Show notes
Replay of The Wisconsin Vegetable Gardener Radio Show from 4-20-19
Heard on 860AM WNOV & W293cx 106.5FM Milwaukee, WI Saturday mornings 9-10AM CST
Heard on WAAM 1600 AM Ann Arbor, MI Sundays 7-8AM est
Heard on WWDB 860 AM Philadelphia, PA Sundays 7-8AM est
Heard on KMET 1490 AM Tuesdays 9 - 10 AM pst Banning, CA
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Topics: Joey and Holly talks Talk about in segment 1 - vegetable and herbs you can grow in Partial shade.
Plants you can grow in partial shade
Mint
Mint is probably a best choice for shaded position. If you think to plant it in your shady backyard, just grow it in a confined space. Otherwise it will spread like a weed.
Malabar Spinach
Malabar spinach is a climbing spinach grows in tropics. It grows in part shade and moist soil, you can grow this green leafy vegetable in shade year round if your climate is frost free, otherwise grow it as annual
Pak choi/bok choy/ asian greens
Pak choi or bak choi is also called Chinese cabbage, a diverse plant you can grow from spring to fall. It likes cool weather, you can grow it in shade easily.
Cherry tomatoes
Arugul Asparagus Beets Bok Choi Broccoli Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Celery Chinese Cabbage Garlic
Horseradish Kale Kohlrabi Leeks Lettuce Mizuna
Mustard Greens Parsnip Peas Potatoes Radish Rhubarb
Rutabaga Scallions Spinach Swiss Chard Turnip
Tips for Growing Vegetables in Shade:
Use Good Soil: If you are going to challenge your shade-tolerant crops to grow in partial shade, provide them with good-quality soil with plenty of nutritious compost. If tree roots are a problem, consider using a raised bed or growing vegetables in containers.
Moisture Requirements: The watering needs of your shade garden will be different than a garden in full sun. Moisture doesn’t evaporate as quickly in shade so you may not need to water as often. However, if your shade garden is near trees, you may need to water more frequently since your plants will be competing with trees for moisture. Also the leafy canopy can prevent rain from reaching your plants. Water when the soil feels dry and mulch to conserve moisture.
Watch for Pests: Shady and cool areas are very welcoming to slugs and snails. Consider using a border of crushed eggshells to deter slugs or provide a hospitable living area to Attract Frogs and Toads to Your Garden.
Maturation Times: Vegetables that prefer more sunlight but can grow in shade will grow slower. Expect to wait for a little longer for the plants to mature than what is indicated on the seed package to make up for the less than ideal growing conditions.
Start Seedlings Indoors: Start your own transplants from seed indoors and plant them in your shade garden when space opens up with these 10 Steps to Starting Seedlings Indoors.
Direct Sow Seeds in Your Garden: Some crops are easy to grow from seeds planted directly in your garden. Here are 13 Easy Vegetables to Direct Sow
Succession Planting: Keep your garden beds producing throughout your growing season with these 3 Succession Planting Tips to Maximize Your Harvest.
Experiment with a small shade garden and see which vegetables succeed. Also try growing in containers that can be moved to different locations. Knowing the type of vegetables that grow in shade will help you make the most out of your gardening space.
White walls
If possible white wash your walls and use other light colors around the plants. As a result, the light will reflect back better and your plants will get more indirect light.
Reflective Mulching
Do reflective mulching for the plants grown in part shade. It will reflect the light and heat on plants.
Moisture
In the shade you need to be careful as moisture quickly develops all kinds of diseases. Provide good ventilation and drainage to plants and do not place them too close together.
Patience
Patience is must when you are growing plants in shade. Generally plants grow weaker in shade except those who love shade naturally. It is normal that they will grow little more slowly.
Darker and Bigger Leaves
Plants in shady areas tend to have darker and bigger leaves than those that grow in the sun and there is nothing to worry about this.
In segment 2 Joey and Holly talk about how bad garden tips on Social media.
Mounting little planters, vertical strawberry, rain gutters, etc - little soil
Potato box
Planting in egg shells/egg cartons
Seeds that seem too good to be true
Companion plantings
Volcano mulching
Stop slugs having a ball
The tip Copper is reputed to repel slugs, so take an old bowling ball (you’ve got one of those lying around, right?), glue pennies (or 2p pieces) to it, so they cover the surface, and use it as a decorative garden object that doubles as a slug barrier. (And if you want it to shine, soak the coins in cola first.)
The catch Not only is it debatable how decorative this actually looks, it’s also hard to be convinced by its efficacy as an anti-slug device. These days, British 1p and 2p “coppers” are made from copper-plated steel, plus there is at best only patchy evidence that copper repels slugs in the first place. Dr Ian Bedford, head of entomology at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, has lab-tested copper slug repellers and found no evidence that they work. And even if copper did dissuade slugs, you’d need a whole bowling alley’s worth of coin-covered balls to have any meaningful effect. As Bedford points out, “You put a bowling ball in the middle of your lawn, but what’s to stop them eating the plants in your border?”
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The alternative Go ahead and make your ball; just don’t expect it to deter slugs. For that, use a biological control such as Nemaslug or a nightly slug patrol.
Nail those blue hydrangeas
The tip Gather up those rusty nails from the back of the shed and put them in the ground around hydrangeas to correct an iron deficiency, increase acidity in the soil and, in the process, turn their blooms from pink to blue.
