You can grow certain varieties of plums, cherries, and pears in South Dakota as fruit trees for zone 4 on the hardiness map. With cherries, there are two types: sweet and sour. The sweet varieties are not reliable in this…
Fruit Trees for Zone 4
Category: Gardening & Landscape
Apple Varieties in Zone 4 Climate
What apple varieties will grow in our cold Zone 4 climate? The worst thing is to wait several years and never have a crop because the fruit blossoms are not hardy. Some good varieties to grow in South Dakota are:…
Ornamental Grasses in the Landscape
Over the last few years, interest in ornamental grasses in the landscape have surged in popularity. They require little care, not very much water, and depending on variety very winter hardy. Grasses vary in height, color, and seed head texture.…
Growing Carnivorous Plants
If you want a challenge, try growing carnivorous plants. They are attention grabbers and eat insects to boot! If you use a sterile, sandy soil mix which you can buy from a specialty store. Keep the soil moist but have…
Planting Flower or Garden Seeds
It is getting time to start thinking about planting flower or garden seeds indoors. Certainly, time to clean and get the area ready and order the seeds and stuff you will need for germinating seedlings. Everyone has a little area…
The Other Fruit We Can Grow
We all know fruit like apples and pears and bush fruit like raspberries, but there is other fruit we can grow in South Dakota besides these. Like dewberries which look like blackberries, however, their canes have a habit of growing…
I am in Need of a Distraction
I am in need of a distraction, so this weekend I am getting out the new seed catalogs and making lists, and checking them twice. I start with a fixed amount which becomes a small percentage of what I will…
What do you do with Your Old Garden Tools
As you are going through your old garden tools, what do you do with your old garden tools? Take your old tools and repurpose them into “new” garden items. Rusty spades and hand tools can be reborn in new items…
7 Tips for gardeners in 2021 by Eliza Brooks
Eliza Brooks weathertightidaho.com 7 Tips for gardeners in 2021: The last couple of years have seen more and more people turning to gardening as a new hobby. Despite the lack of space for most, newbies are keen on making both…
Unusual Vegetables
Feeling like a new adventure in the garden? Try growing some unusual vegetables. These are not new vegetables because they have been around for thousands of years, but are not common around here. Romanesco (Roman Broccoli) grows a tight, spiral…
Backyard Birds in the Winter
What to feed the backyard birds in the winter. Starting with mixed seeds which are good for beginners bringing different types of birds to your feeder. They can be messy because birds will pick them through to get to the…
Sweet Potato vs Yam
The terms sweet potato vs yam are used interchangeably on canned ingredients in cooking and at the grocery stores. But they are totally different roots. The sweet potato is in the morning glory family and the yam is in the…
Vegetables a Beginning Gardener should not Plant
I was asked what vegetables a beginning gardener should not plant. One of the harder plants to grow is cauliflower. It has a longer growing season, however, head in cooler weather. Most plant varieties like to be blanched, tying of…
New Trends in the Garden and Flowerbeds
As with everything changing with the New Year, there are even new trends in the garden and flowerbeds. We are going back to the basics as in brighter colors in the flowerbeds with easy to grow plants. Many will be…
African Violets
Got room on a dresser or counter and the area needs some color? Try African violets. I used a 3-foot fluorescent light on a counter and grew over a dozen plants. My plants came from Marion Burtz the violet lady…