< 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 Wild Blue Violet (Viola sororia): One Name, Many Faces Jim Lakin MD, Master Gardner For lovers of that special harbinger of springtime, the wild violet, there are many fascinating and rewarding varieties to choose from and enjoy. In this article, Jim Lakin, describes various varieties and explores why you may want to add this native perennial to your woodland garden. I long ago realized I do not have the patience to be a taxonomist. The wild blue violet is a case in point. The battle raged among botanists for years as to whether or not to split a number of similar plants into separate species or to combine them into one. The “lumpers” finally won out over the “splitters” and today Viola sororia is the moniker for some quite different plants. We’ll discuss that in a bit. Wild blue violet as a native perennial found in almost all of Eastern North America including the entire Midwest. It is a woodland plant, loving humus-rich soils and tolerating a high amount of shade. Most varieties are pretty easy to grow in any rich soil that is moist in the spring when they flower. If the soil becomes dry in summer the plant may go dormant. A number of varieties freely self-sow although many propagate by rhizomes. Indeed, some varieties can be aggressive growers even moving into grass lawns. Nonetheless, they can be a wonderful addition to other woodland flowers in a shade garden. Wild blue violet can be an important ecological niche plant, hosting several fritillary butterflies as well as attracting a number of specialist bees and other pollinators. Happily, the fritillary butterfly which the plant hosts can keep the more invasive violet varieties in check by feeding off them during the butterfly’s larval stage. Mind though that this larval caterpillar emerges from its egg in the fall and overwinters in the surrounding leaf-litter. If you rake up the leaves in your wildflower garden in the fall, you will destroy the caterpillars before they can trim back the violets by feeding in the spring and subsequently emerge as fritillary butterflies. Viola sororia is variable in its form and behavior. Flowers are usually royal blue but the color can vary from light blue to white on one end of the spectrum to a deep navy on the other. Among the recognized strains is the woolly blue violet. This fellow is covered by short woolly hairs upon its stem, producing springtime flowers of a deep blue-violet. He is found in woodland flood plains and in upland oak-hickory woods. In the garden he is usually well behaved with limited self-sowing. Viola bloom color can vary Butterfly violet or dooryard violet is one of the largest and most aggressive strains of Viola sororia. It is a larger plant (one foot) and self-seeds freely. It can shadow out smaller wildflowers and even invade lawns. If you adopt a live-and-let-live attitude, however, the Fritillary butterfly caterpillars usually will keep the dooryard violet in check and have a good meal in the bargain. And you may have some spectacular butterfly watching later in the summer. Finally, there is a variety known as the Confederate violet. It forms a blue to grey flower with speckles. There are a couple of commercially marketed strains: “Freckles” with speckled blue flowers and “Rosie” a rosy-white form. For lovers of that special harbinger of springtime, the wild violet, there are many fascinating and rewarding varieties to choose from and enjoy. Photo credits: North Carolina State Extension (1), University of Minnesota Extension (2)

< Back September - A Jar of Flowers Julie Henrichs, Dakota County Master Gardener Summertime - a flower extravaganza! The beauty of flowers cannot be beat, but now what do we do as summer comes to a close. Is there a way to preserve or hold onto the flowers throughout fall and winter? Did you say throughout winter? Yes, it is possible to preserve your summertime flowers throughout Winter in a fun and creative way with the Little Sprouts in your life using simple items you may have at home! We are going to learn how to not just press our summer flowers, but turn them into a beautiful decoration to give as a gift or keep for ourselves. Supplies Needed : Flowers from garden (best are smaller or more open petal flowers/blooms, leaves, grasses; ex. Cosmos, Pansy, Hydrangea, Daisy, Larkspur, Forget-Me-Not, etc.) Parchment Paper or Tissue Paper Heavy objects (used to lay on top of flowers while pressing) Glass Container (ex. canning, jam/pickle/olive jars), Vase, Votive Mod Podge (DIY - glue & water mixed to a milky consistency) Brush Patience (waiting for flowers to dry may take a couple weeks) Find your favorite “Little Sprout” and visit your flower garden and begin finding your favorite flowers, leaves and grasses. It is a great time to explore and introduce your “Little Sprout” to the world of gardening and explore all there is to see. Watch for