Spring Ag 2013

Wednesday, March 13, 2013 SPRING AG PAGE 1

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PAGE 2 SPRING AG Wednesday, March 13, 2013

We’re Committed toWe’re Committed to

AgricultureAgriculture

Ken Rossow, Senior Vice President-Ag Lending (left) & Gary Miller, Vice President

Nicollet County Bank Ag Lending Officers

Ken Rossow and Gary Miller both grew up on farms in southern Minnesota.

Working in the field and with livestock, they learned at an early age what farming is all about.

They continued their agricultural education through universities, classes and agricultural schools.

Nicollet County Bank is proud to have two lending officers with their educational backgrounds as well as their genuine

knowledge and deep interest in farming and agricultural lending. They are active in our community and go the “extra mile”

to serve our customers.

Stop by or call 931-3310 for an appointment to visit with Ken or Gary about all your farm business financial planning.

They are committed to agriculture, and they are committed to you.

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Big Hill Farm is run by a group of student farmers from Gusta-vus Adolphus College. Back row, left to right: Alex Christensen, Sam Warburton and Greg Wiessner, Front row: Sophia Ogren-Dehn (Courtesy of Big Hill Farm)

little farm on the

BIG HILL

See FARM on 4

By JESSICA [email protected]

For a small group of students from Gustavus Adolphus College, caring for the community and caring for the Earth are both top priorities.

Tucked away in the far northwestern corner of the college’s campus, the students have worked to achieve the dual goal of improving both the environmental and eco-nomic health of St. Peter by caring for an organic garden called Big Hill Farm.

Originally proposed in 1997, the creation of Big Hill Farm was put on hold when a tornado hit St. Peter in 1998. James Dontje, Director of the Johnson Center of Environmental Innovation at Gustavus Adolphus College, said it wasn’t until 2009 that it became a reality.

Two students, Eliza Swedenborg and Cat Wiechmann, Environmental Studies majors, worked to make the farm possible. �eir mission was to create a garden that would

provide locally-grown, organic produce for the Gustavus cafeteria and the greater St. Peter community.

�e garden is maintained by student interns and vol-unteers. �e interns or “farmers” are provided a stipend, paid by the Johnson Center, to prepare the garden, plant and harvest. At the conclusion of their internship, the farmers are responsible for hiring new students to take their place.

“�ey produced a garden and we’ve continued with a �ne tradition of student gardeners and those students hiring new gardeners,” Dontje said.

The program is about to begin its fifth season. The vast majority of the garden’s produce is sold to Gus-tavus Adolphus Dining Services and is used in meals produced in the cafeteria or in food prepared for vari-ous special events. Students and faculty can also buy the produce.

SUSTAINABILITY AT BIG HILL FARM“Caring for the Earth is a top priority of the Big Hill Farm.

As an organic garden, we seek methods and innovations that best sustain the health of the ecosystem and of people. Therefore, no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides are used in our crop production. Instead, we rely on such practices as crop rotation, companion planting, compost collecting, and organic fertilizing. The majority of our seeds are purchased from Seed Savers Exchange, a non-pro�t organization committed to maintaining the biodiversity of heirloom plants. Also, by selling our produce within the community, we are proponents of local food, an idea based on improving the environmental and economic health of a community through short-distance and equitable food exchange.”

-Big Hill Farm

Gustavus students learn about sustainable agriculture, healthy economic practices with on-campus farm


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Some of the pro-duce grown at Big

Hill Farm. (Courtesy of Big Hill Farm)

HOW TO SUPPORT BIG HILL FARM

To �nd out more about Big Hill Farm and di�erent way you can get involved visit their blog or Facebook page.

Blog: www.bighillfarm.wordpress.comFacebook: www.facebook.com/

bighillfarm

Plans include expanding the garden’s market to the St. Peter Food Co-op and the St. Peter Food Shelf, but for now self-sustainability is the top pri-ority.

Dontje said while the program’s operating ex-penses are currently paid for by the college, the goal is for the garden’s revenue to be enough to pay for both the students’ stipends and the cost of operating the garden itself.

This summer, a new sta� of students will work to get a greenhouse built and start a composting program. �is will address one of the program’s biggest shortcoming--most of the produce is harvested before students actually arrive on campus.

“To have vegetable grown right here on campus while there are students on campus would be a huge step forward,” student farmer Sophia Ogren-Dehn said.

