gardens

All-natural ways to protect food gardens from pests

Homeowners frequently enhance their outdoor living spaces with attractive plants and trees. When that greenery also produces food, the results can be both beauty and bounty. People who plant vegetable gardens and fruit trees in their yards can be blessed with an abundance of fresh pickings once it'...

Snipped seedlings? Look for cutworms in your garden

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu One annoying habit, many species Close up of a cutworm The group of caterpillars, known as cutworms, get their name from an annoying habit many of them share: they feed on young plants right at the soil line, making small plants...

Managing Japanese beetle feeding

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu The Japanese beetle life cycle. Illustration: Joel Floyd, USDA APHIS Starting in June, Japanese beetles have made an unwelcome return to Minnesota gardens. These gleaming copper and green beetles have been in Minnesota for decades but...

Edible gardens for people and pollinators

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu The gardens for residents at Lake Minnetonka Shores, Spring Park, MN If you’re like most gardeners, you want to use your land as efficiently as possible, while growing plants you love and want to eat and that support pollinators. I have...

How to keep gardens safe in summer heat waves

Summer is a season to relax and enjoy the warm weather. Basking in the summer sun is a great way to relax, but only when the temperatures are safe. Summer heat waves can compromise the health of human beings as well as their pets. Gardening enthusiasts also may need to go the extra mile to keep...

Ground covers for gardens

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION - www.extension.umn.edu For all the gardeners who are music lovers: 'Beatlemania' spring sedge or mop-headed sedge. “Ground cover” can mean several things. It can be a type of mulch, hardscape materials like patio block, or a growing plant. Ground covers can...