Green & Growing

Annual flowering plants will be sold in Geraniums are an annual which may be various stores in the coming months and started from seed indoors, grown during are an easy way to add color to our gar- the summer and then overwintered dens. indoors. Their colors range from white, to Annuals are flowering plants which live for one season only. Their blooms become seeds which will drop off the plant when mature and many annuals will easily reseed themselves. pink, salmon, orange, red, fuchsia and lavender. There is even a very dark variety that appears black. They may also be bicolored. Geraniums have a distinctive scent, and some varieties are known as scented and smell like citrus, peppermint,

Some of the frequently grown annuals pineapple, and other pleasant odors.are the following. Petunias are very easy to grow, bloom

Marigolds range in shades of pale yellow to dark from spring to frost and have a pleasant fragrance. orange. They will grow in sun, survive in moist or They range in size from miniature to grandiflora dry soil, and don’t need a lot of fertilizer. Marigolds which may be three or four inches wide. Some have a distinct odor which repels deer and rabbits. spread easily and are called “wave” type petunias. While they are often planted around vegetable gar- Petunia seeds are very small and require 10 to 12 dens to repel pests, this doesn’t always work. weeks to germinate, so they are harder to start

French marigolds grow 6 to 12 inches tall with sin- indoors from seed. gle or double bloom petals, which may be up to two Zinnias come in a wide range of colors and sizes inches wide. African marigolds are the biggest plants and are another easy to start indoors from seed. The and may reach 3 to 4 feet tall. Their blooms may be blooms may have a single or double row of petals up to five inches wide. Signet marigolds are six inch- and appear all summer long. The stems may be es tall or less, have a single row of petals and are short or tall depending on the variety.edible. They may be used as a salad garnish. Coleus, a member of the mint family, has small

GREEN AND GROWING By Linda G. Tenneson

unimportant blooms, but it is grown for its colorful leaves. Most varieties prefer shade, but a few new ones will tolerate full sun. The leaves come in various color combinations and patterns in green, yellow, pink, red and maroon.

The University of Minnesota’s West Central Research and Outreach Center horticulture display garden in Morris, Minn. is one place to visit and view the 2021 top ten performing annuals. These plants have been evaluated from hundreds of cultivars for desired characteristics and disease resistance. The top ten selections from previous years of testing at Morris are also listed on its website.

All annuals require a lot of sunlight, water and drainage. Some are more adaptable to growing in heavy clay soil and all will improve with fertilizer and compost.

The University of Minnesota yard and garden website contains much detailed information and pictures of these and other annuals to grow in our gardens.

Linda G. Tenneson is a University of Minnesota master gardener and tree care advisor. v

Extension educators, seed company agronomists, and the entire ag service industry that both teaches and sells to farmers is unknown to Kasakhstan farmers. But right now, everything is upside down in Kazakhstan. And until the Ukranian situation gets settled, this topsy-turvy environment will likely continue over there too.”

“Creating drought-tolerant corn has always been our ambition,” Ed went on to say. “This simply means hybrids that can get through dry periods without yield loss. We have found various mechanisms to achieve this. The most common being a larger root mass to extract water. This also means more nutrients are also pulled into the plant. And that’s why drought tolerant corn has a tendency to yield more because of this single dynamic. Also, through controlled breeding work we are finding differences in the efficiency of the corn plant such as water efficiency. And when your corn is more water efficient, it’s also more efficient in nutrient use. And that’s a win-win for the farmer and the environment. ”Also, the old school of thinking was rolling corn leaves indicated dying corn. But not necessarily so. We’ve learned heat and drought-resistant hybrids do not roll very easily. Instead, they grey and wilt. And the longer a plant goes without rolling, the more heat and drought tolerant it is. This was especially evident this past season with exceptional heat and drought conditions in many areas. Which leads me into talking about Durayield Traits which we select from managed stress environments and extreme stress breeding in our special breeding plots in both the Dakotas, plus Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.

“Durayield traits are additive; so each generation of Durayield will be better than the previous. So no need to worry about pest adaption as Durayield hybrids evolve into the market. So now my sales pitch: Durayield products can be grown at lower populations per acre vs. other products to achieve maximum yield. They allow for more efficient use of available water and nutrients, have natural insect tolerance, have natural droughts tolerance, and have no market restrictions because these are conventional hybrids.

Summed up Ed, “Our business is more focused on the livestock producer. So that’s why — as an independent seed producer — we decided to develop more than just a high-yielding #2 yellow dent corn. We want improved grain quality in the corn produced for the end user — whether a food grade application or a feed for livestock. So our question often deals with silage corn, or grain corn. It’s a highly competitive market. And that’s why brand names mean a lot these days. And for us to build the BASS brand name takes effort, time and comparative data that tells and supports our story.”

Sure, Ed admits to the continual urge to make what you already have even better. “To some extent you are continually making adjustments in this very challenging business. But no longer are there ‘hard lefts’ or ‘hard rights.’ Our first decision was the biggest and providing out to be the best: no GMO’s. And we’ll always be working on delivering personalized seed for the grower. That explains why we are working more with livestock farmers because most of our products have higher protein and oil percentages in the composition of the kernel. And the livestock farmer knows these factors contribute very directly to their livestock revenues. Knowing the nutritional value of our products is how we successfully market to the livestock farmer, or to neighboring farmers who sell their corn to area feedlot operations.”

He concludes, “We’re not selling a lower price seed. We develop everything we sell. We’re not selling 30-year-old hybrids dressing them up with some genetically modified organisms. These are brand new products from our very competitive research trials. And if they aren’t better, we wouldn’t be putting them into the market.”

Dick Hagen is the staff writer emeritus of The Land. He may be reached at rdhagen35@gmail.com. v

Send your letters to: Editor, The Land 418 South Second St., Mankato, MN 56001 e-mail: editor@thelandonline.com