Lifestyle Gardening 505

Brad Mills Author

02/07/2018 Added

11 Plays

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Backyard Farmer Presents: Lifestyle Gardening 505

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[00:00:15.381](uplifting music)
[00:00:38.610]Hello and welcome to another episode
[00:00:40.520]of Lifestyle Gardening, I'm Kim Todd,
[00:00:42.830]and on today's program we'll be showing you tips
[00:00:45.010]for starting seeds at home and some of the best
[00:00:47.740]new gardening products for 2018.
[00:00:50.410]We're going to start our show with a test,
[00:00:52.470]a taste test, that is.
[00:00:54.430]Last summer, Nebraska Extension educator John Porter
[00:00:57.160]started an All-American Selection test vegetable garden.
[00:01:00.810]After everything had been harvested,
[00:01:02.610]he gathered up a crowd to taste the results.
[00:01:05.560]After all, growing vegetables isn't all about
[00:01:07.990]what grows well, but what you think tastes good.
[00:01:11.444](uplifting music)
[00:01:17.065]So today, I'm at my office here
[00:01:18.980]at the Douglas County Extension office in Omaha,
[00:01:22.050]and we're doing a variety taste test
[00:01:24.180]for the All-America Selections variety trial
[00:01:26.810]that I told you about earlier in the year
[00:01:28.480]on Backyard Farmer.
[00:01:29.890]So we're testing out all of the new varieties
[00:01:32.970]that All-American Selections wants to test out
[00:01:37.660]to potentially be an award winner
[00:01:40.680]for garden catalogs and seed packets next year.
[00:01:44.530]So if you've ever looked on the back of a seed packet,
[00:01:46.650]or seen in a catalog, a little circle that has AAS in it,
[00:01:50.640]that's an All-America Selections winner,
[00:01:53.110]meaning that it's been tested in gardens around the country
[00:01:55.840]and shown to have some sort of trait
[00:01:57.540]that makes it better than what's on the market.
[00:01:59.910]So, sometimes it could be that it tastes better
[00:02:02.020]than other things on the market, it could grow better,
[00:02:05.100]it could have better disease resistance.
[00:02:07.130]And that's one of the things that I've been looking at
[00:02:09.250]throughout the year on 13 different crops
[00:02:12.240]in our farm, Cooper Farm, here in Omaha.
[00:02:16.180]So, we are looking at these 13 different crops
[00:02:19.210]to test out, to see exactly if they're better
[00:02:23.370]than what's on the market.
[00:02:24.710]So we have four different varieties of hot peppers,
[00:02:27.420]three different varieties of tomatoes,
[00:02:29.990]some eggplant, radishes that we're doing
[00:02:32.780]as a micro-green or a sprout,
[00:02:35.310]and cantaloupe, and bok choy.
[00:02:37.310]These are all different things that we've tested out
[00:02:39.286]throughout the year to see how well they're growing.
[00:02:42.390]So, some of them, it turned out that they did much better
[00:02:45.340]than what was available sent to us from the market,
[00:02:48.100]and some of them didn't do so well.
[00:02:49.840]So, those results will go back
[00:02:52.510]to the All-America Selections organization,
[00:02:54.580]which is a non-profit organization.
[00:02:56.960]And they will compare the scores
[00:02:58.610]from the gardens all around the country,
[00:03:00.520]and see if something is meritorious,
[00:03:03.990]if it will get the All-America Selection award.
[00:03:07.360]And then, you'll see that in your garden catalog,
[00:03:10.210]on your seed packet, or on the tag at the store next year,
[00:03:14.220]you will see the All-America Selection seal
[00:03:16.480]for the stuff that we are testing out this year.
[00:03:20.070]You can also go to the Backyard Farmer garden on campus
[00:03:24.580]and see what we are testing out.
[00:03:26.940]So all the winners will be there next year
[00:03:29.300]for you to see exactly how they grow
[00:03:31.930]and if you wanna add them to your garden.
[00:03:34.490]So, I have master gardeners here today taste testing.
[00:03:36.860]We've prepared some of these crops
[00:03:39.070]in a variety of different ways,
[00:03:40.830]and they're sort of taste testing,
[00:03:42.440]looking to see exactly does it taste better
[00:03:45.010]than the two that are already on the market
[00:03:47.030]that were sent to compare, does it taste the same,
[00:03:50.200]does it taste worse, and that will go into the ratings
[00:03:53.540]for the All-America Selection.
