Growing Green

By Robin Trott, Extension Educator

The summer growing season is finally here, and the questions have started coming in droves. Between the phone calls, emails and walk-ins with garden samples, there is never a dull moment in the Extension office in the summer months! If you have a garden question, from plant/insect identification, lawn care and pesticide application to best practices in growing or maintaining your garden, the University of Minnesota Extension Office in Douglas County is the right place to come.

Here are a few services we offer, and some guidelines to follow when you have a question:

If you have an insect you would like to have identified: Please catch it in a clear jar and place it in the freezer overnight. This will retain its color and keep it in the best condition suitable for identification. If you have a caterpillar, please do not place it in the freezer. Instead, place it in a secure container with air holes punched in the top. Try to include some of the plant on which it was found, so that it will not perish prior to identification. Generally, we do not accept samples that may contain human blood, the only exceptions to this are ticks and bed bugs. Please make sure that ticks and bed bugs are securely sealed and frozen prior to bringing them to the Extension Office.

If you have a plant to identify: Please take a picture of the whole plant and one or two close-ups, and email them to me at trot0053@umn.edu. Bring in a fresh plant sample from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday. Collect a sample at least 6” long with leaves attached to the central stem. Place the sample in a clear plastic bag with your name and address attached.

If you require a diagnosis of a specific problem in your garden: ailing plants, insect damage, odd growth patterns, etc.: Take a picture of the whole plant and one or two close-ups and email them to me. Bring in a sample as per the above directions. For in depth diagnosis of plant disease issues, please visit The Plant Disease Clinic Website at http://pdc.umn.edu/ for information on tests available and instructions on how to submit a sample.

For general gardening questions, please feel free to email or call me at 320-762-3890. The Extension Office is located on the second floor of the Douglas County Courthouse, 305 8th Ave W, Alexandria, MN 56308. I am in the office 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Tuesday – Friday, and you are welcome to stop by for a personal consultation. On occasion, I am available for an onsite diagnostic visit, but only after an office diagnosis fails to find the root of the problem.

We do not conduct soil or water testing; however, we do have the forms and information regarding collection and submission of your samples.

I will address each of your questions with time and care, and will provide you with the latest, unbiased, research-based information. Come visit the office, the coffee is always on when I am in!

Until next time, happy gardening!

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“The single greatest lesson the garden teaches is that our relationship to the planet need not be zero-sum, and that as long as the sun still shines and people still can plan and plant, think and do, we can, if we bother to try, find ways to provide for ourselves without diminishing the world.” ~Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals