Oregon State University: New Extension website helps solve pest and disease problems

Oregon State University: New Extension website helps solve pest and disease problems. “A new Oregon State University Extension Service website provides a trove of science-based solutions for garden pests, weeds and disease problems in one easy-to-navigate place…. Solve Pest and Weed Problems focuses specifically on the Pacific Northwest and prioritizes low-risk approaches. Based on feedback, Miller incorporated household pests, invasive plants, pesticide safety and pollinators, as well as pests and diseases.”

Purdue University: New website places gardening solutions at users’ fingertips, regardless of thumb color

Purdue University: New website places gardening solutions at users’ fingertips, regardless of thumb color . “The Purdue Plant Doctor website is a mobile-friendly one-stop shop where gardeners can navigate the bewildering maze of insect, disease and abiotic problems that affect the hundreds of landscape trees, shrubs and flowers used in Midwestern landscapes.”

The Conversation: From watering via ice cubes to spritzing with hydrogen peroxide – 4 misguided plant health trends on social media

The Conversation: From watering via ice cubes to spritzing with hydrogen peroxide – 4 misguided plant health trends on social media. “The internet is full of advice on just about everything, including plant care. As the director of a plant diagnostic laboratory and expert on plant medicine, I help people manage their plants’ health. Here are four trends I’ve seen online recently that have stood out as being especially misleading or potentially damaging to plants.”

EPA: EPA Marks National Pollinator Week by Launching Pilot Projects and Resources Portal to Help Protect Vulnerable Species from Pesticides

EPA: EPA Marks National Pollinator Week by Launching Pilot Projects and Resources Portal to Help Protect Vulnerable Species from Pesticides. “To enhance access to pollinator protection resources, EPA launched a webpage that provides information on best pest management practices, state managed pollinator protection plans, and mitigations, from EPA, federal partners, and scientific journals that offer lessons on protecting pollinators and their habitat. These resources will help empower farmers and others interested in pollinator protection to learn about and address the challenges facing pollinators.”

Oklahoma State University: OSU Extension websites provide valuable toolkits for all things gardening

Oklahoma State University: OSU Extension websites provide valuable toolkits for all things gardening . “For more than a century, Oklahoma State University Extension has provided research-based information on a wide variety of topics to Oklahoma residents and beyond. Today’s technology allows quick access to this valuable information in a digital format. With gardening season preparation underway, three new websites have been developed that pertain to home landscapes and gardening, home lawn care and pond management. In addition, the Oklahoma Proven and Oklahoma Gardening websites have been completely updated, featuring beautiful color photos and the most up-to-date, research-based information.”

San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco gardeners use TikTok to share unconventional planting methods

San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco gardeners use TikTok to share unconventional planting methods. “Call them guerrilla gardeners, ‘petal-punks’ or TikTok horticulturists. Phoenix and Shalaco McGee of SF in Bloom are sowing native wildflower seeds in neglected plots of land and sharing their blooming adventures on social media. The San Francisco pair’s informational gardening videos and unconventional planting techniques have garnered more than 200,000 followers and 5 million likes on TikTok. The McGees take to San Francisco streets, spreading native, non-invasive wildflower seeds with pink, plastic guns and Parmesan cheese shakers.”

University of California: People turned to gardening for stress relief, food access during pandemic, new survey says

University of California: People turned to gardening for stress relief, food access during pandemic, new survey says. “People who turned to gardening during the COVID-19 pandemic did so to relieve stress, connect with others and grow their own food in hopes of avoiding the virus, according to a survey conducted by researchers at the University of California, Davis, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR) and international partners.”

Thailand Covid: Idle taxis used to grow food for out-of-work drivers (BBC)

BBC: Thailand Covid: Idle taxis used to grow food for out-of-work drivers. “In a car park in the Thai capital Bangkok, green shoots sprout from the roofs of colourful taxis. Thailand’s tough Covid-19 restrictions have left the city’s hectic streets quiet, putting taxi drivers out of work. As fares dried up, many drivers left the city for their home villages, leaving so-called taxi graveyards behind.”

CNET: How the pandemic and gardening startups fed our home-grown cravings

CNET: How the pandemic and gardening startups fed our home-grown cravings. “When the pandemic hit, most of us watched as supply chain shortages — including imports that account for 15% of US food consumption — emptied grocery store shelves for the first time. Faced with such unprecedented stress, it’s no surprise that just over one in four Americans began growing food at home, according to a Packaged Facts National Online Consumer survey. These novice gardeners said their worries about the future, including food shortages, hunger and inability to go to the grocery store, were the main reasons for their newfound self-sufficiency. Locally grown meant more than just being within driving distance; it meant being in your backyard.”

Hudson Star-Observer: Growing small venues with love, new website provides backyard connections for microweddings

Hudson Star-Observer: Growing small venues with love, new website provides backyard connections for microweddings. “The website is a nationwide venture, and the two welcome potential sites from anywhere in the country. To begin, they’re focusing on the St. Croix Valley and Twin Cities area, as that’s where they’re from. Currently the site has six backyard sites available. The microweddings, an increasingly popular trend in the wedding industry, does not include all the aspects of traditional large venue weddings.” This is very, very new, not much here yet.

Google Blog: Take a trip around UK Gardens with Google Arts & Culture

Google Blog: Take a trip around UK Gardens with Google Arts & Culture. “Gardens United is a new, interactive digital hub sharing the stories of a range of gardens around the country, thanks to collaboration between Google Arts & Culture and over 30 cultural partners in the UK. From archives to allotments, from botanic gardens to heritage bodies, there is something for everyone to enjoy and discover.”