[00:03:58.170]Part of the fun of gardening
[00:03:59.400]is eating the fruits of your labors,
[00:04:01.310]and the whole point of having a test garden
[00:04:03.330]is to figure out what grows best in our environment,
[00:04:06.520]so that we can eat the things we enjoy the most.
[00:04:09.730]We've had a lot of fun with our Go Gardening features
[00:04:12.320]aimed at helping beginning gardeners.
[00:04:14.640]This week, we'll turn our focus
[00:04:15.980]on our favorite Italian herb, basil.
[00:04:18.760]It's fairly easy to grow and so delicious
[00:04:21.540]when added to fresh pasta.
[00:04:24.506](uplifting music)
[00:04:30.160]This week on Go Gardening for beginning gardeners,
[00:04:33.000]I wanna talk a little bit about how to grow basil.
[00:04:35.860]It happens to be one of those wonderful herbs
[00:04:38.270]that is so good fresh, it's good dried,
[00:04:41.410]it's good when you cook with it.
[00:04:43.460]There's really nothing like the scent of basil,
[00:04:46.100]as well as how it can flavor your food.
[00:04:48.370]It's also pretty easy to grow.
[00:04:50.180]You have to simply think about a few things
[00:04:52.140]that are requirements that this plant needs.
[00:04:54.840]You can start it from seed.
[00:04:56.730]The seeds are large, so it is not something
[00:04:58.940]that you're going to lose because it looks like dust.
[00:05:01.740]You wanna start those seeds six to eight weeks
[00:05:04.310]prior to the last frost.
[00:05:06.930]Here's the deal with basil.
[00:05:08.440]It absolutely can not stand cold soils or cold temperatures.
[00:05:13.380]So, if you're going to start those seeds inside
[00:05:15.880]or by transplants, you wanna make sure
[00:05:18.740]that you are not putting those plants out in the garden
[00:05:21.890]until that soil temperature is at least 50,
[00:05:24.800]ideally it is way higher than that, 70 degrees.
[00:05:28.440]So we're not talking about planting this
[00:05:30.230]in the first part of April.
[00:05:32.510]What you wanna do if you see that the basil's directly
[00:05:35.900]in the greenhouse, or in your sunny window,
[00:05:38.630]is make sure that once they emerge,
[00:05:40.750]you look at those first two or three sets of true leaves,
[00:05:45.180]so after the caudle eaten leaves break,
[00:05:47.300]which are the ones that look like Ds,
[00:05:49.550]after two to three leaves emerge,
[00:05:51.240]you wanna pinch that off and get that basil
[00:05:53.760]to start branching.
[00:05:55.490]Again, you're gonna set those out when the weather's right,
[00:05:58.230]you wanna make sure that you water well,
[00:06:01.070]frequently, but not so frequently
[00:06:03.200]that the soil gets all soggy and the roots rot.
[00:06:06.080]Full sun is absolutely the best for basil,
[00:06:08.470]so the more sun you can give it, the happier it will be.
[00:06:12.030]You wanna make sure that when you're
[00:06:13.020]setting the transplants out, or thinning,
[00:06:15.300]if you happen to seed directly into the garden,
[00:06:17.930]you wanna give at least six to eight inches
[00:06:19.990]between those plants.
[00:06:21.670]That's also gonna depend a great deal
[00:06:23.500]on which basil you have selected.
[00:06:25.760]And, again, you can get the large leaf basil, the Genovese,
[00:06:28.800]you can get purple ruffles, or some of the ones
[00:06:31.210]that are actually more ornamental, Siam queen,
[00:06:34.180]some of the basils really grown for their flowers,
[00:06:36.830]you may want to actually give them a little bit
[00:06:38.590]of a different spacing.
[00:06:40.150]A good, well-grown basil plant, however,
[00:06:42.410]of the large leaf or Genovese basil
[00:06:45.070]will be as much as 24 inches across,
[00:06:47.700]so give them enough room.
[00:06:49.660]When you want to harvest, you can start harvesting
[00:06:51.830]really as soon as you see nice leaves
[00:06:54.290]that you want to eat, of course,
[00:06:56.310]and you pinch that right above a leaf axle.
[00:06:59.830]What will happen then is you get another set of leaves,
[00:07:03.250]a double set, really, emerging from
[00:07:05.780]where you've made that pinch in the leaf axle.
