gardening

Native Plantings: A Beautiful Solution for Minnesota Shorelines

in
Author
Angie Hong
East Metro Water Resource Education Program
Publication Date: 
November 1, 2010
Home_Shoreline .JPG
home shoreline.jpg

Here in Minnesota, shoreline living is not limited to the rich and famous. According to the MN DNR, Minnesota has 11,842 lakes and 69,200 miles of natural rivers and streams. We have over 13 million acres of lakes, streams, and wetlands, which is equivalent to one quarter of the area of the entire state. Correspondingly, 200,000-225,000 lucky Minnesota families own lakeshore homes, and countless others live along rivers, streams and wetlands.

Resources
On the Web!: 
Blue Thumb: Shoreline Planting for Clean Water, bluethumb.org/shorelines
Minnesota DNR on Lakescaping, www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakescaping
U of M Extension on Shoreland Education, extension.umn.edu/shoreland
Read Up!: 
Lakescaping for Wildlife and Water Quality, by Carrol Henderson, Carolyn Dindorf and Fred Rozumalski, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 1999.
Restore Your Shore (CD-ROM), Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 2002.
Act Locally!: 
Landscaping professionals that specialize in Shoreline Plantings, BlueThumb.org/partners
Mary Blickenderfer, Shoreland Education, Extension Regional Center, Grand Rapids, MN 218-244-7966 extension.umn.edu/shoreland /programteam.html

Recommended Native Plants for Shoreline Landscaping


Upland Plants (6"-1.5' tall)
Prairie smoke (sun)
Butterfly weed (sun)
Sensitive fern (shade)
Upland Plants (1.5'-2.5' tall)
Purple coneflower (sun)
Yellow coneflower (sun)
Black-eyed susan (sun)
Hoary vervain (sun)
Upland Plants (2.5'-5' tall)
Big bluestem (sun)
Blazingstar (many varieties, sun)
Golden alexander (sun or shade)
Columbine (shade)
Zig-zag goldenrod (shade)
Upland Shrubs
Black chokeberry
Red-osier dogwood
Dwarf bush honeysuckle
Transitional Plants (edge of water)
Blueflag iris
Fox sedge
Swamp milkweed
Emergent Plants (in water)
Softstem or three-square bulrush
Arrowhead

Entice Bees to your own Garden

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Author
FELICIA PARSONS
Horticulturist
Bees require two components in their habitat: somewhere to nest and flowers from which to gather nectar and pollen. Native plants are undoubtedly the best source of food for native bees-because plants and their pollinators have coevolved-and they serve honeybees well too.

Use local native plants or heirloom varieties of cultivated forms.

Choose several colors of flowers.
Plant in clumps.
Include flowers of different shapes.

Have a diversity of plants flowering all season.

Footnotes/Endnotes

Seed and plant sources:

Prairie Moon Nursery,
prairiemoon.com

Landscape Alternatives,
landscapealternatives.com

Out Back Nursery,
outbacknursery.com

Victory Gardens

in
Author
KATHY SWENSON
Do It Green! Magazine
Tucked away in South Minneapolis is one of just two Victory Gardens nationwide still in active use. The gardens at Dowling School in Minneapolis and the Fenway Victory Garden in Boston are the only two remaining gardens left of the approximately 20 million nationwide in use during World War II. Minneapolis alone had more than 130,000 gardens during the war.

Victory Gardens began in 1942 as a nationwide effort to encourage home gardens.

Footnotes/Endnotes

ON THE WEB!

Dowling Community Gardens, dowlingcommunitygarden.org

commgardens.meetup.com
/cities/us/mn/minneapolis/

University of MN,
extension.umn.edu
/topics.html?topic=5

Garden Works, gardenworksmn.org

Land stewardship project,
landstewardshipproject.org/csa.html

Read Up!

Kitchen Gardening in America: A History, by David M. Tucker, Iowa State University Press, 1993

Act Locally!

Gardening Resource Groups,
nextstep.state.mn.us
/res_detail.cfm?id=826

Top Houseplants for Improving Indoor Air Quality

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Author
CLEANAIRGARDENING.COM
popular website
In the late 1980s, a study by NASA and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) was conducted to find ways to purify the air for extended stays in orbiting space stations.
Footnotes/Endnotes

ON THE WEB!

Foliage Plants for Removing Indoor Air Pollutants, ntrs.nasa.gov (search for "foliage indoor air")

Foliage Plants for Indoor Removal of Primary Combustion Gases,
ntrs.nasa.gov (search for "foliage combustion")

NASA Publications on the Vascular Aquatic Plant Program,
ssc.nasa.gov (search for "aquatic plants")

Organic Pest Control

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Author
THERESA ROONEY
Hennepin County Master Gardener
Mother Nature has a mind of her own...as do the insects and animals, especially when it comes to our own backyard. In general, using a more natural option to control pests lasts longer and only affects the targeted insect or animal. Using stronger chemicals can often kill more than the "bad" bugs and the insect pest population will rebound more quickly than the insect predator population, which can cause a worse problem later on.
Footnotes/Endnotes

ON THE WEB!