�e next group of students have yet to be hired. Of the farm’s four student farmers, only one, Sam Warburton, will spend another summer on the project.

Alex Christensen, a senior environmental studies major, said applicants don’t necessarily need farming or gardening experience, but must have an interest in how food can contribute to a community’s health.

“We are not speci�cally interested in people hav-ing background experience,” Christensen said. “I applied because I’ve always grown food with my mom in the garden at home.”

Ogren-Dehn, a political sciences major, said she completed more than one research project on sustain-able agriculture during her college career.

“�en I realized I had never actually worked on a farm,” Ogren-Dehn said.

Another student, junior biology major Greg Wiess-ner, said being involved in the program has given him a chance to expand on

concepts that would otherwise be con�ned to the classroom.

“I got involved with this soon a�er coming to Gustavus,” Wiessner said. “It gave me a chance to explore hands-on what had been theoretical.”

Reach reporter Jessica Bies at 507-931-8568 or follow her on Twitter.com @sphjessicabies

Farm: Goal is to pay expenses with proceeds from produce, administrator says

From Page 3


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�ough farming was once big business in the United States, by 2012 less than 1 per-cent of Americans were profes-sional farmers. Many challenges face today’s farmers, many of which are largely unknown to the general public.

Many people have an out-dated view of a farm as a small, family-owned and operated parcel of land where livestock is raised in open pens and crops are hand-harvested when ripe. �e reality is that modern-day farms have had to overhaul operations to meet demand and remain competitively priced while adapting to the ever-changing ways technology in-�ltrates all parts of life. Each of these factors present obstacles for today’s farmers.

TechnologyRural farming communities

are expected to make an e�ort to integrate modern technology into an industry that has been around for centuries. But such a transition in rural areas, where communications systems may not be as up-to-date as those in urban areas, is not always so easy.

According to the Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council, a shi� from a resource-based to an information-based economy, compounded by the rapid introduction and expansion of new technology in the work-place, has altered farm opera-tion and the skills in demand. Older workers who have been schooled in one way of agri-culture may have a signi�cant impact on labor supply and the

vitality of farming as a career. Younger adults who are knowl-edgeable in technology may no longer seek out agricultural careers.

Decrease in farming as an occupation

�e United States Environ-mental Protection Agency says that only about 960,000 Ameri-cans claim farming as their principal occupation. As that �gure has dwindled, the average age of farmers continues to rise, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that roughly 40 percent of the farmers in this country are 55 years old or older. �is has led to concerns about the long-term health of family farms throughout the United States.

Environmental concerns

Many farmers have come under scrutiny for how farming impacts the environment. A growing emphasis on sustain-ability and conservation has led many people to protest certain farming practices. Protesters claim that certain practices, such as raising livestock, can pollute water, while the use of fertilizers and chemical pes-ticides is bad for the environ-ment. Many farmers, however, have altered their methods to be more environmentally friendly and self-sustainable in the process.

Challenges facing farmers today and tomorrow

Greater public awareness of agricultural challenges could help the industry in the future. (Metro Creative Connection)

See CHALLENGES on 6


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Climate change is another environmental issue farmers must deal with. Strong storms and severe droughts have made farming even more challenging.

Financial fall-outThe ongoing recession of the last half-decade has also af-

fected farmers. In November of 2012, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that the unemployment rate within the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industries was at 13.6 percent, far higher than the national unemployment rate. As a result, many farm families have found themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place, as rising costs for equipment and technology are being coupled with decreasing profits and rising unemployment.

Further complicating matters is competition from corpo-rations and international food producers who have made it difficult for family farmers to turn a significant profit. Many family farmers rely on loans and lines of credit to survive, but thanks to changes in the financial sector that saw banks become less willing to extend lines of credit, some farmers are facing bankruptcy.

Though it can be easy for those who do not work in the agricultural industry to overlook the struggles facing today’s agricultural professionals, a greater understanding of those struggles and the challenges that lay ahead can benefit the in-dustry and its employees down the road.

Challenges: Unemployment in agriculture was far higher than most other industries in 2012From Page 5


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In an effort to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle, consumers have embraced organic foods in record numbers. They stand behind the idea that organic products are not only better for them, but also better for the planet. But the claims that organic food is safer, healthier and more eco-friendly may be more hype than fact. Some organic foods are not all that they seem to be, and when you dig for the dirt on “organic,” you might be surprised at what you find.

