It’s easy to grow fresh, nutritious and tasty vegetables in your own yard, community garden plot, or even in containers on a deck or patio. The University of Wisconsin – Madison Division of Extension offers home vegetable gardeners a tremendous number of resources to learn how to grow vegetables, as well as how to prevent and control diseases and insects. Browsing our publications and fact sheets will help you be successful in achieving a bountiful harvest.
Making your own compost is an easy, practical, and satisfying way to make use of yard waste and table scraps. With this publication, designed for the home gardener, you’ll be composting like a pro in no time!
Crop rotation in the home vegetable garden involves changing the planting location of vegetables within the garden each season. Crop rotation is used to reduce damage from insect pests, to limit the development of vegetable diseases, and to manage soil fertility. Learn the basics in this factsheet.
If you’re unable to find the information you need, please submit your gardening question here:
Ann Joy and Brian Hudelson, UW-Madison Plant Pathology Revised: 4/1/2005 Item number: XHT1140 What is blossom end rot? Blossom end rot is a physiological disorder of tomato in which the tissue of the blossom end of the fruit (the portion of the fruit opposite the stem) breaks down and rots, thus reducing yield. Pepper, eggplant […]
Jim Olis* and Brian Hudelson, UW-Madison Plant Pathology *Completed as partial fulfillment of the requirements for a BS in Plant Pathology at the University of Wisconsin Madison. Revised: 8/6/2012 Item number: XHT1077 What is downy mildew? The downy mildews are a group of fungal diseases that cause destruction of the leaves, stems, flowers and fruits […]
Amanda Gevens, Anna Seidl, Brian Hudelson, UW-Madison Plant Pathology Revised: June 16, 2017 Item number: XHT1195 What is late blight? Late blight is a destructive disease of tomatoes and potatoes that can kill mature plants, and make tomato fruits and potato tubers inedible. This disease also affects, although typically to a lesser extent, eggplants and […]
John Peters, Doug Soldat Revised: 5/11/2010 Item number: A2166 Save money and protect the environment by having your soil tested before applying lime and fertilizer. This concise publication tells you when and how to sample and where to send it for testing (2 pages; 2008). Download Article
Brian Hudelson, UW-Madison Plant Pathology Revised: 5/11/2010 Item number: XHT1004 What is herbicide damage? Herbicide damage is any adverse, undesired effect on a plant that is caused by exposure of that plant to a pesticide designed for weed control (i.e., a herbicide). Any plant can be subject to this problem. What does herbicide damage […]
Jeffory Schraufnagel*, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Brian Hudelson, UW-Madison Plant Pathology Revised: 5/11/2010 Item number: XHT1122 What is gray mold? Gray mold (or Botrytis blight) is a common and often serious fungal disease that can affect plants of all kinds. Gray mold is a particularly serious problem on flowering plants and those plants grown in […]
Brian Hudelson, UW-Madison Plant Pathology, UW-Extension Revised: 1/8/2012 Item number: XHT1002 What is chlorosis? Chlorosis is a common nutritional disorder of many woody ornamentals in Wisconsin, particularly in the southern and eastern parts of the state. Pin oaks are most commonly affected by chlorosis, although many other trees and shrubs (e.g., white oak, red maple, […]
Live in an apartment or condo? You can still raise a garden’s worth of flowers or vegetables in pots and other containers by mastering these methods.
Ann Joy and Brian Hudelson, UW-Madison Plant Pathology Revised: 5/7/2010 Item number: XHT1017 What is black walnut toxicity? Black walnut trees (Juglans nigra) produce a toxic substance (called juglone) that prevents many plants from growing under or near them. Related trees like butternut (J. cinerea) and shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) also produce juglone, but in […]
Brian Hudelson, UW-Madison Plant Pathology Revised: 5/6/2010 Item number: XHT1080 What is aster yellows? Aster yellows is a chronic, systemic disease that affects over 300 species in 38 families of broad-leaf, herbaceous plants. Members of the aster family (Asteraceae), such as asters, marigolds, Coreopsis and purple coneflower are commonly affected by this disease. Vegetable crops […]
Doug Higgins and Kristin Krokowski, UW-Extension Waukesha County, and Erin Silva, UW-Agronomy Revised: 5/13/2012 Item number: XHT1209 What are cover crops and green manures? Cover crops are plants grown in a garden to improve a soil’s physical structure and fertility. As cover crops grow, they become reservoirs for important plant nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus […]
Brian Hudelson, UW-Madison Plant Pathology Revised: 4/25/2004 Item number: XHT1124 What is damping-off? Damping-off is a common and fatal disease that affects all types of plant seedlings. The disease is most prevalent when seeds are germinated in cool, wet soils. Fortunately, seedlings are susceptible to damping-off for only a short period following emergence and eventually […]
