Hello from Northwest Minnesota

Hi, I have recently moved here from California (zone 9 and 10)where I was a Agriculture teacher teaching greenhouse and nursery management. Before that, I was living in Texas where I attained a Horticulture degree from Sam Houston State Univ. I am now learning a new plant zone and would love to get some advice on what grows best in my new zone (3 or 4). If anyone has any advice, please feel free to share with me. Thanks!

Wow, Thief River Falls. You don't often find someone from TRF! My parents (both deceased now) lived in Thief River Falls for 20+ years. I have a few cousins in the area and a few more downstate. My cousin Dave lives there, farms and has a garden. I was born and raised in New Jersey and could never see my way to moving up there. But Mom had a big vegetable garden. You've got the best soil going! That's one thing I know.

They lived about 1/2 mile from the Red River and pumped water for irrigation some summers There were lots of cabbages, also good peas and lettuce. She froze all kinds of stuff. They had to have a fence because of bunnies and probably deer as well. BTW the mosquitoes are a terror. My cousin Archie has one of those gas-powered mosquito devices, but he's out aways from town. I think they spray in town, so it's not so bad.

My aunt Ruth had sour plum trees and she lived another 3 hours north of TRF.They made great jellly, as did the chokecherries. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of gardening advice as I never lived up there, but my bet is there are lots of gardeners who will. If not on this board, then in town.

If you are in Minneapolis there is a brand new arboretum there and the local gardening club has a super sale in early May. They would be a good source of info, too. I caught it when I was up there this spring. I enjoyed it and brought back a couple of plants in my bag. It's definitely worth checking out -- they have a prairie garden that is planted with wildflowers. That'll be about 5 hours drive from TRF, but it's through lake country and you might want to check out that area. Although it's full of tourists even in May -- it is beautiful country.

Could be quite a culture and gardening shock-- from California zone 9 to TRF zone 3. Are you ready for the winter?

Rae

welcome from upstate new york. this is the place to ask questins.

Hi Rae,
Thank you for the reply. You are right, the soil up here is beautiful and needs little amending. Our soil here is a little on the clay side and hard to till. We live south and east of TRF off of Smiley bridge rd. Thief River is a stone's throw away. Fortunately we have a 520 ft well, which the water is ice cold! Right now the trees are in full fall color. It has already been in the 30's a few days and is about 47 today. Do you know if your cousin Dave has a retail nursery?
We have been here a year and are focusing on getting established. We have a new home, and had to build a garage. We could not pour concrete in garage until the ground thawed-which is a totally new concept for me! Needless to say, I did some container gardening with tomatoes and herbs mostly.
Yes, those mosquitos are vicious! I think they carry steak knives with them! Since the weather has dipped in temp, they have seemed to fly south for the winter as well as some geese I hear at the moment.
I have checked out the garden clubs and have had someone from the extension center come and check out some rare pitcher plants I had growing. He also let me borrow some wildflower and native plant books. Im all for landscaping with natives.
I was also supposed to attend the garden show this last spring, but caught a terrible cold at the time and could not go! :(
As far as being ready for winter............yes and no! Yes because that would mean that all of our outside 'projects' will hopefully be done and 'NO' because I love to garden and I have a two year old that loves to be outside and will probably climb the walls! Again thanks for the reply!

Hi welcome from a yankee who is down south..

Zone 3 yowza, that would be a shock from me in 5a - let alone zone 10. Welcome aboard. There are plenty of plants that will make it there - not as many fancy dancy expensive new ones though.

Hi from back in Texas. I just joined DG too. I have a couple of friends in Duluth, MN, but not sure how far that is from you.

Hi, Shirb & Welcome, I too am a DG newbie. You will love it here. I live in zone 4 in Tomah, Wi. My new obsession is daylilies. What do you think of MN so far?
Becky

welcom from central alabama

Hello! My Folks are from minnesota and they moved to California so I am a Californian but now they are returning to Northern Minnesota (Big Fork, Grand Rapids area but raised in Minneapolis) and they would like me design a native landscaping project around their new cabin! It will be interesting the switch from zone 9 to zone 3 or 4.. Good luck! j

Moved with stepdad and mom when I was 4 to TRF, then Greenbush, Badger, and Bemidji. Was 6-10 at the house 15 miles north of Bemidji, and had about 2.5 acres of garden - grew corn, tomatoes, strawberrys, beets, turnups, potatoes, parsnips, rudabegas, cabbage, lettuce, radishes, horseradish, peas, pole and bush beans. Lots of peat in our soil - nice and black and crumbly. Fortified with chicken and horse manure - neighbors raised them. We raised chickens and rabbits.

Dad would start tomato seeds in late January - dixie cups in the south west window area.

We picked many kinds of berries - chokecherry, pin cherry, high-bush cranberry, wild rasberrys, wild strawberrys (2 kinds), blue berrys, wintergreen, and others I can't remember.

And mushrooms - the woods are loaded with some great ones - morels are the best, or at least the easiest to identify and harvest.

Welcome to DG. Hope to hear of your success with whatever you grow.