< Back Parsnips a Favorite Winter Vegetable Katie Possis, Master Gardener The parsnip is the creamy white cousin to carrots that add a nutty but sweet flavor to your winter vegetable table. Parsnips are a taproot vegetable that will enrich a broth or soup by adding another dimension of flavor. Whether parsnips are pureed, baked, sauteed, steamed, mashed or roasted they will not disappoint. Let’s dig in and discover the best way to sow, grow, harvest, store and enjoy this winter vegetable. Pastinaca sativa commonly known as the parsnip is the creamy white cousin to carrots that add a nutty but sweet flavor to your winter vegetable table. Parsnips are a taproot vegetable that will enrich a broth or soup by adding another dimension of flavor. Whether parsnips are pureed, baked, sauteed, steamed, mashed or roasted they will not disappoint. Let’s dig in and discover the best way to sow, grow, harvest, store and enjoy this winter vegetable. Late spring to late summer when the soil temperature is not colder than 46 degrees Fahrenheit is the best time to plant parsnip seeds in full sun or partial sun. Planting companion plants between the rows such as radishes, chives or violas will help fully utilize space in the garden bed. Delicate is the best way to describe the parsnip roots therefore, for best results seeds need to be planted directly into the ground. Plant in loamy soil, which is light, fine soil without compacted clay and well-draining. Well worked soil is preferred to sow seeds ½ inch deep and 6 inches apart. The PH balance needs to be between 6-8, if working with clay-type soil it is best to work in compost to prevent the plant from struggling with root development. After 3 weeks, the parsnip seed will germinate and at 6 weeks it is important to thin out the seedlings. Gloves need to be worn and long sleeves as the leaves and sap of the parsnip plant can be irritating to the skin. During the growing season, it is important to keep the moisture levels consistent as the plants prefer to be watered deeply and will not tolerate drought. If the parsnips are watered irregularly, the parsnip will become tough, which is not the desired result. Using a soaker hose or drip irrigation during the first month and a half may be helpful. Mulch around the plants will also aid in obtaining the correct moisture level. Due to the longer growing season, 100-120 days it is necessary to keep up with weed management to ensure proper air flow around the plants. Although parsnips are relatively pest and disease free a few pests to anticipate and manage exist such as caterpillars, carrot fly maggots, and aphides. Caterpillars tend to munch on the leaves. The best course of action is to hand pick the caterpillars off when they appear. To manage the carrot fly maggots plant chives along-side the parsnips which is a natural repellent for the maggots. Aphids also eat parsnips so washing them away with water is the best course of action. Disease such as parsnip canker can be managed by clearing away the previous years plant material that may reside in the soil as it can harbor parsnip canker spores. Harvest the parsnips after a frost or two as the roots become sweeter by turning the starch to sugar. The greens will begin to die back which is the signal for the time to harvest. Gloves are an excellent idea when harvesting. Take great care to loosen the soil around the plants before extracting them from the ground. Extraction is a downward push followed by an upward pull. Remove dirt gently with a brush, remove the green tops and discard, then wash in cold water and pat dry. Leaving the skin on will enhance the flavor of the parsnip. The parsnip is now ready to eat or store. There are several ways to store parsnips: freezing, dehydration or in a container of sand in the basement. To freeze parsnips, start with cleaning, next peel, trim and cut into pieces, blanch in water then transfer into a freezer bag, they will store up to 2-3 months in the freezer. Dehydration drying can take place in a conventional oven at 140 degrees this process can take 20-24 hours the result will store for 4 months to a year. Store in a container of sand in the basement by covering the parsnips entirely with sand and keeping them in a cool, dark place they will store for up to 4 months. Enjoy this winter vegetable in a delicious soup Roasted Vegetable Soup Recipe | Ina Garten | Food Network it’s a shining example of the depth of flavor a parsnip will add to a winter soup. Parsnips are a wonderful accompaniment to fish, beef or poultry. Search | Bon Appetit for a purist parsnip puree recipe. Roasted parsnips bring out the nutty sweetness and taste delicious. Enjoy the roasted goodness sprinkled with a little olive oil and fresh oregano and thyme. Give the parsnip a try, it will not disappoint in winter dishes nor in the garden. Photo Credit: University of Minnesota Extension (1) & Creative Commons (2)

< Back A Pest Above the Rest – Japanese Beetles Kristina Valle, Master Gardener It’s July and our gardens are in their prime! But wait, what is that insect on my beautiful roses? And why do the leaves on my raspberries look like skeletons? Read this article about the dreaded Japanese Beetle and what you can do to minimize the damage they cause. I moved back to Minnesota in the fall of 2018; I had not lived here since I was 6 years old. I was excited to be closer to family and to finally, put down some roots. My husband I had built a house and, over the winter, dreamed about how we would fill our blank landscape in the spring. In early May, I began shopping around at local nurseries and was drawn to and purchased a few flowering crabapple trees. I spent the rest of the month filling in the garden and by June, I was able to sit back and enjoy a complete yard. In early July, it was time to weed the garden. As I worked along the base of one of my crabapple trees, I bumped the trunk, which dislodged several bugs that I’d never seen before. Under closer examination, I realized that my crabapple had been taken over by these bugs. The Japanese Beetles had found my tree and were heavily at work, eating the once beautiful leaves. Japanese Beetles are an invasive species that feed on the leaves, flowers and fruits of approximately 300 different types of plants. They are around one-half inch long and have a metallic green head and thorax with copper-brown wing covers. Like all pests, Japanese Beetles find some plants more attractive than others. Some of the more susceptible plants include: Crab Apple Roses Grapes Linden Cherry Plum Apple Birch Elm Raspberry Currant Basil Virginia Creeper Hollyhock Marigold Corn Silks Soybean Adult Japanese Beetles typically arrive in our gardens at the end of June or early July and continue to feed on leaves through the month of August. While the beetles feed, they emit a specific odor that attracts more beetles to the plant or tree. The damage caused by the beetles varies but the pattern remains the same. Japanese Beetles “skeletonize” the leaves which means that they feed on the plant tissue between the veins, creating a lace appearance. An