Gardentalk

Gardentalk

By KTOO Public Media
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Gardentalk episodes

  • Gardentalk – Why a mulch is useful for your yard and garden
    Landscapers for the newly-constructed Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff Library, Archives and Museum Building have staked freshly-planted trees and spread mulch around the planting area in this photo from May 2016. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)

    Master Gardener Ed Buyarski explains that a mulch or a non-living ground cover can inhibit weed growth, conserve moisture and provide a more aesthetically-pleasing surface than just bare soil between your trees and shrubs.

    Listen to the June 13 segment about mulching:
     

    https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2019/05/13garden061319.mp3
     

    Buyarski recommends a first layer of a heavy-duty, woven, porous landscaping fabric. That can be topped with bark, woods chips or gravel. He also uses a lot of cardboard as the first layer, which adds nutrients when it slowly breaks down into the soil after a year or two.

    Do you have a garden question for Ed? Fill out the form below, and he’ll answer your question in an upcoming segment.

    Listen to past episodes and subscribe to the podcast on the “Gardentalk” page, so you’ll never have to worry about missing Thursday’s live radio broadcasts.

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  • Gardentalk – Summer’s second planting season now underway
    Seed packets can be purchased in local stores or online. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
    Now that we’ve finished with the first spring harvest of garden vegetables, we can get started on a second summer crop.
    Master Gardener Ed Buyarski said it’s way too late to plant tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.
    Instructions on back of seed packet. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
    But it’s certainly not too late for a second crop of peas, carrots, beets, swiss chard, lettuce and kale. Gardeners can start planting again as soon as their first crop is harvested.
    “We have nice, warm soil,” Buyarski said. “The seeds that we are planting will germinate quickly.”
    He recommends looking at the seed packets to determine how long each vegetable will take from planting to harvest.
    As mentioned in an earlier segment on spring planting, Buyarski still advises to wait before planting your second crop of spinach and radishes. Otherwise, they will bolt during the upcoming longer daylight hours.
    Listen to the June 6 segment about summer planting:
     
    https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2019/05/06garden060619.mp3
     
    Do you have a garden question for Ed? Fill out the form below, and he’ll answer your question in an upcoming segment.
    Listen to past episodes and subscribe to the podcast on the “Gardentalk” page, so you’ll never have to worry about missing Thursday’s live radio …
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  • Gardentalk – Preparing for early vegetable and garlic scape harvest
    Super close-up view of pollen and a very small, winged visitor, which has landed on garlic planted in a North Douglas garden. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
    In this week’s edition of “Gardentalk,” a heads-up about harvesting the first, early crop of spinach, arugula, mustard greens and radishes. Master Gardener Ed Buyarski said those cool weather plants may be early this season and could start bolting soon with the longer daylight hours.
    Buyarski also recommends gardeners start harvesting their kale and spinach that was planted late last summer and left in the ground over the winter.
    And don’t forget to feed your other vegetable plants.
    Listen to the May 30 segment about garlic and early vegetable harvest:
     
    https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2019/05/garden053019.mp3
     