The variety of organic products available at spe-cialty food stores and more traditional supermarkets has increased considerably. Food purists and environmentalists support this growing trend. Certified organic foods are grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertil-izers, sewage sludge, geneti-cally modified organisms or ionizing radiation. Organically produced meats are from ani-mals that do not take antibiot-ics or growth hormones to pro-duce heartier cuts. The USDA National Organic Program sees to it that organic foods meet these stringent requirements and also that any companies that handle or process organic food before it gets to the su-permarket or restaurant are certified as well.

However, consumers who embrace organic products

might not be getting what they think they are. The term “or-ganic” conjures up images of local produce stands and farm-ers diligently caring for their crops. However, as organic foods have grown in popularity and the organic food industry has become a multi-billion dollar industry, the methods of bringing these foods to a store near you have changed. While consumers may believe that organic broccoli was trucked in from a farm down the road, it actually may have traveled

thousands of miles -- negating many environmental benefits in the process.

Many smaller organic busi-nesses have felt the pressure to keep up with mainstream foods and have joined the ranks of commercial food production. In fact, some smaller companies have actu-ally been bought out by large food giants. Organic Cow, a Vermont milk producer, now operates under the auspices of Horizon, a company based in Colorado. Cascadian Farm,

which produces organic frozen dinners among other items, is a subsidiary of General Mills. Many mainstream food com-

panies have their own organic alter egos, which would no doubt surprise consumers who support the organic food

movement.Even true organic foods

shipped from small farms over short distances may not be able to meet the hype of the organic moniker. Plant physiologist and biologist Alex Avery’s 2007 book titled “The Truth About Organic Foods” talks about origins of organic food and dispels some of the myths that prevail. Avery notes that organic foods are not pesti-cide-free because all vegetables contain about five percent of their weight in natural pesticides, some of which may be just as potent as manmade varieties. Avery also notes that more than 95 percent of conventional meat and dairy products in the United States are totally free of antibiotics and 99.5 percent of it is free of synthetic hormones. Only one sample in 400 violates the an-tibiotic limits set by the FDA. Avery also states that there are no nutritional differences

There are many consumers that would like to believe that organic foods are healthier and better for the environment. But some research indicates that these claims may not be justi�ed.

Organic a growing trend, but make sure claims are accurate

See TREND on 8


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between organic and conven-tionally produced foods, which debunks the myth that organic foods are more nutritionally sound.

Organic foods also may contribute to a higher carbon footprint. Instead of using chemical fertilizers to feed produce, the use of animal manure may mean clearing out land for grazing and creating

its own problems in o�-gassing and water contamination that has been associated with raising livestock. Furthermore, the U.K. Department of Environ-ment and Rural A�airs states, “A shi� towards a local food system, and away from a super-market-based food system with its central distribution depots, lean supply chains and big, full trucks, might actually increase the number of food-vehicle miles being traveled locally,

because things would move around in a larger number of smaller, less e�ciently packed vehicles.”

Champions of organic foods are sure to stand by the claims that organic foods are better. Many organic foods are nutritionally sound and rely on more natural growing methods. Yet consumers should keep an open mind about both organic foods and their commercially produced counterparts.

From Page 7

Trend: Organic might leave large carbon footprint

�ough it’s easy for subur-banites or city dwellers to go months, if not years, without seeing a farm, the most recent agriculture census for which information is available notes that in 2007 there were 2.1 mil-lion farms in the United States. �ose farms spanned 922 mil-lion acres, shedding light on the fact that while many Americans might not see farms on a daily basis, that doesn’t mean the country isn’t still a great home to farmland.

While farming might once have been a part of most Americans’ daily lives, today the principles of farming are much more foreign to the average American. One such principle is crop rotation, a valuable agricultural practice that can even pay dividends for suburban homeowners who

enjoy gardening. �e bene�ts of crop rotation aren’t only ap-plicable to large farms, as they can help keep personal gardens healthy as well.

What is crop rotation?

Crop rotation is a practice farmers employ to help their crops �ght disease. By growing a variety of crops in a sequen-tial system throughout their �eld, farmers are hoping to avoid the buildup of disease and pests that is common with mono-cropping, which is the practice of growing the same crop on the same land year a�er year a�er year. When rotating crops, each succeeding crop

Crop rotation is a practice that benefits farmers, gardening enthusiasts

See ROTATION on 9


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Why employ crop rotation?

Crop rotation has many bene�ts, arguably the most important of which is keep-ing pests and disease at bay.

