Hello
Gardeners
Here
are some raingarden links I talked about at the last Seed Talk.
Raingarden Links
To
find your watershed district go to the following website and click on the map
at your location:
Watershed
districts do not follow city boundaries. For example, White Bear Lake is in 4
watershed districts.
A
good place to start to learn about rain gardens is the Blue Thumb website:
Many
of you are probably in the Rice Creek Watershed District:
Almost
all the watershed districts have a grant program for homeowners and
organizations. The grants range from $500 and up depending on the project. You
must apply for the grant before purchasing any plants or supplies. The grants
usually don’t apply to labor costs. The RCWD has $10,000 worth of grants
available in 2019. Go to your watersheds website and follow the directions to
apply for a grant.
Misc
I
added some bean, cilantro, marigold and double pink poppy seeds to the seed
library.
The
Ramsey County Master Gardeners have many classes scheduled May-September. Find info on classes and to register: www.ramseymastergardeners.org
I also added a plant sale event by the Big
River Big Woods Wild Ones chapter on May 27.
Plant a Row
Please
consider planting an extra row of peas or beans or a couple extra plants of
lettuce or tomatoes to harvest the seeds for the Seed Library. The Seed Library
depends on community donations to keep providing seeds.
EVENTS:
May 18 – Ramsey County Master Gardeners Plant Sale,
8 am-2pm, “The Barn”, 2020 White Bear Ave, Maplewood, MN
Sale
of plants not treated with neonics. Proceeds benefit the Master Gardener
program.
May 18 – Seed Your
Dreams - Como Community Seed Library Gathering
11am-2pm,
Historic Como Streetcar Station, 1224 Lexington Pkwy N., Saint Paul 55117
Yes,
we can finally believe Spring is here! And with that it’s time to exchange our
excess seeds, plants (perennial divides and plant starts) and extra,
serviceable garden hand tools with our neighbors at the Como Community Seed
Library’s annual gardener gathering. Join for all the family fun, art making,
bee finding etc. Volunteer and receive a
thank you for your generosity. See: https://comoseedsavers.geopoi.us/
May 26 – Big River
Big Woods Wild Ones Plant sale, Noon
– 3 pm, Muriel
Sahlin Arboretum, 2525 North Dale St., Roseville, MN 5511
Native
plants grown by members of the Wild Ones chapter are available for sale.
Jun 1 – Landscape Revival Plant sale, 9:00
am - 1:00 pm, Shepherd of the Hills Church,
3920 Victoria St N, Shoreview, Minnesota (MN) 55126
3920 Victoria St N, Shoreview, Minnesota (MN) 55126
The
Shoreview Native Plant Expo and Market offers gardeners one convenient location to
shop for Minnesota native plants from 6 local native growers and learn how to
use the plants from conservation organizations. The goal of Landscape Revival
is to promote the use of native plants by educating about their benefits for
wildlife habitat, pollinators, water quality and landscape diversity. Plants
sold at the sale are neonic free.
Jun 9 – Landscape Revival Plant Sale, 9:00
am - 1:00 pm, Oakdale City Hall, 1584 Hadley Ave N, Oakdale, MN 55128
The
Oakdale Native Plant Expo and Market offers gardeners one convenient location to
shop for Minnesota native plants from 6 local native growers and learn how to
use the plants from conservation organizations. The goal of Landscape Revival
is to promote the use of native plants by educating about their benefits for
wildlife habitat, pollinators, water quality and landscape diversity. Plants
sold at the sale are neonic free.
*Why is neonic free a
good thing?
Neonicotinoids
are a widely used family of insecticides which adversely impact pollinators as
well a song birds and aquatic invertebrates. One problem with neonics is that
they persist in the plant and the soil for many years. The Friends School Plant
sale has an excellent webpage on this topic here: http://www.friendsschoolplantsale.com/blog/post/neonics
