What's Growin' On?

Fall bouquet before the cold weather...

Come join me and my guest Erin Honken as we visit Erin's Acre and learn about her Flower CSA!

What's Growin' On? S14/E5 Field Trip!!! Jayne Spooner visits Erin Honken at Erin's Acre. Produced by Faribault Community Television

A visit to the Rice County Master Gardeners Teaching Garden at the Rice County Fairgrounds...Happy Digging!!

What's Growin' Om? S14/Ep4 Jayne Spooner is at the Rice County Fair Grounds Teaching Gardens in another episode of What's Growin' On? Produced by Faribault Community Telelvision

Rose's Love Garlic! Carrots Love Tomatoes! 🥕🍅

What's Growin' On? S14/Ep2 Jayne shares with us what she knows about Companion Planting (Friends and Foes in the Garden) Produced by Faribault Community Television

Season 14! Let's...Get..Growin' On!

What's Growin' On? S14/Ep1 Welcome to another season of What's Growin' On? with Jayne Spooner. Jayne shares with us the Seed Trials results from the University of Minnesota for this u...

New Episode and a new personal favorite...out at Donahue's Greenhouse farm where we learn about their wholesale clematis business!

What's Growin' On? S13/E2 Join Jayne Spooner and Kathy Donahue Nass with another episode. Produced by Faribault Community Television

Season 13 is ready for your gardening pleasure! Get your garden on!

What's Growin' On? S13/Ep1 Jayne Spooner is here to talk about Amaryllis Bulbs in the season 13 opener of What's Growin' On? Produced by Faribault Community Television

Another shout out to my friend Mary Gibart who also watched my recent show and also created two containers. What I love about these is the use of the galvanized wash tubs giving it a rustic farmhouse feel. Mary and hubby live in the country so it's perfect for their house. And the use of the different evergreens and other natural accents are wonderful..LOVE IT!

I wanna give a shout out to my friend (and High School classmate) Julie Carver who watched my latest episode on how to do a winter container and tried one on her own. A family member painted the monogram and her talented woodworking hubby Merle did the stand and Julie created the rest...
I loved her interpretation of doing one and her resourcefulness in obtaining her natural decor! Julie....YOU ROCK!

What's Growin' On? S12/Ep 8 Jayne Spooner is planting in winter on another episode of What's Growin' On? Produced by Faribault Community Television

After a short hiatus....a new episode of What's Growin' On? is coming your way soon!!

Learn how to create beautiful winter porch pots!!!

Stay tuned!

The latest episode of 'What's Growin' On?' is now available for your viewing pleasure!

This episode is more 'What's Cookin' On? with 'What's Growin' On?' I show you a few ideas of how to use your harvested veggies and herbs from your garden!

In it I talk about canning, preserving and drying produce. If you want more info on this check out this link from the U of MN Extension site....

https://extension.umn.edu/food-health-and-nutrition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOqmcPk9pMI

What's Growin' On? S12/E6 Join Jayne Spooner in this episode of "What's Growin' On?" or should we say "What's Cookin' On?" July 30, 2020 Produced by Faribault Community Television

Lights...Action...Camera!!!

Today we are filming 'What's Cookin' On?' with 'What's Growin' On?' in my backyard....posting a new episode soon!

Rapunzel Rapunzel let down your stems of bright red cherry tomatoes.

Yes, this cherry tomato is called 'Rapunzel'. It's name comes from the way that the vines with tomatoes cascades down like Rapunzel's (from fairy tale fame) golden hair.

Rapunzel is an indeterminate tomato with grape/cherry sized tomatoes. From what I have read that the cascade of tomatoes should produce up to 40 small cherry sized tomatoes. The picture below shows about 12 per vine and some of them that first turn color are bigger than a cherry sized one.

I tried growing one of these last year but I did not have any success and the two or three tomatoes I did start to see formed looked more like a yellow pear tomato so I'm guessing that tags got changed somehow.

I keep these on my counter and snack on them throughout the day and will start using them in some chef salads and some bruschetta appetizers as the summer progresses.

