Lifestyle Gardening 504

Brad Mills Author

01/31/2018 Added

6 Plays

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Backyard Farmer Presents: Lifestyle Gardening 504

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[00:00:18.033](introductory music)
[00:00:38.620]Hello and welcome to another
[00:00:40.050]episode of Lifestyle Gardening.
[00:00:42.070]I am Kim Todd and on today's program,
[00:00:43.960]we will be showing you tips for starting seeds at home
[00:00:46.780]and some of the best new gardening products for 2018.
[00:00:49.890]We are going to start our show with the test,
[00:00:52.500]a taste test that is,
[00:00:54.470]last summer, Nebraska extension educator, John Porter
[00:00:57.150]started an All-American Selection test vegetable garden.
[00:01:00.840]After everything it'd been harvested,
[00:01:02.760]he gathered up the crowd to taste the results.
[00:01:05.570]After all, growing vegetables isn't all about
[00:01:07.980]what grows well but what you think tastes good.
[00:01:17.010]So today, I am at my office here
[00:01:18.970]at the Douglas County extension office in Omaha.
[00:01:22.210]We're doing a variety taste test
[00:01:24.160]for the All-America Selections variety trial that I told you
[00:01:27.360]about earlier in the year on Backyard Farmer.
[00:01:29.910]So we're testing out all of the new varieties
[00:01:32.990]that All-American Selections wants to test out
[00:01:37.620]to potentially be an award winner for garden catalogues
[00:01:42.530]and seed packets next year.
[00:01:44.560]So if you've ever looked on the back of a seed packet
[00:01:46.630]or seen in a catalogue a little circle that has AAS in it
[00:01:50.630]that's an All-America Selections winner
[00:01:53.130]meaning that has been tested
[00:01:54.200]in gardens around the country
[00:01:55.900]and shown to have some sort of trait
[00:01:57.520]that makes it better than what's on the market.
[00:01:59.950]So sometimes it could be that it tastes better than
[00:02:02.420]other things on the market.
[00:02:04.040]It could grow better.
[00:02:05.080]It could have better disease resistance.
[00:02:07.280]And that's one of the things that I've been looking at
[00:02:09.230]throughout the year on 13 different crops
[00:02:12.240]in our farm, cooper farm, here in Omaha.
[00:02:16.210]So we're looking at these 13 different crops
[00:02:19.260]to test out to see exactly
[00:02:22.630]if they're better than what's on the market.
[00:02:24.730]So we have four different varieties of hot peppers,
[00:02:27.470]three different varieties of tomatoes,
[00:02:29.980]some egg plant, radishes that we're doing
[00:02:32.790]as a microgreen or a sprout
[00:02:35.270]and cantaloupe and Bok choy,
[00:02:37.310]these are all different things that we've tested out
[00:02:39.780]throughout the year to see how well they are growing.
[00:02:42.380]So, some of them it turned out that they did
[00:02:44.740]much better than what was available
[00:02:46.360]sent to us from the market.
[00:02:48.270]And some of them didn't do so well.
[00:02:49.800]So those results will go back
[00:02:52.480]to the All-America Selection organization,
[00:02:54.540]which is a nonprofit organization.
[00:02:56.980]And they will compare the scores from the gardens
[00:02:59.170]all around the country
[00:03:00.670]and see if something is meritorious.
[00:03:04.000]If it would get the All-America Selection award
[00:03:07.630]and then you will see that in your garden catalogue
[00:03:10.220]on your seed packet or on the tag it's stored next year,
[00:03:14.190]you'll see the All-America Selection seal
[00:03:16.450]for the stuff that we are testing out this year.
[00:03:20.100]You can also go to the Backyard Farmer garden
[00:03:23.190]on campus and see what we are testing out.
[00:03:26.930]So all the winners will be there next year
[00:03:29.270]for you to see exactly how they grow
[00:03:31.890]and if you want to add them to your garden.
[00:03:34.530]So I have master gardeners here today,
[00:03:36.150]taste testing where you first prepared
[00:03:38.220]some of these crops in a variety of different ways.
[00:03:40.860]And there are sort of taste testing looking to see exactly
[00:03:44.110]does it taste better than the two that are already
[00:03:46.470]on the market that were sent to compare,
[00:03:48.520]does it taste the same?
[00:03:50.190]Does it taste worse?