pollinators, talk about the various plant parts, shapes, colors and varieties. Cut the flowers you would like to use (choosing drier flowers is best) and with a paper towel gently press the flowers, leaves and grasses trying to get out as much moisture as possible. Now the drying process begins. Place flowers/leaves/grass between double layers of tissue paper and then place between two heavy objects (books, wood pieces with heavy objects placed on top). Flowers/leaves/grasses will take about 2-4 weeks to dry fully. Check on your flowers after a week to see if new tissue paper is needed. Flowers can mold during this process if they start out too moist and changing the tissue paper allows for better moisture absorption. Place heavy objects again on the flowers/leaves/grass. Repeat this process until all items are completely dry. Once all flowers/leaves/grasses are dry it is time to create a “Jar of Flowers”. Take the jar, vase or votive (glass container) you have chosen and with the brush, spread a coat of Mod Podge or the DIY Glue/Water mixture on the outside of the glass trying to put it on as smooth as possible if you do not want brush marks to show. Next, take the dried flowers/leaves/grasses and place them on your glass container as you wish to create a unique design. Add a second layer of Mod Podge or DIY Glue/Water mixture covering all of the glass container. Let dry! Once dry your glass container can be turned into a vase or votive holder. Give the creation away or keep for yourself. It will remind you and your “Little Sprout” throughout the year of your beautiful flower garden and all the fun that can be had with a few flowers, a glue mixture and a glass container/jar. Photo Credits: www.pexels.com (1,2) , www.littlepinelearners.com (3)

< Back Ethnic Heritage Food Joy Johnson, Master Gardener With the onset of cold weather, embrace your comfort food roots. Joy Johnson shares two of her family’s comfort recipes. Try them and they may become your new comfort food recipes. With the onset of cold weather, my thoughts and appetite go back to the “good old days” when I was a kid. The foods my mother, grandmother and aunts prepared always seemed to be just what I needed. Today we call that ‘comfort food’, going back to what made you feel good as a kid. Thinking back to those wonderful meals, I realize that I have a divided gastronomic family. Half of it is Hungarian and half of it is German. I have terrific recipes from both sides of the family. One year we grew over 30 cabbages. My young daughter and her friend were having such a fun time planting, that I just let them keep going and didn’t realize what I huge harvest we’d have. We fermented over 30 quarts of sauerkraut that year. The soup recipe below is a delicious one to try if you have homemade sauerkraut. It works well with the store-bought kind too. I think it’s fun to try new recipes, especially if they are someone else’s ‘tried and true’ ones, because then you know they’ve been taste tested and honed to perfection over the years. Here are two family tested recipes, one from my Hungarian side and one from my German side. Hmmm, it’s kind of funny, but my mom started serving them both at the same meal, with additional Hungarian dishes on the side. That’s now our newish family tradition, a delicious mixture in one comforting and very satisfying meal. Sauerkraut Soup (from the German side) 1 quart sauerkraut; rinse, squeeze, chop 1 pound Polska Kolbasi sausage ½ cup rice (I use brown rice) Brown flour for thickening (2/3 cup flour toasted in 3 tablespoons butter. Stir constantly until flour turns golden brown) 1 teaspoon caraway seed Cut sausage into bit size slices, cover with water and cook a few minutes to remove fat. Remove slices from water, save water, refrigerate so fat will harden. Remove hardened fat from water and discard. Add sauerkraut and caraway seeds to this water, cook about 15 minutes, add sausage slices, cook 10 minutes, whisk water into the browned flour in a separate bowl until smooth, add a little of this to the soup, add rice. Cook slowly until the rice is done. DON’T add all the browned flour mix at once, see how it thickens, it varies depending on how much water you started with. Bobyka (from the Hungarian side) Take any white bread recipe (or frozen bread dough works). Take a portion of the dough, place in palms of your hands, rubbing back and forth, make it like a rope about a half inch in diameter. Cut into 1-inch pieces and roll them into balls in the palm of your hand. Place on a greased cookie sheet (or cover it with parchment paper). Bake until golden brown at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Immerse them in boiling water for just a few minutes ‘til softened, not too long or they will fall apart. Melt ¼ cup butter, add dough balls (bobykas), add about 1 tablespoon ground poppyseed and about 1 tablespoon honey. Serve warm. They taste like little breadsticks.

