< Back Planning to Promote Success in Your 2022 Vegetable Garden March is a great time to start to plan for your summer vegetable garden. Whether you’re planning your first vegetable garden or you’re an experienced vegetable gardener, there are things you can be doing to enhance the probability of a successful growing season. Linda Stein, Master Gardener Experienced gardeners review last year’s successes and failures. Some problems that you encountered may be indicative of issues that you may wish to address as you prepare for the upcoming growing season. If your vegetable plants had lush leaf growth but limited vegetables, it may be because your soil has excess nitrogen and/or inadequate phosphorus. When we experience a thaw and you can dig in your garden, you may wish to have a soil test to determine how to amend the soil to promote effective growth. Go to the University of Minnesota’s website ( https://soiltest.cfans.umn.edu/testing-services/lawn-garden ) for details on how to submit a sample for testing. If you have been planting the same vegetables in the same locations you may have seen poorer harvests. As you prepare for the coming year consider rotating the location of specific plants to reduce damage from insect pests, limit the development of vegetable-specific diseases and manage soil fertility. Vegetables should be considered in the following groups: root vegetables, fruit-bearing vegetables, legumes, and leafy vegetables as you rotate the location of plants. So, for example, don’t plant fruit-bearing plants such as bell peppers where tomatoes were planted last year. Instead, plant legumes, root vegetables like carrots, or leafy vegetables such as lettuce. Many vegetables can be started from seeds, planted indoors and transplanted outdoors when the weather warms. March is the appropriate time to plant broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower seeds indoors so they are ready for the Minnesota growing season. If you are planning your first vegetable garden, consider the following: Review your yard to find a location that receives at least 6 hours of sun. Decide which vegetables you would like to grow. Some of the easiest ones to grow include lettuce, cucumbers, green beans, summer squash, root vegetables (such as radishes and carrots), bell peppers, tomatoes, and peas. Review online listings or plant catalogs to determine the specific variety of the vegetables to plant. Make sure the plant will survive in Minnesota’s climate. Also consider the production habit of the plant. Some varieties continue producing over a prolonged period of time while others produce all their fruit over a short period of time. Develop a layout for planting. Consider traditional straight rows or square foot layouts. Consider how many plants of each vegetable to plant. Some vegetables like to be planted close together while others prefer space to allow good air flow around the plant. Plant tall plants along the northern end of our garden so they don’t shade shorter plants. Send a soil sample to the University of Minnesota to determine how you should amend the soil to promote plant health and vegetable production. (See link to the soil testing site above.) Consider March the start of your vegetable growing season and prepare for success in your 2022 garden. Photo Credit: Linda Stein (1), University of Minnesota Extension (2), Southern Foodways Alliance (3)

< Back Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) Jim Lakin MD, Master Gardener Jack-in-the-Pulpit is a shade requiring native plant best grown in rich, moist woods or marshes. Read about this unique and fascinating long-lived perennial here. It takes a special kind of plant to survive near our marsh. The ground ranges from damp to soggy, the shade is at best partial but mostly deep once you step a foot or two into the surrounding woods. Yet it is in this challenging environment that Jack in the Pulpit is most content. This unusual but long-lived native perennial is found in moist woodlands throughout most of the eastern half of the United States. It is prevalent throughout Minnesota and most of the Upper Midwest, hardy up through Zone 3. The flower is 3 to 4 inches tall and about 2 inches across. It is made up of a 2- to 3-inch-long club (the “Jack”, or spadix) sitting in a tubular base with a hood (the “pulpit”, or spathe). The spadix is light to reddish green. The spathe is light to purplish green and often dotted with white or purplish stripes. Plants are either male or female but you can’t tell without peering into the “pulpit”. It is there that either the staminate (female) or pistillate (male) organs are to be found. Speaking of gender, Jack in the Pulpit is rather fluid in that department. A given plant can change sex from year to year. Apparently, this is a function of how successful they were or were not in pollinating during the previous