The annual Master Gardener Help Desks for homeowners with gardening questions are now open and will continue through September.

Jo Daviess County hours are from 9 to 10 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Call 815-858-2273 for solutions to your gardening questions.

Carroll County hours are 1 to 2 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays. Call 815-244-9444.

Carroll County Master Gardeners will host their "Traveling Help Desk" from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the Mt. Carroll Garden Tour on Saturday, July 12.

The tour includes six gardens and runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The tour begins at Mt. Carroll City Hall, 302 North Main St. where tickets can be purchased and maps will be available.

Vendors will be in the Courthouse Square and downtown.

The summer series of University of Illinois Extension's Four Seasons Gardening starts June 24. Each seminar features a color slide presentation accompanied by the voice of the instructor as people from all over the state participate

All sessions, both afternoon and evening, will be presented in Carroll County; NOTE: only the afternoon sessions will be held in Jo Daviess County. Cost per session is $5. or the entire 3-part summer series is $12. Pre registration is required. Register by calling your county extension office (Jo Daviess 815-858-2273, Carroll 815-244-9444) or email using the Unit web address: http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/jdc If you have disability needs, please indicate when registering.

Sharon Yiesla, U of I Extension horticulture educator, will present the program which is scheduled for Tuesday, June 24 at l pm and repeated on Thursday, June 26 at 7 pm.

Late Summer and Fall Blooming Perennials. The second in the series shows us that our fall gardens don't have to look tired and past their prime. Many plants are available to give you a fall "WOW" factor. Come learn how to rev up your fall garden which keeps your landscape looking great. Martha Smith, U of I Extension horticulture educator, will present the program on Tuesday, July 8 at 1 pm repeated on Thursday, July 10 at 7 pm.

Summer and Fall Blooming Trees and Shrubs. Trees and shrubs are the backbone of the home landscape. They are also a large monetary investment. This program takes a look at woody ornamentals that can flower from June to November. You'll learn about both the common and not-so-common trees and shrubs that can make a visual impact in your yard.

David Robson, U of I Extension horticulture educator, will present the program on Tuesday, July 22, at 1 pm, and repeated on Thursday, July 24, at 7 pm.

Purslane, which appears in June, is considered by most to be a weed that is almost impossible to eradicate…on the other hand, people in many parts of the world consider it a tasty treat which is very nutritious.

Consider this, as presented by the Prairieland Community Supported Agriculture group: "Purslane has more beta-carotene than spinach, as well as high levels of magnesium and potassium. It's been found that Purslane has alpha linolenic acid, a type of omega-3 fatty acid. Researchers see evidence that these substances lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels as well as make the blood less like to form clots. AND, purslane has only 15 calories per 100 g portion."

Sandy Mason, Unit educator, Horticulture & Environment, Champaign County Unit, says in one of her articles that Purslane, Portulaca oleracea a relative of the ornamental, was introduced into the U.S. from southern Europe or northern Africa and has spread throughout the world.

Purslane has succulent leaves and reddish stems with yellow flowers. They appear similar to jade plants. The stems lay flat on the ground as they radiate from a single taproot sometimes forming large mats of leaves.

Purslane is an annual reproducing from seeds and from stem pieces. One plant can produce 240,000 seeds and seeds can stay in the soil for 40 years. The plant also has enough food reserves in its stems and leaves for the seeds to continue to ripen even when the plant is pulled from the ground.

If you are trying to control purslane, the number one rule is: don't let it flower.

About three weeks after seedlings emerge; flowers and seeds will be produced. Also plants, or plant pieces, that are uprooted but not removed can reroot into the soil. Mason puts them on a board to dry out. Do not till through them, she warns, if you do you'll be performing purslane propagation.

Purslane grows just about anywhere from fertile garden soil to the poorest, arid soils. A rock driveway is nirvana to purslane and its succulent characteristic makes it very drought tolerant. The only place it doesn't grow is shade, so covering it with mulch will retard its growth. Post emergent herbicides containing glyphosate will kill existing weeds. Be sure to read and follow all label directions.

Once again, on the other hand, numerous top chefs are adding purslane to their list of ingredients taking cues from their counterparts in Europe, Asia and Mexico where purslane is called verdolaga.

And for the connoisseurs amongst you, seeds are available for the upright cultivated forms for better flavor and easier harvesting.

Aficionados prefer eating fresh young plants, and especially young leaves and tender stem tips. The taste is similar to watercress or spinach.

