May 20, 2025 • 33 mins
Welcome to the 250th episode of the Just Grow Something podcast! 🎉
Whether you've been listening since the beginning or just found the show, thank you for being part of this growing community. In this special milestone episode, we're digging into listener-submitted questions on a variety of timely gardening topics.
In this episode:
When seedlings are ready to transplant (what to look for beyond just "true leaves")
How to properly plant using the Three Sisters method and why timing is key
What to do with sprouted or soft seed potatoes and how to plant them successfully
How to manage Colorado potato beetles while supporting beneficial insects like ladybugs
When and how to use insect netting effectively in your garden (and how to keep it from blowing away!)
Winter sowing tips for celeriac and strategies when you can’t start seeds indoors
Organic pest control tips for pill bugs, armyworms, grubs, and more
The role of beneficial nematodes in controlling Japanese beetles and other soil pests
These are all real questions from you, my gardening friends, submitted via email, social media, and our Facebook community. If one person is wondering, chances are others are too! Let's dig in!
References and Resources:
Save 20% on your new David Austin rose plant atHeirloomRoses.com with code JUSTGROW https://heirloomroses.com
How to Prepare Seedlings for Transplant into the Garden - Ep. 243: https://justgrowsomethingpodcast.com/episode/how-to-prepare-seedlings-for-transplant-into-the-garden-ep-243
Ep. 131 - The Basics of Winter Sowing: Seed Starting Outdoors: https://justgrowsomethingpodcast.com/episode/ep-131-the-basics-of-winter-sowing-seed-starting-outdoors
My favorite insect netting: https://amzn.to/3Fems6k
And the fabric staples: https://amzn.to/45jjzLT
Arbico Organics Neemaseek: https://www.arbico-organics.com/product/nemaseek-beneficial-nematodes-hb-heterorhabditis-bacteriophora/beneficial-nematodes
Milky Spore: https://www.arbico-organics.com/product/milky-spore-granular-bacillus-popillae/organic-lawn-care
Pyganic: https://amzn.to/4dsx9in
Spinosad: https://amzn.to/4mpkdhc
Just Grow Something: https://justgrowsomething.com
Just Grow Something Merch andDownloads: https://justgrowsomething.com/shop
Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/share/g/18YgHveF5P/
Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JustGrowSomething
Bonus content for supporters of the Podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/justgrowsomething
Amazon storefront: https://www.amazon.com/shop/justgrowsomething
Just Grow Something is a participant in the AmazonServices LLC Associates Program. Anytime you click on one of those links and proceed to make a purchase, we may receive a small percentage of the purchase price in the form of a commission directly from Amazon.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome back, my gardening friends, to episode 250 of the
Just Grow Something podcast. Well, though this podcast
started back in February of 2021and here we are 4 1/2 years
later, still rocking and rolling.
I am very appreciative of you being here.
And so for today's episode, I thought we would answer some of
(00:23):
the questions that I have gottenfrom you here recently.
I always figure if one person asks, there's likely the others
who have the same question. So today we're talking when
plants are the appropriate size for transplant.
Some clarification on the Three Sisters method, potatoes, celery
(00:43):
act, insect netting and more. All questions asked by you
through DM, e-mail, the Facebookgroup, and in person.
Let's dig in. Hey, I'm Karen and what started
as a small backyard garden 20 years ago turned into a lifelong
passion for growing food. Now as a market farmer and
horticulturist, I want to help you do the same.
(01:04):
On this podcast I am your friendin the garden, teaching evidence
based techniques to help you grow your favourites and build
confidence in your own garden space.
So grab your garden journal and a cup of coffee and get ready to
just grow something. So new designs, I guess this is
a great time to to say this because yay for 250 episodes,
(01:27):
but I've got some new designs live in the merch shop.
I may add a few more items or have a few more items to add
with those designs over the nextfew weeks.
So bear with me. If you see a design that you
like and you want to see it on something specific, just reach
out and let me know and I will put it together if I can.
(01:49):
All of the merch that Ioffer is printed on demand, so we're not
just buying a bunch of clothing and water bottles and stuff and
then having them end up in the landfill if they don't sell,
which is a much more sustainableway I think to do this.
Some of the older designs will be retired in the very near
future. So get in there soon if you have
(02:09):
been eyeing something but maybe haven't made the leap yet.
So let's dive right into your questions that you've been
asking me over the past probably6 or 8 weeks or so as we're
transitioning into this gardening season.
You guys have had a lot of questions.
So Katie Jones said, I listen topodcasters that say when the
(02:34):
plant is big enough to transplant.
What exactly does that mean? Two true leaves, Six true
leaves, a certain height. Thanks.
And I love the podcast. I'm so glad that you're
listening. Katie, thank you so much.
I love this question. The answer is it depends.
So the first thing to consider is, are you transplanting up
(02:57):
into larger containers? Generally speaking, you don't
want to pot up anything that doesn't already have at least
their first set of true leaves. After that, when to pot them up
is based on the plant and the container that it's in.
So we don't want plants getting root bound and we don't want
(03:18):
them struggling to get nutrientsfrom a soil volume that is not
sufficient. So I always say to check the
root system of the plant and then potted up into something
bigger when the root ball is full but not wrapping around
itself yet, if that makes sense.We don't want it root bound
(03:38):
before we transplanted or beforewe pot them up.
The next consideration is when we're transplanting out into the
garden. And so this doesn't matter
whether it's in container or planter or an in ground bed.
There are a couple of things to consider.
The first thing is, think about would this little plant be able
to stand up to the wind and the rain and the other elements if I
(04:03):
were to put it outside right now?
The second thing is to figure out whether it's been properly
hardened off. So if you're hardening off your
plants and you've gone through the process that I detailed in
that last episode that we did about this, I will link to that
in the show notes. Then the plant is going to tell
(04:24):
you if it's not ready because it's going to short start to
show signs of stress. So in general, I look for a
plant to have several true sets of leaves or several sets of
true leaves before I put them outside.
I want to make sure they have a nice strong stem and I really
(04:44):
just want them to be like a minimum of three inches tall
before I put them outside. And this assumes that they all
look really healthy and that they have all been properly
hardened off. It really is a bit subjective.
And each plant has its own requirements.
So, you know, what I think a tomato plant should look like
(05:06):
when it's ready and the size it should be and the number of true
leaves it should have is going to differ dramatically than what
I think a zucchini plant should look like before you're
transplanting outside and how many leaves it should have, You
know, So it really depends on that gets the requirements for
(05:28):
that particular plant. For me, I really want a tomato
plant to have a nice thick stock.
I want it to be, you know, probably a good 4 to 6 inches
tall. I would like for it to have it.
