Grow Milkweed Plants

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GMP 37: Milkweed clothing. Is it the next big thing or just a fad? Aug 14, 2018

Show notes

Fall monarch migration is beginning now. Monarch's keep warm in Mexico and California. If they were people we would call them snow-birds. Are you ready for winter? Check out these parkas insulated with the fibers of milkweed plants. Asclepias clothing is light, hypoallergenic and renewable. Plus it will keep you warm thru the winter!

Mason bees and summer leaf cutter bees do 10x the pollination work that a honeybee does plus they don't have a hive to protect so they don't sting. This summer, with the help of an instructables guide, I built a solitary bee house. Then to my surprise seven nesting tubes got used to build a bigger pollinator workforce.

Over the winter I will make more and offer them for sale in the spring for you to place in your garden. Sadly, we mourn the passing of Mr. Lincoln Brower. Mr. Brower advanced the study of monarchs and milkweed and expanded our knowledge with over sixty years of research and education. His contributions will not be forgotten.

All this and more!

Visit the complete show notes page at http://www.growmilkweedplants.com/37

Host: Brad Grimm Location: Grow Milkweed Plants HQ Intro Music: sunny - Bensound.com Outro Music: acusticbreeze - Bensound.com

GMP 36: Water Germination of Milkweed Seeds Jul 06, 2018

Show notes

Water germination of milkweed seeds was introduced to me by Francisco Julich. I recommend following Francisco on Instagram at jardimdeborboletas he is based in Brazil.

My understanding of water germination of milkweed seeds was expanded by Dr. Steven Broyles who is a professional on the subject of milkweed.

I credit Francisco and Steven with being first to share the water germination method in my blog post Water Germination of Milkweed Seeds.

Looking for a simple guide to help you grow milkweed plants from seed? A milkweed seed germination guide is available for download. Cold Moist Stratification is recommended if it is October through March. Water Germination is recommended from April through September.

Intro Music: sunny - Bensound.com

Outro Music: acusticbreeze - Bensound.com

GMP 35: Mazatlan's Milkweed and the Monarch's Extinction Jun 27, 2018

Show notes

San Juan milkweed

Paco's Reserva de Flora y Fauna

The monarch butterfly isn't the only butterfly that uses Asclepias plants as their host. Queen butterflies and Soldier butterflies are a common sight in tropical regions like Mexico and central America. The summer is the slow season for milkweed butterflies in Mexico. Due the the heat and it's drying effect on the milkweed in the area I did not see any milkweed butterflies during my visit. December and January are the rainy season in Mazatlan Mexico. During the wet time of year in the winter months the milkweed that was dry and dormant thru the summer comes back to life and grows with vigor.

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GMP 34: California Pipevine Experience at San Francisco Botanical Garden May 02, 2018

Show notes

Show notes in progress.

GMP 33: April Showers bring May Milkweed 🤯 Apr 28, 2018

Show notes

Three main topics discussed.

One Gallon Greenhouse update including forward looking statement for the upcoming growing season.

Water Germination of milkweed seeds. The easiest way to go from seed to plant in the fastest time possible.

Recap of Milkweed Madness winners and a tease at whats to come in the 4th annual Milkweed Madness free seed giveaway.

royalty free music by: Ben Sound at bensound.com

GMP 32: Lynn Rosenblatt, author of MONARCH MAGIC and MONARCH BUDDIES dedicates 20 years to "POM-POM Paradise!" Apr 02, 2018

Show notes

Lynn Rosenblatt, author of MONARCH MAGIC and MONARCH BUDDIES dedicates 20 years to "POM-POM Paradise!"

Connecticut teacher and author LYNN ROSENBLATT devoted twenty-five years to teaching energetic and spontaneous first and second grade children. She empowered students through a global teaching approach and welcomed student creativity and spontaneity. Her websites http://www.lynnrosenblattbooks.com/ and MonarchButterflyUSA continue that work.

Lynn's latest book Monarch Buddies: Munch-A-Bunch of Milkweed! is the revival of an original story, "Butterfly Buddies" – the framework for her award winning book MONARCH MAGIC. Follow along as MAX and MAISY and their monarch mentor, Montgomery take the reader through an engaging tale of friendship and discovery. Learn more about Lynn's other books, videos and music at her author website at www.lynnrosenblattbooks.com

Kids are the inspiration. The creative eye of children allows them to see the magic. MONARCH MAGIC! includes the inspiration and photographs of the children who worked with monarchs in the classroom. "Children see the MAGIC because they LOOK for it." - Christopher Moore If you are interested in educating and inspiring children then I strongly encourage you pick up a copy of MONARCH MAGIC! and Monarch Buddies. Connecticut has ten native milkweed species. If you are interested in finding out how many milkweed species are native in your state you can use the Milkweed Map to Locate Native Milkweed. Lynn grows and plants a few beautiful kinds of milkweed.

