Whether you’re planting spring flowers or garlic, a little effort now can lead to months of beauty and harvests ahead.
Yard and Garden News
A few hours of fall cleanup and maintenance can protect plants, improve soil health, reduce pest and disease problems, and set the stage for a successful growing season next year.
What are these tiny, biting bugs? Why are there so many this year? And what can be done about them?
Remove plant debris from the lawn and garden. Prune some trees and mark others for later. It's too late for fall seeding, but you can dormant-seed when it gets colder. And consider donating your excess produce to a local food shelf.
Taking action on food security, Master Gardener volunteers like Brenda Langerud donated 63,372 pounds of produce to food shelves in 2025, and 2026 numbers are coming in strong.
A warm, sunny afternoon after a cool stretch triggers Asian lady beetles to find winter shelter. Suddenly, they’re everywhere, gathering on warm walls, clustering on light colored siding, and crawling along window frames.
If you’ve noticed fresh mounds, wilting plants, or collapsing turf, you may be dealing with one of Minnesota’s most persistent underground pests, pocket gophers.
It's a great time to control perennial weeds, repair lawns, and divide plants. And don't forget to water trees and shrubs to give roots a good soak while the ground is still warm.
In fall, the goal is to help roses harden off, stay healthy, and head into winter strong enough to bloom again in spring.
Yellow prairie grass is drought-tolerant and adaptable to a wide variety of soils. The leaves of yellow prairie grass usually stay green until the first frost, when they turn yellow-orange.