This is just a quick note to let you know that I will be soon be changing my blog a bit, including giving it a new name—Livin’ Thing.

If I do all the technology stuff right, fingers crossed, you will simply start getting my blog in its new form at http://livinthing.com/

If things go off the rails, well, I may send out another message begging you to please subscribe to the new site. I don’t think that will happen though because everything’s going to work splendidly, right? Totally.

See you soon. – m

    

Hey you guys, I found a toilet in the bushes!

Here is the thing: I love wildlife to the point where I know I drive some people mad when I’m all, “Oh, calm down. It’s just a few gopher holes and, no, I won’t tell you how to kill them.” Or, “Yes, squirrels and chipmunks do damage some plants and take bites out of tomatoes. But they’re cute and the outdoors belongs to them as much or more than it does to us. So, no, I won’t tell you how to kill them.”

This live-and-let-live mindset is plain old good karma to my husband, Mike, and me. So when a family of raccoons started visiting our yard most nights this summer, we watched in wonder as they emerged from the sewer (Linden Hills’ sewers seem to be filled with raccoons) and trundled in a line down the path to the huge oak tree near our front door. Up the tree they would go, and then they’d stare silently down at us for a while before getting bored—or maybe comfortable—with our wine drinking and card playing or whatever. Pretty soon a couple of them would scooch over to the bird feeders and start shoveling food into their mouths with both paws. We noticed right away that, unlike squirrels, who behave like maniacs when they have to share food, the raccoons were very polite to each other, even going so far as to move out of the way so that somebody else could get closer to the good stuff.

We’ll probably die of cuteness overload before we die of rabies. Photo Credit: iStock

All of that snacking must have left the coons feeling parched because every morning, one of the two water bowls we leave out for thirsty critters was always empty. The other, smaller bowl was mostly empty too. But that bowl was always filled with mud, sticks and a bit of bird food or berries. Curious, I looked it up and learned that raccoons often dunk their food in water before they eat it. Scientists used to think that’s because they were washing their food, but further study revealed that raccoons dunk things in water to make their paws more sensitive to touch. Why? I’m so glad you asked. You see, raccoons don’t have the best vision, which is partly why you often see them tapping their paws on the ground rather than just looking right at stuff. Anyway, what raccoons do have is the same nerve groupings in their forepaws as primates, including humans. Getting their hands wet, scientists have found, increases nerve responsiveness, amping up their sense of touch so they can better understand important stuff about whatever they are about to stick into their mouths.

Freak out and scream, “RABIES!” if you want. But the truth is, and you can look this up, most raccoons do not have rabies and even if they do, transmission to people is extremely rare. Our raccoon family showed no signs of aggression, and Mike and I really enjoyed having them in our lives. The one worry for us was our dog, Lily, who thinks all creatures want to play with her. So we were careful not to let her our after dark. If she just had to go, we went with her, and everything was fine.

Well, everything was fine until the pooping started. I was filling the water dishes one day when I noticed a neat pile of really dark little turds. At first I thought they might be from a cat because half the neighborhood lets their cats live outside (do not get me started on that topic). But this poo was black, like charcoal, and oddly tube-shaped. I took a picture, which I chose not to share with you so; you’re welcome. I looked it up and sure enough—raccoon poo. We weren’t thrilled but figured, hey, everybody has to go sometime, and threw it away. (Yes we know raccoons can be infected with round worms. We wore gloves.)

How could anyone as cute as me poop so grossly in your yard? Photo Credit: iStock

A couple of weeks passed and there was more poo, only this time there were three piles instead of one. Adding to the grossness was a huge mound of barfed-up berries, which seemed to have come back up whole, so I guess they didn’t agree with somebody’s tummy. After that, things got worse fast and we were waking up to five, six, even seven piles of poo (some from coons who clearly needed to see a gastroenterologist), as well as an increasing amount of barf. So now our yard was not only a toilet, it was also a vomitorium. AWESOME.

Again, I turned to the Internet for answers, and that’s when I found out that once raccoons find a lovely place that feels safe and comfortable, they turn it into their own personal group toilet. I can sort of see that, I guess. But for a lot of reasons, Mike and I don’t want to muck out our little friends’ crapper and vomitorium every day. So, though we were sad to have to do it, we stopped filling the bird feeders, took away the water dishes and sprinkled fox urine granules all over the place, which is supposed to scare critters away. I can tell you this; the stench of fox urine has scared us away from our front porch. But we’re still dealing with some poop and barf, though less often. So, yeah, lesson learned. Now if we could just figure out a way to install an actual outdoor toilet that they could use.

    

Okay, now let’s talk about plants. I like to buy a few new plants every year. It’s fun to have something new in the garden, and it’s always interesting to see how they do—or don’t do, as is the case with nearly every Japanese anemone I’ve ever planted except Anemone tomentosa ‘Robustissima’. That beauty has survived whatever my brown-thumb problem is with these plants.

‘Chocolate Shogun’ Astilbe

Anyway, I’d like to tell you about a few plants that I’ve tried and come to love over the past couple of years. First up: Astilbe ‘Chocolate Shogun’. The dark purple foliage of this unique astilbe looks beautiful in my shade gardens where I’ve paired them with hostas, ligularia and yellow-leaved ‘Sun King’ Japanese spikenard. Hardy down to horrifyingly cold Zone 3 (Minneapolis is Zone 4), ‘Chocolate Shogun’ grows 18 to 24 inches high and does best in partial shade. Even when established, these plants need to be watered so try to group them with other plants that like a little extra moisture, such as ligularia, dwarf goatsbeard and foam flower (Tiarella cordifolia).

‘Sun King’ Aralia—courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries

If you’ve never grown epimedium, let me introduce you. There are several varieties to choose from for our region. I’m partial to Snowy Epimedium (Epimedium x youngianum ‘Niveum’), which is hardy to Zone 4. These delicate-looking shade-loving plants grow 6 to 8 inches tall and up to 18 inches wide. The heart-shaped foliage is pretty enough to make this a must-have for me, but the miniature white flowers that appear in early spring are a much-needed respite from winter.

Feeling pretty sick of bee balm looking great and then getting covered with disgusting powdery mildew by July? Me too. That’s why I’d recommend Eastern bee balm (Monarda bradburiana). Hardy to Zone 4, plants grow to about 2 feet tall and wide, and they are nicely clumped rather than floppy like some bee balms can be. Plant these in full sun to partial shade and bees and hummingbirds will zoom in to enjoy them.

I’ve got a couple of different varieties of goatsbeard in my gardens, but my current favorite is ‘Horatio’ (Aruncus ‘Horatio’). Hardy to Zone 4, plants grow to about 3 feet tall and wide and will do best in partial shade—though they can tolerate full sun. I love the dark green leaves on this variety, as well the white, fringed blooms, which have a faintly sweet smell.

‘Raspberry Splash’ lungwort—courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries

Lungwort (Pulmonaria) sounds like a horrid plant, but it’s really quite lovely despite its name, which came about because the plants’ leaves were long ago used unsuccessfully to treat lung infections. Over the years I have added many varieties of lungwort to my gardens. All have their good points, really, but Pulmonaria ‘Raspberry Splash’ is my favorite. Hardy to Zone 4, these plants grow to about 12 inches high and are said top out at about 18 inches wide. In truth, the ones in my front gardens are much wider, so huge, in fact, that people often wonder if they are “some kind of spotted hosta”. Plants will do best in partial shade and are covered in early spring with raspberry-colored blooms.

    

How do I save tomato seeds?

It’s easier than you might think. Scrape the pulp from a few of the same tomatoes into a jar with some water in it and stir. Put a lid on the jar and let it sit for a three or four days at room temperature, stirring a couple of times a day. You want seeds to drop to the bottom so add more water if you need to and continue to stir. Once there are many seeds on the bottom of the jar, skim off floating seeds and any mold, if you see some. Carefully pour out some of the water and add fresh water before skimming the top again. Once the container looks clean and there is little to nothing floating, pour off all of the water through a fine strainer and spread your seeds out to dry. I use a dinner plate, but you can also use screen or a cutting board, whatever works.

Saving tomato seeds is easy.

