This episode is the garden To Do list for the month of June. Summer suddenly feels like it is in full swing, with a rapid to transition to HOT weather. Time to get your garden tasks done early in the morning.

Vegetables to plant:

• Tomatoes
• Eggplant
• Peppers
• Squash
• Watermelon
• Zucchini
• Corn
• Beans
• Cucumbers
• Melons
• Okra
• Pumpkins
• Watermelon
• Swiss Chard

Garden tasks:

• Shade peppers
• Pinch off basil flowers, dead head flowers
• Compost
• Mulch
• Deep water trees
• Remove stakes from trees and re-stake
• Paint fruit trees
• Thin fruit trees
• Monitor for pests, use kaolin clay diatomaceous earth
• Cage tomatoes, peppers
• Control weeds so they don't go to seed
• Be patient with fruit set….or hand pollinate

To ask questions for future shows, submit them at:

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• email Marlene at [email protected]

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California is a big state with many different climates, so it can be a bit daunting when you hear "plant California natives". Yes, it's a great idea to plant natives for native pollinators, birds, insects etc… but how do you know you are doing it correct? Luckily, Patricia Carpenter and Pat Dressendorfer have all the answers. These two lifelong gardeners have just finished a 5 season-- yes, 5 season -- write up for Pacific Horticulture on all things California natives. They talk with me about which are their favorite sun and shade natives, how to water and other tips and tricks.

Check out Patricia and Pat's work:

• Pacific Horticulture
• California Native Plant Society

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• email Marlene at [email protected]

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Every gardener can tell when earthworms have "worked" their soil. The soil is more pliable and everything grows so much better. Why is this the case? Earthworm castings are full of nutrients and microbes which are beneficial for a healthy soil and garden. I talk with Luke Arthur -- founder and CEO of Simple Grow, an organic producer of earthworm castings -- about how beneficial earthworm castings are, what exactly is in them, why it is a safer way of fertilizing and how even your houseplants will benefit.

Luke and Simple Grow can be found at:

Website: simplegrow.com

Instagram: @simplegrowsoil

Facebook: @simplegrow

Youtube: Simple Grow – Worm Castings

To ask questions for future shows, submit them at:

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• email Marlene at [email protected]

Find Marlene over on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook

This episode is the garden To Do list for the month of May. It has been unseasonably cool, but nights are not getting TOO cold. Lot's of planting and garden prep this month.

Vegetables to plant:

• Tomatoes
• Eggplant
• Peppers
• Zucchini
• Corn
• Beans
• Cucumbers
• Melons
• Okra
• Pumpkins
• Watermelon
• Swiss Chard

Flowers to plant:

• Zinnias
• Cosmos
• Sunflowers
• Dahlias

Garden tasks:

• Mulch
• Stake tomatoes
• Cut flowers off rhubarb
• Divide/transplant cymbidiums
• Thin stone fruit
• Paint fruit tree trunks
• Prune once flowering plants
• Remove suckers from roses
• Hose blast aphids
• Diatomaceous earth
• Fertilize citrus

To ask questions for future shows, submit them at:

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• email Marlene at [email protected]

Find Marlene over on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook

Don Shor, owner of Redwood Barn Nursery and overall plant expert, is back again! This time we go through your favorite summer veggies and he gives his tips and tricks. When you should plant tomatoes, peppers, eggplants… his favorite go-to varieties… how you should work your soil and do you really need to prune your tomatoes?

Don can be found at:

• Website: com
• Instagram: redwoodbarnnursery & shor
• Facebook: Redwood Barn Nursery

To ask questions for future shows, submit them at:

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• email Marlene at [email protected]

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This episode is the garden To Do list for the month of April. The time change has come and gone, so there is plenty of light to work later into the evening. Days are definitely getting warmer, although there are some sporadic cold nights.

• Planting:
  • Tomatoes – April 15th at the earliest
  • Direct sow corn
  • At the end of April -- Squash, cucumbers, eggplant, beets, radish, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes
  • All perennials
  • Direct sow zinnias, sunflowers
  • Summer bulbs, dahlias, gladiolus
• Fertilize citrus
• Compost
• Check irrigation
• Paint fruit tree trunks
• Prune camellias, quince, forsythia, etc
• Smother weeds
• Monitor for pests

To ask questions for future shows, submit them at:

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• email Marlene at [email protected]

Find Marlene over on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook

A wide range of topics addressing questions submitted by listeners. Including:

• How to care for a Dracontium polyphyllum
• Lantana – pruning advice
• Tomato seeds – recommendations about growing in small containers
• Safe edging options for vegetable gardens – metal, bender board, pressure treated, composite
• Jade – how to help a drooping plant
• Lime tree – how and what to transplant into

To ask questions for future shows, submit them at:

• Facebook
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• email Marlene at [email protected]

Find Marlene over on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook

As a lifelong gardener and active person, Madeline de Vries Hooper was surprised when she started to experience aches and pains while gardening. Jeff Hughes, a fitness trainer, was recommended to help. Not only did his training and technique alleviate her aches, but they taught her better gardening habits. Inspired by Jeff's methods – and her success – the duo

decided to take the show on the road to teach and inspire gardeners and farmers across the U.S. to get GardenFit. I talk to Madeline and Jeff about the gardens they visited and how they are on a mission to help farmers and gardeners alike.

GardenFit premieres March 21, 2022 on American Public Television across the U.S., and will also be streaming on PBS.

• Website: gardenfit.fit
• Instagram: @getgardenfit
• Facebook: GardenFit
• Pinterest: @gardenfit
• YouTube: GardenFit

To ask questions for future shows, submit them at:

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• email Marlene at [email protected]

Find Marlene over on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook

This episode is the garden To Do list for the month of March – still some cold (and hopefully wet) weather left. Days are getting longer and warmer.

• Summer vegetables – start them inside or greenhouse or direct sow. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant
• Direct sow sunflowers & other summer annuals (such as zinnias)
• Plant:
  • Beets, broccoli, carrots, celery, swiss chard, kale, loose leaf lettuce, radish, potatoes, turnips
  • Perennials
  • Summer blooming bulbs (gladiolus, amaryllis, lilies)
  • Dahlias
• Preemptively spray for whiteflies – release encarsia
• Nematodes for soil
• Prune – citrus, once blooming plants (forsythia, quince, camellias)
• Check irrigation

To ask questions for future shows, submit them at:

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• email Marlene at [email protected]

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Wanting to ensure their children were eating safe, healthy vegetables, Dale and Carrie Spoonemore began to garden back in 2015. Frustrated with having to pick through the internet's web of information, Dale had an idea to create a one stop garden app… From Seed to Spoon. Fast forward to 2022 and Park Seed, a company that has been on the pulse of gardening since 1868, knew they could take this app to the next level. I speak to Dale, Carrie and Park Seed President and CEO Kelly Funk about the app, how it can help new and experienced gardeners.

From Seed to Spoon:

• Website: From Seed to Spoon
• Instagram: fromseedtospoon
• YouTube: From Seed to Spoon
• Facebook: From Seed to Spoon

Park Seed:

• Website: Park Seed
• Instagram: parkseedco

To ask questions for future shows, submit them at:

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• email Marlene at [email protected]

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