Plantrama - plants, landscapes, & bringing nature indoors

The Plantrama duo discuss caffeine as an insecticide, and talk about corn, which is a grass and a great deal more. The episode ends with a discussion of picking green apples.

:36 True or False: Caffeine is a natural insecticide. 7:42 Eat/Drink/Grow: Corn: it's a vegetable! It's a biofuel! It's livestock food! It's an autumn decoration! 18:49 Love Letters and Questions: Mary wrote to ask about picking green apples.

In this 200th episode of Plantrama, Ellen and C.L. celebrate with cake! Hear about Ellen's berry pudding cake and C.L.'s beet cake. Next we talk about where to plant if you're running out of room (remember topsy-turvy tomatoes?) and whether it's okay to pack vegetables into a raised bed.

2:45 What's For Dinner: Unusual cakes

8:13 Eat/Drink/Grow: What to do when you're running out of room….

16:38 Love Letters and Questions: Dense planting in raised beds.

Here's the link to my berry pudding cake recipe: https://backyardforager.com/black-raspberry-pudding-cake-recipe/

In this episode Ellen and C.L. talk about the blueberry harvest, soil acidity or alkalinity, Hydrangea paniculata plants, spraying foliage with water in hot weather and a magical way to control weeds. (And no, there is not magic wand for weeds…let's just get that cleared up before falsehoods start to be spread.

:40 What's for Dinner: Blueberries 7:00 The Plant Noob: All about soil pH 15:04 Eat/Drink/Grow: Panicle hydrangeas 25:03 Insider Information: Should you water your plant's leaves in hot weather 28:42 Love Letters & Questions: Is there a magic wand for weeds?

The Plantrama team talk about your outdoor office; making places on decks, patios, porches or even in the woods where you can work and create. We take a deep dive into Daylilies, and answer a listener's question about mosquitoes. This episode is being brought to you by our friends at www.rainwand.com 1:30 Insider Information: Your Outdoor Office 5:57 Eat/Drink/Grow: A Deep Dive into Daylilies 18:09 Love Letters and Questions: Mosquitoes Control

C.L. and Ellen celebrate the summer season by talking about grilling, fertilizing, and carnivorous plants. We also discuss dealing with deer and growing edible plants in windy, urban situations such as rooftops and terraces.

:38 What's for Dinner ; Grilling: farmed and forager 6:00 Plant noob: Fertilizing 13:05 Eat/Drink/Grow: carnivorous plants 19:50 Insider Info: Battling Bambi 25:57 Love Letters & Questions: Chelsea asks about growing edibles on a windy NYC terrace.

We begin with summer cocktails in this best of Plantrama episode, then go on to talk about summer pruning, hail and dealing with storm damage. Ellen and C.L. are also united in their dislike of landscape fabric.

1:51 What's for dinner: Summer Cocktails

6:46 Insider Information: Hail

9:36 Eat/Drink/Grow: Summer Pruning

14:54 The Plant Noob: Landscape Cloth

21:57 Love Letters & Questions: Summer Storm Damage

In this "best of Plantrama" episode Ellen and C.L. encourage you to roast your veggies and foraged foods, whether you're serving them immediately or freezing them for the future. We badmouth the use of mothballs in the garden, talk about the role of bacteria and answer a question about gardening in clay soils.

:42 What's for dinner: Roasted vegetables and foraged edibles

5:28 True or False: Use mothballs to repel animals in the garden?

7:56: Eat/Drink/Grow: Bacteria…the good, the bad, and the ugly

15:10 Love Letters & Questions: Chelsea asks about gardening in clay.

In this "best of Plantrama" episode Ellen and C.L. encourage you to roast your veggies and foraged foods, whether you're serving them immediately or freezing them for the future. We badmouth the use of mothballs in the garden, talk about the role of bacteria and answer a question about gardening in clay soils.

:42 What's for dinner: Roasted vegetables and foraged edibles

5:28 True or False: Use mothballs to repel animals in the garden?

7:56: Eat/Drink/Grow: Bacteria…the good, the bad, and the ugly

15:10 Love Letters & Questions: Chelsea asks about gardening in clay.

The Plantrama team presents farmed and foraged edibles for the end of June, and discusses how to tell if your plant-ID app has given you a correct identification. We celebrate The Year of the Monarda, and why beebalm has a place in most gardens. Plus Ellen and C.L. and talk about Japanese beetle control.

:37 What's for dinner: End of June foraged food and the first crop of broccoli.

6:35 Insider Information: Ways to check accuracy of plant-identification apps.

11:03 Eat/Drink/Grow: It's the year of the Monarda!

20:50 Love Letters and Questions: Kim wrote about a problem with Japanese beetles.

Check out the Mt Cuba Monarda Trials: https://mtcubacenter.org/trials/monarda/

See the National Garden Bureau's Year of the Monarda information: https://ngb.org/year-of-the-monarda/

C.L. and Ellen discuss how weed seeds have an amazing ability to rest dormant in the soil for years. We peel back the layers of Artichokes, review a book about growing a mini fruit garden, and discuss keeping citrus trees happy indoors.

:36 Plant Noob: Weed seeds remain viable for decades…so

6:43 Eat/Drink/Grow: Artichokes

17:49 Book Review: Grow Your Own Mini Fruit Garden: Planting and Tending Small Fruit Trees and Berries in Gardens and Containers

19:52 Love Letters and Questions: Rachel asked about growing citrus trees indoors.

We reference this article from the New York Times.