Grow it, Minnesota

Meg Cowden is a Twin Cities gardener, writer and photographer known for her amazing vegetable garden and beautiful Instagram photos. In this episode, she talks about spring seed starting and why spring is her favorite time to extend the season.

To Learn More

Meg's website
Meg's Instagram
When to Sow Vegetables for Continuous Harvest
How to Fold a Newspaper Pot for Seedlings
More About Soil Blocks for Seed Starting

Mary's Blog
Follow Mary on Instagram
Northern Gardener magazine
The Northern Gardener book
Mary's 6 Tips for Starting Seeds Indoors

In this episode, best-selling author Niki Jabbour talks about her new book, Growing Under Cover (Storey Publishing, 2020). Niki explains why row covers, cold frames, shade clothes and poly tunnels are great ways for northern gardeners to grow vegetables in our short seasons. She talks about how to build mini-hoops, the importance of using good-quality greenhouse poly for long-lasting garden structures and why using first and last frost dates is the best way to determine when to plant your vegetable garden. She even recommends a favorite melon for northern gardeners.

To Learn More

Growing Under Cover: Techniques for a More Productive, Weather-Resistant, Pest-Free Vegetable Garden by Niki Jabbour
Niki's website
The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener
Montreal melon
Montreal Market melon
Follow Niki on Instagram

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Rhonda Fleming Hayes returns to Grow it, Minnesota to talk about pollinator gardening. Rhonda is the author of Pollinator Friendly Gardening: Gardening for Bees, Butterflies and Other Pollinators. In this episode, she explains the basics of creating a landscape pollinators will flock to, why home gardens are so important to pollinator health and some of the plants that are guaranteed to bring in bees, birds and butterflies.

To Learn More

More about Rhonda
Rusty-patch bumblebees, red-belted bumblebees and other lookalikes.
The Garden Buzz Facebook page

Creating a Monarch Friendly Garden
Mary's blog
Mary's book
Follow Grow it, Minnesota on Instagram
Follow Grow it, Minnesota on Facebook

Arborist Mark Moeller joined Mary to talk about what you need in your yard to attract birds and other wildlife. Mark, who started his career climbing trees, recommended more than a dozen species of shrubs and trees guaranteed to bring in the birds and support wildlife. 

Useful and Fun Links
Davey Tree Expert Co.
Bird Feeding Tips from the Minnesota DNR
Good article about arborvitaes

Recommended Resources on Bird Gardening
All About Birds, from Cornell University -- great for bird ID
Naturescaping -- an older book on planning a wildlife-friendly landscape
Birdscaping in the Midwest by Marie Nowak

Mary's Blog
Mary's Book
Northern Gardener magazine

Will the gardener in your life be far away this holiday season? In this bonus episode, Mary suggests ideas for five gifts for gardeners that are easy to ship, which includes everything from experiences to tiny tools that make all the difference in the garden.

You'll find links to all the suggestions (and a few more) at My Northern Garden, or check out additional gift ideas for gardeners from the Minnesota State Horticultural Society.  

Steven Biggs, horticulturist and author of Grow Lemons Where You Think You Can't and several other books on vegetable and fruit growing, joins Mary to talk about growing lemons indoors and out in the North. In this episode, you'll learn the best varieties to grow in northern climates, how to keep your lemons healthy in the winter, and how to use all your homegrown lemons in cooking.

To Learn More:

Steven's website
The Food Garden Life podcast
Grow Lemons Where You Think You Can't
Growing Figs in Cold Climates

Mary's adventures in lemon growing
How to hand-pollinate a lemon tree

Mary's book
Mary's blog

Today's episode is about Everything Elderberry, which is also the title of Susannah Shmurak's new book on elderberries—a superfood you can grow in your northern garden! Susannah describes the health benefits of elderberries and elderflowers, how to use them to get the most benefit, great cultivars to grow in home gardens, and even foods you can make with elderberries and elderflowers. (Did you know Prince Harry and Megan Markle's wedding cake was an elderflower cake?) Check out this episode to learn everything elderberry!

Useful and Fun Links
Susannah's book talk for the Minnesota State Horticultural Society
The University of Missouri Elderberry Research Center
A few good choices for home gardeners: Ranch, Bob Gordon, Marge
An at-home version of Harry and Megan's elderflower cake
More about SWD flies

Buy Susannah's Book
From an independent bookshop
From Barnes and Noble
From Amazon

Mary's blog
Mary's book

Why start a vegetable garden? Why do some vegetable gardens succeed and others struggle?

Melissa Wilsford of Rustic Hills Garden Co., a company that helps new and experienced gardeners incorporate edibles into their landscapes, is my guest on this podcast. Melissa talks about why she decided to start a firm focused on edible garden design in 2018, some books and places that inspired her, the three most common reasons vegetable gardeners struggle, and what to grow if you want a sure win in the garden. It's all about vegetable gardens and inspiring new gardeners.

Useful and Fun Links
Melissa's firm: Rustic Hills Garden Co.
Follow Rustic Hills on Instagram
Melissa's Seed Starting and Transplanting Guide

Inspiring Books and Places: 
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Edible Landscaping by Rosalind Creasy
Seed Savers Exchange

For More Information
The Lasagna Method
Another Lasagna Method
Three Books for Beginning Vegetable Gardeners


Mary's Blog
Mary's Instagram
Northern Gardener magazine

Native plants are the original ornamentals of the Midwest! Alan Branhagen is the author of the new book, Midwest Native Plant Primer (Timber Press, 2020), and director of operations at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. In this episode, Alan explains how to incorporate more native plants in your landscape, why natives are so important, and some of his favorite plants for northern gardens.

To Learn More

Midwest Native Plant Primer
About Alan
Mary's review of the book on the Northern Gardener blog
The tree collection at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
How to sign up to visit the arboretum

Blog Post: Three Native Evergreens for Northern Gardens
Sign up for Mary's occasional newsletter
The Northern Gardener: From Apples to Zinnias
Northern Gardener magazine
Follow Grow it, Minnesota on Instagram 

Dawn Lamm is the founder of Como Community Seed Library, one of several community seed saving and sharing organizations in Minnesota. In this episode, we talk with Dawn about why seed saving and seed stories are important, how to save seeds from beans, peas and tomatoes and how you can connect with a local seed library.

Useful Links
Como Community Seed Library
Como Community Seed Library Facebook page

Minnesota SEED Project, includes ways to sign up to join the project, resources for seed savers, and a seed saving kit.
How to Start a Seed Library in Your Neighborhood
Minnesota Seed Libraries

A visit to Seed Savers Exchange
Seed Savers Exchange
Chart on saving seeds -- very useful!

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