UW-Madison, Division of Extension Rock County

UW-Madison, Division of Extension Rock County We teach, learn, lead and serve, connecting people with the University of Wisconsin, and engaging wi

Cooperative Extension develops practical educational programs tailored to local needs and based on university knowledge and research. We deliver our expertise to the public, addressing a wide range of needs to people, plants and animals, in both urban and rural areas of the states. The Rock County Cooperative Extension office includes educators in Family Living, 4-H Youth and Development, Agriculture, Horticulture, and Nutrition. Check out our webpage for more information on programs offered.

The garden is looking so great! These guys are working hard and should have some good plants and produce to show for it!
06/24/2026

The garden is looking so great! These guys are working hard and should have some good plants and produce to show for it!

Pack coolers with plenty of ice and keep them closed as much as possible. Store drinks separately to minimize temperatur...
06/23/2026

Pack coolers with plenty of ice and keep them closed as much as possible. Store drinks separately to minimize temperature changes. Try to maintain a temperature below 40°. For more guidance, visit go.wisc.edu/answerline or call 1-866-540-4636.

You don’t need to be a counselor to make a difference. This Mental Health First Aid training is designed for agriculture...
06/22/2026

You don’t need to be a counselor to make a difference. This Mental Health First Aid training is designed for agriculture professionals who regularly connect with farmers, ranchers, and rural families. Learn how to listen, respond, and connect people with the help they need when it matters most.

📅 July 28–29 (virtual)
👉 Learn more and register here: go.wisc.edu/MHFAJuly2026

Keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot at summer gatherings. When food sits in the “danger zone,” bacteria grow quickly....
06/18/2026

Keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot at summer gatherings. When food sits in the “danger zone,” bacteria grow quickly. More tips: go.wisc.edu/answerline or 1-866-540-4636.

Farm stress is real, and ag service providers are often considered a trusted first line of support. Join our Mental Heal...
06/17/2026

Farm stress is real, and ag service providers are often considered a trusted first line of support. Join our Mental Health First Aid for the Agriculture Community training this summer to gain practical skills for recognizing and responding to mental health challenges.

📅 July 28–29 | 🕒 12:30–3:30 pm (virtual)
👉 For more information and to register, visit: go.wisc.edu/MHFAJuly2026

🌱 This Week in the Garden: Your Questions Answered, Week of June 8⛈️ Last week we were talking about how dry it was, now...
06/11/2026

🌱 This Week in the Garden: Your Questions Answered, Week of June 8

⛈️ Last week we were talking about how dry it was, now we’re talking about severe storms. This week we feature some resources to help you with gardening for these wacky weather extremes and what to do for trees that experience storm damage.

If you end up with water logged soil or flooded areas after the next round of storms, there are some practices you shouldn’t do:

🚫 Don’t till, work, walk on, or operate heavy machinery on the soil until it has dried out sufficiently.
🚫 Don’t consume produce that has been submerged in floodwaters.
🚫 Don’t fertilize until after wet conditions have abated and plants have recovered.

Check out our article linked below for more information and advice about what to do to help your plants/gardens before and after extreme precipitation or flooding events.

🔗 Learn more:

Gardening in extreme precipitation and flooding: https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/gardening-in-extreme-precipitation-and-flooding/

🌳 Storms can bring strong winds and heavy rain that can impact the trees in your landscape. Trees that have been planted improperly, are over mulched, or are already stressed are extremely vulnerable. Make sure you prevent problems when you can through proper planting practices and after care. If your tree does experience some storm damage and limbs break off, you can consider calling a certified arborist to help you assess the tree’s health and deal with the damage.

🔗 Learn more:

5 steps to plant a tree:
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/5-steps-to-plant-a-tree/

Proper mulching techniques:
https://www.treesaregood.org/Portals/0/TreesAreGood_Proper%20Mulch%20Tech_0321.pdf

Finding the right certified arborist for you:
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/finding-the-right-certified-arborist/

💬 Have a question of your own?
Reach out—we may feature it in an upcoming post!
You can reach Julie, your local horticulture educator by calling 262-741-4958, Text 262-374-4191, email [email protected] or use our online form: go.wisc.edu/PlantQ

06/08/2026

Come learn with us this week at one of these free in-person events with our horticulture educator:

🪏 From Scraps to Soil: Composting Basics
June 10, 2:00 p.m.
Find out the do’s, the don’ts, and what happens to compost over winter so you can successfully recycle your lawn, garden and food scraps.
Location: Lake Geneva Public Library, 918 W Main St, Lake Geneva
(No registration required)

🦌Gardening with Nosey Neighbors (The Furry and Antlered Kind) June 11, 1:00 p.m.
Keep the peace with your wild neighbors, and enjoy a space that grows in step with nature.
Location: Janesville Senior Center, 69 South Water Street, Janesville
Please call to register: 608-755-3050

🌱 This Week in the Garden: Your Questions Answered, Week of June 1May was one of the driest months on record. Let’s hope...
06/04/2026

🌱 This Week in the Garden: Your Questions Answered, Week of June 1

May was one of the driest months on record. Let’s hope June brings us some much needed rain.

❓ Question:
Are we in a drought and what can I do for my plants and gardens?

🌿 Answer:
The U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) is a map released every Thursday, showing where drought is and how bad it is across the U.S. and its territories. The map uses six classifications: normal conditions, abnormally dry (D0), showing areas that may be going into or are coming out of drought, and four levels of drought: moderate (D1), severe (D2), extreme (D3) and exceptional (D4).

