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​Garden Stories

​​Garden.True.North is about gardening in Zone 3,

​sharing thoughts, ideas and tips for all northern gardeners.

2021 WITC Programs via Webinar

1/11/2021

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​I am teaching three programs through the Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College(WITC).  All are webinars and require registrations.  Click here for information on how to register and fees for each course.
Here is the line-up: 
  • February 11, 10:00 am - Intensive Gardening    This course highlights a variety of methods, some old and some new, to produce a large harvest in the smallest space possible.  Some of the techniques covered include: vertical landscaping, using trellises, raised beds and walls for both ornamental plants and vegetables.  Lasagna, straw bale and square foot gardening are explained along with some that are not as well known.  You will get in-depth information on both time-tested methods and new techniques in this class.  

  • March 4, 10:00 am - Gardening – Mixing It Up  This class will describe how to mix up borders with a variety of plant materials.  No longer are gardeners restricted to only one type per plant bed or keeping the beds tiered with small in front and tall in back.  Mixed borders combine annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees and hardscape.   Learn a few tricks on sizing, designing, and planning four seasons for your garden. A full list of plants and how to grow them will be included. 
  • March 25, 10:00 am - Gardening with Ornamental Edibles  Learn how to have a good looking landscape that you can eat.  Many plants have berries, foliage, or flowers that are good looking and tasty.  This course will identify the many ornamental edible plants for our area and how you can grow them in containers or add to a perennial garden.  We’ll even identify some weeds that are edible providing you with even more motivation for weeding. 
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Timing Tools for Planting

3/21/2020

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Spring started this week which gets gardeners excited like kids anticipating Christmas.  Except it is still way too early to start gardening.  Even starting seeds is at most about 6 weeks before planting and we usually can not plant until late May. 

I’ve always thought the astrological seasons were off kilter; even meteorological seasons are too early for those in Zone 3.  Yesterday we received about an inch of snow which is now melting on top of the foot of snowpack left from our winter that started before Thanksgiving (i.e. “fall”). 
​
 What can a gardener rely on to determine the proper planting time?  


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Early Seed Starting Webinar - April 3

1/23/2019

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​Early Seed Starting Webinar
Wednesday, April 3 (an additional session has been added by request)
​6:00 - 7:30 pm  @ your computer
Offered through WITC
See below for registration info
Late winter and early spring are the time to check out catalogs, place seed orders and start seeds.  Learn more about several seed starting techniques from Sue Reinardy, UW-Extension Master Gardener Volunteer in an upcoming webinar.  Sue has volunteered her time to create and deliver this webinar that will feature:  deciphering catalog and seed package jargon, proper planting conditions and several techniques including the winter sown planted method that you can start now.  

This webinar can be attended from any home computer or device with an internet connection, microphone and camera.  Instructions to access the course will be provided a few days before the start of the class.   Registration is required through WITC at courses.witc.edu   Enter "Early Seed Starting" in the search box.   The registration fee is $13.50, and for those 62+ it is $9.00 . ​
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2018 in Review

12/28/2018

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 I haven’t thought much about how my gardening year turned out, its successes and failures.  Usually I make notes on my garden rotation sheet about what worked and what didn’t.  This year’s sheet reminds me what happened in the garden and thoughts for next year.  Better late than never, here goes.  
 
  1. Major accomplishment – put in raised beds and wider paths.  See my July 29 post – Evolution of a Garden

  2. Early Planting – we had a warm spring that allowed one of my earlier planting, most were planted on May 25.  That allowed for an earlier and longer harvest season.

  3. Raspberries – great year for these berries, the third year since planting in a new bed. 

  4. Hollyhocks finally bloomed – see August 20 post – Hollyhock (Alcea rosea) Memories

  5. Dahlias – I was disappointed by the late blooms and short season.  Next year need to find a sunnier spot and maybe get them started inside.

  6. Tomatoes – BLIGHT!  Even though I put them in a new raised bed they were all dried up by mid-August.  Still got a fairly good harvest of tomatoes for the table but they sure looked ugly. 