established, healthy plant can withstand heavy feeding with only cosmetic damage done to the leaves, while younger, unhealthy plants may experience restricted growth or possibly death if the feeding is significant. During this time, the beetles are also mating. Females will burrow a few inches into the soil, several times during the summer, to lay a total of approximately 60 eggs over the season. The eggs hatch about 2 weeks later and begin to feed on the roots of grass. Dryer soil conditions can help make the soil less favorable and may reduce the amount of new Japanese Beetles the following year. As temperatures begin to cool, the grubs burrow deeper into the soil to overwinter until the following spring. As temperatures rise, the grubs move closer to the surface of the soil and feed on the grass roots until they reach their adult phase. There are many ways that we can minimize the damage caused to our plants by Japanese Beetles. Here are some control options: Netting You can cover smaller plants with cheese cloth or other fine netting to prevent access to the leaves. This will allow light and rain to filter through without exposing the leaves to the pest Manual Hand picking or shaking Japanese Beetles off the plants into a bucket of soapy water. While laborious, this is effective, especially if done in the early morning or in the evening when the beetles are sluggish. Chemical If you visit your local nursery, you will find a variety of chemical options that are designed to minimize the presence of Japanese Beetles. Remember to read the label – it’s the law! Follow best practices: Do not spray the plant on a windy day Wear long sleeves, pants, protective eye wear and gloves Wear a face mask to prevent inhalation Ensure that the chemical will not harm beneficial insects in your garden Traps Commercial traps are readily available in many stores; however, this method is not recommended or effective. Traps may attract more beetles than are actually caught. Traps put other plants at risk that the beetles may have avoided in the past. Plant Selection Consider adding plants to your garden that are not attractive to Japanese Beetles: Boxwood Clematis Chrysanthemum Conifers (e.g., arborvitae, spruce, fir, pine) Daylily Geranium Gingko Japanese Tree Lilac Forsythia Common Lilac Magnolia Red and Silver Maple Oak White Poplar Redbud Rhododendron Yew My first summer back in Minnesota left me with a lot of frustration, and I spent some of the winter months trying to understand how to prevent these pests from entering my garden in the upcoming spring. I learned a lot, but mostly, acceptance. As gardeners, pests, whether welcome or not, are part of the package, part of the experience that makes what we do always challenging, always an adventure. References: https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden-insects/japanese-beetles#non-chemical-management-options-1591111 https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden-news/dont-fall-japanese-beetle-trapping-trap Photo credits: University of Minnesota Extension (1, 2, 3, 4)

< Back Sugar maple (Acer saccharum): A Sweetheart Year ‘Round Jim Lakin MD, Dakota County Master Gardener With this article, Jim Lakin is launching a series on native Minnesota trees. The first of these trees is the sugar maple. Few native trees are as iconic as the sugar maple. This tree has so many attractive characteristics that it is widely revered across many northern states. In this article, you will learn why you might want a sugar maple in your yard and how to give it the care that it needs to become a beautiful specimen tree. Few native trees are as iconic as the sugar maple. As a kid, I was fascinated by those hearty Vermonters tapping this noble tree for its sugary sap, boiling it down to the delicious maple syrup that graced my morning pancakes. Indeed, the sugar maple is so much a part of Americana that it is the official tree of no less than four states—New York, Vermont, Wisconsin and West Virginia. Its leaf graces the center of Canada’s flag. Also reflecting is ubiquity in folk usage, it is known alternately as "rock maple," "sugar tree," "sweet maple," "hard maple," "bird’s eye maple," or "curly maple”. As you might expect for such a noble species, its distribution is wide ranging from the Eastern Seaboard, westward into central Minnesota, Iowa, the Ozarks and up the Missouri River Valley into Kansas. Sugar maple is shade tolerant, so it quickly gains a foothold in the understory of mesic woodlands. It can be grown from seed, if you are patient. However, if you are transplanting a sapling, be sure that your specimen is locally sourced. It is a highly variant plant and adapts to local conditions stringently. An “outsider” will often not fare as well as one of the natives of the area. The sugar maple is a fine shade tree albeit a huge one. When siting your planting be aware that it can ultimately grow to 60 to 100 feet in height with a circumference that will vary depending on its neighbors. Although it can grow and dominate an understory, it doesn’t stay there! Another consideration is that it is a deciduous tree. All those wonderful red-yellow fall leaves will drop come winter. Also, in the spring you’ll see a vigorous production of samaras, pairs of winged seeds. So, if you are trying to maintain one of those squeaky-clean suburban lawns, keep your rake at-the-ready! Sugar Maple is a long-lived tree, persisting for 200 years and occasionally 300. It will bear seeds at about 30 years and should not be tapped for sap until about 50 years of age. Since it does require a hard frost for proper dormancy, it is not seen in proliferation beyond USDA zones 3 to 5. Although well-adapted to its native environment, human activity has taken a toll on the sugar maple population. Air pollution, acid rain and soil acidification have decimated many populations. Street salting has destroyed sugar maples as street trees, leading to their replacement with the more tolerant non-native Norway Maple. Givern these limitations, however, the sugar maple will grow well in a variety of soils, although good drainage is a must. It is not a flood plain tree. It is a fairly rapid grower, so in a few years with relatively little care, you will be rewarded with a luscious shade-tree and a glorious blaze of fall color. Photo Credits: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37003644 (1), https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37003638 (2)

