If you have a private water well, do you get it tested every year? Did you know Iowa has a water well program that allows private well owners to have their private well water tested for free?
Tune in as Olivia interviews Catherine DeLong, Water Quality Program Manager for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. In this episode, they discuss the importance of having your private well water tested yearly, the things you would want to test for, and the resources to help.
Episode Links:
• County Environmental Health Sanitarians for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources: http://www.iowasrf.com/media/cms/Sanitarians5_1A50952E9532E.pdf
• Extension Staff by county: https://www.extension.iastate.edu/countyservices/
• The Private Well Class: https://privatewellclass.org/
• Iowa Department Of Natural Resouces: https://www.iowadnr.gov/
• State of Iowa Department of Health and Human Services: https://hhs.iowa.gov/
• State Hygienic Laboratory at The University of Iowa: http://www.shl.uiowa.edu/
• Drinking Water Quality in Iowa from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach - Natural Resource Stewardship: https://naturalresources.extension.iastate.edu/drinking-water-quality-iowa
Do you know the best practices when mushroom foraging? Tune in as Olivia interviews Chelsea Harbach, Plant Disease Diagnostician in Iowa State University's Plant & Insect Diagnostic Clinic. They discuss tips when it comes to foraging for mushrooms and even growing your own at home. Chelsea also gives some great resources you can use!
Episode Links:
• Iowa Mushroom Calendar: https://naturalresources.extension.iastate.edu/encyclopedia/mushroom-foraging-iowa
• Safe Mushroom foraging webinars by Lina: part 1- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bdiEBwMzZI&t=534s
• Safe Mushroom foraging webinars by Lina: part 2- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNIPxbGbJtU&t=3s
• Safe Mushroom Foraging Book: https://store.extension.iastate.edu/product/Safe-Mushroom-Foraging
• Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic e-mail: pidc@iastate.edu
Growing mushrooms at home resources from other universities:
• Pen State University- https://extension.psu.edu/forage-and-food-crops/mushrooms/production-and-harvesting
• University of Florida- https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/edibles/vegetables/growing-mushrooms-at-home.html
• Cornell University- https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/projects/mushrooms/
• University of Vermont- https://www.uvm.edu/news/extension/growing-mushrooms-indoors
Do you have coyotes or foxes around your farm? Or maybe you even see/hear them around town! Tune in as Olivia interviews Andy Kellner, Wildlife Biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. They discuss why you may see these creatures around, what steps you can take if they become a problem, and some of the great benefits they can actually provide for us!
Episode Links:
• Andy Kellner: (515) 975-8318
• Vince Evelsizer: (641) 231-1522
• University of Wisconsin Urban Canid Project: http://uwurbancanidproject.weebly.com/
• Iowa Department of Natural Resources: https://www.iowadnr.gov/
• The Red Fox in Iowa by Ron Andrews: https://www.iowadnr.gov/Portals/idnr/uploads/Hunting/book_red_fox.pdf
We’re happy to share a podcast from our friends, Dan Fillius, ISU Extension Horticulture Field Specialist, and Dr. Justin Glisan, Iowa’s State Climatologist. This episode is the pilot episode and gives a recap of weather this past winter, how it stacks up against past winters, and provides a climate outlook for the coming growing season. Typically this podcast will be for those who want to learn more about weather, its recent impacts on fruits and vegetables, and it’ll provide a climate outlook for the coming week. Stay tuned for details on how to subscribe and future weekly episodes!
In this episode of the Beginning Fruit Farm Series, Suzanne Slack, Assistant Professor of Horticulture at Iowa State University specializing in perennial fruit crops, Brandon Carpenter, Agriculture Specialist with Iowa State Horticulture Research Station, and Liv Meyer, a graduate student in the department of Horticulture at Iowa State University talk about getting your small fruit farm ready for spring! What needs to be cleaned up, when is the most opportune time to clean those things up, what sort of maintenance do we need to keep in mind, when to plant new plants, and MORE!
Do you have a backyard garden, or maybe a flower bed or two? Do you know what you should do in the spring to get them cleaned up and ready for planting?
In this episode, Olivia interviews Aaron Steil, Consumer Horticulture Specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. Aaron gives us great advice and insight on best spring practices to get your gardens and flower beds ready!
Episode Links:
• Horticulture and Home Pest News: https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/
• Spring Garden Tasks: https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/spring-garden-tasks
In this episode of the Beginning Fruit Farm Series, Suzanne Slack, Assistant Professor of Horticulture at Iowa State University specializing in perennial fruit crops, Randall Vos, Commercial Fruit Crop Specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, and Liv Meyer, a graduate student in the department of Horticulture at Iowa State University are discussing grape pruning. Tune in to learn all about pruning your grape vines!