[00:07:08.480]You just continue to do that.
[00:07:10.690]Again, as the season progresses,
[00:07:12.830]the basil, of course, as an annual,
[00:07:14.860]is attempting to set seed, flower and set seed,
[00:07:17.240]and live its lifespan out during a single year.
[00:07:20.970]So it will become a little bit woody.
[00:07:23.350]The flavors are going to go off and become bitter
[00:07:25.680]if you don't keep up with the harvest.
[00:07:28.220]What you can do when you're finally sort of finished
[00:07:30.730]with that basil plant is go ahead and let it flower,
[00:07:33.470]let the pollinators get to it,
[00:07:35.260]because they will absolutely love it,
[00:07:37.250]you can actually use those flowers
[00:07:39.180]to infuse vinegar if you want to,
[00:07:40.980]and that really gives you a wonderful additional way
[00:07:43.660]to use the basil that is out of your garden.
[00:07:46.020]So, again, the keys here are,
[00:07:47.870]make sure it is warm enough,
[00:07:50.160]make sure that you are not going to get a frost,
[00:07:52.120]if you absolutely have those basil plants in the garden,
[00:07:54.660]or you've started them from seed and we get a late frost,
[00:07:57.270]you're going to have to cover
[00:07:58.780]or you're going to have to start over again.
[00:08:01.840]Basil is fantastic in any herb garden,
[00:08:04.300]and it works just as well in containers on your porch.
[00:08:07.360]They do tend to get a little woody when they mature,
[00:08:09.890]but their blooms are still great for pollinators.
[00:08:13.650]Fresh cut flowers around your home can bring a lot of color,
[00:08:16.870]not to mention those wonderful aromas.
[00:08:19.760]For this week's Landscape Lesson,
[00:08:21.280]we'll be taking a look at how to grow
[00:08:22.670]your own cut flower garden.
[00:08:31.220]For this week's Landscape Lesson,
[00:08:32.570]I thought we'd talk about how to grow a cutting garden.
[00:08:35.430]I absolutely love cut flowers.
[00:08:37.310]I go off and buy them all winter long.
[00:08:39.380]I'm not great about growing them in my own home garden
[00:08:41.710]because I have too much shade and too many perennials.
[00:08:44.710]So we're going to talk about cutting gardens
[00:08:47.030]that are primarily constructed, or planted, with annuals.
[00:08:51.440]You have lots and lots of choices.
[00:08:53.270]It's all personal choice.
[00:08:55.260]What you really wanna look for, though,
[00:08:56.830]is plants that will give you a good, strong, sturdy stem,
[00:09:00.630]probably a fairly long stem,
[00:09:02.400]and of course you can always cut it twice
[00:09:03.960]and it would still too short, if it's too long,
[00:09:06.870]multitudes of colors, perhaps you like scent,
[00:09:09.670]and many of these also attract pollinators.
[00:09:13.030]A lot of our cutting gardens are actually started from seed,
[00:09:16.350]direct seeded into the ground,
[00:09:18.250]and as we always tell you, look at the seed packet,
[00:09:21.510]take a gander at exactly what that says
[00:09:24.160]so that you know whether you need to start them
[00:09:25.960]in the greenhouse or in your window,
[00:09:28.960]or purchase transplants.
[00:09:31.200]To be able to do a cutting garden properly
[00:09:33.580]and really get a lot of material out of it,
[00:09:36.200]a lot of people totally separate that
[00:09:38.320]from the rest of their landscape,
[00:09:40.050]and that means that as they're wandering about
[00:09:42.050]in all the other beautiful plants that they have,
[00:09:44.770]they're not actually decimating their landscape
[00:09:47.160]by cutting things that they want to bring into the house.
[00:09:49.940]And if that's the decision that you make,
[00:09:52.360]then you can think about your cutting garden
[00:09:53.820]essentially as row crops.
[00:09:55.640]Plant a row of zinnias, plant a row of bachelor's buttons,
[00:09:59.010]plant a row of snapdragons, and cut and cut and come again.
[00:10:03.640]Now, one of the things you also need to think about
[00:10:05.790]is the spacing on those plants.
[00:10:07.950]So if they are too close together,
[00:10:09.930]they're going to out compete one another.
[00:10:11.570]If they're too far apart, they may not actually give you
[00:10:14.810]those good, strong, sturdy stems.
