What does Minnesota grow best?
Tau Tauo's family flower stand is full of color at the Minneapolis Farmer's Market. His parents have been selling there since they immigrated from Thailand.
"I was probably 8 years old. We would have our blanket and pillow and cardboard mat, and we would just sleep on that for a couple of hours because we would be out here before the sun comes up," said Tauo.
Farming is a 24/7 industry. To survive, farmers must learn what works.
"The Xenias," said Tauo when asked what he thinks grows best in Minnesota. "They are very hearty and they come in nice and tall. Unlike our dahlias, that are top-heavy and we have to tie up to keep straight."
"We can grow almost anything because we have really long days," said Laura Irish-Hanson, a horticulture educator with the University of Minnesota. "We usually catch up with states that are a little further south than us, even though we might be planting 2,3 weeks after them, usually we're catching up with them because our days are longer."
Irish-Hanson said the key is digging in to figure out how sandy or clay-like soil is.
"Soil is quite different throughout the state, just based on the glaciers and what was going through," said Irish-Hanson.
When asked what grows well in Minnesota, Irish-Hanson said elderberries and highbush cranberry, tomatoes and peppers, though her top three include horseradish, peonies and rhubarb.
Experts say there's still plenty of time to plant vegetables like kale, cabbage and carrots. But it's likely too late for tomatoes and peppers.
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