    “We can give them a little boost to keep them going if we’ve had a lot of rainfall,” said Buyarski, who admits that it’s not the case with this year’s dry conditions. But Buyarski said if your vegetables start turning a little yellowish-green, then it may be a sign they still need a nutrient supplement, like liquid fertilizer or homemade weed juice.
    This garlic scape is all curled up in a North Douglas garden in this picture taken in 2017. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
    For garden vegetables, he recommends a balanced, commercial liquid fertilizer, like 4-4-4 or 4-6-2 with a little more phosphorous. Leafy greens may prefer more nitrogen than root crops, which is reflected in the higher first number.
    If you use a granular fertilizer instead of a liquid, apply it just before it rains or before you water your garden.
    “You should be watering it in,” Buyarski said.
    Buyarski said he’s already harvested some green garlic. He’s looking forward to harvesting scapes in the next few weeks.
    A garlic scape will have a small, bulbous form that will grow about midway up (see picture right above) as it begins to curl or loop on itself. Each scape can be pinched off and made into a spicy pesto or chimichurri, and Buyarski said harvesting the scape will also allow the garlic to devote more energy to bulb growth in July.
    Do you have a garden question for Ed? Fill out the form below, and he’ll answer your question in an upcoming segment.
    Listen to past episodes and subscribe to the podcast on the “Gardentalk” page, so you’ll never have to worry about missing Thursday’s live radio …
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  • Gardentalk – How do you get rid of cow parsnip?
    This cow parsnip plant in the KTOO Agricultural Test Station and Garden of Science! has not yet produced the distinctive white umbrella of flowers. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
    Even with the light rainfall that fell on Southeast Alaska this week, gardeners should keep an eye on whether their plants and garden vegetables have enough moisture during the current drought.
    Master Gardener Ed Buyarski said a simple trick is sticking a finger into the soil to check for moisture. Typically, the surface will dry out faster than the soil’s deeper layers.
    Buyarski also reminds us to check our trees and all those potted plants sitting on the deck or hanging from the eaves.
    “If we have a breeze on a sunny day, they really dry out fast,” Buyarski said. “We may need to be watering those almost every day.”
    Listen to the May 23 edition of “Gardentalk” about watering and cow parsnip:
     
    https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2019/05/garden052319webfinal.mp3
     
    For this week’s gardening question, listener DJ asks, “How do you kill cow parsnip?”
    Buyarski advises carefully cutting down cow parsnip if you want to remove it from your yard.
    Sometimes called wild celery or other variations, the perennial plant secretes a substance that can cause painful blisters after the skin is exposed to sunlight. He suggests protecting your face, hands and arms before manually removing the plant. Cow parsnip have large, foot-long taproots which may be difficult to dig out.
    Herbicides like Roundup may work if applied to a young plant’s leaves or the interior of the stalk or taproot after you cut down most of the plant.
    Covering the exposed root with cardboard may also kill the plant or prevent it from sprouting again.
    At the very least, Buyarski suggests cutting off the white, umbrella-shaped flower heads before they bloom or set seed.
    And never use a lawnmower or weed wacker to cut or knock down the plant, which Buyarski said can effectively vaporize and distribute the plant’s secretions.
    “So, now there’s juices in the air, juice that will land on your bare skin, whether it be face or hands,” Buyarski said.
    Do you have a garden question for Ed? Fill out the form below, and he’ll answer your question in an upcoming segment.
    Listen to past episodes and subscribe to the podcast on the “Gardentalk” page, so you’ll never have to worry about missing Thursday’s live radio …
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  • Gardentalk – Banish and bury those dandelions and buttercups
    Dandelions bloom before they go to seed in an adjunct of the KTOO Agriculture Test Station and Garden of Science! (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
    The dandelions are in full bloom in Juneau. Soon, the buttercups will also blossom as the dandelions go to seed.
    Master Gardener Ed Buyarski has a few tips for preventing those pervasive plants from spreading in your yard and garden.
    Listen to the May 16 edition of “Gardentalk” about dandelions and buttercups:
     
    https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2019/05/garden0501619w.mp3
     
