Lyon County Master Gardeners

05/16/2026

We ate a rainbow this morning and then played with our food!

05/16/2026

https://marshalllyonlibrary.org/lyon-county-seed-library/

05/16/2026

Good news! Lyon County Master Gardeners and the Marshall Lyon County Library have combined their resources and created a seed library! Stop by the Che Out desk at the library and “check” out some seeds.

05/14/2026

05/08/2026

Mai rain good watering and air practices in your tomato
To beds. Excellent article on Epsom Salt myth.

Picture this in your head. Your garden is growing, the tomatoes, squash, and peppers are green, lush, and doing great. You have had blooms for a while, and those first fruits have set and are slowly growing. You check your tomatoes a few days later, after a period of hot days with low humidity, and....

05/08/2026

The bee you're trying to save isn't the one doing most of the pollination in your yard. North America has roughly 4,000 native bee species. One honeybee species gets the campaigns, the bumper stickers, and the documentaries.

Native solitary bees don't live in hives. They nest in the ground, in hollow stems, in tiny holes in old wood. They don't make honey. They don't swarm. Most of them can barely sting. And per flower visit, they transfer more pollen than a honeybee — because they're messier, less efficient collectors, which means more pollen lands where the plant actually needs it.

Mason bees alone can pollinate an apple orchard with a fraction of the numbers a honeybee colony requires. Sweat bees handle low-growing wildflowers honeybees skip entirely. Mining bees work in cooler temperatures when honeybees stay in the hive.

🐛 What's already nesting near you:
- Small metallic-green bees on your flowers are sweat bees — one of the largest native bee families, and they've been showing up every spring without a single headline
- Tiny holes in bare soil patches aren't ant nests — mining bees raise their young underground, one egg per chamber, and they were there before you noticed
- A "bee hotel" houses mason bees and leafcutter bees, but the ground nesters outnumber them and just need a patch of undisturbed dirt

The honeybee got the brand. The solitary bees got the territory 🌿

05/08/2026

https://extension.umn.edu/beneficial-insects/lady-beetles

Quick facts Minnesota is home to more than 50 species of native lady beetles (also known as ladybugs or ladybird beetles), as well as introduced lady beetle species. All lady beetles eat insects, as well as nectar and pollen, making them beneficial insects. Some species of lady beetles are a nuisanc...

05/04/2026

Lyon County Environmental dept presents free classes at the Marshall-Lyon County library 201 c street, Marshall, MN.
Reduce, reuse & recycling waste May 8 at noon.
Composting May 15 at noon.
Spring cleaning moving and cleaning shop May 21 at noon.
Reach Lyon County Environmental Department at lyonco.org 507-537-1307
Reach Marshall-Lyon County library at mlclibrary.org 507-537-7003

05/04/2026

Know your soil temperature
Ensure good seed germination with warm soil

Warm temperatures have been calling us outside. It’s natural for gardeners to want to get hands in the soil and seeds in the ground.
As tough as it is, be patient. Instead, pick up a thermometer and check your soil temperature.
Different vegetable crops require different soil temperatures for seeds to germinate and to develop healthy root systems. Cool season crops, such as beets and peas, can be sown earlier. Late season crops, such as tomatoes and green peppers, need warmer soils. If you plant seeds too early, they can rot. Cold soil also can stunt vegetable transplants or cause them to die off.
It’s simple to check your soil temperature. You could buy a soil thermometer at your local garden center. Or use a meat thermometer from your kitchen. The latter works just fine.
Ideally, take your soil temperature early in the morning before the heat of the day. Insert the thermometer a couple inches into the soil down to the root zone. Wait a minute or so for the thermometer to get an accurate reading. Take several readings in the garden area and repeat the process again for a few days so you can get an average temperature for your garden bed.
The University of Minnesota Extension provides specific soil temperature guidelines to help us determine the best time for planting vegetables.
Soil temperature guidelines are:
-For cold-season crops, such as lettuce, peas, spinach, radish and cabbage, soil in the 40 F to 45 F range is acceptable.
-For cool-season crops, such as beets, chard and parsnips, require slightly warmer soil. Root growth for most cool-season plants is optimal between 50°F and 65°F.
-Warm-season crops, such as green beans, corn and tomatoes, need soil consistently at 60°F. Sweet corn also germinates best when the soil temp is near 60°F.
-Heat-loving plants, such peppers, squash, cucumbers and eggplant, require the warmest soil --65°F to 75°F. Along with warm daytime temps, you also want nighttime temperatures to stay above 50°F before transplanting them.
Another way to track when to sow seeds is by knowing your area’s last frost date. In Anoka County, on average, that’s around mid-May. By late May, soil should be warm enough for heat-loving vegetables.
However, to make sure your soil is ready to support growing seed, remember to take its temperature.
-Paula Mohr is an Anoka County University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener.

01/30/2026

Ready to grow your gardening skills? Join Extension educators from across the state for the sixth annual Gardening from the Ground Up webinar series! This free, weeklong program (Feb. 16-20) is designed to help gardeners build skills from soil to harvest. Sessions include:

Feb. 16: Inputs and outputs: building healthy garden soil
Feb. 17: Beneath the surface: myth-busting soil microbes and beneficials
Feb. 18: Decoding garden product labels: what you need to know before you buy
Feb. 19: The new normal? Air quality, smoke and shifting growing conditions
Feb. 20: Enjoying the bounty: harvest and storage of garden produce

Register at z.umn.edu/GardenUp. Webinar recordings will be sent out to registrants after the series concludes.