[00:10:17.000]So you may have to play around a little bit,
[00:10:18.800]both with the varieties that you choose to grow,
[00:10:21.390]as well as exactly how you do the spacing on them.
[00:10:24.490]We wanna look, also, for cutting garden flowers
[00:10:27.690]that will allow you, in many cases,
[00:10:29.630]to simply cut back above a leaf node,
[00:10:32.290]and then that plant will regenerate additional flowers
[00:10:35.130]from the cut stem.
[00:10:37.290]So a great thing to think about there
[00:10:39.720]is do you want that variety,
[00:10:41.800]do you want a later season flower,
[00:10:43.770]we have a lot of new All-America Selection
[00:10:45.910]that make good cutting flowers,
[00:10:48.140]Dianthus Jolt series, which we had in our garden last year,
[00:10:51.440]is one of them.
[00:10:52.500]Of course we have some great zinnias,
[00:10:54.930]bachelor's buttons, which I already mentioned,
[00:10:56.970]sweet peas are an option for earlier in the season,
[00:11:00.050]cleome, sunflowers, so the choices aren't really endless
[00:11:04.340]for a cutting garden, but you have a great number of options
[00:11:07.550]in terms both of what you choose to use in a cutting garden,
[00:11:10.810]how you install it, and how you think about it
[00:11:13.320]in terms of the rest of your landscape.
[00:11:16.740]Once you get the hang of growing these flowers for cutting,
[00:11:19.180]you'll really never run out of beautiful bouquets
[00:11:21.490]for the inside of your home.
[00:11:23.010]And you've got a myriad of choices
[00:11:25.070]for flowers, colors, and seasons.
[00:11:28.050]For this week's interview, we're going to be focusing
[00:11:30.130]on some new things for 2018.
[00:11:32.650]We took our cameras recently to Campbell's Nursery
[00:11:34.950]here in Lincoln to talk to manager Randy Wolf.
[00:11:37.880]He tells us how they decide what's trending,
[00:11:40.610]what to put on their shelves
[00:11:41.860]for the upcoming gardening season.
[00:11:44.134](uplifting music)
[00:11:49.820]I'm really happy to be here
[00:11:50.930]at Campbell's Nursery and Garden Centers
[00:11:52.720]with Randy Wolf today.
[00:11:54.460]We're gonna be talking about how you actually get products
[00:11:57.730]into a garden center.
[00:11:59.840]Randy, the gardening season is just about ready to start.
[00:12:03.460]We wanna know where, exactly, you go to buy the products,
[00:12:07.250]when you start, and how do you make those decisions.
[00:12:10.795]Well, a lot of things enter into the equation.
[00:12:14.784]Probably one of the first things we look at
[00:12:16.766]is what are our customers asking for.
[00:12:19.820]We try and see what's new out there.
[00:12:21.390]Sometimes that means taking in some shows
[00:12:23.810]in various parts of the United States.
[00:12:27.370]Usually the shows will have an emphasis
[00:12:29.510]on plant material or hard goods,
[00:12:32.760]Christmas, or the gift items.
[00:12:36.310]And then, of course, we rely on our sales reps
[00:12:40.010]for help, as well.
[00:12:43.090]I would say my forte is plants
[00:12:47.700]and so I really look at that when I'm at shows
[00:12:50.640]to try and see what's out there,
[00:12:52.660]try and see what there's a niche for,
[00:12:56.460]and we're always on the lookout for plants
[00:12:58.740]that are going to overtake some of the old varieties
[00:13:02.670]and become better plants for landscape,
[00:13:05.490]better satisfaction for the gardener.
[00:13:07.480]Randy, in a garden center that is full service,
[00:13:09.730]with a gift shop included, do you divide and conquer,
[00:13:12.860]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, cool stuff?
[00:13:19.130]Well, usually we do divide and conquer.
[00:13:22.700]Certain employees have their specialties,
[00:13:25.130]and sometimes it's a team effort,
[00:13:27.590]sometimes it's a single person
[00:13:29.250]that's the head or the lead on a division.
[00:13:35.280]Then, it's a lot of communication.
[00:13:38.190]We try and talk to the buyers.
[00:13:40.780]Hey, we're having people ask for this,
[00:13:43.770]or we've seen this at our competitors,
[00:13:45.610]or we've seen this in some of the magazines
[00:13:49.740]and literature that we receive.
