The National Garden Bureau, the non-profit, marketing arm of the gardening industry, is touting compact veggie gardening for folks with limited space or a desire to make gardening more convenient to those of us who are aging or wanting their produce closer to the backdoor.

Compact varieties grow well in pots or planters, and can function as both ornamentals and food producers. Look for both sweet and spicy peppers in dazzling colors to dress up any pot, cherry as well as full-size tomatoes, compact zucchini and summer squash, and potatoes. Of course herbs and lettuces are also wonderful grown in pots close to the kitchen where they will be easily accessed all summer long.

Pretty n Sweet is and good ornamental sweet pepper with small, plump, thick-walled fruits great for snacking and chopping into salads or sautes. Harvest these green, yellow, orange, red or purple.

Alter Ego is a nice ornamental edible hot pepper with beautifully colored fruit that will dress up any patio pot with colors ranging from yellow to deep red and purple.

A couple of varieties of cherry tomatoes that grow well in patio pots are Sweet N Neat and Cherry Fountain. And for a full-size beefsteak that grow well in pots try Better Bush and PInk-a-licious. These may still need some support in the pot when laden with fruit.

Pantheon is a compact zucchini squash with great flavor. Or try Spineless Perfection.

For more information on these and other varieties as well as growing tips, check out https://ngb.org/2019/12/30/compact-vegetable/

Article by Pam Davies MG volunteer
Photos by National Garden Bureau

​These blog posts are meant to share what we have learned as Master Gardener Volunteers through online media with blogs and Facebook posts.  This past year visits to our web pages have increased by 86% with 2,430 visits. 

A new feature included a subscription service that sends an email when a new post is available.  See how to subscribe with the information on the left sidebar. Blog posts gave growing tips, plant profiles, and event announcements along with garden advice.  In all over 5,000 web pages were viewed that provided access to information with a local twist. 

Thank you for joining us.  We look forward to  providing our readers with even more  gardening know-how in 2020.

Master Gardener Volunteers provided a children’s program resulting in eighty-five (85) kids attending in the Teaching and Display Garden at the Spooner Research Station in 2019. 

Topics covered: Planting our Garden and Construction of a Bug Condo; Composting We Go and Magical Hummingbirds; Yoga in the Garden; Marvelous Monarchs and Pollinators; and Apples, Apples, Apples and Painting Friendship Rocks.

Each session consisted of a story walk, a hands-on presentation, a nutritious snack, an activity related to the subject of the day, planting and weeding their raised bed gardens, a square foot garden and salad garden, and refilling the hummingbird feeders.

​Plans are in place for a 2020 program.  Be sure to check back in the spring for event announcements and schedules. 

Master Gardener Volunteers planted tended and harvested two Spooner school gardens, resulting in 120 students attending. The children learned about gardening, and healthy eating from seed to fork.

​The produce was turned over to the cafeteria workers to make a harvest soup and the overabundance of carrots and potatoes was donated to the food pantry so members in our community with food insecurities could have fresh produce.

Master Gardener Volunteers (MGV) conducted a melon tasting in September at the Siren Farmers market. The weather was rainy but the market had a good turnout. We were able to get the minimum of 20 testers by the time the conditions worsened to close the market.

Testers seemed to enjoy the process of rating the melons and were interested to learn that we were UW Extension Master Gardener Volunteers and that the melons came from the Seed to Kitchen Collaborative, an organic vegetable variety research trial conducted at the Spooner Agricultural Research Station.  They were especially interested that these were European varieties that have a short growing season which would make them idea for conditions in Burnett County. 

​Other nearby vendors volunteered to sample and hear more about the research going on to test new melon varieties. The sampling event was a great way to help people hear about and actually experience what the Research Station is doing to benefit the community.

This is part of a series profiling just a few of the projects that
​Master Gardener Volunteers are involved with in our area in 2019.  ​

The Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College invited Master Gardener Volunteers and staff of UW-Extension to participate in their Family Farm Day.  We highlighted the importance of soil with hands-on activities and various examples of soil and a 3-D topographical map of Wisconsin.

Over 200 pounds of squash and tomatoes were given away to families attending the event thanks to the Spooner Agriculture Research Station and the Seed to Kitchen organic vegetable research project.

​We also brought sage herbs ready to be planted.  Sage is one of the four sacred Native American medicines. Sage is used to prepare people for ceremonies and teachings. It is also used for cleansing homes and sacred items. The sage planting was appreciated and of interest with both young and old in the Community with 50 people attending.  

​Master Gardener Volunteer Nikki Halverson volunteered at the library for an after school program where she signed the 14 children up for the tomatosphere project.

Tomatosphere™ uses the excitement of space exploration to teach the skills and processes of scientific experimentation and inquiry. Students investigate the effects of the space environment on the growth of food that will inevitably support long-term human space travel. Each classroom is sent two packages of tomato seeds. One package contains seeds that have been sent into space and the other package contains “control” seeds, which have been kept on Earth.

Through the Tomatosphere™ project, students will learn how to conduct a scientific experiment and compare the germination rates of the two groups of seeds. Tomatosphere™ relies on a “blind test” in which educators and students will not know which of the two packages are the “space” seeds and which are control seeds until the germination process is complete and results have been submitted.

Blog and Photos: MGV Nikki Halverson

Master Gardener Volunteers (MGV) maintain multiple garden projects at Forts Folle Avoine Historical Park in Burnett County. To create a welcoming space, native and heirloom gardens surround the visitor center. Vegetables are also grown on site and used as part of a fundraising dinner. To raise additional money for the historical society, MGVs provide education during a plant sale to the public. 

Education was also the focus when twenty-eight tea-loving history buffs turned out for a garden party at the Historical Park for a presentation on “Herbs: Now and Then” which covered how herbs were used for culinary and medicinal purposes in the past and how the same herbs are used today. 

Why do leaves change color in the fall? When leaves appear green, it is because they contain an abundance of chlorophyll. There is so much chlorophyll in an active leaf that the green masks other pigment colors. Light regulates chlorophyll production, so as autumn days grow shorter, less chlorophyll is produced. The decomposition rate of chlorophyll remains constant, so the green color starts to fade from leaves.

At the same time, surging sugar concentrations cause increased production of anthocyanin pigments. Leaves containing primarily anthocyanins will appear red. Carotenoids are another class of pigments found in some leaves. Carotenoid production is not dependent on light, so levels aren't diminished by shortened days. Carotenoids can be orange, yellow, or red, but most of these pigments found in leaves are yellow. Leaves with good amounts of both anthocyanins and carotenoids will appear orange.

Temperature affects the rate of chemical reactions, including those in leaves, so it plays a part in leaf color. However, it's mainly light levels that are responsible for fall foliage colors.
​
Sunny autumn days are needed for the brightest color displays, since anthocyanins require light. Overcast days will lead to more yellows and browns.