GARDEN CHAT By Jean Lundquist
Vacation thoughts about seeds I
n February, Larry and I got a wild notion to take a two-week trip to Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. As we discussed our spring trip, there was one caveat: I needed to be home in time to start my seeds. And with my new greenhouse, that meant I was starting seeds in early March rather than mid-March. We got home Feb. 29. The next day, I was busy in my basement with my new LED grow lights, while my greenhouse warmed to over 75 degrees. That was enough to open one of the automatic vents to keep it from getting too warm. How exciting! Some of the first seeds I planted were yucca seeds gathered from the yard of some snowbird friends. Also, some seeds harvested, maybe illegally, from a desert mule’s ear plant, which will provide beautiful flowers if it survives here. In New Mexico, it’s a perennial, but if it’s an annual here, I’ll just be sure to harvest some seeds again this fall. I also harvested mesquite seed pods just as an 42 • APRIL 2020 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
experiment. These are the seeds I am pretty sure will not do well in Minnesota, but it seemed like an idea at the time. Maybe I’ll just get enough wood to smoke a few chicken legs on the grill this summer. Our southwestern trip was a glimpse into summer. Many flowers and some cacti were blooming, and hummingbirds and butterflies were dancing among the flowers. I saw some gardens designated as “Monarch Way Stations” but never saw a monarch butterfly in them. We walked around in shirt sleeves and made use of the sunscreen dispensers we found in some public restrooms. The day we left it was 84 degrees with no humidity. I, however, was ready to leave. The newscasts warned people that rattlesnakes tend to become active about the time the weather approaches that temperature and to take precautions against being a victim of a bite. Not the place for me! I don’t like snakes. That’s not to say I kill them, but then again, Minnesota snakes are not going to kill me, either,