season. Once the plant decides if he/she is to be a boy or girl for the season its structure differentiates accordingly. Males tend to be smaller than females. They sprout from an underground corm which can send out runners producing additional plants. Consequently, Jack-in-the-Pulpits are usually found in colonies with a tall female plant surrounded by smaller male plants. The male plant has a hole in the bottom of its spathe (“pulpit”) which provides an easy exit for pollinating insects, usually small flies or gnats. In contrast, females have no such exit in their spathe, forcing a would-be pollinator to squirm around a bit to get out. This increases the likelihood of pollen being deposited on the staminate structures within the spathe. Pretty clever interior design! Jack in the Pulpit can be grown from seed but it takes four to five years before the plant flowers. So, if you are thinking of planting some, you might consider buying a corm instead of seed. Once mature, the female plant produces flowers in late spring to early summer. When fertilized smooth green berries are produced. In late summer they ripen to a deep red as the leaves wither. These berries are about a quarter inch in diameter appearing in ovoid shaped clusters which can be up to 2 inches long. Each berry contains one to seven small seeds. These prove tempting to many woodland birds, including wild turkeys, who eat the ripe berries and excrete the seeds. So, if you have a moist shaded spot in your garden and are looking for a suitable native perennial, the unusual but showy Jack in the Pulpit may just be your guy. Photo credits: Flickr.com (1, 2)

< Back Ragweed – Our Favorite Weed to Hate Mickey Scullard, Dakota County Master Gardener Are you sneezing, have itchy or swollen eyes, scratchy throat or nasal congestion these days? The cause might be ragweed! Ragweed pollen is one of the most common causes of allergies or hay fever. And, it can stay with us until October! Read this informative article about how to identify and control Ragweed this season. Achoo! August is the start of back-to-school sales and ragweed season, which lasts through mid-October (ragweed season, that is!). Ragweed pollen is one of the most common causes of allergies, often called hay fever. Preen’s webpage addressing Ragweed called it “the champion of sneeze-inducing weeds” ( Preen ). Many people blame goldenrod for their allergies however all the references used in this article were clear that it is not goldenrod but ragweed that is causing all the misery. Goldenrod Symptoms of Ragweed allergies include sneezing, eyes that may be itchy or swollen, a scratchy throat, runny nose, nasal congestion and/or sinus pressure and pain, coughing, and even sleep disruptions ( Minnesota ENT ). About 10% of the population are allergic to Ragweed. Ragweed has been found across the whole country, with 17 varieties identified. There are three kinds of ragweed that grow in Minnesota: Common Ragweed ( Ambrosia artemisiifolia ), Giant Ragweed ( Ambrosia trifida), and Western Ragweed ( Ambrosia psilostachya) . The three types look different, with Giant Ragweed distinguishable due to its large size, growing up to 17-20 feet. Common Ragweed reaches a height of 2-4 feet, and Western Ragweed grows to a height of 1-3 feet. All three have distinctly different leaves. Western Ragweed leaves are hairy and are oval-lance shaped that are deeply lobed. Common Ragweed’s leaves are fernlike, and Giant Ragweed has palmately lobed leaves. The Common Ragweed has a taproot, Giant Ragweed has fibrous roots with a short tap root, and Western Ragweed has fibrous, creeping rhizomes ( Cornell CALS , Minnesota Wildflowers ). They all grow in disturbed soil, with Common Ragweed common in both rural and urban settings. Common Ragweed’s seed production, per plant, is 3,500 seeds compared to Giant Ragweed’s seed production of 10,300 seeds per plant. Seeds from both plants can live in the soil for up to 30 years, with only 50% depletion seen in 1.5 to two years ( Time to Remove Flowers, UMN IPM Extension , Common and Giant Ragweed Identification ). The seeds are dispersed through wind, water, animals (rodents and birds), and farming practices. A single Ragweed plant can produce up to a billion grains of pollen ( Preen ). Ragweed pollen travels! It has been found 400 miles out to sea and 2 miles into the air ( Minnesota ENT ). This graph from the Minnesota Department of Health (2020) shows the types of pollen and their percentages. Ragweed represented almost 60% of the pollens sampled in the air. Link: Pollen Charts, MN Department of Health All forms of Ragweed can be difficult to control. The best approach is the manual method of plant removal, especially pulling them out before August to avoid pollen release. You can also repeatedly cut them down to keep them from flowering. Herbicides are not generally recommended unless