Hello Gardeners!
My thoughts are constantly on the weather lately—will it rain?
So far not enough rain and my poor plants are thirsty. I have been watering my gardens somewhat, but now I have turned to some of my tress. You may think your tree roots go down deep enough that they will be fine during a drought, but most of the roots that take up water are located in the top few inches of the soil and that soil is bone dry!
Most tree roots are in the top 6-18 inches of soil and spread out horizontally. Many trees have roots that spread out way past the dripline. Also the top 6-18 inches is where the nutrients are for your trees. A tree can survive water stress but it may be compromised for fighting insects or disease and come this winter it may not have stored enough nutrients to survive.
One of the best ways to water your trees is to turn on the hose with just a small stream of water and place the hose at the dripline of your tree. Let is sit there for at least 30 minutes to soak the ground. Then move it a quarter of the way around the tree and let it soak again. Continue until you have soaked the entire circumference of your tree. Placing the hose right up by the trunk is not as helpful as there are more roots right under the dripline than by the trunk.
Seed Talk – Without Good Soil All You Have is Dirt
Tuesday August 10th, 2021, 6:30 pm via Zoom
Do you know the difference between dirt and soil?
This Seed Talk is all about improving the soil your plants depend on. The number one thing you can do to improve your garden is provide well-structured soil with ample nutrients for your plants to grow in. It's easy and guaranteed to provide better results. Fall is a great time to start improving your garden soil so it's more than just dirt.
Seed Talks are community events where everyone can participate! Please feel free to share your experiences with soil improvement. Questions and answers welcomed by everyone.
Seed Talk via Zoom. You must register at least 3 hours prior to the event via Seed Talk.
!! Time to Start Saving Seeds !!
The seed library is short on tomato and native plant seeds. This is a great time to start saving tomato seeds as you probably have harvested some tomatoes already.
To save tomato seeds, scoop out the seeds and pulp and place them in a glass. Add water to cover and let sit for a few days. Drain off the pulp and non-viable seeds that have floated to the top. Place the seeds that sank to the bottom on a ceramic plate to dry. When the seeds have dried, put them in an envelope labelled with the name of the tomato, the date and location. Please consider donated any extras to the seed library. Only donate non-hybrid seeds to the Seed Library.
The seed library needs native plants this year! Most native plants won’t have seeds ready for harvesting until later this fall, but please make a mental note to save some for the seed library.
The Seed Talk on September 14 is all about how to save seeds, both vegetable and native plants. If you grew a row for the seed library, let the pods dry on the vine before harvesting.
Where are the seeds?
Since the end of June the seed drawers and catalogs are back at the White Bear Lake library. You can access the seed packets during regular library hours. The Seed Library table is to the right as you come through the double doors. (White Bear Lake library, 2150 2nd St, White Bear Lake; M: 10-8, T, W: 1-8, Th, F, Sa: 10-5)
I must apologize as not all the seeds are in packets and the catalogs are not fully updated. Since March 2020 I have mostly packaged seeds as they were requested. You can find the current list of available seeds on the Seed Library website at Seed Library site. Or a less than current paper list on the Seed Library table in the library.
If you can’t find the seeds you’re looking for please let me know via email: wblseedlibrary@gmail.com and I’ll get you the seeds if they are available.
The membership forms are back at the library’s main desk too. Again, I apologize as I did not update your membership form if you requested/donated seeds this last year. (It really was too much to do.) If you are new to the White Bear Lake Seed Library, the membership form is a means to find out the general location of people using the seed library and for you to let me know your email address. You can let me know if you want to be on the seed library’s email list to be informed of events and other cool stuff related to gardening. I never give out your email address to anyone.
Volunteer Opportunity
Help package seeds for the seed library. If interested, send me an email and I’ll get you seeds, supplies and instructions. You package the seeds and return them to the seed library table.
Summer is usually a slow time for the seed library, so it is easier for me to hand out envelopes of seeds for others to package as I don’t have to worry about someone requesting a seed variety I handed to someone else to package.
How to Donate Seeds to the Seed Library
The seed library welcomes seed donations of hon-hybrid, non-cross-pollinated seeds. Place dry seeds in a paper envelope with the name of seed, year and location on the envelope. Drop off in the bin on the seed library table in the library during open hours.
Upcoming Events and Opportunities
Future Seed Talks via Zoom, all at 6:30pm
Sep 14, 2021 Tues – How to Save Seeds
Learn how to save vegetable, herb and native plant seeds to use for future seasons.
Contact info for the Seed Library:
Email: wblseedlibrary@gmail.com
Blog site: WBL Seed Library
Pam
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