Can I use Milorganite to condition straw bale gardens before planting?

I’d say gardeners have to decide this for themselves. Here are the facts: Milorganite is a fertilizer made from treated sewer sludge from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. The sludge, which comes in pellet form and smells kind of gross, but not in the way you would think, is marketed as being great for trees, shrubs, lawns and home gardens. It is also a good deer and rabbit repellent. The problem is, while Milorganite is deemed safe for consumer use by the US Environmental Protection Agency, testing has shown that it contains contaminants that the treatment process cannot remove, such as heavy metals, pathogens, pharmaceuticals and other toxic chemicals. Because of this, I steer clear of using it on or near edible plants. If you’re going to plant a straw bale, there are many other safe, organic fertilizers to choose from.

I want a red-blooming delphinium. Is there such a thing?

Happily, there are some varieties of red delphinium, and I would suggest ‘Red Caroline,’ which has coral-colored blooms that darken to red as they mature. Like most delphinium, they will do best if you stake them so they won’t topple over. Pollinators and hummingbirds love these flowers, and plants are hardy to Zone 4, so they will survive our horrifying winters. While you might find these in garden centers, it’s probably easier to go online and order either seeds or plants.

Is garlic a good insect repellent?

Yes, it definitely can be. You can buy various types of garlic-based sprays and oils, or you can make your own by tossing two large cloves of garlic and 4 cups of water into a blender. Strain the mush through some cheesecloth once or twice and dilute what’s left with another cup of water. Test the garlic repellent on a plant or two that you don’t care about so much before spraying it widely; just to be sure you’re not causing any damage. Tests have shown that whiteflies, some types of beetles and aphids are all repelled by garlic, though be aware that your garden’s going to be a bit smelly for a few days.

    

Japanese beetle orgy on my grapevines.

I have been battling Japanese beetles in earnest for five days now and, as you probably already know from having experienced them yourselves—I am losing. There are a lot of reasons for that; the biggest being that they are demons from hell and there is nothing mortals can do to stop them. But that aside, I also don’t like to use chemicals outside or inside, so my strategy for getting rid of them amounts to going around knocking them off of my plants and into a plastic bowl filled with soapy water. Yes, I do wear a glove on the beetle scooping hand. I have heard anecdotally that the beetles can bite, but that has never happened to me. I just prefer to keep them off my hand skin whenever possible.

Caught all of these Japanese beetles in my gardens in 30 minutes.

Before I say more about how to deal with these gross creatures, let me first explain a bit about Japanese beetles for those who have been living in a cave or condo for years, and/or are just new to the perils of gardening. About the size of a dime with futuristic-looking, gold and green bodies, Japanese beetles are actually kind of attractive if you’re into metallic bug robots. They were first spotted in Minnesota in 1968, but with the exception of a brief period in 2000 and 2001, they didn’t become much of a problem until about 2005.

Though the Japanese beetle life cycle is a short 60 days or so, they can do a lot of damage in that amount of time. Females lay eggs beneath turf grass in the summer, and around June or early July the following year their offspring emerge and fly off to their favorite plants (they are attracted to about 300 different plant species) where they mate in zombie-like orgiastic piles while skeletonizing leaves and pooping everywhere. Pheromones released by the beetles during this whole scene, which I swear I am not exaggerating, attract more and more beetles, and in a short time the areas where they gather are both denuded of foliage and reeking to high heaven, as my grandma used to say.

Anyway, let’s get back to how to get rid of them. Because the pheromones they release attract more beetles, it’s best to reduce their numbers if you can. So, as I said earlier, I go around murdering them every day with a glove on one hand and a bowl of soapy water in the other. I do this by slipping the bowl under a bunch of them, and then I gently brush the beetle piles into the water and move on to the next spot. Even when they are not enraptured by beetle sex, these are not fast-moving creatures—unless they start to fly—so it’s pretty easy to knock hundreds of them into a bowl of water in about 20 minutes.