< Back Planning Your Garden for Next Year Begins Now! The active, outdoor gardening season is coming to a close. After you clean up your garden and put your clean tools away, take some time to reflect on how your garden performed this season. Aren’t there always some improvements to be made? What sort of corrective or preventive strategies might you implement to make next year even better? Read this article for a reminder of some gardening fundamentals that may help you attain gardening success next year. Alyce Neperud, Dakota County Master Gardener Intern The active, outdoor gardening season is coming to a close. After you clean up your garden and put your clean tools away, take some time to reflect on how your garden performed this season. Aren’t there always some improvements to be made? What sort of corrective or preventive strategies might you implement to make next year even better? The Master Gardeners in Dakota County grow gardens that trial vegetable and flower varieties for the UMN Extension. Much of the produce from these gardens is delivered to local food shelves so success is important. These gardeners also review garden wins and disappointments as they consider future practices. In early fall I chatted with Master Gardeners at one of the seed trial and community gardens about their gardening practices. Of course, every year is different. While drought was an issue last year, this year the impacts of a very wet year were top of mind. Even so, the team kept returning to fundamental practices. This article will encourage you to look at your garden through the lens of these practices. And I’ll share some reflections from the seed trial garden. Fundamental Practices 1. Start with quality seeds and plants Locate reputable sources through research. Look at their growing practices and ask other gardeners for their favorite sources. Are your plants suitable for our northern climate? ( Hardiness zones 5a (in some places) and above ) Look for disease resistance or tolerance, especially if disease has been a problem. If purchasing plants locally, look for signs of insects and disease. “Reject any plant with dark, discolored or soft sunken spots on leaves, stems or roots.” UMN Extension 2. Maintain a healthy, living soil - Add organic materials to your soil in combination with soil testing. Know your soil. UMN extension recommends testing every 3-5 years. I am 100% convinced I need a soil test for my garden because the same plant that struggled in my garden produced beautiful red peppers in a new garden bed! You can obtain a soil test through the UMN soil testing lab for a small fee. The test will give you the estimated soil texture, pH (acidity), percent of soil organic matter and levels of phosphorus(P) and potassium(K). There are optimal levels of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus, and Potassium for plant growth. For example, too much nitrogen can stunt growth and, in some plants, may encourage leaf growth but delay fruiting. Finally, the soil test will recommend soil amendments and fertilizers that address any deficiencies that are found. Add organic matter as needed. A common practice is to add a couple inches of compost each year. Consider cover crops . Do frequent health checks - disease and pests can establish very quickly. Remove diseased material immediately and clean your tools. Only fully composted disease-free compost should be returned to the garden. Rotate Crops. Diseases are usually shared within a plant family. Did you know peppers and tomatoes and eggplant are in the same Solanaceae (nightshade) family? UMN extension references: Soil testing for lawns and gardens Compost and soil organic matter: “The more, the merrier?” Living soil, healthy garden 3. Maintain moist but not water-logged soil Moisture is tightly coupled with soil health. Saturated soil can lead to nitrogen loss and flooding can prevent the roots from taking up oxygen and other nutrients. Assess watering practices in the garden - Watering from above can cause disease to splash up from the soil and over saturate plant material. Soaker hoses are one option to minimize spread of diseases. Improve drainage as needed – One strategy to control water is raised beds. Forming raised beds ensures good drainage, which is more crucial for some plant families. An example of this is the Gourd family (Cucurbitaceae): cucumber, melon, summer and winter squash, pumpkin and gourd. Use mulch wisely. Mulch keeps soil moist longer and helps maintain healthy soil by limiting loss of nutrients from runoff. Use mulch that is both disease and chemical free (e.g. wet mulch may be diseased and avoid grass clippings from a treated lawn). UMN extension references: Watering the Vegetable Garden Raised Bed Gardens Fertilizing and Watering Container Plants 4. Maintain airflow between plants - Be generous with spacing. Provide appropriate structure to maximize airflow and keep produce off the ground. Take into consideration the weight of produce and the spacing increments; for example, a pole bean loves twining around a string, peas love some chicken wire and tomatoes need a good strong cage. Get these in place early and keep an eye out, as plants often need ‘training’. Prune as needed. An indeterminate tomato plant, for example, will keep growing. Prune plants if crowding impacts airflow and sunlight. UMN extension references: Trellises and Cages to support garden vegetables Preventing Plant Diseases in the Garden 5. Invite pollinators in Combining vegetables and flowers in one area is becoming more common. Mixing not only helps with plant pollination but provides more color and variety, keeping the garden beautiful and supporting beneficial insects. See article “ Companion Gardens are the Best ” And finally, what reflections on the year did the seed trial and community garden gardeners come up with? In general, it was a very wet year and overall production was lower than previous years. Beans struggled early but rebounded in late summer as the sun returned and the soil was no longer saturated. Despite valiant efforts to manage squash beetles and limit impact of mildew and other disease, squash and cucumber plants eventually succumbed. Tomato and pepper plants started slow but were very productive in the long run despite some tomato blight. A mulch of loose, not too dense straw was a good choice and plants were spaced for sufficient airflow. Cocoa mulch smelled delicious but became wet, compressed and slick from the rain. Flowers and pollinators were abundant and admired. At the end of September, the team is still delivering quality produce to the food shelf: And that is success! I hope in this recap of gardening fundamentals you will find a couple of helpful strategies to try next gardening season. Each year is a bit of an adventure - expect the unexpected, learn and be willing to adapt. Happy gardening! If you need assistance beyond the articles provided, try these resources: Contacts for yard and garden: Ask a Master Gardener Diagnose problems in the yard and garden caused by insects, diseases and nonliving factors: What’s wrong with my plant? Photo Credits: Alyce Neperud (1,3-8), University of Minnesota Extension (2)

