Pumpkins are Too Cool!

Read about pumpkins in this month's U of M Extension Yard and Garden News

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We have a Champion!

Congratulations to Stafford Thompson for his Grand Champion win at the Minnesota State Fair. Visit his raised bed garden exhibit at the MN State Fair 4-H building!

Spud Sale Fundraiser

We will be digging our potatoes on Friday night. Seed potatoes were donated by the Wild Bird Store and Little Farm Market in Brainerd. Thanks to Shelly and John for their support of our club and thanks to Nibbe's for growing the spuds!

Potatoes will be for sale at Nibbe's roadside stand, 9925 Saint Mathias Rd., Brainerd and the Wild Bird Store and Little Farm Market, 516 C St. NE, Brainerd (next to the Goodwill Store).

It's Fair Week!

We have all pitched in to man the exhibit behind the grandstand. Great job everybody!! Isaac helped me put up the sign and banner on Wednesday. David and Ellie have been on sight with their parents to help with garden tours. Tonight Debbie and I were at the exhibit and were able to introduce many children to the wonderful smells of herbs - Lemon Balm, Thyme, Chocolate Mint - YUM!

I asked the kids if they wanted to help me make dirt and off we went to the rotating compost barrel. One, two three, push! Over it rolled, helping to mix up all that lovely decaying mess inside. We were making dirt!

One young man told me vegetables made him throw up. I gave him a little bit of Ellie's red leaf lettuce. "There's a vegetable I can eat!" he told me. "I didn't throw up!"

I hope we have some new club members in the making!

We had many blue ribbon winners and even some for their gardening exhibits - some State Fair Trip winners too. At least three of our Great Green Gardeners will be going to the State Fair this year. Congratulations guys!!!

Putting up the fence

Last Thursday, many of our club members along with three Master Gardeners installed a fence around around our county fair exhibit. Still to be installed is the gate and an area with chicken wire to display how to discourage small creatures from entering the garden space.

Produce to the food shelf

Today we made our first delivery to the food shelf of 2.5 pounds of fresh picked vitamins in the bodies of peas, beans, broccoli and lettuce! Way to go gardeners!

Master Gardener Dick Raymond's Visit to Our Gardens

Submitted by Maggie

Dick Raymond, Crow Wing County Master Gardener, took time last night to visit the Great Green Gardener’s gardens at the CWC fairgrounds. Dick is a fascinating speaker with decades of knowledge – beginning with teaching from his mother when he was just a young boy.

Some things we learned last night are how to use Epsom Salts as a garden fertilizer, that Cilantro seeds are called Coriander (used in pickling – yum!), how to plant tomatoes to grow strong stalks – the horizontal planting method – and when and how to prune back plants.

Mr. Raymond stressed to us that the job of a plant is to return to seed. If you intend to harvest seeds from your plants, then let them grow until they flower and seeds form. If however you want fruit or just leaves from your plants, then prune them so more growth energy is put back into the plant and not into its seeding.

THANK YOU! Dick Raymond for all that you shared. We learned a lot from you. We hope you will come to visit us at the fair this year and see how our gardens have grown by then!

Garden Tour with Master Gardener

Submitted by Maggie

Our first garden tour with Crow Wing County Master Gardener Dick Raymond will be on July 6th at 7 p.m. at our gardens on the fairgrounds. Bring your plant diaries, plan to take notes and if you can, take photos to post on the blog. See you there!

The First Day of Summer - June 21, 2010

Posted by Maggie

Make Your Own Plant Markers

Posted by Maggie

Since our gardens will become an exhibit for the fair, we will want to clearly identify our plants. I did a little research on the internet to see what others have done. I found the following idea on gardenweb:

I have been using plastic knives as markers for years. Take a plastic knife (VERY INEXPENSIVE for a good size pakage just about anywhere) and, using a permanent marker, label, and stick into the ground. It is weatherproof and, if you are feeling creative, go to your local party store and buy different knife colors. I love purple, so all my markers are purple knives. All my gardening friends have adopted this method. TRY IT...you'll love it.