[00:03:51.830]And that will go into the ratings
[00:03:53.560]for the All-America Selection.
[00:03:58.190]Part of the fun of gardening
[00:03:59.390]is eating the fruits of your labors.
[00:04:01.550]And the whole point of having a test garden is
[00:04:03.540]to figure out what grows best in our environment
[00:04:06.550]so that we can eat the things we enjoy the most.
[00:04:09.770]We've had a lot of fun with our go gardening features
[00:04:12.330]aimed at helping beginning gardeners.
[00:04:14.660]This week we'll turn our focus
[00:04:16.030]on our favorite Italian herb basil.
[00:04:18.790]It's fairly easy to grow
[00:04:20.030]and so delicious when added to fresh pasta.
[00:04:30.160]This week on Go gardening for beginning gardeners,
[00:04:32.990]I want to talk a little bit about how to grow basil.
[00:04:35.890]It happens to be one of those wonderful herbs
[00:04:38.280]that is so good, fresh, its good dried,
[00:04:41.380]it's good when you cook with it.
[00:04:43.480]There's really nothing like the scent of basil
[00:04:46.120]as well as how it can flavor your food.
[00:04:48.400]It's also pretty easy to grow.
[00:04:50.170]You have to simply think about a few things
[00:04:52.130]that are requirements that this plant needs.
[00:04:54.860]You can start if from seed.
[00:04:56.760]The seeds are large,
[00:04:57.840]so it is not something that you are going to lose
[00:05:00.020]because it looks like dust.
[00:05:01.770]You want to start those seeds 6-8 weeks
[00:05:04.490]prior to the last frost.
[00:05:06.940]Here is the deal with basil.
[00:05:08.460]It absolutely cannot stand
[00:05:10.730]cold soils or cold temperatures.
[00:05:13.420]So if you are going to start those seeds inside
[00:05:15.930]or by transplants you want to make sure
[00:05:18.720]that you are not putting those plants out in the garden
[00:05:21.940]until that soil temperature is at least 50,
[00:05:24.810]ideally it is way higher than that, 70 degrees.
[00:05:28.470]So we are not talking about planting this
[00:05:30.230]in the first part of April.
[00:05:32.550]What you want to do if you see that
[00:05:34.630]the basils directly in the green house
[00:05:36.900]or in the sunny window just make sure
[00:05:39.420]once they emerge you look at those first two sets
[00:05:42.720]two or three sets of true leaves
[00:05:45.200]so after the curly leaves break
[00:05:47.310]which are the once that look like these
[00:05:49.570]after two to three leaves emerge
[00:05:51.250]you want to pinch that off
[00:05:52.890]and get that basil to start branching.
[00:05:55.550]Again you're gonna set those out
[00:05:56.890]when the weather is right.
[00:05:58.240]You wanna make sure that you water well
[00:06:01.080]frequently but not so frequently.
[00:06:02.920]If the soil gets all soggy and the roots rot,
[00:06:06.130]full sun is absolutely the best for basil.
[00:06:08.430]So the more sun you can give it, the happier it will be.
[00:06:11.760]You want to make sure that when you are setting
[00:06:13.390]the transplants out or thinning if you happen
[00:06:15.810]to seed directly into the garden.
[00:06:17.950]You want to give at least 6-8 inches
[00:06:19.990]between those plants.
[00:06:21.680]That's also gonna depend a great deal
[00:06:23.460]on which basil you have selected.
[00:06:25.810]And again you can get the large leaf basil,
[00:06:27.960]the Genovese, you can get Perpetuo raffles
[00:06:30.490]are some of the once that are actually more ornamental
[00:06:33.170]Siam Queen, some of the basils
[00:06:34.940]really grown for their flowers.
[00:06:36.860]You may want to actually give them
[00:06:38.150]a little bit of different spacing.
[00:06:40.190]A good well-grown basil plant, however,
[00:06:42.400]of the large leaves for Genovese basil,
[00:06:45.120]obese as much as 24-inches across.
[00:06:47.710]So give them enough room.
[00:06:49.680]When you want to harvest, you can start harvesting
[00:06:51.840]really as soon as you see nice leaves
[00:06:54.290]that you want to eat, of course,
[00:06:56.360]and you pinch that right above a leaf axial.
[00:06:59.860]What will happen then is you get another set of leaves
[00:07:03.650]a double set really emerging from
[00:07:05.720]where you've made that pinch
[00:07:06.980]in the leaf axial you just continue to do that.