< Back From Our House to Yours: Winter Sowing Native Plants for You! Master Gardeners strive to be stewards of the environment. To that end, the Dakota County Master Gardener program seeks ways to support the efforts of community members to practice good gardening in their own yards. Planting native plants in your garden is one of those good gardening practices. To support that practice, the Master Gardeners’ Propagation Team grows native plants from local seeds that you can buy at our annual plant sale in May. In this article, learn how Master Gardeners collect, prepare and grow the native seeds. Marie Stolte, Dakota County Master Gardener Master Gardeners using cleaning boards to clean native seeds Did you know that Dakota County Master Gardeners grow many of the native plants that we offer at our annual Plant Sale? At next year’s sale (on May 16, 2026, at the Western Service Center in Apple Valley from 8 until noon), you will find the 48 types of natives that our Propagation Team is growing this winter. There will also be shrubs, native grasses, and other plants that we obtain from local vendors. Our growing for the Plant Sale actually started in September and October, when we collected ripe native plant seeds from our own gardens. In November, we brought bags of dried seeds to the new Dakota County Parks’ greenhouse in Lebanon Hills Regional Park for cleaning. The Parks graciously allowed our approximately 15 volunteers to use their cleaning boards to crush seed capsules, scrub away the fuzz and chaff, and sieve the seeds. Master Gardeners sorting and cleaning seed It’s a time-consuming process, but important--removing the chaff means the seeds can get better soil contact at planting time. instrument to remove chaff from the seed; seeds in bottom cup are blown to the top of the tube where the lighter chaff is collected in side tubes. Seed sinks to bottom with less chaff Cleaned seeds that need no stratification were placed in envelopes, and are being kept in a cool, dark place until planting time in April. The rest of the seeds that required cold stratification (see Jessie Thompson’s article describing cold stratification in this January issue) for 10, 30, or 60 days went on to a second group of volunteers for winter sowing. Winter sowing is an easy process you can do yourself at home. All it takes is a plastic container that is at least two inches deep, damp potting soil to fill the container, seeds, water, a magic marker, and Mother Nature. Right after we cleaned the seeds in November, our volunteers punched holes in the tops and bottoms of containers that once held lettuce, strawberries, and grapes. Each container was filled with dampened potting soil. We planted the seeds at the proper planting depth. Finally, we labeled each container with the plant’s name and the date those seeds would complete the necessary cold stratification. Three Master Gardeners took all the containers home, watered them deeply, and set them alongside our homes. Mother Nature has taken it from there. The containers behind my garage were exposed to rain in the fall and are now covered with snow. Starting January 15, the first group of native plant seeds will complete cold stratification. More volunteers will take those containers, bring them inside their warm homes, and put them under grow lights. They will keep the seeds watered until they germinate. The little seedlings will keep growing in our homes until they go to the greenhouse for transplanting on April 1. From there, more Master Gardeners will tend to the seedlings and help them grow into healthy, mature plants suitable for our May Plant Sale. Look for more information about our Plant Sale this spring and consider bringing some of these native, home-grown plants for your yard. native Common Ironweed Photo Credits : MB Kufrin (1-3), www.flickr.com (4)

< Back Lettuce, the crunchy cold-loving crop! Jess Nguyen, Master Gardener Intern What leafy vegetable could be a more fitting staple of summer than the humble lettuce, which makes up the backbone of a refreshing salad and adds a fresh crunch to any picnic sandwich? Cultivation of lettuce dates back to the ancient Egyptians, who used the plant as an important food crop and seed oil source. Today, there are hundreds of varieties of lettuce grown across the globe. Keep reading to find out how you can grow this quick-growing crop in your own garden. What leafy vegetable could be a more fitting staple of summer than the humble lettuce, which makes up the backbone of a refreshing salad and adds a fresh crunch to any picnic sandwich? Lettuce ( Lactuca sativa ) is an annual cool-season crop that grows well in the spring and fall. Lettuce is a fantastic candidate for succession planting in your garden, as your lettuce harvest will be ready once the summer starts to warm up and can then be replaced by heat-loving plants. Lactuca sativa has hundreds of varieties (wow!) that can be categorized into different types. Some commonly-grown categories are as follows: Non-heading lettuce, which includes loose-leaf lettuce varieties; Soft-headed lettuce, which includes varieties such as butterhead lettuce; Ruffled-headed lettuce, which includes French crisp/summer crisp/Batavia lettuce; Tall and compact head lettuce such as Romaine lettuce; Dense, solid head lettuce, which includes iceberg lettuce. For beginner gardeners, loose-leaf lettuce tends to be the easiest type of lettuce to grow! Lettuce seeds are very small and require loose, well-draining, and well-tilled/non-clumpy soil to effectively germinate. Adding compost to your soil before sowing lettuce seeds will help the lettuce to produce large and well-shaped heads. Lettuce prefers cooler temperatures; a soil temperature range between 45°F and 65°F (7°C and 18°C) is ideal. Sow lettuce seeds on the surface of the soil, 1/4 to 1/2 inches deep. When choosing a spot to grow lettuce, pick an area that gets five to six hours of sunlight. In hotter temperatures, lettuce benefits from an area that gets shade in the afternoon. An easy method to control the quality of your starting soil and the growing environment would be to start lettuce plants indoors. You can start seeds when you would otherwise not be able to: when the temperature is still too cold in spring to plant and when the temperature is too hot in the summer for lettuce to thrive! Sow seeds about four weeks before you intend to transplant them. Thin seedlings to encourage the largest plants to thrive. Harden your seedlings before transplanting. In the spring, transplant lettuce about a week after the last frost, when freezing temperatures no longer persist. In the fall, transplant lettuce about two months before the first frost date. For direct sowing, sow seeds in the spring as soon as the soil is workable; this should be two to four weeks before your last frost. For fall harvest, sow lettuce seeds about three months before the first frost date, which for Minnesota tends to occur around late August. Soil in late summer can be cooled to suitable temperatures by covering with damp hay to shield the soil from the sun before planting. Rows of lettuce should be 18 to 30 inches apart. Thin seedlings to the appropriate spacing based on the variety that you’ve planted. For example, most loose-leaf varieties recommend seedlings spaced four inches apart, while Romaine lettuce should be planted eight inches apart. Lettuce has very shallow roots, so frequent watering is important for growth. Soil should remain moist but not be overly-wet, which can lead to disease. Thankfully, it is easy to see when your lettuce needs water–look for the obvious signs of wilting that tell you to water the leaves to cool down your