We've talked in the past about how to deal with bugs, but Peter and many of our listeners are having their produce devoured by small animals like chipmunks, squirrels, and rabbits. We talk about the best ways to keep them away and Peter answers your questions.

Peter jumps right into it this week answering your questions. Take a listen, you might find someone with the same garden question you might have.

The Leek Moth has been a big problem for parts of New England and New York. Now there are the beginnings of reports that it has It likes to feast on  members of the Allium family including onions, garlic, leeks, chives and shallots. Peter gives his recommendations on how to protect your plants. And he also goes over how to protect from Japanese beetle, a common pest in Vermont.

Peter invites his neighbors and mushroom growers, Sarah and Steve Gallagher, to call in and talk about how they grow mushrooms and how they have found success, particularly with Shiitakes.

Hilling potatoes involves covering the plant with loose organic material periodically to encourage the tubers to grow deep and wide, improving the flavor of the potatoes. Peter talks about how to hill potatoes when you're growing them in a garden bed. Unlike in many other places, in a bed there isn't a lot of room and dirt around the plant to hill with. So instead, you can scoop up the soil you can around the plant and then add a mixture of germination mix and compost for additional material.

With outdoor garden season basically in full swing and a lot of new gardeners experimenting now that grocery store visits seem a bit risky, it's important to review the basics and refresh even the most seasoned gardeners. One of the biggest keys to garden success aside from permanent beds are the permanent pathways. They'll save you a lot of time and energy later weeding out grass and other weeds from your beds.

We had some hot weather this week, but this being Vermont there's still more cool weather on the way that can harm some plants. Peter goes over what to get outside now and what to wait on a little more for more consistent weather.

With the warming weather coming in, now is the time to start planting the rest of your plants. A few more tender things might still be affected by night time temperatures, but the majority should be good to go. Take advantage of the beautiful spring weather.

It's still a tad cold out, but there's still plenty you can plant right now. Peter tells his tale of getting a soil thermometer so you know what will grow right now and what to wait a bit longer on.

With the cold weather we're having right now, it's more important than ever to plant things that can handle this early season cold. Things like rhubarb, spinach, and arugala can thrive despite the cold. When things warm up, then you can plant the more heat-loving produce.