you are farming, which then requires significant applications. Ragweed plants have developed resistance to many herbicides, so if your preference is to use herbicides, it may require the use of several types and several applications. Because ragweed is one of the earliest plants to germinate in the spring (but don’t start causing problems for humans until they start flowering in August), the best method of control is to hand pull them. It is also important to remove them from the yard quickly as they can re-root if left in a debris pile. References: Bayer, Crop Sciences United States: https://www.cropscience.bayer.us/articles/channel/common-and-giant-ragweed-identification-and-management Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: https://cals.cornell.edu/weed-science/weed-profiles/giant-ragweed Minnesota Department of Health (MDH): https://data.web.health.state.mn.us/pollen_charts Minnesota Ears, Nose, and Throat (ENT) Specialists: https://minnesotaent.com/goldenrod-or-ragweed-whats-worse/ Minnesota Wildflowers: https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/common-ragweed https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/western-ragweed Missouri Department of Conservation: https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/giant-ragweed Preen: https://www.preen.com/learn/lawn-garden-tips/weed-control/weed-notes/how-to-control-ragweed/ University of Minnesota Weed Identification: https://extension.umn.edu/weed-identification/annual-broadleaf-weeds#ragweed%2C-giant-8380611 University of Minnesota Extension Fruit and Vegetable News: https://blog-fruit-vegetable-ipm.extension.umn.edu/2024/08/why-remove-flowering-weeds.html University of Minnesota Extension Yard and Garden News: https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden-news/zero-seed-rain Photo Credits: Chris Evans, University of Illinois, Bugwood.org (1), www.publicdomainpictures.net (2), Strand Memorial Herbarium (3-6), https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/western-ragweed (7)

< Back Growing Garlic If you are looking for a quick "how to" on growing garlic here's a resource for you. Stacy Reeves, Master Gardener While not to judge a book by its length, this cute little bulletin about garlic growing, written by Glenn Andrews, proves to be as digestible as many of the recipes it contains. This volume of A Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin could have read like a textbook on the dos and don’ts of sowing garlic, but thanks to Andrews’ passion for this "stinky rose," it has moments that read like a love story. As a fellow garlic lover, I enjoyed this concise yet pleasant book and felt comradery with Andrews as he gushed about the ease he finds in growing garlic and the rich and gorgeous flavors garlic lends to nearly any recipe. He outlines its growing season, soil requirements, and harvest routines and encourages even the unprepared gardeners to just pop a clove in the ground as an experiment. My only critique of this succinct read is that it fails to mention a very significant way to pack even more garlic goodness into Minnesota kitchens - through harvesting garlic scapes, of course! Though Andrews does instruct growers to remove flowers from stalks to redirect energy to their bulbs, he doesn't highlight the culinary value this pruning could offer. As the scapes of hardneck garlic are one of the best parts about it, I'd recommend that this bulletin be paired with a chat with an experienced Master Gardener or a review of the seed catalog instructions from growers' seed garlic orders. Enjoy! Photo Credit: Book Jacket (1)

< Back Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana) Jim Lakin, MD, Dakota County Master Gardener Not every evergreen looks like it’s out of a Rudolph’s Christmas special. Jack Pine is one of them. But this native pine tree has many other virtues to consider if you are looking to add evergreens to your landscape. It is adaptable to good and poor soils, sun or shade and an attractive host to wildlife. Read this article to learn more about this interesting evergreen. Not every evergreen looks like it’s out of a Rudolph’s Christmas special. Jack Pine is one of them. It tends to be short and bushy, especially in poor soils; not the classic Holiday Tree. Yet in spite of that, it has many virtues for the landscaper. Its bushiness makes it an excellent windbreak or privacy screen, especially if you are planting it in difficult soils or part shade. In rich soil, however it can achieve 30 to 50 feet in height, spreading 20 to 30 feet in width. Jack Pine provides an excellent habitat for wildlife, producing abundant cones and providing good cover in winter. If you are naturalizing a large plot, this tree is a good choice. Jack Pine grows across the northern forests of North America, penetrating to Central Minnesota, although some strains will do well even