Usually I've got three to four sets of true leaves on those
tomato plants before I'm transplanting them versus a
zucchini, which you really don'twant to keep in their containers
(05:50):
for too long after they sprout because they don't love having
those roots disturbed. And it's going to tend to set
them back a little bit. So my zucchini plants might be,
you know, also 3 to 4 inches tall, but they're probably only
going to have like one set of true leaves when I'm
transplanting them. And I'm doing that.
(06:12):
I'm starting those in containersthat have the largest volume of
soil possible so that there is no potting up that needs to
happen and there will be very little disturbance of those
roots when I transplant them. I want them to have that larger
soil volume versus the tomatoes which might be potted up, you
know, sometimes 2 times before Iget them out into the garden.
(06:33):
So it is a bit subjective. Each plant has its own
requirements, but those would bemy general guidelines.
Look to see if it's going to be able to stand up to the wind and
the rain and whatever else. If you put them out in the
ground, make sure that it's beenproperly hardened off first.
Make sure it has a nice strong stem and several sets of true
leaves. So Cassandra Wolf asked for the
(06:59):
three sisters method. Do you plant the corn, beans,
and squash all at the same time?I want to try it out but I'm not
sure how to do it. I found your podcast and love
it. Thank you, Cassandra.
I'm so glad that you're listening for the Three Sisters
method. Ideally, you are planting the
(07:19):
corn 1st and you are letting it come up and you want it at least
12 inches tall before you plant anything else.
And let's be clear, in general, we're usually talking about dent
corn because dent corn or popcorn dries and stays on the
stock much later into the season.
(07:42):
And so you're not going to be traipsing over things to get to
harvest those corn before the very end of the season.
So you're not worried about stepping on the plants that you
might be inter planting. You can do this with sweet corn
and just leave the stalks up after you harvest the sweet
corn. But just know that you're going
(08:04):
to have to step carefully in andaround your squash plants to get
to the sweet corn. So keep that in mind.
We want the corn to be about 12 inches tall and then we want to
plant the bean seeds at the baseof those stalks.
So the beans are going to use the stalks of the corn while the
(08:24):
corn is growing as a trellis andthey're going to climb up.
So we're talking about pole beans here.
We're not talking about Bush green beans.
These are pole beans. So you've got your corn.
Corn comes up 12 inches. You plant your bean seeds.
As the corn continues to grow up, now the beans are growing up
with it and it's wrapping aroundthe stalks.
(08:45):
And so you can go in and you canharvest the beans off of there.
And then once the soil is warm enough, then we interplant those
vining squash and just let them take off.
And ideally, those vining squashes are going to act as a
ground cover in and around the corn and amongst the, you know,
(09:06):
the base of the beans to kind ofhelp keep the soil shaded #1
it's keeping it a little bit cooler #2 it's shading out or
choking out any weeds that mightbe trying to compete with what
it is that we're growing in the beans and the corn.
And so the corn is acting as a support for the bean.
The bean is fixing nitrogen intothe soil, which is helping the
(09:27):
corn. And then of course, we have the
benefits of the squash vining inamongst it.
And if you're using a vining squash that is particularly sort
of thorny, you know how squashescan get the spikes on them
sometimes that can help keep theraccoons out of your corn and
keep them from climbing the cornto get to the to the corn.
So, you know, there's a little bonus offshoot there as well,
(09:52):
Heather Ghosh said, Or maybe it's Gesh.
I know in my brain I've always pronounced this Ghosh, but maybe
it's Gesh. Heather, reach out and tell me.
I'm not sure. No, she said.
Good morning. I see in your latest e-mail
newsletter that the new podcast episode covers seed starting
indoor versus outdoor. I had hoped to try sowing some
(10:12):
celeryac seeds into a milk jug for winter growing outside here
in southeast Wisconsin, but wonder if it's better to wait
and sow directly into the gardenonce more warmth is on offer
from Mother Nature. What would you advise?
I have no means or sunny spots to start seeds indoors.
(10:33):
Thanks. And I love this question because
a lot of people don't have, you know, a way to start seeds
indoors or just don't want to mess with it, honestly.
And so winter sowing is a reallygood way to get things started
at their own pace while still being protected.
(10:54):
So I did an episode on winter sowing.
I will link to that in the show notes.
And essentially you are taking either milk jugs or plastic
containers of some sort and you are poking holes in the bottom
for drainage. And then you're creating a sort
of lid essentially of on this container to where it can act
(11:14):
like a little mini greenhouse. You're putting at least 4 inches
of soil in there and you're planting your seeds.
You're closing it up, leaving the top open so that you can get
some some rain and some moisturein there.
And then you're setting it outside, and then you're just
letting it do its thing. And the idea is that when that
soil temperature inside that jugis conducive to those plants
(11:39):
sprouting, they will sprout at the time when it's appropriate
for them to do that. And then you can just transplant
that whole mess of seeds or now seedlings out into your garden.
So what I had told Heather with the Celery Act was that I would
try both. I would plant half of the seeds
(11:59):
in the winter sowing jugs, and then I would hold back the other
half just in case the jugs didn't work out.
I mean, I like this technique anytime you're trying something
new, you know, and especially like winter sowing when you're
figuring out how to how to use it.
I love winter sowing because theseeds sprout when the conditions
(12:19):
are ideal, but celery act just like celery can take like 3
weeks to germinate even under perfect conditions and so I
would be worried about the soil temperatures really fluctuating
widely in those jugs. So at least if I held seeds back
I would have a backup and I could direct sew those out into
the garden after the last frost.I had heard of David Austin but
(12:43):
never really paid attention to who he was or what was so
special about a David Austin rose.
Turns out he was a British rose breeder and writer who set out
to combine the charm of old garden roses with the repeat
blooming of modern varieties. He released his very first rose
variety, Constance Spry, back in1961.
(13:03):
Today, his English roses are world renowned for their full
cupped blooms, soft fragrance and ability to thrive in a
modern garden. Which is why it should be no
surprise that heirloomroses.com offers a curated collection of
40 different David Austin varieties, grown on their own
roots and ready to bring elegance and exceptional
(13:25):
performance to your garden, whether you're drawn to Lady of
Charlotte, Princess Alexandra ofKent or Charles Darwin.
Yes, these are all David Austin rose varieties.
You can save 20% on your choice at heirloomroses.com.
Use code Just Grow at checkout and you will be on your way to
enjoying your own beautiful David Austin rose
(13:47):
heirloomroses.com with code Justgrow at checkout.
The link is in the show notes. Next up is Jill Stephenson.
She said I got the insect netting that you recommended.
Do you put it down as soon as you plant?
How do you secure it so it doesn't fly away?
I got some hoops. I just don't know how I'm going
to keep it from blowing. Should I direct seed or start
(14:10):
plugs or does it matter? My first round of transplants
are looking good, but they are exposed and it's only a matter
of time. And Jill is referring here to
squash plants. And so she is in the same area I
am in, West Central Missouri. And she's also a market farmer.
