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      I still prefer them alive, but some people are perturbed by ladybugs, especially when they swarm their homes.     We’ve already run advice from Iowa State University entomologists here: http://gazetteonline.com/blogs/homegrown/2009/10/21/lady-bugs-accidental-invaders      Now comes more tips on dealing with ladybugs, this time from the National Pest Management Association:  Every year, the chill of autumn sends many pests – including mice and spiders – indoors as they seek shelter from the cold. But this season, many parts of country have been dealing with a less intimidating ...

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We know it’s coming. Rain that’s falling now could turn to sleet or snow or the dreaded mixed precipitation in coming weeks or even days. To help prepare for the inevitable in Iowa, Linn County Master Gardener, Claire Smith, offers the following advice:     Like a flash across the yard he went, cheeks looking like they might implode from the size of the nut he toted.  The squirrels have been so busy this fall storing their winter’s fare.  The geese have ...

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     If you’re a kid, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is looking for your help in protecting our nation’s air, land and water.  Entries are being sought for the 2009 President's Environmental Youth Awards, which recognize individuals, school classes (kindergarten through high school) and youth organizations.    Here is more on what the EPA sent out today:  The program, which honors a variety of environmental projects developed by students, is open to students in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska through EPA Region ...

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     You’d think by mid-November in Iowa, everything green and blooming would be dead and gone. But here and there in my yard this weekend, I found some survivors.    The lamium, just outside my back door, which generally stays green - even under snow cover - sported pretty purple blossoms. One branch of a blue sea holly peeked through my gate. Malva, which spent most of the summer being devoured by Japanese beetles, finally had a chance to look whole and ...

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     If you haven’t already thrown them in the trash and are looking for an environmentally friendly way to dispose of old VHS tapes, floppy disks or other items, ECO Iowa City is coming to the rescue. From 2-4 p.m. this Sunday, Nov. 15 - on America Recycles Day - ECO Iowa City and Document Destruction and Recycling Services are sponsoring a safe and secure way to recycle.  Johnson County residents can bring items to the Iowa City Recreation Center ...

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I love yams, or at least I think so. More likely sweet potatoes are my fave source of vitamin A, as well as complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber and vitamins C and B6 – one of the healthiest vegetables around. Linn County Master Gardener, Claire Smith, sets us straight on the difference between the two and what many of us will be eating this Thanksgiving: Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s –or another friend or relative’s— house we go…………..  ...

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     The Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency is sponsoring two events to mark America Recycles Day on Sunday, Nov. 15. The R2 Robot Challenge begins that day for kids ages 5 to 18, and above. Make a robot from recycled or reused materials. One important rule: Nothing can be new!  Drop it off at the Science Station at Lindale Mall between November 15 and December 31, with judging on January 4. Categories are ages 5-9, 10-13, 14-18, and 18 plus. ...

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       IOWATER, Iowa’s statewide volunteer water quality monitoring program, will host a workshop at the Cedar River Garden Center, located at 2889 Palo Marsh Rd, Palo, on Wednesday, November 11, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.  In response to the severe flooding of Palo in 2008, the Linn and Benton Soil and Water Conservation Districts and a committee of Palo residents were awarded a watershed planning grant from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. Volunteers don't necessarily have to monitor ...

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     An article that ran in the Gazette earlier this month shows that what works in Virginia, doesn’t necessarily extend to Iowa, especially when it comes to fall planting.  Master Gardener, Devon Dietz, said  that the article, "Now's the time to prep your lawn for that winter nap," written by Kathy Van Mullekem of the Daily Press, Newport News, VA, created some confusion. The Master Gardener Hortline received several questions from gardeners questioning the planting of grass seed in November ...

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      The Iowa State University gardening calendar is going green. The full-color calendar focuses on earth-friendly gardening in 2010. Each month lists specific tips,  plus the back pages offer details on four green garden topics: compost, rain collection, beekeeping and houseplant choices. Linn County Master Gardener, Claire Smith, provides more information on the calendar, as well as final lawn and garden tips for this beautiful fall weekend:       One final mowing job.  That’s what I’m anxious for!  ISU recommends that we ...

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    Kathleen Hassinger contacted me last month about trying out a product from the Liquid Fence Company called FreezePruf. The spray – said to be eco-safe – is  a frost protector that the company describes “like anti-freeze, for your plants.”  Kathleen ended up sending a whole case of the spray – which will eventually be going bottle by bottle to Homegrown blog readers – that arrived the day of our first hard frost here in Cedar Rapids. For best results, ...

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Several candidates for the Cedar Rapids City Council waited for results tonight at the Linn County Auditor's Office, along with about 30 spectators. Results and coverage will be in Wednesday's Gazette.

      Even after the first frost of the season, there is still plenty to do outdoors. Richard Jauron, extension horticulturalist for Iowa State University, offered the following tips for preparing the landscape for the winter season:      Fall is a busy time of year. Our house and cars need to be prepared for the upcoming winter season. It’s also time to get our garden and landscape plants ready for winter. The following are a few garden chores that should be completed before ...

