Paige Boyle

By Paige Boyle

This article was originally published on the WinterTurf project blog.

Thank you to all who came out to our 2025 WinterTurf Field Day at the University of Minnesota on April 15! Several WinterTurf researchers from around the country talked about aspects of our project (Figure 1). If you weren’t able to make it, or are looking for more information on some of the research topics we discussed, review the agenda, with links to additional information, below.

By Paige Boyle

This past summer, I completed my first season of MSP LTER Pollinator Habitat data collection. I spent 3 weeks in the Twin Cities with my undergraduate helper from the University of St. Thomas, Eli, identifying plants in home lawns throughout the metro (Figure 1), getting rained on, and talking to homeowners about their yards.
 

By Paige Boyle

This article was originally published on the WinterTurf project blog.

As we enter the new year, we wanted to take a look back at last season’s WinterTurf accomplishments, and give some updates on the year ahead.

By Paige Boyle

Earthworms can be found throughout Minnesota lawns and gardens, and earthworm presence and activity is generally considered beneficial. In fact, many home gardeners go to great lengths to promote earthworm activity in their yards. As we enter the fall lawn care season, there is one problematic group of earthworms to keep an eye out for, though: Jumping worms. 

By Paige Boyle

For many years, white clover (Trifolium repens) has been the go-to for adding flowering resources into lawns, and with good reason. White clover is a perennial, has a broad geographic range, can grow in both warm- and cool-season lawns, handles mowing well, and produces an abundance of flowers to provide pollinator forage (both pollen and nectar) in bee lawns. As a bonus, because white clover is a legume, it also adds nitrogen into the soil, resulting in less need for fertilizer applications. But are there other clover options for use in home lawns?

By Paige Boyle

Attention: for media inquiries, please contact Dr. Jon Trappe <[email protected]>, UMN Turfgrass Extension Educator.