Muskoka Master Gardeners

There’s still time to register for our presentation tomorrow by Tamara Brown, farmer and member of Eat Local Muskoka. Tamara will give tips and tricks for veget...able gardening in Muskoka, how to plan your garden, where to get your seeds and answer all your vegetable gardening questions. Email Cortney to get the zoom link! http://ow.ly/k7Wc50EmwRY See more

In Gravenhurst: "The Community Garden is a public place to grow your own vegetables if you do not have enough space at home, or as a place to start small and learn about gardening, while meeting other gardeners in your community."

Time to pot up those tubers! Here's a nice tutorial on how to start dahlias in pots to get earlier blooms. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_Oj2gvlwfQ

Dicentra cucullaria (Credit: James St. John https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/)

Seed catalogues are starting to come out! What's everyone looking forward to growing this year?

Is everyone taking advantage of this beautiful weather to finish off those last few gardening tasks? https://www.almanac.com/10-tips-prepare-your-garden-winter

Some great ideas for alternatives to the dreaded periwinkle.

Is your garlic planted yet? It's easy to grow and stores well. https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-garlic

Catch the latest episode of IN THE DIRT, 7:30am TOMORROW when host Laura Emily Thomas (Hidden Habitat) talks with Sean Patchett of Muskoka Master Gardeners wher...ein Sean answers all those burning questions you've always had about Master Gardeners, like how do you become one, do you get a sash or golden shovel (spoiler, sadly not), & what do they do? They also talk plants, gardening, & bust a few gardening myths. ICYMI: Archived Podcasts On Demand At: https://muskokaradio.com/show/inthedirt IN THE DIRT airs Saturdays 7:30am ET once monthly. Blending her passion for natural gardening methods & wildlife conservation, she gets into the weeds, sharing stories & tips from her own experience & other landscape professionals, showing us we can have a beautiful garden providing habitat for local wildlife.In The Dirt is part of our Muskoka Magazine programming, sponsored by Dairy Lane Dental ~Shauna Leigh Taylor~ HuntersBayRadio.com/listen #WeAreMuskoka #InTheDirt #LauraThomas #MuskokaMasterGardeners #SeanPatchett

Citizen Science.

Anyone else finding more damage than usual in their gardens this year?

Citizen Science.

Did you know Periwinkle is an invasive species? Now you do! Wild Geranium is a great alternative, and even has the added benefit of being a popular nectar sourc...e for hummingbirds! Not many people know how many invasive species they may have in their gardens. As you work to beautify your property, educate yourself about native species that help our ecosystems thrive. Keep up to date on native vs. invasive with our regular #GrowMeInsteadMonday posts. Find the Grow Me Instead Guide here: https://bit.ly/38q5s80.

Have you ever seen a fairy garden? Here's a little project you could make to attract fairies! It's a tiny hammock, perfect for fairies to sleep in! #fairygardenideas

As Master Gardeners we are confronted with #GardenMyths every day. Hear about some of my favourites in this week's Peterborough Master Gardeners' blog (along with some great information sources). #FolkloreAndSuperstition #ScienceBasedGardening #ScienceRules #GardenMyths #GardenProfessors

Happy Earth Day! What are you doing to celebrate? https://www.almanac.com/c/earth-day-date-activities-history

Sadly, Muskoka Conservancy has cancelled their native plant sale for 2020. However, the Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve is going ahead with theirs. Deadline for orders is May 29th. Pickup in Parry Sound https://www.gbbr.ca/native-plant-sale/

Erythronium americanum Katja Schulz (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)

Happy Earth Day! What are you doing to celebrate? https://www.almanac.com/c/earth-day-date-activities-history

Not Muskoka but still an interesting read! Via Huntsville Hort Society

Photographer: Dina Nasyrova

Hydrangeas are a popular low-maintenance shrub in Muskoka, but people often have a lot of anxiety about pruning them. This is a straightforward guide that should help: https://www.thespruce.com/when-to-prune-hydrangeas-1403320 Not sure what you have? The common varieties here are Hydrangea arborescens (usually rounded flower heads, e.g. Anabelle), H. paniculata (cone-shaped flower heads, often turn pinkish) and H. macrophylla (the blue one - but also comes in other colours)

Not Muskoka but still an interesting read! Via Huntsville Hort Society

Something calming to think about for a while.

Here's a list of early spring gardening tasks, in case you're itching to get started! This is from Haliburton MG (zone 4), so their timeline works well for us in Muskoka too. http://www.haliburtonmastergardener.ca//early-spring-remin

Planning your garden? Looking for some unique seeds to start indoors this year? Check out the Library's seed collection. Visit the website for details http://bit.ly/HPLseedlibrary

Something to try!

Often we end up acquiring a random mishmash of houseplants, but this article gives some good tips if you'd like to take a more deliberate approach . https://www.hortmag.com//choosing-the-right-houseplants-fo

via Baysville Hort Society Good to know before you start ordering seeds willy-nilly!