Growing small fruits in your home garden is easier than you think. Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and grapes are small fruits well-adapted to our Illinois climate. Once established these perennial fruits can provide years of bountiful harvest with a minimum amount of care. This lesson will provide many valuable tips on varieties, planting and care of these garden crops. You can soon be growing and harvesting fresh, inexpensive fruit right from your own backyard!

Plan to attend the session titled Growing Small Fruits for the Home Garden. It will be presented on Tuesday, March 24^th at 10:00 a.m. in the Extension Building. Growing small fruit is a rewarding aspect of home gardening, which can provide summer-long, fresh eating treats. With today's prices for fruit, growing your own helps trim the grocery bill, providing fruit for eating right off the plant, as well as for preserving in jams, jellies, or canning and freezing.

The workshop will be taught by Ed Billingsley, Williamson County. Any

interested person is welcome to attend. There is no fee. Call 439-3178 to let us know you would plan to join us so that we can have materials for everyone.

Monthly Sewing Class for April

Come join the group and make an attractive quilt block that is tied on the sides to form a basket for holding Easter eggs, candy or bread. You will learn to piece angles and sew corners. The class will be held April 3, 9:00 a.m. to noon at the Extension Building and is taught by Alice Hunt. Call to register at 439-3178 before April 1 to reserve a space. A fee of $5.00 will cover all supplies, and sewing machines are available.

Together We Can

As we look to the future, University of Illinois Extension in Franklin County is asking citizens for help.

The effort—"Together We Can….Tell Us How "—is an online survey. It is an effort to build on and expand our grassroots support and continue to make our programs relevant to the evolving needs of our communities.

This online survey will guide U of I Extension's program planning. We hope to reach a representative cross-section of the people in our communities. This will help us identify the concerns of Illinois residents and their needs in a quick and easy way. It will only take you about 10 to 15 minutes to complete. Just enter the link: http://tellus.extension.uiuc.edu.

The survey seeks responses in 10 broad issue areas ranging from managing financial resources, to the environment, to physical health and wellness, to energy costs, to education, among other things.

We want to know if these issues affect you and whether or not you need information or assistance in sorting through sometimes conflicting information on a topic.

The survey process will continue through mid April. Those who wish to participate in the survey and don't have a computer may contact the Extension office at 439-3178 to request a paper copy.