Fall landscape


Wed. Oct. 23, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Fall landscape

Some folks grow gourds or specialty squash for howlingly cool Halloween or Harvest displays.  Once, many years ago, I grew one of those super large pumpkins. I was so proud! The local grocery store was having a contest and I got it loaded up in the pick up and off we went.  The grocery store manager says, “Ya that woulda won!”

Huh?

“The contest ended yesterday”.

If you grew corn this year you have a great  … [Continue reading]

Tool attention


Tue. Oct. 22, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Tool Attention

A perennial topic! Tool attention. With temperatures up and down and precipitation here and there, we’re headed to Winter and putting our gardens to rest. That means putting the tools away too.

You’ve been abusing your trowels, shovels, pruners and hoes all season, leaving them scattered about your yard and gardens to let mother nature do what she will to them, or maybe that’s just me.  Regardless of who’s been naughty or nice to their tools,  … [Continue reading]

Fall journaling


Mon. Oct. 21, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Fall journaling

I love the smell of a fire in the crisp autumn air.  After getting your chores done for the day, take a little time for yourself.  Build a fire in a pit, grab a hot mug of coffee or cocoa with or without a little adult beverage added, and relax to recount your garden joys and woes of the season. 

Between the nearly non existent Spring with more winter-like temperatures and snow and the wet summer  … [Continue reading]

The BEE declared the most important living being on the Planet!


Fri. Oct. 18, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: The BEE declared the most important living being on the Planet!

In case you hadn’t heard, the bee has been declared the most important living being on the planet. The Earthwatch Institute concluded in the last debate of the Royal Geographical Society of London, that bees are the most important living being on the planet. 

However, scientists have also made an announcement: Bees have already entered into extinction risk. A bunch of smart people whose names I can’t  … [Continue reading]

Tenacious bulb eaters


Thu. Oct. 17, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Tenacious bulb eaters

Those little #*%&@ are always at it!

They are tenacious if nothing else! People have discussed ideas about what to do for as long as we’ve planted bulbs.  The best method so far is to place chicken wire over your bulb bed, secure it with stakes or heavy rocks and then mulch it with woodchips, shredded bark or leaves. The plants will grow up through the wire or hardware cloth.

You could sink the wire  … [Continue reading]

Plenty of precip in the Upper Midwest – what’s the long term effect?


Wed. Oct. 16, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Plenty of precip in the Upper Midwest – what’s the long term effect?

Record rainfalls have thwarted many a gardener this past season. A lot of our plants developed fungal diseases, in particular those tasty tomatoes!

There’s also a long term problem with all that wet weather. Trees are dying with wet feet. It’s been documented in Nerstrand Big Woods where I live and in other places around the Upper Midwest.

According to a recent article through the  … [Continue reading]

A hard frost and diggin’ up Dahlias


Tue. Oct. 15, 2019

Click below to listen to my  2 min. Garden Bite radio show: A hard frost and diggin’ up Dahlias

It’s not Winter yet, technically, but some of us have already experienced some snowflakes (snowfall!!) Hello Moorehead! And my cousin’s place on Lake Maud…

And some temperatures dipping into the 30’s and 20’s! We’ve covered tomatoes or just given up! We’ve traded out the summer annuals for mums, brought the tropicals inside or bid them adieu into the compost pile and tried to get spring bulbs in the ground before our  … [Continue reading]

More prep for what’s coming… or is here!


Mon. Oct. 14, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: More prep for what’s coming… or is here!

We all know it’s coming, some have even started to experience what it brings… the s-word! While I could be talking about stew and sweatshirts, there are some who have seen snow!

That means we still have some things to do to prepare for Winter. It may seem early but I want to put this one out there. One of those items is cleaning out the annuals in our pots. … [Continue reading]

Grab bag of gardening


Fri. Oct. 11, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Grab bag of gardening

Every season I get asked about what to do with sale plants if you can’t get them in the ground before it’s too late… plant them in the your vegetable garden bed, or any other bare space, IN THE POT THEY CAME IN.

Then come spring, after you’ve decided where you want to plant them, dig them up carefully and they should be just fine.

Folks have asked about using landscape fabric versus newspaper  … [Continue reading]

Repellex – a later version


Thu. Oct. 10, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Repellex – a later version

Oh yes, those big brown eyes are beautiful… till that deer moseys over to your gardens to start munching!

As gardeners we’ve used loud noises, Irish Spring soap, pepper spray and a variety of other so-called surefire ways to keep the deer at a distance without consistent results.  

There’s also another critter that creates chaos for young trees in particular, it’s the lowly mouse and it’s cousin the vole.  Mice like to nestle  … [Continue reading]