Sheboygan County Master Gardeners

09/26/2026

Something unique to grow next year!

https://fb.watch/v/3ePXXCh1k/?

09/24/2026

FREE PLANTS FOR KIDS: HAPPY PLANTSGIVING!
Kiel Public Library is partnering with Neighborhood Forest to provide free succulent kits for kids. Parents & guardians, sign your child up for a free plant kit by Friday October 23rd using the link below. Succulent kit materials are expected to arrive by mid November. When the plants arrive, the library will be in touch with you about when to visit the library to select and pot your free succulent.
https://www.neighborhoodforest.org/registration-services-fall/?school=62172

09/18/2026

Our Group welcomed Amanda Strojinc from Hopefully Homesteading to speak and demonstrate food preservation methods. There are many methods to preserve your garden bounty and enjoy it throughout the winter months. We sampled freeze dried pico de gallo and eggs. She shared her method for fermenting sauerkraut and we each made a jar of dilly beans using the steam canning method. We talked about pressure canning, water bath canning and dehydrating.
This was a great opportunity to learn what to do with your garden goodies after spending all that time planting, watering, weeding and harvesting!
Thanks, Amanda!

09/18/2026

There still is time to plant before the snow starts falling!

25+ Fall Vegetable Seeds to grow in the weeks before your first frost. This list includes greens, roots, and herbs, and the best varieties.

09/18/2026

A short ride to see this beautiful garden

09/06/2026

Curing is one of those steps that gets skipped constantly, and it is usually the reason a beautiful harvest ends up soft, sprouted, or rotten in storage weeks earlier than it should have. Curing is not the same thing as drying, and understanding the difference can genuinely double or triple how long certain crops last through fall and winter.

Garlic and onions cure the same basic way, and both need warm, dry conditions with strong airflow, ideally out of direct sun, for roughly two to four weeks at 75 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. According to Cornell Cooperative Extension, this period allows the outer skins to fully dry and tighten into papery layers that seal the bulb, while the neck closes off completely. That sealed neck is critical, since it is the main entry point for rot and disease organisms once bulbs go into long term storage. Skipping this step is one of the most common reasons homegrown garlic and onions go soft within a month rather than lasting most of the year.

Potatoes work differently, and this trips up a lot of gardeners who assume all root crops cure the same way garlic does. Potatoes need a cool, dark, humid environment, generally 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, for 10 to 14 days. Rather than drying the skin, this period lets minor cuts, scrapes, and bruises from harvesting heal over and toughen the skin against future decay. Light exposure during this stage should be avoided entirely, since it triggers greening and the buildup of solanine, a compound that makes potatoes bitter and mildly toxic.

Sweet potatoes flip the humidity requirement while keeping the healing goal. They need warmth and high humidity, around 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit and 85 to 90 percent relative humidity, for about a week. According to North Carolina State University Extension, this warm, humid curing period is also when starches begin converting to sugars, which is a major reason properly cured sweet potatoes taste noticeably sweeter than ones eaten fresh from the ground.

Winter squash and pumpkins share the same approach as garlic and onions in spirit, needing a warm, dry spot with good airflow for 7 to 10 days at 80 to 85 degrees. The goal here is hardening the rind. A properly cured rind resists soft spots, mold, and the rapid breakdown that undercured squash experiences within just a few weeks of storage.

The common thread across all six crops is patience immediately after harvest. Rushing straight into a root cellar, pantry shelf, or basement without this intermediate curing window is the single most avoidable reason stored harvests fail early. A little humidity and temperature discipline now buys months of shelf life later. 🧄

08/31/2026

As fall approaches, we start bringing plants into the house. Along with the plants comes bugs. Tips to help from having gnats in your house.

08/29/2026

We had a blast at our Annual Tea Party featuring a floral arranging presentation by Root to Roses (Woodlake), a table decorating contest, a thrift store fashion show, and delicious sweet and savory treats.