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Category Archives: Gardening Know-How
New Northern Gardener Available
The January/February 2010 issue of Northern Gardener is on newsstands and heading toward mailboxes now. This issue should get readers as excited about their 2010 gardens as any of the many garden catalogs arriving this week. (I have 12 catalogs … Continue reading
Thoroughly Mulched
With as many new plants as I have this year, I was deciding whether to put some mulch around them. No need now! We got about 8 inches of new snow (my estimate) and lots of blowing and drifting during … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening Know-How, Seasons
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Garden Science: Nitrogen Fixation
Back in the day, I worked for a large agricultural supply cooperative in Minnesota, which sold seed to farmers. To say that the co-op’s seed guys were fixated on nitrogen fixation would be an understatement. Nitrogen fixing is the process … Continue reading
Posted in Fruits and Vegetables, Gardening Know-How, Soil
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Lessons from the Masters
The Hennepin County Master Gardeners held a garden tour today and, despite my poor navigational skills in South Minneapolis (what can I say? I come from the east side of the Twin Cities), I managed to hit four of the … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening Know-How, Plant Societies
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A Sea of Geraniums and Other Sights at Donahue's
This weekend is one of the biggest plant shopping weekends of the year and the folks at Donahue’s in Faribault are certainly ready for it. I visited Donahue’s earlier this week for a behind the scenes tour with Mary McIntyre … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening Know-How, Nurseries Worth a Drive, Perennials
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When the Question is Soil, the Answer is Compost
Last week, a reader commented on the post on Best Bets for Beginning Vegetable Gardeners that she wanted to start a garden but her lot was very sandy. This reader lives in Sherburne County, just north of the Twin Cities, … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening Know-How, Soil
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Vegetable Gardening Class a Hit
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
Gardener's Resolutions
It’s not too late for New Year’s resolutions, so I have been pondering what I could do better in the garden next year. It’s a long list — believe me — and I won’t go through them all. But, here … Continue reading
Posted in Fruits and Vegetables, Gardening Know-How
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Survival Instinct
Here’s something cool. One of my tomato plants sprouted roots all along its stem. I discovered this Saturday while pulling the tomato up. It was a Beams pear tomato plant I bought at the Farmers’ Market and planted late in … Continue reading
Schmoozing with the Master Gardeners
Despite a lot of rough weather in Wisconsin, I’ve arrived in Milwaukee for the Midwest Regional Conference of Master Gardeners, which has attracted gardeners from Minnesota to Michigan. Full disclosure: I am NOT a master gardener–far from it! But consistent … Continue reading
Posted in Events, Gardening Know-How
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