The Seed 25: Let Freedom Grow

Sharpen your shovels, and turn your compost pile, Spring Has Arrived! Nation wide, gardeners are busy preparing for the upcoming growing season, and from the look of things, this year will be a time of garden expansion throughout the land.Even in this troubled market, seed sales are a boom industry raking in 20-30% gains over last year’s sales. Gardening is the new favored pastime of many a cash strapped American family. Presenting an example to the world, First Lady Michelle Obama’s even getting in on the action, as she put her strong arms to work digging a Victory Garden into the White House lawn! This profuse blooming of garden interest is just what the world needs right now. The U.S.D.A. is about to release a new Plant Hardiness Map...

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The Seed 24: A Farm in the City

Formerly a city garbage dump in the middle of a low-income neighborhood, the site that St. Mary’s Urban Youth Farm now occupies and beautifies, was once a blight on the community. In the mid 1990’s neighbors along with local gardening activists organized to turn this wasted land into a community asset.Cheerful and informative, Naomi Goodwin, director of St. Mary’s Urban Youth Farm was kind enough to talk with me about the goings on at the farm, and the story she told was one of transition.Since 1995 when ground was broken on this garden, the space has served to improve the health and lives of the community. Despite recent funding shifts away from community gardening projects, area residents have continued to recognize and benefit from the...

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The Seed 23: In Love With the Redwoods

Driving North up California’s hwy 101 is a bit like traveling backwards in time, the landscape seems to grow more ancient as the road makes it’s way North. As my partner Shaunna and I drove away from San Francisco’s rolling, paved inclines the cityscapes gave way to large eucalyptus groves and sage covered hills. Not far North of the city we soon found wine country with mile upon mile of leafless rows of, pruned and still dormant grapevines. We traveled onward eventually entering the woods as the day turned to night over the highway. Sometime after nightfall I had to wonder aloud if my road weary eyes were playing tricks on me, as up ahead of our car I started seeing what looked like giant walls right next to the road. The illusion only...

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The Seed 22: Healthy Yards, Healthy Lives

We need food, we need air, we need water. Generally speaking we need all of these things to be clean and free of toxins. We share these needs with the rest of the creatures on this planet. These common needs of all earthlings are best served when the world around us is balanced. For example, If the microbes in the ground are fed nutrients in the form of a cow pie, then the microbes in the ground help the roots of the grass take up water and nutrients, and the grass can grow up tall to feed the cows. The cycle starts all over when the cow lifts her tail to waive goodbye to the grass she has digested. Now, if for some horrible reason the ground is treated with chemicals such as fertilizer or pesticide then the microbes in the ground will...

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The Seed 21: Change Begins At Home

Let’s begin this month’s newsletter with a riddle:What does a parking meter hold, a baby need, and a politician always promise? You guessed it, Change! Recently there’s been a lot said in this country about the subject of change. It seems to me as though many of my fellow countrywomen and countrymen have had their hopes for America renewed by the symbolic election of Barack Obama, a man who promised in his victory speech that, “Change has come to America”. Well this humble gardener couldn’t be more ready for some changes in America! The changes I’m most excited about however, will require much more then symbolism and politician’s patriotic promises. Real change is as inevitable as the snow that will soon blanket our yards, and once real...

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The Seed 20: Gardens on Franklin

The Seward Co-op Grocery and Deli on Franklin Avenue in South Minneapolis has been a source of growth and nourishment for the entire community. Healthy, organically grown produce, wonderfully prepared foods, and customer service that is second to none are just a few of the regular offerings of this fine institution. Giving Tee Gardens has been blessed with the opportunity to work with The Seward Co-op for the last four years in order to create yet another high quality daily offering, namely an organically maintained blooming landscape that offers year round beauty. Thanks to the teamwork between these two organizations, what was once a drab parking lot is now a space that the community can enjoy. While the co-op moves locations to a few...

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The Seed 19: Mile High Gardens

Wherever I travel I visit gardens. I’ve visited fancy Parisian topiary gardens, I drank coconut milk fresh from the machete sliced hull in tropical Jamaican gardens, I’ve admired the proud overflowing window boxes of cottages in the German alps, and I’ve wondered at the selections found in Costa Rican garden stores. It seems everywhere I go I can connect with the space and the people easily through my love of gardens and plants. In many of the gardens that I’ve visited I’ve found gardeners hard at work planting, preparing the soil, or maintaining their precious little piece of earth.Gardeners seem to be an easy lot to connect with in general, and when I’m visiting with gardeners in places new to me, I just love asking folks about the local...