Here’s a tip—don’t get super ambitious like I did today and try to brush a wide swath of them into the bowl at one time because loads of startled beetles will fly up and into your hair, your shirt pockets and your jeans—one even ricocheted off my lips. And here’s another tip—don’t hang up one of those Japanese beetle pheromone traps because they do work by attracting lots of beetles. The problem is they attract a whole lot more beetles to your yard than that trap will ever be able to deal with. Study after study has shown this and yet hardware stores keep selling out of these traps. Spread the word.

Don’t use JB traps unless you want to invite more beetles to your house.

If you don’t handpick Japanese beetles or use ill-advised traps, all of the other reasonable-sounding ways to control them involve insecticides, either synthetic or organic, and most, if not all of those are toxic to pollinators and other living things in one way or another. I love my gardens and it pains me to see them torn apart by ravenous, sex-crazed beetles. But, it doesn’t make sense to me to resort to chemicals that are known to be harmful, even when used according to their labels, which often advise spraying at night so the product will hopefully be dry by morning when bees start visiting plants. What? No. I can live with a few beetles in my hair.

    

If you haven’t already heard, in late May, Minneapolis joined other cities, including St. Paul, Minnetonka and Northfield, in using goats to help manage invasive plants, like buckthorn and garlic mustard. My husband, Mike, and I saw the goats in action near Cedar Lake’s east beach (Hidden Beach) a few weeks ago. And I have to say that one week into their 10-day stay, those goats had pretty much denuded the 6-acre area they were corralled in. It was wonderful to see and hear them as they wandered around with their babies munching on greenery. Apparently their next stop will be the northwest portion of Wirth Park in late July.

Rented from Diversity Landworks of La Crescent, Minn., the goats were protected by two layers of fencing and an on-site shepherd, Jesse Dale. While the creatures can’t control invasive species in just one visit, the hope is that repeated visits will at least keep problem plants in check. It the Park Board sees positive results they say they may cut down on the amount of glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) and other herbicides they are currently using. Let’s hope that’s the case. Go goats!

    

“Mommy, make sure you get some red peppers,” one little boy yelled. At suppertime, a teenage boy and his mother showed up because he had walked by earlier and seen that the library also included free seeds. “I went home and told her that we had to come back because this is so cool,” he said. All of this happiness made us happy too, so thank you to all of you joyful people who came by to get some seeds. And thank you, too, to everyone who has brought over seeds to share.

What’s in the Little Free Seed Library is always changing, but with all of the donations it’s safe to say that there is a still a big supply of vegetable seeds, including several varieties of corn, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, squash and lettuce. There is also a variety of herb seeds, as well as a wide variety of flower seeds, including lupines, snap dragons, morning glories, zinnias, coreopsis, Shasta daisies, Echinacea, moon flower, impatiens, delphinium, foxglove, four o’clocks, bachelor buttons and many more. Come by and take what you need, or drop off extras you’ve got!

    

While I feel pretty confident in my ability to grow non-edible plants, I still struggle to turn out consistently usable food crops. I’m probably doing all sorts of things wrong, but I’d also like to blame some of the problem on our weather. It’s not easy to grow edibles in cold climates. So when I was asked to review John Whitman’s new book Fresh from the Garden: An Organic Guide to Growing Vegetables, Berries, and Herbs in Cold Climates, I jumped at the chance.

Published by the University of Minnesota Press earlier this year, Whitman’s book offers more than 500 pages of color photos and helpful, practical information, starting with easy-to-understand organic gardening basics and expanding into specifics on how to grow, harvest and store a wide range of edibles. Unlike some gardening books where you can tell the writer has never touched a trowel, Fresh from the Garden offers know-how and advice that reflects Whitman’s 50-plus years of gardening experience. He is also the author of several other books that I use and trust, including three in the cold climate gardening series: Growing Perennials in Cold Climates, Growing Shrubs and Small Trees in Cold Climates and Growing Roses in Cold Climates.

Credit: John Whitman

One of the things I like most about Whitman’s approach is the way he just says what he thinks, citing his own experience rather than repeating things that are commonly said like—you MUST get a soil test before planting. “I consider its value questionable for most home gardeners but worth the cost for mini-farmers,” he writes, explaining that he’s never done a soil test in 60 years of gardening. I’ve gone back and forth about soil tests over the years and concluded that most gardeners I know, including master gardeners, don’t test their soil’s nutrient and pH levels regularly if at all. That said, soil tests are useful if you’re having problems growing something or you want to grow something with specific needs, like blueberries, which require more acidic soil. Soil tests are also necessary, he writes, and I would agree, if heavy metal contamination, particularly lead, could be a an issue where you are planting.

