Horticulture Night at the University of Minnesota Morris Campus

Every year, the University of Minnesota Morris Campus hosts Horticulture Night, a public event meant to get people excited about horticulture. Morgan and I were lucky to be able to leave the garden for a day to check out this special event.  Seeing the gardens at Morris was a treat in and of itself.  Many of the University's annual plants are trialed at Morris' garden, so the beds are full of brightly colored flowers.  It is clear that many people are invested in maintaining the garden.  It was fun to get some ideas on how to use annuals more effectively.

Throughout the night, educational presentations are given throughout the garden. You can take a tour of the gardens or farm, learn about vegetable garden, see a healthy cooking demonstration, learn about the University's meat processing program (yes, we watched half a pig getting processed!), hear presentations from entomologists and soils scientists, and more.

I definitely recommend this event to anyone interested in gardening.  There are even activities for the kids.  Check out our pictures, and save the date on your calendar for next year!

Perennial garden- lots of Hosta varieties!

Just one of many annual gardens at Morris

More Annuals

Pond with mini cattails- there's even a waterfall!

Cooking demo- zucchini salsa, melon salsa, and blackened flank steak. Samples included!

Hops fort in the children's garden

Hen's and Chick's T-Rex

Biggest Bean Teepee I've ever seen

Japanese Beetles: Invasion

The Japanese beetles have arrived!  All week, we have been working to control the population and minimize damage.  It seems appropriate to write a little about this pest, and give a few pointers on how it can be controlled in the garden.

History
Japanese beetles are, obviously, native to Japan. In Japan, the beetle is controlled by natural predators.  However, in the U.S. this is not the case and the Japanese Beetle has proved to be a formidable pest.  It was first found in 1916 in New Jersey. Since then, it has spread to almost all states east of the Mississippi, and has found it's way into Minnesota in the 1990's.



Problem
Japanese Beetles damage plants by skeletonizing leaves and sometimes other plant parts, like fruit or flowers.  The larvae feed on grass roots, and can cause serious damage to turf.  Over 300 plants can host the beetles.  In our garden, the beetles seem to prefer roses, fruit trees, grapes, hollyhocks, and a few like milkweed.  In eastern states, the beetle can be controlled by a soil bacteria.  However, it won't survive in Minnesota, so we have had to think of other means of control.  A healthy tree should be able to survive an attack from Japanese beetles, but a stressed or diseased tree may not.

Identification

The Japanese beetle is easy to identify by it's distinct coloration.  It's back is a copper color, while the thorax and head are a glittery sapphire green.  The beetle is about a half inch long.  They spread by flying. In the garden, we find them most often inside of a rose bloom, often in groups of 4 to 8 insects per flower.  If you notice brown patches on your lawn, Japanese beetle larvae may be the cause.  Roll back the sod and look for large, white, c-shaped grubs and a lack of a healthy root system.  

Control
In the garden, we are utilizing two methods of control: Kaolin clay and hand picking.  Kaolin clay is a natural control, and is approved for use in organic production.  We used a backpack sprayer to apply a Kaolin clay and water mixture to our fruit trees and grape vines.  It works as a repellant to many harmful insects, including the Japanese beetle.  When we hand pick the beetles, we put them immediately into water.  A little insecticidal soap will work to kill them in the water, but we have just been feeding them to the chickens on campus instead.  Like I mentioned before, we have been finding them mostly inside of roses.

Pheromone traps are available, but not recommended.  Recent studies have shown that more insects are attracted to the garden than are actually caught by the pheromone traps.

Several insecticides will also work to control Japanese beetles. For more information on insecticide use, check out the Extension website.
UMN Extension: Japanese Beetles

Japanese beetles are in Minnesota to stay.  While there are many control methods that should be utilized by gardeners, there is no way to eradicate them.  In addition to controlling populations, gardeners should practice good horticulture to keep trees, shrubs, and perennials.  Healthy plants are less likely to suffer fatal damage from Japanese beetles. 

For more information on Japanese beetles, refer to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and your local extension office.

Images from wikimedia commons

Rain Gardens

Photo from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bioretention_cell_rain_garden_US_winter.jpg

We took a field trip to the landscape arboretum a couple weeks ago, which got me thinking about rain gardens.  I thought I would share a short how-to on rain garden design, and talk about why they are so wonderful.

Rain gardens use deep-rooted plants in a slightly depressed area to capture rain water runoff before it goes into storm drains.  When water flows off of a lawn, it contains all sorts of nasty stuff--lawn chemicals, salt, oil, sediment, etc.  When this contaminated water flows directly off of our yards and into the storm drain, it ends up in our lakes and rivers. Rain gardens are able to capture this water, and the plants, mulch, and soil essentially filter out the pollutants.  Plants in the garden use the water, putting fresh clean water back into the cycle. It's a beautiful thing. So how do you go about designing and building such an awesome garden?

First things first- select your site. The garden should be at least 10 feet from your foundation, and should be built in a location where water naturally flows (i.e. at the bottom of a small slope). Underground drainage systems can be installed to direct the flow of water, but that's beyond my knowledge. Before digging, of course call 811 to have the city mark your gas and electric lines of course.

Have your soil checked out to make sure that drainage will happen properly. The University of Minnesota does affordable soil tests. If the soil is too clayey or too sandy, it can be amended with compost.  Sand or sandy loam is preferable for rain gardens. 

Now that you have all that out of the way, it's time to start digging. Ideally the garden should be dug out about six inches.  This can be a trench or just a flat area.