Here, in southern Wisconsin, we are currently experiencing moderate drought conditions.

With more extreme heat and drought happening in Wisconsin, it’s important to understand how these conditions affect your plants and what you can do to help them. Applying organic sources of mulch around your plants can help conserve soil moisture and maintain soil temperatures. Use good watering practices to make efficient use of your water and keep your plants thriving, like watering in the morning when it is cooler and water deeply at a slower rate so the water absorbs and doesn’t run off. Many lawns are going dormant right now and that’s okay. You don’t need to keep mowing.

Check out our article linked below for more information and advice about what to do to help your plants through drought conditions, plus lists of plants that are adapted to extreme heat and drought.

🔗 Learn more:
https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?WI

https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/gardening-in-extreme-heat-and-drought/

❓ Question:
How can I remove poison ivy?

🌿 Answer:
I’ve received a few calls this past week about poison ivy, which is a perennial woody plant that can be a low shrub or a climbing vine. Even though it’s a native plant and common in Wisconsin, it can cause big problems because of the urushiol oil it produces that causes severe itching and inflammation when you come in contact with it.

Please, use extreme caution when trying to manage this plant at your site. Make sure that you correctly identified the plant, wear appropriate clothing, wash your clothes separately from the rest of the laundry, and use a management method for your specific site conditions. Smaller plants can be carefully pulled, bagged and disposed of. Depending on the area, careful and targeted use of chemical herbicides may be useful.

❗❗❗Whenever you are using any chemical pesticide, make sure you read and follow the entire label. You are legally required and responsible to use the product according to the label.

🔗 Learn more:
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/poison-ivy/

💬 Have a question of your own?
Reach out—we may feature it in an upcoming post!
You can reach Julie, your local horticulture educator by calling 262-741-4958, Text 262-374-4191, email [email protected] or use our online form: go.wisc.edu/PlantQ

📷Drought Monitor Map, 6/4/2026

🌱 This Week in the Garden: Your Questions Answered, Week of May 25The birds are singing, the sun is shining, and we are ...
05/28/2026

🌱 This Week in the Garden: Your Questions Answered, Week of May 25

The birds are singing, the sun is shining, and we are back to the glorious spring weather Wisconsin has to offer. What’s been happening in your yard and gardens lately?

❓ Question:
Small caterpillars or worms have completely devoured all of the leaves on one of my bushes (see photo below). What can I do to stop them and should the bush be removed?

🌿 Answer:
Those are the larvae of viburnum leaf beetles (VLB for short). VLB larvae typically appear in early to mid May and can cause significant damage to viburnum shrubs. Then the larvae will move down into the soil to pupate before they emerge as adults in late June - early July. Any treatment methods are targeted towards the larvae and adults.
If your viburnum was a healthy plant, it’s possible that it could recover and isn't totally dead yet. However, if it's been suffering through multiple years of VLB infestation and/or other stressors, then it could be declining and it might be best to replace it.

What are your options?
Keep the shrub, see if it recovers, and treat VLB eggs and larvae as indicated by our fact sheet linked below. If you do keep the shrub, I wouldn't recommend digging up the soil (to try to find the pupae) around it as that can cause more stress or harm to the plant.
Replace the shrub with another viburnum but check out our fact sheet for varieties that are less susceptible to VLB damage.
Replace the shrub with something totally different.

🔗 Learn more:
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/viburnum-leaf-beetle/

❓ Question:
What else can I do to support pollinators in my yard?

🌿 Answer:
Pollinators need three core habitat features: Food, Shelter, and Protection - especially from chemical insecticides. A healthy pollinator habitat provides a mix of flowering plant species that bloom at different times throughout the growing season. Therefore, planting native species that support insect pollinators is always a good thing to do! They also need safe places to nest, overwinter and find refuge. This can include stems and branches, leaf litter, bare ground, dead wood, brush piles, and rock piles. Did you know that most of our native bees are solitary bees (meaning they live alone) and 70% of them nest underground? And they need protection from habitat disturbances and chemical pesticides (especially insecticides) which can be directly and indirectly harmful to our insect pollinators. A new study suggests that reduced chemical use is MORE important for conservation efforts than just planting more flowers. Read more about this study in the link below.

Join Julie Hill, your local Horticulture Educator, to learn more about how you can support pollinators in your yard at “Planting for a Buzz: A Guide to Pollinator Friendly Gardening” on Wednesday, June 3rd at 1PM at Barrett Memorial Library in Williams Bay.

🔗 Learn more:
https://grow.cals.wisc.edu/priority-themes/food-systems-priority-theme/what-a-wild-bee-wants

https://www.williamsbay.lib.wi.us/site/events/

💬 Have a question of your own?
Reach out—we may feature it in an upcoming post!
You can reach Julie, your local horticulture educator by calling 262-741-4958, Text 262-374-4191, email [email protected] or use our online form: go.wisc.edu/PlantQ

📷Viburnum leaf beetle larvae

For farmers working in silurian bedrock areas of Wisconsin, SnapPlus Version 3 includes specific features worth understa...
05/26/2026

For farmers working in silurian bedrock areas of Wisconsin, SnapPlus Version 3 includes specific features worth understanding. Extension's June 2 training webinar walks through those features and what they mean for nutrient management plans in those areas.

Free session, 11am–12:30pm, with one-on-one office hour time available.

Register:go.wisc.edu/841xe6

Address

3506 N. Highway 51, Building A
Janesville, WI
53545

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