Whitman also does a fabulous job of suggesting varieties of edibles that we can plant in our cold climate, including a lot of heirlooms and hybrids that you don’t often hear about. Did you know, for example, that there are more than 30 different species of basil? The most common is sweet basil, of which there are many, many varieties. Cuban basil, which Whitman describes as “fairly cold tolerant” grows to about 18 inches tall with a spicy, sweet taste while ‘Magical Michael’ basil grows to 16 inches and is just plain sweet with slightly purplish leaves.

Credit: John Whitman

Having trouble growing carrots? Be sure to plant them in full sun or at least partial shade in a spot with deep, loose and fertile soil. It helps to work some compost, rotted leaves and/or aged manure in before planting time. If you want to grow them in containers, use something that is at least 12-inches deep and wide or larger. For containers, he recommends planting baby varieties, such as ‘Little Finger’, ‘Parmex’ or Thumbelina Hybrid’.

Want to help cucumbers stave off late-summer diseases? Water them only when the top inch of soil is dry, he advises. That way, plants will develop deeper roots to help them withstand drought and heat while also making them more resilient in general. Avoid spraying the foliage with water, and watch for yellowing leaves, which signal that you are overwatering. His long list of cold-tolerant varieties includes one of my favorites, the vining heirloom ‘Straight 8’, which I plant every year.

No matter what edible you look up, Fresh from the Garden offers thoughtful advice and plant suggestions that, in many cases, I have not found elsewhere—at least not in such a readable, down-to-earth form. Thanks to John Whitman, I may just have my best food-growing summer yet. Check his book out and see what you think.  

    

For all of those reasons and more, many cities around the country—and the world—have opted in the last 10 years or so to turn vacant city lots and patches of parks into food forests and community orchards. London; Victoria, British Columbia; Calgary and Toronto, Canada; Seattle, Washington; Bloomington, Indiana, Madison, Wisconsin; Asheville, North Carolina, Glendale, Ohio; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, are just a few of those cities. More information on those projects and a list of others can found here.

Raspberries could easily be part of an urban food forest. —iStock

Minneapolis makes the list with the Bancroft Meridian Garden Food Forest. The lot along 38^th Street started out as a flower garden tended by the community, but in 2014 the group decided it was time to create a food forest that was more sustainable for people, wildlife and the land. Everyone in the community is welcome to stroll around pick a few berries, apples, herbs or other things. The idea is not to harvest the food, but to create an urban foraging space for all to enjoy.

More food forests will hopefully be a part of Minneapolis’ future. But one thing is clear: it is going to take advocacy from people like us to make that happen. Russ Henry, a longtime activist and landscape designer who is running for an at-large Park Board seat, and Ryan Seibold, who leads the Hiawatha Food Forest group, have been working for months to get a food forest started near Lake Hiawatha on the site of the frequently flooded Hiawatha Golf Course.

Public feedback has been positive for the most part. In many different public meetings, thousands of residents (golfers and non-golfers) have expressed support for the idea of restoring the wetlands, which were drained in the 1930s to create the golf course. Along the edge of the wetland on a little big higher ground, edibles could be planted to create a walkable food forest.

Serviceberries are hardy in Minnesota. Birds love them, and humans can make great pies with them. —iStock

The idea was by far the most popular among those that were pitched during a March 16 “Innovation Lab.” Organized by Henry, the event drew more than 150 people who wanted to hear farmers, beekeepers, restaurateurs, composters and other interested folks offer their thoughts on transforming the local food system. “People like the idea of being able to do some food foraging in parks,” says Henry, who believes food forests have the potential to also connect people and build communities.

