THE LAND — FEBRUARY 18/FEBRUARY 25, 2022
www.thelandonline.com — “Where Farm and Family Meet”
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With little fuss, ferns can add beautiful element to landscapes Foliage plants such as Ferns prefer well-drained ferns are a pleasing consoil with organic matter. trast to the blooming plants Most prefer moist shady and trees in our gardens. locations, in the forest or Their leaves are quite difthe north side of buildings. ferent from many of our Some species, like the cinplants, like the broad leaves namon, royal and southern of hostas and others. shield ferns, will grow in GREEN AND full sun if there is enough GROWING Fern fossils show that moisture. They also like they have existed for more By Linda G. Tenneson slow-release fertilizer and than 70 million years. Now mulch. they are the second-most diverse group of vascular plants, with Ferns may be divided in the same only flowering plants having more. A manner as iris or hostas. When the vascular plant has specialized cells center of a group of ferns appears that move water and nutrients up dead, cut between the living rhizomes from the roots to the leaves. Trees are and replant the sections in a new locaa common example of vascular plants. tion. Rhizome sections may also be Perennial vascular plants store sugar removed from the outer edges of fern in their roots over winter and can rhizomes. grow multiple years. Ferns do not have flowers and reproFerns grow as single stems emerging duce from spores found on the bottom from rhizomes. They emerge with the of the leaf fronds. The spores are the leaves coiled in a circle often referred brown spots or dots found on the botto as a fiddlehead. The fiddlehead tom of most leaves. The American opens and expands as it grows. The Fern Society web site has some excelleaf stalk or stem, together with the lent pictures of the spores on the botattached leaves, are called fronds. tom of fern leaves. They may also While the above-ground growth dies reproduce by cloning, also called vegedown each winter, the rhizomes tative reproduction. Some species have remain and send up new fronds each bulblets which grow on the fronds. If spring. they fall off from, or are placed on the There is a great variety of fern sizes ground, they will germinate and grow. The Walking Fern has long pointed and leaf patterns. Some are natives tips that produce new plants when and may appear in our gardens on those tips touch the ground. The name their own. Ferns are both cold and comes from the appearance that the heat tolerant and so there are species that grow all over the north and south. fern is walking across the ground. Most grow between one and three feet The Brooklyn Botanical Garden web tall, but the resurrection fern is only a site “bbg.org/gardening/article/growfew inches tall while royal and ostrich ing_ferns_from_spores” has a detailed article on collecting spores from existferns may reach six feet tall. ing plants and growing new plants.
Once they germinate, they may take as much as six months to produce new fronds. Ferns suffer from few pest problems. Slugs may eat the young fronds and insecticidal soap may eliminate scale insects.
The website “minnesotawildflowers. info/page/ferns-and-fern-allies” shows pictures of several dozen ferns that will grow in this state. Linda G. Tenneson is a University of Minnesota master gardener and tree care advisor. v
USDA organic listening session
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Time. Details on how to sign up to seeks stakeholder feedback on regula- make oral comments, submit written tory priorities for the development of comments, and the meeting link (via clear organic standards that support a Zoom) can be found at https://www. level playing field and market develop- ams.usda.gov/event/national-organicment. USDA intends to use informa- program-priorities-listening-session. tion received through public comments The deadline to submit written comto guide the prioritization of future ments is March 30. organic standards development. This article was submitted by the U.S. The virtual meeting is scheduled for Department of Agriculture. v woman to pursue accredited courses in March 21 from noon to 2 p.m. Eastern agriculture leadership, communica30676 County Rd 24 tions, rural sociology, medicine or other Sleepy Eye, MN. 56085 www.mathiowetzconst.com college-level studies directly related to office@mathiowetzconst.com agriculture. American Agri-Women 507-794-6953 members and affiliates maintain the scholarships. In All We Do, Farm Friendly Since 1924 We Do It Right! Completed applications should be – Aggregates – Grove Removal sent to American Agri-Women – Building Pads – Hauling Foundation, P.O. Box 103, Baileyville, – Demolition – Site Grading IL, 61007; or emailed to foundation@ – Ditch Cleaning – Terraces americanagriwomen.org. – Farm Drainage – Equipment Sales & Service This article was submitted by the American Agri-Women. v An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer
Scholarship applications open The American Agri-Women Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2022 Daughters of American Agriculture Scholarships. An application can be found at https:// a m e r i c a n a g r i w o m e n . o r g / s ch o l a rships. The application deadline is March 1. The Jean Ibendahl Scholarship is for individuals age 18-23) and the Sister Thomas More Bertels Scholarship for ages 24 and over. These scholarships are available to any farm, ranch, or agri-business
MATHIOWETZ CONSTRUCTION
