Seed packaging, Saturday Dec 6th, 10:30-12:30

 

Hello Gardeners

Welcome to winter! Time to put away the gardening tools and maybe update your garden journal with some words on how your gardening went this year while sitting inside having a warm cup of coffee or tea. Maybe you don’t have a garden journal? Though you might think that is just one more thing I have to do, it actually would help you be more efficient in your garden. By noting what worked and what didn’t, helps you to not make the same mistake twice or try more of something that worked.

You can buy a special journal just for your garden notes or use what I use, a spiral notebook I get for cheap during back-to-school sales. Put in a quick sketch of your vegetable garden to help you plan crop rotation for the next growing season. Also, add what varieties you planted and whether they are tasty and how they grew. I love Sunshine kabocha squash and I’ve tried several locations trying to find the best for my garden, but alas, I’ve only managed to get 2 squashes no matter where I grow them. I think next year I’ll skip the squash and try something else.

 

Seed Packaging – Saturday, Dec 6^th, 10:30 -12:30

The next seed packaging is this Saturday, Dec 6 at the White Bear Library Lion’s Den conference room. No experience necessary. Come join your fellow gardeners as we package more native plant and other seeds for the seed library.

*Note: We are now in questionable weather season. If there is snow or ice which makes it a difficult commute to the library, I will reschedule the seed packaging. I will notify the library if I do so.  If you think it may be canceled, please call the library at: 651-724-6007. I have found trying to send out an email at the last minute seldom works the way I want it to, so don’t depend on that for knowing if the event is canceled.

Also, if you would rather package seeds at home, send me an email and will make up a bag of seeds and supplies you can pick up at the library.

Email: wblseedlibrary@gmail.com

 

I have updated the online list of native plant seeds at the library. Note that this is a constantly changing list and was only accurate at the date listed at the top of the document.

 You can access at: native plant list

 

An Act Locally Opportunity!

Now is a great time to harvest most seeds as long as their seed heads or pods are dry. Yes, you can do this even in the winter! The seed library would love any native plant seeds or non-hybrid seeds from peas, beans, lettuce or tomatoes.

Though the seed library gets donations of commercial seed packets, I especially like getting locally grown seeds. These locally grown seeds have started adapting to our local environment and in time will grow better than produce, flowers and seeds from plants grown elsewhere in the country.

 

Pam

 

Local Greenhouses and Nurseries

As a request from our volunteers, I am adding a list of various local greenhouses or garden centers that sell plants. Many of these establishments do not use neonicotinoids on their plants that they grow. But the buyer should beware: they may sell plants that were grown previously at a different wholesaler which did use systemic pesticides. You should ask the growers at these establishments whether neonics were used on the plants you wish to purchase.

Neonicotinoids or ‘neonics’ are a systemic pesticides used on plants to kill insects. Unfortunately, these insecticides also harm pollinators as the insecticide gets into all parts of the plant including the pollen and nectar.

The only way to be sure a plant has not been treated with neonics is to buy certified organic seed and grow it yourself, or buy a certified organically grown plant.

More information here.

 

Goldman’s Greenhouse – East Bethel, MN

Website: Goldman's

 

MNL – Ecological restoration and native species landscaping, retail and whole sale seeds.  Website: MNL

 

Outback Nursery – Hastings, MN

Seller of Minnesota native trees, shrubs and perennials.

Website: Outback

 

Prairie Moon Nursery – Winona, MN and order online

They have hundreds of varieties of native plant seeds, plants and bare root stock.

Website: Prairiemoon

 

Prairie Restorations – Scandia, MN

Seller of Minnesota native plants.

Website: Prairieresto

 

 

Contact info:

Email: wblseedlibrary@gmail.com

Website: https://wblseedlibrary.blogspot.com/

Don't Rake, Add Soft Landings Instead

 

Hello Gardeners

 

Have you heard the term ‘soft landings’?

Soft landings are diverse native plantings under keystone trees (or any other regionally appropriate native tree). These plantings provide critical shelter and habitat for one or more life cycle stages of moths, butterflies, and beneficial insects such as bumble bees, fireflies, lacewings, and beetles. In addition to plants, soft landings also include leaf litter, duff, and plant debris. -Heather Holm, see: Soft Landings

Many of you know that it isn’t necessary to rake the leaves off your lawn. A quick mowing without bagging with your lawn mower is beneficial as the chopped up dried leaves decompose and add nutrients to your lawn. But you can go a step further by providing soft landings under your trees which supports hundreds of insects and pollinators.

A recently published study, Removing autumn leaves in residential yards reduces the spring emergence of overwintering insects, found that in a one square meter of ground where the leaves were not removed, that 2,000 insects emerged from a period of March thru June. These were just butterflies and moths, beneficial parasitic wasps, spiders, beetles and flies. These are insects that help feed birds and reptiles, pollinate plants, and help keep non-beneficial insects in check. When the leaves were removed, they saw a decrease of 45% of emerging insects. Think about it—over 2,000 beneficial insects made their home in only a square meter!  

The highlights of this study are:

-Autumn leaf raking decreased the abundance of spring emerging arthropods by 17 %.

-Raking leaves reduced Lepidoptera species richness by 40 % and abundance by 45 %.

-Raking changed the composition of Lepidoptera and parasitic wasp communities.

