Ron Poe from the Nebraska Department of Transportation joins us to talk about NDOT's goals for creating a "Nebraska" landscape along our state highways. He answers our questions about pollinator habitat, erosion control, tree planting, mowing practices and more.

A little light reading for those who are interested: NDOT's Vegetation Manual.

Send us your questions at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail.

Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: https://plantnebraska.org/podcast

Follow us @NEBloomBox on Facebook and Instagram

Follow us @growingwithbloombox on Pinterest

Learn more about Bloom Box: https://plantnebraska.org/bloom-box

Learn more about the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum: https://plantnebraska.org

It feels like a second New Year after 2 winter storms and 4 snow days which makes for a good day to talk about resolutions! Sarah and Hanna review their resolutions, goals and plans for their 2024 gardens and share their predictions of what will be in and what will be out this year.

Send us your questions at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail.

Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: https://plantnebraska.org/podcast

Follow us @NEBloomBox on Facebook and Instagram

Follow us @growingwithbloombox on Pinterest

Learn more about Bloom Box: https://plantnebraska.org/bloom-box

Learn more about the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum: https://plantnebraska.org

Happy New Year!

Sarah, Hanna and Bob review the Great Plants selections for this year. The Great Plants program is a collaboration between the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum and the Nebraska Nursery and Landscape Association to promote underutilized plants that are favorites of industry professionals in Nebraska. Each year a tree, conifer, shrub, perennial, and grass are selected to be highlighted and promoted for the year.

Find the Great Plants Gardener publication here.

Send us your questions at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail.

Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: https://plantnebraska.org/podcast

Follow us @NEBloomBox on Facebook and Instagram

Follow us @growingwithbloombox on Pinterest

Learn more about Bloom Box: https://plantnebraska.org/bloom-box

Learn more about the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum: https://plantnebraska.org

An update but unfortunately not a definitive answer on the palm tree debate.

We'll be taking a little break since our next scheduled episode would land on Christmas Day; our next episode will be coming January 8th with the 2024 Great Plants selections!

This week we will review the recent USDA Zone Map update and what it means for Nebraska. We also talk about the limitations of the map and the other factors we consider when predicting plant hardiness.

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

A couple of sources we used to get a better understanding of the USDA map:

https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/pages/map-creation 

https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/new-plant-hardiness-map-used-gardeners-nationwide-and-based-osu-climate-data-unveiled 

Show Notes

Send us your questions at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail.

Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: https://plantnebraska.org/podcast

Follow us @NEBloomBox on Facebook and Instagram

Follow us @growingwithbloombox on Pinterest

Learn more about Bloom Box: https://plantnebraska.org/bloom-box

Learn more about the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum: https://plantnebraska.org

Our top gifts for gardeners!

Each year we round up some of our favorite gardening/outdoor products that we think would make good gifts, many we have enjoyed receiving ourselves. This year we created categories:

• NSA Merch at plantnebraskashop.org
• Kids
• little shovel
• Bird Enthusiasts
• Chefs/Cooks
• Uline Jars
• New Gardener
• Experienced Gardeners

All the books we mentioned can be found on our Bookshop.org profile.

We hope this gives you some ideas for gifts to give the gardeners in your life (or to add to your own wish list)!

Show Notes

Send us your questions at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail.

Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: https://plantnebraska.org/podcast

Follow us @NEBloomBox on Facebook and Instagram

Follow us @growingwithbloombox on Pinterest

Learn more about Bloom Box: https://plantnebraska.org/bloom-box

Learn more about the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum: https://plantnebraska.org

Dave Zahn is back to finish our conversation about harvesting and storing nuts so they can be enjoyed through the winter.

Also joining us is Sam Creal who makes syrup from the walnut trees on his property.

Check out Creal Baking to learn more about how to purchase. They don't currently ship syrup but can be found at farmers' markets and craft shows in eastern Nebraska.

Show Notes

Send us your questions at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail.

Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: https://plantnebraska.org/podcast

Follow us @NEBloomBox on Facebook and Instagram

Follow us @growingwithbloombox on Pinterest

Learn more about Bloom Box: https://plantnebraska.org/bloom-box

Learn more about the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum: https://plantnebraska.org

Dave Zahn, a long time member of the Nebraska Nut Growers Association, joins us this week to talk about nut trees that are native to Nebraska as well as introduced species that grow well here. We talk planting, growing and a little about harvesting nuts both for personal use and as a crop. To be continued with part 2 focused more on harvest and processing!

Learn more about the Nebraska Nut Growers Association

Show Notes

Send us your questions at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail.

Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: https://plantnebraska.org/podcast

Follow us @NEBloomBox on Facebook and Instagram

Follow us @growingwithbloombox on Pinterest

Learn more about Bloom Box: https://plantnebraska.org/bloom-box

Learn more about the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum: https://plantnebraska.org

It may be fall but gardening season isn’t over! This week we are talking all about fall planting bulbs: how, what, when and how to protect them from critters.

We had a lot of fun recording this episode and out ‘end of planting season’ caught up with us; check out the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum on Patreon for an uncut version featuring bears and shrews.

Show Notes

Send us your questions at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail.

Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: https://plantnebraska.org/podcast

Follow us @NEBloomBox on Facebook and Instagram

Follow us @growingwithbloombox on Pinterest

Learn more about Bloom Box: https://plantnebraska.org/bloom-box

Learn more about the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum: https://plantnebraska.org

Heather Beyers, founder of Great Plains Nursery, joins us this week to talk about trees to plant in your landscape or community. Great Plains works hard to promote native trees that increase the biodiversity of our landscapes while meeting the needs of humans and thriving in urban settings (not an easy task!). That mission makes Heather a good source of ideas for trees to plant, not just for their beauty and hardiness, but also for wildlife and insects.

Learn more about Great Plains Nursery

Show Notes

Send us your questions at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail.

Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: https://plantnebraska.org/podcast

Follow us @NEBloomBox on Facebook and Instagram

Follow us @growingwithbloombox on Pinterest

Learn more about Bloom Box: https://plantnebraska.org/bloom-box

Learn more about the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum: https://plantnebraska.org