< Back What Are Plants Doing in Winter? Valerie Rogotzke, Master Gardener Read this delightful article with your children about how plants survive winter. How are plants like animals in their amazing self-preservation strategies? Engage in the fun and education experiments with the child in your life. Our Minnesota winters can be quite cold and snowy! We have warm houses and heavy coats and mugs of hot cocoa to keep us cozy all through the winter, but what about all the living things outside ? How do they make it through the cold season? Animals who live outdoors don’t have buildings or mittens, but they do have their own winter survival tricks. Squirrels and rabbits build warm nests, bears and frogs will hibernate, and insects and birds often migrate, flying south to warmer places for a vacation until spring returns to Minnesota. Without arms to burrow into the ground, wings to fly away, or arms to build nests, which of these tricks can plants use to survive winter? How do plants survive the cold? Believe it or not, plants use many of the same tricks that animals use. Let’s look at three examples. SQUIRRELS You might spot a squirrel on a cold winter day, running to one of its many hiding spots to find a few nuts or seeds to eat. They enjoy lazy winters, mostly snug in their nests or out on a food run, because they worked all summer gathering food and bulking up their nests for the winter. Which plant is like this, alive and active through the winter? A. Deciduous trees, like maples or oaks B. Tender bulbs, like dahlias C. Evergreen or coniferous trees, like spruces or firs D. Hardy bulbs, like tulips If you said C — Evergreens, you’re correct! Evergreen trees continue to be active throughout the winter, just like squirrels. They keep their green needles all through the winter months because they’re coated in a waxy shell that protects the water inside each needle. Furthermore, their roots can keep growing deep in the earth because the soil four or five feet below the grass isn’t frozen. FROGS If you have frogs in your garden in the summer, you will notice that they go away in autumn. As our Junior Winter Garden Detectives might remember, frogs survive winter by going into a deep sleep called hibernation, and they also make a special kind of antifreeze liquid in their bodies that keeps them from freezing solid. Which plant is like this, going to sleep but not freezing? A. Deciduous trees, like maples or oaks B. Tender bulbs, like dahlias C. Evergreen or coniferous trees, like spruces or firs D. Hardy bulbs, like tulips If you said A — Deciduous trees, you’re correct! Deciduous trees don’t disappear completely like frogs, but their leaves certainly do! A maple tree will drop its leaves in autumn because they are too delicate to survive the winter. The deep sleep that trees go through is called dormancy instead of hibernation. As for that antifreeze liquid that the trees make in winter to keep from freezing? You have probably eaten it on pancakes, because it’s maple syrup. CANADA GEESE It’s hard to miss Canada geese on our lakes in the summer. It’s even harder to miss them when they fly south in autumn, honking noisily in their V-shaped formations in the sky. Which plant is like this, leaving the cold for warmer climates? A. Deciduous trees, like maples B. Tender bulbs, like dahlias C. Evergreen or coniferous trees, like spruces D. Hardy bulbs, like tulips If you said B — Tender bulbs, you’re correct! You might have even been with the gardening grownups in your life when they dug up all their tender bulbs at the end of summer. These bulbs cannot fly to Florida for the summer, but go instead to the warmth of a garage until it’s time to plant them again the following May or June. You might have noticed that we didn’t have any animal examples for hardy bulbs. Why is that? Well, this last winter trick for plants is quite unique— vernalization . “Vernal” is just a fancy Latin way of saying “spring,” so vernalization is about the process plants go through to get ready for spring blooming and flowering. We’ve already seen that some flowers, like tender bulbs, just aren’t tough enough to survive the snowy winter and need to be brought inside. What about the plants that are strong enough to survive the winter? This includes hardy bulbs, but also apple and cherry trees and many vegetables like cabbages and carrots. Their flowers are all ready to produce another blossom in fall, but they don’t. The cooling weather puts a flower blocker onto the plant that stops new flowers from growing. (If you have cherry or apple trees, you can go outside and see the buds that have formed but not bloomed.) What removes the flower blocker? Several weeks of cold weather. By the time the cold weather has removed the flower blockers, it’s springtime—time for new flowers to start to appear! DO: Try These Experiments FREEZER EXPERIMENT on deciduous and evergreen leaves. Gather an avocado and a piece of lettuce or spinach. An avocado has a waxy outer shell like a spruce needle, and a piece of spinach is unprotected like a maple leaf. What do you think will happen when you put them in the freezer for 24 hours? For a week? Write down your hypotheses on a piece of paper. Next, place both in your freezer. Check on them at 24 hours and again at one week. What has changed? Now let them thaw out on your kitchen counter. Which one has survived the cold best? VERNALIZATION EXPERIMENT in the garden. If you grow carrots in your garden in the summer, try leaving a few in the ground in the fall. (This will be difficult, since homegrown carrots are delicious.) A beautiful white flower that looks like Queen Anne’s lace will be awaiting you. By letting this biennial plant live out its second year, you are witnessing vernalization—the flower blocker has been taken off by winter, and now the carrot flowers are in full bloom. Further reading and listening for adults on vernalization, both from vernalization expert Dr. Richard Amasino from the University of Wisconsin-Madison : https://grow.cals.wisc.edu/deprecated/food-systems/winter-awakens-spring-flowering https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcvmlYroJ1A Photo credits: Pix4 Free (1), Pixnio (2)

