It is the season of giving and gardeners can’t be left out. Plan ahead and your gifts could come from your own garden or from local nurseries and farmers.
Linn County Master Gardener Becki Lynch shares her gardener gift-giving ideas so that the gardeners on your list will be happy this season.
Q: The holidays are fast approaching, and once again I am looking for something for the gardeners in my family. I have an aunt in her 80s and a nephew in his 20s, so what are some ideas that will appeal to all ages?
A: For any gardener, there are certain gifts that are always welcome. First, I recommend picking up the 2014 Wonder of Trees Garden Calendar available at the local Iowa State University Extension office. For $8, this year’s calendar celebrates the wonderful gifts that trees provide for other living things. In addition to striking photos, find monthly garden tips, tree-planting instructions, Iowa’s state forests, vignettes of historical trees, and quotes that trees inspired.
The Linn County Master Gardeners have a handbook that is perfect for the novice and expert gardener. It is called “Getting Your Hands Dirty Your Feet Wet, Again,” and it is available at the Linn County Extension Office for $20. Call (319) 377-9839, email mkenyonb@iastate.edu or stop by the office.
If there are any magazines that your favorite gardeners love, renew their subscriptions or begin new subscriptions for them. These gifts are usually $20 or less. If your gardener has a particular interest, such as vegetables or roses, Google to see whether there are any specialty publications related to their interest. Go beyond the generic publications, and your gardener will appreciate it. Nothing is better to while away the winter months than a gardening magazine.
Any gardener will love having a cleanser for any poison ivy, oak or sumac that we might get into — and we always do. And since we get into trouble before we realize it, we need a product that works after the fact. To have a product easily on hand at the beginning of the season is a great gift, and a product called Tecnu Outdoor Skin Cleanser has good reviews and is inexpensive ($10 to $15) and effective on skin, tools, clothes and pets. It works up to eight hours after exposure.
For the young gardener, the Root Viewer gives a child a project for right now, not spring — which is too long to wait. Budding botanists will love watching root vegetables grow from the tops up and the roots down. Carrots, radishes and onions are grown from sprouts to full harvest right before their eyes. Includes seeds and growing instructions. For $10, everything needed comes in the package. Available online, there is still time to get it.
Since most gardeners have their own preferences in tools, gloves and brands of bulbs and plants, a great gift for any season is a gift card to a local nursery. We have many greenhouses with a wide selection of plants, tools, artwork and plant materials from which to choose.
Events
- Overview of Farm Legal Issues Webinar, 6 p.m. Monday, online. Learn about the most common legal issues encountered by direct-to-consumer and organic farm operations. For more information, visit Farmcommons.org/webinars.
- Our Woodland Legacy Symposium, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Doubletree Hotel, 350 First Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids. $50 to $75. Contact: Jo Ann McNiel, jmcniel@treesforever.org, (319) 389-3488.
- Crop Planning Workshop for Produce Farms, 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Johnson County ISU Extension Office, 3109 Old Hwy. 218 S, Iowa City. Free. Register by today: www.eventbrite.com/event/9207364475
Questions on gardening, land use or local foods? Contact Michelle Kenyon Brown, community ag programs manager at Linn County Extension, mkenyonb@iastate.edu.
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