WEBVTT - Forget the Groundhog. . . I'm ready for Spring 0:00:05.519 --> 0:00:09.280 I'm not a big resolution person, but every year around 0:00:09.280 --> 0:00:11.760 this time, I like to check in and see where 0:00:11.800 --> 0:00:15.000 I'm at on my own journey for self improvement. Am 0:00:15.040 --> 0:00:19.079 I drinking enough water? If coffee counts his water, then yes? 0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:23.200 Am I getting enough exercise? If trying to herd the 0:00:23.239 --> 0:00:27.360 kids onto their online zoom classes counts as exercise, then maybe? 0:00:27.880 --> 0:00:33.320 And am I keeping the plants alive? Surprisingly? Yeah, most 0:00:33.360 --> 0:00:36.479 of them. I managed to not kill most of my 0:00:36.560 --> 0:00:39.839 house plants, from a monstera to a money tree, to 0:00:40.000 --> 0:00:43.160 a jade plant to a pathos. There are a lot 0:00:43.240 --> 0:00:45.600 of green things on our shelves that are pretty and 0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:51.600 hardy and have somehow managed to survive the weather. But 0:00:51.720 --> 0:00:54.760 the backyard garden, I think it's safe to say we'll 0:00:54.800 --> 0:00:58.120 have some serious replanting to do. I'm still new to 0:00:58.160 --> 0:01:00.800 the gardening life, and looking out a window at the 0:01:00.840 --> 0:01:04.560 snow covered yard, I'm not hopeful that everything is thriving 0:01:04.600 --> 0:01:07.760 out there. But if I've learned anything from last season 0:01:08.240 --> 0:01:10.240 is that you've got to start planning a lot sooner 0:01:10.280 --> 0:01:14.040 than you think. So as we finish out February and 0:01:14.200 --> 0:01:18.560 enter March, spring is definitely on my mind, even though 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:25.400 it still feels like January in Brooklyn. Hey there, I'm 0:01:25.440 --> 0:01:28.320 Mongais Articular, co host of Part Time Genius, one of 0:01:28.360 --> 0:01:32.120 the founders of Mental Flaws, and this is Humans Growing Stuff, 0:01:32.280 --> 0:01:34.840 a collaboration from I Heart Radio and your Friends and 0:01:34.959 --> 0:01:38.280 Miracle Grow. Our goal is to make this the most 0:01:38.360 --> 0:01:42.640 human show about plants you'll ever listen to. Along the way, 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:45.680 we'll share inspiring stories, tips and tricks to nurture your 0:01:45.720 --> 0:01:48.640 plan addiction, and just enough science to make you sound 0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:51.280 like an expert. On today's show, we're going to get 0:01:51.280 --> 0:01:55.680 ready to spring ahead and start planning for planting. I'm 0:01:55.680 --> 0:01:58.000 going to talk to some new experts and some old 0:01:58.040 --> 0:02:01.400 friends about the most resilient seeds for early spring and 0:02:01.440 --> 0:02:07.480 how to keep them safe from late snowfalls. Chapter nine, 0:02:07.960 --> 0:02:13.520 Forget the Groundhog, I'm Ready for Spring. Last season on 0:02:13.600 --> 0:02:17.240 this show, we had everyone's favorite plant influencer, Jade the 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:20.000 Black Plant Chick, give us her tips for moving your 0:02:20.040 --> 0:02:23.480 plants indoors ahead of the fall in winter chill. As 0:02:23.520 --> 0:02:26.000 we get a jump start on spring planting, I asked 0:02:26.000 --> 0:02:28.320 her to share some of the good habits around plant 0:02:28.360 --> 0:02:34.280 care that we should bring into spring. Hello, everybody is 0:02:34.360 --> 0:02:36.960 Jade the Black Plant Chick and These are my three 0:02:37.000 --> 0:02:41.760 good habits to bring into screen. Number one, clean your windows. 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:44.920 Give your plants all the light they deserve. They gain 0:02:45.000 --> 0:02:47.880 a lot of dirt over the months, and it's important 0:02:47.919 --> 0:02:50.440 to give your plants the light they need to thrive. 