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September 12, 2022 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Tomato Harvest-Time Troubles

By Ashley Gaden, Master Gardener Intern

Tomatoes. Gardeners love them. But what we don’t love is coming across something unexpected, unattractive and utterly unwanted on our tomatoes after waiting most of the summer for them. From cracks and discolouration to rot and pest damage, tomatoes seem particularly vulnerable to a whole suite of problems.

Awareness and prevention will go a long way to maintaining the literal fruits of your labour. Here we’ll review some of the most common tomato fruit disorders and best practices to prevent or reduce their occurrence.READ MORE

September 8, 2022 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Mycorrhizae: What they are and how gardeners can protect them.

Fungi growing in wood mulch – photo by Jane Zoutman

By Jane Zoutman, Master Gardener

Mycorrhizae means fungus roots. A mycorrhiza is a symbiotic relationship between fungi and plant roots. Fungi are very common in the soil and many types require this symbiotic relationship with plants for long-term survival. The relationship is also necessary for most plants, from trees to annuals, to thrive.

This relationship is beneficial to both the plant and the fungus. The fungus attaches to the plant roots and sends out hyphae (very small root like structures) to places in the soil the plants roots are too large to go. The fungus provides the plant with water and nutrients like phosphorus and other minerals it cannot otherwise access. The fungus absorbs carbohydrates and other nutrients it cannot produce from the plant. The fungi form an interconnected network between many plants and trees. The fungus allows the plants to thrive and because the plants are healthier they are better able to withstand environmental stress, pests and disease.READ MORE

September 8, 2022 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Interview with Board Member Lori Graham

 

Interview with Board Member Lori Graham

Newsletter (NL): How long have you been gardening?
Lori Graham (LG): On my own since 1980, helping my parents since I was very young.

NL: What kind of a garden/s do you have?
LG: Not anything formal or a particular style, a mix of the following: vegetables, perennials, native plants and annuals. I am always experimenting with new plants. Every year I try a vegetable I have not grown or sometimes grow one I gave up on. In this year of the garden 2022 I am trying onions again, never seem to have much luck with them.READ MORE

September 8, 2022 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Starting All Over Again in the Country

 

By Kelley Liebzeit, Master Gardener

In 2015 I achieved some of my gardening goals. First I officially became a Master Gardener. Then in July my garden was featured on the Nature Manitoba Garden Tour and 2 weeks later on the Master Gardener Tour. To have my garden on these tours was a dream come true.

So why would I leave my garden to move to the country? My health had a lot to do with it as I no longer felt I could maintain it. My plan was to just have native plant gardens. I had developed and managed the Whyte Ridge Butterfly garden since 2014 and found it relatively easy to care for the plants.READ MORE

July 3, 2022 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Interview with Sandy Venton, Vice-Chair

Newsletter (NL) – How did you become interested in gardening?

Sandy Venton (SV) – I must have been very young, because one of the first pictures taken of me is leaning over in the garden to smell the tiger lilies. My mother was an excellent gardener of both flowers and vegetables and I learned a great deal from her. I actually started to garden when I was about 4 years old.READ MORE

June 30, 2022 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Veronica ‘Sunny Border Blue’

Veronica ‘Sunny Border Blue’ in the Garden

By Nadine Kampen, Master Gardener

If someone described a perennial plant that thrives in Zone 3 through Zone 8, blooms and reblooms for four months with good deadheading, is tall and gorgeous and ‘blue’, great for pollinators, fabulous for cut flowers, requires little care, is tolerant of a wide range of soil types, is essentially pest and problem free, and looks stunning in just about any type of garden bed, would you be interested?READ MORE

June 30, 2022 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Managing Climate Change – What Are We to Do?

Mark Bauche, Master Gardener, MALA, SALA, CSLA

As Master Gardeners, we see the effects of climate change season after season, but what can we as individuals, or even as an association, do to help address it? There have traditionally been two approaches: mitigation and adaptation. These two strategies work hand in hand. Mitigation is all about taking our proverbial foot off the accelerator of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and holding carbon in the earth so that the atmosphere has a chance to catch up (so to speak). Adaptation is coming to terms with where we are, and figuring out how to create a world that can move with the changes, however extreme they may be. But in between the two, and feeding into both, is another secret tool that we have as Master Gardeners, one which I will reveal toward the end of this article.READ MORE

June 30, 2022 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Haskaps (Lonicera caerulea)

Haskap ‘Borealis’ in Bloom

By Lenore Linton, Master Gardener

I first discovered haskaps when I was taking courses required for my Master Gardener certificate during the summers of 2006 to 2008. These courses were offered at the University of Saskatchewan during “Hort Week.” In those years there was much excitement around the university’s fruit breeding program of cherries and haskaps, directed by Dr. Bob Bors and Rick Sawatzky.READ MORE

June 25, 2022 In Uncategorized

2022 Garden Tour

Tickets Available at:
LaCoste Garden Centre – 2782 St. Mary’s Road, Winnipeg, MB
St. Mary’s Nursery & Garden Centre – 2901 St. Mary’s Road, Winnipeg, MB
Sage Garden Greenhouses – 3410 St. Mary’s Road, Winnipeg, MB
The Shops of St. Andrews – 5607 #9 Highway (north Main St.), St. Andrews, MB
Schriemer’s Garden Centre – 2857 McGregor Farm Rd., East St. Paul, MB
Shelmerdine Garden Centre – 7800 Roblin Bld., Headingly, MB
Jensen’s Nursery & Garden Centre – 2550 McGillivray Blvd., Winnipeg, MB
Feasey Chiropractic & Wellness Centre – 208 Marion St., Winnipeg, MB

PayPal Ticket Purchase – On receipt of your payment an email with your downloadable pdf ticket attachment will be sent to you within 48 hours.(a $2 transaction fee has been added)