Most milkweeds are perennial flowers that will grow back to provide habitat each summer. Plant it once and enjoy them for decades. Pictured here is swamp milkweed. Milkweed is The "Heart" of the Monarch Life Cycle. Are you interested in seeing a list of nearly all the different milkweeds the grow in North America? Discover milkweeds from Aquatic to Zizotes A-Z of MILKWEED SPECIES POM~POM Paradise perfectly describes the milkweed field in the summer months when the milkweed plants are in full bloom; showing off their POM~POMs! The bright milkweed umbels (flowers) are like a group of POM~POMs. For years I have been searching for a description of the habitat that is the nursery where monarchs grow. Fireworks seem pretty close. It's often around the 4th of July that the milkweed blooms seem to display their color explosions. POM~POM Paradise is my new favorite saying for whenever I am surrounded by milkweed in bloom. Monarchs need MILKWEED ACROSS AMERICA and so do we! Tony has an incredible story made possible by a POM~POM Paradise. Twenty years after Lynn published MONARCH MAGIC! Things came full circle and the beautifully crafted story Monarch Buddies: Munch-A-Bunch of Milkweed! has been published. Follow along as MAX and MAISY and their monarch mentor, Montgomery take the reader through an engaging tale of friendship and discovery. Their story shares their adventures as they munch and crunch milkweed, experience complete metamorphosis, life cycle changes and embark on a quest for survival. With hope in their hearts for a safe tomorrow, they will always remember their joyful days in the milkweed fields, and forever in their hearts they will always be…MONARCH BUDDIES! Earth Day is April 22, 2018. Lynn likes to plant milkweed as an Earth Day activity. "Do something special to create something for the future. Something to save what we have and something for the future." The musical score ~ ONE BIG WORLD For ALL of US to Share! ~ is a poignant plea for World Peace and Environmental Habitat Protection for the Monarch Butterfly. Contact Lynn Rosenblatt directly at USAMonarch24@gmail.com to share your favorite photo of monarch butterflies or milkweed. Look for exciting changes at http://monarchbutterflyusa.com in the coming months! It was an absolute privilege to speak with Lynn! Now is the time to plant the milkweed seed that becomes the POM~POM Paradise of tomorrow. In addition to milkweed being the sole food source of the monarch butterfly caterpillar (Max and Maisy) it is also a flower that provides very high value as a nectar source for bees and other pollinators. MILKWEED ACROSS AMERICA! Complete Show Notes at GROWMILKWEEDPLANTS.COM/32

GMP 31: Milkweed Madness Mar 08, 2018

Show notes

Listen to The Garden Path Podcast with Misti Little. I was a guest on her show. Look for Ep. 3-18: Grow Milkweed Plants | Brad Grimm

Host: Brad Grimm

Intro Music: sunny - Bensound.com

Outro Music: acusticbreeze - Bensound.com

GMP 30: Conversation with Anurag Agrawal author of Monarchs and Milkweed Feb 01, 2018

Show notes

Anurag Agrawal author of Monarchs and Milkweed speaks to us on the topics that are most interesting to us.

Book title - Monarchs and Milkweed: A Migrating Butterfly, a Poisonous Plant, and Their Remarkable Story of Coevolution

Grow Milkweed Plants podcast - Season 3 Episode 3

Read the recent blog posts by todays guest. Click on the titles which are links to monarchs and milkweed in Oxaca Mexico and the surrounding area.

Monarchs & Milkweed in Mexico – Pt 1 Posted on January 16, 2018 by Anurag Agrawal

Monarchs & Milkweed in Mexico - Pt II Posted on January 28, 2018 by Anurag Agrawal

Listen to the sounds of the monarch butterflies by locating Cerro Pelon on the SoundMap provided by Locus Sonus. Be sure to tune in during the daylight hours because that is when the monarchs are active but more important is that the microphone is powered by solar energy and the location only appears on the map when the sun is shining on the monarch butterflies. http://locusonus.org/soundmap/051/

View the book which is available from Amazon (press and hold link below)

Monarchs and Milkweed: A Migrating Butterfly, a Poisonous Plant, and Their Remarkable Story of Coevolution

Host: Brad Grimm

Intro Music: sunny - Bensound.com

Outro Music: acusticbreeze - Bensound.com

GMP 29: Winter sown. Garden grown. Jan 12, 2018

Show notes

Winter sown. Garden grown. Use milk jugs to grow milkweed plants starting in the winter.

Grow Milkweed Plants podcast - Season 3 Episode 2

Step two of winter sowing milkweed seeds in a one gallon greenhouse.

My YouTube video link: https://youtu.be/5VMLrbqBauU

How many monarch butterflies in the western population? See for yourself at https://www.westernmonarchcount.org Numbers should be released very soon. The 2017 Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count runs November 11th - December 3rd and the second annual New Year's Count runs December 30th - January 14th.

The November 9th blog by Pacific Grove Museum said the arrival of the monarch butterflies at their location was slower and with lower numbers then in years past. http://www.pgmuseum.org/blog/2017/11/9/slow-monarch-arrival What does that mean for the western population as a whole?

Monarch Butterfly Flight Challenge: Monarch Butterfly Fund Issues Technology Design Challenge to Solve Mystery of Monarch Butterfly Migration Inventors invited to participate in $50,000 challenge to create new tracking device. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fhX4d5bxmmB5ISwHhWho5-gGyGoLlxtXm_iqQhGzz88/edit

Milkweed Madness registration is going to open in February. Stay tuned for more information about how to win wonderful prizes thru this free giveaway. If you are interested in donating seeds or milkweed related products as prizes then contact Brad G at growmilkweedplants@gmail.com and use "milkweed swag" as the subject.

Host: Brad Grimm

Intro Music: sunny - Bensound.com

Outro Music: acusticbreeze - Bensound.com

GMP 28: Grow Milkweed Plants is a verb. Lets get started! Oct 26, 2017

Show notes

Sorry for the long delay between episodes. I'm back and this episode is full of awesome content that will get you thinking about and growing milkweed plants.

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