0:02:50.720 --> 0:02:53.839 So get in there, wipe those windows down, even clean 0:02:53.880 --> 0:02:56.400 the blinds a bit. Trust me, your plants will love it. 0:02:57.240 --> 0:03:01.520 Number two, welcome new growth with repotting. Yes, get rid 0:03:01.520 --> 0:03:04.120 of all of that old dirt and give your plant 0:03:04.120 --> 0:03:09.200 a fresh start with new soil. Number three, develop new 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:13.919 watering habits. Last year, the plant community saw a tremendous 0:03:13.960 --> 0:03:16.880 amount of new plant parents coming in and a lot 0:03:16.919 --> 0:03:19.359 of us struggled with over watering. But this is the 0:03:19.440 --> 0:03:23.440 opportunity that you have now to start fresh. Try using 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:27.400 a moisture meter or even bottom watering. What is bottom watering? 0:03:27.680 --> 0:03:30.680 It's simple. You get a tub filled up with water, 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:33.639 place your plant, which is still inside of that planter, 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:37.960 into that tub, and it drinks the water that it requires. 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:40.680 It won't take too much or too little, it will 0:03:40.720 --> 0:03:44.600 drink exactly what it needs. You'll be amazed at how 0:03:44.640 --> 0:03:48.840 happy your plant is after bottom watering. Until next time, 0:03:48.880 --> 0:04:03.360 you guys, love peace and propagate years ago, when I 0:04:03.400 --> 0:04:05.840 was on a study of broad trip to Nepollon, Tibet, 0:04:06.200 --> 0:04:08.320 my friend Dave and I decided to try our hands 0:04:08.320 --> 0:04:12.320 at brewing a local barley wine. It's called chong, and 0:04:12.880 --> 0:04:16.320 there's a superstition. Once you put the grains in big 0:04:16.320 --> 0:04:19.800 containers and let them sit to ferment, you're supposed to 0:04:19.800 --> 0:04:22.080 tape this large chili pepper to the top of the 0:04:22.120 --> 0:04:25.680 bin to stop evil spirits from ruining your brew. We 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:28.159 followed the directions to a t and we taped a 0:04:28.240 --> 0:04:32.039 whole bunch of chilies to the top, and sadly, the 0:04:32.120 --> 0:04:37.120 wine still turned out terrible. But trying to follow all 0:04:37.160 --> 0:04:41.440 these superstitions it made the whole exercise so much more fun. 0:04:42.440 --> 0:04:45.039 So I've been thinking about all the myths and superstitions 0:04:45.040 --> 0:04:47.520 in the garden and which ones we might want to 0:04:47.560 --> 0:04:51.479 indulge as we move into spring. Like sure, we could 0:04:51.640 --> 0:04:54.200 use science to explain the world and all the seasons 0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:56.960 around us, but isn't it more fun to think about 0:04:57.000 --> 0:05:01.240 the Greek goddess Persephone sneez picking up from the underworld 0:05:01.320 --> 0:05:03.920 for half a year and bringing all the great weather 0:05:03.960 --> 0:05:08.359 and harvests with her. Or to wonder how much truth 0:05:08.480 --> 0:05:10.800 is there to some of these old sayings, Like my 0:05:10.880 --> 0:05:14.880 producer Molly told me about one that goes oak before ash, 0:05:14.920 --> 0:05:18.440 We're in for a splash, but ash before oak, we're 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:22.000 in for a soak, Which I guess is this Northern 0:05:22.040 --> 0:05:25.320 Irish lore that claims if the oak trees bud before 0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:29.000 ash trees, it will be this dry spring. But if 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:31.680 the opposite happens, you need to break out your ponchos 0:05:31.680 --> 0:05:36.960 and wellies. Of course there are tons of these, but 0:05:37.240 --> 0:05:39.680 which of these will actually signal to start a spring? 0:05:40.320 --> 0:05:43.360 Should I look for a robin or trust the groundhog? 0:05:43.800 --> 0:05:46.520 Should I plant my potatoes on St. Patrick's Day or 0:05:46.920 --> 0:05:49.719 is it better to wait till Good Friday? And do 0:05:49.839 --> 0:05:52.400 I really need to hose these crops with holy water 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:56.640 to get them to grow? Probably not, But I wanted 0:05:56.640 --> 0:05:59.359 to hear which spring traditions to put some stock in 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:03.040 if aenny, So I called up my friend Aaron Shannon. 