It is not too early to start thinking about how to get those kids out into the garden this summer. North Country Master Gardeners are gearing up for this year's Mini-Master Gardeners program. This fun program is open to ages 5 and up (must be accompanied by an adult). A full morning of demonstrations and hands-on activities conducted by Master Gardener Volunteers with keep the kids enthralled! Check out the fun we had last year! Class size will be limited to 30 children. Pre-registration is required. All fees will be collected at the door.
When: March 30h, 2019, 8:30am – 12:00pm Where: Bashaw Valley Greenhouse, W7402 Fox Trail Road, Shell Lake, WI 54871 Cost: $5/child; $10 per family; Adult chaperones are free. Registration Required. Contact: Lorraine Toman, call 715-635-3506 or email [email protected]
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Starting seeds indoors is a great way to get your fingers in the soil when a blanket of snow covers the gardens and it feels like winter will never end. Just smelling that seed starter is enough to raise anyone's spirits! Picking through my seed box with my mind on the glorious day I'll be out in the garden planting seedlings and sowing into the sun-warmed soil, I wonder how old some of these seeds are and will I get good germination. Some seeds are better in the long run than others and of course when saving seeds it is always good to date and source your seeds--not so hard when you buy packets with the dates right on them but if you tear off the top and toss it and don't use up all the contents, you may have lost that important information printed on the flap. Among the seeds that last longest in dry cool storage, 5 or more years , are some favorites:
Beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, cilantro, cucumber, lavender, lettuce, melons, mustard, oregano, peppers, radish, sunflower, tomato, and turnips. Then we have the seeds that can go up to five years such as: Basil, beans, calendula, carrot, celery, chard, dianthus, dill, eggplant, forget-me-not, lupine, marigold, nasturtium, parsley, peas, pumpkin, sage, snapdragon, squash, sweet pea, thyme, and zinnia. The most delicate seeds lasting only a year or two are: Alyssum, aster, blanket flower, coleus, corn, cosmos, delphinium, leek, onion, pansy, parsnip, phlox, spinach, and strawflower. It's not that these seeds won't germinate after the "use by" date but you will get a considerably smaller percentage that do germinate and possibly less robust plants. To ensure success, fresher is better. Soilless seed starter is lighter and finer than regular potting soil making it easier for the little sprouts to make their way to the light. You can make your own starter mix with a combination of equal parts of peat, perlite and potting soil. A lot of seeds do well with a bit of soaking (warm water, 8-12 hours) before planting though some are so small it’s difficult to handle them wet or even damp. Soak peas, beans, squash, pumpkin, corn and other larger seeds to give them a little boost before starting indoors or planting in the garden. Keep in mind, you might have to "rough up" or scarify some seeds before starting them--they need help cracking through the seed coat in order to germinate. These are largely wild flower and perennial and flower seeds such as nasturtium, morning glories, moon flowers—ones with tough outer shells designed to pass through the digestive systems of birds and small mammals. Shaking them up in a bag with rough edged rocks will usually do the trick. Bigger, tougher seeds may need a more brutal approach—take a blade or hammer to these. You may have to put some seeds through stratification--moisture and/or cold temperature for a designated period before germinating. Seeds for false sunflower, hardy hibiscus, catmint, evening primrose perennial sweet pea, lupine, rudbeckia and many wildflowers need a period of cold and moisture before they will germinate. Plant these in your starter trays as you normally would, then put the trays out into a cold shed or garage, away from exhaust fumes, for a few weeks before starting indoors. Be sure they are covered to keep out any little rodents looking for a snack. https://www.americanmeadows.com/blog/2017/06/05/how-to-scarify-and-soak-seeds-for-spring-planting/ https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/propagation/seeds/seed-stratification.htm I've learned the hard way that windows are not the best place for young seedlings. Windows can be drafty, the glass conducts cold, and nighttime temperatures can be downright chilling. Seedlings do best with consistent temperature and light. A cool, white fluorescent double-bulb hanging fixture suspended 2-3 inches above the seedling trays for 12 to 16 hours per day is ideal and not too difficult to manage. Fixtures are fairly inexpensive, especially if you can find them at a thrift store. I always start seeds too soon so have to contend with leggy seedlings well before it is time to plant outdoors. This means I must transplant them into larger pots and get them as much light and breeze as possible to toughen them up for their adventure in the garden. Unlike trees, many seedlings such as tomatoes and broccoli can be transplanted with their stems buried. So a 6 inch seedling can be transplanted to be a 3 inch seedling, the buried stem will then start rooting. Plant these up to, but no deeper, than the first little leaves (the cotyledon leaves). Of course transplanting seedling into large pots will also slow them down as they will have to concentrate on adapting to their new digs. This can be good in that spring planting time may be well off yet and you want the seedlings to develop good strong roots before they go out into the garden. Here is a handy guide to when to start your seedlings indoors (in our area April 1 is 8 weeks before last frost): 8 Weeks --cabbage, broccoli, eggplant, lettuce, peppers 6 weeks--perennial flowers, tomatoes, watermelon 3-4 weeks--cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, muskmelon Let the ground warm up before planting your little seedling, else they may go into shock and take days or weeks to recover. Even though the days may be warm, plant after danger of frost. In plant hardiness zones 3b-4b our average last frost is May 24-30. Keep in mind when choosing seeds, especially when sewing directly into the garden bed, that our growing season here in NW Wisconsin is roughly 110 days. Other resources: Common mistakes when starting seeds Seed Saving Do a Google search on “seed starting