lettuce plants. Some common pests for lettuce plants include cutworms, which can cut seedlings and lettuce plants off at the soil line, causing seedlings to die and growing plants to wilt. Cutworms should be hand-picked off of the plants, and collars that extend two inches into the soil surrounding the plants can help deter the worms from further damage. Slugs, which cause holes in lettuce leaves, should also be removed from the plants by hand. Aphids are a pest that can stunt the growth of the lettuce causing yellowed and misshapen leaves and can also cause disease. Remove aphids by blasting them with a water spray, or by introducing biological controls such as ladybugs into your garden. One common problem when growing lettuce is bolting, which is caused when lettuce plants grow in temperatures that are consistently above 75°F. Bolting is when lettuce plants produce a central stalk to flower, which causes the leaves of the lettuce plants to become very bitter and unsuitable for eating. Long days and intense sunlight can also cause bolting. Therefore, for most areas in Minnesota, the months of June, July, and August have conditions that are too hot to grow lettuce effectively. Use these months for heat-loving plants instead! Harvest lettuce when the leaves are full-sized but still young, as mature leaves tend to go bitter. In the spring, leaves will have the best flavor before the weather becomes hot and dry. In the fall when cooler temperatures benefit lettuce, beware of prolonged freezes, which can damage your harvest! You can harvest lettuce by removing outer leaves (which can also be done as the plant is still growing) or by cutting the plant at or slightly above the soil line. Store your lettuce in a loose plastic bag in the refrigerator. When you are ready to use your lettuce, rinse the lettuce thoroughly in cool water, then dry the leaves using a salad spinner or a towel. Wilted lettuce can be revived by a soak in an ice-water bath to maintain crispy, crunchy leaves all summer long. For more information about growing lettuce, see this article by the University of Minnesota’s Marissa Schuh and Jill MacKenzie. Did you know that you can grow lettuce even during the coldest winters, using indoor hydroponics systems? Learn more about hydroponic lettuce in this article by the University of Minnesota’s Natalie Hoidal, Amanda Reardon, Leah Worth, and Mary Rogers. Links Used “Growing lettuce, endive and radicchio in home gardens” https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-lettuce-endive-and-radicchio “Small-scale hydroponics” https://extension.umn.edu/how/small-scale-hydroponics#lighting-2644462 Photo credits: Wikimedia https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Red_leaf_lettuce_J1.JPG (1), pxhere https://c.pxhere.com/photos/c6/a2/lettuce_vegetables_food_eat_vitamins-1018166.jpg!d (2), flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/joi/506693397 (3)

< Back A Recipe for Your Early Vegetables Joy Johnson, Dakota County Master Gardener Warm weather, warm spice, warm dinner! It’s wonderfully warm out and Joy Johnson’s garden is in all its glory. Zucchini, yellow squash, early tomatoes, spinach and sweet peppers are starting to ripen. It’s time to cook up a delicious turkey curry, with a homemade blend of spices. The fragrance will whisk you away to far off India. It’s a warm way to include all your early vegetables or farmers market purchases in one dish. To cool off, add a minty fruit salad. It’s wonderfully warm out, my garden is in all its glory. It’s time to cook up a delicious turkey curry, with a homemade blend of spices. This makes a pot full, so invite the neighbors or grandkids for a mid-summer garden meal. I included turkey as the main protein source, but you could also use chicken, pork or tofu. Brown the tofu after cutting it into 1-inch cubes and add it at the end, stirring gently to warm through. It pairs well with a hearty bread. I made whole wheat sour dough, the recipe for which I’ve shared in a past issue. Turkey Curry Ingredients : 2 Tablespoons peanut oil 1 white onion chopped 4 minced garlic cloves 2 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons ground coriander ½ teaspoon turmeric ¼ teaspoon cayenne, or to taste 1 cup chopped tomatoes 1 cup chopped zucchini 1 cup chopped yellow squash 2 sliced carrots ½ cup each chopped yellow, red and orange sweet pepper 2 – 3 cups cooked chopped turkey, chicken, pork or tofu 13.5 oz. can of coconut milk 2 cups chopped spinach leaves Salt Procedure : Heat oil in a large saucepan or skillet; add onion, garlic and ginger and cook until they begin to soften, about 2-3 minutes. Add cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne and cook, stirring, until spices are fragrant, about another minute. Add all the chopped vegetables, except the tomatoes and the spinach. Stir constantly until slightly cooked - about 5-7 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juices and coconut milk. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper, simmer for another 8 – 10 minutes or until tomatoes break down. Add spinach and turkey to pan and continue to cook until spinach wilts and turkey is warmed through another 3-5 minutes. Summer Minty Melon Salad A fresh fruit salad is a great side dish. This minty melon salad is a colorful and tasty delight. It hints of a Greek influence with the cucumbers, mint and, of course, crumbled feta cheese. I must confess that I don’t grow my own melons. My garden is too small for the vines and the pests always beat me to them, so I gave up. My hat’s off to you, if you successfully grow melons of any sort – make sure to try this recipe that highlights their juicy sweetness. Ingredients : 4 cups cubed mixed melon 3 cucumbers, seeded and thinly sliced ½ cup fresh basil, sliced if leaves are large 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil Juice of one lemon or lime 2 Tablespoons raw honey 2 Tablespoons fresh mint leaves, chopped 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh chives ¼ to ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes Pink Himalayan salt and freshly ground black pepper 8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled ¼ cup toasted pistachios or pine nuts Process : Toasting the pistachios is an extra step, but worth it – it emphasizes the warm flavors. Place them in a dry skillet over medium-low heat and stir constantly until they’re fragrant and a shade or two darker, 3-5 minutes. Watch closely, they can go from perfectly toasted to black and very burned in a flash! (speaking from experience here). In a large serving bowl, combine the melon, cucumbers, and basil, gently toss to mix. To make the vinaigrette, in a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, mint and chives. Season with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Drizzle half the vinaigrette over the salad, gently tossing to coat. Add the feta and pistachios, then drizzle the remaining vinaigrette over the top. Garnish the salad with more basil before serving. Serve immediately! Photo credits: Joy Johnson ( 1-4)