further south. Indeed, the tree will grow from zone 2 through 6. It is, however, sensitive to pine wilt in these more southern locations. Virginia Pine, a close relative, is a better choice in the Southern Midwest. Since Jack Pine does grow well in poor soils, it is often a pioneer plant in burned off or disturbed areas. If you have access to a pure Jack Pine forest, blueberries frequently proliferate in the understory. Making for great foraging! Jack Pine is easy to grow from seed, although sometimes the cones have to be burned to force seed release. The tree requires full sun although it will thrive in relatively poor soils. With two short needles per bundle, it produces a lovely fine texture. In the winter, needles tend to turn a golden green, forming a nice contrast to the true green needles of other evergreens. In environments with cold winters, Jack Pine is relatively maintenance free. Further south, as noted, some difficulties can occur. Root rot and certain rusts are potential problems. So, for you folks Up North, this one’s for you! Photo Credits: Missouri Botanical Garden (1-2)

< Back 2 Easy Ways to Savor Spring Produce Joy Johnson, Master Gardener If you subscribe to the notion and practice of seasonal eating, as I do, then you already know: nothing in the world tastes as good as freshly picked asparagus. There is no replicating the bold bite of a turnip just plucked from the dirt. Spring is a wonderful time to eat, and its abundant leaves, stalks, bulbs and shoots in peak season and at their most flavorful require very little fussing in the kitchen. It’s early spring and you may have some early spring veggies coming up in your garden; or, like me, you may still be in the “hopeful” stage. If you are blessed to have an asparagus patch or if you froze some turnips or have some in cold storage, it’s time to enjoy them! If you don’t have either of these on hand, they are readily available this time of year in your local grocery store, probably at a reasonable price because they are in season. These recipes, if you can even call them that, are very simple and quick. I hope you enjoy the fresh new flavors as much as I did when prepping for this article. Hakurei Turnips Make a salty-sweet glaze: Trim and cut turnips to bit size, then boil in salted water until just tender, 5 minutes. Drain and return to pot along with a couple tablespoons each honey and butter, and 1 tablespoon each of miso and vinegar. I used one pack of red miso soup mixed with 1 tablespoon water. Cook until the glaze thickens enough to coat the turnips. Season with salt and pepper. Asparagus Blanch trimmed asparagus in salted simmering water until just tender, about 6 minutes. Toss with a grainy mustard vinagrette (i.e. mix 1 tablespoon brown mustard into 1/3 cup of whatever bottled vinagrette dressing you have on hand). Force a peeled hard boiled egg through a sieve or potato ricer to garnish. Photo Credit: Joy Johnson (1,2,3,4)

< Back Fruit Tree Pruning Advice I Could Have Used 30 Years Ago Sally McNamara, Dakota County Master Gardener Are you afraid to prune your fruit trees? Are you confused about when and where to cut branches? Master Gardener Sally McNamara learned some lessons the hard way about pruning fruit trees. She is happy to share the wisdom she has gathered over the years so you don’t have to make the same mistakes. Learn about how to protect your trees and prune them properly to keep them healthy and help you harvest the fruit easier. By the time I learned that apple trees, and fruit trees in general, take well to pruning, my apples and pears were well beyond reach. Fortunately, a family dog scratched all the bark off several of them resulting in death, so we were able to start over. (A chicken wire cylinder would have prevented that - so another lesson learned too late). On the new ones we learned that snow ABOVE the tree wrap makes rabbits happy and trees dead. Build a complete fence around very young trees early - those rabbits are active right after fall planting. Now, late February, early March, is the time to prune most trees, apples included. Spring sap will help heal the cuts and renovation invigorates the tree. Tree structure is visible without the impediment of leaves. If there is disease or death, marking those branches in the fall can be helpful for spring pruning. For apples trees which are intended for harvest, restraining them to reachable heights is an achievable goal, especially while they are young. While cutting the main leader is typically NOT what to do when pruning, it IS the solution to controlling heights in fruit trees. Keeping the branches reaching at an angle reaching outward and not so much up is the goal. When looking at where to cut on any tree, consider how to let light and air in and encourage growth out and up . Cut back to an, outward facing bud on the branch. Cut diagonally above the bud, not