[00:07:10.720]Again as the season progresses,
[00:07:12.840]the basil of course as an annual is attempting
[00:07:15.440]to set seed flower and set seed and leave its life span
[00:07:18.240]out during a single a single year
[00:07:21.010]So, it will become a little bit woody.
[00:07:23.370]The flavors are going to go often become bitter
[00:07:25.720]if you don't keep up with the harvest.
[00:07:28.230]What you can't do when you're finally
[00:07:29.760]sort of finished with the basil plant
[00:07:31.690]is go ahead and let a flower.
[00:07:33.500]Let the pollinators get to it
[00:07:35.260]because they will absolutely love it.
[00:07:37.280]You can actually use those flowers
[00:07:39.190]to infuse a vinegar if you want to
[00:07:40.990]and that really gives you a wonderful additional way
[00:07:43.670]to use the basil that is out of your garden.
[00:07:46.060]So again the key is here or make sure it is warm enough.
[00:07:50.180]Make sure that you are not going to get a frost
[00:07:52.100]if you absolutely have those basil plants in the garden
[00:07:54.640]or you have started them from seed we get a lay frost.
[00:07:57.290]We are going to have to cover
[00:07:58.800]or you going to have to start over again.
[00:08:01.860]Basil is fantastic in any herb garden
[00:08:04.320]and it works just as well in containers on your porch.
[00:08:07.370]They do tend to get a little woody when they mature,
[00:08:09.920]but their blooms are still great for pollinators.
[00:08:13.690]Fresh cut flowers around your home
[00:08:15.370]can bring a lot of color,
[00:08:16.910]not to mention those wonderful aromas.
[00:08:19.810]For this week's landscape lesson,
[00:08:21.250]We'll be taking a look at
[00:08:22.100]how to grow your own Cut Flower Garden.
[00:08:31.260]For this week's Landscape Lesson,
[00:08:32.540]I thought we talk about how to grow a cutting garden.
[00:08:35.470]I absolutely love cut flowers.
[00:08:37.310]I go often and buy them all way along.
[00:08:39.110]I am not great about growing them
[00:08:40.660]in my own home garden because I have
[00:08:42.220]too much shade and too many perennials.
[00:08:44.740]So we are going to talk about cutting gardens
[00:08:47.030]that are primarily constructed or planted with annuals.
[00:08:51.480]You have lots and lots of choices.
[00:08:53.300]It's all personal choice.
[00:08:55.300]What you really wanna look for though is plants
[00:08:57.560]that will give you a good strong sturdy stem
[00:09:00.650]probably a fairly long stem
[00:09:02.230]and of course you can always cut it twice
[00:09:04.010]and it's still too short if it's too long,
[00:09:06.900]multitudes of colors perhaps you like scent
[00:09:09.950]and many of these also attract pollinators.
[00:09:13.060]A lot of our cutting gardens are actually started
[00:09:15.560]from seed direct seeded into the ground
[00:09:18.510]and as we always tell you look at the seed packet,
[00:09:21.640]take a ground rating exactly what that says
[00:09:24.100]so the you know whether you need to start them
[00:09:26.040]in the green house or in your window
[00:09:29.000]or purchase transplants.
[00:09:31.210]To be able to do a cutting garden properly
[00:09:33.580]and really get a lot of material out of it,
[00:09:36.230]a lot of people totally separate that
[00:09:38.280]from the rest of the Landscape.
[00:09:40.260]And that means that is that they wondering about
[00:09:42.020]in all the other beautiful plants that they have,
[00:09:44.810]they are not actually decimating their Landscape
[00:09:47.130]by cutting things that they wanna bring in to the house.
[00:09:50.020]And if that's the decision you make,
[00:09:52.380]then you can think about your cutting garden
[00:09:53.800]essentially as row crops.
[00:09:55.690]Plant a row of zinnias, plant a row of bachelor's buttons,
[00:09:59.020]plant a row of snap dragons,
[00:10:01.220]and cut and cut and come again.
[00:10:03.680]Now one of the things you also needed to think about
[00:10:06.370]is the spacing on those plant.
[00:10:07.880]So if they are too close together,
[00:10:09.930]they are going to out compete one another,
[00:10:11.570]if they are far apart, they may not actually
[00:10:14.440]give you those good strong sturdy stems.