Since many pest insects and disease-causing organisms are host speci�c, rotating crops helps ensure these insect pests and harmful organisms cannot make a permanent home or have access to a permanent source of food. If crops aren’t rotated, then the insect pests and organisms have a constant source of food, enabling them to live longer and do more damage to crops as a result.

But crop rotation isn’t only bene�cial to crops. Crop rota-tion can also promote healthy soil. Di�erent crops have di�er-ent nutrient needs, so rotating crops with di�erent nutrient needs helps avoid the depletion of any one element present in the soil. Soil structure is o�en better when crops are rotated as well. Some crops are deep-rooting while others are shallow rooting. By alternating between

the two, planters can break up any subsoil that might have grown compacted.

Crop rotation also o�ers environmental and �nancial bene�ts by reducing reliance on synthetic chemicals to �ght pests. By rotating crops, plant-ers are making it much harder for pests to thrive, without hav-ing to spend money on costly and o�en environmentally harmful pesticides.

From Page 8

Rotation: Practice helps prevent pest, disease infestationBy JEFFREY HAHN Asst. University of Minnesota Extension Entomologist

People have recently been experiencing problems with boxelder bugs in their homes, sometimes in large numbers. De-spite the circumstantial evidence, these insects are not reproducing indoors; all of the boxelder bugs you see now entered homes last fall.

When they get into wall voids, attics, and similar places, they o�en cluster in large groups. As the outdoor temperatures warm up (or sometimes as people turn their heat up), the outer layer of these insects will receive the most warmth and become active. �ey will then move to the inside of buildings where it is warm. Eventually another layer of insects becomes active and so on. �is is why boxelder bugs and other dormant insects do not all emerge at the same time.

Unfortunately, there are not many good options for dealing with boxelder bugs and other overwintering insects at this time

of year. �ere is nothing practical for treating them while they are dormant in hidden areas and preventing their emergence. And once they are in your home, they only real option is to physically remove them, e.g. with a vacuum cleaner.

�e best time to deal with box-elder bugs and other insects that seek harborage for the winter is in late summer or fall before they

start to move to buildings seek-ing overwinter-ing sites. �e best methods for reducing these insects are by sealing up cracks and spaces that

may allow them entrance into your home combined with a timely treatment of an appropriate residual insecticide. Some insects will still get inside but you should be able to reduce the number that would otherwise get inside.

Keep in mind that boxelder bug populations vary from year to year and in 2012 many people experience an above average number of them. If you tradition-ally do not see many, you may see populations return to normal in 2013.

Boxelder bugs in homes

LEARN MOREVisit http://www1.

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By TOM DICKSONMinnesota Department of Natural Resources

Downpours cause the environmental damage that rain gardens help reduce. In a natural landscape, such as a meadow or prairie, storm-water runo� pools up in shallow depressions and wetlands before seeping into the aquifer. But in an urban setting covered with impervious surfaces — asphalt, concrete, roo�ng materials, and even lawns-storm water moves sideways, not down, picking up all kinds of contaminants, from gasoline and motor oil, to leaves and grass clippings, to lawn fertilizer and phosphorus-laden dust blown in from western Minnesota farm �elds. When carried into lakes, the chemical pollutants can kill insects and �sh. �e excess nutrients create blooms of algae, which, when they die and decompose, use up dissolved oxygen needed by �sh and other aquatic life.

Paved surfaces also increase water �ow and speed of storm water, causing greater �ood peaks and intensity. When conveyed into urban streams, the rushing torrents tear away at stream banks, causing massive erosion. “Pretty much every stream in the metro region has sections that have been blown out from storm-water runo�,” says Riggs.

And because this fast-moving urban storm water doesn’t get a

chance to soak into the ground, groundwater levels decline, which leads to dry streams dur-ing drought.

�ere’s more. Storm-water runo� picks up animal waste. Ac-cording to the Maryland-based Center for Watershed Protection, fecal coliform levels in urban storm water are usually 15 to 20 times the recommended safety level for swimming.

�e Mississippi River, where most of the Twin Cities’ storm water ends up, is the source of drinking water for millions of people.

It doesn’t take much asphalt and pavement to cause environ-mental harm. Studies cited by the Center for Watershed Protec-tion show that when impervi-ous surfaces cover as little as 10 percent of a watershed, streams show a sharp decline in may�ies, caddis �ies, and other aquatic life. When they cover 25 percent of a watershed, an urban stream is “greatly impaired” and sees marked decreases in �sh species diversity and even an elimination of �sh altogether.