< Back Beware of Ticks! But What if There Were No Ticks? BJ Hansell, Dakota County Master Gardener We are well into tick season and unfortunately, the Minnesota Department of Health has observed an increase in Emergency Department visits related to tick bites over the past few months. We may be tempted to yearn for the eradication of ticks from our environment. Who needs them! This article provides a refresher on how to reduce the likelihood of receiving a tick bite and also explores the impact on the environment if ticks did not exist. Beware what you wish for! As I write this article, it is already mid-June; well into tick season. The Minnesota Department of Health has observed an increase in Emergency Department visits related to tick bites over the past few months. This rise is consistent with the annual increase in tick-borne disease. The scientific name for the deer tick is Ixodes scapularis . It is more commonly referred to as the blacklegged tick and is widely known as the primary vector for transmitting Lyme disease in North America. Photo Credit Griffen Dill; Courtesy UMaine Cooperative Extension I expect that most of you readers are up to date on the current information to protect yourselves from incursions with these gross, spider-cousin critters but here is a reminder. Carefully tucking pants into boots, long-sleeved shirt tucked into pants when strolling in or near wooded and brushy areas; plus applying insect repellents such as DEET and picaridin remain the best methods of personal protection. Confirm the package has an EPA Reg. number that verifies the product is approved and safe for human use. Conduct close surveillance on your four-legged friends upon returning home. You should examine your body for the ticks who may have chosen you for their blood meal. Make it “fun,” grab a buddy and check each other! That’s not too weird, is it? Launder the clothes you wore and use a hot clothes dryer. While performing these tasks you may wonder - what if there were no ticks. Photo credit: Minnesota Department of Health If there were no ticks in Minnesota, the state’s outdoor lifestyle would be transformed. Minnesotans and their pets could explore the woods and tall grasses without the constant threat of Lyme disease. However, entirely wiping out ticks might cause significant ecological disruptions, as ticks serve as a food source for some birds, amphibians, and reptiles, while also helping keep small mammal populations in check. Though these predators do not eat ticks exclusively, the loss of this food could threaten borderline populations of certain species. Oh yes, theoretically, there could be major ecosystem impacts. Ticks help control the population of host animals, such as deer and small rodents. Without ticks, these populations could swell rapidly, leading to overgrazing and damage to local flora. Ticks are part of the diet of wild turkeys, guinea fowl and opossums (though not as many as previously reported in Maine). But systematically reducing tick abundance is likely to remain the most effective method for preventing tick-borne diseases. Most recent research on reducing tick numbers has focused on the targeted delivery of chemical insecticides to particular hosts. These methods seem promising, but more rigorous tests are needed. Several methods of biocontrol of ticks, including parasitoids and some bird predators, have been shown to reduce tick numbers in some situations. Perhaps the most promising method of biocontrol is the targeted use of fungal pathogens, which has been shown to reduce tick numbers both directly (through mortality) and indirectly (through reductions in fitness). These preliminary successes demonstrate the importance and potential of rigorous research into novel and existing methods of biological control of ticks. [ Biosciencemag.org , May 2006 / Vol. 56 No. 5] While ticks are a nuisance and vectors for severe illnesses (like Lyme disease), they are deeply ingrained in the food web. Ticks act as evolutionary pressures that keep wildlife populations in check. Many scientists still emphasize that eradicating them could do more harm than good by collapsing fragile ecological balances. Instead of eradication, experts focus on managing the risks through practical prevention, vector control, and medical research like tick-borne illness vaccines. Want to learn more current information? Connect to this CDC Site: https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/after-a-tick-bite/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/removing_a_tick.html

< Back Let's Bake Some Bread - Go All Out Herbal! Liz Townley, Dakota County Master Gardener Intern Many of us enjoy growing our own herbs. We can always use another recipe for using the herbs we have grown. Here are two seasonal breads you will enjoy making in your own thyme (along with marjoram, rosemary and oregano)! Baking bread can be a fun but long process if you make your bread from scratch. In this article, Liz Townley offers some delicious bread recipes made easy. Bunch of thyme Photo Credit: www.draxe.com Years ago, I had a bread machine. Like many of you, I had to buy bread mixes. I found that there were three or four varieties – white, wheat, oat, and sometimes, pumpernickel. Now, there is nothing like the smell of fresh bread right out of the oven. But I found when I added herbs to my bread mixes, it took my bread making to the next level! Right now, we are still in the sourdough bread making phase. Now that’s good, as I even got a kit for my birthday to make it using only 54 easy steps. I got to thinking, am I ready for that kind of investment of my time or should I harken back to easier, simpler days? When I made my bread in the bread maker it was three easy steps: open up package of bread flour, yeast and add water to my container and press a button! I could hear the paddles twirling and kneading away on my bread for something like an hour and half and I would have my warm loaf. I was thinking, could I even make something delicious for my family in even less time? Game on, I am ready for that challenge! Years before the internet, people got their recipes from something called cookbooks! Do you remember, or do you still have some stashed away? I have some that I will never part with and I came upon one of my earlier favorites that I had purchased at my first garage sale. The book is called, It’s About Thyme, An Herb Manual and Cookbook of Herb and Non- Herb Recipes , written by Marge Clark. And lo and behold, there were bread recipes in there! Here’s a great recipe I want to try tonight to pair with some chicken: Quick Hot and Crisp Herb Bread Ingredients: 1 load French bread ½ cup soft butter ½ teaspoon paprika 1-1/2 teaspoons fresh chopped rosemary, or ½ teaspoon of dried, chopped fresh thyme*, or ¼ teaspoon of chopped fresh marjoram 1/8 teaspoon salt Process: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut bread diagonally at about 1-inch intervals, but don’t cut through to bottom. In a bowl, combine remainder of ingredients until well blended. Spread this mixture between bread slices. Wrap bread completely in foil. Bake 15 to 20 minutes until