Swiss Chard, a Tasty Winter Treat Indoors

In winter, it is hard to find purchased greens that maintain freshness very long and are tasty. Swiss chard has a mild flavor and is easy to grow indoors, especially if started in late fall for a winter crop. Related to beets, Swiss chard is a member of Amaranthaceae that originated in the Mediterranean. Swiss … Continue reading →

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day January 15th

Welcome to Garden Bloggers Bloom Day for January 15th. Here at Plant Exchange on the Northern Plains, we are having the last warm January day before a week of predicted below freezing temperatures and chances for snow. Indoors, a sunny day adds welcome light and solar warmth. We’ll see blooms only indoors for the next … Continue reading →

Butterflies in the House

Last September Jay and Mike Gurney and Cathy Weiss of Yankton Nurseries chatted about the weather of the 2018 growing season and related oddities. They hadn’t seen many butterflies until the end of the season, especially swallowtails and monarchs. Arriving butterflies became quite busy around the nursery, gathering nectar and pollen. As a curiosity to … Continue reading →

Origami in the Garden

We at Plant Exchange Blog send you wishes for peace in 2019. “Rising Cranes” by Kevin Box is displayed in nature in a garden at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Spring, 2018. The origami is made of powder-coated cast stainless steel on steel. Cranes are associated with peace around the world.

A Change at the Nurseries

We celebrate this year at Plant Exchange Blog with a story about a grown son, Mike Gurney, who chooses to come back to his home town to try the family horticulture business. His family name is associated with his grandfather five generations ago, who brought knowledge about how to grow apple and other fruit trees to … Continue reading →

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day December 15th

Welcome to our weekly Plant Exchange Blog where we feature plants of the Northern Plain and people who grow them. This is potted Camellia shrub that lives under a shade tree in summer and provide glossy green evergreen leaves indoors during cooler weather in our USDA Zone 4-5a region. Camellias are often found in the … Continue reading →

Good, Too Bad and a Bit Ugly

In late August in the Yankton Community Gardens the past six years, you’d expect to find gardeners and lots of produce. In fact, there’s a diversity of vegetables and fruits here: Tomatoes, potatoes, string beans, broccoli, onions, cucumber, cabbage, watermelon, eggplant, dill, sweet potatoes, corn, carrots, beets, and flowers. Really, what more could a gardener … Continue reading →

Local Growers Launch ‘Jensen’s Pririe Kitchen’

Cynthia and Gary Jensen returned to the Yankton area a decade ago and their country acreage is now producing fruits from shrubs, grapevines, fruit trees and a new strawberry bed. They chose time-tested native choke cherries and Nanking cherries and are trying honeyberries and ‘Jostaberry’ shrubs for their adaptability to the region. Jensen families live … Continue reading →