�e amount of impervi-ous acreage across Minnesota continues to expand. From 1986 to 2000, impervious surface coverage in the seven-county Twin Cities region increased 60 percent, according to Marvin Bauer, head of the University of Minnesota Remote Sensing Laboratory.

For a rainy day

See GARDEN on 11

Rain gardens attractive, eco-friendly addition to any yard

Rain Gardens help reduce environmental damage caused by heavy rains and are an attractive landscape feature. These manmade features emulate low-lying spots that occur in meadows and wetlands and other natural areas.


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Simple Trick�e environmental harm of

more pavement, asphalt, and roo�ng can be greatly reduced, say storm-water experts, if runo� can be intercepted before it reaches the storm sewer.

“�e key is to break the con-nection between the hard surface and the storm sewer,” says Fred Rozumalski, an ecologist and landscape architect with Barr Engineering in Minneapolis.

�is can be done any number of ways, from the small home-grown solution of rain gardens, to the large-scale re-engineering of streets and parking lots.

�e easiest big �x is to design parking lots to usher storm water into vegetated depressions. Once the water slows, sand and silt settle out. �en plants absorb ni-trogen and phosphorus. Bacteria in the soil convert gasoline and oil into simple organic com-pounds before the �ltered water seeps down into the groundwater below.

Among the public parking lots using this method are the Minnesota Landscape Arbore-tum in Chanhassen and the new visitors center at Dakota County’s Lebanon Hills Regional Park

(which also sports a new “green roof” covered in grass and soil that absorb rain and snowmelt).

Homegrown bioretention

Generally described as any slight depression containing deep-rooted perennial plants that captures and holds runo� (a process called bioretention), rain gardens can be as large or as small as a homeowner wishes.

With more than 300 gardens planted since 1996, Maplewood is Minnesota’s rain garden mecca. Over the past eight years as it repaves old streets, the city has o�ered residents the option of having new curb-and-gutter systems installed or going curb-less and having the water drain o� the road into boulevard rain gardens. Many neighborhoods voted for the rain garden ap-proach, though not every home on a curbless block had to put in a garden.

“Most of our residents do it for the aesthetics,” says Virginia Gaynor, horticulturist and open space coordinator for the city of Maplewood. “But the environ-mental bene�ts are also impor-tant to people.”

According to assistant city

engineer Chris Cavitt, the cost of putting in residential rain gar-dens is less than installing new curbs and gutters.

Most rain gardens are be-ing planted in the Twin Cities, though a few are popping up here and there in greater Minnesota. Dan LaFrance, a landscape de-signer with Landsburg Land-scape Nursery in Brainerd, says he installed three rain gardens last year and hopes to do more as people learn how they work.

“�ere’s a lot of potential up here with so many people mov-ing in and around lakes,” he says. “Rain gardens are a beautiful so-

lution to water-quality problems.”Stumbling BlocksRozumalski, who has de-

signed dozens of rain gardens, says the colorful plantings don’t need to be wild looking to help the environment.

Another concern of home-owners: Will rain gardens pro-duce mosquitoes? “�ey don’t,” says Rozumalski.

“Mosquitoes need sev-eral days of standing water to reproduce, and rain gardens are designed to dry up before that.” In fact, he says, rain gardens o�en attract dragon�ies, which eat mosquito larvae.

Attracting wildlife was one of many reasons Burnsville home-owner Dianne Rowse designed her own rain garden in the fall of 2002. As part of her street reconstruction, the city excavated

a shallow basin in her yard and replaced existing clay soils with well-drained ones. �en Rowse used the Department of Natural Resources’ Restore Your Shore CD to select plants suitable for her 17-by-20-foot garden.

“I just popped in the CD, pulled up a plant list, entered various parameters, such as not wanting anything over 3 feet tall, and it told me the plants I needed to get,” she says.

Now in its second grow-ing season, the rain garden will soon be abloom with prairie blazing star, cardinal-�owers, wood-lilies, and wild geraniums. Indiangrass, ironweed, and path rush add texture and diversity. High-bush cranberry bushes provide windbreaks and fruit for wintering birds.

Garden: Rain gardens can be as large or small as homeowner wishesFrom Page 10

RAIN GARDEN BASICSChoose a low or wet spot

in your yard where water drains naturally. The closer to the street, the better the spot. Make sure it’s at least 15 feet from any home foundation to avoid basement wetness.