Then comes the fun part--planting! Native plants are ideal for the rain garden, as they generally have good, deep roots and will create beneficial insect habitat.  They also usually require less inputs, like fertilizers.  Trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and grasses can all have a place in a rain garden, depending on the size.  Check out the Minnesota DNR website for more information on native MN plants.
Minnesota Native Plants: DNR

Lastly, add a few inches of mulch. Woodchips work well. This will help plants get established, suppress weeds, and prevent soil erosion.  Water plants regularly while they get established. Maintenance is pretty simple in the garden. Regular weeding and mulching are basically the only things you should need to do.  Once the plants are well established, their deep roots should be very drought tolerant.

What to do with what's in season

This week in the edible landscape, we have been harvesting the last of our lettuce (some has started bolting), some herbs, swiss chard, and beet greens. We've eaten a few peas, green beans, and cherry tomatoes.  Everything in the garden is running a little later than normal, because of the cold Minnesota spring we had this year, but once the sun came out, our veggies and herbs bounced right back.
If you are having an abundance of fruits and veggies this spring, here are some ideas on how to use what you grew. Otherwise, head to your local farmer's market and get a few seasonal fruits and veggies for your pantry.

Beets:  Pickled beets are one of my favorites.  For folks savvy on preserving through the fall, canning is definitely an option. But if you think you're like me and will just eat them all right away anyway, check out Alton Brown's recipe.  I also love to juice beets. It adds a nice flavor and color.  Try orange, ginger, carrot, grape fruit, and beets. I know it sounds a little weird, but it's delicious.
Alton Brown's Pickled Beets

Blueberries: Most likely you won't have any trouble eating the blueberries you grew fresh (yum!).  But if you have been blessed with an abundance of blueberries, freezing is an easy option. Don't wash them first; they will get a thicker skin that way (this may be an old wives tale).  Spread them out on a pan in the freezer, and then bag them up once they are frozen solid.  I also love blueberry preserves.

Broccoli: Toss it in with some onions, carrots, snap peas, or green beans for a delicious stir-fry. Or go for a mid-western classic: broccoli bacon raisin salad. It's easy to make and goes great at a picnic.

Chard and Kale: Brown some onion and garlic in butter. Then toss in the chard and saute for about 5 minutes. Take the stems and veins out of the leaves first to get rid of the toughness. Drizzle a little lemon juice on top, add some salt and pepper, and you're good to go!  I cook almost all of my greens this way.

Lettuce: If you are tired of eating salad all the time, try some Thai-style lettuce wraps.  I serve this as a help yourself finger food. Just prepare a plate with crushed up peanuts, bean sprouts, dried or fresh shrimp, ginger and garlic pieces, toasted coconut, chilies, and some leaf lettuce. Wrap it all up in the lettuce, dip it in some peanut sauce, and you will be loving life.

Radishes: I like radishes fresh with some spinach or ranch dip. However, I stumbled across a delicious looking list of radish recipes from Real Simple. Don't listen to me. Just check it out.
13 Radish Recipes from Real Simple

Service Berries, or Saskatoons: If you haven't tried one fresh, do it. The seeds are a little big, but I think they are delicious.  I haven't tried making a saskatoon jam, but I think it would be very good.  They are pure sweet, no sour, so you might be able to get away with a low sugar jam.
  
Spinach: Strawberry, goat cheese, spinach salad with a little vinaigrette. Spinach is so good for you.  Low in calories, but high in nutrients, it is definitely a super food.  Toss a handful in with an egg for breakfast. Or use it instead of lettuce in a salad. If healthy food is not your biggest concern, make southern style creamed spinach. It's decadent and delicious.

Welcome to July!

It's been a hot, dry week in the garden.  After a couple months with constant rain, it was nice to have a few dry days. That said, let's hope it rains this weekend (after everyone has gotten their 4th of July celebrations in, of course).  As we wait for rain, a post on drought tolerant plants seems appropriate.

Using drought tolerant plants in the landscape is really a smart choice for everyone. For starters, you won't have to spend time watering as often. In addition, water conservation is becoming a more important issue as clean water becomes more and more scarce and our population is on the increase.  Choosing appropriate plants is the best way to conserve water in the landscape.  Many Minnesota native species are drought tolerant, so inadvertently you will also be helping spread native plants!

Many juniper and pine species are drought tolerant and can be good landscape trees and shrubs. Bur oaks are a good choice if a larger tree is needed.  There are a ton of good perennial options out there, so I will just list some of my favorites:

Yarrow
Echinacea
Rudbeckia
Irises
Peonies
Salvia
Sedum
Little Bluestem
Baptisia
Check out this list from the UMN extension for more options:
http://www.arboretum.umn.edu/droughttolerantplants.aspx

During last summer's drought, I saw a ton of dead lawns. If you are thinking of redoing your turf grass, consider using a Fescue mix instead of Kentucky Bluegrass for a more drought tolerant lawn. Some seed companies are even selling slow growing species, cutting down on how frequently mowing is necessary. 

Hopefully this dry spell doesn't last. Our vegetable garden has been loving the rain.

On a lighter note, check out what is in bloom right now in the garden!

A large variety of roses, some developed at the University of Minnesota

Poppies

Stonecrop Sedum

More sedum- Dragon's Blood variety

Veronica, or Spike Speedwell

Globeflower

Lavender

Yarrow

Serviceberries are ripe and delicious!