Gardening for Wildlife

 

Hello Gardeners!

Hope your gardens are full of beautiful flowers and tasty produce!

This is the time of year where we can relax a bit after the gardening frenzy of planting seeds and plants this spring. Of course, the weeds never stop growing, but I find myself able to enjoy my garden more without thinking of all the things I ‘need’ to do.

I appreciate is all the native bees and frogs and toads that visit my garden. Yesterday, I saw some baby toads hoping across one of the paths in my garden. Each one was less than a half inch big and dark in color that blended into the soil. I’m sure their color is a survival technique, but it did make it difficult to walk without stepping on any of them!

If you are interested in encouraging wildlife into your landscape, tune into the next Seed Talk on Tuesday July 12. It will still be via Zoom as during the last Seed Talk I surveyed everyone attending and all of the people preferred a Zoom talk versus an in-person talk. Zoom does have its advantages as you can attend in the comfort of your own home, but it does seem to discourage conversation. Please feel free to participate at the Seed Talks. I’m sure you get tired of hearing my voice all the time!

 

                                                            Upcoming Event:

The next Seed Talk will be Tuesday July 12^th at 6:30 pm via Zoom. This gardening talk is about Gardening for Wildlife. As a hint, Native Plants top the list for what to grow for wildlife! You can register for this Seed Talk via the Ramsey County library web site at: rclreads.org.

 

Grow a Row Project

There are still both peas and beans left for this project! It’s probably too late to plant beans, but you might be able to plant peas for an early fall crop. Peas need to be ready before the first frost which is around October 6^th in the Twin Cities. Peas need around 70 days to harvest, so you could try planting them in early August.

All you need is a 6’ row of space in your garden and be willing to care for a row of peas or beans. Let the pods ripen and dry on the vine and then return the seeds at the end of the season. The seeds, directions and a row marker are all provided.

Seed packets designated as the ‘Grow a Row’ packets are in a box on the Seed Library table at the White Bear Lake library.

Help the Seed Library stock up on these peas and beans.  As we continue to grow these varieties they will become more adapted to do well in our area.

 

Seeds Needed

The White Bear Lake Seed Library drawers are getting empty. Please donate open-pollinated seeds of peas, beans, lettuce, tomatoes or other vegetables or flowers to the seed library. There is a box on the seed library table.

 

Contact info for the Seed Library:

Email: wblseedlibrary@gmail.com

Blog site: WBL Seed Library

 

Pam