Monthly Archives: January 2009

For Better Garden Photos: Know Thy Camera

Posted on January 31, 2009 by Mary Schier

If you want to take better pictures of your garden (or for that matter, your kids, birds, places you visit, sporting events or anything else), the first thing you need to learn is your camera — and what controls it … Continue reading →

Posted in Classes for Gardeners, Garden Photography | Leave a comment

Hungry for Spring

Posted on January 31, 2009 by Mary Schier

You can tell it’s been a tough winter when 550 gardeners get together to talk plants in Wausau in January. I spoke with one of the organizers of Garden Visions a couple of weeks ago and she said more than … Continue reading →

Posted in Classes for Gardeners | Leave a comment

Off to Garden School

Posted on January 29, 2009 by Mary Schier

Winter is school time for gardeners. So, tomorrow I’m off to Wausau, WI, for the Second Annual Garden Visions conference, sponsored by the North Central Wisconsin and Portage County Master Gardeners. It promises to be a great program, with several … Continue reading →

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A Mighty Oak Cracked

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Mary Schier

Something both surprising and a little worrisome has happened to one of my favorite trees. A crack about 6 feet long and as wide as my pinky finger in some spots has opened up along the trunk of the oak … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Trees | 3 Comments

Garden Smackdown: Bush vs. Pole Beans

Posted on January 24, 2009 by Mary Schier

As vegetable gardeners salivate over catalogs during the long winter nights, the perennial question emerges: Should I plant bush or pole beans? During the Vegetable Gardening 101 class I attended at Just Food Co-op, Laura Frerichs of Loon Organics offered … Continue reading →

Posted in Fruits and Vegetables | 10 Comments

Vegetable Gardening Class a Hit

Posted on January 23, 2009 by Mary Schier

I sat in on Just Food Co-op’s first of two classes on vegetable gardening last night. Conducted by Laura Frerichs, co-owner of Loon Organics, the class covered the basics of getting started with a vegetable garden, from picking a sunny … Continue reading →

Posted in Classes for Gardeners, Fruits and Vegetables, Gardening Know-How, Northfield | Leave a comment

What Would You Name Your Garden?

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Mary Schier

I’ve been reading Julie Moir Messervy’s excellent new book, Home Outside: Creating the Landscape You Love, which gives homeowners several techniques for figuring out what they want from their yard and garden and how to achieve it. One of her … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Garden Design | 3 Comments

Best Bets for Beginning Vegetable Gardeners

Posted on January 18, 2009 by Mary Schier

I spent most evenings over the past week digging through the stacks of seed catalogs that have been arriving at my house since Thanksgiving. While I probably get more catalogs than most gardeners, it struck me how daunting deciding what … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 12 Comments

Not Tonight Deer and Other Garden Giggles

Posted on January 14, 2009 by Mary Schier

During our recent spell in the deep freeze, I’ve been spending the evening going through garden catalogs, ripping out pages of the seeds and tools I might order. Garden catalogs are very enticing, but also great fun–especially the names of … Continue reading →

Posted in Garden Trends | 2 Comments

We're Still In Zone 4

Posted on January 13, 2009 by Mary Schier

Over the past several years, many Minnesota gardeners have started to plant as if we live in a Zone 5 state. I’m among those hopeful souls — and have had mixed results with less hardy plants. But today’s rippingly cold … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate | 1 Comment