Pepper Pot-a-peño (F1) is a 2021 All-America Selections Winner in the vegetable category. As the name says, this plant is ideal for growing in pots and would look beautiful in a hanging pot in the garden or patio so long as it gets full sun for optimal foliage and fruiting. Pot-a-peña is a warm weather annual for our region. 

​The beautiful bushy foliage is dark green and grows to a height of 12 to 15 inches in a compact mound. Fruit shape is conical and pointed about 3 to 4 inches in length. Fruit color starts out green and matures to red. Harvest green or red as desired. This is a jalapeño so it will be spicy when harvested green and sweeter though still spicy when harvested red. You can expect from 35 to 40 peppers from a typical plant.

It is recommended that seeds are started indoors at least 6-7 weeks before planting. For optimal germination temp should be above 70°F. Up potting is recommended in 3 to 4 weeks. Transplant outdoors when night time temps will be over 45°F and no threat of frost.  For green fruit expect 45 to 50 days to harvest, 60 to 65 days for red fruit.
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https://all-americaselections.org/product/pepper-pot-a-peno/
Seeds are currently sold out at Park Seed https://parkseed.com/pot-a-peno-pepper-seeds/p/52445-PK-P1/
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​Do you enjoy gardening or want to start gardening?  Have you watched the TV show Escape to the Chateau? If you have, then you would recognize the term “potager garden”.  Join us on how to Create a Potager Garden presented by Sue Reinardy, UW-Extension Master Gardener Volunteer, virtually on Zoom on Thursday, April 8, 2021 at 10 am to Noon as part of a celebration of National Library Week at the Sherman & Ruth Weiss Community Library.  Attendees will have a chance to win a special Library T-shirt!
 
Potager is a French term for a kitchen garden.  These gardens can include not only vegetables but herbs, fruit, berries and cutting flowers.  During the presentation you will learn where to site your potager, what plants to include and how to maintain it through the growing season.
 
For the first 15 people who sign up, we will offer them a Take ‘N Make Kit of a Potager Starter Garden.  The kit consists of a container, donated by Marketplace Foods, and seeds and a planting medium donated by Sue Reinardy.
 
You can register for the event by going to the following link – https://bit.ly/3rtyZq9  or by calling the library to register and to receive the link for the Zoom event. We suggest that if you don’t have the free Zoom app, download it before the program begins and go to the presentation at least 5 minutes before it starts. If you have any questions, please call the library at 715-634-2161 or email hlibrary@hayward.wislib.org

One of the 2021 All-America Selection Winners in the vegetable category is the Squash Goldilocks F1, a golden orange acorn squash that is both beautiful and delicious! This is a high yield variety that is disease resistance. The lovely nutting flavor makes this one "just right!"

Goldilocks F1 is best grown in the garden or a very large container. The plant is compact and bushy with overall height at maturity of 30 inches. Fruit size is about 4 inches X 4 inches, 1 pound. The flavor is described as sweet and nutty. One plant should yield as many as 10 or more fruits. Sown seeds will reach harvest in 85 days while transplants will shorten that to about 70 days. Plants spread to about 4-5 feet so space them accordingly. This variety is tolerates Powdery Mildew.

Seeds are available through Osborne Quality Seeds  https://www.osborneseed.com/ and Territorial Seed Company https://territorialseed.com/. Plant in full sun in well drained soil. Or start indoors three weeks before planting.

AAS describes themselves as "An independent non-profit organization committed to bringing you award-winning flowers and vegetables." Their mission statement: "To promote new garden varieties with superior garden performance judged in impartial trials in North America."

https://all-americaselections.org/product/squash-goldilocks/
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​Have you visited our Teaching & Display Garden? This is a wonderful visit to make during this socially distant summer. Kevin Schoessow, Area Ag Development Agent, takes you on a tour of the popular pinwheel bed of the gardens. These beds have been "adopted" by Master Gardener Volunteers and reflect their different visions. Our gardens are open for self-guided tours during all daylight hours. Please follow the social distancing guidelines that are posted.

Kevin Schoessow, UW Extension Area Agriculture Development Educator provides a short video on growing garlic. 

​Easy steps for a successful Victory Garden 2.0…(with recommendations from the 1943 Victory Garden Manual by James Burdett, adapted for today’s world.)
1. Know your growing zone!– Just enter your zip code here to find your zone.

​You are invited to a Zoom  program.
When: May 14, 2020 05:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
 Register in advance for this program:
https://uwextension.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMrdO6urTgqGtNnaA1I0y3rpgP6VS5s8xNv
 After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

​Garlic is part of the Onion family. It is a herbaceous perennial that we grow as an annual in Wisconsin. Garlic can be grown in Wisconsin’s Zone 3 and warmer to Zones 6-7; however, you need to make sure the cultivar is hardy for your zone.  Garlic is a monocot with basal leave formations. Garlic is comprised of multiple cloves. Cloves arise from an axillary bulb. Leaves are solid, flattened and folded.

The Spooner Agriculture Research Station Teaching and Display Garden will host visitors for a final workshop on end of the season activities Saturday, September 7 10:00am to Noon.  This garden session will be held at the Teaching & Display Garden and focus on seed saving, fall garden activities, tender bulb storage, garlic planting, spring bulbs and what was learned during this garden season. 
 
This year’s theme  “Re-use, recycle, and re-imagine” comes from the All-America Selections.  The displays have been created with this theme in mind.  The Teaching and Display Garden is one of eight in Wisconsin that display vegetable and flower varieties who have been awarded this designation as an outstanding cultivar.   
 
Remember to bring your own lawn chair for the Meet Me in the Garden Seminar.  The session is free and open to the public and will be held rain or shine – please dress accordingly.  In case of inclement weather, the program will be held at the Station Building at 1035 E Maple Street (Hwy 70), Spooner.    The garden is located at 780 Orchard Lane, 1.5 miles east of Spooner on Highway 70 or 1/2 mile west of the Hwy 70/53 interchange.  Watch for garden meeting signs.
 
For more information and a map visit the station’s web site at: http://spooner.ars.wisc.edu/ or contact Kevin Schoessow or Lorraine Toman at the Spooner Area UW-Extension Office at 715-635-3506 or 1-800-528-1914.