Hello Gardeners
I just watched a great film called Kiss the Ground. It is streaming on Netflix now. It is about regenerative farming and how it can help our planet.
But it’s not just for farmers!
The same principals can be used in your garden and yard. Someone referred this wonderful film to me, but at first I was hesitant as I thought maybe it was another doom and gloom environmental documentary, but it isn’t doom and gloom. You will be inspired in a good way after watching this film. If you don’t have Netflix at least watch the trailer on the website and check out the other resources.
You know what one very, very easy thing you can do to help the planet and your own yard?
Compost! Yep, by composting your food scrapes and yard debris you can create what I call Black Gold. To me Black Gold aka compost is as valuable as real gold. Every shovel full of compost contains millions of microorganism that help not only your garden to grow but helps draw down the carbon in our atmosphere. A two for one deal!
For less than $20 you can make your own. You need a roll of poultry fencing and a handful of cheap metal stakes. Form a ¾ circle with the poultry wire whatever size you want. Use the stakes to hold it in place. Dump in your food waste (not meat, bones or fat) and yard debris. Stir and add water occasionally and in a few months you will have wonderful compost to add to your garden.
I admit I’m a lazy gardener. One of my compost bins is made with wire fencing and a couple metal stakes. I dump food and yard waste in it. Because I only turn it once or twice a season it takes a whole season to make my black gold, but then like I said, I’m a lazy gardener.
Here’s a nice timeline of when to start your seeds indoors and when to plant outside:
Check
the new events below for some great classes and webinars.
The next seed pickup will be in a couple weeks or so. Stay tuned for further information.
There are some new seed varieties just added as well as Sugar Ann Snap peas, Avalanche pea pods and Maxi Filet Bush beans.
Seeds lists are posted on the blogsite. Check the right hand side for the seed lists.
Send your request to wblseedlibrary@gmail.com at any time. I will hold your seeds until the next seed pick up.
How to Donate Seeds to the Seed Library
Place dry seeds in a paper envelope with the name of seed, year and location on the envelope. Drop off at a seed pickup or drop off at the curbside pickup area of the White Bear Lake library during open hours.
How to Grow Tomatoes
Seed Talk, April 13, 2021 6:30 pm on Zoom
Learn how to grow tomatoes! This Seed Talk will have two Ramsey County Master Gardeners and tomato enthusiasts to answer all your questions.
As always, seed talks are community get-togethers! Please share you experiences and questions at the seed talk. You must register in advance for this Zoom seed talk.
You must sign up 2 hours in advance so there is time for the facilitator to send you the email to join the meeting.
Upcoming Events and Opportunities
New Bluethumb Events
Learn about creating a bee lawn, how to make your yard more resilient and how to help pollinators in these relevant classes. See the Bluethumb site for more information and to register.
Various dates in March thru May, Cost $5-$15.
Bee Lawns: The Most Popular Turf Alternative
Your “how-to” guide on creating a bee lawn. James Wolfin, an entomologist and Metro Blooms’ sustainable landcare manager, teaches the steps for converting a traditional turf grass monoculture lawn into a beautiful, flowering bee lawn that promotes pollinator health, water quality and natural resource conservation.
Resilient Yards
Join Metro Blooms landscape professionals to develop a framework for understanding resilience. Learn how to create resilience in your yard using site planning, raingardens, alternatives to conventional turf lawns, trees, native plantings and more. Includes one-on-one design assistance for your yard from Metro Blooms landscape designers, Hennepin County Master Gardeners and Master Water Stewards.
Planting for Pollinators
This workshop offers planting practices that benefit pollinators and the environment. Learn about the current health status of pollinators in Minnesota, and how you can help them by installing pocket plantings, trees and shrubs, bee lawns, pollinator meadows, and more! The content is based on the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources’ Lawns to Legumes program supporting residents to create more pollinator-friendly landscapes.
Grow Native! and the Missouri Prairie Foundation
Every Wednesday at 4:00 p.m., participants can learn from a variety of speakers on topics. Speakers include prairie and native plant experts from across the Midwest.
I’ve attended a few of these webinars and they are well done and informative!
Webinars are free, 30-minute programs, with time for questions after the presentations. Master classes are more specialized, with presenters sharing 50-minutes of material, with time for questions after the presentations. Master classes are free to MPF members and Grow Native! professional members, and $15 for non-members. Not a member? Join at moprairie.org/membership/ and attend all master class programming as a benefit of membership. Landscape architect continuing education credits are available for master classes and most webinars.
2021 Webinars and Master Classes:
Mar. 24 - Grow Native! Master Class: Native Shrubs of the Lower Midwest, with Alan Branhagen
Mar. 25 - SWIL’s Nature by Design: Digging in to Your Garden Panel - Part 2
Mar. 31 - Grow Native! Webinar: Reflections on Urban Native Gardening, with Cody Hayo
April 7 - Grow Native! Master Class: Gardening on the Rocks: Scott Woodbury
April 14 - Grow Native! Webinar: Monarch Population Trends, Conservation & Climate Change: Dr. Chip Taylor
Thursday, April 22 - Special Earth Day Webinar: Keeping our Water Healthy: Native Plants and Watersheds Panel
April
28
- MPF
Webinar: Bicycling with Butterflies: Sara Dykman
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Twin Cities Metro Growers Network
All the 2020 virtual meetings and notes are on TC Metro Growers website.
Even
if you are not a farmer, these recording are interesting.
Ramsey County Master Gardener Classes
Many
online classes throughout the winter and spring. See classes.
Friends School Plant sale, May 6-9, 2021
YES! There will be a 2021 Friends School Plant Sale, a fund-raiser for the Friends School of Minnesota, a small Quaker K – 8 school in Saint Paul. This is a REAL event not virtual, but it will work differently than previous years.
Details https://www.friendsschoolplantsale.com/
All plants at the sale are neonic free which means they are safe for pollinators.
See their policy.
Future Seed Talks via Zoom, all at 6:30pm
Apr 13, 2021 Tues How to Grow Tomatoes w/Ramsey master gardeners
May 11, 2021 Tues Garden Design
Contact info for the Seed Library:
Email: wblseedlibrary@gmail.com
Blog site: WBL Seed Library
Pam
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