[00:10:17.030]So you may have to play around a little bit
[00:10:18.780]both with the varieties that you choose to grow
[00:10:21.360]as well as exactly how you do the spacing on them.
[00:10:24.530]We wanna look also for cutting garden flowers
[00:10:27.720]that will allow you in many cases
[00:10:29.630]to simply cut back above a leaf node
[00:10:32.460]and then that plant will regenerate
[00:10:34.150]additional flowers from the cut stem.
[00:10:37.280]So a great thing to think about there is
[00:10:40.400]do you want that variety
[00:10:41.790]do you want a later season flower.
[00:10:43.800]We have a lot of new All America selections
[00:10:45.820]that make good cutting flowers
[00:10:48.260]dianthus Jones series which we had in our garden
[00:10:50.920]last year is one of them.
[00:10:52.060]Of course, we have some great zinnias,
[00:10:54.840]bachelors buttons which I already mentioned,
[00:10:56.940]sweet peas are an option for earlier in the season.
[00:11:00.050]Cleome, sunflowers so the choices are really enlist
[00:11:04.340]for a cutting garden, but you have
[00:11:06.040]a great number of options in terms
[00:11:08.040]both of what you choose to use in a cutting garden.
[00:11:10.850]How you would install it and how you think about it
[00:11:13.280]in terms of rest of your Landscape.
[00:11:16.760]Once you get the hang of growing
[00:11:18.020]these flowers for cutting,
[00:11:19.180]you really never run out of beautiful bouquets
[00:11:21.490]for the inside of your home.
[00:11:22.710]And if you have got a million of choices
[00:11:25.080]for flowers, colors and seasons.
[00:11:28.080]For this week's interview, we are going
[00:11:29.400]to be focusing on some new things for 2018.
[00:11:32.690]We took our cameras recently to Campus Nursery here
[00:11:35.140]in Lincoln to talk to manager Randy Wolf.
[00:11:37.930]He tells us how they decide what's trending,
[00:11:40.640]what to put on their shelves
[00:11:41.860]for the upcoming gardening season.
[00:11:50.153]I am really happy to be here at Campus Nursery and
[00:11:52.090]Garden Center with Randy Wolf today.
[00:11:53.910]We are going to be talking about how you actually
[00:11:56.740]get products into a Garden Center.
[00:11:59.880]Randy the gardening season is just
[00:12:01.880]about ready to start, we want to know where exactly
[00:12:05.130]you go to buy the products when you start
[00:12:08.750]and how do you make those decisions.
[00:12:11.310]Well, lot of things that enter into the,
[00:12:12.990]to the equation,
[00:12:15.250]probably one of the first things we look at is what are
[00:12:17.370]our customers asking for.
[00:12:19.680]We try and see what's new out there.
[00:12:21.360]Sometimes that means taking in some shows
[00:12:24.200]in various parts of the United States.
[00:12:27.330]Usually the shows will have an emphasis
[00:12:29.950]on ply material or hard goods,
[00:12:32.780]Christmas or the gift items
[00:12:36.470]and then of course we rely on our sales reps
[00:12:40.310]for help as well so
[00:12:43.110]I would say my forte is plants and so I really look at that
[00:12:49.060]when I am at shows to try and see what's out there
[00:12:52.580]and try and see what is the niche for
[00:12:56.430]and I'm always on the lookout for plants
[00:12:58.750]that are going to overtake some of the old varieties
[00:13:02.650]and become better plans for Landscape,
[00:13:05.520]better satisfaction for the gardener.
[00:13:07.510]Randy in a Garden Center there is a full service
[00:13:09.730]with a gift shop included
[00:13:11.560]you divide and conquer
[00:13:12.870]or is it your responsibility to go all over the country
[00:13:15.670]and all over the world and find all the new cooler stuff.
[00:13:19.140]Well, usually we do divide and conquer,
[00:13:22.770]certain employees have their specialties
[00:13:25.180]and sometimes it's a team efforts,
[00:13:27.600]sometimes it's a single person that's the head
[00:13:31.940]or the lead of the division.
[00:13:35.460]Then you know it's a lot of communication.
[00:13:37.700]You know we try and talk to the buyers,
[00:13:40.590]you know hey we are having people ask for this,
[00:13:42.440]we have an or we've seen this at our competitors
[00:13:45.590]or we've seen this in some of the magazines
[00:13:49.730]and literature that we see.
