Hello
Gardeners
This
is one of my favorite times of the year. My perennials are starting to poke out
of the ground, trees and shrubs are leafing, my daffodils and crocus are
blooming and Mama rabbit reared a nest of baby bunnies IN my garden!
Over
a week ago, I thought I’d remove some of the thick layer of leaves in my front
garden and I was surprised to find a nest of baby bunnies! I quickly covered up
the nest and hoped I didn’t disturb it so much that the Mama bunny would not
come back, but I saw that she did. I checked on the nest yesterday and the
babies were gone. I spotted one shy baby hopping in my yard yesterday for a few
minutes before hiding under a tree.
I
have a love/hate relationship with bunnies. They sure are cute, especially when
they are little. And, of course, they have just as much right to be in my yard
as I do, but I would prefer that they stay out of my garden as they can mow
down a row of peas quicker that you can plant them. The babies haven’t decided
what they like to eat yet, so they try everything green.
My
preferred method of keeping bunnies away from my perennials and vegetables is a
good fence, but I take down the fence around my garden by my front door during
the winter as it impedes removal of snow. Mama rabbit apparently thought that
would be a good place for her nest as it is a protected area. Now that she and
her babies are gone, the fence is back up to keep her and her offspring away
from my garden.
Another
favorite of Spring is the plant sales around town. I listed some of the ones nearby
further down in this email.
Three Ring Binders on
Seed Table
In
case you haven’t looked at the two three-ring binders on the seed library
table, I’d like to bring them to your attention. One binder has flowers both
annual and native plants. Each entry has a photo and growing information. The other binder has general information
about saving seeds and information on how to grow common vegetables. Most of
the entries in these binders were prepared by volunteers who use the seed
library.
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 does 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.
Don’t
be fooled by our warm winter—the average date of last frost is still May 10th
in the Twin Cities area.
Plant Sales:
Big River, Big Woods
Wild Ones Plant Sale
WHEN:
Saturday,
May 31st, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM and
Sunday, June 1st, Noon - 3:00 PM
WHERE: 3974 Fairview Ave N in Arden Hills, MN, 55112.
There will be over 50 types of wildflowers, ferns, sedges, and grasses as well
as pre-made pollinator flats. There will also be varieties of tree and shrub
seedlings supportive of pollinators and birds.
This year is first come, first serve, with 3-packs and 6-packs at discount.
Northern Holler Nursery and Gardens will again be on site, with pre-orders
possible (see their website).
Pricing
for 3-packs and 6-packs
Forb/flower/grasses
– 3-pack: $8, 6-pack: $15
Sedges
– 3-pack: $9, 6-pack: $16
Ferns
– 3-pack: $10
The
list of plants available can be found on their website.
Friends School Plant
Sale – May 9, 10, 11, 2025 at the State fair grounds.
They
have over 2,100 varieties of plants (vegetables, herbs, flowers, fruit, trees,
perennials, etc.) all grown neonics free. Neonicotinoids are systemic
insecticides that harm pollinators. See info about this here.
Friends
School sale information can be found here
AFSA School Plant Sale
– May 8-10, 2025 at AFSA High School
100
Vadnais Blvd, Vadnais Heights, MN 55127
Plant
Sale Hours: Thr: May 8th 3:30 - 6:00 p.m., Fri: May 9th 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Sat:
May 10th 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
AFSA's
plant sale is held in the greenhouse at the high school. The sale is the
largest fundraiser the school holds each year. The profits from this sale go to
support a variety of FFA activities at the school.
All
the plants are grown by AFSA students in our greenhouse. We grow a wide variety
of annuals, herbs, tomatoes, and peppers. We take - Cash, Check and Credit
Cards.
More
information here.
Anoka County Master
Gardener sale – May 13, 2025 9am – 7 pm
Anoka County
Fairgrounds 3200 Saint Francis Boulevard Northwest Anoka, MN, 55303
Join us for one of Anoka County’s best kept
secrets—our annual Master Gardener Plant sale! Select from thousands of unique
plants—perennials, annuals, herbs, vegetables, trees/shrubs and more! All
plants are of the highest quality and affordable prices that can’t be beat.
There’s no better place to stock up for the coming growing season!
More
information Anoka
County MG
Ramsey County Master
Gardener sale – May 17, 2025
Ramsey County Master Gardeners are hosting their
annual plant sale on Saturday, May 17, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Aldrich Arena,
1850 White Bear Ave, Maplewood.
The sale includes a large selection of native
plants, vegetables, favorite and unique varieties of tomatoes, herbs, annual
and perennial flowers, houseplants, quality garden gloves, and other great
items to get your garden growing strong. Funds raised support Master
Gardener community and youth education programs in Ramsey County. Cash, checks
and credit cards accepted.
For more information, visit www.RamseyMasterGardeners.org/plantsale.
Landscape Revival –
Saturday June 7, 9 am – 1 pm
Rockpoint
Church, 5825 Kelvin Ave N, Lake Elmo, MN 55042
Sponsored by the St. Paul Bird Alliance
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.
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
Time
for a funny:
What
is a bee’s favorite flower?
A
Bee-gonia.
How
do two flowers greet each other?
Hey,
bud, how’s it growing?
Pam
Contact
info for the Seed Library:
Email:
wblseedlibrary@gmail.com
Blog
site: WBL Seed Library
