Filed under Vegetables and Fruits …

Plant Environmental Defenses

Cool spring temperatures have delayed the arrival of transplants to some area garden centers. Before the rush to pick young flower and vegetable plants, some pointers from a horticulturist might be helpful in selecting plants that improve plant growth and production. The survival strategies of the plants you choose impact their growth and affect how … Continue reading →

Horticulture Leader Recognized

Soon, we will be looking for quality plants for our home gardens. Last summer, I sought red petunias that would attract the hummingbirds that have nested nearby for the past three years. The season before, I was disappointed that the birds avoided the sale petunias I had chosen, but luckily, they visited other flowers on … Continue reading →

Starting Seeds to Transplant Outdoors

One way to acquire Rudbeckia hirta ‘Prairie Sun’ for the garden is to grow it from seeds at home. A benefit of starting seeds yourself instead of purchasing the transplants from the greenhouse is that seed catalogs offer additional variety and disease protection choices. Watching germination and early growth of plants adds to the gardening experience for some. … Continue reading →

Do We Change Gardening with a Warmer Environment?

Gardeners use the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map to find perennial plants that will “likely thrive” in your zip code. Check your updated USDA hardiness zone at https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov. In South Dakota, mainly the top half of the state is now 4b, hardy -25 to -20 degrees F.  The bottom half of the state is now 5a, hardy … Continue reading →

Gardening is for a Few of All Ages

Gardening is “not for everyone,” a Nebraskan might say. They’re right. But in the United States, a couple examples of gardening efforts have been a significant nature unifier.  The Nature Study Movement curriculum (1890-1930) encouraged school youth nationwide to experience and learn about nature outdoors directly. The January/February 2024 Horticulture magazine article on the Nature Study Movement is available … Continue reading →

The Seed of an Idea

Among fresh fruit in the local Hy-Vee Food Store this fall, the many varieties of apples steal the showcases. Past Plant Exchange articles have addressed the challenges of developing a new kind of apple, such as a favorite Honeycrisp introduced by the University of Minnesota experiment station’s horticulture research center in the early 1990s. Some crabapples are native to … Continue reading →

September Garden Snacks

Growing produce for the supper table is a practical and predictably rewarding outlet for people who enjoy working with plants. We were fortunate to harvest a little produce this year.  This growing season collided with my usual late start of the garden. Farmers’ fields had germinating corn before I began to plant. Late spring with … Continue reading →

Fresh Salad for Supper

A new phase in the growing season begins as schools start. In our region, along with hot, sunny days, come temperate days for growing salad greens. Many variety leaf lettuces yield cuttings before the average first frost date, around October 6th. Seed packet information helps to choose the quicker germination rate varieties. The plants continue … Continue reading →

Celebrate Pollinators

Insects, birds, and other pollinators are attracted to nectar and pollen-producing flowers in bloom that they like nearby. Pollinators visit their favorite kinds of flowers, often native. Flowers lure many or specific pollinators.  A field of wildflowers may attract an array of small insects. A tree like this Northern Catalpa may attract thousands of native … Continue reading →