Check the soil. Sand-based soil works well. Clay-soil gardens are not recommended.

Use a garden hose to outline the area. Any shape

is �ne.After checking for

underground power lines and other utilities, dig a shallow depression, with the center at a depth of 12 to 18 inches, feathering out to the perimeter.

Dig a shallow trench from the downspout or sump pump outlet to the garden.

Choose native plants and cultivars that tolerate

drought and occasional drenching. As a general rule of thumb, plants should be about 18 inches apart, or one plant per 2.5 square feet.

Mow or remove the dead vegetation each spring, or burn it o� if local ordinances allow. Weed three times per growing season. (Tree seedlings are usually the most abundant weeds.)

See GARDEN on 12


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22

840 Pioneer Ave, Layfayette

By KARL FOORDUniversity of Minnesota Exten-sion Educator, Horticulture

In anticipation of spring tomatoes, consider your tomato systems and avoid one of the scourges of gardening — tomato blossom end rot.

Symptoms of blossom end rot

Water soaked areas at the blossom end of the fruit usually appear when the fruits are one third to one half full size. �is enlarges and darkens as the fruit matures.

�ese large sunken lesions dry out �atten and become black and leathery. Typically the �rst fruit are most severely a�ected, and later developing fruit can be una�ected.

Causes and the role of calcium

Blossom end rot is a “physi-ological disorder” induced by a localized calcium de�ciency in the fruit. �e incidence of the disorder is usually not due to a lack of calcium in the soil, but rather due to factors a�ecting the uptake and translocation of calcium.

On a cellular level calcium is a critical component of cell walls (a structural nutrient). So when calcium is limiting cell walls cannot form properly and rap-idly growing parts of the plant su�er breakdown. As a struc-tural component calcium once incorporated into a cell wall is not mobile within the plant.

At the plant level, the end of the fruit is an area of rapid growth and has a high need for calcium as do other rapid growth areas like meristems. If

90 percent of the calcium that a mature fruit contains is already in the fruit by the time it is ½ — ¾” in diameter then the critical time for calcium uptake is early in the development of the fruit.

Soil calcium and plant uptake

Calcium uptake is associated with water uptake. �us anything that interferes with water uptake can create calcium de�ciencies. Dry or wet soils interfere with water uptake in di�erent ways but both can lead to calcium problems. �e strongest sink for calcium is actively transpiring leaves because they are actively pulling water. Other plant struc-tures are not transpiring near the degree that leaves are and thus function as poorer calcium sinks. A waxy cuticle develops on the fruit when it is ½ — ¾ “in diam-eter which reduces transpiration

and thus weakens the fruit as a calcium sink.

�e fruit is competing with leaf tissue for calcium so a higher fruit to leaf ratio reduces the relative strength of the leaf as a calcium sink allowing more calcium to be allocated to growing fruits. �is adds to the logic recommending pruning of tomato sucker shoots.

Control of Blossom End RotMaintain even and adequate

soil moisture; mulch aids in this process. Avoid poorly drained and cool soils. Avoid over- fertil-izing with nitrogen which cre-ates excessive vegetation. Avoid ammonium based fertilizers as ammonia inhibits uptake of calcium. Use nitrate as the main source of N in fertilizers. Choose cultivars that have fewer tenden-cies to demonstrate blossom end rot. Use soil test data to maintain proper nutrition and optimum pH in the 6 — 6.5 range.

Foliar applications of calcium

�ere seems to be disagree-ment about the e�ectiveness of foliar applications of calcium. �e logic on the ine�ective side is that calcium is immobile in the plant and will not trans-locate to the fruit from mate-rial sprayed on the leaves. �e response is to spray on the fruit. However, a waxy cuticle devel-ops on the fruit when it is ½ — ¾ “in diameter which reduces transpiration and perhaps direct absorption of sprayed calcium.

O�en blossom end rot de-creases as the season progresses. �is could be due to weather ef-fects, warmer soils, or a slowing of vegetative growth all of which would make it appear that early applications of calcium have

been e�ective.Perhaps foliar sprays applied

on plants prior to the �rst clus-ter of fruit or directly on small fruit can be used to supplement calcium. Calcium nitrate and chelated calcium are the safest sources of calcium to be ap-plied as a spray. However spray applications of calcium are no substitute for proper nutrition and water management.