< Back Rose Mallow - A Rose of the North Jim Lakin, MD, Master Gardener Have a riverbank, marsh, or rain garden to manage? Consider adding the lovely, long-blooming Rose Mallow. This article will tell you why and how. Hibiscus lasiocarpos As Juliet observed of her beloved Romeo, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” We may then ask, “Would that which we call a rose be less beautiful if it is not?” To this I would unhesitatingly say, “Yes in the case of the rose mallow”. H. lasiocarpos and H. moscheutos are nearly identical members of the mallow family (Malvaceae). They are native to most of the Lower Midwest and northward to areas around Lakes Michigan and Erie. Their closely related cousin, the somewhat more cold-tolerant Halberd-leaved rose mallow ( H. laevis ) is native to Southeast Minnesota and up the Missouri River Valley. The rose mallows are hardy through zones 4-9. These perennials are closely related to the much-prized tropical hibiscus. Halberd-leaved rose mallow As you might expect, this gorgeous plant has been hybridized into a large number of attractive cultivars available at your local nursery. The value of these cultivars to our pollinators remains to be determined. There is no question, however that the three native species are key players in the ecological web of the Northern Midwest. They are very nectar and pollen rich, being great additions to a pollinator garden. Halberd-leaved rose mallow The rose mallows are essentially a wetlands plant found around lakes and rivers. They may even be seen growing in standing water. They do well though in moist, well-drained soil in full sun. If they are in a bed, remember to water them during dry, mid-summer weather. They eventually grow to about five feet so you should keep that in mind if inserting them into a border garden. They do well as a backdrop to sun loving ground covers. Rose mallow is slow to emerge from dormancy but once in gear it is a rapid grower, putting on as much as an inch per day. The blooms are quite showy, appearing from July to September so you would do well to mix them with earlier blooming perennials such as Jacob’s Ladder or creeping phlox. The flowers are from three to five inches across with a red center “eye” from which the stamen protrudes. Flower petals may vary from white to shades of pink. Once established, application of a slow-release fertilizer in the spring can enhance growth. While you are at it, pruning back the old growth to about six inches will help to make way for the new foliage. Deadheading usually is not necessary. Rose mallow winters over pretty well although putting a couple of inches of mulch over the plants in the fall will reduce the chance of winter kill. So, if you have a riverbank, marsh or rain garden to plant, you would do well to incorporate the lovely rose mallow. Photo Credit: Taylor Creek Nursery (1,2,3)

< Back Strawberry Asparagus Salad and a Challenge! Joy Johnson, Master Gardener It’s July and some of your vegetables and fruit are ripe for picking – yay! Two of these early products are asparagus and strawberries. And, luckily, they go together in a delicious salad. Read Joy Johnson’s article for an easy recipe. And, keep reading for a more difficult recipe for Strawberry Cucumber bread. If you’re up for the challenge, you will be rewarded with a delicious treat! Did you know that asparagus and strawberries go well together in two ways? One way is to do companion plantings with groups of asparagus inter-mixed with strawberry plants. Because the asparagus grows tall and starts sprouting out of the ground ahead of the strawberry plants, you can grow them together and harvest them at nearly the same time. The second way is to eat them together. Their flavors are complimentary and make a fresh summer salad. Here is a very simple recipe that pulls together in no time. You can jazz it up by adding sliced almonds, poppy seeds, goat cheese or crumbled feta or blue cheese. I didn’t have those ingredients on hand, so I’m keeping it simple tonight! Strawberry Asparagus Salad Ingredients: 2 cups asparagus, cut in pieces and blanched 2 cups strawberries, sliced Dressing: ¼ cup lemon juice 2 TBSP vegetable oil. 2 TBSP honey Directions: Toss the asparagus and strawberries together in a bowl. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients and mix well. Pour dressing over salad and toss. Chill before serving. Strawberry Cucumber Bread – If You Like a Challenge! This colorful bread can be served at breakfast or as a dessert or in the middle of the day with a cup of tea or coffee. I came across this recipe when I googled “spring breads”. It has two of my favorite foods in it: strawberries and cucumbers, which I thought was an interesting combination for a quick bread. It was very challenging to make! First, I had to clarify butter. I didn’t start with a small enough pan, so when I had to scrape off the butter foam without dipping my spoon into the clear layer underneath, that wasn’t going to work. So, I dumped it into a smaller pan, which completely negated the instruction to not stir it or disturb the layers in any way. I gently scraped off the foam after waiting an extra hour with the pan over really low heat, and I figured it would re-layer itself if I waited long enough. Then I was supposed to separate the clarified butter from the water, which I could do by pouring it off. Hmm, it all looked the same to me. So, I went back to my computer to get some work done (that I get paid for) and left the pot on very low heat for another hour. When I came back into the kitchen, there was the butter - thick and smooth, but definitely not clear. I scooped it out of the pot so I could measure it and discovered about a teaspoon of water underneath. I did pour that off. I used this butter in the recipe, but I can’t say if it met the definition of ‘clarified’. The next challenge was the baking. It flowed over my bread pan and all over the oven floor. I scraped the bottom rack and the bottom of the oven clean as soon as I discovered it, so it wouldn’t start on fire, which was after about an hour of baking. The bread should have been done at that point. But it wasn’t even close with the hot batter still running over the side of the pan. So, I covered it with a tent of foil in an effort to get the inside baked and not brown the outside any further. I checked it every 15 minutes. It still wasn’t done and was still volcano-ing onto the oven floor. It ended up in the oven for an extra 40 minutes (at least, I went out to rake the lawn!) and then I gave up and took it out. I put it in the microwave for 2 ½ minutes on high to get the inside cooked. The next challenge was getting it out of the bread pan. I let it cool on a cooling rack until it was just warm. I had greased and floured the pan before filling it. I gently went around the edge with a butter knife, sawing through the dark parts where the batter had flowed over the pan. Tipped it over - no movement. I went around the pan with the knife again, twice, then turned it on one side and worked on that side, turned it over to the other side and worked on that side. It finally came free in one piece! Of course, I sliced it and ate a piece right away. It was delicious , especially when I hit a pocket of the strawberry preserves, but I’m not sure it was worth all the effort! Strawberry Cucumber Bread (from Bon Appetite Magazine) modified slightly by me Ingredients: ½ cup strawberry preserves 1 T cornstarch 1T fresh lemon juice ½ c sort of clarified butter, room temp 1 c sugar 2 large eggs 1t vanilla extract ¼ t almond extract 2c all -purpose flour 1 t baking powder ½ t baking soda ½ t salt 2 cups grated and well drained cucumber ½ c chopped walnuts ½ c sliced fresh strawberries, divided Instructions: In a small saucepan, cook strawberry preserves, cornstarch, and lemon juice over medium heat until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Let cool completely. Preheat oven to 325°F (170°C). Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with baking spray and sprinkle with flour. In a bowl, beat clarified butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating just until combined. Stir in cucumber, walnuts, and ¼ cup (42.5 grams) sliced strawberries. Spoon half of batter into prepared pan; top with strawberry preserve mixture. Add remaining batter, and top with remaining ¼ cup (42.5 grams) strawberry slices. Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap and store at room temperature for up to 1 week. Photo Credit: Joy Johnson (1,2,3,4)

< Back Tomatoes: What to do Now for Luscious Tomatoes This Summer Tomatoes are one of the most home-grown crop; probably because there is nothing like that big bite or slice of that juicy, delicious red ball. But many enthusiastic home gardeners find themselves frustrated or disappointed in their tomato crop. This article explains gardening practices that you can adopt to increase the chances of producing happy, healthy tomato plants in your yard. Michelle Scullard, Dakota County Master Gardener Many people eagerly await that first bite of homegrown tomatoes every summer. And that first succulent bite is achieved by the work you do now, early in the summer. First, it is not too late to plant tomatoes, but at this point, you will need to purchase plants if you did not start your own. Whether you choose an heirloom or a modern variety (often bred to decrease susceptibility to disease and other unfavorable traits) is a personal preference. One approach to choosing might be to get a variety you have grown before and a variety new to you. Some other characteristics you may want to consider relate to the disease resistance of the tomato plant. Plants marked with “F, FF, FFF” are resistant to fusarium diseases, while a “V” indicates resistance to Verticillium Wilt. A plant marked with “VF” is resistant to fusarium and verticillium wilts. A plant labeled with “EB” is resistant to Early Blight. If you choose a tomato that does not indicate that it has been developed with resistance to different tomato diseases, you’ll want