-Leaf mining moths and their associated parasitic wasps were most adversely affected.

-Retaining leaves supports arthropods in both high and low maintenance yard areas.

 I encourage you to rethink how you ‘clean up’ your yard this fall. There’s a popular saying, ‘Think Globally, Act Locally’. Think globally by helping insects and other animals, including humans. Act locally, by providing soft landings and not maintaining a pristine lawn (and saving yourself some work).

 

 

Another Act Locally Opportunity!

Now is a great time to harvest most seeds as long as their seed heads or pods are dry. The seed library would love any native plant seeds or non-hybrid seeds from peas, beans, lettuce or tomatoes.

Though the seed library gets donations of commercial seed packets, I especially like getting locally grown seeds. These locally grown seeds have started adapting to our local environment and in time will grow better than produce, flowers and seeds from plants grown elsewhere in the country.

Future seed packaging events will be coming soon. We are now at the ‘possible questionable driving weather’ time of the year, so I will be trying for a Saturday date. I’ll send out an email when it is scheduled.

Pam

 

Local Greenhouses and Nurseries

As a request from our volunteers, I am adding a list of various local greenhouses or garden centers that sell plants. Many of these establishments do not use neonicotinoids on their plants that they grow. But the buyer should beware: they may sell plants that were grown previously at a different wholesaler which did use systemic pesticides. You should ask the growers at these establishments whether neonics were used on the plants you wish to purchase.

Neonicotinoids or ‘neonics’ are a systemic pesticides used on plants to kill insects. Unfortunately, these insecticides also harm pollinators as the insecticide gets into all parts of the plant including the pollen and nectar.

The only way to be sure a plant has not been treated with neonics is to buy certified organic seed and grow it yourself, or buy a certified organically grown plant.

More information here.

 

Goldman’s Greenhouse – East Bethel, MN

Website: Goldman's

 

MNL – Ecological restoration and native species landscaping, retail and whole sale seeds.  Website: MNL

 

Outback Nursery – Hastings, MN

Seller of Minnesota native trees, shrubs and perennials.

Website: Outback

 

Prairie Moon Nursery – Winona, MN and order online

They have hundreds of varieties of native plant seeds, plants and bare root stock.

Website: Prairiemoon

 

Prairie Restorations – Scandia, MN

Seller of Minnesota native plants.

Website: Prairieresto

 

 

Contact info:

Email: wblseedlibrary@gmail.com

Website: https://wblseedlibrary.blogspot.com/

Correction: Seed Packaging on Monday, September 22!

My Sincere apologizes!
The date for the Seed Packaging is Monday, September 22, 2025 from 6-8 pm.

I so sorry for anyone who came tonight!

Pam  

Seed Packaging Monday, September 22, 6-8 pm

 

Hello Gardeners

Hope you are experiencing lots of vegetables, herbs and flowers! During this last cold spell my houseplants, that were enjoying their summer vacation, outside had to be brought into the garage at night, but now we should be back to some warmer days and nights.

As it is now September this means we are transitioning from the growing season to the harvesting season. There is still plenty of time to harvest tomatoes, squash and many other vegetables, but soon you will be able to harvest the seeds from these plants as well as seed from herbs and native plants.

I have many native plant seeds already that need to be packaged for the seed library and need volunteers to help package them.

 

Seed Packaging Event!

 

Monday, September 8, 2025, from 6-8 pm

White Bear Lake Library, Lion’s Den Conference Room

Free, no experience required, no registration required

Fun and easy to do

Enjoy conversing with your fellow gardeners!

 

Hope to see you there!

Pam

 

Events

There are several free events sponsored by the Rice Creek Watershed District held at the White Bear Center for the Arts:

Turning the Tide: Art and Action: Sept 19, 9am-4pm

No Dig + Hugelkutur Gardening: September 23, 6:30-8pm

Matrix Garden Design: Dec 12, 3-5pm

Registration and more information at: Register

 

 

Local Greenhouses and Nurseries

As a request from our volunteers, I am adding a list of various local greenhouses or garden centers that sell plants. Many of these establishments do not use neonicotinoids on their plants that they grow. But the buyer should beware: they may sell plants that were grown previously at a different wholesaler which did use systemic pesticides. You should ask the growers at these establishments whether neonics were used on the plants you wish to purchase.

Neonicotinoids or ‘neonics’ are a systemic pesticides used on plants to kill insects. Unfortunately, these insecticides also harm pollinators as the insecticide gets into all parts of the plant including the pollen and nectar.

The only way to be sure a plant has not been treated with neonics is to buy certified organic seed and grow it yourself, or buy a certified organically grown plant.

More information here.

 

Goldman’s Greenhouse – East Bethel, MN

Website: Goldman's

 

Outback Nursery – Hastings, MN

Seller of Minnesota native trees, shrubs and perennials.

Website: Outback

 

Prairie Moon Nursery – Winona, MN and order online

They have hundreds of varieties of native plant seeds, plants and bare root stock.

Website: Prairiemoon

 

Prairie Restorations – Scandia, MN

Seller of Minnesota native plants.

Website: Prairieresto

 

 

Contact info for the White Bear Lake Seed Library:

Email: wblseedlibrary@gmail.com

Website: https://wblseedlibrary.blogspot.com/