If calcium is best allocated by the plants xylem water conduc-tion system, then keeping this system functioning optimally is the best course of action.

�is article was developed from a presentation created by Dr. Carl Rosen and Michelle Grabowski and delivered by Dr. Carl Rosen at the Upper Midwest Regional Fruit and Vegetable Growers Conference.

“I really wanted a lot of color in summer, and I like that the garden attracts songbirds and butter�ies,” says Rowse. “I also like the look of the grasses and seed pods in the winter. �e birds are attracted to the seeds, which keeps them here year-round.” An unexpected bonus: “�e rain garden holds the snowmelt too.”

Do they work?Rain gardens can be beautiful.

But do the planted basins actually help keep water clean?

According to the Center for Watershed Protection, several studies on the East Coast have shown that rain gardens capture pollutants and keep downstream lakes and streams healthier. And local research indicates so too. A 1998 study by the Ramsey-Wash-ington Metro Watershed District found that, in one year, the H.B. Fuller rain garden captured 55,000 cubic feet of untreated storm

water and 500 pounds of leaves, grass clippings, and other matter that would have entered a nearby wetland.

A current study funded by the Metropolitan Council is compar-ing lawn phosphorus runo� from several Burnsville streets with 17 rain gardens to streets without rain gardens. All of the streets drain into Crystal Lake, which has become increasingly algae-laden during the past several decades.

Meanwhile, observation strongly suggests that rain gardens do e�ectively retain and �lter contaminated rainwater.

“During a big rain, you drive down a street [in some parts of Maplewood] and see water pooled in the [rain] gardens,” says Cavitt. “�en you come back later in the day, it’s all gone, seeped down into the ground. �at’s water that would have washed down the streets and into the storm sewer.”

As communities across Min-nesota ooze outward, more con-crete and asphalt cover the land.

Consequently, storm water has fewer places to go. Rain gardens won’t solve that problem entirely, but they’re an easy and attrac-

tive way for homeowners to help lessen the water-quality problems their sidewalks, driveways, and roofs create.

Garden: Several studies prove rain garden e�ectivenessFrom Page 11

Tomato blossom end rot: Avoid the scourge of your garden this spring


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By KARL FOORDUMN Extension Educator

Most pepper cultivars come from the species Capsicum annuum, whose center of origin is Mexico. �e Habanero and Tabasco peppers come from C. chinense and C. frutescens, respectively.

�e center of origin for these species is the Amazon River basin in northern South America. �e amount of variation in size shape and color is impressive. Es-pecially fascinating are the color changes that many of the cultivars go through as they ripen.

Most but not all start out green and then turn various shades of yellow, or-ange, red, and purple. Others start out purple, chocolate, or gray green and stay that color. Beyond color and size C. an-nuum peppers can be divided nicely into those that are sweet and those that “bring the heat.”

�e spicy heat of a pepper is a func-tion of the amount of the compound capsaicin present in the pepper; the more capsaicin the hotter the pepper. Capsaicin stimulates chemoreceptor nerve endings in the skin, especially the mucous membranes. Each hot pepper variety is characterized by a range of cap-

saicin that it may contain as denoted by the Scoville scale measured in Scoville heat units (SHU). �e scale was named

a�er its creator Wilbur Scoville. �ere is also a rating scale from 1 to 10 also based on SHU.

Although the genetics determine the potential of heat, the environment can signi�cantly modify the production of

capsaicin. Growing temperature, hours of sunlight, moisture, soil chemistry, and the type and amount of fertilizer used can all be in�uencing factors. �e condi-tions under which it a pepper was dried can also in�uence heat. �e habanero pepper seems particularly sensitive to environmental factors and can vary in heat by a factor of 10.

The names of many of the pepper types and or varieties re�ect where they were developed. For example:

Anaheim: this green pepper was cul-tivated for a canning factory in Anaheim, California. (Editor’s note: �e �rst Amer-ican canning factory was constructed in New York City in 1812. The canning industry moved westward and became active in the latter part of the 19th cen-tury). �ese peppers are also known as California Chile and Chile Verde and are used in the making of chiles rellenos. If Anaheim peppers are le� on the bush to ripen, dried and ground into pepper, the product produced is Chile Colorado

Jalapeño: When dried, the Jalapeño is known as “Chipotle” and around 20% of the Jalapeño harvest is dehydrated for Chipotle sauce.

