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

Bugged by beetles? Why they’re here and how to handle them

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu Multicolored Asian lady beetles. Photo: Jeff Hahn Out doing yard work on the weekend, the sky was alive with hundreds of Asian lady beetles enjoying the first warm day after a chilly, wet week. It’s a familiar fall sight across...

Master Gardeners grow, donate and preserve local foods

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu Brenda Langerud, left, delivers a box of freshly harvested vegetables with information about how to prepare them, to W-E Share Food Shelf coordinator Pat Nusebaum Taking action on food security, Master Gardener volunteers like Brenda...

How can fruit and vegetable farmers prepare for El Niño?

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu The current El Niño is likely to be the strongest we've seen in our lifetimes. How can we prepare for it? El Niño events typically get stronger through the fall and peak in the winter and often result in a warmer cold season in Minnesota...

Mounds of trouble: controlling pocket gophers in yards and gardens

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu A pocket gopher looking for a place to dig. Photo: USDA Forest Service - Coeur d'Alene Field Office, Bugwood.org If you’ve noticed fresh mounds, wilting plants, or collapsing turf, you may be dealing with one of Minnesota’s most...

American persimmon breeding could lead to a cold-hardy, multipurpose fruit crop for the Upper Midwest

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu Kathleen Rhoades is a plant breeder who works for the Savanna Institute, a non-profit organization that focuses on sustainable food production systems. Their major emphasis is on agroforestry, which integrates trees and shrubs into crop...

Final Vegetable Update - September 10, 2026

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu Updates are over, we’re still here! This will be our final update of the season. We know you still have a lot of farming to do this fall, but we generally find that there’s less to say in September as things start to wind down. It’s too...

Final Fruit Update - September 10, 2026

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu Apples Apple scab cultural management: Encouraging leaf decomposition Article: Apple storage disorders and recommendations for four UMN varieties Did you see moldy core in your apples this year? Grapes Harvest efficiency:...

Yellow prairie grass adds golden fall color

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu Golden Sunset, yellow prairie grass (Indiangrass) In the last few weeks, while driving to my office, I’ve noticed the blooms of yellow prairie grass, or Indiangrass, along roadsides. While I love the blooms of many warm-season grasses,...

Autumn rose care in Minnesota

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu A rose garden in late summer. Photo: Janet Duddleston As nights cool and days shorten, roses shift from summer showpieces to winter survivors. The goal is to help them harden off, stay healthy, and head into winter strong enough to...

September garden checklist

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu Mystery of the month Is fall coming early, or is this maple tree stressed out? The answer is at the bottom of this article. Pests and diseases Scout for pesky weeds that come into bloom in fall. Canada thistle may have beautiful...