0:06:03.279 --> 0:06:06.480 She's a Master gardner, volunteer, and creator of the blog 0:06:06.480 --> 0:06:10.640 and YouTube channel The Impatient Gardener. Aaron's no stranger to 0:06:10.760 --> 0:06:13.880 cold winters as a gardener in Wisconsin, so I wanted 0:06:13.880 --> 0:06:17.040 to ask her the skinny on early planting strategies and 0:06:17.040 --> 0:06:23.680 how she knows that spring is around the corner. Aaron, 0:06:23.720 --> 0:06:26.719 are you there, I'm here, Hi, Hi, it's so nice 0:06:26.720 --> 0:06:29.080 to have you on. Thank you so much for having me. 0:06:29.520 --> 0:06:32.839 So I am such a fan of the Impatient Gardener site. 0:06:32.880 --> 0:06:37.159 It is truly funny and charming and informative. So I 0:06:37.200 --> 0:06:41.360 know over time you've become a master gardener master gardner volunteer, 0:06:41.400 --> 0:06:44.159 and we hear that term a lot on the show. 0:06:44.279 --> 0:06:47.279 Can you explain what that is and how people get 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:49.839 that title? Oh, it's such a good question because there's 0:06:49.960 --> 0:06:52.120 so many people sort of misunderstand that and it's kind 0:06:52.120 --> 0:06:55.960 of gotten all misconstrued. So master gardener, the Master Gardener 0:06:56.000 --> 0:06:59.760 program is a program that has run through public university 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:03.480 extensions and there's an education component to it, but at 0:07:03.520 --> 0:07:07.360 the end of the day, it's really a volunteer program. 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:10.280 And then you can volunteer on behalf of a Master 0:07:10.360 --> 0:07:13.600 Gardener organization. Then your job is to help the public 0:07:13.680 --> 0:07:19.440 become better gardeners. And what's your favorite advice for frustrated gardener? 0:07:19.760 --> 0:07:22.720 Oh gosh, you're etically asking, because like I'm just asking 0:07:22.720 --> 0:07:27.920 for a friend friend. So, so I think that there 0:07:28.000 --> 0:07:30.800 is a tendency to get a little too serious and 0:07:30.880 --> 0:07:34.160 to bog down in details with gardening. I mean, at 0:07:34.160 --> 0:07:36.320 the end of the day, plants really want to grow, 0:07:36.720 --> 0:07:39.800 so we don't have to jump through so many hoops. 0:07:39.800 --> 0:07:42.280 I mean, certainly it's good to have some information, know 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:44.600 what's going to grow aware, but I think this sooner 0:07:44.880 --> 0:07:48.320 in your gardening journey that you accept that every gardener 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:51.160 kills plants and probably kills a lot of them, and 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:53.160 like you're just you're just part of the club. At 0:07:53.200 --> 0:07:56.240 that point when you start killing plants. I think that 0:07:56.240 --> 0:08:01.080 that makes it I'm a little bit more accessible. So 0:08:01.360 --> 0:08:05.280 this episode is about getting excited for the spring. And 0:08:05.520 --> 0:08:08.440 I know you're located in Wisconsin, which I think is 0:08:08.480 --> 0:08:11.080 still in the middle of some heavy snowfall. So one 0:08:11.120 --> 0:08:14.240 of our questions is when do you know it's spring there. 0:08:14.280 --> 0:08:17.280 You know, it's really interesting because if I was in 0:08:17.360 --> 0:08:20.120 like a coma, I could wake up and I could 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:22.240 look outside and I would tell you pretty much within 0:08:22.280 --> 0:08:25.280 a couple of weeks what time of year it is, 0:08:25.680 --> 0:08:27.680 because you know, there's all these little clues that we're 0:08:27.680 --> 0:08:31.080 all paying attention to, even if we don't realize that 0:08:31.120 --> 0:08:34.320 we're paying attention to them. So there is something with 0:08:34.480 --> 0:08:37.160 the first robin, although there are Robin's kind of around 0:08:37.200 --> 0:08:41.120 your round sometimes, but Robbin's more bird activity for me. 0:08:41.200 --> 0:08:44.240 I walk out into our little wooded area outside her house, 0:08:44.720 --> 0:08:47.200 and when I see the skunk cabbage coming up, which 0:08:47.200 --> 0:08:49.880 will be in only about a month or so, skunk 0:08:49.920 --> 0:08:53.160 cabbage is is really cool plant that actually produces heat, 0:08:53.640 --> 0:08:56.600 So it has this ability to melt the snow around 0:08:56.640 --> 0:08:58.920 it and create its own heat. So when I see 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:01.679 the skunk cabbage coming up, I know, all right, we're 0:09:01.679 --> 0:09:03.959 all good. We're gonna make it through another winter. So 0:09:04.120 --> 0:09:06.360 what should we be doing in this in this period 0:09:06.440 --> 0:09:08.960 right before the spring happens? What should we be doing 0:09:09.000 --> 0:09:11.880 to prep for our gardens? So I think the number 0:09:11.880 --> 0:09:13.960 one thing you can do is actually something you can 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:16.520 do regardless of the weather, which is just planned for 0:09:16.559 --> 0:09:19.439 your garden. Anytime you have a plan going into a 0:09:19.480 --> 0:09:22.200 gardening season, things go a lot smoother and you're not 0:09:22.280 --> 0:09:26.440 running out trying to find seeds which you can't find somewhere. 0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:29.160 If it's a vegetable garden, planning out where you're going 0:09:29.200 --> 0:09:32.160 to plant everything, what varieties you're gonna grow, what I'm 0:09:32.160 --> 0:09:34.200 going to start inside, what I'm going to direct. So 0:09:34.640 --> 0:09:38.040 in a perennial garden, it's sort of identifying places where 0:09:38.040 --> 0:09:40.640 I need to change things a little bit, or um 0:09:40.679 --> 0:09:44.120 I need another plant. Pictures from the previous year's garden 0:09:44.160 --> 0:09:46.360 come into play big time on that. For me, it 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:48.040 helps me so much to be able to go back 0:09:48.040 --> 0:09:50.240 and look at pictures to get a feel for what 0:09:50.360 --> 0:09:51.839 it looks like and what I can do to make 0:09:51.840 --> 0:09:54.440 it better. Even though that was only not even six 0:09:54.480 --> 0:09:57.480 months ago, four months ago or whatever, I've already forgotten 0:09:57.480 --> 0:10:00.240 what last year's garden looked like, So it's a it's 0:10:00.240 --> 0:10:03.000 good to have those photos to go back to. As 0:10:03.000 --> 0:10:05.839 soon as the snow is gone and the sort of 0:10:06.240 --> 0:10:09.080 top very top layer soil starts to loosen up, you 0:10:09.080 --> 0:10:11.520 can actually get out there and start doing some weeding. 0:10:12.000 --> 0:10:15.040 I know that's not a fun job for anyone, except 0:10:15.040 --> 0:10:17.760 that after a long winter, even weeding is fun to do. 0:10:17.880 --> 0:10:21.560 Somehow that goes away quickly. But once you have that 0:10:21.640 --> 0:10:24.400 plan ready, then you get right into moving on to 0:10:24.559 --> 0:10:26.720 especially vegetables, because there are some things that can go 0:10:26.840 --> 0:10:28.960 in really quite early and you don't want to miss 0:10:29.000 --> 0:10:32.160 that window. Yeah, so you've described yourself as having a 0:10:32.240 --> 0:10:35.040 seed stash and I'm curious, what's in your stash right 0:10:35.040 --> 0:10:37.880 now and what are you most excited about growing. I 0:10:37.920 --> 0:10:41.360 can't even adequately describe my seed stash to you because 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:45.080 it's it's completely it's completely absurd. I I actually have 0:10:45.200 --> 0:10:48.080 to They're almost like suitcases that I keep these things, 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:50.760 and one for flowers and one for vegetables. I am 0:10:50.760 --> 0:10:53.920 always excited to grow. In terms of flowers, sweet peas 0:10:54.160 --> 0:10:57.920 were sort of my gateway plant to growing flowers from seed. 0:10:58.120 --> 0:11:00.520 To me, they're just this old fashioned hour that I 0:11:00.840 --> 0:11:03.000 take a lot of pleasure in growing those, and so 0:11:03.040 --> 0:11:06.559 those are always very fun for me. In terms of vegetables, 0:11:06.600 --> 0:11:09.160 I mean, I have my tried and truths that I 0:11:09.240 --> 0:11:11.920 always have to grow, and I'm always going to have tomatoes. 0:11:11.960 --> 0:11:15.240 I am perpetually in search of the world's perfect tomato. 