hot all the way through. Fold foil back and continue to bake 4 to 5 minutes to crisp the crust. Remove loaf from foil and cut the rest of the way through the crust. Serves 6 or 8. Bread loaf and herb mix Photo Credit: Liz Townley *When using fresh or dried herbs in a recipe, pay attention to the quantity. The easiest way to dry thyme is to cut, rinse wash, let it dry for one day and just slide your fingers off the woody stock. Another bread, I loved to make my family was pizza bread. I found another recipe in the same cookbook and I altered the recipe to make a quicker pizza like bread! Note: you could also bake this loaf in the oven! Applying herb mix to bread loaf. Photo Credit: Liz Townley Mozzarella Pizza Bread on the Outdoor Grill 1 long loaf Italian Bread 1 16-ounce package Mozzarella cheese, sliced 1 package of pepperoni slices, chopped up to small pieces 1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried oregano Olive oil Marinara sauce for dipping Cut bread crosswise into 1-inch slices, but do not cut through crust. Fit a slice of Mozzarella and some of the pepperoni between the slices. Brush a large sheet of heavy-duty foil with olive oil. Brush a little olive oil over the outside of the loaf. Wrap the loaf tightly in the foil. Place over the charcoal grill (medium heat) and heat for 20 minutes or so. Fold foil back, sprinkle all over with the oregano, any remaining pepperoni and serve with the Marinara sauce. Note: gooey, but great with grilled meats or vegetables. These recipes are great ways to experiment with some herbs you have grown yourself! If you wish to make your bread with yeast and kneading, please do so as nothing tastes as good as homemade bread! I just wanted to share a couple ways to make it convenient and easy for you. Then you have more time to tend to your herbs! Enjoy! Source: It’s About Thyme, An Herb Manual and Cookbook of Herb and Non- Herb Recipes , written by Marge Clark (1988)

< Back January, A Perfect Time to Re-Design Your Landscape Janelle Rietz-Kamenar, Master Gardener When January brings us huge snowdrifts and blustery winds do you think of Spring? Yes, it’s the perfect time to be thinking about your flower and vegetable gardens and begin making plans for re-designing your landscape. If you have these thoughts, then click on the link to learn more about basic landscape design concepts and current 2024 trends in landscaping. Landscape design is so much more than picking out the right plants for a given area. It can be so overwhelming at first that many of us put it off and live with our overgrown jungle that was landscaped 20 years ago. But the first step to landscape design is to come up with a comprehensive plan that can be tackled over time making it easier for Do-It-Yourselfers. There are many books written about landscape design but I hope to address some of the basic concepts in this short article. There are five parts to a sustainable design: 1) Functional; 2) Maintainable; 3) Environmentally Sound; 4) Cost Effective; and 5) Visually Pleasing. 1) Functional: What do you need the space to do for you. Examples include: play area for children, garden area, kitchen patio, boat, trash, or firewood storage, utilities, dog kennels, and access to the front and backyard are just a few examples of function that you should consider. 2) Maintainable : Similar to function, maintainable addresses planning for mowing areas so you don’t have to use a trimmer, creating a screen planting to provide privacy, and planning for snow storage and ice/sand/salt usage. How large a space can you take care of. Maintenance is a huge consideration in landscape design. 3) Environmentally Sound: Addresses the need to reduce the amount of fertilizer, pesticides, equipment, water, and labor usage. Rain gardens, plants that require limited mowing and pruning, and eliminating invasive plant species are just a few examples. 4) Cost Effective: You must not only factor in the initial cost of the project but also, the cost of annual maintenance in your design both in materials as well as labor. 5) Visually Pleasing: Yes, of course it needs to look good. This consideration also gets involved with plant selection, what gardeners love doing the most. Planting the right plant that will adapt to the light, water, and soil conditions is imperative in landscape design. While the basic concepts of landscape design remain consistent year over year, design elements do change over time. Below I have listed 5 of the 10 2024 Garden Design trends by GardenDesign.com . These 5 trends seemed to be consistent but not limited to other trend articles that I reviewed: 1) “Enhancing Your Garden with Edimentals” : Edimentals are plants that usually live more than one year such as shrubs, perennials, and trees. Examples include daylilies, currants, gooseberries, elderberries, fennel and asparagus. Including annual edible plants such as kale, rainbow chard, and nasturtiums can also be considered. 2) “Exploring Naturalistic Planting & the New Perennial Movement” : This consists of primarily native plants with a less manicured look to mirror nature, but it doesn’t have to been completely unmanicured. The focus is on a blend of plants that invite pollinators and wildlife. (Read Jim Lakin’s monthly Garden Buzz articles on “native” plants for ideas about plants that are appropriate for Minnesota gardens.) 3) “Preserving Every Drop with Eco-Friendly Rain Gardens” : Yes, establishing a rain garden to limit water runoff into sewers. 4) “Learning to Love Bugs”: Reducing the use of pesticides is the trend here. Becoming more tolerant of bugs and understanding that there are beneficial insects. Note, certain bugs are attracted to specific species (i.e. monarch butterfly and milkweed, rusty patched bumble bees like lupines, asters, bee balm, native prairie plants, and spring ephemerals). But of course, there are bugs that are on the invasive list such as jumping worms, pine bark beetle, and lantern fly. 5) “Adapting and Growing with a Changing Climate” : In the last few months, the USDA published a new plant zone map. Many areas across the nation and in our neck of the woods have become hotter. Adapting for this change in your plant selection process is imperative as you look to designing your future landscape. I hope you can enjoy planning, prepping, and planting your new garden bed(s) in the next few months. Check out our website resources for many articles on the topics discussed above. And spend your January dreaming and planning for your beautiful 2024 garden. Resources: Creating a Home Landscape, You Can Love & Enjoy/Sustainable Landscape Design Basics for Homeowner, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Workshop, James B. Calkins, Ph. D, 2022. GardenDesign.com , Research Garden Design, 2024 Trends in Garden Design by Rebecca Sweet, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ( fws.gov ) Rusty Patched Bumble Bee https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov ; USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map Photo credits: www.flickr.com (1,3), gartenideenherbst.blogspot.com/All Creative Commons (2)