Do any of you have any great ideas? Remember, these markers have to be readable, hold up in the weather and stay put!

June 16, 2010 - Planting

Posted by Maggie

Debbie Monchamp met me out at the fairgrounds with herbs she collected from Bailey's Nursery in St. Paul - http://www.baileynurseries.com/

They were giving away plants to community gardens. The herbs she brought for us are Lemon Balm, Basil, Thyme, Savory, Fennel, and two fun mint varieties, Chocolate and Banana!

Important to know about herbs - they should be kept clipped back and in most cases, not allowed to blossom. So, when you are visiting your garden space, please bring scissors with you, snip a bit of this and that to dry or freeze for later use - or use it fresh! Best to collect herbs as well as fruits and vegetables, early in the morning.

Here is link to information on drying and freezing herbs: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/00018.html

Ellie and Stafford and Terri arrived a little later and we gave them a chive plant to put in one of their gardens. As a hardy perennial, we can leave it in the raised bed over winter or it can be transplanted into a home garden in the fall.

The Fennel is planted in one of the straw bales since it isn't very friendly with other plants. The mints are planted in pots since mint loves to take over any garden. They are hardy perennials also so we will be able to divide some in the fall to transplant in our own gardens if we so choose.

We also planted the potato barrel! I can't wait to see how it does.

Ellie's cauliflower is beginning show heads (actually called "curds")! I have not seen cauliflower growing before. Very impressive!

Tip for Ellie: Blanching Cauliflower

The heads are covered, or "blanched", for two reasons. Covering the heads helps protect it from rotting. It also helps to produce the white color and improve flavor.

Blanch the heads as soon as the curd gets 2-4 inches in diameter. This is done by covering the head with the large leaves just below the head. Use garden twine to tie the leaves loosely around the head. The object is to protect the head from light and water, while letting air in. As the head grows, loosen and re-tie the leaves, as necessary. http://www.gardenersnet.com/vegetable/cauliflower.htm

Tomatoes and Vining Plants and Fertilizing

For those of you who have planted tomatoes or any vining plants, be prepared in the next week or so to stake or provide a trellis. Once the heat hits, these plants are going to zoom!

Be sure to read up on fertilizing too!

I really like this site for quick information and is easy to understand: http://www.gardenersnet.com/veggies.htm

June 14, 2010 - Planting at the fairgrounds

Posted by Maggie

Megan, Betty Jo and I planted potato eyes and sweet potato plants in the straw bales this morning. Debbie had planted one with Loofa. I left some potato eyes in the "potato barrel" for planting on Wednesday with Debbie.

It looks like everyone has weeded and replanted as needed. Things are looking great!

Debbie will be bringing some herb plants from her visit at Baileys Nursery and I will be planting those in Shroer's iris bed and in the second wheel chair garden. We will still have to make a spot for peanuts and whatever else Debbie brings back. I have two straw bales here that haven't produced anything so I may take those over to the fairgrounds.

Friday, June 11 - Planting the Southside Entrance

Posted by Maggie
I met up with Shea and Becky, David, his friend John and his cousin Megan and his mom at Erickson's Greenhouse. Mike helped us pick out plants to put in the garden site at the southside entrance to the fairgrounds. Thank you Mike for your help and for donating the plants!!

Thank you, Maggie. You are determined to teach an old dog new tricks! I will drop off the soil on my way to the dds this aft. I will also take some pics to show off to Bailey's. Congratulations to all our kids & parents for putting together such a wonderful project. You really are the Great Green Gardeners.

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Have fun everybody!! Maggie

Our New Blog Site!

At our last meeting I said I would set up a more blog friendly site to improve our communications with one another. Here it is guys. Start blogging - with your parents, of course! Maggie