[00:13:51.700]I, for instance, am in charge of buying our perennials,
[00:13:55.620]so I deal with a number of sources
[00:13:59.330]for small divisions and plugs that we grow on
[00:14:03.160]to landscape size plants.
[00:14:05.470]I look for heartiness.
[00:14:06.800]I look for plants that are going to give a customer
[00:14:10.470]a lot of color for their money.
[00:14:14.310]I look for some things that are new,
[00:14:16.060]that I think will work, they don't always.
[00:14:18.027]I'm not infallible, but with the experience that I've got,
[00:14:23.900]over the years, I've been able to pick out some nice plants
[00:14:27.370]and that puts us ahead of the game.
[00:14:29.210]Usually we've got plants in here maybe a year or two
[00:14:31.960]before our competitors do for that reason.
[00:14:36.300]The hard goods people, they look at shows,
[00:14:40.720]and they oftentimes are driven by
[00:14:43.460]what the customer is asking for.
[00:14:46.200]And oftentimes, it has to do with ease of a product.
[00:14:52.650]Gardeners are getting older, at least I'm getting older,
[00:14:56.570]and some of these things, I'm looking for an easier way
[00:14:59.180]to do it and still get good results.
[00:15:02.220]Let's focus a little bit on several of the products
[00:15:04.900]that you really think are intriguing this year
[00:15:06.900]that you might want your customers to take a look at.
[00:15:09.460]Sure, yeah, Kim, we're focusing a lot on pollinator plants
[00:15:16.800]because of the awareness for pollinators.
[00:15:19.120]We've got seed for a number of different types
[00:15:21.570]of milkweed, for instance.
[00:15:24.300]Five years ago, we didn't have a milkweed seed
[00:15:26.530]on the property, so that's a way we can react
[00:15:29.256]to what our customers needs are.
[00:15:32.150]Pesticides, we now offer an inorganic and an organic answer
[00:15:38.650]to almost any problem in the garden.
[00:15:42.520]Oftentimes, the pesticides have gotten easier to use,
[00:15:46.110]instead of a concentrate and buying a big sprayer
[00:15:49.450]and having to mix that.
[00:15:50.570]Now we're coming up with ready-to-use products
[00:15:52.780]and even, more recently, ready-to-spray products
[00:15:55.860]where you hook a sprayer to your garden hose
[00:15:57.570]and it sprays out at the right measurement.
[00:15:59.890]People like that, there's less contact with the pesticides.
[00:16:03.060]It's easier, it frees up more of their time,
[00:16:05.220]and it's something they can do rather quickly.
[00:16:09.650]Another example would be orchids.
[00:16:12.617]20 years ago, orchids were kind of a mysterious plant
[00:16:16.090]for most gardeners, and they saw them as expensive
[00:16:19.370]and very hard to grow.
[00:16:21.200]Well, with the different ways
[00:16:23.310]of producing phalaenopsis orchids and things like that,
[00:16:25.920]they can mass produce them now.
[00:16:27.800]People found out that they, too, can enjoy orchids,
[00:16:31.180]get 'em to bloom, and consequently,
[00:16:34.000]a full line of orchid products,
[00:16:35.808]the pots, the potting soils for 'em,
[00:16:38.150]the fertilizers for 'em.
[00:16:40.070]So that's a way that we've changed
[00:16:42.128]to help provide things for our customers.
[00:16:45.290]Randy, thanks for all that great information
[00:16:47.070]without sharing any of your trade secrets with us.
[00:16:49.970]I'm always looking forward to the spring when I can come in
[00:16:52.560]and I can buy either all the new good stuff
[00:16:54.990]or some of the golden oldies as well.
[00:16:57.410]Well, Kim, we certainly hope to see you
[00:17:00.190]in the garden center.
[00:17:01.023]It's been my pleasure to have been with you today.
[00:17:04.320]Each new growing season brings a lot of opportunity
[00:17:07.020]for you to try new things.
[00:17:08.900]Of course, there's nothing wrong with the old tried-and-true
[00:17:11.539]that you used to like to grow or use,
[00:17:13.720]but gardening is so much more interesting
[00:17:15.660]when we give you some new plants, new tools,
[00:17:18.410]new chemicals, new organic or inorganic substances,
[00:17:21.950]anything else at the garden center
[00:17:23.450]that you can give a try to.
