I have a 40' River Birch. I need to remove one large (5") branch plus some smaller ones. We already did a little trimming in January. I'm getting conflicting information on the best time to do the trimming and if I should seal the wounds. I'd rather wait till next January/February(if that's the right time window) than risk birch borer or other insects. Can you help? Thank you. Regards, Leo Walker Stevensville, MI. 49127

My Sky Pencil is turning brown can you help don’t know why

I would like to add garden space for tomatoes, squash and pumpkins in a wide open sunny area of our new yard. Unfortunately the previous owner had a large fire pit in part of the space I want to use. Can I build a 12” raised vegetable bed over the ash bed of the fire pit or do I need to dig out the compacted ash and remove it? I’m not sure how it would affect growing vegetables planted on top of it. Thanks

We recently moved to a new home. Until Monday when we moved our house plants we have not seen a single insect here. We think they are from the wandering Jew plant, cuttings of which we harvested from the three baskets we had hanging from our front porch this summer. We also have a number of succulents and pothos on the same table in the sunroom. Also brought an arabica coffee plant (45 years old) but have never seen insects on it and it is in another room. The insects are tiny. I see them when I am using my iPad and one will buzz across the screen. See them one at a time. What can we do to eliminate them?

Hello, I have a linden tree in my front yard and over the past few years i've noticed that a number of branches have been completely stripped of bark. these branches are healthy up to a point, then they are stripped to the tip of the branch. In past years i've had issues with aphids, to the extent that the car I park under the tree had been coated with honeydew. The wasps loved the honeydew, but unfortunately I'm allergic to wasps. With a suggestion I receive here, last year & the year before i've brought ladybugs to dine on the aphids & the leaves seem a bit more healthy. AND my yard has fewer wasps. :) All good, but now this issue with stripped branches. i have attached some pics. any ideas? I do have lots of squirrels... would they cause this issue? the squirrels are rather brazen, regularly even eating my christmas lights. thanks you for any suggestions.

My young oak tree has a number of wounds on the trunk similar to this one in the photo. Can you help to identify the culprit and offer a prognosis? These wounds did exist during the growing season so I am concerned about oak wilt.

A few weeks ago our pine trees have all begun shedding the tip growth on their branches. THe snow underneath is littered with thousands of them as shown in the photo!. We live in Mason so just had that cold snap and wondered if that has any bearing on the issue. Can’t remember the trees ever doing this before - they are close to 40 years old.

I seeded my front yard with fescue last Fall of 2020. Can I use pre-emergent crabgrass control on it now, Spring of 2021? I read that pre-emergent can be hard on seeding and grass that is not with strong roots. What I don't know is whether or not I am considered to have strong roots on grass planted in the fall? In my backyard, I have Fescue Sod put down about 2 months ago. Can I use pre-emergent crabgrass control on it?

I am looking for the Brazoria County Home Demonstration Club. They put out a cookbook called Never A Dull Meal in which both of my grandmother's participated. Does the group still exist? Would there be a copy of previous cookbooks in an archive? Thank you,

Does the extension service conduct garden soil testing? If not, is there any particular brand of soil tester you would recommend.