New Native Plant Seeds in the Seed Library

Wednesday I stocked the Seed Library with over 300 new seed packets!

Here’s the list of Native Plants in the Seed Library

Common Name	Scientific Name
Giant Blue Hyssop	Agastache scrophulariaefolia
White Snake Root	Ageratina altissima
Tall Hairy Agrimony	Agrimonia gryposepala
Roadside Agrimony	Agrimonia striata
Prairie Onion	Allium stellatum
Lead Plant	Amorpha ceneocens
Pearly Everlasting	Anaphalis margaritacea
Thimble Weed	Anemone virginiana
Pussytoes	Antennaria plantaginifolia
Columbine	Aquilegea canadensis
Prairie Sage	Artemisia ludoviciana
Swamp Milkweed	Asclepias incarnati
Common Milkweed	Asclepias syriaca
Butterfly Weed	Asclepias tuberosa
Smallspike False Nettle	Boehmeria cylindrica
Side-Oats Grama	Bouteloua curtipendula
Blue Grama	Bouteloua gracilis
Fringed Brome Grass	Bromus cilites
Bellflower	Campanula americana
Common Hop Sedge	Carex lupulina
Sprengel's Sedge	Carex sprengelii
Partridge Pea	Chamaecrista fasciculate
Lance-leaf Coreopsis	Coreopsis lanceolata
Prairie Coreopsis	Coreopsis palmata
Purple Prairie Grass	Dalea purpurea
Prairie Cinquefoil	Drymocallis atguta
Pale Purple Coneflower	Echinacea pallida
Purple Coneflower	Echinacea purpurea
Rattlesnake Master	Eryngium yuccifolium
Large Leaved Aster	Eurybia macrophylla
Joe Pye weed	Eutrochium maculatum
Sweet Joe Pye Weed	Eutrochium purpureum
Blanket Flower	Gallardia species
Northern Blue Flag Iris	Iris versicolor
Sneezeweed	Helenium autumnale
Early Sunflower	Heliopsis Helianthoides
Alum Root	Heuchera richardsonii
Shrubby St. John's Wort	Hypericum prolificum
Rough Blazing Star	Liatris aspera
Meadow Blazing Star	Liatris ligulistylis
Prairie Blazing Star	Liatris pycnostachya
Cardinal Flower	Lobelia cardinalis
Great Blue Lobelia	Lobelia siphilitica
Lupine	Lupinus perennis
Wild Bergamot	Monarda fistulosa
Spotted Bee Balm	Monarda punctata
Foxglove Beardtongue	Penstemon digitalis
Obedient Plant	Physostegia virginiana
Jacob's Ladder	Polemonium reptans
Solomon's Seal	Polygonatum biflorum
Yellow Coneflower	Ratibida pinnata
Brown-eyed Susan	Rudbeckia triloba
Wild Petunia	Ruellia humilis
Stiff Goldenrod	Solidago rigida
Little Bluestem	Schizachyrium scoparium
Early Figwort	Scrophularia lanceolata
Late Figwort	Scrophularia marilandica
Blue-eyed Grass	Sisyrinchium shortii
Indian Grass	Sorghastrumnutana
Prairie Dropseed	Sporobolus heterolepis
Heart Leaved Aster	Symphyotrichum cordifolium
Smooth Blue Aster	Symphyotrichum laeve
New England Aster	Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Sky Blue Aster	Symphyotrichum oolentangiense
Short's Aster	Symphyotrichum shortii
Tall Meadow Rue	Thalictrum dasycarpum
Blue Vervain	Verbena hastata
Hoary Vervain	Verbena stricta
Prairie Ironweed	Vernonia fasciculata
Culver's Root	Veronicastrum virginicum
Golden Alexander	Zizia aurea

November Events

Upcoming Events

Nov 5, Tuesday, 5-8pm – Seed Packaging

Lion’s Den room in the White Bear Lake library, 2150 2^nd St, White Bear Lake, MN

We have seeds that need packaging and we need lots of helpers!

Come to this fun event to help the Seed Library package seeds for the coming season. Enjoy talking to your fellow gardeners while packaging seeds. Get a first peek at any new varieties we’ll have available. Bring any harvested seeds you wish to donate to the seed library. This is a great time to talk about your garden successes and less-than-successes (we all have them). This is an open event – come when you can, stay as long as you are able.

No experience necessary!   Easy and Fun!  Treats Provided!

Note: This is the same day as voting day, so if you vote at the library why not combine your trip and help the Seed Library too?

Nov 9, Saturday, 9 am -1 pm– Winter Farmer’s Market

Tamarack Nature Center, 5287 Otter Lake Rd, White Bear Township, MN

The Winter Farmer’s Market is back again this year! Many produce vendors and educational organizations will be at the winter farmer’s market. So will the Seed Library! Come check it out and stop by the Seed Library table to say hi. I also have a game kids and adults can play for a treat.

See https://forksinthedirt.com/winter-farmers-market/ for more info.

Nov 13, Wednesday, 6:30 pm – Seed Talk - How to Start Native Plant Seeds

Lion’s Den room in the White Bear Lake library, 2150 2^nd St, White Bear Lake, MN

Learn several ways to start native plant seeds. Why do many native plant seeds need a chilling period before they will germinate? What is the winter sowing method? And how to use the winter sowing method for seeds other than native plants.

