Spring Maintenance for your Native Planting How to care for your native planting in the spring Caring for native plantings is much easier than traditional landscaping! Here is some advice for how to wake your native garden up for the spring in a way that is wildlife friendly!
What is a Pollinator Mix?
A pollinator seed mix is a wonderful way to get started with adding more native plants to your yard! Planting a pollinator seed mix adds more flowers for you to enjoy, while creating more habitat for our beloved pollinator species at the same time! Pollinators are anything that helps carry pollen from one part of a flower to …
Frost Seeding
By: Blaine Keller – MNL Bluestem Farm Site Lead Just because its cold and we have snow on the ground does not mean we cannot perform native seeding! Frost seeding done January through March in our area (the upper Midwest) is a fantastic way to extend the seeding window taking advantage of several factors specific to our native seeds and …
Project Planning – How-to Seed and Plant your project
Are you considering starting a new space with local origin native seed or plants?! Or converting an existing garden or open space? We know getting started can be the hardest part! MNL’s team has put together this short video with advice for preparing, planting, and beyond. Still need help? You can always reach us at [email protected] or on …
Why Choose Native Plants?
In addition to looking great and performing exceptionally well across the landscape of the upper Midwest, local-origin native species also provide a long list of ecosystem benefits. We’ve summarized a few of our favorite benefits here to stress the importance of restoring native vegetation in open spaces, park land, and beyond. Improved Infiltration – Native plant roots are incredibly good …
Expectations after prairie seeding
We know it’s hard to wait and see if the investment of your time, energy, and seed costs pay off in the form of a beautiful diverse prairie planting, but we’re here to explain how long you should wait for your prairie to mature! Deep rooted perennial vegetation takes it’s time to germinate, put down roots, then work on …
MNL is developing a new Partnership and Fundraising Program!
MNL is preparing to debut a new partnership program to promote the use of native plants and seed mixes on various landscapes across the Midwest! This partnership program will allow counties, cities, private businesses, non-profit groups, and more to host their own native plant and seed sales by way of a pre-order form! The plants would then be scheduled for …
Selecting Native Plants and Seed for Your Property – Growing Zones
Many gardeners are used to shopping for those hardy perennial plants according to their growing zone. We have such a unique set of challenges with growing and overwintering plants in Minnesota and the Midwest. Something a lot of people don’t know is that native plants, don’t go by zone – they go by historical range data. So instead of assigning …
How To Seed and Plant!
This video provides some tips for site preparation, hand seeding of projects, using erosion control blanket, and planting native plant plugs.
The Nature Conservancy – Prairie Restoration Guide
Planning and preparing for a restoration project can seem like a daunting task. Luckily, there are a lot of resources out there to help you get started. This week, we are featuring the Prairie Restoration Guides from the Nature Conservancy. These comprehensive guides can assist anyone from the backyard gardener to a farmer looking to transform cropland into a conservation …