[00:17:25.780]It's time for us to answer a few of your questions,
[00:17:28.170]which you can submit via email to byf@unl.edu.
[00:17:33.400]Attach those pictures as JPEGs please,
[00:17:35.650]and that way we can use them on the show.
[00:17:37.910]Our first question comes from an Omaha viewer,
[00:17:40.360]he has issues with a ginkgo, loves the tree,
[00:17:43.800]doesn't like what it is now doing,
[00:17:45.700]which is, all of a sudden, what he thought was male
[00:17:48.350]is producing fruit, and the fruit of the ginkgo
[00:17:50.930]is messy and smells really quite awful.
[00:17:54.470]This tree also didn't drop all its leaves,
[00:17:57.170]and one of the beautiful thing about ginkgos typically
[00:18:00.250]is those leaves turn a beautiful gold
[00:18:02.360]and then they just rain down all at once
[00:18:04.700]when the temperature is exactly right
[00:18:06.280]and the leaves have sinesced for the season.
[00:18:08.670]So what he's got is messy fruit on the ground,
[00:18:10.780]messy leaves in the trees, he's wondering
[00:18:13.250]if this is going to happen year after year,
[00:18:15.830]what he could do to actually stop this from happening.
[00:18:19.130]The unfortunate situation here is
[00:18:21.130]ginkgos are one of those plant species
[00:18:24.250]that a male can decide, a male wants to become a female,
[00:18:28.170]if conditions are right, high stress
[00:18:30.910]is one of the things that will cause that,
[00:18:32.740]the other is potentially some of the issues
[00:18:34.920]associated with grafting to begin with in the nursery.
[00:18:38.520]In some instances, perhaps that tree has died
[00:18:41.460]to the ground in the nursery, has come back up,
[00:18:43.780]and it has been the root stock rather than the top
[00:18:46.539]that has come back, and then the supplier may not know
[00:18:50.880]whether that is truly still a male.
[00:18:53.090]Once they convert, the chances of converting back
[00:18:55.490]are slim and none.
[00:18:57.290]In terms of those leaves not sinescing,
[00:18:59.860]we may seem some winter die-back
[00:19:01.660]in some of our ginkgos this year.
[00:19:03.090]That would be not unusual, and unfortunately,
[00:19:06.880]if that does happen, then we're just going to have to hope
[00:19:09.070]that next year is a better year.
[00:19:11.010]The foliage typically should fall off
[00:19:13.420]very early in the season, it has not,
[00:19:15.480]so all we can do is say we've got the same situation,
[00:19:18.760]it's going to be an interesting year to watch
[00:19:20.540]what's going on with the ginkgo trees.
[00:19:23.750]Our second question comes to us from central Nebraska.
[00:19:27.810]This is a viewer who has beautiful pines,
[00:19:30.730]ponderosa and Bosnian pines,
[00:19:32.990]he is pretty well convinced that he has dothistroma,
[00:19:36.310]which is one of the diseases our pathologists talk about.
[00:19:40.020]He sent some great images, and unfortunately, he is right.
[00:19:44.060]He also wanted to know whether he could go ahead
[00:19:47.320]and start a spray program to reduce that disease incidence
[00:19:52.050]in the coming spring.
[00:19:53.090]He wanted to start that in the nice weather
[00:19:57.580]in the winter months.
[00:19:59.060]Not gonna work because one of the things you have to do
[00:20:01.650]with anything that you use for pesticide, insecticide,
[00:20:05.470]fungicide, miticide, the timing is really essential,
[00:20:09.430]and in this case, to apply those products right now
[00:20:13.090]is wasting money, wasting time, and not doing any good.
[00:20:16.210]So the spray schedule, we have a good neb guide
[00:20:19.570]associated with that, with the spray schedule
[00:20:22.010]that will actually work to be able to control
[00:20:24.970]that blight in those pines.
[00:20:26.570]And, of course, sanitation is always one
[00:20:28.560]of the very first things that we recommend.
[00:20:30.390]So, cross fingers, follow that spray schedule,
[00:20:34.600]do the good sanitation, and hopefully, he'll be able
[00:20:36.750]to arrest that disease in his pines.
[00:20:39.939]We have a viewer who sent us a question,
[00:20:42.270]this is also from the Omaha area, about a maple,
[00:20:45.680]and she says she has trails up the tree that come from ants,
[00:20:50.430]lots of different trails that are from ants in her mind.
[00:20:54.940]We've never actually heard of or seen,
[00:20:57.240]or at least I haven't, ants causing a tunnel
[00:21:01.010]in the outer bark of a tree.
[00:21:02.470]And as I look at this image a little closer,
[00:21:04.950]it looks to me like what she really has going on
[00:21:07.430]is she probably has one of the hybrid maples,
[00:21:10.240]oftentimes a cross between red and silver maple.
[00:21:13.740]They tend to be very fast-growing,
[00:21:15.670]the bark is very smooth, but as those trees age,
[00:21:19.840]they get these big furrows in them
[00:21:21.560]that actually do look like paths up the trunk of the tree.
[00:21:24.910]And the ants themselves, if I were an ant,
[00:21:26.840]and I needed to climb a tree,
[00:21:28.000]I'd probably wanna go up the trail
[00:21:29.360]instead of trying to figure out how to cut my own trail.
[00:21:32.150]So probably no real issues associated with this.
[00:21:36.150]Again, if she's got great big carpenter ants,
[00:21:39.100]which it didn't really look like, we couldn't see the ants,
[00:21:42.540]that's a different issue entirely,
[00:21:44.250]but they're going to be cleaning out dead material,
[00:21:46.810]not trailing up and down and going after
[00:21:49.020]any of the living tissue.
[00:21:52.330]Let's see, our final question for this week
[00:21:55.770]also comes to us from the central part of the state,
[00:21:59.570]and this is also a question associated
[00:22:02.250]with what we're gonna see for winter injury
[00:22:04.040]or winter damage.
[00:22:06.540]With the swings in temperatures,
[00:22:08.319]we have people telling us that they have perennials
[00:22:11.610]that have begun to break dormancy,
[00:22:13.310]so they're showing some new green shoots.
[00:22:16.490]They're hopefully not going to break their bud
[00:22:19.540]for their flower buds if they're very early blooming,
[00:22:22.460]but they're seeing some drying out
[00:22:23.880]around the crowns of the plants,
[00:22:25.420]and they're wondering what should they do about that,
[00:22:27.460]if anything, at this point.
[00:22:29.440]Well, here's the deal, we recommend mulching
[00:22:32.720]after the ground freezes hard in the late fall
[00:22:36.380]or early winter, and as you look now,
[00:22:38.790]and you see around the crowns of those plants
[00:22:40.980]that have either heaved or begun to break dormancy,
[00:22:43.770]just make sure that you have decent cover,
[00:22:46.530]make sure that it is not too dry under there,
[00:22:49.560]so that you're not really causing a situation
[00:22:52.060]where the mulch makes it even drier.
[00:22:54.190]You don't wanna smother the tops of the plants
[00:22:56.280]by covering them with something else.
[00:22:58.250]You wanna cross your fingers again
[00:22:59.660]and hope that we have sort of a mild
[00:23:01.920]or a mitigated weather pattern coming up,
[00:23:05.800]but you really can't delay the flowering,
[00:23:07.800]or delay the break of dormancy
[00:23:10.030]with a plant that is actually started to do that
[00:23:12.610]out in the landscape.
[00:23:15.100]We're going to end today's program with a beginning,
[00:23:17.830]starting seeds indoors that is.
[00:23:20.140]We talked to Extension assistant Mary Jane Frogge
[00:23:22.620]about what you need to get started, potting mix,
[00:23:25.240]and when is the right time to start seeds indoors.
[00:23:28.220]It's easier than you might think,
[00:23:29.840]and a great way to get gardening sooner.
[00:23:32.571](uplifting music)
[00:23:38.650]Starting seeds indoors is a fun project
[00:23:40.990]to get ready for spring.
[00:23:42.560]It's easy to do and you can have more selection
[00:23:46.700]for plant material because you're able to pick seeds,
[00:23:50.200]maybe of heirloom plants, something maybe you wouldn't
[00:23:52.490]be able to buy at a garden center.
[00:23:54.890]On the back of the seed packet,
[00:23:56.100]it will tell you how long it takes
[00:23:58.220]for those plants to germinate,
[00:23:59.690]and if those seeds need to be covered.
[00:24:02.090]Some seeds, like coleus, need sunlight or light to grow,
[00:24:06.590]where others need to be covered over just slightly
[00:24:08.910]with the potting mix.