Use purslane in salads or on sandwiches instead of lettuce or pickles. Purslane can also be cooked as a potherb, steamed, stir-fried or pureed. It tends to get slimy if overcooked. It can be substituted for spinach in many recipes.

Before grazing in your yard, be sure to wash purslane thoroughly and make sure it is free of pesticides. As with any new food, don't over indulge.

U of I's Midwestern Turfgrass Weed Identification website has some great pictures of purslane:

http://www.turf.uiuc.edu/weed_web/index.htm

Locally, Prairieland Community Supported Agriculture has some nice recipes using purslane on their website*:

http://www.prairienet.org/pcsa/recipes/purslane.htm

Here is one of the recipes:

Cucumber-Purslane-Yogurt Salad

• 5 large Cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into quarter-round slices
• ¼ pound Purslane, large stems removed, washed and drained well
• 2 tablespoons each, Fresh chopped mint, cilantro and chervil
• 4 cups whole milk yogurt
• ¼ cup virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, pureed with the blade of a knife
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• kosher salt and ground black pepper

Place the cucumber, purslane and herbs into a large bowl. In another bowl, stir together the yogurt, olive oil and garlic, coriander and season to taste with salt. Add the yogurt mixture to the vegetables and mix well. Add a pinch of ground black pepper. Taste the mixture for seasoning, adding a little more salt if needed. Serve chilled.

*URLs of sites not affiliated with University of Illinois Extension are provided solely for our clients' convenience. Reference to specific external websites does not imply endorsement by U of I Extension nor is discrimination intended against any omitted.

Even if you don't see them feeding, you can identify their presence by the skeletonizing of your plant foliage. They eat the leaf tissue and leave the veins. According to Sandy Mason, U of I Extension Hort. Educator, their favorite plants are roses, linden, grape, raspberry and some 350 different plants. They generally do not feed on dogwood, forsythia, holly, lilacs, evergreens and hosta.

You will generally find them feasting on your favorite sun-loving plants between 9 am and 3 pm, on warm, clear sunny days. They generally do not feed on shade plants.

Japanese beetles stay until mid-August. After mating, the females lay their eggs in turf which hatch into grubs in August. The grubs feed on plant roots until cold weather drives them deeper into the soil. The following year, they emerge as adults.

Mason recommends controlling the Japanese beetles in the grub stage using the bacterial control, milky spore, sold as Doom or Grub Attack.

However these products will only affect the Japanese beetle grubs and not our most common lawn grub, the annual white grub. Products such as halofenozide (GrubEx), imidocloprid (Merit) and beneficial nematodes will control several species of beetle grubs.

Unfortunately, controlling the Japanese beetle grubs in your yard does not significantly reduce the number of adult beetles the following year. Phil Nixon, U of I Extension entomologist points out that beetles are good fliers and easily fly a couple miles in a single flight. They may travel 10 to 15 miles from where they lived as larvae.

So what's a poor gardener to do? Although there are insecticides that will kill them, their use is not recommended because they also kill the bees we are trying to save. However, Japanese beetles have a habit of folding their legs and dropping to the ground when they are disturbed. Hold a can of rubbing alcohol or soapy water below the infested leaves. Move the plant and the beetles will drop into the container and be killed. This is best done in the morning when they fly slower, according the Mason.

Japanese beetle traps are not recommended where a large beetle population exists because they entice more beetles into the area.

Grackles, cardinals and meadowlarks feed on the adult beetles. Two native predators and a couple of introduced parasites may help keep the beetle populations in check.

Whiteflies can be a serious pest on plants grown indoors. These tiny insects look like miniature white moths and can congregate in large numbers on the undersides of leaves where they suck plant sap. The larvae are particularly damaging to the plant.

Whiteflies are attracted by the color yellow. One easy way to control them is to put out yellow cards covered with a sticky substance. You can buy such commercial traps, but the sticky substance on these tend to dry out quickly and then the card is no longer effective.

To make a re-useable trap, take an old pane of glass and spray one side with bright yellow paint. When the paint is dry, spread a very thin coat of motor oil on the unpainted side.

Place the piece of glass with the oil side up near infested plants. The whiteflies, attracted by the yellow color, will get stuck in the oil. Every month or so, or depending upon your "harvest", simply wipe the glass clean and apply a fresh coat of oil.

- University of Minnesota Newsletter - "Prairie Yard & Garden"