A | A | A

St. Louis County office buildings will be closed Monday, January 19, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Garden & Lawn

Garden & Lawn Photo Banner

Gardening & Homesteading Program Survey

St. Louis County Extension is planning our 2026 gardening, horticulture, and homesteading programs - and we want your input! Our goal is to offer research-based, free or low-cost workshops that help you grow and preserve food, care for your soil, build practical skills, and enjoy this amazing place we call home.

This short, anonymous survey asks what topics you'd like to learn about, when and where you prefer to attend programs, and how we can best support your goals as a gardener, land steward, or home food producer. You'll also have the option to sign up for our mailing list.

Thank you for sharing your ideas and helping shape Extension programming across St. Louis County!

https://z.umn.edu/slchortsurvey

Fruit & Vegetable Variety Lists for 2025

Wondering what grows best in the Northland? Check out the newly updated Fruit Varieties for Northern Minnesota and Vegetable Varieties for Northern Minnesota publications available now at our Extension Offices in Duluth and Virginia. Recommendations for varieties are based on varietal trials happening throughout our county. Lists are updated each year.

Vegetable Varieties for Northern Minnesota $5

Fruit Varieties for Northern Minnesota $4

Horticulture Education

The Extension Office offers horticulture events that include spring workshops on gardening and landscape materials, commercial workshops on greenhouse production, small fruit production, vegetable production and nursery production, applied research on vegetable and small fruit varieties, and family education projects on home gardening as a means of improving diets. Extension also makes materials available related to gardening, agricultural, and horticultural topics.

Click here to view the latest horticulture programs and events in St. Louis County.

Tune in for Gardening Advice

Listen to KDAL 610 radio on Tuesday mornings at 9:00 am to hear Bob Olen of Extension talk about what you need to know to make your garden successful. Listeners are encouraged to call in with their questions.

For more gardening advice tune in to Great Gardening on PBS North to watch Bob Olen answer viewer questions live and share their garden expertise. You can find the show schedule here.

Master Gardener Program

The University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener Program trains volunteers to educate and inform people in their communities about horticulture.

Click here for more info about becoming an Extension Master Gardener Program in St. Louis County.

If you are interested in becoming a Master Gardener, please contact the Extension Office in Duluth at 218-733-2870 or the Extension Office in Virginia at 218-471-7120.

More information about the program is available at the University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener website.

Books and Publications

Extension Publications

The St. Louis County Extension Office carries a variety of publications for purchase in both the Duluth (218-733-2870) and Virginia (218-749-7120) locations. Some of these items are also available from the University of Minnesota Extension Store and other sources, and some are produced in our local office. It is recommended that you call the office before you come to purchase to make sure the item is currently in stock.
Garden Fest Recipe Books - $5.00

Spring Gardening Extravaganza Resource Books - $5.00

2024 edition - $15.00

2025 edition - $20.00

Spring Gardening Spectacular Resource Folder - $15.00

Other Publications

Final Fall To-Do List

Preparing Your Vegetable Garden for Fall

The following publications are available for purchase in the Extension office:

Vegetable Variety List for Northern Minnesota - $5.00

Fruit Variety List for Northern Minnesota - $4.00

Minnesota Hardy - $3.00

Variety Lists

Find out what fruit and vegetable varieties are grown successfully in this area with our variety lists. The lists are produced here in St. Louis County and are available for purchase in either the Duluth (218-733-2870) or Virginia (218-749-7120) Extension offices.

Fruit Varieties for Northern Minnesota contains 5 pages. The price is $4.00.
Vegetable Varieties for Northern Minnesota contains 12 pages, including a list of seed catalog sources for each variety. The price is $5.00.

Variety lists may be ordered through the mail. Checks must be made out to St. Louis County. Sorry, we do not accept credit cards.

Soil Testing

Many garden problems can be solved by testing your soil to learn what nutrients are missing. Testing is done by the University of Minnesota Soil Testing Laboratory to evaluate soil fertility and pH level. You can visit their website to find more information. Here is a link to the form for the lawn and garden soil test. This is a link to the form for the farm/field and commercial crop test. The website also has instructions on how to take your sample. The fee for a regular test is $22.

If you are not able to access the Soil Testing Laboratory website, the Extension Office in Duluth (218-733-2870) or Virginia (218-749-7120) will be happy to provide you with the needed form.