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
Filed under Plants That Grow Here …
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.
Up a Tree
Creative teen and landscape designer find unsightly wind-damaged tree solution. 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
Extending Lettuce and Green Season Indoors
Welcome to Plant Exchange Blog. It’s cozy indoors but at the end of November, we can see that winter ice and snow is here. One of the treats of fall is to extend the season of lettuce and other greens such as fresh fall lettuce, kale, mustard greens, and spinach. We brought trays of them … Continue reading
Kids Garden Club
Kids Garden Club program is complete for the second year at the Yankton Boys & Girls Club in South Dakota. Kids learn what plants need to grow, how to plant and tend their garden of favorite vegetables and fruits and new ones to try, hear about health benefits of fresh produce, and share plenty of tasting … Continue reading
Season Favorites
About four inches of snow fell overnight; a reminder that Fall wanes as the holidays approach. Just thinking about a few moments of the past season. The half on/half off leaves of our Japanese maple was a marker for yesterday. A year ago, an early Fall cold event caused the leaves to turn from green … Continue reading
