Fall is the perfect time to start a compost pile. What else would you do with all those leaves? Hopefully you don't plan on burning them! With leaves in abundance, use those as your base. Next, add grass clippings, clippings from the flower garden and plants and damaged vegetables you've cleaned out of the garden. Caution should be taken with the garden plants. If there were diseased plants they should be destroyed. Putting them in the compost pile could mean spreading the problem throughout the garden.

Don't forget old fruits and veggies from the refrigerator. Just about any food product may be added to the compost pile except meat products, grease, milk products and bones. The meat and bones will attract animals–dogs, cats, skunks, raccoons and mice. Grease and milk products are indigestible by earthworms and some of the other composting organisms. Weeds are a great addition to the pile–only if they are not in seed. As compost breaks down, it also heats up. This heat may not be enough to kill the weed seeds.

Contrary to popular belief, compost does not smell. The only odor from the pile should be an earthy smell. If the pile smells, then it probably is too wet and a simple turning to mix in air will solve the problem. Give the pile a turn every so often to speed the process along. In the spring, you will have rich compost to till into the vegetable garden, put in the flower beds or place around the trees. Compost adds organic material to the soil, which enriches it with nutrients, provides structure to the soil so that the plant can breathe and helps hold in moisture, which means less watering.

- Brenda Roedl, Extension educator, natural resources

Forestland accounts for about 14 percent of the land use in Illinois, with about 90 percent of it owned privately. Therefore, it's impossible to manage these resources on a statewide scale. Sound forest management has to happen through the individual private forest landowner.

A major roadblock to sound forest management on private land is the lack of a written forest management plan. Many private forest landowners do not have written plans, and without a management plan, forest health can suffer.

Forest management planning begins with landowner goals, such as increasing wildlife diversity, improving scenic values or generating income. Next, an inventory of the resources is conducted usually with assistance from an Illinois Department of Natural Resources district forester or a private consulting forester.

Once an inventory has been completed, the information is used in combination with landowner goals to develop a management plan. The plan recommends management practices that the landowner can implement to achieve his or her objectives, while maintaining forest health. Forest management planning can begin by contacting a district forester or your local University of Illinois Extension office.

- Dave Shiley, Extension educator, natural resources

An "Ag Enterprise" bus tour was held last June to showcase Vermilion County land owners and operators with alternative or specialized production or marketing enterprises. The tour group, made up of growers and interested public, visited farm sites on this day-long experience centered in Potomac, Hoopeston, Bismarck, and Alvin. It was organized by the Vermilion County Extension office, Natural Resources Management program, and with the help of our entrepreneur/farmer hosts. We stopped at a meat goat farm with over 70 head, a fresh sweet corn and vegetable stand operation, an on-farm greenhouse for bedding plants, truck farming with specialized local markets, a home-grown worm castings and compost operation, and a U-pick strawberry patch with a new extended season plastic bedded system.

Participants found that there's a lot more than corn and soybean production going on out there in Vermilion County, as several host farmers shared their operations with the visitors. In Vermilion County and across the state, there are a growing number of smaller landowners managing alternative ag enterprises. These operators believe there is profit to be had in diversified, intensive utilization of the land resource for a widening range of products, from freshwater prawns to wine grapes.

Production and marketing experiences were focused on at the six stops, and much of the credit for the tour success goes to the hosts' willingness to share their knowledge.

- John Peverly, Extension educator, natural resources

Fall is a good time to control biennial weeds such as musk thistle, bull thistle, and tall thistle. Biennial thistles are normally a problem in pastures, lawns and non-crop areas such as roadsides. The first year the plant develops a low growing cluster of leaves called a rosette. During the second year, biennial plants flower, produce seeds and then die.

They do not usually compete well with small grains, corn, or soybeans. Planting infested areas to crops or establishing a dense plant cover for several years can help reduce infestations. Since biennial thistles are spread only by seed, close mowing at least twice a season will help decrease seed production.

Biennial thistles can be effectively controlled with herbicides, but only if applied at the proper time. These thistles are most susceptible to control when they are in the rosette stage. Treatment should be done in fall before a killing frost, or in early spring when plants are in a large rosette form. Herbicides such as 2,4-D, Banvel, or Crossbow can be used to control thistles without harming established grasses.

Herbicides applied to pastures may have grazing or harvest restrictions. Check the herbicide label for specific information about product use.

- George Czapar, Extension educator, natural resources

Healthy watersheds lead to healthy communities. But what exactly is a watershed and how can it lead to a healthy community? A watershed consists of all the land that drains water, sediment and other material to a common point, such as a stream or lake. Watersheds come in a variety of shapes and can include farms, big cities, small towns and forests.

Watersheds can range in size from a few acres to several thousand square miles. Land elevation, not town, county or political borders, defines watershed boundaries. Watersheds supply drinking water, plant and animal habitat and areas that are used for relaxation and recreation. With growth and development stressing water resources and watersheds, it is vital that everyone do their part in improving watershed health.

Healthy watersheds can lead to healthy communities through:

• Affordable, high-quality drinking water
• High property values
• Improved quality of life

Every action, from township zoning, to crab grass killer application to a morning shower, produces an affect on the watershed. For more healthy watershed ideas, contact your local University of Illinois Extension office or visit the Illinois Watershed Management Clearinghouse web site at www.watershed.uiuc.edu

- Jodie Tate, Extension educator, natural resources

Want to learn more about your local water quality and take part in World Water Monitoring Day on October18? Monitor your local water quality between September 18 to October 18 and then compare your water quality results to international data!

This World monitoring effort is coordinated by America's Clean Water Foundation, International Water Association in cooperation with several other environmental groups and government agencies.

Monitoring test kits if shipped within the United States are $13.00 plus shipping and handling and include supplies for up to 50 tests. The monitoring test kits measure dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity/clarity and temperature. The kit also contains step-by –step instruction booklet. Monitoring kits may be ordered through America's Clean Water Foundation at www.worldwaterrmonitoringday.org. The reported results will be available for anyone desiring to view the data and will be used in the 2004 Summary Report.

World Water Monitoring Day is an international event that will create awareness on water quality issues throughout the world. Over time the data collected will help develop a better understand of water quality throughout the world. For more details, visit the World Water Monitoring Day http://www.worldwatermonitoringday.org

- Susan Meeker, Extension educator, natural resources