I've always loved cherry tomatoes...especially as a little kid. When I got to have my first veggie garden as an adult the very first thing I planted was a cherry tomato plant...but as a novice adult gardener I thought, well if one plant is good than 6 of them would be even better!! Ummmmm, cherry tomato overload. I'm just glad my first born son Justin loved them and he would sit amongst them as I weeded and tended to the garden and plucked them off the vine and into his mouth!

I'll try planting them again, just for the novelty sake of it unless I find something else that intrigues me!

Happy Digging everyone!

Do you Lemon Boy tomato, take Early Girl tomato to be your partner and do you Early Girl take Lemon Boy to be your partner....I now pronounce you a BLT!!!

This year I planted14 varieties of tomatoes. Of these 14, four of them are starting to produce...just enough for BLT's, caprese salad and salads.

Lemon Boy is an Indeterminate tomato which means it will continue producing where as a Determinate tomato sets its fruit all at once and then it's done! What I like about the lemon boy is its flavor, a little lemony and lower in acid. PLUS I love mixing these with other tomatoes to make a colorful salad - after all - we eat with our eyes first!

Early Girl is also an Indeterminate and as the name says - it's one of the earliest ripening tomatoes in the garden. They aren't huge in size and the flavor is OK. I've had better flavored tomatoes. BUT when you are craving a BLT it hits the spot. Summer is the only time I eat BLT's as they just don't taste the same with tomatoes you purchase in the store.

What's your favorite way to eat tomatoes???

PSA!! PSA!! For the past couple of weeks we have had some extremely hot days with high humidity along with Excessive Heat Warnings being declared. Even though I try to do most of my gardening right away in the morning, I sometimes get carried away and push the limit a bit with how long I'm out there on very hot days.

With that being said - I do keep with me at all times a big insulated container full of water to keep hydrated. I fill it with ice and water and where my tools and glove go, so goes my container of water. Drink, refill and keep hydrating!

This weekend again, we will be enduring hot humid days so make sure to drink your water!!

And keeping hydrated is not just for gardening...it's for all times when you are out in the heat doing any type of physical activity.

Heat and alcohol don't mix well - so if you are really hot and thirsty - don't reach for a cold beer, frosty cocktail or a glass of wine - reach for water. Alcohol dehydrates you - not hydrates you!

Be safe - enjoy your weekend gardening adventures!

Happy Friday! Morning ritual of watering the garden allows me to see what's ready to harvest. Tomatillos (ya wanna salsa..verde that is), cucumbers, Early Girl tomato, Rapunzel cherry tomatoes and Chocolate Pear tomatoes.

Just in time for some weekend meals!

I picked my first cucumber (Cucumis sativus) of the season! YUM!

The past couple of weeks my veggie gardens are growing like crazy. While people are bemoaning the hot humid temps, vegetable gardens are thriving...mine included. Along with my cucumber plant my peppers have burst into bloom and are starting to form peppers (I have 19 pepper varieties) and the tomatoes are laden with fruit and have started to notice a couple of them slowly turning color...YEAH...BLT's!

I've been fairly diligent at photographing my gardens this season (not a lot of other things going on!) and documenting growth habits, what's working and what's not.

Picture #1 is the cucumber plant that I have trellising up an old wooden ladder.

Picture #2 is the first big cucumber I found. This photo was taken on July 1st. It measures about 4".

Picture #3(same cucumber) was measured on July 6th and measured in at 8".

So, I guess we can safely assume that heat and humidity really paid off!

When it comes to eating them, I like them cut up with a salad or even just plain with a sprinkling of salt.

How do you like to eat your cucumbers? Let me know!

OK....Who said BEETLEJUICE 3 times!!!

Well, they, Japanese Beetles have arrived and are having breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in my garden. Eating leaves and flowers, fruits and veggies. They are an invasive species that arrived in my yard...UNIVITED!...and are starting to munch away!

I'm getting a lot of questions regarding these nasty bug and how to get rid of them. With these, diligence is key in keeping them in control.

FIRST - if you read that people have success using a 'Bag-A-Bug' type product.....STEP AWAY FROM THAT BAG!!! This product has a pheromone that attracts beetles into your yard and they eventually fall into a bag and die. This is an open invitation for a beetle party and you DON'T want that!

