Grow it, Minnesota

What does it take to grow a delicious apple in cold climates? In this episode, we check in with orchardist Bob Osborne, author of the new book, Hardy Apples: Growing Apples in Cold Climates (Firefly Books, 2022). We talk about what an apple tree needs to grow well, grafting, pests and diseases, pruning and favorite apples for northern gardeners. Bob Osborne is the owner of Corn Hill Nursery in beautiful New Brunswick, Canada.

• More about Bob
• Bob's top apple pick: FrostBite
• Mary's favorite apple
• U of Minnesota apple growing tips
• Video on spring apple pruning
• Follow Mary on Instagram
• An interesting story about bees and apples
• Mary's website

Let's talk lawn! With the popularity of no-mow May, bee lawns and other alternatives to traditional Kentucky bluegrass turf, it seems a good time to bring in a lawn expert. James Wolfin of Twin City Seed is a proponent of lower-input lawns and has great information on how to have a good-looking lawn without a lot of work. 

• More about James Wolfin
• Twin City Seed
• What's a Bee Lawn?
• Lawn Care Tips from the U of Minnesota
• No Mow May campaign
• The Benefits of Fine Fescues
• 4 Ways to Remove Turf Grass
• Mary's website
•  Follow Mary on Instagram

No interview today, just some information about the weather — our late spring, what to worry about and what not to worry about, seed germination and soil temperature. It's a shorter episode and I hope it encourages you to remain calm and garden on. 

Some links for more information: 

• Seed Germination and Soil Temps (with small chart) 
• Seed Germination and Soil Temp (larger chart) 
• How to Build a Cold Frame
• How to Build a Low Tunnel
• The Compressed Season of Northern Minnesota 
• Frost Dates in the Vegetable Garden
• Spring of 2012 -- warmer is not necessarily better
• Growing Vegetables Under Cover with Niki Jabbour

Listeners may remember Meg Cowden of SeedtoFork.com from a previous episode on early seed starting.  She's back to talk about succession planting and her new book, Plant Grow Harvest Repeat (Timber Press, 2022).  Meg's book is filled with charts, plant lists, solid advice  and inspiration for any gardener who wants to grow an abundant food and fruit garden, with plenty of flowers as well.

We talk about the importance of starting seeds over a longer stretch (always be sowing is Meg's mantra), learning garden lessons from the forests and prairies around us, managing soil health and insects, and ways to get the most from our food gardens through interplanting and other techniques. I also confess my absolute failure growing Brassicas, and Meg offers her secrets to growing huge harvests of broccoli, cabbage and more.

Check out Grow it, Minnesota on Facebook or Instagram where I will be giving away a copy of Meg's book.

More Links
Modern Garden Guild
Follow Meg on Instagram
Follow Mary on Instagram
My Northern Garden webpage

We're talking all about blueberries today and some of the challenges of growing them in the alkaline soil that many Minnesota gardens have. My guest is Melissa Wilsford of Rustic Hills Garden Co., a landscaping firm based in the Twin Cities, that specializes in creating edible landscapes. One of her favorite groundcover plants is the blueberry! 

To grow blueberries well, you need an acid soil with a pH of 4.5 to 5.5. Melissa talks about how to amend your soil to lower the pH, how to grow blueberries in containers, and even what to grow if you want berries but don't want the extra work of blueberries. It's a great episode! 

• University of Minnesota information on growing blueberries, with cultivar recommendations.
• More about growing currants
• Mary's currant jam recipe -- for grown up palates.
• Melissa's plant sale -- order blueberries now for pickup in May. 
• Follow Melissa on Instagram
• Mary's website
• Follow Mary on Instagram

This episode features podcaster, blogger and author Teresa J. Speight of Cottage in the Court. Her new books (she has two coming out this spring!) are Black Flora: Profiles of Inspiring Black Flower Farmers + Florists   (Bloom Imprint, 2022) and The Urban Garden: 101 Ways to Grow Food and Beauty in the City  (Cool Springs Press, 2022) with co-author Kathy Jentz of Washington Gardener magazine.

Teresa is an inspiring gardener and communicator. We talk about her work as a community gardener, the inspiring African-American flower farmers and florists she met while writing her book, hydrangeas and other heritage plants, plus an abundance of tips and ideas for creating beauty in small spaces. 

Links and More

• Follow Teresa on Facebook
• Teresa on Medium
• The Flower Guy Bron
• Mary's website
• Follow Mary on Instagram

Today's guest is Heather Holm, author, speaker and horticulturist, who is an expert on pollinating insects, including bees and wasps. In this episode, we talk about habitat restoration, how home gardeners can bring in more pollinators, why the spring and fall are so important to pollinators and cultivars of native plants.

Check out these resources:
Heather's books: 

• WASPS: A Guide for Eastern North America (2021)
• Pollinators of Native Plants (2014)
• BEES: An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide
• COMING SOON: Common Native Bees of the Eastern United States (a pocket guide)

More about the rusty-patch bee
Woodmints -- plants Heather loves for shade
Mary's Boltonia -- It's big and the bees love it!
Mary's Insectary Garden

Author Acadia Tucker talks about her latest book, Tiny Victory Gardens: Growing Food Without a Yard  (Stone Pier Press, 2021), including how to decide which containers to use, advice for making your own potting soil and even how to grow a consistent supply of salad greens in containers, indoors, in winter. Good stuff!

More about Acadia and her gardening books. 
Why grow tomatoes in containers?
Tiny vegetables are a hot trend!
Follow Acadia on Instagram
Follow Mary on Instagram
Follow Grow it, Minnesota on Facebook

Author and soil scientist Lee Reich loves to experiment in the garden, and one of his first experiments as a young gardener was growing figs in Madison, Wis. In his new book, Growing Figs in Cold Climates: A Complete Guide (New Society Publishers, 2021), he offers northern gardeners tips on choosing varieties, pruning and how to get fig trees through the winter.  Listen to how he does it.

Growing Figs in Cold Climates
Lee's website
Lee's book reviewed in the New York Times

Grow it, Minnesota episode on growing lemons in cold climates
Mary's website
Follow Mary on Instagram


 

Welcome to another season of Grow it, Minnesota!

In this episode, author Cathy Rees talks about her new book, Winterland: Create a Beautiful Garden for Every Season  (Princeton Architectural Press, 2021).  She explains what to think about as you design a garden and landscape that will offer beauty and more all year.

We talk about the importance of texture, structure and light as well as ways to create habitat and enjoy watching birds and other critters in winter.

Helpful Links:

• Winterland: Create a Beautiful Garden For Every Season
• More about Cathy
• Light in the Garden 
• Mary's website
• Follow Grow it, Minnesota on Instagram
• Follow Mary on Instagram