Heat and sweet: Pepper varieties run flavor gamut

Photo courtesy of the University of Minnesota Extension

See PEPPERS on 14


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Paprika: Paprika is the Hun-garian word for pepper, and the actual pepper was developed in Hungary.

Pimiento: “Pimiento” is the Spanish word for “bell pepper” while “Pimento” or “pimentão” are the Portuguese words. Pi-mento peppers are the familiar

red stuffing found in prepared Spanish green olives.

Padron: �ese peppers came from the Padron region in the province of Coruna in Spain.

Habanero: traveled from South American and is postu-lated to have come from Cuba and named a�er Havana thus the name “Habanero”.

Check out a nearby farmers’

market to see the variety of pep-pers available.

If you are interested in grow-ing some of these varieties see the publication: Growing To-matoes, Peppers, and Eggplant in Minnesota Home Gardens at http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/M1246.html

Peppers: U of M Extension o�ers resources for growing your own peppers

From Page 13

Photo courtesy of the University of Minnesota Extension


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SALE PRICE

$16,775*

2.0, 4 Cl,

6 Spd, AC,

PDL, Side

Airbags

MSRP $23,080

2013 Dodge AvengerSE

3.6 V6, Alloy

Wheels, Satellite

Radio, ABS, Side

Airbags

3.6 V6, Heated

Leather, Auto

Temp, ABS, Side

AIrbags

2013 Dodge ChargerSRT8

6.4 V8 Hemi,

Auto, Remote Start,

Touchscreen Radio,

Premium Sound

2013 Chrysler 300S

#10076#10044#9969#10110#10072

2013 Dodge Journey SE

2.4 4 Cyl, Auto,

Dual Zone Temp,

Alloy Wheels,

Side Airbags

MSRP $20,490

SALE PRICE

$17,969*

#9997

2013 Dodge Grand Caravan Crew

Navigation,

Heated Seats &

Steering Wheel,

Back Up Camera,

Load Level

MSRP $31,270

SALE PRICE

$25,973**

#9973

2013 Chrysler Town & Country

Touring

Leather,

Rear DVD, Back

Up Camera, Side

Air Bags, Auto

Temp

MSRP $30, 990

SALE PRICE

$25,998**

#10029

3.6 V6, 3rd Seat,

Heated Leather,

Navigation, Quad

Seats, 20” Polished

Wheels

MSRP $40,630

SALE PRICE

$35,346*

#10123

3.6 V6,

6 Spd, Hardtop,

AC, Alloy

Wheels

MSRP $27,850

SALE PRICE

$26,783*

#10224

2013 Jeep Wrangler Sport

4x4

2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo

4x4

3.6 V6, Heated

Leather, Remote

Start, Back up

Camera, Navigation,

Tow Pkg

MSRP $39,175

SALE PRICE

$36,408*

#10215#10137

MSRP $40,165

Crew Cab

5.7 Hemi V8,

Tow Pkg, Side

Steps, Satellite

Radio

2013 Ram 1500 ST Quad Cab

4x4

5.7 Hemi V8,

20” Wheels, Tow

Pkg, Side Steps,

Satellite Radio

MSRP $35,860

SALE PRICE

$28,941***

MSRP $53,830

Crew Cab4x4

#10093

6.7 Cummings

Diesel, Auto, Tow

Pkg, Navigation,

Back Up Camera,

Big Horn Pkg

2013 Ram 1500 SLT Crew Cab

4x4

5.7 Hemi V8,

Remote Start,

Tow Pkg, Side

Steps, Anti-Spin

#10108

2013 Chrysler 200Limited

5.7 Hemi V8,

Heated Leather,

Navigation, Touch

Screen Radio

w/ Beats Sound

System

#10204



(507) 931-4070 or (800) 657-4802






ST. PETER





TRAIN WARRANTY.






ALL OUR PROGRAM

VEHICLES & PREOWNED














(507) 931-4070 or (800) 657-4802






ST. PETER





TRAIN WARRANTY.






ALL OUR PROGRAM

VEHICLES & PREOWNED













Ask about our new � nancing.

* Loans provided by EnerBank USA (1245 E. Brickyard Rd. Suite 640, Salt Lake City, UT 84106) on approved credit, for a limited time. Repayment terms vary from 24 to 132 months. Interest waived if

repaid in 365 days. 16.75% fixed APR, effective as of 2/17/13. Subject to change.

*

Documents

Spring Ag 2013