Diagnosing dilemmas


Thu. Jun. 18, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Diagnosing dilemmas

Why do my leaves lay over?  How come they’re yellow?  What are those holes in the leaves? My plant just doesn’t look healthy, what’s wrong?  UGH, the toughest part of gardening is trying to figure out why a plant isn’t thriving!

There are lots of buds on this carpet rose in spite of this little bugger.

Here are some questions that a Master Gardener might ask of you to find out what’s wrong with your plant? … [Continue reading]

Gypsy moths


Wed. Jun. 17, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Gypsy moths

It’s time to go trappin’ for gypsies. The Gypsy moth is an invasive, leaf-eating insect that feeds on about 300 types of trees and shrubs in North America. Just last week I was out mowing a site in Dakota County and the DNR had a trap on a tree out there.

When their populations are high, gypsy moth caterpillars can strip an entire neighborhood or forest of leaves in May and June.

Repeated defoliations may weaken  … [Continue reading]

Watering tips for your lawn


Tue. Jun. 16, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Watering tips for your lawn

With summer, we can see some temps that make lawns crunchy.  The University of MN Extension has some great ideas to train lawn to be water-wise.

They say, water lawns deeply and infrequently to encourage deep rooting. Shallow watering results in root growth in only the top few inches of the soil which means plants will be unable to survive hot dry conditions in mid-summer.

I love Dramm products. This is a  … [Continue reading]

Digging a square hole and mulching to prevent girdling


Mon. Jun. 15, 2020

Click on the link below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Digging a square hole and mulching to prevent girdling

Mulching helps newly planted trees create stable root growth, which means longevity. I’ve told you this multiple times but I’ll say it again, when you mulch, think DONUT, not Volcano.

The idea is to mulch out to the dripline of the tree, away from the trunk. The point is that the roots will follow the mulch, so if you mulch at the trunk, there’s more chance  … [Continue reading]

Plant sale tips


Fri. Jun. 12, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Plant sale tips

Soon, if not already, there are plant sales. Although this year is different with a garden explosion, the choices may not be as prevalent as previous years.

Still, you want to be smart about what you buy. I have some tips for you as you shop…

Maybe I’m a little out of control!  Here are some tips for touring the plant sales:

  • buy healthy stock
  • check the roots, if you can.  Pull the plant, gently,
 … [Continue reading]

Perennial planting tips


Thu. Jun. 11, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Perennial planting tips

Yes, there is a pun in the title…

Sometimes we forget that not everyone knows how to do things we’ve done for years.  In that spirit, today is about perennial planting tips.

When planting containers:

  • Right Plant, Right Place (I know we talked about this but always a good thing to reinforce)
  • In container planting, mix perlite with your potting soil to lighten it and allow better drainage
  • plant your purchase at the level it
 … [Continue reading]

Tree of Heaven


Wed. Jun. 10, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Tree of Heaven

It sounds so lovely… and it is… elsewhere in the world. But in the U.S., and just recently Minnesota and Wisconsin, it’s on the ERADICATE list! Tree of heaven – U of MN Ext.

 Every obnoxious, noxious weed was brought over with good intentions. These plants worked well and were beautiful in other countries, so there was an assumption they would do fine here. It took decades, and in some cases, a century to find  … [Continue reading]

Controlling late blight on tomatoes


Tue. Jun. 9, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Controlling late blight on tomatoes

Nobody wants to see that!!!!

 If you lost your homegrown tomatoes due to a nasty disease called Late Blight, will the disease affect this years crop?  Not likely, the pathogen doesn’t survive our winter.  It’s generally brought in from elsewhere.  It can only survive on potato culls or tomato fruit that are sheltered in soil or a warm compost pile.

Late blight is caused by a water mold and needs high levels of  … [Continue reading]

Vegetable garden tips for June


Mon. Jun. 8, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Vegetable garden tips for June

June is an exciting month for vegetable gardeners!  We’ve got our warm season plants in the ground and we’ve already been munching on salad greens!

Although most folks have got their tomatoes, peppers and herbs in the ground, you still have a week, however, it would be best to find tomatoes like ‘Early Girl’, short season growers.

You can start successive plantings of beets, peas and shorter season crops.

Also fans of broccoli,  … [Continue reading]

Annuals for punctuation


Fri. Jun. 5, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Annuals for punctuation

Punctuate your landscape by stuffing some annuals in with your perennials!  Annuals make great transitions for filling in those “holes” in our perennial gardens.

As the tulips and daffodils fade, don’t pull them out, just put some pretty annuals around them!  Either right in the ground or in pots.

The ‘Wave’ petunias are some of my favorites for sun.  They fill in very nicely, offer a wide variety of colors and generally don’t get as  … [Continue reading]