According to the University of MN Extension service the best non-chemical way to rid yourself of them is to physically remove them by brushing them off into a bottle filled with water and a couple squirts of dishwashing soap...beetle hot tub!

Below is a link to an article written by the U of MN Extension on the lifecycle and methods of control. How you control them is of course your own choice (unless you choose those awful bags...please don't!).

https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden-insects/japanese-beetles

Good Luck Everyone!!

Happy 4th of July weekend everyone!

Yup...the corn is definitely knee high this 4th of July....so we've got that goin' on for us. BUT where does this statement/phase/measurement method come from? I turned to Farmer's Almanac to find out what they had to say...

Corn Farmers’ Measuring Stick
“Knee High by the Fourth of July” is an old saying once used by farmers to measure the success of their corn crops. Years ago, if corn had grown knee high by Independence Day, it was a good sign and meant they could count on high yields for the year. Today, however, that sentiment is a bit different. Due to the advancements in agriculture, growing techniques, and disease and pest control, corn farmers can expect plants to reach 8 feet by midsummer, if growing conditions are good, according to the Iowa Corn Growers Association. Now, knee-high doesn’t quite measure up.

So - while I'm not 8 feet - only 5'4" - I guess by today's standard it's not measuring up...but frankly I think this is huge for this time of year!

So - another measurement done years ago in the movie Oklahoma (I'm a sucker for a good old fashioned musical) this was their measurement of a good corn crop!

In the classic lyrics from the “Oh What A Beautiful Morning,” a corn stalks’ growing success is measured a bit differently:

There’s a bright, golden haze on the meadow.
The corn is as high as an elephant’s eye
And it looks like it’s climbing clear up to the sky.

Here's hoping you had a fabulous weekend!

What's Growin' On?...why this little girl is! Meet my granddaughter Ella Rose who is celebrating her 2nd birthday today! 2 years ago she decided she wanted a June birthday instead of a July birthday...she arrived a little peanut but she is a fierce one!

Happy Birthday my little Ella Rose!

Something's growin' in your garden bed...who ya gonna call..Master Gardener.

Check out my myth busting episode!

Check out this episode of What's Growin' On? S12/E5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uta3yLGLLc4

Thank you to everyone who accepted my invitation and 'LIKED' my What's Growin' On? page!

Look for continued postings on my garden adventures!!

These two containers sit on my back patio. From the window of my little home office I can look out at them. I've created this combination for the past three years using different colors of petunias and salvia. By far this is my most favorite combination!! The tall flowers in the middle are called Rockin' Fuschia Salvia and the two different petunias are Lovie Dovie (white with the pink stripes) and Raspberry Splash (pink with the white stripes). There is also some Euphorbia Diamond Frost in it as well to create the some 'airy-ness' to the arrangement.

When I first planted this container the salvia looked so small compared to the pot - barely one flower sprig with some leaves. Good soil with time released fertilizer and consistent watering (and good drainage in the container) have helped this combination thrive!

My favorite thing about them is the fact that the salvia attract hummingbirds!

I guess that's what prompted the post of this containers as a male ruby throated hummingbird was have a mid-morning snack on the nectar on these salvias!

I only wish I was quick enough to get my hummingbirds on video! As Seals and Crofts sang, "Hummingbird don't fly away, fly away!"

Happy Friday everyone!

Fresh from the garden! Cherry Belle Radishes...seeds from Botanical Interests Seed Company!

Stay tuned for an upcoming episode!!

Salsa Verde!!

Anyone wanna Salsa...Salsa Verde that is!!

Tomatillos are also known as a husk tomato or Mexican tomato. They are an ancient crop from Central and South America. Tomatillos are used in many Mexican dishes. The most common way is to use them in a Salsa Verde sauce. Let’s just say that Salsa Verde sauce in Mexican cuisine is equivalent to tomato sauce in Italian dishes!

Anyone wanna Salsa...Salsa Verde that is!!

Tomatillos are also known as a husk tomato or Mexican tomato. They are an ancient crop from Central and South America. Tomatillos are used in many Mexican dishes. The most common way is to use them in a Salsa Verde sauce. Let’s just say that Salsa Verde sauce in Mexican cuisine is equivalent to tomato sauce in Italian dishes!