leaving an awkward stump to encourage entrance for insects and disease. When cutting major branches, for example dead ones or lower ones, to allow for maintenance underneath, cut back only to the branch collar leaving the collar materials to create a natural growth over the pruning wound. (Maintenance underneath an apple tree would include removing dropped apples and leaves to diminish the chance of disease and insects persisting to the next season.) Geriatric apple trees take well to restoration through dynamic pruning. Go for dead, damaged, diseased and crossing first. Then open up for light and air. This might be a multi-year process as removing more than 1/4 of the tree in any one season is discouraged for the health of the tree. Select upward angled branches - horizontal ones can be wet and vertical ones tend not to fruit. Never forget to take those before and after photos! Fruit pruning is an important topic and the U of M has some excellent resources. Visit the U of M Extension for three short but effective videos. Many late winter/early spring days call us to get outside and pruning is the perfect activity: it needs doing, it requires lots of motion and decisions and signals the start of a new season. Photo Credit: Dyck Arboretum (1), deepgreenpermaculture.com (2), North Dakota State University (3)

< Back Avoid Overbuying Seeds Gardening season is over for this year. Or is it? Are you already dreaming and planning for next year’s garden? Soon it will be time to buy seeds. But don’t let your enthusiasm lead you to overbuying seeds. The best way to avoid overbuying is to use a systematic process for planning, purchasing, and storing seeds. Read this article for some tips to help you plan wisely. BJ Hansell, Dakota County Master Gardener Before you shop Create a garden map . Sketch out your garden space and calculate the total area in square feet. Measure the size of your beds and sketch what you want to plant in each area, accounting for spacing. Asking a neighbor, friend or family member to assist with measuring helps this step flow smoothly. How much space do you have for direct sowing? Or will you begin with indoor seedlings, shelves and grow lights? The University of Minnesota Extension has many resources for planning successfully. Vegetables . Choose plants your family will eat. Look beyond the attractive photos in catalogs and focus on vegetables you know you will consume. Start with a few favorites and limit yourself to just two or three new vegetables per season. Flowers . Choose plants to provide color and variety throughout the growing season. If you are just starting a new or replacement decorative garden, chose perhaps three or four types. For example, plants you have seen growing well near you. For me, I like flowers that remind me of family gardens of my youth. Check your existing inventory . Before ordering, sort through the seeds you already have. Organize them in labeled containers to know what you have and what you need. When storing, check the shelf life. Remember that some seeds have a shorter shelf life than others. For example, onion seeds are only viable for one to two years, while tomatoes and peppers can last for several years. Calculate your needs . Rather than buying a large packet, determine the quantity you need based on the number of plants you want. For example, if you want four plants, you will only need about five seeds, assuming a 90% germination rate. Some seed companies offer online calculators to help. It’s fun to spend the gardening off-season planning and buying seeds. But holding your enthusiasm in check will help you to avoid some buying waste. Photo Credit: University of Minnesota Extension (1,2), www.gardenorganic.org.uk (from all creative commons) (3)

< Back Try the Many Ways to Enjoy Swiss Chard Mickey Scullard, Dakota County Master Gardener In the featured vegetable section of this newsletter, you read about how to grow Swiss Chard. In this article, you will learn about the many delicious ways that you can include Chard in your dinner menus. There are so many ways to enjoy this beautiful garden vegetable. Swiss Chard (Chard) is a green leafy vegetable that has multiple health benefits, in addition to being very tasty. It is best eaten fresh, but can be frozen. Chard can be stored up to 2 or 3 weeks in the refrigerator but is best eaten within 2 to 3 days. Chard can be eaten raw or cooked. When eaten raw, it is usually best to select the younger, smaller leaves. These can be included in salads, much like you would add spinach. Other common ways of eating raw Chard are in sandwiches, wraps, and smoothies. The University of Nebraska Extension provides this nice list of different ways you could use Chard. Top 10 Ways to Enjoy Swiss Chard One‐Pot Dish: Dinner couldn’t be easier with one pot stir fry featuring Swiss Chard. Ravioli filled with Swiss Chard, part