Saturday, June 29, 2024

GardenDC Podcast on Holiday Break

GardenDC: The award-winning podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening is taking a break for the Independence Day holiday and will be back shortly with new episodes. While there is no new episode today, we recommend you re-listen to a past favorite or catch up on some that you might have missed. We also have the following suggestions of past episodes that we think you will enjoy:

~ GardenDC Episode 153: An American Garden Story
BTW, YOU can become a listener supporter for as little as $0.99 per month! 
See how at: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/support.

We welcome your questions and comments! You can leave a voice mail message for us at: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/message Note that we may use these messages on a future episode.

And be sure to leave us a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform plus share us on social media with #GardenDC, so other gardeners can find us too!

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Friday, June 28, 2024

Fenton Friday: Purple Peppers



It has been so hot and dry and windy -- it is really getting disheartening -- yet another week of NO RAIN! Thank goodness for our nearby cistern and all the garden plot volunteers who keep it refilled from a nearby hydrant.

This week, several peppers are forming on our plants. My favorite so far that we are growing for the first time is 'Buena Mulata'. We got the seedlings from the Silver Spring Garden Club's GardenMart plant sale. This photo (above) doesn't do them justice -- go to Rareseeds.com to see them up close and in their many color phases. After starting out purple, they go to orange-tan, and finally a bright red. They are listed as moderately hot similar to Cayenne peppers. The foliage of the plants is very attractive as well, so could just be grown as an ornamental plant. It is an heirloom variety that was from William Woys Weaver's Roughwood Seed Collection. "His grandfather received the pepper from African-American painter Horace Pippin in 1944," says Rareseeds. 

We also saw tiny tomatoes forming on our 'White Currant' and other tomato varieties. No fruits are showing up on the eggplant yet as that is under a cover cloth for now.

I ripped out the last of the Radishes and Broccoli plants. I hung the radish pods to dry and will collect the seeds later.

In their place, we made mounds and planted Gherkins and Zucchini. I left a row of Carrots in and hope to dig them around the time of the Montgomery County Fair to enter them. 

The Blackberries have slowed down to just a few fruits every couple of days so I'll take the covering nets and mesh off them soon.

The sprouted Sweet Potato had a slow start and is now taking off and putting on lots of foliage growth. 

A late garden addition is two variegated red Cotton plants from a garden I visited last weekend that was part of the Region 3 Daylily Summer Meeting. I planted them in the heat and they are NOT happy, but I hope will recover with some TLC.

What are you growing in your edible garden this week?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 13th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above (at the top, left on this blog).

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Thursday, June 27, 2024

Win a box of Pine Straw from Mid-Atlantic Pine Straw Mulch and a box of Salt Hay from SaltHay.com, in the June 2024 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest

Win a box of Pine Straw from Mid-Atlantic Pine Straw Mulch and a box of Salt Hay from SaltHay.com, in the June 2024 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest! (The prize retail value is $205.00.) 

Mid-Atlantic Pine Straw Mulch (MidAtlanticPineStraw. com) is a family-operated business located in Pennsylvania. Salt Hay doesn’t contain weed seeds, unlike wheat straw, which contains seeds that can germinate in your garden beds. It’s organic, keeps the moisture in garden beds, can be reused over several growing seasons, and is resistant to rotting. Salt hay doesn’t compact and smother plants. Premium Longleaf Pine Straw (aka pine needles) adds a unique texture to any landscape. This natural mulch provides good weed deterrent characteristics, insulates tender root structures, retains moisture in the soil better than hardwood mulches, and is easy to spread. 

   To enter to win the gift card, send an email to WashingtonGardenerMagazine@ gmail.com by 5:00pm on Sunday, June 30, with “Pine Straw” in the subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us what your favorite article was in the June 2024 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine and why. Include your full name and address. The winner will be announced on July 1.

UPDATE: Our winner is John Rebstock of Cheverly, MD.

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Monday, June 24, 2024

Monday Thoughts: “We all are nature’s best hope.” ~ Doug Tallamy

“We all are nature’s best hope.”

 ~ Doug Tallamy

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Sunday, June 23, 2024

June 2024 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine – Love-in-a-Mist, Slicing Tomatoes, Best Mulches, and much more…

 

The June 2024 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine is out.