  7. Cucumbers – it was a fantastic year for cukes, lots of them and a long harvest. Not sure if I can take the credit or Mother Nature supplied just the right amount of warmth and sunshine. 

  8. Green Beans – good year BUT…. Some creature ate the plants right to the ground late in the season.  Do I need to put a fence within my fence?  Still haven’t figured out who is the culprit.

  9. Lettuce, spinach, chard, kale – all did well but we didn’t eat much of what was grown.  I may just replace this whole group for more cut flowers next year. 

  10. Zucchini Failure – also documented in September 9 post – The 2018 Zucchini Failure  I may just give up entirely on zucchini, they are so easy to buy or get from other gardeners.  Why bother?

Writing these down now gives me a game plan for next year.  The challenge will be to remember where I put these ideas so I can act upon them.  Do you have any successes or failures to share?
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The 2018 Zucchini Failure

9/5/2018

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This is embarrassing, I’m a failure at growing zucchini.  This most prolific plant that is the subject of jokes and interesting stories.  Like the report in the 2019 Old Farmer’s Almanac: “In Berlin, Germany, a 16-inch, 11-pound zucchini was mistaken for an unexploded World War II bomb.”   And I’m sure you have heard the joke told in many ways but the punch line is always to lock your car so you don’t receive any unexpected gift zucchinis from generous neighbor gardeners.
Shown above:  Female on left, male on right.  First blossoms are usually male.  The female flowers quickly develop a tiny fruit that can be fertilized manually with a small paint brush if the bees don't do their job.  Male and female flowers can be eaten raw, fried or stuffed. 
​Summer squash (aka zucchini ) are often described as a no-fail plant.  “With just a few plants you’ll have enough for friends, neighbors, and friend’s friends”, according to Grocery Gardening by Jean Ann Van Krevelen.  She also advises to keep harvesting or plants will stop producing.  Pick every day and pick when small when they are the most flavorful.  It was the "small" part that caught my attention.  The larger the size the less flavor for zucchinis. I want mine small, in fact much smaller than the ones in the markets (see female flower/fruit in above picture.) 
 
Daniel Stone, author of The Food Explorer, describes David Fairchild’s exploration for new food plants for America at the turn of the last century (1900s).  Fairchild first tasted zucchini in California.  It originated somewhere in Central America and was developed as a food crop in Italy and France.  Nature’s intent was for zucchini to be eaten small, before the blossom falls off; its name is Italian for ‘little squash’ according to Stone.   According to Wikipedia, the fruit is typically harvested as a baby vegetable, approximately finger size, and is referred to as "baby marrows" in South Africa.  That was the size I wanted to try.
 
Anyway, my plan was to grow a few plants in a tub this year to have a ready supply of perfectly sized (before the blossom dropped) fruits to sauté for an evening meal.  I grew exactly two zucchinis and, yes, they were perfect.  But then no more. 
 
Where did I go wrong?  Maybe they don’t like being constricted in a tub, maybe they need more than 6 hours of sun a day (the maximum in my woodland garden), maybe they had too much or too little water?  Lot’s of questions, no answers.
 
Do I try again next year to have a supply of the perfect zucchini?  I have more than six months to ponder whether to use space for this or a less finicky plant. 
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Evolution of a Garden

7/29/2018

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​This year one of my gardening goals was to get the potager (a fancy term for my vegetable garden) in better shape.  This garden has slowly evolved from a flower patch around a flag pole to a fenced in garden with raised beds and wide paths.  In this blog pictures will tell the story. 
Before & After:  left - June 2008; right - July 2018
In the past few years, the garden had gotten chaotic; paths were not defined, plants were self-seeding where I did not want them, and the landscape blocks were teetering making each step an adventure.  
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Above:  June 2016
Here's what I did to clean things up: 
  • Removed some perennials to allow for straighter paths and covered the paths with good quality landscape fabric and wood chips for sure footing
  • Replaced landscape blocks with wood raised beds that my husband Don was so kind to design and construct
  • Removed the plants that were unwanted like creeping jenny, chives, and mints that were invasive
I'm finding the garden much easier to work in, actually a joy to maintain and I can now find my vegetables without wading through the weeds.  
The pictures below tell the rest of the story, hover over the picture to see each step taken over the last decade.  
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Lilacs in First Leaf