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       I have no problem making Ian Cheney the Homegrown events cover boy for two months running. Last month, “The Greening of Southie,” a movie by Ian and his filmmaker friend, Curt Ellis, was featured in the Cedar Rapids Environmental Film Festival. This month, it just gets better. Ian will make a personal appearance at the Film Food Festival in Iowa City for a screening of their movie, “King Corn” on Nov. 19.  The festival is an Eco Iowa City ...

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     Already, it gets dark early enough in the evening for me, but come Sunday, Nov. 1, night will fall an hour earlier as Daylight Saving Time ends. Remember to set your clocks back (fall back) one hour before you go to bed on Saturday, Oct. 31 – Halloween night. This year, 2009, will be the earliest standard time can begin, because it starts at 2 a.m. the first Sunday in November.  You get an extra hour of sleep in ...

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      Every fall, we stop by the last farmers market at Noelridge Park in Cedar Rapids for our pumpkins. Last Friday as we drove up, we watched a flatbed truck with pumpkins drive away – Noooo!!!!  With few customers out on a cold day, almost all of the vendors packed up and left early. Fortunately, we found a pumpkin vendor the next morning at the last Eighth Street farmers market. We went with the traditional orange, but Claire Smith, Linn County ...

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If you want to be truly green this fall, ditch the leaf blower. The following came today from NewDream.org: Just because the leaves start losing their green in the fall doesn't mean you have to. When managing fallen leaves this autumn, be a steward of the environment and avoid using a gas powered leaf blower. The Washington Council of Governments reported in 2002 that gas powered lawn and garden equipment emitted 81.6 tons per day of volatile organic compounds and 12.6 ...

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Linn County Master Gardener, Claire Smith, offers the following advice on the care of houseplants: Oh, the joy of a fall day in Iowa.  Yesterday I donned my down coat for morning chores.  By afternoon, it was t-shirt time.  Today I was outside in a sweatshirt.  Anticipating the wet weather forecast, I’ve been hustling around with last minute fall busyness of emptying, cleaning and storing outdoor flower pots.  Discarded soil amends an existing bed and it’s recommended we use fresh potting ...

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Michael Richards provided the following information on the annual S.E.E.D. conference, coming up this weekend in Cedar Rapids:  ANNUAL SEED CONFERENCE EXPLORES A “DEEPER SHADE OF GREEN”  The Third Annual S.E.E.D. Conference will take place on Friday Evening October 30 and all day Saturday October 31, 2009, at the Horizons Facility located at the corner of 5th Street and 9th Ave. S.E. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  The topics and discussion of The Annual S.E.E.D. Conference are especially timely as we “Rebuild Green” after ...

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Deb Engmark, Brucemore's head gardener, shared the following about a beautiful plant found at the historic estate in Cedar Rapids:       The most commonly asked plant questions I receive this time of year while working the grounds at Brucemore refers to the Iowa native known as Indian current, also commonly called Coralberry and (less often) Buckbrush.     Symphoricarpos orbiculatus is native to the Eastern United States found naturally, most often, in under story woodland conditions.  The genus Symphoicarpos is derived from Greek ...

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The Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency and University of Iowa passed along the following: The Solid Waste Agency’s 2010 Calendar Art Contest Entries are due at noon on Friday, October 23, 2009. We’ve upped the ante this year... with one lucky student winning a cool $500 for their school art department in addition to other cool prizes! 2010 Calendar Art Contest information can be found on-line at: www.MrEarth.org  Info on another student contest, as well as Saturday’s bike ride is below: Engineers ...

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     Warm fall days like today tend to bring out a multitude of multicolored Asian lady beetles, also known as lady bugs. I don’t mind the beetles indoors, as long as they stay on my houseplants, where they clean up any stray pests that come in with the plants in the fall. Not everyone is as tolerant of the red or orange spotted beetles. Iowa State University’s entomology department offers more information on what the bugs do and control methods:       The ...

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   Flying monkeys still terrify me, but I was happy to catch the last performance of “Wicked” in Des Moines on Sunday night. Green is good in the musical and that even extends to Wicked merchandise, bagged in paper sacks that are recyclable. If you want to know what “Wicked” witch Elphaba would do for a greener lifestyle, the bag tells you that, too. So, for those of us looking to live like the Wicked Witch of the West, or ...

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Linn County Master Gardener, Claire Smith, offers advice on how to attract the right friends to your house this winter:   Are you ready for some winter?  The recent rain/snow mix should certainly wake us to the fact that winter is again, just around the corner.  It seems every winter it takes my body longer to adjust to cold and often damp conditions.  While I wandered around in a down coat today, my brother, visiting from Mason City was in shirt sleeves. We ...

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Give credit to the Corridor Conservation Coalition for sponsoring the first-ever environmental forum for Cedar Rapids City Council candidates. A majority of the 16 people running for the council squeezed in to two tables last night at the African American Museum of Iowa. District 1 incumbent Kris Gulick was at a funeral. No word on District 5 incumbent Justin Shields, who is running unopposed, or at-large candidate Chuck Swore. The 65 or so audience members heard nearly two hours of one-minute ...

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