Hi there, I currently rent a house in south Minneapolis with a small back yard and am planning to keep fruit trees and berries in containers until I have my own yard to plant them in. I’m wondering for plants that require many chill hours if I leave them outside during winter and wrap with burlap/bubble wrap, etc or if I bring them in and keep them in the basement until spring? I plan to get varieties suited for zone 5 ( I’m getting blueberries, peach, pear, apple, and cherry) and know they will need many chill hours, but am not sure what to do if I’m growing in containers. Is there a certain volume of container that’s ok to leave outside for the winter? Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Not sure if you guys do houseplants but I would appreciate advice! I have a string of pearls plant, and I have read that the "epidermal windows" close when the plant is becoming dehydrated. My plant, however, has some strings that are green, plump, well hydrated, and other strings that are purplish and somewhat dehydrated. The potting medium is damp to the touch, so there is no lack of moisture available. I'm wondering if this means that some of the roots are rotting, and I should repot the plant in a different medium?

This question is similar to yesterday's question regarding redwoods for Oregon. I recall a Clackamas County Tree School course on redwoods. What are the chances someone has that handout and/or written instructional material for that class? If it exists, can someone forward that to me?

I hope to improve germination of Italian red/long onion seeds. I start in trays with soil-less planting mixture and cover damp mixture with plastic or dome. Mixed results on germination and seedling growth in sunny window. If a grow light would help, what do I look for? Thanks, ben

I have 4 of these that were planted in late fall. One is developing brown one one side. What can I do or is this normal?

Our lemon tree is not happy since moving inside for the winter. I put a grow light on it. No leaves are appearing. Leaves are yellowing. I’ve been careful not to overwater.

Best pear trees to plant in Gresham, Oregon?

From Gresham Oregon, the best fig tree to plant?

We want to start a new flock of 4-6 laying hens. We aren't equipped to raise chicks, so will have to buy/adopt hens or pullets. I don't think the previous owner kept chickens on the property, and we'll have a brand-new coop. Do we need to worty about bringing avian flu into our flock?

We just de-lawned our front yard by sheet mulching it with clean brown cardboard all year. We now have a big squishy, dirty pile of former mulch. We're planning to build some 2 ft deep garden boxes soon. Can we use the old mulch to fill the first foot or so of the raised beds? Is there anything we could mix in to make it more suitable?