Ins and Outs of planting bulbs in Fall


Fri. Sep. 30, 2022

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Ins and Outs of planting bulbs in Fall

As I teased you with tantalizing tulips and other Fall planted bulbs yesterday, I wanted to share the ins and outs of planting the various types of bulbs. First, remember to check to see what your local nurseries have to offer before you place an order.

Online sites, however, DO offer a wider variety than some of our local shops so if you don’t see what you want, that is  … [Continue reading]

Spring bulbs for Fall planting 2022


Thu. Sep. 29, 2022

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Spring bulbs for Fall planting 2022

If you want spring to midseason bulbs to plant this Fall, you best get to finding some. At the nursery where I work, customers were asking weeks ago when our bulbs would arrive. They have arrived and already many have been sold! 2022 is another booming year for bulbs.

Daffodils and tulips, crocus and fritillaria. Snowdrops and squill, hyacinth and allium. Whew, and so many cultivars in between!!

We plant these bulbs

 … [Continue reading]

Planting native seeds in late Fall


Wed. Sep. 28, 2022

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Planting native seeds in late Fall

My favorite native seed nursery had a sale and I scored 3 types of flowers I’ve admired. My plan is to sow them outdoors late this Fall.

These specific seeds need cold stratification to germinate.

Sowing these in late fall allows the seeds to germinate in their own natural timeframe and it’s easy!

Generally, it’s best to plant on a weed-free site that’s clear of other vegetation. For my purposes I will  … [Continue reading]

Neonics and deer


Tue. Sep. 27, 2022

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Neonics and deer

A couple of weeks ago an article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper caught my eye with the headline “Majority of deer exposed to toxin”. State biologists tested the spleens of road kill deer and those sent in by hunters. 94% had concentrations of neonicotinoids. More from MPRNews.org. 

But it gets worse, nearly two-thirds of those deer had higher concentrations than a threshold found to potentially lower fawn survival and cause deformities.

Neonics started

 … [Continue reading]

Ghost Plant – fungus or flower


Mon. Sep. 26, 2022

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Ghost Plant – fungus or flower

 Prairie Moon Nursery in Minnesota is my go-to place for native plants and seeds that I can’t find at my local garden center. They just highlighted a very unique plant on their Facebook page that I am sharing with you today.

Ghost Pipe, Ghost Flower or Indian Pipe looks like a fungus but it’s actually a native flower.

It’s Latin name is Monotropa uniflora, is a wildflower that is actually a member  … [Continue reading]

Handling too much harvest safely


Fri. Sep. 23, 2022

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Handling too much harvest safely

This year MY harvests have not been impressive, however, my neighbor across the street has a HUGE supply of tomatoes, which I’ve benefitted from.

I’ve been the recipient of zucchini and fresh corn too. Which I’ve shared with other neighbors! I love my ‘hood.

You don’t want to lose that harvest. So what do you do to safely pick and preserve your bounty for future use?

When harvesting vegetables remember these tips:

  • Be
 … [Continue reading]

Autumnal Equinox 2022


Wed. Sep. 21, 2022

Click below to listen to my  2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Autumnal Equinox 2022

 The Autumnal Equinox happens at 8:30 tonight central time. Or maybe 9:04pm. Oddly, this is the first time I’ve found 2 times in the same time zone.

Bottom line is, the equinox, equal day/equal night will happen at the exact same moment all over the world.

The sun crosses the celestial equator moving south, signifying the start of the colder months of the year for the Northern Hemisphere. (And the warmer months of the  … [Continue reading]

Creating a new garden bed


Wed. Sep. 21, 2022

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Creating a new garden bed

At my former home I started a garden plot for cut flowers. I left an old carpet and tarps over the soil from Spring to Fall to kill the existing weeds. I do not have photos of them, they’ve been lost through the many iterations of my life! You can use cardboard too.

Tip: the best way to use old carpet for weed killing is to put it down on the area

 … [Continue reading]

Honeyberry bushes 2022


Tue. Sep. 20, 2022

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Honeyberry bushes 2022

 Back in January of 2020 I briefly talked about a berry I’d never heard of called Honeyberry. It was in a plant catalog and I was very intrigued as it’s rated zone 2 and supposed to taste wonderful.

Honeyberries seem to be all the rage now in 2022. The University of Saskatchewan began breeding honeyberries(haskap) in 2002. Using lines from Russia, Japan and the Kuril Islands north of Japan, this program is producing fruit that  … [Continue reading]

Saving seeds


Mon. Sep. 19, 2022

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Saving seeds

Generally we start saving seeds of our perennials about mid-October.

Native plant seeds will reproduce true to the original. Hybrids of plants will not.

There could be faded versions or a complete surprise of a new color! Then again, they may not reproduce at all.

Seeds should be collected about 2 months after flowering. This could be seedpods, , nuts, catkins, berries, etc. but be sure you collect seeds from healthy plants. This is about genetics.  … [Continue reading]