ricotta, and a touch of parmesan cheese. Finish your your favorite sauce. Scrambled eggs or omelets: replace spinach with Swiss Chard. Add fresh tomato for a burst of flavor. Soup. Whether it’s minestrone, beef barley, or vegetable, Swiss Chard makes a scrumptious addition to any soup. Pasta: Layer Swiss Chard in your lasagna or toss if with pasta in a light olive oil and lemon sauce. Finish with freshly cracked pepper. Quiche. Substitute Swiss Chard for spinach in your favorite quiche recipe. It pairs beautifully with egg whites and a little pancetta. Stir Fry. For extra nutrition and flavor, add fresh Swiss Chard to stir fried brown rice just before serving. Stew. Try adding Swiss Chard to stews. It boasts an elegant balance of sweet and savory. Pizza. Swiss Chard makes a delicious … and unexpected … pizza topping. Try adding it to your pizza marinara sauce. Steamed. Steam the stalks of Swiss chard and eat them as you would asparagus. Very Simple Swiss Chard Cooking Preparation (basically steaming) Place Swiss Chard in a pan Add a small amount of water Cook on medium heat until wilted and stalks are soft Eat with butter, salt, and pepper to taste. Variations: Instead of water, use olive oil. Add garlic to taste (most recipes suggest 2-3 cloves, minced) Salt and pepper Red pepper flakes Juice of a ½ a lemon The University of Purdue Extension has a delicious recipe that uses another favorite vegetable I wrote about earlier this year, the Sweet Potato. It also features black beans. Sweet Potato and Black Bean Stew with Swiss Chard This hearty main dish combines the sweetness of orange sweet potatoes and the robustness of black beans, with the surprise addition of Swiss chard and a light touch of cumin. Serve over brown rice or whole-wheat couscous for a warm delight! Recipe adapted from the What’s Cooking? USDA Mixing Bowl Website ( https://www.whatscooking.fns.usda.gov/ ) . Prep 20 min Cook 40 min Total Time 60 min Servings: 6 Ingredients 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 small whole, dried New Mexican chili pepper 1 1/4 cups fresh onion (diced) 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 1/2 cups fresh sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into half-inch cubes) 6 cups (about 3 cans) low-sodium black beans (drained and rinsed) 3/4 cup orange juice 1 cup low-sodium chicken stock 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 4 cups fresh Swiss chard (stems removed and chopped) Directions 1. Dice onion. 2. In a large pot, heat vegetable oil over medium heat. Add onion and whole chili pepper and cook for 1-2 minutes. 3. Add cumin and cook for 2 minutes. 4. Add sweet potatoes, black beans, orange juice, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then cover, and reduce heat to low. 5. Simmer until the potatoes are tender (about 20 minutes). 6. Remove chili pepper and discard. 7. Add vinegar, salt, and pepper. 8. Add Swiss chard, cover, and continue cooking until chard is tender. Serve hot. 9. May serve over brown rice or whole-wheat couscous. Nutrition Information Serving Size: 1 cup Nutrients Amount Total Calories: 222 Protein: 10g Carbohydrates: 43g Dietary Fiber: 12g Total Fat: 4g Photo Credit: Chezlouloufrance.blogspot.com (all creative commons) (1)

< Back Know Your Resources “Hey, Siri, what’s the best kind of mulch for my garden?” This is a question often overheard in a plant center from someone trying to make a selection for their yard. And while Siri can give some options, one has to doubt the accuracy of the reply. Questionable advice can always be found somewhere, whether that’s from artificial intelligence or your neighbor’s second cousin on Facebook, but surely there’s a better way to get the most accurate and helpful answers! This article explains how you can find answers to many of your gardening questions from experts and based on research. Read on to learn how to find reliable answers to your gardening questions. Valerie Rogotzke, Dakota County Master Gardener For Dakota County gardeners, let’s get better acquainted with two websites: the U of MN Extension site and our Dakota County Master Gardener site. You can bookmark these on your phone, computer, or tablet—and I encourage anyone to do so. You can find hundreds of helpful articles, guides, books, pamphlets, and more, all available for free! Everything is backed by scientific research and all specific to our growing zone and climate. U of MN EXTENSION SITE: https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden From this start page, you see several specific guides to get started in the garden and solve common problems. How-To Guides Growing Guides (starting a garden, composting, fertilizing, hydroponics, houseplants, and more) Pollinator Guides Growing Safe Food Soil and Nutrient Health (including information on how to get your soil tested to learn which fertilizers are best for it ) Watering