< Back Preserving Your Harvest Tori Clark, Master Gardener Many of the vegetables you have been growing all summer are ready to harvest in September. Unfortunately, most things can only be stored fresh for a short period of time even in perfect conditions. If you have the time and the inclination you can harvest more of your garden and preserve it to enjoy long after the growing season has passed. Late summer means harvest time in Minnesota gardens! You can harvest vegetables and more at peak ripeness, but most things can only be stored fresh for a short period of time even in perfect conditions. You have eaten your fill, but the garden keeps on giving so if you have the time and the inclination you can harvest more of your garden and preserve it to enjoy long after the growing season has passed. Options for preserving fruits, vegetables, and herbs include freezing, drying, canning, pickling, and more. Each option has its benefits and drawbacks and some options are better for preserving different types of food. The University of Minnesota Extension has a series of short, informative food preservation videos to get you the information you need to safely preserve your vegetables, sauces, jams, and salsas to enjoy later. Photo Credit: University of Minnesota Extension (1)

< Back Winter Wild Bird Care – How to help our feathered friends survive in the frozen north BJ Hansell, Dakota County Master Gardener On September 22, the path of our Sun crossed the equator, headed south. We all know what’s coming to Minnesota: longer nights and lower temperatures. Our beautiful gardens are dying back, leaves are changing to stunning colors before dropping and blowing away, and many of our warm weather birds are departing for warmer climes. But some birds say in Minnesota year-round and other birds fly south to our state from the Arctic. We all enjoy watching beautiful, colorful birds in the winter. Here are some ideas for helping our winter resident birds make it through a Minnesota winter. While hummingbirds and orioles will be following the sun to the south, many birds will be heading south from the Arctic, to winter here. Others have adapted to staying year-round. As the temperatures drop, so do the food sources many birds rely on. While seeds may be available, protein in the form of insects is not. Providing those important foods and water, not only helps maintain a healthier bird population, but brings the joy of watching birds at our feeders; the bright red flash of the Cardinal, the raucous call of the Blue Jay, the gregarious flitting of chickadees. What a lovely way to brighten our bleak mid-winters. Here are some ideas for helping our winter resident birds make it through a Minnesota winter. Common Winter Residents We can surely be grateful that so many species have adapted to winters in Minnesota. Downy, Hairy, and Pileated Woodpeckers remain, as do Cardinals, Finches, Blue Jays, Nuthatches, Robins, and Chickadees. All of these birds will frequent backyard feeders as a source of a meal. Additionally, those harbingers of winter weather, the Dark-eyed Junco will feed on some seeds scattered on the snow. Bird Feeders-One type does not fit all Imagine sitting at your dinner table. Your chair is turned 90 degrees to the right and you must twist your upper body to face your plate. This is why some birds, usually smaller, are able to easily eat from a feeder that has short posts as perches while Cardinals and Jays find “fly-through” and “hopper” feeders, ones where they can perch facing the food easier to use. Cylinder feeders that have a tray to catch seeds that fall can be used by all of these birds. Unless you enjoy feeding squirrels, the feeders should be pole mounted at least 5 feet off the ground and 8 feet from a tree. A baffle on the pole will prevent squirrels and raccoons from climbing the pole and eating the food you specifically purchased for the birds. There are squirrel-proof feeders available as well. Keeping your bird seed dry and the feeders clean is imperative. Bird seed that gets damp could freeze, making it difficult for birds to eat. Furthermore, damp seed is prone to turning moldy and could make your birds sick. Bird feeders that are not cleaned regularly may harbor disease like mycoplasmal conjunctivitis which may lead to blindness and death. Domes for the feeders can help keep the seed dry and cleaning feeders at least monthly will reduce the likelihood of spreading disease. Glass, metal and plastic feeders should be cleaned with a diluted bleach solution (1:10) then thoroughly rinsed and dried. Wooden feeders can be cleaned with a weak vinegar and water solution Goldfinch with mycoplasmal conjunctivitis Bird Food – lots of fat and carbs, please It is quite easy to plan for winter bird feeding. The three main choices of food are large seeds, small seeds, and suet. Large seeds include black-oil sunflower, striped sunflower, safflower, peanuts, shelled corn, ear corn and cardinal mixes that contain sunflower, safflower and peanuts. About 80 to 90 percent of seed used in Minnesota is comprised of black-oil sunflower seeds and cardinal mixes. These have the greatest appeal to the broadest variety of winter birds and contain a high energy content. Small seeds like cracked corn or milo (sorghum) attract house sparrows and so it is best to avoid them. Nyger seed, a heat-treated thistle, is an excellent all-winter staple for American goldfinches, common and hoary redpolls, house and purple finches, and pine siskins. Furthermore, Dark-eyed Juncos will eat Nyjer scattered on the snow while squirrels will not! Suet provides high energy nutritional benefits. Pileated woodpeckers seem to prefer their suet on solid platforms instead of suspended feeders. Chickadees, woodpeckers, and nuthatches all benefit from a suet feeder. Water – it’s not easy to get A Black-Capped Chickadee weighs less than ½ ounce. It’s not hard to imagine the amount of energy it would expend to melt snow if that were its only source of water. Water is a critical ingredient of a winter-feeding program. The water needs a heating element and a thermostat. Several excellent birdbaths with heating elements and thermostats are available from bird-feeding supply stores. Five Best Winter Bird-Feeding Practices Select the best seed for the season. High fat and energy foods are important to get birds through the winter's cold nights. Water for drinking should be available. Remember snow requires energy to melt and energy is in short supply. Have multiple foods at multiple feeders. Suet, cylinder, hopper, and fly-through feeders can hold different foods and will attract different birds. Provide protection from predators. Having your feeders near bushes or a tree-line will give backyard birds a place to duck and cover should a hawk or cat come by. Maintain good feeder site hygiene. Clean and disinfect your feeders monthly to prevent diseases from spreading. Helping birds through the harsh Minnesota winters is both rewarding and enjoyable. It is a winter “win-win” for both the birds and us. Photo Credit: flickr.com (1), Douglas Hansell (2,3)