 For many locals who were looking to get some tips about their own personal gardens, they headed to the Brainerd Public Library today to hear from Joanne Weaver. Joanne is a master gardener who does several talks in the area to help inform gardeners about how to best garden in the climate of north central Minnesota. On average, our lowest temperatures are going to be minus 35 to 30, and we're going to have around 115 to 20 growing days. So when we buy plants to put in our garden or seed, we don't want things that don't start producing until they've been in the ground 100 days because we're near the end of the season. So we sometimes should choose things that have a shorter season. She bases her presentations on questions or concerns that she has heard over the years. For today's lesson, she focused on where the roots of gardening come from. The soil. On soil, we tend to overlook that a little bit because it's not real pretty. We don't put it on a table, and yet it has to be there to make things grow. Many of the attendees are excited to learn new techniques and then put them into practice in their own gardens. One guest of today's presentation was surprised by many of Joanne's tips. Also over-chilling. I was kind of surprised about that. I thought, well, I need to chill my garden every year. But apparently I don't need to do that. Gardening is always growing and always changing, so presentations like this one are necessary to keep the garden as healthy as it can be. Very interesting. They're quick. Very informative, and I know Joanne, and she's a good speaker. I enjoy her talks. She's very informative, and very down-to-earth basic good information that everybody can use. The Brainerd Public Library will continue to have a Master Gardener visit the second Tuesday of each month, reporting in Brainerd, Sarah Winkelman, Lakeland News. In addition to the monthly presentations in Brainerd, the Master Gardeners are planning an expo to be held in the spring of 2018. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.