0:11:16.000 --> 0:11:19.240 But I also love to try new varieties. This year, 0:11:19.280 --> 0:11:22.120 I'm going to grow ginger in the vegetable garden because 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:23.720 I figured, I mean, I have grown that in a 0:11:23.720 --> 0:11:25.480 pot before, but I thought, well, that would be kind 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:27.560 of fun to grow in vegetable garden and see how 0:11:27.640 --> 0:11:29.959 that goes. And it's a very pretty plant. So I'm 0:11:29.960 --> 0:11:33.880 always in for anything that's beautiful as well as productive 0:11:34.040 --> 0:11:36.120 when we're in the vegetable garden. What are some of 0:11:36.200 --> 0:11:39.520 your favorite beautiful and productive plants. I would say top 0:11:39.600 --> 0:11:42.520 of the list for me is Swiss shard. I actually 0:11:42.520 --> 0:11:44.760 think that Swiss shard is one of the most beautiful 0:11:44.760 --> 0:11:49.040 plants there is, regardless of whether you're talking about vegetable, ornamental, 0:11:49.320 --> 0:11:52.719 or flower or foliage. It's just beautiful. Especially there's a 0:11:52.800 --> 0:11:55.920 variety called bright Lights that has all these it's a 0:11:56.000 --> 0:11:59.440 mixture of shards with all these different stem colors, so 0:11:59.520 --> 0:12:02.120 you can have have this rainbow of colors and they 0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:06.240 get these bright, glossy shiny leaves, and I think you 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:08.240 can't beat that. In fact, I think that's a plant 0:12:08.280 --> 0:12:11.600 that I have seen that planted in ornamental containers, and 0:12:11.640 --> 0:12:15.240 I think it looks beautiful there because big bold leaf, 0:12:15.280 --> 0:12:18.880 it's it's gorgeous. Last I think there's also ornamental ways 0:12:18.960 --> 0:12:22.200 to plant things. So last year I made sort of 0:12:22.240 --> 0:12:25.480 a design out of basil plants. I grew a tall, 0:12:25.600 --> 0:12:30.040 skinny basil called Everleaf Emerald Towers, and then I surrounded 0:12:30.080 --> 0:12:32.240 that with a Greek basil, which is a real short, 0:12:32.320 --> 0:12:35.440 squatty basil around it in like a diamond pattern and 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:40.080 it's just basil. By planting in an interesting way. It 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:42.600 just was very beautiful to look at as well. And 0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:44.760 what's what's the difference in the flavors of this The 0:12:44.840 --> 0:12:47.800 everleaf emerald towers basil is a very sort of traditional 0:12:48.000 --> 0:12:52.240 sweet basil. The Greek basil is a much sharper, very 0:12:52.320 --> 0:12:55.439 strong sort of Italian flavor to it, even though it's 0:12:55.440 --> 0:12:59.680 Greek basil, but it's a stronger, more pungent flavor. M So, 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:02.280 one of the things we were wondering about is whether 0:13:02.320 --> 0:13:05.080 you have to start your garden from scratch every winter 0:13:05.280 --> 0:13:08.240 since the weather they're so destructive, or if you have 0:13:08.280 --> 0:13:10.800 any tricks that keep things safe through the whole winter. 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:15.640 I really like to rely for my ornamental garden. I 0:13:15.679 --> 0:13:18.920 really love to rely on perennials. These are the plants 0:13:18.920 --> 0:13:20.920 that will come back every year. They die to the 0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:24.119 ground and then they come back with fresh new foliage 0:13:24.200 --> 0:13:26.640 every year. You've also got annuals, and those are the 0:13:26.679 --> 0:13:29.680 plants that do their whole life cycle in one year. 0:13:29.720 --> 0:13:31.840 So they're going to grow leaves, they're gonna grow flowers, 0:13:31.880 --> 0:13:33.240 and then those are going to die at the end 0:13:33.280 --> 0:13:36.280 of the year. Now, sometimes some of those annuals will 0:13:36.440 --> 0:13:40.360 produce seed, and those will actually do you a favor 0:13:40.600 --> 0:13:43.720 and spread that seed around your garden on your behalf. 0:13:43.760 --> 0:13:46.480 You don't have to touch them. And then there's this 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:51.360 really crazy type of plant. I say crazy, it's not crazy. 