5/4/2018

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I know it doesn't look like much but the first leaf of the lilac indicates that it is time to plant beets, cole crops (broccoli, kale, cabbage, turnips, etc.), lettuce, and spinach.  This is not just folklore but backed up phenology, the study of the timing of natural events.  Lilacs are most commonly used for observation and to time gardening activity.  I checked the soil temperature in my garden, it is 55-60 degrees.  That is well in the range for these crops.  

Here are some other indicators for planting: 
  • Plant peas when forsythia blooms
  • Plant potatoes when first dandelion blooms
  • plant bean, cucumbers, squash when lilac is in full bloom
  • plant tomatoes when lily-of-the-valley blooms
  • plant eggplant, melons, peppers when iris blooms
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An Alternative to Seed Starting Indoors

2/14/2018

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Read more to discover the Winter Sown method of seed starting.  The pictures are of a milk jug seed container cut in half, then taped shut until the weather was warm enough to expose the seedlings to the elements. 

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Six Lessons from the 2017 Growing Season

10/18/2017

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It seems each year there are lessons that nature provides if I’m paying attention and this year was no different.  I gained new knowledge in five areas this year.  

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September Calendar

9/4/2017

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Activities for September
  • Fertilize lawn around Labor Day- if you only do it once this is the best time to do it.  Any later in Zone 3 and the grass doesn't have time to  take advantage of the food.  
  • Fertilize Astillbes - these perennials are heavy feeders and I give them a little boost this time of year with a light fertilizer, usually 10-10-10 or less. 
  • Stop fertilizing - Besides Astillbes, the lawn, and any annuals it is best to stop fertilizing.  Fertilizing would encourage new growth and instead you want the plants to start getting ready for winter by going dormant. 
  • Deadhead perennials - this is a good time to deadhead those that are self-seeders that you don't want spreading.  Also be sure to deadhead phlox if you want them to stay true and not cross-fertilize with other types.   I leave the seed heads on most of my perennials as food for the birds during the winter and to create some winter interest.  
  • Clean up the garden - the one place that I clear out is the vegetable garden to keep any diseases and pests from overwintering.  I leave my perennials standing during the winter.  One exception is that I cut down any perennials that have had a disease or pest problem.  There have been aphids on my Heliopsis  (common name:  False Sunflower) so those will get cut down to the grounds after they die back this year. 
  • Bring in tender plants - for any plants that have spent the summer outside, I start to get them ready to bring inside.  First step is to move them to shadier spots to get them used to the lower inside light.  I then hose them down and treat with an insecticide soap to prevent them from bringing pests into the house.  They are then isolated in the garage for about a week to insure no pests.  
  • Use the mower to chop leaves - As leaves begin to drop I use the mower to mulch them right back into the lawn.  Any leaves dropping on the perennial beds are left there until spring (when I use the mower again to mulch them right in the beds.)  For areas where the mower can't do the job, I use a mulching lawn vacuum and then dump the leaves in perennial or shrub beds that could use a bit more.  This minimizes hauling leaves around and puts them to good use right where they land.  
  • Order fall planted bulbs - if not already done, this is a good time to order those spring bulbs and roots planted in the fall.  This includes tulips, daffodils, minor spring bulbs, garlic, rhubarb, peonies, lilies, foxtails, and many more.  All these can be planted when the ground temperature reaches 50 degrees or after the first good freeze (usually in October and as late as November.)  
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    2021 Programs

    WITC Classes
    ​(click here for registration information) 
    All are on Thursday, 10:00 to Noon Webinars

    *Feb 11- Intensive Gardening

    *Mar 4-Mixed Borders

    *Mar 25-Ornamental Edibles
    ​
    ​For more information, please contact me. 

    ​Check out my Garden Course catalog if you are interested in  a presentation to your group - Click Here

    Link to North Country Master Gardener Volunteers' website

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