People who like to eat fresh produce and gardeners might have lettuce in common. Spring growing conditions for lettuce is usually favorable. It’s easy to be enthusiastic with an early green thumb success in spring. Lettuce harvested, washed, and on the plate couldn’t be tastier. Would you like to grow your salad greens? Materials: A … Continue reading
Filed under Vegetables and Fruits …
First Signs of Spring
Daffodil and tulip foliage is so beautiful to see emerging from the brown of winter. Temperatures are predicted in the high 50s with maybe showers too. Peonies are beginning to grow. Hellebores, also called Lenten Roses, are budding and will be in bloom for Easter this year. Indoors, we harvest sprouts for salads and sandwiches. … Continue reading
Garden Winners
Who doesn’t want flower or vegetable plants that grow well with abundant foliage and flowers? When they are grown in your region of the country and compared to similar plants and still have stand-out qualities, that’s a winner. All-America Selections is a national non-profit plant trialing organization that acquaints the public with new cultivars. Impartial gardening … Continue reading
Gardener’s Time Off
What does a gardener do with unstructured time in winter? Some of the garden-related topics for enjoyment with a practical twist that this gardener might choose to include checking plants in the nursery, reading missed articles from favorite gardening magazines, and previewing seed catalogs for new ideas and introductions. Here is the nursery under the … Continue reading
Dibbles and Bits
We’re looking at winter interest, rewilding, and season wind-down for today’s Plant Exchange. ***Nearly mid-December, the first “shoveling” flips the landscape into contrasts we haven’t seen for a year. Now the red hues of Little Bluestem and Miscanthus appear against white snow cover. Snowcaps adorn the spent golden yarrow from summer. No wonder this is … Continue reading
Transition for Flowers and Vegetables
Mid-September is a weather transition in this region, with high temperatures bouncing from 70 – 80 degrees F. with cool evenings and a few windy or hot days. Tree leaves mostly haven’t begun to turn yet. Movable container plants for color have been versatile and easy to maintain in this drought. Cardinal vine on the … Continue reading
A Pollinator Question
On this mild 81-degree F. day in early September, the significant needs of viable plants in our yards and gardens are being met. Let’s consider a topic that may impact harvest. Vines of cucumbers and squash in the home garden have had many flowers this season and unusually few vegetables. Are there enough pollinators? Mosquitos … Continue reading
Garden Notes
The impact of several ninety-degree days and the earlier dark of the evening are hard to miss as you walk through the garden. Pollinators are busy early and late, resting in the heat of the day. Joe Pye Weed, a four-foot back-of-the-garden perennial, draws a variety of pollinators. Few Monarch pollinators are around so far … Continue reading
First Harvest and Shade Plants
Welcome to Plant Exchange Blog on the Northern Plains. While hot and dry summer days challenge farmers and gardeners, we’re ready to celebrate a few garden first harvests. We’ll also consider a few ornamental shade plants that grow well here. Sunflowers are among personal favorites that grow tended and wild and free in this region. … Continue reading
Gardening in the Moment
In the rush of spring planting, there’s so much available to see now that quickly changes. Maybe the elusive quality of peony flowers makes them even more beautiful as you admire them now and the wind plucks their petals. Moisture is a premium this spring at Plant Exchange and throughout South Dakota this spring. Thankfully, … Continue reading
Plant Exchange Blog 