Home & Garden

  • Flowering crabapples

    By Karen Johnson, U of M Extension McLeod and Meeker Counties Personally, one of my favorite things to see blooming in the landscape in the spring are crabapple trees. Each one unique in size, color, and shape. There is something special about the abundance of white, red, or pink-hued flowers. If you find yourself wishing you had one…

  • Our connection to each other

    I recently heard the word Ubuntu. If you are not familiar with this term, it means “I am, because we are.” The story I read was about a group of children playing outside. A person had a beautiful basket of fruit that they placed under a tree across the meadow. They told the children that…

  • Taking a good soil sample for your lawn or garden

    By Karen Johnson, U of M Ext. Educator Ag Production Systems, McLeod and Meeker Counties Soil test analysis data collected from a lawn or garden can be no better than the sample. Therefore, proper collection of the soil sample is extremely important. Representative samples are as important to get good data back for your home…

  • January Weed of the Month: What’s in my soil?

    Protect your garden from unwanted pests By Mari Hardel, Minnesota Department of Agriculture A shocking number of weed seedlings popped up the first spring of my new garden. If you’re planning a garden or landscaping project, consider how the materials you use could bring in invasive species – weeds, seeds, and unwanted pests.

  • Do you REALLY need to rake your leaves this Fall?

    Do you REALLY need to rake your leaves this Fall?

    By Katie Drewitz, U of M Extension Raking leaves is one of those fall chores that you likely aren’t thrilled about doing, especially if you have an abundance of trees. It seems that this time of year the question that always arises is if it’s really necessary. The short answer to that question is that…

  • Storing tender bulbs

    By Katie Drewitz, U of M Extension Have you finished everything on your autumn to-do list? It can be hard to get everything done. However, if you are hoping to enjoy some of your favorite flowers and save some money next spring, you should be sure to dig and store your tender bulbs and store…

  • Birds that attack windows or vehicles

    By Karen Johnson, UMN Extension – McLeod and Meeker Counties Over the last couple of weeks, I have had a number of calls into the Extension office about birds that seemed to be attacking windows or vehicles. I have even had the prettiest yellow finch repeat-visit one of the windows of my home. This begs…

  • Gardening from the Ground Up; a webinar series

    By Katie Drewitz, U of M Extension When looking to start a garden, or improve your current garden, it is best to start from the ground and work up. University of Minnesota Extension local educators are excited to bring you the Gardening from the Group Up webinar series to help you achieve your garden goals.…

  • Properly planting trees

    By Katie Drewitz, U of M Extension Trees provide many things for our communities; beauty, energy conservation, reduction of soil erosion, filtering air pollutants, raising of property values, a home for wildlife, and so much more. Trees are an integral part of our home landscapes and neighborhoods. If you are looking to plant a tree…

  • Nuisance insects appearing in homes

    By Katie Drewitz, U of M Extension As the temperatures outside continue to feel more like Spring, you may notice some insects in your home. These insects include: cluster flies, boxelder bugs, sowbugs, multicolored Asian lady beetles, and more. Although these insects can be annoying, especially when there are many of them present, they are harmless.…

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