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![Color-coded map of South Dakota’s plant hardiness zones.](/sites/default/files/2024-02/W-01000-00-USDA-Plant-Hardiness-Zones.png)
2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zones
Winter and spring are a great time for planning new garden and landscape designs. Learn how recent updates to the USDA Plant Hardiness Zones may have South Dakota gardeners feeling extra adventurous when selecting new plants for their gardens this season!
![Row of beets growing in a garden.](/sites/default/files/2020-11/W-00836-00-Beets-How-to-Grow-It.jpg)
Beets: How to Grow It
Beets are commonly grown for their bulbous roots, but their tops can also be harvested for greens, and they are an excellent source of Vitamin A as well as calcium. They grow best in the cooler temperatures of spring or fall.
![Zucchini ready to harvest. Courtesy: Mary Roduner](/sites/default/files/2020-11/W-00837-00-Zucchini-How-to-Grow-It.jpg)
Summer Squash: How to Grow It
There are many types of summer squash, including the familiar zucchini (which can be green, green-striped, or yellow), crookneck, straightneck, patty pan and more.
![A colorful variety of freshly, harvested bell peppers.](/sites/default/files/2020-11/W-00838-01-How-to-Grow-It-Peppers.jpg)
Peppers: How to Grow It
Peppers are heat-loving vegetables that require a long, frost-free season and full sun. Peppers can be sweet or hot, and range in color from green, yellow, orange, red and purple to brown.
![Two rows of leafy, salad greens growing in a garden.](/sites/default/files/2020-11/W-00847-01-How-to-Grow-It-Salad-Greens.jpg)
Salad Greens: How to Grow It
Salad greens, grown for their leaves, are cool-season crops. Most salad greens can be planted very early in the spring, and many will germinate in soil temperatures as low as 40° Fahrenheit.
![Black beetles with orange or yellow spots feeding on a ripe tomato.](/sites/default/files/2020-10/W-00815-01-Garden-Pests-Beetles-Picnic-Sap-Asian.jpg)
How Do I Keep Insects From Destroying My Garden Produce?
It is not unusual to see insects in a garden during the fall, but it can be frustrating to watch nearly ripe produce be destroyed by insects before it can be picked.
![a leafey green plant with bright pink stems](/sites/default/files/2018-12/W-00049-01-Rhubarb-plant-early-spring.jpg)
Two Favorite Spring Vegetables
After a long winter with no fresh homegrown vegetables, many gardeners really look forward to that first spring harvest of asparagus and rhubarb.
Sioux Falls to Host Emerald Ash Borer Tree Injection Workshop
April 21, 2021
As the season for emerald ash borer treatments nears in South Dakota, state forestry experts want applicators in the Sioux Falls area to be prepared.
![Green beetle larvae with a white stripe running down its body.](/sites/default/files/2019-05/W-00224-01-alfalfa-weevil-larva.jpg)
Alfalfa Weevil Activity Prediction Update: April 22, 2021
It was another cool week without a lot of degree day accumulations. With warmer temperatures in the upcoming forecast, the need to scout for alfalfa weevil activity will increase.
![Purple-brown caterpillar with orange head on a green corn leaf.](/sites/default/files/2021-04/W-00930-00-common-stalk-borer-caterpillar.jpg)
Common Stalk Borer Activity Estimate: April 22, 2021
In its early vegetative growth stages, corn is susceptible to feeding by the common stalk borer. The hatching and movement of common stalk borer caterpillars can be estimated by using degree days.