with Teri Knight
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Tomato planting
I’m so excited! (and I just can’t hide it, I’m about to lose control and I think I like it!)
It’s time to put those peppers and tomatoes in the ground! The ground temp should be about 60 degrees for tomatoes and about 70 degrees for peppers. They like it hot! This year I’m trying a couple of new AAS winners ‘Valentine’ and ‘Red Racer’. I don’t know which is which because I had a … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: The ‘illers of container planting
We’re staring down Memorial weekend! WAHOO! Gardeners mean business now. We are about to plant with abandon!!!
That also means meandering down aisles of flowers and plants, taking hours to figure out what to put in containers! Or maybe that’s just me! If you get plant-love overload at your local nursery, it can make it difficult to choose plants! There are some basic rules to follow that will help you create that eye-popper … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Feeding your shrubs
Yesterday we established that it’s a good idea to feed your container plantings and your other herbaceous plants, just don’t burn them. Apply according to the label or LESS.
As for shrubs, well, they could use some food too but there are some caveats, we’ll get to those.
Keeping plants healthy also helps lower opportunities for disease and insects to do damage.
A caveat to fertilizer response is the environment your shrubs are grown in. … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min Garden Bite radio show: The poop on fertilizing plants
First let’s establish that there’s no poop involved in fertilizing! Manure does not add much for nutrients into the soil, it fluffs it.
On to the whole fertilizing thing. I’m notoriously bad at this, so, in that vein, I’m going to help you AND me!
Proven Winners, one of the top plant breeders, says it’s really important to feed your container plants. That makes sense, they’re roots can only go so far and … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: The dirt on plant shopping
When plant shopping, bigger is not always better. Tis better to bloom in your garden than in the garden center.
If you see a little wilting it could be a sign of a root problem. Look for plants with good color on the leaves. Look under the leaves for any possible insects. If you have a plant loupe, bring it with you! You’ll look ultra cool, I promise. 
Seriously, in some of the … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Caladium beauty
The shady garden always seems to be the toughest for finding color pop and circumstance. Enter the caladium. Talk about adding pizzazz to a gloomy dark corner.
The name ‘Freida Hemple’ doesn’t SOUND like it would bring delight to the dark corners of your garden but let me tell you, this Caladium is jazzed up with big gorgeous red leaves ringed in green.
‘Fanny Munson’ adds bright pink with crimson veins and ‘White Christmas’ is just … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Blueberry – the antioxidant super hero
I’ve talked about blueberries before, in fact, a long time before as you’ll see from this video I did YEARS ago! Cut me some slack! 😉
The Blueberry is a tasty antioxidant superhero and a lovely shrub with rockin’ fall foliage.
It does offer gardeners in the upper midwest a bit of a unique challenge as they like a more acidic soil, a pH of 4 to 5.5 is ideal. For those … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Creating a bee home
Yesterday I chatted on about neonics, today, let’s build a bee home. Let’s first establish they’re not going to sting you but don’t place them on your house either.
Certainly planting flowers is a must, but so is a nest for them. Thirty percent of bees are cavity-nesting, they’ll live in hollow stems or holes in wood. There are pre-made nests but these are often more cute than useful, says the University of Minnesota … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: EU says PU to Neonics
In late April of this year (2018), the European Union banned all outdoor use of neonicotinoids [National Geographic] aka neonics. It’s expected to be enforced by the end of 2018 and will mean they can only be used in closed greenhouses. Total Ban on neonics [The Guardian]
Now the definition of PU…. Click here for the explanation!
Neonicotinoids are the most widely used insecticides in both the U.S. and globally and have been … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min Garden Bite radio show: Diggin dirt’s good for grades and mucking in the mud is marvelous for our minds
I know… a super long title but I couldn’t help myself, it’s how I roll.
Remember when you were a kid and mud seemed to call your name? It still does for me! But our kids and grandkids aren’t feeling it as much as those of us over the age of 40!
Turns out, that while we weren’t trying to be healthy, diggin’ … [Continue reading]