I was going to say this is the week to start the garden but most gardeners I know have their gardens prepared and ready to plant or planted already. I use a tiller for the vegetable garden and a shovel for the smaller gardens. I got an early start this year for a change because of the weather. The flower beds were planted a couple of weeks ago. I have one small bed left to plant and I think I will grow zinnias in it because they attract monarch butterflies and are easy to care for.
Gardening is a great hobby and popular too. It is nice to grow fresh vegetables and I can grow an impressive amount of produce on my postage stamp sized city lot. Gardening is like real estate in that it is local. If you are new to gardening, here are some local resources that I think you will like.
Here is the site to the University of Minnesota-Extension, and they have classes too. The site is worth exploring it has a lot of information about plant care and can help with identifying weeds. Gardening can also be social, and here is a local site called Garden Guides where other gardeners hang out. Who knows — they may be able to answer questions or give advice and there is a section on urban gardening. For people interested in community gardens see Gardening Matters; there are community gardens all over the Twin Cities!
I learned about a site at yesterday’s social media breakfast called plantjotter where gardeners keep online garden journals. For new gardeners who may need advice on plants you can’t beat going to the neighborhood garden center. I go to Leitners and they can answer most any question about plants and gardening. They may be able to help with plant identification too. If you have are a new home owner and you cannot identify a plant ask your mother or a neighbor with a garden for help. If that doesn’t work, shoot a photo of it with your phone and email it to me.
If you don’t want to grow your own veggies or start flowering plants from seeds I highly recommend the St. Paul Farmer’s Market. You can’t beat local Minnesota-grown food including meat, cheese, honey and those wonderful fresh eggs.
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