0:13:51.360 --> 0:13:53.880 It's just kind of a an in between category called 0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:57.360 a biennial. And biennials are plants that will grow just 0:13:57.400 --> 0:14:00.080 their foliage the first year and then they flower of 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:02.440 the second year. So one of the biennials that I 0:14:02.480 --> 0:14:06.079 grow is Angelica gigus. It gets these big flower heads 0:14:06.120 --> 0:14:09.760 on it. It will produce seed in those flower heads, 0:14:10.040 --> 0:14:13.400 which then falls to the ground, and that seed becomes 0:14:13.440 --> 0:14:16.800 the next year's little plants, which will grow foliage that year. 0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:20.360 The following year they grow flowers, and after a couple 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:22.720 of years of this, you have that plant in your 0:14:22.760 --> 0:14:26.080 garden because you always have different plants in different stages 0:14:26.160 --> 0:14:28.040 of growth, and so it just sort of works its 0:14:28.040 --> 0:14:30.560 way around your garden, and in that way, it sort 0:14:30.600 --> 0:14:33.800 of behaves like a perennial in that you always have it. 0:14:34.560 --> 0:14:37.840 So perennials are great, and that lowers the workload because 0:14:37.880 --> 0:14:41.080 really most perennials are not that much work. And obviously 0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:43.800 it lowers the budget, and it's just less you have 0:14:43.920 --> 0:14:46.440 to do in your garden. And then, as far as 0:14:46.520 --> 0:14:50.480 vegetables go, there are perennial vegetables that I think people 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:54.640 forget about, things like rhubarb, asparagus, horseradish. You have to 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:56.960 be a little careful with horse rash. It can get 0:14:56.960 --> 0:14:59.160 a little carried away on you. But those are all 0:14:59.280 --> 0:15:02.400 things that are perennials, and so you can plant those 0:15:02.440 --> 0:15:05.440 once and then you can harvest from those forever. Basically, 0:15:05.720 --> 0:15:08.320 you're saying asparagus made me think back. Our dog used 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:11.000 to jump into our vegetable garden and eat all the asparagus. 0:15:11.080 --> 0:15:14.800 It was a regular thing that, oh my god, sneaky. 0:15:15.080 --> 0:15:18.920 For some reason, she was very attracted to it. Thomas 0:15:18.920 --> 0:15:24.280 Got Fancy Taste. My producer, Molly and I are obsessed 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:27.440 with your two new fees that you have, your your 0:15:27.480 --> 0:15:30.200 puffs that keep showing up on your Instagram and YouTube, 0:15:30.440 --> 0:15:33.440 and we're wondering, how do your dogs add to your 0:15:33.640 --> 0:15:36.720 gardening experience? Well, you know, I wish I could. I 0:15:36.720 --> 0:15:39.800 wish I could say they were particularly helpful in some way, 0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:46.120 um which they aren't really accept that. When I'm outside gardening, 0:15:46.120 --> 0:15:47.920 if I spend a whole day in the garden. It 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:51.080 is so great to have a companion out there. So 0:15:51.200 --> 0:15:53.240 I love just hanging and they just hang out and 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:57.040 you know, follow me around the garden. Do they ever 0:15:57.560 --> 0:15:59.920 chase the rabbits out of your yard? You know, if 0:16:00.120 --> 0:16:04.640 only they would be so helpful. They do a very 0:16:04.680 --> 0:16:07.440 good job of recognizing that there are rabbits or deer 0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:10.160 in the yard, but I wouldn't say that they are 0:16:10.200 --> 0:16:13.480 particularly effective in doing anything about it. In fact, I 0:16:13.520 --> 0:16:16.920 fear that the deer that frequent our yard are actually 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:20.560 mocking them. At this point. They can get within like 0:16:20.600 --> 0:16:22.320 twenty ft of a deer, and a deer will just 0:16:22.360 --> 