In a progressive city like ours, you’d think a fun, 21^st-century, eco-friendly suggestion like this would be a slam dunk. But it isn’t, and in this case the thorn is the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. The Hiawatha Golf Course is one of seven courses that they operate in the city. But despite the fact that keeping the soggy course, which purportedly lost money last year, operational means pumping millions of gallons of groundwater into already ailing Lake Hiawatha, they don’t seem very interested in making a change.

Though they are aware of residents’ and activists’ interest in allowing the golf course to return to its natural wetland state, and potentially adding a food forest of one size or another, the Park Board has continued pumping groundwater and has restored the course to a full 18 holes for the summer. Woo hoo! Park Board Commissioner Steffanie Musich, who represents the area, told the Star Tribune in March that Henry and others who are pitching the food forest idea are violating the board’s planning process by pushing for change. “There are a lot of angry people that feel like the planning process is not being respected,” she said, explaining that some kind of “urban agricultural zone” is being considered as part of the master plan for the golf course and surrounding park.]

Henry and other activists counter that the Park Board has shown that it is not keen on, or receptive to, input they don’t like, whether it is coming from the public or even from within their own ranks. My commissioner, Brad Bourn (District 6) has been repeatedly disrespected by his Park Board colleagues for supporting ideas that would move our parks in a more organic and sustainable direction. (Thank you for pushing for what’s right, commissioner Bourn!)

So here’s the thing: in that March Star Tribune interview commissioner Musich said that her mind, and the minds of other Park Board members are open to the idea of fruit and nut trees being included in plans for the golf course and park. But they need more feedback from the community before making a decision. “We can’t just vet the idea with a group that’s already excited about it,” she said. “We need to vet it to the entire community and all the people that have shown interest in the future of this park.”

Hey, well, whaddya say we show her, and the rest of the Park Board, some interest? And not just for the future of this park, but for all of our parks that are carpeted with chemical-soaked grass and long overdue for a safe and environmentally conscious overhaul. Commissioners’ contact info. is here. Steffanie Musich can be reached at 612-230-6643, Extension #5.

    

There are small, coin-sized envelopes available for those who want to take seeds, as well as pencils to write down what you’ve packaged up. Seeds that are available for the taking are either in their original packets or large envelopes that are labeled with the plants’ names. Please take what you want from those packets and large envelopes and leave the rest for others.

If you have seeds to share—and we can always use more—please bring them in their original packets or envelopes that are labeled so people can clearly see what’s available. And thank you very much to all who have helped make this seed-sharing library a success for the last several years. People stop by all the time during the summer to tell me that the sunflowers or tomatoes or cosmos in their yard came from the seed library. Sometimes they even get out their phones to show me photos of what they’re growing. It’s a joyful thing to be part of and all of us are making it possible. Way to go, us!

Help for the Bees

As you probably know, news about the health of bees continues to get worse. Just last December the rusty-patched bumblebee was declared endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service because their numbers have declined so much in the past 20 years. Other bumblebee species are also declining, as are populations of other types of bees.

Gardeners are in a unique position to help bees of all types. If you’d like some bee-friendly plant ideas, have a look at the University of Minnesota bee lab’s publication, Plants for Minnesota Bees. Plants on the list vary widely and are workable for home landscapes of many different types.

Don’t feel like buying new plants? No problem. If your lawn is chemical free, you can help pollinators by leaving some of your lawn weeds for them to feast on. White clover is everywhere is most people’s lawns, and it often blooms from mid-spring through the fall. Flowers on this not-that-bad-looking weed, which is recognizable for its three-leaved shape, are white and bees love them because they are wide enough to land on comfortably. White clover doesn’t need to be tall to bloom, so if you set your mower to 3 inches, your lawn will look reasonably neat and you’ll still leave plenty of nectar and pollen for your bee friends.

White Clover—iStock

Dandelions are also a bee favorite. So while these weeds are less easy on the eyes, consider leaving a few in some area of your lawn. Those yellow flowers provide bees with nectar and pollen that they need to survive.

Again, though, be sure that areas you leave for bees are not treated with chemicals that will harm or kill them. No matter what your lawn service tells you, none of the chemicals used to treat grass are safe for pollinators—or other living things, for that matter. But that’s a separate column. For now, let’s set our sights on helping the bees. They need us now more than ever.