Situation: Low-income seniors who participate in the food access program known as the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) may face barriers in accessing traditional farmers markets. While Dane County distributes all their senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program vouchers annually, redemption of vouchers has been historically low in Dane County as compared to other counties across […]
Situation: The U.S. is undergoing a rapid energy transformation to clean renewable energy as a major strategy to mitigate climate change. Rural communities in Wisconsin, which are well suited for large-scale solar or wind development, may experience major economic, environment, and social transitions when a large-scale electric power facility comes to town. With any major […]
Situation: Farm to school programs provide kids access to nutritious, high-quality, local food while creating market development opportunities for local farmers. Yet, not all local farmers have equal access to this economic opportunity. This is especially true of historically underserved farmers, a federal designation that includes Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC); women; beginning […]
This year, I am trying something new. I am following the advice of Xerces, (the national pollinator protection non-profit) and well-known author Doug Tallamy, Professor of Agriculture and Natural Resources in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, and not doing the scrupulous fall garden cleanup I have been practicing […]
Tomato late blight was confirmed this week on foliar and fruit tissues from a plant sample submitted from the western edge of Dane County. This is the first confirmation of late blight on tomato or potato in Wisconsin for 2024. Originally the late blight was thought to be a possible sunscald as the symptoms on tomato […]
Jorge Islas-Martinez immigrated to the United States more than 25 years ago. Today, he is well-known in the Whitewater community where he works as a bilingual liaison for the school district and volunteers with several organizations. One of his most recognized contributions, he started teaching English as a second language and is still running that […]
In June, 13 Dane County youth, along with youth from across Wisconsin, gathered at the UW-Madison campus for the annual Summer Academy event, hosted by UW-Madison Extension’s Positive Youth Development Institute and 4-H. At Summer Academy, youth had the opportunity to build and learn skills to reach goals and plan for the future. Through interactive […]
Autumn is just around the corner, which means for many residents of Dane County, it’s the season to start thinking about preserving those fruits and veggies! That makes now a good time to remind everyone about the resources we can provide about Food Safety and Preservation. The Dane County UW Extension also provides pressure canner […]
‘Native’ is a bit of a slippery term, though you hear it used on a regular basis in reference to plants. But the question is, “Native in reference to where?”. When talking about ‘native’ plants, someone might be referring to a U.S. native or East coast native, but not necessarily a Midwest native or Wisconsin […]
This year, unlike last year, we have certainly not had to worry about watering! Everything is huge and luxuriant (unfortunately, this includes mosquitoes in the evening). So many things are flowering that I had trouble choosing what to cover. I decided that I would focus on ‘daisies’ since we have several cultivars (this word is […]
A lot of great plants are in bloom here at the Teaching Garden! Native spring wildflowers, non-native perennials, groundcovers and various trees and shrubs are all blooming! Here are some of the highlights. Native Wisconsin Spring Wildflowers Two native plants that grow in open woodlands, meadows or prairies are shooting star Shooting Star plants (also […]
It’s a great time of year. Bulbs, native spring wildflowers and various trees and shrubs are all blooming! Here are some of the highlights over the past three to four weeks. Bulbs: We have a couple of late-season daffodils still blooming. ‘Palmares’ is a member of Division 11 of the Narcissus genus. That division has […]