    For dandelions, remove the yellow flowers before the plant goes to seed. Also, try digging out the tap root (which may go down 6-12 inches) and throw the plant into your trash, not in your compost pile.
    “Even after you pick a dandelion bud, it will finish maturing and have seeds,” Buyarski said. “So yeah, into the garbage bag or something like that would be your best bet for those.”
    For buttercups, remove the entire plant, including flowers, roots and their runners, which they use to spread out.
    “They’re kind of more like strawberry plants in that regard, as far as how they spread,” Buyarski said. “They also set seeds.”
    Try removing buttercup plants before they go to seed and, again, put the plant’s remains into the trash.
    For both plants, don’t just hack at the tops of the plants with a weed eater and call it done. You may only be helping the plants multiply and spread.
    Buyarski said he uses a lot of cardboard in his garden for the first layer of a mulch, which can kill both dandelions and buttercups before the cardboard breaks down in a year or two.
    Do you have a garden question for Ed? Fill out the form below, and he’ll answer your question in an upcoming segment.
    Listen to past episodes and subscribe to the podcast on the “Gardentalk” page, so you’ll never have to worry about missing Thursday’s live radio broadcasts.
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  • Gardentalk – Last call for spring garden vegetable planting
    Close up of cherry buds as they prepare to blossom at KTOO’s “Agricultural Test Station and Garden of Science!” (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
    This may be the last chance this spring for planting certain vegetables unless gardeners want their plants to bolt during June and July’s long daylight hours.
    Master Gardener Ed Buyarski says radishes and spinach should be planted now.
    “If the soil is warm,” Buyarski said. “That’s the critical thing here.”
    If you want to keep your soil warm after sowing, it can be covered over again with clear plastic until the seeds germinate and sprout.
    Listen to the May 9 edition of Gardentalk about spring planting:
    https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2019/05/garden0509.mp3
    Buyarski also says peas, parsnips, carrots, cabbage, lettuce, mustard greens, swiss chard and potatoes can be planted now.
    For those gardeners with rhododendrons that are turning yellowish-green, Buyarski says the plants may be missing magnesium, an important nutrient. Dilute a tablespoon of Epsom salts in a gallon of water and then dribble over the roots around the plant’s drip line.
    Also, a reminder that annual community plant sale starts at 9 o’clock on Saturday, May 11 in the Carrs-Safeway parking lot. It’s usually pandemonium — like Cabbage Patch Kids Christmas shopping kind of crazy. So, remember to bring boxes, wagons and helpers to quickly purchase and haul away stuff.
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  • Gardentalk – Use seed potatoes for your summer spud crop

    Certified seed potatoes on sale at a Juneau grocery store in April 2019. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)

    Always start from seed. That’s the most important piece of advice that Master Gardener Ed Buyarski has for gardeners who want to grow potatoes this season.

    Buyarski explained in the latest edition of Gardentalk on KTOO that certified seed potatoes are usually free of diseases. They also lack the chemical sprout inhibitor that is usually applied before eating potatoes are shipped to grocery stores.

    There is a small exception to that rule, though: Buyarski said if gardeners have any potatoes left over from their own crop that they started from seed last year, then those can be used as seed this season as well.

    Buyarski said seed potatoes can be planted once sprouts are about a half-inch long. If the seeds are bigger than a golf ball, then they can be cut up at planting so they have one or two eyes apiece.

    After lining your planting area with compost, plant each seed potato about an inch or two deep with eyes pointing up.

    Seed potatoes with longer sprouts can be planted in a shallow trench with the sprout laid flat just below surface.

    Cover the garden bed with clear plastic to help the soil and seeds warm up over the next few weeks.

    Listen to the April 25 edition about planting potatoes:

    https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2019/04/garden042519edit2.mp3
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  • Gardentalk – Feed me, Seymour!
    Front of bag of 16-16-16 fertilizer specifies proportions of nitrogen, phosphate, and potash. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
    The carnivorous plant Audrey in “Little Shop of Horrors” feasted on blood and body parts so it could thrive and grow. But you don’t need to sacrifice one of your own limbs just to feed your trees, garden vegetables, or lawn.
    Master Gardener Ed Buyarski explained in latest edition of Gardentalk that fertilizer or compost may be all that you need.
    Listen to the April 19 edition of Gardentalk about fertilizing trees, plants, and the lawn:
    https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2019/04/garden041919.mp3
     
