The South St. Paul Seed Trial Garden is an important project for gardeners and the community. Dakota County Master Gardeners test plants along with over one hundred other Master Gardeners across the state during the summer to determine some of the best varieties available on the market. Each year the list of trial plants is selected by the State Master Gardener Seed Trial Team.
Master Gardeners also provide horticultural education to fellow gardeners and community members all while raising produce to donate to the South St. Paul Neighbors Food Shelf. The project faced challenges this year due to the coronavirus however, with the hard work of volunteers, the garden donated over 1000 pounds of fresh produce!
This year six varieties each of mildew-resistant basil, red leaf lettuce, tomatoes, white cauliflower, purple pole beans and mini cucumbers were trialed. Combined test results for the year will be published on the Arboretum website. The winners for previous years can be found here.
As another testing activity, we participate in testing for PanAmerican Seeds. This year, we tested their Asian Delite Eggplant, PeppiGrande Red Pepper, SimplySalad – two varieties, Tomato Siam, Vinca Tattoo and Zinnia Double Zahara.