Guides Landscape design Lawn Care (with calendars for when to seed, mow, and more) Find Plants Flowers (annuals, perennials, native flowers) Fruit Houseplants Native Plants Trees and Shrubs Vegetables Weeds (identify weeds and learn control strategies) What’s wrong with my plant? This helps you diagnose problems in the yard and garden caused by insects, diseases, or other issues. If, for example, your eggplants look strange in the vegetable garden this summer, look up eggplants in this guide to learn what the issue is and solve the problem going forward. Weeds Identify the weed in your lawn and find the best way to eradicate or manage it. Dakota County Master Gardener Volunteers : https://www.dakotamastergardeners.org/ On our local Dakota County Master Gardener website, you’ll find a calendar of local events as well as updates on our local projects and other gardening resources. You will also find dozens of articles on a variety of gardening topics (most articles previously found in the Garden Buzz monthly newsletter). You will find articles on what you might be doing in your garden monthly, good gardening tips, features on native and perennial plants and vegetables; recipes using vegetables or fruits from your garden, and tips to deal with problems in or related to your garden. There is a search box to help you find articles by topic. There is also a link to subscribe to our Garden Buzz newsletter. This is a great supplement to the statewide website. Information on Let’s Get Growing (our spring gardening expo) and the Annual Plant Sale in May is there, as well as a list of the farmers’ markets where our Master Gardener Volunteers will be, answering questions and ready to discuss home gardens with all who stop by. Other resources of note: Gardening Projects with Children This section has dozens of project ideas to do with the kid gardeners in your life! Projects are available for all seasons and incorporate science learning and art. Gardening Book Club Recommendations Looking for a book to read with your gardening club? We’ve got you covered with dozens of book reviews on horticultural topics. Finally, a last way to get information on gardening and the Dakota County Master Gardener projects going on all around you is to follow us on Facebook and Instagram . When the U of MN offers free webinars on pollinators or when a garden tour in our area pops up, we’ll be sure to let you know! Photo credits: Photo 1 for newsletter: Credit Paul Wood Photo 2, credit: U of M Extension

< Back Spotted Horsemint (Monarda punctata): A Beauty with Many Names Jim Lakin, MD Master Gardener Are you looking for a good low-maintenance plant for a prairie, pollinator, native or butterfly garden? Consider Spotted Horsemint. This native is valuable to pollinators as it attracts butterflies, moths and hummingbirds. It is a great source of nutrients to a number of native specialist bees. It will look great in your garden as a border or mass planting. It seems like the prettier and more agreeable the plant the more names it collects. This is certainly true of Monarda punctata. She’s called Dotted or Spotted Horsemint, Dotted or Spotted Bee Balm or sometimes just Bee Balm to be confused with true Bee Balm ( Monarda fistulosa) that we talked about last month. I point this out not just to prove that Linnaeus was right to assign unpronounceable Latin names to everything that grows. To make certain you’re getting the right plant, be sure to select Monarda punctata when you are looking for spotted horsemint in your local nursery or seed catalogue. When you do get the real thing, you’ll be acquiring a hardy perennial herbaceous that is native to Eastern and Central North America all the way up to Zone 3a. This should tell you it’s a pretty tough customer in addition to being a showy addition to your summer garden. From July through September, it produces yellowish to purple-spotted 3-to-6-inch flowers in whorls on a densely packed elongated spike. Below the flowers, large, purplish leaf-like bracts set off the arrangement. Being a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, spotted horsemint puts out runners to form fairly large clumps if left to its own devices. It is not considered to be too aggressive, however. Plants tend to grow to about 1 to 2 feet, occasionally taller. You should space them out by 12 to 24 inches when planting. It is important to allow for air circulation among the plants as they are susceptible to powdery mildew and rust. However, this usually occurs late in the season after flowering. If it is a cosmetic problem, prune the affected stems. Spotted horsemint likes full sun but will put up with part shade (direct sunlight for 2-6 hours per day). It does best in loam, silt or sandy soil which can be an issue here in our clay-ridden Minnesota soil, although I’ve not found that to be too great a problem with Monarda . As you would expect, it is found in the wild in prairies, sandy areas, rocky woodlands and coastal plains. It will even self-seed in almost pure sand. The prairie strains at least are fairly drought resistant. Spotted horsemint is of substantial value to the native wildlife attracting a plethora of butterflies, moths and hummingbirds. It is a great source of nutrients to a number of native specialist bees. Happily, it is not a valuable food source for deer or rabbits who tend to leave it alone unless things are getting desperate. So, if you are looking for a good low-maintenance plant for a prairie, pollinator, native or butterfly garden consider spotted horsemint. As a border or a mass planting, it does great! Photo credits: www.flickr.com (All Creative Commons) (1), Plantjourneys.blogspot.com (All Creative Commons) (2)

< Back Your Answers to Rain Barrels - To Use or Not to Use You may have considered a rain barrel for your yard but wondered whether it was right for you. Rain barrels have environmental benefits but there are pros and cons to using them in your garden. This article provides some helpful information to help you decide whether to invest in a rain barrel for your garden. Linda Holt, Master Gardener You may have considered a rain barrel for your yard but wondered whether they were right for you. This article explains some of the pros and cons of using rain barrels to provide water to the plants in your garden. You will want to decide whether a rain barrel will fulfill your garden’s specific needs to the extent that will make it worth the expense and upkeep. A few of the Pro’s for using a rain barrel in your yard include: 1. The cost of water is going up and the ability to use municipal sources to water your landscape are becoming more limited. Harvesting rainwater may lower your water bill. 2. Rain barrels are a good way to “maximize environmental value” by reducing run-off into the streets and the pollutants that are picked up along the way that are feeding into our streams, rivers and lakes. 3. The rain water is a great alternative for the ornamental plants in your yard as well as indoor plants. 4. This water source can be utilized any day of the week. 5. Rainwater may contain minerals that are beneficial to plants; However, there are some cons to rain water usage: 1. The water is not safe for drinking nor should it ever touch the edible parts of any plants grown for consumption. The rainfall is collected from a roof / gutter system, the runoff of which may include various “harmful pathogens” resulting from bird fecal matter, rotting leaves, etc. 2. To collect enough water for your purposes you may need multiple rain barrels. 3. Some upkeep is necessary to keep your rain barrel in good shape. Most rain barrels hold around 50-55 gallons of water. In order to determine how much rainwater you can expect from your rain barrel, you must estimate the amount of run off from your particular roof. This requires a thoughtful determination of the square footage of the roof area multiplied by the rainfall in inches and a conversion factor that converts the inches of rainfall to gallons per sq foot. This calculation can be found at: https://extensionpublications.unl.edu/assets/html/g2220/build/g2220.htm Rain barrels can be purchased from various retailers or on-line and come in a variety of shapes and designs. They can also be self-built. There are many DIY rain barrel ideas that can be found on the internet if you prefer to build your own. As mentioned in the above online publication, rain barrels are best dark-colored or opaque as light colored barrels allow sunlight in encouraging algae growth. Rain barrels come complete with a hose guide, overflow tube and screen (to keep critters and debris out) and are relatively easy to install. You will want to position the rain barrel under a drain spout so that the run-off from the roof will flow into the rain barrel. The overflow tube prevents the barrel from overflowing and directs the excess water to a garden bed or base of a tree. You can attach a drain tube to the overflow tube to reach the area of the garden that you wish to receive the water. Cleaning a rain barrel should be done annually in the fall when they are removed and stored away for winter, however, you may need to do it more frequently if they grow algae and get smelly. You should drain the barrel and remove any remaining debris. Scrub the inside of the barrel with a long-handled brush using water and detergent then rinse thoroughly. Including a rain barrel in your landscape may be just the answer to your irrigation concerns. The University of MN extension department has a handy article for you to peruse when giving consideration to this subject. You will find additional information at: https://extension.umn.edu/water-wisely-start-your-own-backyard/rain-barrels Photo credits: University of Minnesota (1, 2)