![Lagenaria gourd divided to serve as spoons.Photo by T.K. Naliaka via Wikimedia Commons. Shared under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-SA 4.0).](/sites/default/files/styles/flexslider_full_no_crop_300x200/public/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/gourd_spoon.jpg?itok=Ye5OAvNN)
Nature's multipurpose utensils
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Our ancestors couldn’t go to the hardware store or shopping mall to buy utensils and other household essentials. Instead, they improvised with items found in nature.
Garden critters: 'Frenemies' in grow places
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Cute critters by day. Thieves by night.
Cover crops improve garden soil
COLUMBIA, Mo. – “You don’t need a green thumb to be a good gardener, but it certainly helps to have good soil,” said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein.
![Ozark Prairie Master Gardener Dan Britton, right, his wife, Earlene, left, and MU Extension specialist Joni Harper, center, are teaching other Master Gardeners how to make small greenhouses.Photo by Linda Geist](/sites/default/files/styles/flexslider_full_no_crop_300x200/public/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/greenhouse_0145.jpg?itok=9th1nZ6j)
MU Master Gardeners build mini-greenhouses
VERSAILLES, Mo. – Ozark Prairie Master Gardeners know that good things come in small packages.That is why mini-greenhouses are growing throughout the Lake of the Ozarks region.The mini-greenhouses are the brainchild of Dan Britton, president of the Ozark Prairie Master Gardeners chapter in Morgan County.
![Turnips.Photo by Flickr user Jeff Egnaczyk/CC BY 2.0](/sites/default/files/styles/flexslider_full_no_crop_300x200/public/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/turnip.jpg?itok=XEouNidr)
Plant turnips in late July
COLUMBIA, Mo. – An old Missouri saying advises, “On the 25th of July, sow your turnips, wet or dry,” said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein.
Soil testing kits available at local MU Extension centers
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Submitting soil samples to your local University of Missouri Extension center is easy, says Manjula Nathan, director of the MU Soil and Plant Testing Laboratory.Now is the best time of the year to submit samples to the accredited lab. Soil tests help farmers, gardeners and lawn owners find what fertilizers they may or may not need, says Nathan.
![MU Extension Master Gardener Earlene Britton of Versailles has a Christmas cactus that is 4 feet tall and 5 feet wide. Photo by Linda Geist](/sites/default/files/styles/flexslider_full_no_crop_300x200/public/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/christmas_cactus.jpg?itok=EcqZ3xVS)
Christmas cactus: A gift that keeps on giving
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The summer they were married, Dan and Earlene Britton received a cutting from a Christmas cactus belonging to Earlene’s grandmother Naomi Ingrum. Thirty-six years later, the Brittons and the cactus continue to do well in spite of coast-to-coast moves and climate changes.
![Blue hyacinths.Public domain photo](/sites/default/files/styles/flexslider_full_no_crop_300x200/public/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/BlueHyacinth.jpg?itok=-yfar0s5)
Hyacinth's fragrant punch makes scents
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Few flowers pack the fragrance punch of hyacinth.
Winterize roses in December
COLUMBIA, Mo.