Hello Gardeners
As we’re waiting for the weather to make up its mind about whether it is winter or spring, you may want to attend some great events coming up:
Sparky Stensaas Author talk
March 20, Thursday 9:30am-12. At Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3770 Bellaire Avenue | White Bear Lake, MN 55110 (9:30 coffee, 10:00 devotions and program)
Join Minnesota naturalist, SPARKY STENSAAS, author, publisher and wildlife photographer on his forays to photograph birds, mammals, and everything natural. As the founder and & Executive Director at Friends of the Sax-Zim Bog, a jewel of place to find northern owls and finches in winter and warblers and other boreal birds in summer, Sparky will introduce us to the “magic mix” of habitats that attract a unique array of species not found in other parts of the United States.
Sparky is a very entertaining speaker and well- known in the birding community as he is the author of many books about the natural world. He will also be bringing some of his books for sale. You won’t want to miss this amazing photographer and naturalist!
COST: A freewill offering covers costs of speakers and expenses
HOW TO SIGN UP: Signup at the Redeemer Welcome Center or call the church office. Register between February 23 and March 16, 2025. Call 651- 429-5411
Note: Sparky Stensaas wrote the wonderful Wildflowers of the BWCA and North Shore field guide .
Designing Gardens with Native and Non-native Plants for Climate Action
March 22, Saturday 11:00 am at Bruentrup Heritage Farm, 2170 Cty Rd D East, Maplewood, MN 55109
With a background in 19th century Agrarian Technology and Rural and Agricultural Organizations and Movements, “Farmer T.J.” – as his former students call him – is the executive director of the Maplewood Historical Society located at Bruentrup Farm. He is a passionate advocate for sustainability and environmental stewardship with a deep-rooted love for nature. This is a live, in-person event with treats! Zoom option also available.
More information at Climate Action
Intro to Small Scale Homesteading
April 14, Monday, 6:30-8pm at the White Bear Lake library.
Learn how to do more with whatever space you have!
Michelle Bruhn and Stephanie Thurow, local co-authors of the book, Small-Scale Homesteading will dig into the basics and benefits of modern day homesteading skills like backyard chicken keeping, maple tree tapping, food preservation, gardening and more.
I’ll be there from 5:30-6:30 pm with information about the seed library.
This is a free event, but please register at register
Basics of Seed Starting
Here’s a quick overview of the steps to starting seeds indoors.
How to Start Seeds Indoors
The last email I sent I wrote about planning your seed starting adventure. Today I’ll tackle how to actually start seeds indoors. Here are some dates you’ll need to plan your start date for seeds:
May 10 – there’s a 50% chance of frost on this date
May 25 – there’s only a 10% chance of frost on this date
Most seed packets will tell you to start certain seeds nn number weeks before average last date of frost. You can use the May 10th date and count backwards the number of weeks. So, for example,
Tomatoes – start 4-6 weeks before average last date of frost means start sometime between March 29 – April12.
Peppers – start 6-8 weeks before average last date of frost means start sometime between March 15- March 29.
Annuals and herbs – start 4-12 weeks before average last date of frost, depending on the type of plant, means start sometime between Feb 15 – April 12.
Of course, you can start your seeds earlier, but it means you may have to transplant them more often, pay for more weeks of artificial light and risk growing tall, leggy plants which do poorly once outside.
Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants you need to start indoors as they have a longer growing season than what we have in Minnesota. Other vegetables fall somewhere between starting early to produce an earlier crop to direct sowing seeds in the garden at appropriate times. Please check the seed packet or look online using one of the resources at the end of this email for specifics for each type of plant.
Here are some basic steps to get your seeds started:
1. Prepare trays or small pots with soil, either seed starting soil or other potting soil.
2. Plant seeds, using the depth recommended on packet. Many seeds need light to germinate or are very tiny, so they only are placed on the surface.
3. Water gently. A spray bottle is a good choice as it won’t wash away your seeds.
4. Cover with a clear plastic cover or plastic wrap to hold in moisture.
5. Place under grow lights for about 12 hours per day.
6. Examine everyday and water if needed to keep evenly moist.
7. Once seedlings emerge, remove clear cover so plants aren’t too moist to prevent damping off or other fungal diseases.
8. Transplant to a larger container after each seedling has 2 sets of true leaves. Cotyledons or ‘seed leaves’ are not true leaves. They are part of the seed which provides food for the growing plant.
9. Continue to provide 12-16 hours of light, but not more as plants need darkness as well to grow. Keep the lights close to the plants to help prevent tall, leggy plants. You want short, stocky plants which will grow better outside.
10. Some seedlings grow fast and will need to be transplanted again into larger containers. Especially plants, such as tomatoes, will probably need a second transplanting. I also provide my plants with artificial wind via a small fan that circulates the air around the plants. Not only does it help prevent diseases it helps the stems grow stronger.
11. Once, the temperatures are warm enough for the little plant to be outside (peppers, tomatoes and eggplants need day and nighttime temperatures at least 50+ degrees) start to harden off your seedlings. This involves bringing your plants outside in a sheltered location for a few hours every day. Start with 1-2 hours and slowly add time each day. Bring them in after their time outside or if it storms or is very windy. You may think this is not an important step, but if you take your little plants from their spa-like conditions inside and plant them outside without this gradual hardening off, they will suffer a major setback or even die in the cold, cruel real world!
12. Water immediately after transplanting and continue to water every day for a week or two as needed to keep the root area moist until the plant is established.
13. Mulch around each plant with hay, straw, newspapers or other biodegradable mulch. Mulch helps retain water and prevent weeds.
14. Continue to water and weed as necessary. And most of all—enjoy your harvest!
SEED DONATIONS NEEDED!
The WBL seed library is a “self-serve’ seed library, but it is not “self-replenishing”!
Though I received many, many packets of commercial seeds, I am missing locally grown seeds of tomatoes, beans, peas, lettuce and annuals. These are actually better than commercial seeds as locally harvested seeds have grown in our environment and will likely produce a better crop than seeds grown in other locations across the United States.
If you saved any open pollinated (not hybrid) varieties of tomato, bean, peas, lettuce, annuals or native plant seeds, please drop them off at the seed library table in the plastic bin.
Upcoming Events:
See above.
Resources:
https://joegardener.com/podcasts/ - Joe Gardener website has lots of basic info on growing plants as well as information on other garden topic. The podcasts usually last about an hour, or you can read the text online.
https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden - The University of Minnesota’s website on everything about your yard and garden. How to grow information as well as problems with pests and diseases.
https://www.growyourownfeast.com/vegetable-gardening-by-state/vegetable-gardening-in-minnesota/ - Lots of great information on when, what and how to grow vegetables in Minnesota.
https://www.prairiemoon.com/ - Prairie Moon Nursery is all about native plants! Find seed, plant and bare root plants as well as information about how to grow Minnesota natives.
Reward Time
As a reward for reading this entire email I’ll leave you with two ‘Dad Jokes’ provided to me by one of our community gardeners.
What did the fan wildflower say to the famous actor flower?
- I’m wild about you
What do you get if you cross a bike and a flower?
- Bicycle petals
Pam
Contact info for the Seed Library:
Email: wblseedlibrary@gmail.com
Blog site: WBL Seed Library