And she was concerned about squash bugs and vine bores and
(14:31):
all that kinds of fun stuff. And so she is using one of my
techniques, which I recommend, and that is using insect netting
to cover the zucchini plants before they start to flower to
help at least delay the onset ofthe squash bugs.
And so I told her I use landscape fabric staples to hold
them in the soil. You can also use sandbags or you
(14:53):
can just bury the edges in the soil, but that's kind of a pain
when you actually have to get into it because then you have to
re bury it. So I just use those landscape
fabric staples. They are.
They're the easiest thing to remove and put back again.
I put the insect netting on immediately after planting.
I am not taking any chances and I do both direct seating and
(15:17):
transplants. So with squashes I usually start
with a round of transplants early on and they immediately
get covered with the insect netting.
And then about a week or so later I will direct sew another
bed so that it's a few weeks behind the 1st and I also cover
those. I mean, I'll cover the bed
(15:39):
immediately after sowing the seeds, right, just to make sure
I don't miss them sprouting and,and miss, you know, an
opportunity to protect them. So that way I have one
succession already going with minimal work involved.
I don't have time to be startinga whole bunch of seeds indoors
and keeping track of them in order to transplant.
(15:59):
And transplanting takes forever.And when we're in the middle of
harvest, I don't want to also bedoing a ton of transplanting,
which of course we're already doing right now.
But so I just do the the the next section as, as seeds
directly sown in the ground. Now my strategy this year, and I
think I've talked about this already, but I'm really going
(16:20):
like full tilt on trying to protect these plants this year.
So I have blue Hubbard squash already planted on the opposite
side of the garden from where I am planting the rest of all of
my summer squashes and my zucchinis and that sort of
thing. And they're out there.
They are exposed. I have marigolds in there.
(16:41):
And what do we say about marigolds?
They attract squash bugs. So the blue Hubbard squash are
uncovered. There are marigolds interplanted
around them. And I'm going to be putting
squash vine bore pheromone trapsin that bed as well.
And then I have the next bed over will be sunflowers.
(17:04):
And the idea is hopefully the squash bugs will be attracted to
the blue Hubbard squash because they are unprotected and they
also tend to be a preferential sort of trap crop in terms of
squash bugs. They tend to like the blue
Hubbard squash over any other squash for whatever reason.
(17:25):
Those and red Curry squash, if you've ever seen those at the
same time. Now I'm getting ready to start
transplanting my zucchinis and they are going to immediately be
covered. They're going to be interplanted
with nasturtium. And so that will hopefully, you
know, mess up that chemical signal and confuse the insects
(17:45):
that are trying to come after the squashes.
So I'm going to keep those plants completely covered until
they start to flower. And so hopefully the bugs will
be attracted to the blue Hubbardsquash.
The vine borers will also be more heavily attracted over
there in addition to, you know, just seeing the squash.
But also we've got the pheromonetraps over there and then the
(18:08):
the sunflowers will hopefully attract the birds who will also
come in and predate on those insects that are over there.
And so by the time I need to uncover the other ones that I
actually want as my cash crop, then hopefully they will be left
alone at least for an extended period of time so I can start to
get a harvest off of them. And then I'm just going to see
(18:30):
how things are going. If I start to see immediate
infestations, then obviously I'mgoing to go ahead and continue
with my usual succession plantings.
But when we can do squashes really well here, they do
phenomenally well. And you know they'll go all
season long and I will just havetons and tons of zucchini.
But that hasn't happened here inprobably 10 years.
(18:53):
I mean, it's probably been at least 10 years since I had those
giant squash and zucchini plantsout there that were three foot
tall and just as wide. And I didn't have to worry about
all these squash bugs and stuff.So that's my that's my plan this
year. Fingers crossed.
I will absolutely update you as it goes because if I can crack
the code on this, believe me, I'm going to share, OK?
(19:16):
Shelley Roscoe says, Hey, Karen,I have a question.
I bought some seed potatoes lastfall but didn't get them in the
ground. So I stored them in a dark
closet in the box. When I pulled them out, they
looked like this. And the potatoes are a little
soft but not mushy. Can I still plant these?
And should that growth go above ground or below?
(19:38):
And so she sent an image of somevery sprouted potatoes.
And of course, this was back in March.
But this is good info for futureuse for everybody.
So you can totally plant those. If your potatoes, your seed
potatoes sprout, you absolutely can put those in the ground.
The growth can be buried face upright?
(19:59):
So get them down as deep as you normally would plant your
potatoes. Cover them up with a good 4 to 6
inches of soil. It's OK if those sprouts break
off when you handle them becausethey will sprout again so long
as they still have those eyes onthem.
They're going to continue to sprout as long as those potatoes
aren't like mushy. Once they're mushy there is no
(20:20):
energy left in them anymore and so they're don't have any energy
to draw off of in order to push those sprouts up while with
their waiting to root. So, but if they're just soft and
wrinkly, but they're still, you know, they're still decent
potatoes, you know, in terms of firmness, then by all means go
ahead and plant them. And in fact, I did that this
(20:41):
year. I had some that I had saved from
last season that I was planting and a few of them had sprouted
already. And you know, some of them were
were a little bit long and they are growing out there
beautifully right now with absolutely no problem.
So sticking with the potato theme, this one comes from
Rachel Russell. She says I am looking at my
(21:03):
potatoes and there is a pretty significant crop of potato
beetles in one section of my potatoes.
They do not appear to have spread very far, but they are
prolific in the spot where I am seeing them.
I'm also seeing ladybugs. So I don't know if that natural
predator will handle it or if I should get on it right now with
more aggressive tactics. We did purchase some pigantic
(21:26):
organic pesticide. We have not used it yet as we
really want that to be a last resort, but we do have it on
hand. Any thoughts?
So fun fact here, Rachel and herhusband Michael are my mentees.
I am their mentor, their farm mentor through a USDA grant
program for beginning farmers and ranchers.
(21:46):
And so I get to talk with them all the time and I get to go out
to their place and sort of handson, teach them things that, you
know, they might have questions on.
And so this was a question that she had sent me.
And what I told her was that I would monitor the situation very
closely. If you're seeing lots of
ladybugs, they may take care of the problem for you.
(22:08):
And I always want to give those natural predators a chance
before resorting to anything else.
And obviously that was the same,you know, sentiment that Rachel
was expressing. They also have chickens.
And so I told her maybe they could let the chickens into that
area too, if they wouldn't destroy anything else in the
process because chickens are very good at eating, you know,
these, these types of beetles. The good news is that Rachel was
(22:33):
only seeing them in sporadic clusters on individual plants
and what that means is that the diversification in their gardens
is working. They have been working really
hard on trying to inter plant things and also growing a lot
of, you know, pollinator friendly plants and things that
attract those insect predators into the garden.
(22:56):
So that, you know, it's the factthat they're not overrun and
already and they're just kind ofsporadic is good news.