[00:13:51.750]I, for instance I'm in charge of buying our perennials
[00:13:55.470]and so I deal with a number of sources
[00:13:59.350]for small divisions and in plugs
[00:14:02.370]that we go on to landscape ice plants.
[00:14:05.480]I look for hardiness,
[00:14:06.810]I look for plants that are going to give customer
[00:14:10.450]lot of color for their money.
[00:14:14.360]I look for some things that are new that I think will work
[00:14:17.210]they don't always,
[00:14:18.560]I'm not infallible but with the experience that I've got
[00:14:23.770]over the years I've been able
[00:14:25.060]to pick out some nice plants
[00:14:27.350]and that puts us ahead of the game
[00:14:29.220]usually we've got plants in here may be a year or two
[00:14:31.930]before our competitors do for that reason.
[00:14:36.519]The hard goods people they look at shows
[00:14:40.720]and they often times are driven by
[00:14:43.530]what the customer is asking for
[00:14:45.950]and often times it has to do with ease of a product,
[00:14:52.680]gardeners are getting older
[00:14:54.070]and at least I'm getting older
[00:14:56.650]and some of these things I'm looking for an easier way
[00:14:59.170]to do it and still get good results.
[00:15:02.200]Let's focus a little bit on several of the products
[00:15:04.890]that you really think are entreating this year that
[00:15:07.050]you might want your customers to take a look at.
[00:15:09.560]Sure, yes Kim,
[00:15:12.560]we are focusing a lot on pollinated plants
[00:15:16.800]because of the awareness for pollinators.
[00:15:19.060]We've got seed for a number of different types
[00:15:21.560]of milkweed for instance,
[00:15:24.310]five years ago we didn't have a milkweed seed
[00:15:26.520]on the property and so that's a way we can react
[00:15:29.400]to what our customers need are.
[00:15:32.180]Pesticides, we now offer an inorganic and an organic
[00:15:38.320]answer to almost any problem in the garden.
[00:15:42.570]Often times, the pesticides have gotten easier to use
[00:15:46.100]instead of a concentrate and buying a big sprayer
[00:15:49.430]and having to mix that
[00:15:50.490]and now we are coming up with ready to use products
[00:15:52.920]and even with more recently ready to spray products
[00:15:55.840]where you hook a sprayer to your garden hose
[00:15:57.570]and it sprays out at the right measurement.
[00:15:59.910]People like that as less contact with the pesticides.
[00:16:03.050]It's easier, it freeze up more of their time
[00:16:05.210]and something they can do rather quickly.
[00:16:09.700]Another example would be orchids 20 years ago
[00:16:13.590]there was orchid with kind of mysterious plant
[00:16:16.080]for most gardeners
[00:16:17.760]and if they saw them as expensive
[00:16:19.360]and very hard to grow.
[00:16:21.240]Well, we started the different ways of producing
[00:16:24.010]salinas orchids and things like that,
[00:16:25.920]they can mass produce them now.
[00:16:27.830]People found out that they too can enjoy orchids,
[00:16:31.210]get them to bloom
[00:16:32.740]and consequently a full line of orchid products,
[00:16:35.850]the parts, the parting soils' forum,
[00:16:38.160]there's fertilizer' forum,
[00:16:40.040]so that's the way that we've changed
[00:16:42.220]and to help provide things for our customers.
[00:16:45.290]Randy, thanks for all that great information without
[00:16:47.400]sharing any of your trade secrets with us.
[00:16:49.980]I'm always looking forward to the spring,
[00:16:51.790]when I can come in and I can buy either all the
[00:16:53.620]new good stuff or some of the golden oldies as well.
[00:16:57.400]Well Kim, we certainly hope to see you
[00:17:00.170]in the Garden Center,
[00:17:01.003]it's been my pleasure to being with you today.
[00:17:04.360]Each new growing season brings a lot of opportunity
[00:17:06.980]for you to try new things.
[00:17:08.920]Of course, there is nothing wrong with you'll tried in
[00:17:11.210]true that you used to like to grow or use
[00:17:13.750]but gardening is so much more interesting
[00:17:15.690]when we give you some new plants,
[00:17:17.280]new tools, new chemicals, new organic or inorganic
[00:17:20.210]substance, anything else at the Garden Center
[00:17:23.440]that you can give a try to.
