Hello Gardeners!
I hope your gardens survived the last heat wave and lack of rain. During the rain last Saturday I felt like doing a ‘happy dance’ in celebration! Though the rain was very much welcomed, it still is not enough and next week looks like it will be very hot and we won’t get much needed moisture either.
When you water your gardens try to water early in the morning when the plants will have all day to dry their leaves. Watering in the evening means your plants will go to bed with wet leaves that encourage diseases. (I know that is not always possible due to people’s schedules, but it’s something to strive for.) You can also use soaker hoses or drip lines that keep the moisture on the ground where it is needed and not spraying in the air where much of it evaporates.
If your plants are looking lackluster perhaps it’s time for some fertilizer. Flowers and vegetables grown in pots definitely need a mid-season boost as nutrients are easily washed out of pots, but even in ground plants could use a boost during stressful growing conditions.
Saving Seeds
If you picked up a packet of seeds for the Grow-a-Row project, some of your bean or pea pods may be close to harvesting. Please wait until the pods are brown and dry before picking as the seeds need to stay on the vines until they are dry to be viable.
Even if you didn’t pick up a packet of pea or bean seeds specifically for the Grow-a-Row project, you can still save seeds for yourself or the Seed Library. In fact, the Seed Library needs lots and lots of seeds this fall in order to stock the drawers for next season.
If you are new to saving seeds or want to learn more about this easy way to get free seeds, attend the next Seed Talk on September 13 at 6:30 pm. Right now it is a Zoom meeting, but I’m working on trying to have it both virtual and in person. Many of you have said you prefer an online Seed Talk, but I am guessing some like having an in-person event too. Please let me know your preference via a quick email to wblseedlibrary@gmail.com. I appreciate your comments!
Register for this event at: Saving Seeds Event
There are many other events and resources of interest to gardeners:
WI Hazelnut Week
August 15-20, 2022
Learn. Discover. Get Started.
The 1st Annual Wisconsin Hazelnut Week is being held August 15-20. Find an event nearest to you to learn about hazelnuts, connect with other growers, and get started on your hazelnut enterprise. All events are free and open to the public, but registration is required
For More Information and to REGISTER
Watch the Hazelnut Week Trailer to Preview the Events
Event Schedule
Monday, Aug 15 - Hazelnut 101 Webinar
Thursday, Aug 18 - American Hazelnut Company Field Day, La Crosse, WI
Friday, Aug 19 - Central Wisconsin Growers Cluster Field Day, Amherst, WI
Saturday, Aug 20 - Northern Wisconsin Field Day, Ashland/Bayfield, WI
Saturday, Aug 20 - Southern Wisconsin Field Day, Spring Green/Barneveld, WI
Jason Fischbach, UW-Extension Emerging Crops Specialist:
Garden Tool Sharpening
July 30th, 5-6 pm at Jack’s Hardware and Farm Supply, Minneapolis
In the first of Jack’s Home Maintenance Workshops, participants will learn how to sharpen, oil, and maintain their garden tools. Shears, loppers, pruners, shovels, and other garden implements will be covered.
Please email questions about this workshop to services@jacksfarmsupply.com
Ian Sorlie is our resident Shop Manager. In addition to over 12 years of experience in the retail hardware business, he also is a graphic designer and fine artist. In his free time he loves to see live music and is a passionate vegan cook.
Register here
Minnesota Arboretum Fall Classes
Classes range from Chinese Garden Design, Climate Ready Gardening, Minnesota Plants, Stone Sculptures for your Garden, and more.
Register here.
Feeding the World: Localism, Ecological Resilience, and Farmer Agency
The widespread narrative on why we’re experiencing a food crisis is that it is because of high fuel and fertilizer prices, the disruption in market chains caused by the war in Ukraine, and lingering COVID impacts. But that’s not the whole story. When there is a food crisis, the common narrative is that increasing productivity is the answer and that global agribusinesses and global markets can meet these needs.
This “feed the world” narrative has been adopted by the media, businesses, and even American farmers who take pride in the idea that they are solving a world food crisis. But what we are seeing is not a food-shortage crisis. Rather, it is a structural problem of our food system that has resulted in high food prices.
In this episode of Voices from the Field, NCAT Agriculture Specialists Nina Prater and Lee Rinehart compare the “feed the world” narrative to another narrative centered around “food sovereignty” and discuss what farmers, organizations, and governments can do to enable communities to achieve that sovereignty.
Free podcast ATTRA podcast
Contact info for the Seed Library:
Email: wblseedlibrary@gmail.com
Blog site: WBL Seed Library
Pam
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