But that being said, I would check the volume of the potato
beetles daily and handpick the adults right now to keep them
from mating. And of course, you can just toss
those to the chickens, right? And also advised her to check
(23:17):
the leaves for egg clusters and remove those.
So just like squash bugs, potatobeetles also overwinter as
adults. And generally they're in kind of
wooded areas and some of these debris fields that are in and
around our garden areas. And it just so happens that, you
know, Rachel and Michael, they're their gardens kind of
(23:39):
back up to a wooded area. So it's very likely that that's
where those potato beetles came from.
And they slowly make their way over to wherever the potatoes
are and they will climb, you know, up the potato to start
immediately mating and laying their eggs.
So very similar to the squash bugs, but they don't move as
quickly. So a prevention is to mulch your
(24:05):
your potatoes with straw and that will actually slow them
down. They fall into the crevices of
the straw and that's where some of the bugs can start to predate
on them. So it makes it, you know, a
little bit more treacherous for them to be able to get to their
intended target. You can also dig a trench around
(24:26):
where you got your potatoes planted, and then you can line
that trench with black plastic. And so it's very easy to see
them in there. And you can fill that trench
with water, almost like a Moat. And so as they're trying to
crawl to get over to where the potato field is or your potato
(24:46):
beds or whatever, they're falling in there and they're
drowning. Or you can very easily see them
on the black plastic and you canscoop them out.
The reason that this is important is, you know, the life
cycle of these guys is only about 30 to 45 days from the
time that you see them. And so if you, if they're
getting to your potatoes and you're not picking those adults
(25:09):
off and checking for those egg clusters, by the time you know,
the potatoes are really in the midst of their full growth, you
can have a full blown infestation on your hands and
they can very easily just demolish the leaves of the
potato plants if they go unchecked.
(25:30):
So if the population doesn't seem controlled after a couple
days of going out there and, youknow, hand picking and seeing if
the ladybugs are kind of doing their work and maybe getting
chickens in there to see if they're doing the work, then we
might want to turn to a spray. But what I recommended to Rachel
was that I would use spinosad instead of pigantic.
(25:53):
Pigantic is a pyrethrum. It is derived from
chrysanthemums. It is very effective in terms of
it's fast acting right. It acts very quickly once the
once the insects are hit with it, but it also doesn't last
very long. It is photosensitive.
So once it kind of is is in the open air and it's exposed to the
(26:14):
sun, then it starts to degrade and it doesn't last very long.
The spinosid or the spinosad, I always pronounced that wrong.
The spinosad is much more effective because it's last
longer and it's not photosensitive like the
pyrethrums are, and it's just better overall for things like
beetles. So that would be my
recommendation, all of the things that you can do to
(26:36):
prevent it. Also, you would want to check to
to make sure that those potato beetles aren't also ending up in
your tomato plants and in your eggplants because anything
that's in the nightshade family they are going to be attracted
to. So if you've got them in your
potatoes, you might double checkand make sure you don't have
(26:57):
them in your tomatoes. Next one is from Chrissy Roof
Pill bugs. I have a million of them.
I don't recall them being this prevalent last year.
I noticed them munching on my cabbage.
I spread DE last evening but also wondering about beer traps.
So we have had a ton of pill bugs here also this year.
(27:21):
And it's not necessarily a bad thing to have pill bugs in your
garden. They do a great job of breaking
down plant matter and debris into this beautiful humus that
adds to our soil, right? They're great for that.
They are dertritivores, That's their whole job.
But when they start to accumulate in mass, they
(27:45):
actually will start to eat on your plants if there's too many
of them and there is not enough of sort of, you know, dead and
dying plant tissue around for them to eat on.
Beer traps do work, but I use potato slices.
So I cut potato slice or potatoes in half and then I
place them face down in the bed and I just put them all over the
(28:09):
place. They love the moisture of those
potatoes and they like that decaying tissue.
And so it's super easy just to walk out with a container and
flip the potatoes up and look atthem.
Find your pill bugs that have gathered underneath it, tap them
off into a container and then relocate them.
Put them someplace else in your yard where you know you might
(28:30):
need them to be breaking down some, that maybe there's fallen
leaves somewhere. They would love to go live in
some fallen leaves. I hate to destroy them because
they're so beneficial. So I just moved them to a spot
that has, you know, that other debris that they can tackle.
And by doing this, just going out a couple of times a day or
at least once a day to, you know, flip up those potatoes,
(28:50):
tap off the bugs, put the potatoback, the potato slice back down
into the soil again. You can really remove a large
number of those pill bugs with very little effort.
And you don't have to, you know,destroy them.
So another question that Chrissyhad asked also, and this was in
the Facebook group, so she askedthe group, has anyone used
(29:11):
nematodes to control grubs? Japanese beetles were awful last
year for us. I also found a few army worms
and I responded with yes, we hada horrible Japanese beetle
problem around our fruit trees and we had major die off of the
grasses in that area. So we treated multiple times
(29:32):
with nematodes. We did spring and then we did
fall and then we did the spring again and we have had almost
zero problem with them since. We're also still waiting for
that grass to recover, which is you know what I told Chrissy and
she responded that you know, shewould take the dead grass over
the Japanese beetles. They destroyed the leaves on her
green beans last year. Her poor Buckeye trees which
(29:53):
aren't very old. She did end up getting a
Japanese beetle trap and placed it further away from the garden
and that definitely helped. So she asked me what brand I
use. I use Orbico Organics Nemeseek
and I will leave that link in the show notes.
Inger Zuruka had responded to that and said yes it works but
it isn't foolproof. Best if you can use Milky spore
(30:16):
as well and she is absolutely correct with that.
So if you can get the Milky spore and use those in addition
to the nematodes and just followthe instructions with that you
know when to apply it, then you're doing double whammies and
beautifully getting rid of thosegrubs.
Tammy Ingles said after listening to Just Grow Something
(30:36):
podcast episode on companion planting.
I'm wondering if I could plant hot Peppers in with my garlic
since they are small and will beharvesting garlic in June before
the Peppers have put on Peppers.What about green beans?
Trying to maximize space as wellas separate hot Peppers from
bell Peppers. Anyone experienced these
(30:56):
combinations before? I wouldn't recommend the green
beans, but I routinely plant Peppers into my garlic and my
onions. I'm doing it this season.
And that's exactly the reason why what she described is that,
you know, your Peppers don't start to put on a lot of fruit
until later on in the season. Even my garden homing Cody had
(31:19):
replied to this and said, you know, in her experience, Peppers
start to really get big in the later months of summer.
So it sounded like a solid plan to her.
And I absolutely agree. So, and I do this with my, my
onions as I'm harvesting like the outer edges of the onions
because I will harvest a few of those early as like spring
onions. And then I just replace them
(31:41):
with my Peppers all on the outside with the garlic.
