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Mosquito Repellents are the Way to Go

The mosquitoes this summer have hit all-time highs and have been a real deterrent to being outside. Mosquito population trends for the summer have reached four times the number from last year. Visit the Iowa State University medical entomology lab mosquito surveillance website at http://mosquito.ent.iastate.edu/browse_county.php  for more information. 

Ask the ISU Garden Experts About: Spots on Apples, Herbicides on Lawns and Harvesting Butternut Squash

What are the black spots or blotches on my apples?  The problem may be sooty blotch and flyspeck. Sooty blotch and flyspeck are two different fungal diseases that often occur together on apples. Sooty blotch appears as dark brown to black, one-half inch or larger smudges on the surface of the apple. Flyspeck produces clusters of shiny, round black dots. Individual dots are about the size of a pinhead.

Iowans Encouraged to Help Track Iowa’s Ticks

AMES, Iowa — Iowa State University has an entomology lab on the far north side of campus where scientists track ticks and mosquitoes, the two leading carriers of diseases to humans in the United States.

Master Gardener Demonstrations and Webinar Show How to Landscape for Rain

AMES, Iowa — Concentrated summer rains continue to fill storm sewers, swell Iowa creeks and rivers, and flood business and residential neighborhoods. Waters that move downstream after these events carry pollutants washed from fertilized lawns, roads and driveways, parking lots and rooftops. The residue left by the receded waters isn’t pretty either, and it smells.


This all too familiar scenario has prompted Iowa State University Extension and residents of some communities to explore and promote storm water best management practices that include rain gardens.

Ask the ISU Garden Experts: Overseeding Grass and Transplanting Peonies

There are areas in my lawn that don’t have much grass. How do I fix these areas?The thin areas can be repaired by overseeding. Overseeding is the sowing of grass seed into an existing lawn. In Iowa, late summer (mid-August to mid-September) is the best time to overseed a lawn.


Good site preparation is necessary for successful overseeding.

Ask the ISU Garden Experts About: Grapes, Wild Cucumbers and Lawns

The berries on my grapevines have shriveled up and turned bluish black.  What happened to my grapes? 


Black rot is probably responsible for the damage to the grapes. Black rot is caused by the fungus Guignardia bidwellii. This fungal disease is common in home and commercial vineyards in Iowa, especially in warm, humid summers. 


On grape foliage, black rot starts as tiny yellow spots that grow to about one-quarter inch in diameter. The centers of the spots turn rusty red. Tiny black dots usually form in the center of the spots.

Iowa State Educational Display Encourages Working Together to Care for Our Land

AMES, Iowa –Soil takes the stage in the Iowa State hoop building at the Farm Progress Show near Boone this year.

Register by Aug. 25 for Iowa State Tours to be Held During Farm Progress Show

AMES, Iowa--Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is offering three different tour bundles during the days of the Farm Progress Show.  Each tour package was developed to focus on a different topic and will showcase a variety of departments and r

High Tunnel Vegetable Production Demonstrated at Farm Progress Show

high tunnel veggies

BOONE, Iowa — High tunnels for growing vegetables and fruits are a production technology beginning to dot rural landscapes.