Gardeners Supply Company,
gardeners.com

Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply,
groworganic.com

Extremely Green Gardening Company,
extremelygreen.com

Planet Natural,
planetnatural.com

Read Up!

Herb Companion magazine,
Ogden Publications, Inc.

Organic Gardening magazine, Rodale, Inc.

Act Locally!

Contact the University of Minnesota Extension Services to locate Master Gardeners in your area and call the hotline,
extension.umn.edu, 612-596-2110

Organic Meets Thrifty: TIPS FOR USING SCRAPS TO FERTILIZE YOUR GARDEN AND REPEL PESTS

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Author
MELEAH MAYNARD
Master Gardener
If you're reading this, I imagine you're somebody whose mind is already open to trying things that others might find kind of, well, strange. But there's a limit to such openness of mind. My limit is hair. Rest assured, I'm not going to suggest you sprinkle your garden with your hair or your pets' hair.
Footnotes/Endnotes

ON THE WEB!

Extremely Green Gardening, Co.
extremelygreen.com,
/pestcontrolguide.cfm

Organic Gardening magazine,
organicgardening.com

Read Up!

Slug Bread & Beheaded Thistles: Amusing and Useful Techniques for Nontoxic Housekeeping and Gardening, by Ellen Sandbeck, Broadway Books, 2000.

The Truth About Garden Remedies: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why, by Jeff Gillman, Timber Press, 2006.

The Truth About Organic Gardening: Benefits, Drawbacks, and the Bottom Line, by Jeff Gillman, Timber Press, 2008.

Act Locally!

Urban Earth
910 W 36th St.
Minneapolis, MN
612-824-0066
urbanearthcoop.org

Mother Earth Gardens
3738 S 42nd Ave.
Minneapolis, MN
612-724-8463
motherearthgarden.com

Little Boxes to Start Your Garden Early

in
Author
MALCOLM BURLEIGH
Master Gardener
There is a significant lag between the annual amount of sunlight we receive and the temperature we experience. Mid-March gets as much sun as mid-September but the temperature difference is at least 30 °F. Growers can get a jump on the season by taking advantage of this discrepancy by constructing small enclosures known as cold frames which trap the heat and also insulate new plants.

Construction: The basic cold frame is a wooden box with framed glazing on the top. The box must be tall enough to accommodate

Footnotes/Endnotes

ON THE WEB!

Ed Hume Seeds,
humeseeds.com/cldfrm.htm

Act Locally!

The Solar Greenhouse Book, edited by James C. McCullagh, Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA, 1978.

Growing Edibles Indoors

in
Author
MELEAH MAYNARD
Master Gardener
If you like to cook, there's really nothing like walking out into the garden and snipping a bit of fresh basil and oregano to add to your spaghetti sauce. But even if your gardening space is limited to a few sunny window ledges, there are still plenty of tasty things you can grow indoors.

Most herbs do well when planted in containers and grown in a spot (preferably a south- or west-facing window) that gets at least six hours of sun. You can start herbs from seed. It's easier, though a bit more costly, to buy small plants from a garden center or your local co-op. Buy the smallest

Footnotes/Endnotes

ON THE WEB!

Sproutman Publications,
sproutman.com

Home & Garden Television,
hgtv.com (search for "indoor herb garden")

Read Up!

The Miracle Food: A Complete Guide to Sprouting, by Steve Meyerowitz, Sproutman Publications, 1998.

Growing 101 Herbs that Heal: Gardening Techniques, Recipes, and Remedies, by Tammi Hartung, Storey Publishing, 2007.

Act Locally!

Urban Earth,
910 W 36th St., Minneapolis, MN
612-824-0066, urbanearthcoop.org

Mother Earth Gardens
3738 S 42nd Ave.
Minneapolis, MN, 612-724-8463
motherearthgarden.com

How to Plant a Tree

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Author
--From www.communitytrees.org
  • Choose at least a 5-6' tree grown to nursery standards.
  • Select a site with enough room for roots and branches to reach full size. Avoid overhead and underground utilities.
  • Prepare a planting area as deep as the root ball and 3-5 times its diameter by loosening the soil. Dig a hole in the middle of the area and set the root ball even with the ground level.
  • Use water to settle soil and remove air pockets in planting area.
  • Stake the tree to flex with the wind only if tree is unable to stand up to wind.

Free Living in Minneapolis

in
Author
Johnny Appleseed

The following guide is meant as a basic strategy for getting by for free or very cheap in the city of Minneapolis. The places and services listed are only a sampling of what can be found for free in Minneapolis. Being creative and persistent can provide almost anyone with nearly everything they need for free. Happy gathering, scavenging and foraging!

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