The catch None of it works. Here’s a mini-science lesson from Guy Barter, the RHS’s chief horticultural adviser: “Almost all soils contain a lot of iron, but it becomes unavailable to plants – especially ericaceous ones such as rhododendrons – in alkaline soils,” he says. “Adding iron nails to alkaline soil merely slowly adds a very small amount of iron to the pool of chemically locked-up iron in the soil. It is soil aluminium that influences hydrangea flower colour, and aluminium is most available to plants in the acid soils associated with blue hydrangeas.”
The alternative Add sulphur dust, not nails, to soil to increase acidity. Aluminium sulphate, often sold as hydrangea-blueing compound, is the best product to change flower colour in hydrangeas – try Vitax’s Hydrangea Colourant. Plants with iron deficiency suffer yellowing patches between the veins. Barter recommends treating them with chelated iron, an organic compound that prevents lock-up in the soil, allowing plants to absorb the iron they need.
Dish it out to the weeds
The tip Kill weeds by spraying them with a homemade brew of vinegar, epsom salts and washing-up liquid mixed with water. This mix of ingredients commonly found in our homes is touted as safer for pets and children than shop-bought weed treatments.
The catch Home remedies such as this are often billed as “all-natural”, but have you looked at the ingredients of washing-up liquid recently? Plus, it’s illegal under EU law to concoct homemade weedkillers from household ingredients (what happens after Brexit is a moot point). Linda Chalker-Scott, associate professor at Washington State University’s department of horticulture, spends her life arguing against such poor gardening advice. She points out that household products aren’t formulated for this kind of use: “You have a concoction that will strip away the protective layers of plants and associated organisms, which is not a sustainable way to approach weed control,” she says.
The alternative If you choose not to garden organically, buy a proprietary weedkiller and follow the instructions to the letter. Organic gardeners can control weeds with hoeing, mulching and hand-pulling. To remove weeds between paving slabs and other tricky-to-treat areas, Garden Organic recommends a flame weeder that uses propane or paraffin to kill weed plants and seeds.
In Segment 3 Joey and Holly welcome their guest Author Ellen Zachos of https://www.backyardforager.com/
Ellen Zachos is passionate about foraging, plants and food. She wants to share that passion with you. Are you curious about foraging? Are you passionate about food? Are you nervous about getting started? Ellen is willing to show you and teach you how to do it right here new book She had wrote a number of great book including Backyard Foraging The Wildcrafted Cocktail,Growing Healthy Houseplants to name a few she also has online courses videos and podcast to learn from. Here website is www.backyardforager.com
1.It sounds like a simple question but what is foraging and how did you get into the are of foraging ?
2.I will loop myself (Joey) into this category when I hear the term foraging I think about walking way back in the woods and looking to wild edibles. But that is not so much the case you can look at the plants you have growing around your home or street. What are some overlooked items we can forage for that are very close to us
(hostas and daylilies milkweed) ,
3. What is the best way to be 100% sure of identification of the plants you are foraging for?
We are talking with Ellen Zachos author podcaster garden speaker foragor
4. Let talk about Orchids for a moment you have wrote a Orchid Growing for Wimps: Techniques for the "Wish I Could Do That" Gardener. We have heard the Orchid are very hard to grow how true or untrue is that statement
5. Where can we find more about you get your books podcast online courses at?
Segment 4 Joey and Holly answer gardeners questions
Q:So I just transplanted my starts about 3 days ago. They all now look sad. Will it just take a few days for them to perk back up after roots set?
Also after transplanting they take up a lot more room, this in turn has them spread out a bit more then what i think my grow lights cover. im in zone 5a with a last frost of may 11th roughly. Is there a way to test the light at my plants to make sure they get enough? if not when can i start hardening them off and taking them out to my unheated greenhouse?
A: Typically yes they will look sad for a few days after transplanting do to rood shock just keep them watered and warm and they should come back if you did not damage the roots.
There are light meter they can be bought to test the light strengths. You can also put your tomato plants the farthest away from the lights because if they do get leggy you can just plant deeper. I would not take plants out to the greenhouse until the night temps are 50F steady in the greenhouse they maybe enough warm gathered during the day to keep it that at night but also day time temps may get very hot too.
Q: Newbie here! My hubby and I are experimenting (me with soil/him with hydro)We built a raised bed 4'x4'x16" and filled with garden soil from a local nursery and topped with compost from horse/cow barn. I plan to put 4-5 Early Girl tomato seedlings in it soon. Would it be too much to add some summer squash zucchini plants between them? I have a house rabbit and will have plenty of season long pellets to add if needed Just worried about crowding roots.
Q:Johnny
I'm confused about sometimes hearing that there are things that can be planted as soon as the ground can be worked...I live here in southeastern Wisconsin as well and I have everything prepped for planting and ground is thawed...Can I sow radish and beet seeds right now even though seed package says after danger of frost ? Thanks
A:Yes you can radish and beets as Colder temperatures (26-31 degrees F.) may burn foliage but will not kill broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, lettuce, mustard, onion, radish, and turnip. The real cold weather champs are beets, Brussels sprouts, carrots, collards, kale, parsley, and spinach.and beets
Q: Kim ask Another indoor seed starting question--plants are coming up and are under grow lights. Do they still need the warming pads or can I use the warming pads to start some more seeds?
A: once the seeds have come up you do not need the heating mat anymore
check out highlights of past show podcast and video https://thewisconsinvegetablegardener.com/video-series/highlights-podcast/
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The show runs March - Oct
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