0:16:24.560 stand there and look at them like, I know you're 0:16:24.560 --> 0:16:30.360 not gonna catch me. It's fine. They are adorable. So 0:16:30.600 --> 0:16:33.360 are there any other spring gardening myths you might want 0:16:33.400 --> 0:16:35.920 to depunk on the show for us? There are a 0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:38.360 lot of spring gard There's a lot of spring gardening 0:16:38.360 --> 0:16:40.480 myths out there. I think some of them are kind 0:16:40.480 --> 0:16:42.360 of warm and fuzzy, and it's sort of nice to 0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:46.080 think about them. But I think anything that involves an 0:16:46.120 --> 0:16:48.640 animal telling you what the weather is going to be, 0:16:48.880 --> 0:16:52.680 you should probably just take that for amusement, and not 0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:56.920 whether that's a squirrel or a groundhog or anything else. 0:16:57.120 --> 0:16:59.600 Generally speaking, that's not going to tell you a lot 0:16:59.680 --> 0:17:03.360 about what's coming. I think that most of these myths, 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:07.199 you know, there's some truth to them, but rarely for 0:17:07.240 --> 0:17:10.800 the reason that the myth sort of perpetuates. So April 0:17:10.800 --> 0:17:14.359 showers bring main flowers. It's true in that you need 0:17:14.560 --> 0:17:17.760 water in order for flowers to bloom, but what you'd 0:17:17.840 --> 0:17:20.439 rather have is a warm april to really get some 0:17:20.520 --> 0:17:24.840 good may flowers. There's also things like, um, there's a 0:17:25.200 --> 0:17:29.000 saying out there that you should plant your peas on St. 0:17:29.000 --> 0:17:33.159 Patrick's Day, and that is absolutely true for some place 0:17:33.400 --> 0:17:37.440 in some years. You know, like there are somewhere where 0:17:37.440 --> 0:17:40.160 the day that you should plant your peas is St. 0:17:40.160 --> 0:17:44.640 Patrick's Day, but that obviously the climate is much different 0:17:44.840 --> 0:17:48.240 across all these places where people are growing, so obviously 0:17:48.320 --> 0:17:51.200 that doesn't hold true. So you know, all these things 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:53.320 are things you can kind of take into account, and 0:17:53.359 --> 0:17:55.960 there's some truth behind all of them. But you know, 0:17:56.000 --> 0:17:57.880 I would say, apply a grain of salt to most 0:17:57.920 --> 0:18:01.240 of them. Yeah, that makes sense. So last fall I 0:18:01.320 --> 0:18:04.160 got way too late in the gardening, and I learned 0:18:04.200 --> 0:18:06.359 that you have to plant pumpkins in spring or early 0:18:06.400 --> 0:18:08.800 summer to have them in time for Halloween, Like you 0:18:08.840 --> 0:18:11.040 can't plant something in September and expected by the end 0:18:11.040 --> 0:18:15.159 of October. But I saw that you were attempting to 0:18:15.200 --> 0:18:17.800 grow one of the world's largest pumpkins on your site, 0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:21.119 and I was curious what your experience with pumpkins was 0:18:21.200 --> 0:18:23.560 this year and what it takes to grow a giant pumpkin. 0:18:24.720 --> 0:18:28.199 So I actually just tried to grow a regular size pumpkin. 0:18:28.320 --> 0:18:30.880 But it was the first time I've ever grown a pumpkin. 0:18:31.400 --> 0:18:33.560 For whatever reason, I have never grown a pumpkin. And 0:18:33.640 --> 0:18:35.919 I too planted mind too late, except that I planted 0:18:35.920 --> 0:18:37.840 mine at the end of June, so you were really 0:18:37.960 --> 0:18:41.679 late if you were in like September. So I got 0:18:41.760 --> 0:18:45.119 one pumpkin. It was approximately the size of a tennis ball. 0:18:45.520 --> 0:18:47.720 But I did do a little research as part of 0:18:47.720 --> 0:18:50.439 this into what goes down into creating. You know, you 0:18:50.520 --> 0:18:56.040 see these these world's biggest pumpkin competitions, and it is amazing. 