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The Seed 18: Garden Design 101

Garden design can be a daunting subject even for some of us with green thumbs. I’ve encountered lots of folks who are somewhat mystified by the abilities of others to design attractive gardens. I must admit I recall a time when although I’d had years of experience working in nurseries, I was intimidated by the prospect of making my own garden designs. As with any investment in time, energy, or money, it’s important to feel successful in order to boost confidence, and I’ve come to the conclusion that success in garden design is achievable for anybody willing to be patient with themselves and their garden.After a few years experience designing gardens, I found that there’s an important learning process behind every successful design. It should...

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The Seed 17: Garden Melodies

What is it that makes some gardens so inviting while other gardens seem like the same old landscaping? Health is a very important factor in making a space seem beautiful, but even some healthy gardens don’t draw in or excite the eye. It is also important for a space to feel balanced. Some folks would understand balance to mean symmetry, but even symmetrically planted spaces can feel out of balance if the yard surrounding the garden isn’t taken into account. New and unusual plantings are yet another way to stimulate a gardener’s eye, but again without the proper context, health, or balance unusual plants may just look out of place. Once a gardener learns to compost, the health of their gardens can be almost assured. Finding balance in...

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The Seed 16: Beneficial Organisms

No Plant is an Island The garden is a truly magical place. For every gift of the garden that we can see, taste, or feel there’s a million hidden gifts that we may never be able to perceive except in our imaginations. Imagine the micro-cosmic universe of the soil. Tiny soil fungi called Mycorrhizae live partially in the soil, and partially in the root hairs of the plants. These soil fungi aren’t free loaders though as they live symbiotically feeding and watering the plant roots in return for carbohydrates given by the grateful host. These fascinating fungi are only the final step in a process of turning nitrogen in our atmosphere into nitrates that our garden plants can easily absorb to help them grow. This nitrogen fixing process is...

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The Seed 15: A Season to Begin Again

Long chill spring times like this one afford gardeners plenty of time to split and divide perennials. Some folks take advantage of the extra cool weather, using this time to re-vamp tired soils in existing garden beds. I’ve already consulted this season with quite a few folks who just wish to make their current garden beds look a little more healthy, vibrant, diverse, and full. I’ve been telling these folks it must be their lucky year. In years like this we have plenty of time to lift out the newly emerging perennial plants, re-work the garden soils where they came from with a healthy amount of compost, and replant the original plants together with some exciting new selections. In past extended cool seasons I’ve had impressive results...

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The Seed 14: Waking Up With Spring

My first act of gardening this spring was to prune an apple tree. Late in the month of March before the snow and slush made it’s last hurrah, I visited my friend Valerie’s back yard to get her apple tree cleaned up in time for the growing season. Valerie and I paced back and forth around the tree spying branches to cut back. We worked for about a half hour to remove any branches that were rubbing each other, as well as any branches that were crisscrossing the canopy of the tree, or too tall for us to reach with a ladder. By the time we were done the tree had a shape that could be likened to a wine glass, which should make the fruits on this producing creature even more accessible for Valerie and her grandkids.Even before this early gardening...

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The Seed 13: Sue's Garden

Sue Hensel is about as cool a neighbor as a person could ask for. I first met Sue when we worked together on a neighborhood committee. One of the goals of our group of neighbors was to foster a greater sense of safety in our neighborhood. I remember one meeting in particular when Sue invited all the neighbors over to her art gallery to have a neighborhood art night. Sue opened the doors to her gallery and her heart as she welcomed all us neighbors into her creative space. I remember thinking how lucky the neighborhood is to have someone so dynamic and giving. Sue and I easily became friends, so when she asked me to come up with some ideas for her landscape I was more than happy to help. Together we thought up a plan and soon Giving...