[00:17:25.820]It's time for us to answer a few of your questions,
[00:17:28.190]which you can submit via email to byf@unl.edu
[00:17:33.460]attach those pictures as jpegs please
[00:17:35.610]and in that way we can use them on the show.
[00:17:37.960]Our first questions come from an Omaha viewer.
[00:17:40.610]He has issues with a ginkgo.
[00:17:42.450]Loves the tree, doesn't like what it is now doing,
[00:17:45.670]which is all of a sudden what he thought was male
[00:17:48.350]is producing fruit and the fruit of the ginkgo
[00:17:50.940]is messy and smells really quite awful.
[00:17:54.490]This tree also didn't drop all its leaves
[00:17:57.180]and one of the beautiful things about ginkgo
[00:17:58.960]is typically is those leaves turn to beautiful gold
[00:18:02.380]and then they just rain down all at once
[00:18:04.710]when the temperature is exactly right
[00:18:06.260]and the leaves have sinest for the season.
[00:18:08.690]So what he has got is messy fruit on the ground,
[00:18:10.750]messy leaves in the trees.
[00:18:12.670]He is wondering if this is going to happen
[00:18:14.420]year after year
[00:18:15.880]what he could do to actually stop this from happening.
[00:18:19.140]The unfortunate situation here is ginkgos are
[00:18:22.030]one of those plants species
[00:18:24.270]that a male can decide
[00:18:26.010]a male wants to become a female.
[00:18:28.240]If conditions are right high stress is one of the things
[00:18:31.750]that will cause that,
[00:18:32.730]the other is potentially some of the issues
[00:18:34.910]associated with grafting to begin within the nursery.
[00:18:38.560]In some instances,
[00:18:40.100]perhaps that tree has died to the ground in the
[00:18:42.160]nursery has come back up and it has been the root
[00:18:44.570]stuck rather than the top that has come back.
[00:18:48.470]And then the supplier may not know
[00:18:50.870]whether that is truly still a male.
[00:18:53.110]Once they convert the chances
[00:18:54.580]of converting back or slimming on.
[00:18:57.320]In terms of those leaves not so senescing,
[00:18:59.890]we may see some winter die back
[00:19:01.660]in some of our ginkgo's this year
[00:19:03.080]that would be not unusual
[00:19:05.990]and unfortunately if that does happen then
[00:19:07.950]we are just going to have to hope
[00:19:09.070]that next year is a better year.
[00:19:11.050]The foliage typically should fall off
[00:19:13.460]very early in the season, it has not.
[00:19:15.450]So all we can do is say we've got the same situation
[00:19:18.750]It's going to be an interesting year to watch what's
[00:19:20.770]going on with the ginkgo trees.
[00:19:23.820]A second question comes to us from Central Nebraska.
[00:19:27.840]This is a viewer who has beautiful pines,
[00:19:30.760]ponderosa and Bosnian pines.
[00:19:33.070]He is pretty well convinced that he has dothistroma
[00:19:36.330]which is one of the diseases our pathologist talk about.
[00:19:40.230]He sent some great images
[00:19:41.660]and unfortunately he is right.
[00:19:44.260]He also wants to know or wanted to know
[00:19:46.380]whether he could go ahead and start a spray program
[00:19:49.350]to reduce that disease incidence in the coming spring.
[00:19:53.070]He wanted to start that in that in the nice winter
[00:19:56.490]or in the nice weather in the winter months.
[00:19:59.090]Not gonna work because one of the things
[00:20:01.070]you have to do with anything that you use
[00:20:03.020]for pesticide, insecticide, fungicide, and miticide,
[00:20:07.430]the timing is really essential
[00:20:09.460]and in this case to apply those products right now
[00:20:13.140]is wasting money, wasting time
[00:20:15.180]and not doing any good.
[00:20:16.180]So the spray schedule, we have a good nebguide
[00:20:19.530]associated with that
[00:20:21.040]with the spray schedule that will actually work
[00:20:23.100]to be able to control that applied in those pines.
[00:20:26.580]And of course sanitation is always one
[00:20:28.550]of the very first things that we recommend.
[00:20:30.360]So cross fingers, follow that spray schedule
[00:20:34.630]to the good sanitation and hopefully
[00:20:36.270]he will be able to arrest that disease in his pines.
[00:20:40.410]We have a viewer who sent us a question.
[00:20:42.240]This is also from the Omaha area.