I'm doing it in and amongst the garlic.
And I'm just making sure that I'm not disturbing the root
system of those pepper plants asI harvest the garlic.
It's a really good way to not just save space, but also you're
using the garlic and the onions to help confuse those pests that
are wanting to maybe go after your pepper plants.
(32:06):
And then finally, this isn't a question.
It was a tip. So Cole Bodie, I'm hoping I'm
pronouncing it right. If I'm doing like the German
pronunciation, I guess Cole, it might be Coel.
But Cole had a tip to share after the tomato episode.
She said I'm on the Oregon coastwhere temps can dip at night and
wind can blow cold. I sink bottomless black pots
(32:30):
around my tomatoes, squash and cucumbers when I set them out.
Seems to give a bit of protection as they get started.
Karen, that was a brilliant and thorough presentation on
tomatoes. Thanks so much for sharing your
enthusiasm, education, and experience.
And I appreciate that tip. I appreciate the the thank yous
(32:54):
on that. And I think that is the perfect
note to end this 250th episode on.
I truly appreciate you being here each and every week with
me. I love sharing this information
with you and I hope that it's helping you to become a better
gardener and to truly enjoy yourgarden even more.
Until next time, my gardening friends, keep on cultivating
(33:16):
that dream garden, and we'll talk again soon.
Welcome back, my gardening friends, to episode 250 of the
Just Grow Something podcast. Well, though this podcast
started back in February of 2021and here we are 4 1/2 years
later, still rocking and rolling.
I am very appreciative of you being here.
And so for today's episode, I thought we would answer some of
(00:23):
the questions that I have gottenfrom you here recently.
I always figure if one person asks, there's likely the others
who have the same question. So today we're talking when
plants are the appropriate size for transplant.
Some clarification on the Three Sisters method, potatoes, celery
(00:43):
act, insect netting and more. All questions asked by you
through DM, e-mail, the Facebookgroup, and in person.
Let's dig in. Hey, I'm Karen and what started
as a small backyard garden 20 years ago turned into a lifelong
passion for growing food. Now as a market farmer and
horticulturist, I want to help you do the same.
(01:04):
On this podcast I am your friendin the garden, teaching evidence
based techniques to help you grow your favourites and build
confidence in your own garden space.
So grab your garden journal and a cup of coffee and get ready to
just grow something. So new designs, I guess this is
a great time to to say this because yay for 250 episodes,
(01:27):
but I've got some new designs live in the merch shop.
I may add a few more items or have a few more items to add
with those designs over the nextfew weeks.
So bear with me. If you see a design that you
like and you want to see it on something specific, just reach
out and let me know and I will put it together if I can.
(01:49):
All of the merch that Ioffer is printed on demand, so we're not
just buying a bunch of clothing and water bottles and stuff and
then having them end up in the landfill if they don't sell,
which is a much more sustainableway I think to do this.
Some of the older designs will be retired in the very near
future. So get in there soon if you have
(02:09):
been eyeing something but maybe haven't made the leap yet.
So let's dive right into your questions that you've been
asking me over the past probably6 or 8 weeks or so as we're
transitioning into this gardening season.
You guys have had a lot of questions.
So Katie Jones said, I listen topodcasters that say when the
(02:34):
plant is big enough to transplant.
What exactly does that mean? Two true leaves, Six true
leaves, a certain height. Thanks.
And I love the podcast. I'm so glad that you're
listening. Katie, thank you so much.
I love this question. The answer is it depends.
So the first thing to consider is, are you transplanting up
(02:57):
into larger containers? Generally speaking, you don't
want to pot up anything that doesn't already have at least
their first set of true leaves. After that, when to pot them up
is based on the plant and the container that it's in.
So we don't want plants getting root bound and we don't want
(03:18):
them struggling to get nutrientsfrom a soil volume that is not
sufficient. So I always say to check the
root system of the plant and then potted up into something
bigger when the root ball is full but not wrapping around
itself yet, if that makes sense.We don't want it root bound
(03:38):
before we transplanted or beforewe pot them up.
The next consideration is when we're transplanting out into the
garden. And so this doesn't matter
whether it's in container or planter or an in ground bed.
There are a couple of things to consider.
The first thing is, think about would this little plant be able
to stand up to the wind and the rain and the other elements if I
(04:03):
were to put it outside right now?
The second thing is to figure out whether it's been properly
hardened off. So if you're hardening off your
plants and you've gone through the process that I detailed in
that last episode that we did about this, I will link to that
in the show notes. Then the plant is going to tell
(04:24):
you if it's not ready because it's going to short start to
show signs of stress. So in general, I look for a
plant to have several true sets of leaves or several sets of
true leaves before I put them outside.
I want to make sure they have a nice strong stem and I really
(04:44):
just want them to be like a minimum of three inches tall
before I put them outside. And this assumes that they all
look really healthy and that they have all been properly
hardened off. It really is a bit subjective.
And each plant has its own requirements.
So, you know, what I think a tomato plant should look like
(05:06):
when it's ready and the size it should be and the number of true
leaves it should have is going to differ dramatically than what
I think a zucchini plant should look like before you're
transplanting outside and how many leaves it should have, You
know, So it really depends on that gets the requirements for
(05:28):
that particular plant. For me, I really want a tomato
plant to have a nice thick stock.
I want it to be, you know, probably a good 4 to 6 inches
tall. I would like for it to have it.
Usually I've got three to four sets of true leaves on those
tomato plants before I'm transplanting them versus a
zucchini, which you really don'twant to keep in their containers
(05:50):
for too long after they sprout because they don't love having
those roots disturbed. And it's going to tend to set
them back a little bit. So my zucchini plants might be,
you know, also 3 to 4 inches tall, but they're probably only
going to have like one set of true leaves when I'm
transplanting them. And I'm doing that.
(06:12):
I'm starting those in containersthat have the largest volume of
soil possible so that there is no potting up that needs to
happen and there will be very little disturbance of those
roots when I transplant them. I want them to have that larger
soil volume versus the tomatoes which might be potted up, you
know, sometimes 2 times before Iget them out into the garden.
(06:33):
So it is a bit subjective. Each plant has its own
requirements, but those would bemy general guidelines.
Look to see if it's going to be able to stand up to the wind and
the rain and whatever else. If you put them out in the
ground, make sure that it's beenproperly hardened off first.
Make sure it has a nice strong stem and several sets of true
leaves. So Cassandra Wolf asked for the
(06:59):
three sisters method. Do you plant the corn, beans,
and squash all at the same time?I want to try it out but I'm not
sure how to do it. I found your podcast and love
it. Thank you, Cassandra.
I'm so glad that you're listening for the Three Sisters
method. Ideally, you are planting the
(07:19):
corn 1st and you are letting it come up and you want it at least
12 inches tall before you plant anything else.