indoors,” there are lots of great YouTube videos and many, many great articles as well as. Author Pam Davies MG Volunteer MGV Above photo credit: Sue Reinardy Spring is on the way! Many of us are already starting to plan our garden projects for the 2019 season. Once again the North Country Master Gardeners will be having a plant sale. The sale will be offering many new items. We will have two new pollinators to add to your pollinator garden. New varieties of tomatoes, peppers and a herb six pack! North Country Master Gardener Volunteers Annual Plant Sale, Saturday, May 18, 8:00 to 11:00 (or until plants last) at the Station Building, 1035 E Maple Street (Hwy 70), Spooner. Offerings include: Heirloom Tomatoes, Peppers, Natives, Herbs, and Cannas Additions to the Pollinator Six Pack ~ Continue to Feed the Bees ~ the Ox Eye Sunflower and Purple Coneflower will be new additions to our Pollinator Six Pack. Ox Eye Sunflower Heliopsis helianthoides Produces huge quantities of brilliant yellow - orange flowers from June to September. Very easy to grow. Seeds are great for the birds. Grows 2 - 5' tall. Self - sows, does not spread by rhizomes. Hardy to zone 4. Purple Coneflower Echinacea purpurea One of the best for attracting butterflies and birds, this showy and easy to grow cone flower adds a flashy touch to the late - summer garden. Grows 3 - 4' tall. Perennial ~ Hardy to zone 4. Above photo credit: Katie Childs AuthorCarla TePaske, North Country MGV During our North Country Master Gardener Membership Meeting on February 28th, Mark Nupren of the Friends of Namekagon Barrens gave a presentation. Mark shared the beauty of the unique flowers, animals and birds that live in the Barrens. Taking time to be with nature, looking close for new plants to identify and watching Sharp-tail grouse all can be enjoyed hiking in the Barrens. www.fnbwa.org/ Click on the above link for more information regarding Northwest Wisconsin Barrens. Maps, photos and stories about the Barrens can be found on the Friends of the Namekagon Barrens web page. Thank you Mark for your presentation. We look forward to having the Friends of the Namekagon Barrens at the Annual Twilight Tour in the Teaching and Display Garden, Tuesday, August 13, 4:00 to Twilight, Features guest speakers, demonstrations, displays, vegetable tastings. AuthorCarla TePaske, North Country MGV The theme for our 2019 Garden events is: Re-use, Recycle, Re-imagine. The dates have been set, so save these on your calendar, check back for more information on our home page or on the Spooner Agriculture Research Station Facebook page, and plan to join us. For events requiring pre-registration, please call the Station at 715-635-3506.
The Teaching and Display Garden is a joint effort between the Spooner Agriculture Research Station, operated by the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agriculture and Life Science, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension, and area UW Extension Master Gardener Volunteers. The Garden can be found at 780 Orchard Lane, Spooner; located 1 ½ miles east of Spooner on Highway 70 or ½ mile west of Hwy 70/53 Interchange. Please bring your own chair for the Meet Me in the Garden Series. In the case of inclement weather, programs will be held at the Station Building at 1035 E Maple Street, Spooner WI.
Garden enthusiasts in Burnett, Sawyer and Washburn counties who are interested in learning more about horticulture and who have an interest in volunteering in their local communities can now register for the UW-Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Training program. This program is a gateway to learning for personal growth, and a mission to volunteer through community events, school projects, outreach, and UW-Extension activities. The first session is scheduled to begin Tuesday, March 26 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Spooner Agricultural Research Station and continue each Tuesday evening through June 18, 2019. Application deadline is March 1, 2019. Master Gardener Volunteer trainees from prior sessions learn from activities each week in the classroom, with live video feeds from University experts, and outdoor class instructions.
![]() An additional Early Seed Starting Webinar has been added Wednesday, April 3, 6:00 - 7:30 pm @ your computer Offered through WITC See below for registration info Late winter and early spring are the time to check out catalogs, place seed orders and start seeds. Learn more about several seed starting techniques from Sue Reinardy, UW-Extension Master Gardener Volunteer in an upcoming webinar. Sue has volunteered her time to create and deliver this webinar that will feature: deciphering catalog and seed package jargon, proper planting conditions and several techniques including the winter sown planted method that you can start now.
This webinar can be attended from any home computer or device with an internet connection, microphone and camera. Instructions to access the course will be provided a few days before the start of the class. Registration is required through WITC at courses.witc.edu Enter "Early Seed Starting" in the search box. The registration fee is $13.50, and for those 62+ it is $9.00 . Burnett County - Fort Folle Avoine MGVs are involved with several garden projects at the Burnett County Historical Society Forts Folle Avoine. This included a plant sale along with education with customers as they tried to pick out plants to buy. The MGVs planted and maintained raised beds, a perennial bed with mostly native plants, and an "heirloom" flower bed. In addition we planted containers with flowers for the visitor center. Some of the vegetables and herbs were available for the Forts special events like their gourmet dinner. There is no designated funding for the garden projects from the Forts so the MGVs contribute not only their time but the funds for the garden plants and maintenance needs.
This is a 2018 success story from Burnett County.
This is an other entry for activities in 2018 , this one in Sawyer County
This year six new raised bed gardens were created at the LCO Ojibwe Elders Center. Along with creating the beds, Master GardenVolunteers worked cooperatively with UW-Extension FoodWise Nutrition Educators on teaching children in a summer LCO Boys and Girls Club program on how to care for the plants in the beds. This project provided an educational opportunity for both the elders and the children along with food used in meals at the Elder Center. |
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