[00:20:44.580]About a maple and she says she has trials up the tree.
[00:20:49.300]They come from ants, lots of different trials
[00:20:51.710]that are from ants in her mind.
[00:20:54.970]We have never actually heard or seen at least
[00:20:57.650]I haven't ants causing a tunnel
[00:21:01.010]in the outer bark of the tree.
[00:21:02.480]And as I look at this image a little closer,
[00:21:05.010]it looks to me like what she really has going on
[00:21:07.400]is she probably has one of the hybrid maples,
[00:21:10.520]often times across between red and silver maple,
[00:21:13.800]it tend to be very fast growing,
[00:21:15.650]the bark is very smooth,
[00:21:17.660]but as those trees age
[00:21:19.860]they get these big furrows in them
[00:21:21.570]that actually do look like paves
[00:21:23.380]of the trunk of the tree.
[00:21:24.930]And the ants themselves, if I were an ant
[00:21:26.820]and I needed to climb a tree,
[00:21:27.970]I would probably go up the trail
[00:21:29.370]instead of trying to figure out how to cut my own trial.
[00:21:32.180]So probably no real issues associated with this.
[00:21:36.540]Again if she has got great big carpenter ants,
[00:21:39.120]which it didn't really look like and we couldn't
[00:21:40.980]see the ants that's a different issue entirely,
[00:21:44.160]but they are going to be cleaning out dead material
[00:21:46.450]not trailing up and down
[00:21:48.270]and going after any of the leaving tissue.
[00:21:52.370]Let's see our final question for this week
[00:21:55.790]also comes to us from the central part of the state,
[00:21:59.600]and this is also a question associated with what
[00:22:02.630]we are going to see for winter injury or winter damage.
[00:22:06.360]With this swings in temperatures, we have people
[00:22:09.460]telling us that they have perennials,
[00:22:11.630]that it began to break dormancy,
[00:22:13.280]so they are showing some new green shoots,
[00:22:16.500]they are hopefully not going to break the bud
[00:22:19.510]for their flower buds if they're very early blooming,
[00:22:22.480]but they are seeing some drying out around the crowns
[00:22:24.760]of the plants and they are wondering what should
[00:22:26.530]they do about that if anything at this point.
[00:22:29.460]Well, here is the deal.
[00:22:30.890]You know, we recommend mulching after the ground
[00:22:33.510]freezes hard in the late fall or early winter
[00:22:37.930]and as you look now and you see around the crowns
[00:22:40.200]of those plants that are either heaved or began
[00:22:42.250]to break dormancy just make sure that you've
[00:22:44.890]decent cover, make sure that it is not too dry under
[00:22:48.570]there so they you are not really causing situation
[00:22:52.060]where the mulch makes it even dryer.
[00:22:54.220]You don't want to smoother the tops of the plants
[00:22:56.270]by covering them with something else
[00:22:58.270]you want to cross your fingers again
[00:22:59.630]and hope that we have sort of a mild or mitigated
[00:23:03.380]weather pattern coming up.
[00:23:05.820]But you really can't delay the flowering
[00:23:07.780]or delay the break of dormancy with the plant that has
[00:23:11.190]actually started to do that out in the landscape.
[00:23:14.670]We are going to end today's program
[00:23:16.910]with the beginning.
[00:23:17.860]Starting seeds indoors that is.
[00:23:20.180]We talked to extension assistant Mary Jane Frogge
[00:23:22.570]about what you need to get started potting mix
[00:23:25.210]and when is the right time to start seeds indoors.
[00:23:28.260]It's easier than you might think
[00:23:29.900]and a great way to get gardening sooner
[00:23:38.650]Starting seeds indoors is a fun project
[00:23:40.990]to get ready for spring.
[00:23:42.600]It's easy to do and you can have more selection
[00:23:46.770]for plant material because you are able to pick seeds
[00:23:50.240]may be of heirloom plants something may be you
[00:23:52.270]wouldn't be able to buy at out Garden Center.
[00:23:54.930]On the back of the seed packet,
[00:23:56.080]it well tell you how long it takes
[00:23:58.230]for those plants to germinate
[00:23:59.730]and if those seeds need to be covered.
[00:24:02.120]Some seeds like coleus need sunlight or light to grow
[00:24:06.610]where others need to be covered over just slightly
[00:24:08.880]with the potting mix.
[00:24:10.530]Everything is on the back of the package.
