[Ray Novitske]

in reply to: Possible Writing Topics #632

We have the following topics available for assignment from June 2025 – October 2025:
– News story highlighting plant clinics (June)
– Vegetable Problems Caused by Hot Weather (July)
– Planting Cool weather Crops for fall Harvest (August)
– Preserving / Freezing Fruits / Vegetables (September)
– Winter Storage of Vegetables (September)

In addition, the following topics are available for assignment without a specific month in mind:
– Hardscape Options
– Xeriscaping
– Bird deterrence
– History of Scarecrows
– Raccoons
– Gypsy Moth
– Cottony Maple Scale
– Lacebug
– Euonymus scale
– Fireblight
– Termites
– Agastache
– Spiderwort
– Turtlehead
– Swamp Mallow
– Eastern Prickly Pear
– Purslane & Portulaca – weed and cultivar
– Linden tree
And these would be ready for assignment in fall and winter”
– Boston Fern
– Snake Plant
– Prayer Plant
– Dieffenbachia
– Staghorn Fern
– Potting Soil for Indoor Plants
Send an email to Pat or Ray if you would want to take on one of these assignments

[Ray Novitske]

in reply to: Task 1 – Resources #564

When developing the archives pages, I revised some of the resources we each included in out lists. I did the following:

1.) I did not post duplicate resources. For example, if Clemson had a publication on composting, and Penn State had a publication on composting, I selected the one I considered best. There was no need for several links on the same subject. If there was a different angle (in winter v. in backyard) to the publications, I included both.

2.) I only used links to places like university extension or research, government publications. I did not use links to slide presentations, newspapers, commercial blogs, or gardening organizations.

3.) I did not use links to items behind Sharepoint passwords to our lab reports, or to our website garden calendars. The calendars are a little light when it comes to specific topical information people would be looking for. I think we can try writing assignments for writers in the future to try to aggregate these into stories that we can use.

4.) I did not use links to pages that did not concentrate on the topic or category. For example, I did not include a link to an insect or disease publication unless it was mainly about trees. Yes, insects can harm trees, but the public would not be going to the Trees resources to find out about insects.

[Ray Novitske]

in reply to: Task 2 – Invasives #352

Thanks for participating in the Invasives planning meeting. These are the summary topics we discussed and decided on to help educate our readers:

1.) A story defining invasives: what are they; how they impact us; why we should care; why they are dangerous; how they got here; some plants are invasive in some areas but not others; how global warming is affected and how global warming affects invasives.

2.) A story about what common invasives people purchase and plant without knowing; alternatives; those readily available in retail stores; why some plants are sold and others are banned

3.) A story on non-desirable plants that are not invasive, but may be problematic

4.) Story about Kate Dando’s garden; how if came to be; her journey.

5.) A story highlighting some Master Gardener’s experience with invasives.

Mentioned:
Blue Ridge PRISM: https://blueridgeprism.org/
Virginia Invasive list: https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/document/nh-invasive-plant-list-2023.pdf

Other additional comments and thoughts are welcome here.
Maybe a story on invasive look-alikes?

• This reply was modified 1 year, 9 months ago by Ray Novitske.
• This reply was modified 1 year, 9 months ago by Ray Novitske.

[Ray Novitske]

in reply to: Task 2 – Invasives #323

I was thinking of items on the Virginia list of invasives that are still sold such as Bradford Pear and English Ivy. Seeing these for sale in nurseries and stores may lead the public to think they are not invasive. So our task would be an educational one to set the record straight.

[Ray Novitske]

in reply to: Task 1 – Resources #320

I mean resources as a general term – not that it is a specific titled section (sorry I capitalized it). I was referring to the References and the Publication pages on the website. We can talk about layout and pictures in archives, sure. We can use better stats on the pages accessed, but from what I see with the limited stats we have access to, archives and references are not accessed very often by readers.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by Ray Novitske.
• This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by Ray Novitske.

[Ray Novitske]

in reply to: Task 2 – Invasives #291

In the past two months, we have had one story about an invasive plant to educate the public on what invasives we have in our county.

It would be good that when we highlight an invasive plant, we also tie that in to the Facebook and Instagram sites at the same time so they are coordinated.

[Author]

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