And let's be clear, in general, we're usually talking about dent
corn because dent corn or popcorn dries and stays on the
stock much later into the season.
(07:42):
And so you're not going to be traipsing over things to get to
harvest those corn before the very end of the season.
So you're not worried about stepping on the plants that you
might be inter planting. You can do this with sweet corn
and just leave the stalks up after you harvest the sweet
corn. But just know that you're going
(08:04):
to have to step carefully in andaround your squash plants to get
to the sweet corn. So keep that in mind.
We want the corn to be about 12 inches tall and then we want to
plant the bean seeds at the baseof those stalks.
So the beans are going to use the stalks of the corn while the
(08:24):
corn is growing as a trellis andthey're going to climb up.
So we're talking about pole beans here.
We're not talking about Bush green beans.
These are pole beans. So you've got your corn.
Corn comes up 12 inches. You plant your bean seeds.
As the corn continues to grow up, now the beans are growing up
with it and it's wrapping aroundthe stalks.
(08:45):
And so you can go in and you canharvest the beans off of there.
And then once the soil is warm enough, then we interplant those
vining squash and just let them take off.
And ideally, those vining squashes are going to act as a
ground cover in and around the corn and amongst the, you know,
(09:06):
the base of the beans to kind ofhelp keep the soil shaded #1
it's keeping it a little bit cooler #2 it's shading out or
choking out any weeds that mightbe trying to compete with what
it is that we're growing in the beans and the corn.
And so the corn is acting as a support for the bean.
The bean is fixing nitrogen intothe soil, which is helping the
(09:27):
corn. And then of course, we have the
benefits of the squash vining inamongst it.
And if you're using a vining squash that is particularly sort
of thorny, you know how squashescan get the spikes on them
sometimes that can help keep theraccoons out of your corn and
keep them from climbing the cornto get to the to the corn.
So, you know, there's a little bonus offshoot there as well,
(09:52):
Heather Ghosh said, Or maybe it's Gesh.
I know in my brain I've always pronounced this Ghosh, but maybe
it's Gesh. Heather, reach out and tell me.
I'm not sure. No, she said.
Good morning. I see in your latest e-mail
newsletter that the new podcast episode covers seed starting
indoor versus outdoor. I had hoped to try sowing some
(10:12):
celeryac seeds into a milk jug for winter growing outside here
in southeast Wisconsin, but wonder if it's better to wait
and sow directly into the gardenonce more warmth is on offer
from Mother Nature. What would you advise?
I have no means or sunny spots to start seeds indoors.
(10:33):
Thanks. And I love this question because
a lot of people don't have, you know, a way to start seeds
indoors or just don't want to mess with it, honestly.
And so winter sowing is a reallygood way to get things started
at their own pace while still being protected.
(10:54):
So I did an episode on winter sowing.
I will link to that in the show notes.
And essentially you are taking either milk jugs or plastic
containers of some sort and you are poking holes in the bottom
for drainage. And then you're creating a sort
of lid essentially of on this container to where it can act
(11:14):
like a little mini greenhouse. You're putting at least 4 inches
of soil in there and you're planting your seeds.
You're closing it up, leaving the top open so that you can get
some some rain and some moisturein there.
And then you're setting it outside, and then you're just
letting it do its thing. And the idea is that when that
soil temperature inside that jugis conducive to those plants
(11:39):
sprouting, they will sprout at the time when it's appropriate
for them to do that. And then you can just transplant
that whole mess of seeds or now seedlings out into your garden.
So what I had told Heather with the Celery Act was that I would
try both. I would plant half of the seeds
(11:59):
in the winter sowing jugs, and then I would hold back the other
half just in case the jugs didn't work out.
I mean, I like this technique anytime you're trying something
new, you know, and especially like winter sowing when you're
figuring out how to how to use it.
I love winter sowing because theseeds sprout when the conditions
(12:19):
are ideal, but celery act just like celery can take like 3
weeks to germinate even under perfect conditions and so I
would be worried about the soil temperatures really fluctuating
widely in those jugs. So at least if I held seeds back
I would have a backup and I could direct sew those out into
the garden after the last frost.I had heard of David Austin but
(12:43):
never really paid attention to who he was or what was so
special about a David Austin rose.
Turns out he was a British rose breeder and writer who set out
to combine the charm of old garden roses with the repeat
blooming of modern varieties. He released his very first rose
variety, Constance Spry, back in1961.
(13:03):
Today, his English roses are world renowned for their full
cupped blooms, soft fragrance and ability to thrive in a
modern garden. Which is why it should be no
surprise that heirloomroses.com offers a curated collection of
40 different David Austin varieties, grown on their own
roots and ready to bring elegance and exceptional
(13:25):
performance to your garden, whether you're drawn to Lady of
Charlotte, Princess Alexandra ofKent or Charles Darwin.
Yes, these are all David Austin rose varieties.
You can save 20% on your choice at heirloomroses.com.
Use code Just Grow at checkout and you will be on your way to
enjoying your own beautiful David Austin rose
(13:47):
heirloomroses.com with code Justgrow at checkout.
The link is in the show notes. Next up is Jill Stephenson.
She said I got the insect netting that you recommended.
Do you put it down as soon as you plant?
How do you secure it so it doesn't fly away?
I got some hoops. I just don't know how I'm going
to keep it from blowing. Should I direct seed or start
(14:10):
plugs or does it matter? My first round of transplants
are looking good, but they are exposed and it's only a matter
of time. And Jill is referring here to
squash plants. And so she is in the same area I
am in, West Central Missouri. And she's also a market farmer.
And she was concerned about squash bugs and vine bores and
(14:31):
all that kinds of fun stuff. And so she is using one of my
techniques, which I recommend, and that is using insect netting
to cover the zucchini plants before they start to flower to
help at least delay the onset ofthe squash bugs.
And so I told her I use landscape fabric staples to hold
them in the soil. You can also use sandbags or you
(14:53):
can just bury the edges in the soil, but that's kind of a pain
when you actually have to get into it because then you have to
re bury it. So I just use those landscape
fabric staples. They are.
They're the easiest thing to remove and put back again.
I put the insect netting on immediately after planting.
I am not taking any chances and I do both direct seating and
(15:17):
transplants. So with squashes I usually start
with a round of transplants early on and they immediately
get covered with the insect netting.
And then about a week or so later I will direct sew another
bed so that it's a few weeks behind the 1st and I also cover
those. I mean, I'll cover the bed
(15:39):
immediately after sowing the seeds, right, just to make sure
I don't miss them sprouting and,and miss, you know, an
opportunity to protect them. So that way I have one
succession already going with minimal work involved.
I don't have time to be startinga whole bunch of seeds indoors
and keeping track of them in order to transplant.
(15:59):
And transplanting takes forever.And when we're in the middle of
harvest, I don't want to also bedoing a ton of transplanting,
which of course we're already doing right now.
But so I just do the the the next section as, as seeds
directly sown in the ground. Now my strategy this year, and I
think I've talked about this already, but I'm really going
(16:20):
like full tilt on trying to protect these plants this year.
So I have blue Hubbard squash already planted on the opposite
side of the garden from where I am planting the rest of all of
my summer squashes and my zucchinis and that sort of
thing. And they're out there.
They are exposed. I have marigolds in there.
(16:41):
And what do we say about marigolds?
They attract squash bugs. So the blue Hubbard squash are
uncovered. There are marigolds interplanted
around them. And I'm going to be putting
squash vine bore pheromone trapsin that bed as well.
And then I have the next bed over will be sunflowers.
(17:04):
And the idea is hopefully the squash bugs will be attracted to
the blue Hubbard squash because they are unprotected and they
also tend to be a preferential sort of trap crop in terms of
squash bugs. They tend to like the blue
Hubbard squash over any other squash for whatever reason.
(17:25):
Those and red Curry squash, if you've ever seen those at the
same time. Now I'm getting ready to start
transplanting my zucchinis and they are going to immediately be
covered. They're going to be interplanted
with nasturtium. And so that will hopefully, you
know, mess up that chemical signal and confuse the insects
(17:45):
that are trying to come after the squashes.
So I'm going to keep those plants completely covered until
they start to flower. And so hopefully the bugs will
be attracted to the blue Hubbardsquash.
The vine borers will also be more heavily attracted over
there in addition to, you know, just seeing the squash.
But also we've got the pheromonetraps over there and then the
(18:08):
the sunflowers will hopefully attract the birds who will also
come in and predate on those insects that are over there.
And so by the time I need to uncover the other ones that I
actually want as my cash crop, then hopefully they will be left
alone at least for an extended period of time so I can start to
get a harvest off of them. And then I'm just going to see
(18:30):
how things are going. If I start to see immediate
infestations, then obviously I'mgoing to go ahead and continue
with my usual succession plantings.
But when we can do squashes really well here, they do
phenomenally well. And you know they'll go all
season long and I will just havetons and tons of zucchini.
But that hasn't happened here inprobably 10 years.
(18:53):
I mean, it's probably been at least 10 years since I had those
giant squash and zucchini plantsout there that were three foot
tall and just as wide. And I didn't have to worry about
all these squash bugs and stuff.So that's my that's my plan this
year. Fingers crossed.
I will absolutely update you as it goes because if I can crack
the code on this, believe me, I'm going to share, OK?
(19:16):
Shelley Roscoe says, Hey, Karen,I have a question.
I bought some seed potatoes lastfall but didn't get them in the
ground. So I stored them in a dark
closet in the box. When I pulled them out, they
looked like this. And the potatoes are a little
soft but not mushy. Can I still plant these?
And should that growth go above ground or below?
(19:38):
And so she sent an image of somevery sprouted potatoes.
And of course, this was back in March.
But this is good info for futureuse for everybody.
So you can totally plant those. If your potatoes, your seed
potatoes sprout, you absolutely can put those in the ground.
The growth can be buried face upright?
(19:59):
So get them down as deep as you normally would plant your
potatoes. Cover them up with a good 4 to 6
inches of soil. It's OK if those sprouts break
off when you handle them becausethey will sprout again so long
as they still have those eyes onthem.
They're going to continue to sprout as long as those potatoes
aren't like mushy. Once they're mushy there is no
(20:20):
energy left in them anymore and so they're don't have any energy
to draw off of in order to push those sprouts up while with
their waiting to root. So, but if they're just soft and
wrinkly, but they're still, you know, they're still decent
potatoes, you know, in terms of firmness, then by all means go
ahead and plant them. And in fact, I did that this
(20:41):
year. I had some that I had saved from
last season that I was planting and a few of them had sprouted
already. And you know, some of them were
were a little bit long and they are growing out there
beautifully right now with absolutely no problem.
So sticking with the potato theme, this one comes from
Rachel Russell. She says I am looking at my
(21:03):
potatoes and there is a pretty significant crop of potato
beetles in one section of my potatoes.
They do not appear to have spread very far, but they are
prolific in the spot where I am seeing them.
I'm also seeing ladybugs. So I don't know if that natural
predator will handle it or if I should get on it right now with
more aggressive tactics. We did purchase some pigantic
(21:26):
organic pesticide. We have not used it yet as we
really want that to be a last resort, but we do have it on
hand. Any thoughts?
So fun fact here, Rachel and herhusband Michael are my mentees.
I am their mentor, their farm mentor through a USDA grant
program for beginning farmers and ranchers.
(21:46):
And so I get to talk with them all the time and I get to go out
to their place and sort of handson, teach them things that, you
know, they might have questions on.
And so this was a question that she had sent me.
And what I told her was that I would monitor the situation very
closely. If you're seeing lots of
ladybugs, they may take care of the problem for you.
(22:08):
And I always want to give those natural predators a chance
before resorting to anything else.
And obviously that was the same,you know, sentiment that Rachel
was expressing. They also have chickens.
And so I told her maybe they could let the chickens into that
area too, if they wouldn't destroy anything else in the
process because chickens are very good at eating, you know,
these, these types of beetles. The good news is that Rachel was
(22:33):
only seeing them in sporadic clusters on individual plants
and what that means is that the diversification in their gardens
is working. They have been working really
hard on trying to inter plant things and also growing a lot
of, you know, pollinator friendly plants and things that
attract those insect predators into the garden.
(22:56):
So that, you know, it's the factthat they're not overrun and
already and they're just kind ofsporadic is good news.
But that being said, I would check the volume of the potato
beetles daily and handpick the adults right now to keep them
from mating. And of course, you can just toss
those to the chickens, right? And also advised her to check
(23:17):
the leaves for egg clusters and remove those.
So just like squash bugs, potatobeetles also overwinter as
adults. And generally they're in kind of
wooded areas and some of these debris fields that are in and
around our garden areas. And it just so happens that, you
know, Rachel and Michael, they're their gardens kind of
(23:39):
back up to a wooded area. So it's very likely that that's
where those potato beetles came from.
And they slowly make their way over to wherever the potatoes
are and they will climb, you know, up the potato to start
immediately mating and laying their eggs.
So very similar to the squash bugs, but they don't move as
quickly. So a prevention is to mulch your
(24:05):
your potatoes with straw and that will actually slow them
down. They fall into the crevices of
the straw and that's where some of the bugs can start to predate
on them. So it makes it, you know, a
little bit more treacherous for them to be able to get to their
intended target. You can also dig a trench around
(24:26):
where you got your potatoes planted, and then you can line
that trench with black plastic. And so it's very easy to see
them in there. And you can fill that trench
with water, almost like a Moat. And so as they're trying to
crawl to get over to where the potato field is or your potato
(24:46):
beds or whatever, they're falling in there and they're
drowning. Or you can very easily see them
on the black plastic and you canscoop them out.
The reason that this is important is, you know, the life
cycle of these guys is only about 30 to 45 days from the
time that you see them. And so if you, if they're
getting to your potatoes and you're not picking those adults
(25:09):
off and checking for those egg clusters, by the time you know,
the potatoes are really in the midst of their full growth, you
can have a full blown infestation on your hands and
they can very easily just demolish the leaves of the
potato plants if they go unchecked.
(25:30):
So if the population doesn't seem controlled after a couple
days of going out there and, youknow, hand picking and seeing if
the ladybugs are kind of doing their work and maybe getting
chickens in there to see if they're doing the work, then we
might want to turn to a spray. But what I recommended to Rachel
was that I would use spinosad instead of pigantic.
(25:53):
Pigantic is a pyrethrum. It is derived from
chrysanthemums. It is very effective in terms of
it's fast acting right. It acts very quickly once the
once the insects are hit with it, but it also doesn't last
very long. It is photosensitive.
So once it kind of is is in the open air and it's exposed to the
(26:14):
sun, then it starts to degrade and it doesn't last very long.
The spinosid or the spinosad, I always pronounced that wrong.
The spinosad is much more effective because it's last
longer and it's not photosensitive like the
pyrethrums are, and it's just better overall for things like
beetles. So that would be my
recommendation, all of the things that you can do to
(26:36):
prevent it. Also, you would want to check to
to make sure that those potato beetles aren't also ending up in
your tomato plants and in your eggplants because anything
that's in the nightshade family they are going to be attracted
to. So if you've got them in your
potatoes, you might double checkand make sure you don't have
(26:57):
them in your tomatoes. Next one is from Chrissy Roof
Pill bugs. I have a million of them.
I don't recall them being this prevalent last year.
I noticed them munching on my cabbage.
I spread DE last evening but also wondering about beer traps.
So we have had a ton of pill bugs here also this year.
(27:21):
And it's not necessarily a bad thing to have pill bugs in your
garden. They do a great job of breaking
down plant matter and debris into this beautiful humus that
adds to our soil, right? They're great for that.
They are dertritivores, That's their whole job.
But when they start to accumulate in mass, they
(27:45):
actually will start to eat on your plants if there's too many
of them and there is not enough of sort of, you know, dead and
dying plant tissue around for them to eat on.
Beer traps do work, but I use potato slices.
So I cut potato slice or potatoes in half and then I
place them face down in the bed and I just put them all over the
(28:09):
place. They love the moisture of those
potatoes and they like that decaying tissue.
And so it's super easy just to walk out with a container and
flip the potatoes up and look atthem.
Find your pill bugs that have gathered underneath it, tap them
off into a container and then relocate them.
Put them someplace else in your yard where you know you might
(28:30):
need them to be breaking down some, that maybe there's fallen
leaves somewhere. They would love to go live in
some fallen leaves. I hate to destroy them because
they're so beneficial. So I just moved them to a spot
that has, you know, that other debris that they can tackle.
And by doing this, just going out a couple of times a day or
at least once a day to, you know, flip up those potatoes,
(28:50):
tap off the bugs, put the potatoback, the potato slice back down
into the soil again. You can really remove a large
number of those pill bugs with very little effort.
And you don't have to, you know,destroy them.
So another question that Chrissyhad asked also, and this was in
the Facebook group, so she askedthe group, has anyone used
(29:11):
nematodes to control grubs? Japanese beetles were awful last
year for us. I also found a few army worms
and I responded with yes, we hada horrible Japanese beetle
problem around our fruit trees and we had major die off of the
grasses in that area. So we treated multiple times
(29:32):
with nematodes. We did spring and then we did
fall and then we did the spring again and we have had almost
zero problem with them since. We're also still waiting for
that grass to recover, which is you know what I told Chrissy and
she responded that you know, shewould take the dead grass over
the Japanese beetles. They destroyed the leaves on her
green beans last year. Her poor Buckeye trees which
(29:53):
aren't very old. She did end up getting a
Japanese beetle trap and placed it further away from the garden
and that definitely helped. So she asked me what brand I
use. I use Orbico Organics Nemeseek
and I will leave that link in the show notes.
Inger Zuruka had responded to that and said yes it works but
it isn't foolproof. Best if you can use Milky spore
(30:16):
as well and she is absolutely correct with that.
So if you can get the Milky spore and use those in addition
to the nematodes and just followthe instructions with that you
know when to apply it, then you're doing double whammies and
beautifully getting rid of thosegrubs.
Tammy Ingles said after listening to Just Grow Something
(30:36):
podcast episode on companion planting.
I'm wondering if I could plant hot Peppers in with my garlic
since they are small and will beharvesting garlic in June before
the Peppers have put on Peppers.What about green beans?
Trying to maximize space as wellas separate hot Peppers from
bell Peppers. Anyone experienced these
(30:56):
combinations before? I wouldn't recommend the green
beans, but I routinely plant Peppers into my garlic and my
onions. I'm doing it this season.
And that's exactly the reason why what she described is that,
you know, your Peppers don't start to put on a lot of fruit
until later on in the season. Even my garden homing Cody had
(31:19):
replied to this and said, you know, in her experience, Peppers
start to really get big in the later months of summer.
So it sounded like a solid plan to her.
And I absolutely agree. So, and I do this with my, my
onions as I'm harvesting like the outer edges of the onions
because I will harvest a few of those early as like spring
onions. And then I just replace them
(31:41):
with my Peppers all on the outside with the garlic.
I'm doing it in and amongst the garlic.
And I'm just making sure that I'm not disturbing the root
system of those pepper plants asI harvest the garlic.
It's a really good way to not just save space, but also you're
using the garlic and the onions to help confuse those pests that
are wanting to maybe go after your pepper plants.
(32:06):
And then finally, this isn't a question.
It was a tip. So Cole Bodie, I'm hoping I'm
pronouncing it right. If I'm doing like the German
pronunciation, I guess Cole, it might be Coel.
But Cole had a tip to share after the tomato episode.
She said I'm on the Oregon coastwhere temps can dip at night and
wind can blow cold. I sink bottomless black pots
(32:30):
around my tomatoes, squash and cucumbers when I set them out.
Seems to give a bit of protection as they get started.
Karen, that was a brilliant and thorough presentation on
tomatoes. Thanks so much for sharing your
enthusiasm, education, and experience.
And I appreciate that tip. I appreciate the the thank yous
(32:54):
on that. And I think that is the perfect
note to end this 250th episode on.
I truly appreciate you being here each and every week with
me. I love sharing this information
with you and I hope that it's helping you to become a better
gardener and to truly enjoy yourgarden even more.
Until next time, my gardening friends, keep on cultivating
(33:16):
that dream garden, and we'll talk again soon.
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