Hurray for Virginia’s Lawn Fertilizer Bill – No More P!
One evening when I lived in town a lawn fertilizer truck stopped in front of the house. The driver got out and asked me if I wanted him to fertilize my lawn. He didn’t know I was an agronomist. I politely said, “no thank you.” He then proceeded to tell...
High Temperatures and Drought Affect Pollination
There’s been a lot of news lately about extreme weather throughout the world; here in the U.S. the Huffington Post as well as other news sources reported that the past twelve-month period from July 2011 through June 2012 has been the hottest on record. In other news over half...
Help Save the Hillside Project at JMU: America’s Obsession With Manicured Lawns
Scroll down to see the pictures of James Madison University’s “Hillside Project.” The native prairie is now in full bloom. You can see it from I-81. Some think it looks terrible and want it put back in manicured lawn. Help save this wonderful outdoor classroom by posting your comment...
Riparian Plant Feature – False Indigo Bush
False Indigo Bush, Amorpha fruticosa This native, leguminous shrub is one of the best riparian plants for creating wildlife habitat and improving water quality. It is fast growing and deer don’t like to eat it, so if you want success in your shrub or wildlife plantings this is a winner....
Blackpoll Warblers in Swoope
Blackpoll Warblers came to the trees in our yard this week. They’re on their way to the boreal forests of Canada. I don’t know a lot of people that have seen a Blackpoll Warbler and when I mention them I get funny stares – I’m a birder.
Earth Day and the 50th Anniversary of Silent Spring
Rachel Carson…she’s one of my heroes. This year for Earth Day (April 22, 2012) it is fitting to honor the 50th anniversary of Rachael Carson’s book, Silent Spring.
Why Don’t Farmers Just Do It?
Why don’t farmers just do it? I mean fence their cattle out of the streams. If farmers would do this one practice, at least in the Shenandoah River watershed, agriculture would probably be finished with its part of the Chesapeake Bay TMDL. Excluding livestock from streams is possibly the single...
Butcher Birds Sighted in Swoope
This past week we saw for the first time in over a year a very rare and imperiled bird in Virginia: the Loggerhead Shrike, Lanius ludovicianus. The genus name is Latin for butcher and Shrike is a derivative of shriek. The bird doesn’t really have a pretty song, it shrieks....
