Plant Exchange Blog

Herbs for Food and Ornamental Accents

Gardening vegetables give us summer treats of fresh grown, hand-picked produce. We may choose to enhance flavors of the produce with fresh herbs too. Herbs personalize our food. Herbs can also be grown as ornamentation or for edible beauty in a flowerbed. Some perennial herbs for this region include chives, garlic chives, allium, oregano and … Continue reading →

‘Fresh from the Garden’ with Herbs

Welcome to Plant Exchange. Today we’re featuring how to cook with herbs that can grow in this region, right in your garden, flowerbed or planter such as this cilantro. Chef Staci Pederson of Yankton Hy-Vee Food Store shares her own entrée, appetizer and side dish recipes and preparation tips for herbs from your garden or … Continue reading →

Joy in Gardening

It’s early August here at Plant Exchange on the Northern Plains and the late June-planted vegetable garden is beginning to show promise. Weeds, at least in this spot of the yard, are few by now. Summer squashes are growing slowly. First green tomatoes have appeared. Given the slow start and immature plants, we appreciated the … Continue reading →

Regional Plant-Related Event

“Seed Saving” is the Yankton Seed Library free presentation by Missouri Valley Master Gardeners for August 14th at the Yankton Community Library, 515 Walnut St. The class is offered in the Meeting Room of the library at 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. and 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. If you want to make a seed screen to … Continue reading →

Another Basket for Eggs

Welcome to Plant Exchange where we highlight plants of the Northern Plains and people who grow them. A commonly grown perennial is the native cone flower, studied for its medicinal qualities as well as grown for its ornamental beauty. An old saying “Don’t put all the eggs in one basket.” may have some truth for … Continue reading →

How to Identify an Ash Tree Infested by Emerald Ash Borer

In our region ash trees have a number of insect pests that the trees manage themselves. Emerald Ash Borer is exotic and ash trees don’t have adequate defenses. Because ash trees do have other pests, identifying the symptoms of Emerald Ash Borer is important. Dr. John Ball provides information about how to identify a tree … Continue reading →

Emerald Ash Borer: Insecticide Management Options

Dr. John Ball provides information about how to identify a tree infested with Emerald Ash Borer. Dr. Ball is Professor, SDSU Extension Forestry Specialist & South Dakota Department of Agriculture Forest Health Specialist and SDSU Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Department. His extensive experience with trees of this region is an asset for helping those … Continue reading →

Tomato Tips

It’s a balmy morning in mid-July and plants have received adequate moisture. The Plant Exchange USDA Zone 4 -5a refers more to winter averages. Summer heat, dry and erratic conditions also impact the region. We cherish temperate conditions that help container plants to remain robust in mid-summer. Besides flowers, many Plant Exchange readers like to … Continue reading →