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The Seed 11: Margaret's Garden

Acomplished gardener Margaret Wilke graciously invited Russ Henry, owner of Giving Tree Gardens, into her home for tea, cookies, and a plate full of garden talk early this January. Here are some excerpts from that garden chat.Russ-“ I remember when we began working together you were a bit nervous about certain aspects of this project, what was it that made you nervous and how have things turned out?”Margaret- “Well it was quite a big space and I wondered if it might be too much work. Could I make it look nice? It was just a bigger project than I had ever tackled before. I still have aesthetic concerns about how to balance things out, but I feel more comfortable now that I won’t make too many big mistakes.If I do, . . . Oh, well.”R-Well,...

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The Seed 10: Variety is the Spice of Life

We’ve all had one of those jobs. One of those same-thing-every-day-carpal-tunnel-for- the-soul kind of jobs. You've probably endured through weeks and months that left your brain throbbing like George Jetson’s finger after a hard day of button pushing. In fact any monotonous, dull, or unvaried interaction we have with the world around us leaves us feeling drained. How would your body feel if it had to eat the same food every day? What if you had to hear the same song every time you wanted to listen to music? Life would quickly begin to get a bit humdrum if all your choices could be counted on one finger. That draining sensation that accompanies a lack of variety in our lives is ultimately unhealthy because our bodies, minds, and spirits...

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The Seed 9: Reduce Your Ecological Footprint

Fear not brave gardeners, I’m not suggesting that you go out and get a smaller pair of garden clogs to squeeze into. Instead I’d ask folks everywhere to examine the impact of our lawns, landscapes, and lifestyles on the local ecosystem. Think of your yard as a type of footprint that falls on the earth. Now ask yourself if that footfall is delicate and well placed, or are you just plodding along squishing whatever’s in your path? I know I’m preaching to the eco-friendly choir here, but I figure even a free range organic choir could use some good hymns when they go rambling into the world singing their big green ideas. The big idea here is that perhaps with a little honest examination we can find ways at home to reduce the size of our own...

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The Seed 8: Put Your Garden To Bed

A heavy frost has laid itself down on your garden bed. The leaves have wilted and turned color. Now before you go off to cover you gardens with a warm blanket of hay, you may find yourself wondering exactly what to cut back and what to leave standing in the garden.The Minnesota wintertime landscape can be a bit stark. Usually by December most of what we see is covered in snow. At this point of the year, since your landscape is essentially a field of white it can be aesthetically important to have some texture in the garden to break up the white monotony. Choose what to cut back in your garden based first on whether the plant in question will stand tall enough to catch snow and look pretty in the winter. Any herbaceous* perennial that...

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The Seed 7: To Mulch or Not To Mulch

Mystery Mulch Unmasked!Mulch is any material you use to cover a garden bed in order to preserve moisture, moderate the soil temperature, and suppress weed growth. All types of mulch are grouped into two basic categories, organic and inorganic. Types of organic mulch include compost, hay, leaves, wood chips, bark, peanut hulls, pine needles, animal manure, ground corncobs, and even recycled materials such as recycled wood or paper. Perhaps the most commonly used form of inorganic mulch is crushed stone. Plastic or fabric sheeting is often also used, sometimes in conjunction with other organic mulch such as wood chips. Both organic and inorganic mulches sold in retail stores are commonly little more than reclaimed industrial waste, as...

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The Seed 6: Beat the Heat

Hot enough for you? This is the perennial question that millions of Minnesotans seed their greetings with every year late in the month of July. Just like clockwork hardy northerners get to experience a touch of the tropics from the middle of July through the middle of August when the temperatures and humidity levels soar into the 90’s. It is at this sweltering time of year when many of the fruits of our gardening labors begin to pay off, and the legacy of our gardening mistakes are made clear. Fresh tomatoes, summer squash, and visiting Monarch butterflies are among the riches being touted in some of my friends gardens while other friends of mine it would seem have nothing to talk about but the terrible heat and drought. Why are some of...

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The Seed 5: Ornamental Edibles

We've all heard that you can’t have your cake and eat it too. While this saying may have impacted many a baker or cake maker, we gardeners can whole-heartedly ignore it. Why? Because as any good gardener can tell you, you can have your beautiful garden and eat it too!With limited garden space in the city, and a ever rising cost of store bought foods many urban gardeners are finding the benefits of planting their city yards with lovely edible plants.“Let them eat cake” is the response infamously attributed to Marie Antoinette after being told that her loyal subjects could no longer afford bread. Perhaps if the lady Marie would have been trained in the gardening arts (or maybe if she just wasn’t so cruel) her answer would have been something...

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