to implement some good, basic gardening practices to decrease the risk of losing your tomato crop. Choose a tomato with a sturdy stem that is at least a pencil width. Make sure there are no spotted leaves as that may be an indicator of disease. Leaves should be spaced closely together. There are two main types of tomatoes; determinate and indeterminate. Determinate tomatoes are bushy and generally do not need pruning, staking, or trellising. The top, also called terminal point, ends with flowers and fruit. They grow to about 24 – 30 inches tall and produce fruits within a 4 to 6-week period. They may be best for container grown tomatoes. Most tomato plants are Indeterminate and they are vining. They do need support to keep their leaves and tomatoes off the ground, allow for air flow, and reduce the risk of diseases. The terminal point keeps growing as the plant grows. Tomatoes grow along the branches, and they will produce fruit until it gets too cold. Stake or trellis plants immediately when you plant them. Good tomato gardening practices start with ensuring good soil. You want rich loamy soil that drains well. If you don’t know what kind of soil, you can do a soil test from the University of Minnesota and add amendments such as fertilizer or other missing nutrients. The next critical step is to not plant your tomatoes in the same place every year. You need to rotate them to different areas in your garden, if at all possible. This helps decrease the threat of diseases that remain in the soil. It is recommended to wait three to four years before planting tomatoes again in that spot. Make sure you space your tomatoes a sufficient distance apart. You can find that information on the seed package or the plant tag. Dig a hole deep enough to place the whole container part of the plant and remove lower leaves and branches so they aren’t touching the soil. If you have a slightly crooked plant, you can actually dig the hole even deeper so the above ground part is the straight part. The tomato will actually grow roots from the stem that is underground. Consistent watering is critical to prevent “blossom end rot” (where the tomato has a black bottom), as is an adequate amount of calcium. You can find products in the store that you may want to periodically add throughout the season. When you water your tomatoes, make sure to water at the base of the plant and not overhead. This reduces disease risk on the leaves and prevents water splashing from the soil onto the plant, which is another source of tomato diseases. You will want to water deeply to help promote deep rooted plants. Generally, one inch a week is recommended but you may need to water more frequently if it is very hot and dry, or your tomato is in a container. Sandy soils will require more frequent watering, too. Despite your best efforts, you may still find diseases impacting your tomato plants and your tomatoes. Early blight, tomato viruses, bacterial spot, and late blight are some of the diseases that plague many Minnesota tomato growers due to Minnesota’s climate. To learn more about each of these diseases and how you can recognize them on your tomato plants, you can learn more here: Tomato Diseases . In addition to tomato diseases, you will need to watch for insects that may impact your tomato harvest. Insects to be aware of include: cutworms, flea beetles, Colorado potato beetle, aphids, sap beetles, and tomato hornworms (for more information, start here: Insects and Tomato Plants ) Finally, some common problems you may experience and may have little ability to prevent are: blossom end rot, growth cracks (fruit grows too quickly), catfacing (many causes), leaf roll, sunscald (tomato fruit gets too much sun), and yellow shoulders (top never ripens). You can find more information on these disorders here: Tomato disorders Tomatoes are not hard to grow but do require some specific gardening practices to ensure you can get a lot of fruit that are healthy and tasty. And most gardeners will agree that they are worth all the effort! Reference: University of Minnesota Extension Gardening Growing Tomatoes in Home Gardens Photo credits: UMN Extension (1-5), University of Wisconsin Madison Extension (6)

< Back Kentucky Wisteria (Wisteria frutescens): Romance in the air Jim Lakin MD, Master Gardener A warm summer night and the fragrance of wisteria is in the air. Okay, I admit to being a bit of a romantic, but this gorgeous native perennial invites images of lost gentility . . . even if it never really happened. Learn why and how to grow this lovely climbing vine in your garden in this article. Wisteria frutescens or Amerious native perennial invites images of lost gentility . . . even if it never really happened. can wisteria is a woody, deciduous, climbing vine native to the wet forests and stream banks of the southeastern United States with a growing range stretching from the states of Virginia to East Texas extending southeast through Florida and north to New York and the Central Midwest extending into southern Minnesota . Fragrant, pea-like, lilac-purple or blue flowers will develop in April-May after the leaves emerge. Sometimes some additional blooming will develop in the summer. Although the flowers are usually blueish, some cultivars will produce white or dark burgundy blooms, or even have hints of yellow or green. If you are going to give American wisteria a go, you should of course provide some