0:18:56.240 --> 0:18:59.800 These people spend up to like six hours a day 0:19:00.560 --> 0:19:03.199 taking care of their pumpkin. Those pumpkins are putting on 0:19:03.280 --> 0:19:06.000 as much as what is it fifty pounds a day 0:19:06.160 --> 0:19:10.680 or something. It is unbelievable. They it's water and nutrients, 0:19:10.880 --> 0:19:13.160 and then you have to shade them a certain way 0:19:13.160 --> 0:19:15.959 from the sun or also gets scourged and it is 0:19:16.000 --> 0:19:19.560 like having an infant. I think it's about the level 0:19:19.640 --> 0:19:22.359 of care that goes into growing these giant pumpkins. Yeah, 0:19:22.359 --> 0:19:25.080 the fact that they're spending six hours on this, and 0:19:25.119 --> 0:19:28.160 also that they're so secretive about their techniques, it's really 0:19:28.160 --> 0:19:31.560 fascinating to me. Well, yeah, this. People who grow the 0:19:31.600 --> 0:19:36.800 world's biggest name the vegetable, are very interesting people and 0:19:36.840 --> 0:19:39.960 they are extremely dedicated. But yes, I think there are 0:19:40.000 --> 0:19:42.520 secrets that go to the grave with those people if 0:19:42.600 --> 0:19:45.440 they don't have some errors to pass them down to. 0:19:45.640 --> 0:19:48.520 And certainly the seeds that come out of the vegetables 0:19:48.560 --> 0:19:51.199 that they grow are probably locked away in like a 0:19:51.200 --> 0:19:54.240 safety deposit box or something. That post was so funny 0:19:54.280 --> 0:19:56.040 that you wrote, and the fact that the pumpkin only 0:19:56.040 --> 0:19:57.639 turned out the size of a tennis ball is is 0:19:57.720 --> 0:20:00.240 so wonderful to me. I hate to say, I mean, 0:20:00.280 --> 0:20:01.840 this is an easy way for me to say. I 0:20:01.960 --> 0:20:04.800 totally flubbed that, but I do think it's helpful for 0:20:04.840 --> 0:20:06.800 me to talk to gardeners and say, look, I can't 0:20:06.800 --> 0:20:09.600 grow pumpkin, but you've probably growing a pumpkin, so you know, 0:20:09.680 --> 0:20:11.960 don't worry about it. If not everything is a success, 0:20:12.000 --> 0:20:13.479 it's not the end of the world. It was just 0:20:13.520 --> 0:20:16.160 a pumpkin. It's really nice to know that you make mistakes. 0:20:16.200 --> 0:20:19.040 To oh, I think and everybody does. And if that's 0:20:19.119 --> 0:20:21.440 one message that I want to get across to everybody 0:20:21.480 --> 0:20:24.280 all the time, it's just that everybody screws something up, 0:20:24.320 --> 0:20:27.600 don't ever take it personally. So, speaking of messages to 0:20:27.680 --> 0:20:30.000 new gardeners and people who are going to give this 0:20:30.280 --> 0:20:32.200 gardening thing a shot for the first time this year, 0:20:32.880 --> 0:20:35.320 where and how do you recommend they get started, like, 0:20:35.359 --> 0:20:38.080 no matter where they live. So I think the thing 0:20:38.160 --> 0:20:42.280 to do is to start a start at a reasonable size, 0:20:42.480 --> 0:20:46.240 starts small. It's really easy to get overwhelmed if you 0:20:46.359 --> 0:20:49.359 plant a garden that's too big right from the get go, 0:20:49.520 --> 0:20:51.919 because all of a sudden you go from never spending 0:20:51.920 --> 0:20:53.840 any time in the garden to like suddenly you're like, 0:20:53.880 --> 0:20:55.760 I need to spend an hour a day in the garden. 0:20:55.760 --> 0:20:57.400 Are you getting me? Where am I going to find that? 0:20:57.520 --> 0:21:00.560 Even if it means a few containers. You can grow 0:21:00.640 --> 0:21:03.679 anything you want a container, and then after that I 0:21:03.680 --> 0:21:07.600 would go for varieties that don't ask a lot from 0:21:07.600 --> 0:21:10.320 a gardener. Even though we all love a tomato, I 0:21:10.320 --> 0:21:14.200 don't think tomatoes are necessarily the easiest thing to grow. Now, 0:21:14.200 --> 0:21:16.160 if you love a tomato and that's what you want 0:21:16.160 --> 0:21:19.080 on your garden, by all means, plant yourself a tomato 0:21:19.880 --> 0:21:21.159 if you don't love it. I mean, that's what you 0:21:21.160 --> 0:21:23.080 should be doing, is planting the things that you love. 0:21:23.320 --> 0:21:27.560 But things like lettuce are so simple to grow. Anyone 0:21:27.600 --> 0:21:31.160 can plant them anywhere. Basically, um, you have to pay 0:21:31.160 --> 0:21:34.200 a little bit of attention to how warm it's getting. 0:21:34.280 --> 0:21:37.840 Lettuce isn't gonna love hot areas. You can always push 0:21:37.920 --> 0:21:40.760 lettuce into a little bit of shade. Actually appreciates that 0:21:40.800 --> 0:21:43.440