Dakota Blooms: Your Guide to Midwest Gardening

      It's that time of the year here already in the Midwest. If you know what I'm talking about, you know that it's time to keep your car doors locked at all times. If you don't, you just might find some zucchini in it. If you're new to gardening, you might not know that zucchini grows almost like a weed here. Everybody and their cousins will try to give it away if you're not careful. But what will you do if you find yourself in an abundance of that ubiquitous green summer squash? Never fret, I have some ideas for you. Here are some of my favorites: Oven baked zucchini pizza bites Grilled Zucchini strips Vegetable soup with cubed zucchini Zucchini bread Banana zucchini chocolate chip muffins Zucchini brownies Zucchini spaghetti boats Breaded zucchini fries Add zucchini to smoothies (practically tasteless) Add zucchini to stir-fry or tacos Pickle them     Don't feel like using them up right away? That's okay, they can keep in the fridge for 1-2 weeks and...

 The 2023 North Dakota growing season has kicked off! Here is what I planted this year: tomatoes (sheyenne, better boy, and cherry) 💚 parsley 💚 zucchini 💚 lettuce (loose leaf variety) 💔 radishes 💛 sugar snap peas 💛 purple beans 💚 celery 💚 strawberries 💚 peppermint 💚 sweet lavender 💚 sunflowers 💚 chokecherries 💛 maple bush 💚 maple tree (silver) 💚 marigolds 💚 wildflowers 💛 I also acquired a few house plants that I am currently learning about! (tradescantia zebrina, aloe, snake plant, and a mystery one 🙈) 💚= doing well, 💛= doing okay, 💔= not doing well What did you plant? How are they doing? Comment below!

 Hello, my fellow upper Midwest gardeners. If you are like me, you have a hard time finding specific gardening tips and tricks for our frigid weather and short growing season. When do I start planting? Do I buy seeds or buy plants? Where do I even put a garden, so my kids and dogs won't ruin it? Can I plant radishes next to my strawberries? By trial and error, researching, gossiping, exploring, and asking for advice, I have gathered much information to share with you all! (The answer is yes; radishes are a companion plant to strawberries, ask me how I accidently found out). After many ups and downs, tragic plant deaths, spring snowstorms (yay...😒), destructive animals 🐕(and sometimes children), I have a garden in full bloom and thriving. I won't tell you how many tomato plants were sacrificed 🙊. As an amateur gardener myself, I hope to inspire others to start a garden, as well as help those who are beginners like me. I think there is always room for improvement at any level ...