Hennepin County Master Gardener Plant Sale 2025
Date: Saturday, May 17, 2025
Time: 9:00 am to 2:00 pm
Location: Hopkins Pavilion – 11000 Excelsior Blvd, Hopkins, MN 55343
Most vegetables planted in the home garden are in one of three main plant families:
- Brassicas – broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, kale and radishes are some of the most popular
- Cucurbits – cucumber, melons & watermelons and summer & winter squash
- Solanaceous (Nightshade) – Including many of the most well-known veggies like tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, white potatoes & eggplant.
- Other families include – Legumes (Peas & Beans), Alliums (Onions, Leeks & garlic) & Carrot (Carrots, parsnips, parsley & dill)
Why is this important to know?
Different plant families have different nutrient requirements:
- Solanaceous & Brassica plants are known for being heavy feeders, depleting nitrogen & phosphorus at a higher rate than other families.
- Legumes, on the other hand, are “soil fixers” and add nitrogen back into the soil.
In addition, crops in the same families tend to get the same pest or disease problems:
- Rotating (not planting the same family of plants in the same spot each year) helps to not only rejuvenate the soil, but to disrupt the life cycle of pests or diseases.
What if you don’t have enough room to rotate crops (or your favorites are all in one family)? This is a common problem, especially if you are just starting to grow veggies.
- Replenishing the soil by adding compost or fertilizer is one solution.
- Growing some heavy feeders in large pots is another option. Using pots (with new soil every year) can also lessen pest and disease problems.
There will be many varieties of vegetables suitable for pots offered at the Spring Plant Sale – think tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, kale, and zucchini!
For more information on maintaining healthy soils (and productive plants) in your garden, check out the following resources:
