Saturday, November 30, 2024

GardenDC Podcast Episode 221: Gifts for Gardeners


In this special holiday episode, we share our favorite gardening tools and products* perfect for gifting the gardeners in your life -- and yourself!

*Disclosure: Some of these items were sent to us free to trial, but many we have repurchased on our own as well as for gifts for other gardeners. The gift ideas here are linked to an Amazon affiliate account, so if you click on them and order any, Washington Gardener Magazine gets a few pennies added to the account for the referral. Our full Amazon storefront is here.

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.

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

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 177: New Plants and Products 2024

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2024/01/gardendc-podcast-episode-177-new-plants.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 133: New Plants and Products 2023

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2023/01/gardendc-podcast-episode-133-new-plants.html

This episode is archived at: https://open.spotify.com/episode/05OnrTPw3wrGW5LVf2ntmB

Show Notes are posted at: https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2024/11/holiday-gifts-for-gardeners-top.html

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: Zachary Intrater
Music: Let the Sunshine by James Mulvany

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Friday, November 29, 2024

Fenton Friday: Wrapping Up the Year

This week has turned cold and we had some decent rains. We attempted to dig up some of the radishes, but they are still quite small so I'll leave them in for a bit longer. The Brassicas are growing well and next week intern Zachary will report on his experiences growing them.

We'll cut back the Asparagus foliage and apply fresh wood chips to the pathways.

Other than that, I think we can call the growing season officially over.

Looking back on the year, it was a tough one. We had record heat and drought. The bugs were relentless and the rabbits/deer/rats/groundhogs were ravenous. We had some successes -- particularly our Blackberries, Gherkin Cucumbers, Carrots, Potatoes, and Dahlias, but also some duds -- Peas and Lettuces. 

If this was your first year growing an edible garden in the DMV, don't be discouraged -- there is always next year to look forward to. The seed catalogs are starting to arrive and winter is time to snuggle up with a few of them and starting planning now for the next growing season.

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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Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Holiday Gifts for Gardeners ~ Top Gardening Gifts ~ 21+ Cool Gardening Gift Ideas

The holiday season is here and I bet you have a gardener on your gift list, so we've updated our annual a Holiday Gifts for Gardeners ~ Top Gardening Gifts ~ 21+ Cool Gardening Gift Ideas.

Here are the garden products I use almost every day. These are the tried-and-true work tools that make my garden grow, save my back from breaking, and generally make life a little easier. Buy a few for others, but also treat yourself!


Disclosure: Some of these items were sent to us free to trial, but many we have repurchased on our own as well as for gifts for other gardeners. The gift ideas here are linked to an Amazon affiliate account, so if you click on them and order any, Washington Gardener Magazine gets a few pennies added to the account for the referral. Our full Amazon storefront is at:













+ One Bonus Item: Tenax Deer Net

Need even more ideas? Here are some more links-

Disclosure: Clicking on these links and then ordering anything from Amazon may put a few pennies in the Washington Gardener Magazine bank account. Thank you for anything you can direct our way. We are participants in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

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Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Win up to 5 cubic yards of Bloom conditioner and a Bloom T-shirt in the November 2024 Washington Gardener Reader Contest

UPDATE: Congratulations to our November 2024 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, Beth Py-Lieberman!

For our November 2024 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, we are giving away a delivery of up to 5 cubic yards of Bloom conditioner and a Bloom T-shirt from Bloom. 

   Give your trees, grass, plants, and flowers a boost with Bloom,® a soil conditioner rich in organic matter and nutrients made from Class A Exceptional Quality biosolids produced at DC Water’s Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant.

   To enter to win the gift certificate, send an email by 5:00pm on November 30 to WashingtonGardenerMagazine@gmail.com with “Bloom Soil” in the Subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us what your favorite article was in the November 2024  Washington Gardener issue and why. Please include your full name and mailing address. Winners will be announced and notified on/about December 1. Replies might be published.

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Monday, November 25, 2024

Monday Thoughts: "The secret of improved plant breeding, apart from scientific knowledge, is love." ~ Luther Burbank

 

"The secret of improved plant breeding, apart from scientific knowledge, is love." 

~ Luther Burbank

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Saturday, November 23, 2024

GardenDC Podcast Episode 220: The Age of Lichens

In this episode, we talk with Serenella Linares, mycologist and Facility Director at Mount Rainier Nature Center, all about Lichens. The plant profile is on Blue Vervain 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 Cultivating Chaos from Christy Page of Green Prints.

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.

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

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 132: Moss Gardening

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2023/01/gardendc-podcast-episode-132-moss.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 106: Ancient Plants

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/05/gardendc-podcast-episode-106-ancient.html

This episode is archived at: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/episodes/The-Age-of-Lichens-e2rck2e

Show Notes: 01:18 - Welcome Serenella Linares, mycologist and Facility Director at the Mount Rainier Nature Center 01:43 - Serenella talks about her childhood gardening experiences 03:30 - Where did Serenella grow up? 04:25 - What led Serenella to a career with plants? 05:53 - Serenella discusses being able to share her love of nature with others in the community 07:02 - Serenella talks about her geography and growing conditions in Mount Rainier, MD 09:34 - Is the Mount Rainier Nature Center part of the Prince George’s County Parks and Recreation Department? 10:21 - Serenella shares some of the goals and initiatives of the Mount Rainier Nature Center 12:07 - What is a lichen? 14:08 - How do the three different organisms of a lichen come together? 15:09 - Should you panic if you see a lichen on your trees or shrubs? 17:04 - What makes lichens more likely to appear on certain trees? 20:38 - The different colors that lichens come in 21:12 - Are lichens beneficial to our ecosystem? 25:15 - Are lichens edible? 26:01 - Do other species besides humans consume lichens? 27:11 - Serenella shares some of her favorite lichens 27:22 - Mealy rosette lichen 28:40 - Serenella discusses how lichens reproduce 30:03 - Cladonia 32:01 - Bird’s nest fungi 35:19 - Devil’s matchstick lichen 36:32 - What are some common lichens in this area? 36:37 - Beard lichen 38:35 - Serenella discusses using iNaturalist 39:02 - Are there other guides that Serenella uses to ID lichen? 39:36 - Urban Lichens: A Field Guide for Northeastern North America 40:14 - Delmarva Lichens: An Illustrated Manual 40:52 - Do lichens in your garden mean that you have a healthy garden and good air? 43:14 - Where to contact Serenella? (www.pgparks.com/facilities/mount-rainier-nature-center) (mawdc.org) 46:32 - Who are Serenella’s personal horticultural or botany heroes? 52:17 - Blue Vervain Plant Profile 53:54 - What’s new in the garden this week? Cool temperatures have moved in along with some much needed rain, and foliage on the fothergilla shrubs is looking beautiful 54:40 - Garden tips of the week: Check your evergreens for bagworms and dispose of them in the trash, don’t compost them. Also, you can sow native perennial seeds on a snow day. 55:04 - Gladiator II review 56:27 - Upcoming local gardening events: Brookside Gardens’ Garden of Lights, U.S. Botanic Garden’s “Season’s Greetings” Holiday Display, and Homestead Gardens’ Holiday Bus Trip to Longwood Gardens 58:47 - Cultivating Chaos: Confessions of an Accidental Gardener 1:00:46 - Thank you for listening! Become a supporter

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: Zachary Intrater
Music: Let the Sunshine by James Mulvany

PIN THIS FOR LATER!

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The holiday season is here and I bet you have a gardener on your gift list, so we've   updated   our annual a Holiday Gifts for Gardener...

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