 

It is posted and archived online at:  

 

Inside this issue:

·         Love-in-a-Mist

·         False Green Hellebores (Veratrum viride)

·         Mugwort

·         Top 5 Slicing/Sandwich Tomatoes

·         Hoyas and the Science of Variegation

·         Tips for Getting Rid of Stink Bugs

·         A New Garden at AHS River Farm

·         Eldergrow: Fighting Dementia Through Gardening

·         Supporting Other Pollinators

·         Best Types of Mulch

·         Magical Dahlias

·         Great Gardening Books Reviewed

·         and much more…

 

Note that any submissions, event listings, and advertisements for the July 2024 issue are due by July 5.

 

>>  Subscribe to Washington Gardener Magazine today to have the monthly publication sent to your inbox as a PDF several days before it is available online. You can use the PayPal (credit card) online order form here: https://www.washingtongardener.com/index_files/subscribe.htm


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Saturday, June 22, 2024

GardenDC Podcast Episode 200: Secrets of a Gardening Podcast

In this very special episode, show host Kathy Jentz is interviewed by intern Josh Panepento about the podcast's first 200 episodes and some of the behind-the-scenes production secrets. The plant profile is on Egyptian Starflower and we share what's going on in the garden as well as some upcoming local gardening events and this week's garden tasks in the What's New segment. We close out with the Last Word on Types of Beans from Christy Page of Green Prints.

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

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 100: Behind the Scenes

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/04/gardendc-podcast-episode-100-behind.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 1: Debut Episode

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2020/03/gardendc-podcast-debut.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 92: Universal Gardening Truths

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

This episode is archived at: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/episodes/Secrets-of-a-Gardening-Podcast-e2l66j2/a-ab14qg4

BTW, YOU can become a listener supporter for as little as $0.99 per month! 

See how at: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/support.

SHOW NOTES: 1:05 Welcome Josh Panepento, Washington Gardener Magazine intern 1:45 How has GardenDC Podcast Host Kathy Jentz improved as a podcaster? 3:10 Kathy highlights some exciting recent guests: Doug Tallamy (EP. 141), Margaret Roach (EP. 165), and Ken Druse (EP. 188) 4:15 Have there been any problems landing a guest? 5:32 Kathy’s recent visit with Sue Hunter, seeing her holly collection, and her cats 8:02 Past guests that Kathy has seen recently, including Janet Draper (EP. 160), Andrew Bunting (EP. 121), and Sam Hoadley (EP. 182) 9:20 Who is Kathy’s dream guest? …and other future episode ideas 12:30 Are there any GardenDC Podcast bloopers? 13:50 Washington Gardener’s increased social media presence, especially on TikTok 15:30 Has Kathy accomplished her goals from the 100th episode of writing a new book? 17:40 Kathy’s goals for the next 5 years and filming live Q&A’s 19:51 Expect more Instagram lives from the garden 21:22 Kathy is growing pink okra and cotton right now 22:30 Kathy’s thoughts on the summer interns growing tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants 23:49 Using fish fertilizers on tomatoes 24:32 What can listeners expect for the upcoming episodes and how does Kathy plan the episodes? 26:44 Spotify listener poll results 29:35 What does Kathy do after a podcast episode is released? 30:35 Kathy shares a story of negative responses to a particular GardenDC episode 32:42 Despite some negative comments online, the gardening community is positive and friendly 33:50 Kathy shares a message of gratitude towards listeners she encounters 35:50 Kathy’s passion for making the podcast has increased as time goes on because of the listeners and great guests 37:57 Kathy finds it easier to interview someone she knows 39:28 How much research goes into each episode of the podcast? 41:10 Recent events Kathy attended: Green Spring Gardens Spring Plant Sale and RootingDC 41:51 200th episode GardenDC embroidery patches will be available to listeners 44:04 Kathy says thank you to all the listeners and guests 45:03 Plant Profile: Egyptian starflower 46:24 What’s new in the garden this week? Hydrangeas, dwarf ‘Ruby Slippers’, and smoke bush 48:25 Upcoming events in the Maryland, D.C., and Virginia area – U.S. Botanical Garden will shift its hours from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM from July 8th through August 30th. U.S. National Arboretum will stay open until 8:00 PM on the 4th Friday of the month this summer 49:36 Check out Groundcover Revolution by Kathy Jentz for low-maintenance alternatives for lawns on Amazon.com and Bookshop.org 52:00 Christy Page from Food Gardening Network on seven types of beans to grow to add color to your vegetable garden, an article by Amanda MacArthur

We welcome your questions and comments! You can leave a voice mail message for us at: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/message Note that we may use these messages on a future episode.

And be sure to leave us a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform plus share us on social media with #GardenDC, so other gardeners can find us too!

Episode Credits:
Host and Producer: Kathy Jentz
Interview Edit and Show Notes: Josh Panepento

PIN THIS FOR LATER!

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