Gardening ideas & tips for the average gardener.
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               From the Ground Up
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From The Ground Up

Resources for making an IPM plan

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu With March behind us, plants are in greenhouses and the growing season is approaching. Refresh yourself on tools for managing pests here. Cucumber beetle is a pest to be prepared for. Photo: Gerald Holmes, Strawberry Center, Cal Poly...

Boundary-pushing bees

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu A common eastern bumble bee queen in Winona on March 3, 2024. Photo: Danielle Hudson It is easy to see that this has been an unusually warm winter in Minnesota. Skis and sleds barely had a chance to get dusted off. People started...

Tree selection should reflect your goals

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu Climate adaptation strategies for forests vary across a spectrum of options, and an effective strategy is to experiment with multiple approaches across a landscape. Extension has tree selection lists to guide you no matter which strategy...

Protecting vulnerable tree species from climate change

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu A regenerating aspen stand When we were developing the climate-ready woodlands tree recommendation lists, we were often surprised about which tree species were noton these lists, including iconic Minnesota species such as quaking aspen...

Escaping spring frost in the Upper Midwest

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu Image: Young grape shoots damaged by late spring frost (May 11th, 2021). Photos taken by Madeline Wimmer. Cold stress and frost damage have the potential to impact perennial fruit crops during different times of the year, and springtime...

Climate resilience resources for vegetable growers

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu We've developed a new webpage for growers to learn about projected climate changes in Minnesota, and strategies for resilience that are specific to Minnesota, and to vegetable farming. Climate models project the following about our future...

3 challenges facing the agricultural sector

Since the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic in early 2020, businesses big and small have faced significant challenges. Though the pandemic has ended, many sectors, including the agricultural industry, are facing familiar and unfamiliar challenges. The agricultural sector is...

Weeds get spring fever too

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu Models suggest that significant cold has passed, things are starting to green up and soil is warming. While this warm winter causing growers stress about what diseases and insects will do this spring, this early spring can provide rare...

What does a wimpy winter mean for insects?

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu The National Weather Service's Seasonal Temperature outlook for March, April, and May suggests our dud of a winter has wrapped. Many people are wondering how this will impact insects, and as always, it depends! Here are some things to...

Winter damage on evergreen trees and shrubs

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu Without a doubt, it has been a weird and wacky winter from a gardener’s standpoint. We went into winter in drought conditions in much of the state and the minor snow precipitation never really made a difference. So here we are on the brink...