GardenDC Podcast Episode 162: Garden Myth Busting

In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we chat with Derek Haynes, the Chocolate Botanist, all about busting garden myths and untruths. The plant profile is on Monkey Balls and we share what's going on in the garden as well as some upcoming local gardening events in the What's New segment. We close out with the Last Word on Bears and Blueberries by Christy Page at the Food Gardening Network.

If you liked this episode, you may also enjoy listening to:

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 92: Universal Gardening Truths

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/02/gardendc-podcast-episode-92-universal.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 125: Garden Lessons Learned

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/10/gardendc-podcast-episode-125-garden.html

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Show Notes: 01:11 Welcome Derek Haynes, the Chocolate Botanist 01:30 Why it’s important to share correct information about gardening 03:11 Don’t be afraid to make some mistakes and kill a few plants 04:23 Haynes’ background in gardening 06:00 Getting a sense for how plants grow – and knowing how the food you eat was grown 08:31 Common names and some misconceptions they can bring 09:25 Haynes nonlinear road to his degree in plant biology 11:55 What Haynes’ life is like in Durham, North Carolina 13:32 Home and urban gardening in zone 7 and Haynes’ favorite plants to grow 15:55 Find Haynes at TheChocolateBotanist 17:21 How alkaline water got Haynes into busting plants myths on social media 19:53 Why do people believe in gardening myths? 23:06 Why would someone post gardening misinformation? 25:48 Misleading pictures on social media 26:22 Jerry Baker and how garden misinformation was prevalent before social media 28:03 Nicotine as a gardening tool: don’t use it 30:06 The use of the word “natural” in online garden myths 32:37 The misleading use of “chemical-free” 34:28 Myth busting: combating fungus gnats 37:55 Myth busting: electroculture 39:18 “You can really debunk something if you learn about it,” says Haynes. 41:40 Myth busting: air layering 43:20 “When you take grafting into consideration, you have to make sure the plants are closely enough related,” explains Haynes. 45:45 Catching editing glitches in social media videos 46:38 Combatting gardening misinformation: use the comments section 47:43 Find Haynes on Instagram @ TheChocolateBotanist, on his website https://thechocolatebotanist.com, and on Twitter/X @ TheCrazyBotanist 48:39 Where can new gardeners find legitimate information? 50:23 “Growing plants is a journey where not only are you learning about the plants that you are caring for, but you’re also having the opportunity to learn about yourself,” says Haynes. 53:01 Plant Profile: Monkey Balls 54:37 What’s new in the garden? The ‘Ferrari’ green bean is doing nicely in the community garden 55:38 Upcoming events: Flower arranging demo on Sunday September 10 at the DC State Fair at Franklin Park dcstatefair.org, September 12-15 Urban Tree Summit 2023 online at caseytrees.org 58:14 The Urban Gardener by Kathy Jentz and Teri Speight 59:15 Groundcover Revolution by Kathy Jentz 01:00:36 The Last Word on Bears and Blueberries with Christy Page at the Food Gardening Network 01:02:40 “A very large bear was having my blueberries for his morning breakfast,” says Page.

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Episode Credits:

Host and Producer: Kathy Jentz

Interview Editor:  Mitchell Hang

Show Notes: Alexandra Jentz

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