    Buyarski started the segment by answering a question from a listener, Sam, who writes:
    “We have a sunset maple and are wondering if we should fertilize it in the spring and, if so, with what? Or, is compost enough?”
    Buyarski said, yes, now is a good time to fertilize trees because their buds and roots are all growing. Either compost or a balanced fertilizer would work just fine for Sam’s maple. However, fruiting trees may need more.
    He doesn’t recommend placing compost or fertilizer around the trunk of the tree. Instead, he suggests placing it under the tree’s drip line or below the tips of the branches because that is where the roots will be most active.
    Tree spikes or granular fertilizer will also work.
    Every package of fertilizer specifies the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium that may be important for a specific tree variety or a grass lawn according to the season.
    Back of bag of 10-12-10 plant fertilizer specifies proportions of nitrogen, phosphate, and potash. (Photo by Matt…
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  • Gardentalk – Planting and seed starting
    Cucumber and pumpkin starts as seen under an LED grow light. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
    If you haven’t done so already, now would be the perfect time to start planting some of your garden vegetables. Hardy vegetable bulbs or seeds could go straight into the cool ground now, while other veggie plants need to be started indoors before they are strong enough for transplanting outside.
    Master Gardener Ed Buyarski had some planting advice and answered some questions sent in by listeners during the latest edition of “Gardentalk,” which airs on KTOO’s “Morning Edition” every Thursday.
    This week, Ric from Auke Bay writes:
    “My garlic is already 4 inches high. When can I plant onion bulbs in my garden? How far apart for green onions? … Do shallots do well in Juneau? Where is the best source for a small bulb to plant?”
    Listen to the April 11 “Gardentalk” segment on starting seeds and hardening off your starts before you plant them outside in the soil.
    https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2019/04/GardenWFin041119.mp3
    Buyarski said shallot and onion bulb sets can go into the ground now, and the cool, moist soil will stimulate root growth. Green onions can be planted thick — about half an inch to 1 inch apart — and then be thinned during the season until they are 3-4 inches apart. Onion plants should go in later when the ground warms up more.
    Along with leeks, Buyarski recommends protecting shallots and onions from the onion root maggot by covering with Reemay horticulture fabric.
    “They will burrow into the roots or bulbs of these things, and you end up with rotten little plants, which is what you don’t want,” Buyarski said.
    He suggests leaving them covered with the fabric, either as long as possible into the summer or until the plants start lifting up the fabric.
    Indoors, Buyarski said he just started tomato seeds, and soon he’ll start cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli. He’ll wait until the soil gets warmer before starting cucumber and zucchini seeds, since transplanting them usually occurs only 3-4 weeks after germination.
    He recommends reading the back of seed packets to check seed timing and plan ahead for replanting outside in the garden.
    Do you have a garden question for Ed? Fill out the form below, and he’ll answer your question in an upcoming segment.
    Listen to past episodes and subscribe to the podcast on the “Gardentalk” page, so you’ll never have to worry about missing Thursday’s live radio broadcas…
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  • Gardentalk – Here’s your early-season, pre-planting checklist
    Close-up view of rhubarb sprouting in KTOO’s Agricultural Test Station and Garden of Science! in April 2019. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
    Yay, gardening season is here!
    Master Gardener Ed Buyarski runs down the list of things to do in this season’s first edition of “Gardentalk,” which airs on KTOO’s “Morning Edition” every Thursday morning during the spring and summer.
    In this week’s segment, Buyarski encourages us to finish with the clean-up of messy greenhouses and garden beds that we started last fall.
    https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2019/04/garden040419.mp3
     
    Remove all the weeds, slugs and debris that you can find. Also, now would be the perfect time to mix in some fertilizer, horse manure or compost into your soil or garden planters.
    “It will help it break down the soil more quickly and will really help stimulate the worm population, which is very beneficial to releasing the nutrients for the plants that we want,” Buyarski said.
    Use clear plastic to help warm up the soil before you start planting, but make sure the plastic is raised up above the soil a few inches. Don’t let it rest directly on the soil.
    If you still have snow in a semi-shaded garden area, then spread wood ashes or sand over the area to accelerate melting.
    Buyarski will be starting tomato plants indoors this weekend. But he said if your garden soil is already warm enough, then you can directly plant kale, mustard and spinach into the ground right now. Cover those planted seeds with clear plastic, but remove that plastic before the seedlings get cooked in this spring’s warm and sunny weather.
    Finally, did you plant garlic last fall and cover with plastic to protect them from snow and rain? If so, you can start removing that plastic as the bulbs emerge from the soil.
    Do you have a garden question for Ed? Fill out the form below, and he’ll answer your question in an upcoming segment.
    Listen to past episodes and subscribe to the podcast on the “Gardentalk” page, so you’ll never have to worry about missing Thursday’s live radio …
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Gardening tips and information from KTOO in Juneau