If you are interested in trying out the winter sowing method save your rinsed plastic milk/juice/water half gallon or gallon jugs. You can pick up some native plant seeds at the seed library and then all you need is some potting soil. I’ll show you how to do it at this talk.

As always, Seed Talks are really gardener discussions about a specific topic, though we do occasionally wander into other related topics. Please come and share your tips and questions!

Hope to see you at these events!

Pam

Fall Gardening Tips

Fall Steps to a Wonderful Landscape

Many gardeners dread the traditional fall “clean-up” of their gardens and yard. It signals the arrival of winter with cold and snow and the passing of sunny warm days with beautiful gardens and green grass. But fall clean-up doesn’t have to be such a chore. Below are some recommendations to do this fall; most are more like ‘fun’ than ‘work’.

Don’t Rake the Leaves

Yes, you have been told you must rake the leaves off your lawn or your grass will die. That is a myth! Just use the lawn mower to shred the leaves and mow your lawn at the same time. Ditch the rake and the bagger attachment to your mower. As long as you can see grass poking up out of the leaves you can safely mow the leaves without harming the lawn. The little bits of leaves will add organic matter to the soil which helps improve both drainage and its water holding ability.

Fertilize your lawn

Fall is a great time to fertilize your lawn, but use a low nitrogen slow release fertilizer such as Milorganite. I suggest an organic fertilizer as it works with the natural balance of the soil, virtually no risk of over applying, doesn’t pollute groundwater or cause polluted runoff and adds organic material to the soil. Fertilizing in the fall helps your lawn recover from stresses in the summer and encourages deep roots which helps compete with weeds, diseases and insects. It is suggested you fertilize early September and in late October.

Plant

Yes, you can plant perennials, shrubs and trees in the fall! It is a great time for planting as the soil is warm and the hot, dry days of summer have passed.

Fall is the best time to plant daffodil, tulip, crocus and other types of bulbs. Plant bulbs when the night-time temperatures are around 40-50°F. If you plant too soon, you risk the bulbs sprouting early. Follow the planting instructions on the package. A good rule of thumb is to plant bulbs 2-3 times their height in the ground.

Skip Cleaning the Garden

Leave the stalks of the dead perennials for overwintering pollinators. Wait until there have been several 50°F days in the spring before removing dead foliage. Not only will you increase the beneficial insects in your garden next year, you add winter interest to your landscape.

Exception: Remove all diseased plant material this fall and dispose of it at a county compost site. Your home compost probably doesn’t get hot enough to kill pathogens and in the spring when you use the compost you may be spreading disease in your garden. Most tomato plants have some sort of fungal problem in the fall, so dispose of them too even if they look okay.

Start a Compost Pile

Anytime of the year is the good time to start a compost pile, but sometimes the fall is a great time as you have less other chores to do. There are dozens of ways to set up a compost pile. Spend a rainy day researching ideas on the internet.

Here is a good place to start: https://joegardener.com/how-to-make-compost/

Start a New Garden

Fall is a great time to start a new garden and you won’t need to do the back breaking work of removing sod! Sometimes called sheet gardening, sheet mulch gardening or lasagna gardening. Here are the steps:

1. Outline the area of the new garden with rope or a garden hose. Place cardboard or 5-6 sheet stacks of newspaper over the grass/weeds. Make sure to overlap the sheets of cardboard or newspaper. No need to remove the sod or weeds as the grass/weeds will decompose under the cardboard or paper.

2. Spread on a 5-6” layer of compost. Top with a 3-4” layer of mulch such as shredded leaves, straw or wood chips. You can make each layer thicker as it will shrink as it decomposes. By next spring you can plant without tiling, double digging or turning over the soil. The grass/weeds at the bottom will have decomposed and your plant’s roots will easily penetrate deeper as they grow bigger.

3. Each year add more compost to your garden to create a beautiful ‘Black Gold’ growing bed.

Journal Your Successes (and the less than successes)

Keeping a journal of your gardening adventures helps you down the road. Use a simple spiral notebook to write down what you grew, what didn’t grow and what varieties performed the best or what you want to try next year. This winter or spring when you plan your garden you’ll know what worked and what didn’t work. I also add a To-Do List in my journal so I remember what seeds I want to grow or what plants need to be moved or replaced. 

Save Seeds

I’d be remiss if I didn’t remind you to save seeds. The seed library is always in need of tomato, pea, bean, lettuce, sweet pepper and native plant seeds. Fall is when most native plants set seeds. Wait until the seed pods are brown and dry before harvesting. Your pea and bean seed pods are probably dry by now too. 

Happy Fall Gardening,

Pam

What to do before the snow flies!

Find out at our next Seed Talk

 
October – Tuesday, Oct. 8^th, 6:30 pm – Seed Talk:
  Putting Your Garden to Bed
What should you do before Old Man Winter comes? Should you clean up the dead stalks and leaves of your plants or let them be until spring? What about tomato plant and pepper plants? Do I really need to rake up all these leaves?
Learn how to take care of your garden while it rests over the winter.
What you can do to help make next year’s garden even better.

As always, Seed Talks are really discussions about a specific topic, though we do occasionally wander into other related topics! Please come and share your tips and questions!

Hope to see you there!
Pam