fairly sturdy trellising as the plant can grow as tall as 15 to 40 feet and 4 to 8 feet wide. Wisteria likes full sun (6 + hours per day) but will soldier along in part shade (2-6 hours of direct sunlight). Blooming might be a problem if it is overly shaded. It will do well in either clay or loam but good drainage of moist, occasionally wet soil is important. Wisteria also likes acid soil with pH tending toward 6.0 which is why it does well on a moist forest border. It acts as a host for larval forms of several butterflies and functions as an important nectar source for both bees and butterflies. American wisteria is relatively resistant to most pests, although honey fungus can be a problem as are a number of chewing insects. Deer and rabbits don’t usually consider wisteria as their first choice on the menu. Flowering usually occurs in the second or third year although not always, so be patient! Failure to bloom may be due to too much shade as we said, so choose your site well. Wisteria frutescens does not like to be transplanted. Frost damage or over fertilization may sometimes be the causes of non-flowering. A judicious application of 10-10-10 in the spring usually suffices. Also, since it is hardy only to Zone 5A, it might be prudent to mulch heavily in the fall in a southern Minnesota garden. Some nice cultivars to look for in your local nursery include “Alba” and “Nivea” with white flowers, “Magnifica” and “Swantly Purple”. “Amethyst Falls” produces a lovely, lightly fragrant lavender-purple bloom. Pruning should usually be done in the spring after flowering to control the size and spread of the plant. American wisteria does well as an accent to native or pollinator gardens especially on slopes, banks or rock walls. Regardless of placement it will add a colorful, fragrant and, perhaps romantic element to your landscape. Photo Credit: USDA (1), Bev Wagar, NC State Extension (2)

< Back Wander the Winter Wonderlands of Minnesota Mary Gadek, Dakota County Master Gardener As we embark into our Minnesota winter, let’s wander into the many winter wonderlands in our state. The landscape is transforming into a quiet, snow-covered land, where nature’s beauty takes on a serene and magical existence. Many Minnesota outdoor and indoor garden sights are offered in the winter with opportunities of quiet meditation, reconnection with nature and new interaction with our environment. Let’s explore the winter garden possibilities available to us in Minnesota in this article. GO OUTSIDE Many options exist in Minnesota to embrace the magic of the landscape, dusted with the delicate powder of snow and its meditative stillness. Also, some places allow for more active winter interaction, like cross country skiing, snow shoeing, ice skating or snowmobiling. Here are some suggestions: Minnesota Landscape Arboretum: Trails for driving, walking, snow showing, cross country skiing. https://arb.umn.edu/winter St. Paul Winter Farmers’ Market: Featuring many Minnesota grown or made products available during the off-season, such as meats, cheese, eggs, honey, bakery goods, and milk. https://minnesotagrown.com/member/st-paul-downtown-farmers-winter-mkt/ Walker Sculpture Garden: View the larger-than-life sculptures, including the infamous Spoonbridge and Cherry. https://walkerart.org/visit/garden/ Franconia Sculpture Park : Acres of outdoor sculptures on hand, with a Midwinter Celebration, held in January. https://www.franconia.org/about/ Gold Medal Park: Located in the heart of Minneapolis, along the Mis sissippi River, with spectacular views of Downtown. https://www.nps.gov/miss/planyourvisit/goldmedal.htm Rice Park: In the middle of downtown St. Paul, it hosts the St. Paul Winter Carnival. https://www.familyfuntwincities.com/rice-park-st-paul/ The trails of our many Dakota County-area parks, including: Lebanon Hills Regional Park, Whitetail Woods Regional Park, Mississipi River Greenway, Spring Lake Park Reserve. WARM UP INSIDE Como Conservatory : A plethora of indoor gardens, including the sunken garden, bonzai collection, fern room and orchid house. https://comozooconservatory.org/category/como-gardens/ Minneapolis Farmers’ Market : At a few different locations, these farmers’ markets can fill your hunger for Minnesota grown produce and products. https://farmersmarketsofmpls.org/winter-markets/ Conservatory and Botanical Collection at UMN College of Biological Sciences Conservatory : Come see this unique and extensive, indoor plant collection. https://cbs.umn.edu/conservatory Edinborough Park: Come play at the indoor playground and ice rink in Edina, surrounded by indoor gardens, ponds and water falls. https://mngardens.horticulture.umn.edu/edinborough-park These are just some of many winter wonderland choices in Minnesota. Get out there this winter, and sample its wonder! When you come back inside, your cheeks rosy from the cold and your mind filled with peaceful images, you realize that winter isn’t something to endure—it’s something to embrace. Other sources of fun: https://mngardens.horticulture.umn.edu/view-by-season Photo Credit: Mary Gadek (1,2,3)

