Dakota Blooms: Your Guide to Midwest Gardening

 Parsley is a vibrant, green herb that we most often use to garnish our dishes. It is packed with flavor and can enhance many meals. Fresh parsley is always my favorite way to use it, and it is simple to grow. Parsley plants do very well in the Midwest and will produce for most of the growing season. Unfortunately, our harsh winters won't allow us to harvest fresh parsley all year round, so dehydration is one way to preserve it for later use. Follow below for simple instructions, pictures, and video on how to harvest and preserve parsley.     Step 1 : Cut parsley stems 1 inch from the bottom. Harvest in the morning at peak freshness.     Step 2 : Wash parsley  thoroughly.     Step 3 : Layer parsley in dehydrator, careful not to overlap. Remove thicker stems to save room.                               Toss   any unwanted, damaged leaves.     St...

       Gardening is more than just a hobby or way to beautify our surroundings; it is a valuable tradition that has been handed down through generations. As I weed my garden every morning (okay, maybe not EVERY morning), I am reminded that the seeds of my gardening knowledge have been shared with me by friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers. Those knowledge seeds have been watered by their ancestors before them. It is easy to do a quick google search to find the relevant information you are looking for, but the most admirable wisdom comes from those who have endured many years of failures before us. I want to pay a tribute to the wisdom acquired from our ancestors and emphasize the passing down of knowledge to the next generation. Therefore; Here are some tips and tricks I have learned recently: Prune your tomatoes.      This technique is very new to me. After planting your tomato plants and after the initial transplant shock, you should prune all b...

       Do you see my decoy strawberries? 😂      In life, the simplest things often teach us the most useful lessons. Little did I know that growing my first strawberry would be more than just a delightful gardening experience; it became a transformative journey of personal growth. I wish I could say this particular strawberry plant was the first one to grow and thrive in my first house, but it actually took me 3 years to get it right.     Trial and error, as most gardeners probably know, is what it took to finally get a strawberry plant to thrive in my quaint little backyard garden paradise. The excitement from not only me, but also from my children as they got to pick their very first bright red strawberry, made every struggle from the past 3 years worth it. Growing this strawberry became an embodiment of resilience, reminding me that hurdles are merely stepping stones on the path to personal development. Each day that I spent in my ga...

   Have you ever seen a bush that looks like it has poop all over the branches?     Cherry, plum, apricot, and chokecherry are some of the most common shrubs in the Midwest because they grew some of the few types of fruit that survives in this climate.   However, you may have noticed a black yucky-looking substance all over on them at some point. Dibotryon morbosum, also known as "black knot", is a disease that encompasses these certain types of shrubs.     Black knot is caused by the fungal pathogen Apiosporina morbosa and affects primarily trees of the Prunus genus. It appears to have a black, rough texture often resembling 💩 or swollen, elongated knots. Some prevention steps for this disease include pruning, sanitation, and maximizing tree health. In other words, regular inspection of shrubs is crucial to prevent the spread of this disease. To treat black knot, you can cut off the affected branches, and/or spray the shrub with fungicides.  It ...