracking hammerhead worm. 

See the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach YouTube channel for lessons on how to keep bees.   

Spiders are as familiar and well known to most people as they are disliked.  Spiders come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and despite your reluctance to admit to any benefit from spiders, all spiders are ecologically beneficial as they feed

This year, our training went virtual We trained around 120 new Master Gardeners on an interactive webinar. The main goal of the session was to sharpen the participant's observational skills and look at plant problems with an an

Iowa residents are still feeling the impact of the Derecho that blew across the state on Aug. 10, 2020. While the loss to landscapes shouldn’t be overlooked or ignored, it is important to take a breather, wait and make a plan for spring.

It is the end of an era.

This common phrase has never been truer than it is now.

The Plant & Insect Diagnostic Clinic recently received a sample of an unusual caterpillar feeding on dill flowers from Johnson County, IA. The Johnson County Extension Office correctly identified the culprit as the caterpillar stage of th