WBL Seed Library: Happy Unoffical Start of Summer

Hello Gardeners

Happy unofficial start of summer!

I have placed a lot more vegetable and flower seeds in the seed library. If you are home this weekend, I hope you get some time to plant in your garden. At least Saturday looks like perfect weather for outdoor activities.

There are now plenty of peas, lettuce, green beans, basil, dill, cilantro, kale, swiss chard, spinach, cucumber, radish, beet, summer squash, melons, carrots, rutabaga, microgreens and pumpkin seeds. As well as lots of marigold, morning glory, cosmos, calendula, angel trumpet, hollyhocks, oxalis bulbs and blackberry lily seeds.

Thank you to all who helped package seeds this spring! Later this summer and fall I’ll start packaging native plant seeds. Look for an email in a couple months asking for volunteers to help.

Locally Harvested Seeds

Many of the seeds, especially native plant seeds, are labelled ‘locally harvested’ or ‘locally grown’. These are great seeds as these seeds are more acclimated to our environment. Commercial seeds could have come from anywhere in the United States. For example; plants grown in Texas have significantly different growing conditions than plants grown in Minnesota. So you can understand why I encourage you to save seeds from the plants you grow. There is a caveat though. I only want seeds that are ‘easy to save’. What does that mean?

It doesn’t mean the seeds are easy to remove from the fruit or seed head of the plant. It dose means seeds from the plant are less likely to have been cross-pollinated and therefore the seeds from the plant will likely have the same traits (color of flower, hardiness, height, etc.) as the original plant. Easy to save seeds are those that are either self-pollinating or do not cross-pollinate easily. This includes; tomatoes, beans, peas, lettuce and native plants. As long as the original plant of these types was not a hybrid variety, the seeds from them will be great to save.

Bring any seeds (open-pollinated) you harvested to donate to the seed library! I’d love to get some tomatoes, lettuce, beans and peas you grew in your garden!

When should I start seeds?

Some seeds need to be started indoors now, such as peppers, tomatoes and eggplant. See this guide from the University of MN extension start seeds.

Some seeds like cool weather such as lettuce, peas, cabbage and onions. Other vegetables like it warm such as tomato and pepper transplants, squash and basil. Then there are tender crops such as cucumbers and pumpkins which need to be protected from late freezes. See a guide to starting vegetable seeds outdoors outdoor vegetables.

Plant Sales:

Big River, Big Woods Wild Ones Plant Sale

**Deadline Extended and New Plants Available!

Native wildflowers, ferns, sedges and grasses are available as 3-packs, 1 gallon pots, 2 gallon pots and 4 inch pots. Trees and shrubs are available in 1 gallon, 2 gallon, and 5 gallon pots.

This year we also have pre-designed garden packs such as butterfly, monarch, hummingbird and bee packs that help these pollinators.

Orders taken now until May 31 online at plant sale. The pick-up location will be in Arden Hills, close to the Mounds View High School. The address will be included in the confirmation email.

Plant Sale deadlines:

** Deadline has been extended to May 31! - Order deadline: last day to place your order.
Saturday, June 8, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. - Day to pick up your plant orders.
Sunday, June 9, noon to 3 p.m. - Day to pick up your plant orders.

Additional plants will be available from the vendors on June 8 & 9.

Landscape Revival – Saturday June 1, 9 am – 1 pm

Rockpoint Church, 5825 Kelvin Ave N, Lake Elmo, MN 55042

Sponsored by the St. Paul Audubon Society.

Market: Purchase MN native plants from multiple growers. No cultivars or systemic insecticides. Includes native plant growers from around the Twin Cities are surrounding areas that will have native plants in all sizes for sale. Cash or check preferred. Also there will be a Food Truck.

Expo: Learn to select and grow native plants for pollinators, wildlife, and water quality. Visit with educators and experts from conservation and environmental organizations. Get your landscaping questions answered.

For more information: Landscape Revival

Local Greenhouses and Nurseries

As a request from our volunteers I am adding a list of various local greenhouses or garden centers that sell plants. Many of these establishments do not use neonicotinoids on their plants that they grow. But the buyer should beware: they may sell plants that were grown previously at a different wholesaler which did use systemic pesticides. You should ask the growers at these establishments whether neonics were used on the plants you wish to purchase.

Neonicotinoids or ‘neonics’ are a systemic pesticides used on plants to kill insects. Unfortunately, these insecticides also harm pollinators as the insecticide gets into all parts of the plant including the pollen and nectar.

The only way to be sure a plant has not been treated with neonics is to buy certified organic seed and grow it yourself, or buy a certified organically grown plant.

More information here.

Goldman’s Greenhouse – East Bethel, MN

Website: Goldman's

Outback Nursery – Hastings, MN

Seller of Minnesota native trees, shrubs and perennials.

Website: Outback

Prairie Moon Nursery – Winona, MN and order online

They have hundreds of varieties of native plant seeds, plants and bare root stock.

Website: Prairiemoon

Prairie Restorations – Scandia, MN

Seller of Minnesota native plants.

Website: Prairieresto