Happy New Year Gardeners!
I hope the holiday season was a nice break from your
everyday routines and you enjoyed spending time with family and friends.
As I write this, the snow is falling furiously and
covering the trees and yard with a fresh coating of white. It is a beautiful
sight from the comfort of my house. Of course, I would not find it so wonderful
if I had to drive during rush hour through the snowstorm! Each season brings a
new flavor to our world and gardeners seem to notice the changes more readily. This
is not a surprise as we spend large amounts of time outside (at least during
‘nice’ weather) and track rainfall and sunny days like a weather forecaster.
Winter is a great time to grow houseplants! Everyone can
benefit with a little bit of green growing in their home. The next Seed Talk on
January 12th I’ll be talking about both flowering and foliage plants
to grow inside. Yes, you can get plants to flower inside in the middle of
winter! See below for details.
During the winter, I am still thinking about gardening.
New seed catalogs come in the mail and I plan changes to my garden and make
list of new plants I want to grow. The Seed Library is also busy during the
winter months. There are many empty drawers to fill with packets of seeds for
next growing season.
If you plan to order seeds this year remember the seed
library by adding a packet or two of an open-pollinated variety of seeds to
your order and donate them to the seed library. If you saved more seeds from
your harvest than you can use, consider donating them to the seed library. Tomato,
beans, peas, lettuce and native plant seeds are especially welcomed!
I plan to have an in-person event to package seeds,
though I don’t have a date selected yet. It will probably be a Saturday
afternoon at the White Bear Lake library when there is NOT a snowstorm! I am
prepping the envelopes (stamping) and getting supplies organized. I will send
out an email a couple days before the seed packaging date when it seems the
weather will cooperate for people to get to the library. You can also help
package seeds if you don’t want to come to an in-person event. I can prepare a
bag with seeds and supplies for you that you can pick up at the library and
bring home to package seeds. If you are interested in helping to package seeds,
please send me an email at wblseedlibrary@gmail.com. Let me know if you
want to pick up a bag or come in person.
Events
January
Seed Talk – Indoor Plants via Zoom
Tuesday
January 10, 2023, 6:30 pm via Zoom
Do you feel like you have a ‘brown thumb’ when it comes
to growing indoor plants? Or maybe you just want to grow something that blooms
inside during our long winter. This Seed Talk is all about how to successfully
grow both blooming and foliage house plants.
This is a Zoom meeting and you need to register on the
Ramsey County library website at least 3 hours prior to the start of the Seed
Talk. Register here.
Seed Talks are discussions with community members led by
Horticulturist, lifelong gardener and one of the White Bear Lake Seed Library
founders: Pam Larson Frink.
(Due to the poor attendance at the last in-person Seed
Talk in November, I am back to Zoom Seed Talks until further notice. Hopefully
more people can attend.)
Pollinator
Habitat Webinars
Are you interested in creating pollinator habitat, but
you don’t know where to begin? Check out this upcoming webinar series to help
guide you in your pollinator plan. University of Minnesota Extension Educators
are excited to bring you this webinar series on creating your own pollinator
habitat. This three-part series will cover how to create a pollinator-friendly
garden, bee lawn and prairie planting. Join us January 31, February 1 & 2
from 1:30-2:30 pm each afternoon for this free webinar. You must pre-register
for this series at z.umn.edu/BeeSeries to
receive the webinar links.
Tuesday,
Jan. 31st: Pollinator-Friendly Garden Julie Weisenhorn, UMN
Extension Horticulture Educator
Pollinators are responsible for the diversity of plant
life & our food, & gardeners of all levels can adopt practices that
help pollinators thrive. However, engaging with these important creatures
through creating beneficial landscapes also helps to strengthen our sense of
connection with nature (biophilia) & our understanding of the natural world
while positively affecting these important insects. Join UMN Extension
horticulture educator, Julie Weisenhorn, as she tells the story of pollinators
from a landscape & plant selection standpoint & presents some practical
options to help us make this world a better place for these valuable insects in
our own gardens.
Wednesday,
Feb. 1st: Bee Lawns- James Wolfin, Conservation Specialist
Bee lawns aim to integrate low-growing flowers into
low-input turfgrass lawns to provide food for pollinators. They also help to
conserve natural resources, as they require significantly less water,
fertilizer, and mowing as compared to a traditional lawn. This presentation
will examine the role of lawns in our culture, how lawns can be modified to
protect pollinators & conserve natural resources, and the steps residents
can take to easily install a bee lawn themselves.
Thursday,
Feb. 2nd: Navigating Natives: Tools and Resources for Starting a Pocket Prairie-
Sam Talbot, UMN Extension Educator, Dakota County
Native plants provide a wide range of benefits & can
easily be incorporated into your backyard garden. Sam will draw from his
experience restoring habitat in Dakota County Parks to discuss the benefits &
challenges associated with planting natives in the landscape. He’ll highlight
some of the tools and resources available, as well as opportunities to gain
hands-on experience through volunteer opportunities in Dakota County. Topics
will include propagation methods, plantings, & species considerations.
1:30-2:30 pm each afternoon
Seed
Library Summit
If
you are interested in seed libraries you might want to sign up for the 11th
Seed Library Summit on Saturday, February 11th. It is a virtual event, so no
need to travel! If you haven't already signed up you can do that for free at SeedLibraries.net.
They
have an amazing program scheduled this year!
Sessions:
-
How to Start a Seed Library
-
Ask a Seed Librarian
-
Seeds to Expand Climate Adaptation
-
Landrace Gardening
-
Seed Gardens
-
School Seed Libraries
-
Seed Exchanges
-
Seed Saving Basics
-
Communities Building Mobile Seed Libraries as a Response to Disaster
-
Native Seeds & Pollinators
-
Seed Stories: Our Stories of Seeds
Here
are speaker bios by session.
Note: Sessions with the same number are at the same time.
Winter
Farmer’s Market
The Winter
Farmer’s Market is Jan
14th, 10am – 2 pm. Food vendors will be sharing locally grown and
crafted items including meats, cheese, eggs, micro greens, and maple syrup.
Many locally preserved options, like jams, jellies, sauces, sauerkraut, and
kombucha will be available. Great gifting options such as soaps and specialty
hand crafted goods as well.
*NEW LOCATION* Outdoors at Normandy Park Education Center
2482
County Road F East, White Bear Lake, MN 55110
Contact
info for the Seed Library:
Email: wblseedlibrary@gmail.com
Blog site: WBL Seed Library
Pam