[00:24:12.250]How many days it takes for them to germinate,
[00:24:14.300]some seeds just need a few days,
[00:24:16.100]others like pepper need three to four weeks.
[00:24:18.860]You gonna want to get some planting cells
[00:24:21.170]to plant to your seeds in.
[00:24:22.370]These are plastic containers that work very well
[00:24:25.010]under grow lights
[00:24:26.050]or you can just use small plastic containers,
[00:24:28.790]but make sure that you have
[00:24:29.800]a drainage hole in the bottom.
[00:24:31.830]The seeds mix is really important that you get
[00:24:34.370]something that's light that has perlite
[00:24:37.310]and vermiculite and peat moss in it.
[00:24:40.960]It's a special growing media just for seeds.
[00:24:43.570]Potting soil and garden soil would be too heavy
[00:24:45.800]to get the seed started in.
[00:24:47.850]Usually start planting seeds at mid March.
[00:24:51.200]Seeds like tomatoes needs six weeks
[00:24:53.430]to germinate and start growing,
[00:24:55.140]where peppers will take a little longer.
[00:24:56.990]So you need to start them a little earlier.
[00:24:59.160]They take up to nine weeks to produce plants.
[00:25:01.960]If you start too early then maybe you have matured
[00:25:04.380]plants that are ready to go outside,
[00:25:06.220]but it's too cold out.
[00:25:07.554]So then you gonna have to transplant them
[00:25:09.630]in to bigger pots to hold them.
[00:25:11.770]If you start too late then you've got plants
[00:25:13.730]that are too small to put out to really do well.
[00:25:16.460]So mid March is really the target time
[00:25:18.700]that you're trying to start your seeds.
[00:25:21.740]You fill this cells with the soil mix
[00:25:24.640]and then you plant your seeds,
[00:25:26.610]once you got your seeds planted
[00:25:28.120]you want to put them under the grow light.
[00:25:30.770]You are using a light, you can purchase a light system
[00:25:35.850]or you can use something simple like a grow light,
[00:25:39.650]a sharp light and that will work just as fine.
[00:25:43.140]Why this is important is that you need that your
[00:25:45.220]light source close to your seeds
[00:25:47.690]when they start to germinate.
[00:25:49.940]A question that I get quite often is why are my seedlings
[00:25:53.560]spindling and not doing well.
[00:25:55.020]It is because the light source is not
[00:25:57.270]close enough to the plants when they are growing.
[00:26:00.330]So you need to be able to raise your lights
[00:26:03.190]as your plants are growing.
[00:26:04.960]You start with this grow light one inch above the seeds
[00:26:08.800]and then you raise it as the plants grow.
[00:26:11.370]It's really important that you have good light.
[00:26:13.210]So you don't get spindling seedlings.
[00:26:16.230]It's really important to keep
[00:26:17.410]your seedlings well watered.
[00:26:19.200]You want to water from the bottom
[00:26:20.760]and make sure that they don't dry out.
[00:26:23.660]Usually you won't have disease problems
[00:26:25.470]if you are using fresh soil media
[00:26:28.770]and clean or nupe containers.
[00:26:32.370]So now you are ready to start seeds indoors.
[00:26:34.560]It's a really fun project.
[00:26:36.450]I hope you get started and if you've got kids
[00:26:39.000]they really like to participate and be part of the process.
[00:26:41.910]So have fun.
[00:26:44.420]We've had a great time with you today sharing
[00:26:46.580]All America Selections,
[00:26:48.370]What's new with the Garden Center
[00:26:49.660]and starting seeds indoors.
[00:26:51.630]It's cold outside, but you can get most of your garden
[00:26:54.240]plants to head start in the coming weeks.
[00:26:57.450]Thank you so much for joining us again
[00:26:59.250]for Lifestyle Gardening.
[00:27:01.050]Next time, we will be looking at water animals
[00:27:02.940]thrive in hot and dry environment in western Nebraska.
[00:27:06.738]We will also check out
[00:27:07.571]an urban rain water saving system
[00:27:10.070]and talk to landscape design expert.
[00:27:12.470]Don't forget to check us out
[00:27:13.670]on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
[00:27:15.810]So good afternoon. Good gardening.
[00:27:18.280]Thanks for watching.
[00:27:19.350]We'll see you all next time on Lifestyle gardening.
[00:27:26.174](light music)

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