< Back Give Your Orchid a Vacation Paul Wood, Dakota County Master Gardener Orchids are like school children. They have been cooped up in your house all winter. They have treated you well, stayed healthy, and maybe even treated you to blooms; for that they deserve something special: a vacation! It is easy; you don’t need a travel agent, an airline reservation or even a hotel room: just set them outside. Read this article by avid orchid grower, Paul Wood, to learn how to safely grow your orchids outside in the summer. The orchids in your house are not native to Minnesota so being outside is like a foreign country to them; they need some orientation and acclimation to feel comfortable and really enjoy their vacation. Prime Vacation Time Orchids like to take their vacations most any time after our night-time temperatures stay above 50 degrees. They can stay on vacation until the temperatures start dipping below 50 at night. Accommodations For the most part, when you put your orchids outside, they should be in dappled light. Putting an orchid that has been inside all winter into direct sunlight will burn its leaves. This is particularly true if you have Phalaenopsis (Phal) because they grow in the lower story of the forests so they don’t get a lot of light even in nature. The dappled light comes in many forms. My orchids spend the summer on the back deck in the shade of a birch tree and do quite well. There are pot clips you can buy for ceramic pots that allow you to hang the orchids right in the tree. If you don’t have a shady spot, you can use shade cloth to protect your orchids. The level of shade depends on the orchid, but for Phals it is 70-80%. You can build a supporting structure for the cloth, but if you have a pergola you are ready to go. Some orchids like Cattleyas, Dendrobiums or Oncidiums prefer more light than a Phal, but that doesn’t mean direct sun light. Bright diffused light is called for. Be sure to harden them off before leaving them in the brighter light. Spa Treatments Orchids, like any other plant, are subject to pests and disease. While your orchids are outside, it is a great time to give them “spa treatments” to keep them healthy. You won’t find orchid specific pesticides, but any pesticide that can be used on tropical plants will be OK for your orchids. Systemic pesticides are best for sucking pests. Safari ®, Malathion ® or Imidacloprid work extremely well. Mix them with water and soak the roots. Both Safari and the chemical Imidacloprid are neonicotinoids, but there are no pollinators visiting your orchids so from that perspective they are safe to use. Horticultural oil can be used for scale as well. Fungicides are best applied when the orchids enter the spa. The copper-based fungicides or a fungicide with chlorothalonil as the active ingredient work well. Remember that fungicides are preventative, not curative, so prevention is key. There are more natural solutions to pest control than what I noted above. These are best used when the orchids return from vacation. Libation Station What is a vacation without some libation! When your orchids are outside you need to continue to water and fertilize them, but you also need to consider the weather conditions. If it has been hot and dry, they might need to be watered more than once a week, particularly if they are in a small pot. Conversely, if it has been hot and humid or very rainy, you might want to hold back on the watering. Under hot conditions, they enjoy a misting to cool their leaves. Orchids prefer their libations straight up, they don’t like mixes such as chlorine or pH increasers (e.g. city water). Watering from your rain barrel or using RO water will go a long way towards keep your orchids healthy. In summary, don’t be afraid to move your orchids outside in the summer; just be sure to keep them shaded and out of direct sun. While on vacation they still need to be watered and fertilized, just be cognizant of the local weather conditions. While they are outside, use this time to treat them with pesticides to keep them healthy and pest free. Treating them also lessens the chance of bringing pests indoors when the vacation time must come to an end and they return to their job of being a flowering indoor plant for your enjoyment. !!!!!! WARNNG- Orchids can become addicting!!!!! References: How To Care For Orchids Outdoors - Everyday Orchids Heat Stress ( aos.org ) Outdoor Orchid Care - American Orchid Society ( aos.org ) Photo credits: www.justaddiceorchids.com (All Creative Commons) (1), Paul Wood (2,3)

< Back The Minnesota Lawn Guide: Attaining and Maintaining the Lawn You Want Gail Maifeld The Minnesota Lawn Guide, by Melinda Myers will give you tips on growing the perfect lawn in Minnesota. Whether establishing a new lawn, restoring an existing one or fixing spots, this easy to read book will help answer all your questions. Fall is cleanup time for the garden. The drought of the 2021growing season has been a challenge for all gardening. Watering restrictions presented challenges for lawn care. Melinda Myer’s book, The Minnesota Lawn Guide, provides fall procedures that would be helpful to revitalize a lawn. Written in plain language the author addresses variable weather, unpredictable rain, and long harsh winter effects on grass. Good soil is the foundation for a healthy lawn so a soil test is recommended. Individual chapters about watering, fertilizing, mowing, turf varieties, and the best seeds are included. THE MINNESOTA LAWN GUIDE is a necessary reference for the new lawn process, lawn restoration, and spot restorations. Melinda Myers is a well-known PBS presenter, has 13 years experience at the University of Wisconsin Extension Service, and is editor/columnist for Birds & Bloom Magazine.