Outdoors
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Digging ginseng
‘Digging it” was a popular saying way back in the day. For an old hippie, it means being in tune with or appreciating something. But, for old time woodland foragers, “digging it” means hunting for ginseng. Ginseng is an ancient mystical plant, highly valued by herbalists for its wide variety of applications, cures and treatment… Continue reading.
One bad apple can spoil
The Osmonds’ big 1970 hit “One Bad Apple” might give good advice on love, but the brother band didn’t know anything about storing apples. One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch. If you have excess apples this fall and want to store them, pick only good-quality fruit that is free of bruises, cuts or… Continue reading.
Gardening for pollinators
Pollinators are all the “buzz” these days as focus on the health of pollinators, so critical to food and ecosystems, continues. It may surprise you to learn that the honeybee is native to Europe and was introduced to the United States. But there are also numerous other pollinator species including native bees, butterflies and moths,… Continue reading.
Turtle midwife
My wife got an early start on her yard work and was hard at weeding when I left for work. Walking out to her flower garden, I wished her a good day, got in the truck and left for work. When I returned that afternoon, she greeted me with, “Where is the outdoorsman you are… Continue reading.
Black bear confirmed in Indiana
It looks as if Indiana’s tourism program is working! On June 12, Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologists confirmed the presence of a visiting wild black bear in northern Indiana. The DNR received reliable reports of the wandering bear northwest of South Bend in St. Joseph County and made the confirmation after wildlife biologist Budd… Continue reading.
Ask Rosie
We have a pin oak tree that is approximately 30 feet tall. On the north-facing side of the tree there are many wilted leaves, and there are many balls of strange growth. Can you help identify the problem and offer solutions? — Mike and Lynn Wagner, Indianapolis My best guess is one of the many… Continue reading.
Hunters help feed the hungry
Who provided over a third of a million high-protein, low-cost meals to hungry Hoosiers this past fall and winter? You may not have seen them anywhere at the food banks or in the media: most of the benevolent providers wore camo. Indiana deer hunters, quietly through the Indiana Conservation Officer’s Sportsmen’s Benevolence Fund (SBF), donated… Continue reading.
Questions for Rosie
The last three years I have had scale on my hollyhocks. They just start to bloom, and the scale appears and they die. Is there something I can use to get rid of the scale? After they start to die, I clean up everything and burn. — Irene Tarr, Paoli, Ind. I wonder if you… Continue reading.
Year of the sweet pepper
The National Garden Bureau has declared 2015 to be the Year of the Sweet Pepper! Sweet bell peppers are cultivars of Capsicum annuum. Sweet peppers are called sweet because they lack the gene that produces capsaicin — the chemical that gives hot peppers their heat. While the 3-4 lobed, blocky, bell-shaped peppers are most common,… Continue reading.
The slither of spring
A few days ago, I was sitting at my desk busy working away when I heard a knock at the back door. It was my wife, asking me if I would take time to come and look at something. Naturally, I asked, “What’s up?” She replied, “I’ve got a problem … a snake … a mean… Continue reading.
Ask Rosie
I need information on how to manage hops from the ground up and when and how to do what. Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated, such as when to dig rhizomes, prune, storage, etc. — E. Colleen Duncan, via email Hops for production require good management through pruning, training and fertilizing and… Continue reading.
An onion to plant for Arbor Day
My landlords gave me a start of this plant (pictured). They didn’t explain what it is. I have looked in the seed catalogs and don’t see anything like it. Are the little bulbs edible? — Peggy Bair, Summitville, Ind. Excellent photos! This distinctive perennial onion is known as Egyptian, tree or top-set onion, so-named for… Continue reading.