[00:24:10.410]Everything's on the back of the package,
[00:24:12.200]how many days it takes for them to germinate,
[00:24:14.280]some seeds just need a few days,
[00:24:16.130]others, like peppers, need three to four weeks.
[00:24:18.820]You're gonna wanna get some planting cells
[00:24:21.180]to plant your seeds in.
[00:24:22.370]These are plastic containers that work real well
[00:24:25.010]under grow lights, or you can just use
[00:24:27.360]small plastic containers, but make sure
[00:24:29.460]that you have a drainage hole in the bottom.
[00:24:31.810]The seed mix is real important
[00:24:33.850]that you get something that's light,
[00:24:35.750]that has perlite and vermiculite and peat moss in it.
[00:24:40.900]It's a special growing media just for seeds.
[00:24:43.560]Potting soil and garden soil would be too heavy
[00:24:45.820]to get the seeds started in.
[00:24:47.810]You usually start planting seeds in mid-March.
[00:24:51.160]Seeds like tomatoes need six weeks
[00:24:53.410]to germinate and start growing,
[00:24:55.130]where peppers will take a little longer,
[00:24:57.000]so you need to start them a little earlier.
[00:24:59.130]They can take up to nine weeks to produce plants.
[00:25:01.920]If you start too early, then maybe you have mature plants
[00:25:04.860]that are ready to go outside,
[00:25:06.230]but it's still too cold out.
[00:25:07.880]So then you're gonna have to transplant them
[00:25:09.630]into bigger pots to hold them.
[00:25:11.710]If you start too late, then you've got plants
[00:25:13.740]that are too small to put out to really do well.
[00:25:16.430]So, mid-March is really the target time
[00:25:18.700]that you're trying to start your seeds.
[00:25:21.700]You fill the cells with the soil mix,
[00:25:24.600]and then you plant your seeds.
[00:25:26.600]Once you've got your seeds planted,
[00:25:28.130]you want to put them under the grow light.
[00:25:30.740]You are using a light, you can purchase the light system,
[00:25:35.800]or you can use something simple,
[00:25:37.950]like a grow light, a shop light,
[00:25:40.950]and that will work just as fine.
[00:25:43.120]What is important is that you need your light source
[00:25:46.000]close to your seeds when they start to germinate.
[00:25:49.561]A question that I get quite often
[00:25:51.740]is why are my seedlings spindly and not doing well?
[00:25:55.200]It's because the light source is not close enough
[00:25:58.000]to the plants when they're growing.
[00:26:00.290]So you need to be able to raise your lights
[00:26:03.160]as your plants are growing.
[00:26:04.940]You start with the grow light one inch above the seeds,
[00:26:08.730]and then you raise it as the plants grow.
[00:26:11.320]It's real important that you have good lights
[00:26:13.270]so you don't get spindly seedlings.
[00:26:16.190]It's really important to keep your seedlings well watered.
[00:26:19.140]You wanna water from the bottom
[00:26:20.680]and make sure that they don't dry out.
[00:26:23.560]Usually, you won't have disease problems
[00:26:25.500]if you're using fresh soil media
[00:26:28.710]and clean, or new, containers.
[00:26:32.350]So now you're ready to start seeds indoors.
[00:26:34.550]It's a really fun project.
[00:26:36.410]I hope you'll get started, and if you've got kids,
[00:26:39.020]they really like to participate and be part of the process.
[00:26:41.910]So have fun.
[00:26:44.410]We've had a great time with you today
[00:26:46.070]sharing All-America Selections,
[00:26:48.340]what's new at the garden center, and starting seeds indoors.
[00:26:51.600]It's cold outside, but you can get most
[00:26:53.770]of your garden plants a head start in the coming weeks.
[00:26:57.420]Thank you so much for joining us again
[00:26:59.270]for Lifestyle Gardening.
[00:27:01.010]Next time, we'll be looking at what ornamentals thrive
[00:27:03.370]in the hot and dry environment in western Nebraska.
[00:27:06.570]We'll also check out an urban rainwater saving system
[00:27:10.020]and talk to a landscape design expert.
[00:27:12.440]Don't forget to check us out
[00:27:13.690]on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
[00:27:15.810]So good afternoon, good gardening, thanks for watching,
[00:27:19.330]we'll see you all next time on Lifestyle Gardening.
[00:27:22.802](uplifting music)

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