Soil potpourri


Wed. Sep. 15, 2021

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Soil potpourri

There’s still harvesting to do, perennial, tree, shrub and bulb planting; but this is also a good time to start preparing a new garden bed. Maybe you want to expand your vegetable garden or start a new perennial bed, add some shrubs.  Whatever your plan is, make sure you mix in plenty of organic matter.

Fallen leaves are usually abundant and certainly cheap. Run your lawn mower over the pile of leaves a couple of times  … [Continue reading]

Uncommon trees for Fall color


Tue. Sep. 14, 2021

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Uncommon trees for Fall color

Fall is such a pretty time of year. This red maple is not uncommon, I’ll get to those!

Honey locust! This isn’t the messy one, but a beautiful cultivar called ‘Sunburst’ that is thornless and seedless.

The leaves emerge golden yellow in Spring, turn green in Summer and then golden yellow with a touch of green in Fall. It’s also a good street tree, tolerant of drought, road salt, and pollution. ‘Sunburst’ grows  … [Continue reading]

Planting garlic


Mon. Sep. 13, 2021

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Planting garlic

I LOVE garlic!

For the first time, I planted garlic last October. For zone 4 folks, the middle of October is a good time, after the first killing frost. If you live in Zone 3 then a couple of weeks earlier is sufficient.

There are a LOT of varieties of garlic but the best type for our cold zones is a ‘Hardneck’ variety. They tolerate our climate conditions much better than the softneck type.  Don’t plant  … [Continue reading]

Fall plant picks – perennials


Fri. Sep. 10, 2021

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Fall plant picks – perennials

As we work our way into Fall there are some plants that we all associate with that time of year.  I talked about some Fall picks last week, in particular, mums – the annual kind and the hardy mums! 

But what about other perennials. There are a number of Asters. I have Sky Blue Aster, Smooth Blue and New England! All natives, all growing at various heights and delivering blooms from  … [Continue reading]

Top 3 Garden Topics for 2021


Thu. Sep. 9, 2021

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Top 3 Garden Topics for 2021

The University of Minnesota Extension, as all state university extensions do, answer a LOT of gardener questions. This year, the U identifies three top topics of 2021, so far.

Sick maples and stressed evergreens topped the list. I just snapped a photo of a maple that is overproducing seed (called masting), dropping leaves and changing color. This really started last year. Sunscald also caused issues due to our winter weather and  … [Continue reading]

Fall lawn seeding and care


Wed. Sep. 8, 2021

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Fall lawn seeding and care

2021 for Minnesota has meant drought. While we’ve had some glorious rain, we are still in a drought and our lawns, plants and trees & shrubs have suffered. That said, now is the time to seed your lawn (if it needs it). Many lawns have gone dormant so, before you start raking up that brown stuff, be sure grass is truly dead. If there’s been some greening up, it’s not dead. Still brown?  … [Continue reading]

Getting rid of poison ivy


Tue. Sep. 7, 2021

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Getting rid of poison ivy

Recently someone I know had a nasty run-in with poison ivy. It’s nothing to be trifled with! Poison ivy is native to Minnesota and is also on the noxious weed list. Learn more from MinnesotaWildflowers,  the UofMN Ext. and the U of Wis. Ext.

Not everyone has a major reaction but once you have, you will continue to have a bad reaction.  If your skin comes in contact, use water only  … [Continue reading]

Labor Day and hardworking plants


Mon. Sep. 6, 2021

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Labor Day and hardworking plants

Happy Labor day, a holiday to pay tribute to the contributions American workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. That, according to the Dept. of Labor.

It was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century after years of very poor working conditions, child labor and more. It became a federal holiday in 1894.

As for worker PLANTS, let me tell you who to salute  … [Continue reading]

Eco-friendly furniture


Fri. Sep. 3, 2021

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Eco-friendly furniture

Can you believe it’s the start of Labor Day weekend?! Wow. Sept. 6th, 2021. There’s still plenty of time though, to spend outdoors.

As more and more, we consider our impact on our planet, have you ever considered Eco-friendly furniture?  When I had my television show, Dig In Minnesota, I had the opportunity to find out more about a company that uses plastic bottles to create sustainable furniture. Breezesta.

There are many more sustainable outdoor  … [Continue reading]

Bursting to plant bulbs


Thu. Sep. 2, 2021

Click below to listen to my  2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Busting to plant bulbs

The fall planted bulbs are starting to show up at local nurseries. These are those spring bloomers like tulips and crocus.

But there’s also garlic, which will be ready to harvest in early August.

While catalogs, which are filling up my mailbox, offer a wider variety than some of our local stores, it’s important to make sure you’re getting a good product. 

When your bulbs arrive, inspect them immediately.  Your bulbs, rhizomes, and corms  … [Continue reading]