Saturday, May 31, 2025

GardenDC Podcast Episode 243: Turn Off the Lights for Plants and Pollinators

In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with landscape designer Phyllis Gricus, about her research into light pollution's harmful effects on the garden. The plant profile is on Sundrops 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 Planting a Garden Based on Your Birth Month by Christy Page of GreenPrints.

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

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 89: Working with a Landscape Designer


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

See how at: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/subscribe 

Visit https://shop.kathyjentz.com/ to browse our new online store!

This episode is archived at: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/episodes/Turn-Off-the-Lights-for-Plants-and-Pollinators-e33jnr7

Show Notes will be posted after 6-6-2025.

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
Music: Let the Sunshine by James Mulvany

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Friday, May 30, 2025

Fenton Friday: Turnip Harvest

It was another very wet week and cooler-than-average temperatures - but I'm not complaining! The heat looks like it will arrive soon, so I'm frantically trying to weed and switch the plot over to summer crops.

I pulled all the 'White Globe' Turnips. They grew to be big and beautiful. I donated a bunch to a local food collection and gave the rest to friends.

The Broccoli plants are a mess. They are infested with whiteflies or some similar pest - despite the covercloth we placed over them. I need to yank them all soon and will maybe do a Squash in their spot.

I picked a handful of Blackberries, one pod off the scrawny Pea vines, cut some Lettuce for salads, and Cilantro for garnishes. I also pulled one Beet and a few Radishes to test them.

Look ahead, we need to pull the rest of the Radishes and Beets, then plant our Tomato and Pepper seedlings. 

Then I need to restore my cutting garden - the Dahlias are all back and getting big, but I want to add Lisianthus seedlings and start Cosmos from seeds too.

At the pollinator garden strip, the Calendula and Common Mikweed are blooming as are donated Bachelor's Buttons and some Violas I transfered from my home garden. The Zinnia and Marigold seedlings are growing stronger and I should be able to thin some out this week.

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 14th 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, May 29, 2025

May is National Asparagus Month

May is asparagus month, so I thought I'd re-post one of my favorite plant profile videos for one of my favorite foods! What's not to love about Asparagus? It is perennial and so easy to grow -- practically set-it-and-forget-it! It tastes great raw or cooked. And, most interesting of all, it makes your pee smell funky -- at least mine does after consuming it. 

Here is how to grow asparagus along with a few extra fun facts about this unique edible plant. (BTW, if you have any favorite asparagus recipes, please share them in the comments below.) 

Nothing says, "SPRING!" like fresh asparagus. With no real work on my part, I am able to get a decent harvest of asparagus from my community garden plot. The only thing this perennial vegetable really requires is patience.

Having to hold off on harvesting for three years from the initial planting date was a real test of my will power, but the wait is worth it. They are so tender fresh from the garden that they only need a quick blanching to prepare them.

To plant them, buy asparagus crowns (roots) via mail-order or from your local garden center. Plant them in a trench about 6 to 12 inches deep and a foot wide in a sunny spot in your garden. Add in some organic compost when re-filling the hole and then keep the area well-mulched.

Let the plants go through their growth cycle for two years without picking any so they gain strength and get well-established. In the third year, you can finally selectively harvest some spears by grasping them near the ground to bend them and they will naturally snap off at their weakest point.

At the beginning of May, stop harvesting and let the asparagus spears grow. They need the tall foliage and recovery time to send energy back down to the developing roots. You will need to tie-up the long asparagus fronds in the summer with a bungee cord or string as they like to flop over.

 In the fall, the plant forms little red seed pods or "berries," The asparagus seeds can be collected, dried, and planted the next spring. Towards the end of autumn, the foliage starts to turn brown --cut it back and compost it. Then mulch the bed with an organic material like straw.

I let strawberries encroach in my asparagus bed as their surface-runners don't really interfere much with the asparagus roots, but you really should keep it weeded and free of other interloping plants.

By the way, “white” asparagus is the same plant as the regular green one. It is just deprived of sunshine so it can’t produce chlorophyll and turn green. To grow white asparagus, bury the spears in mounds -- adding a few inches of soil a little at time, leaving the very tips showing. Harvest by digging them out and cutting off the top growth.

Asparagus - You Can Grow That!

The profile video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine.

Visuals by Khloe Quill
Audio by Kathy Jentz

 

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This post is part of the #GardenBloggersChallenge sponsored by Gardencomm for the month of May. You are invited to join in and can see more details at https://info.gardencomm.org/bloggerschallenge

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Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Win a set of three Grow Bag Pots in our May 2025 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest

UPDATE: Our contest winner is Linus Chen of Oakton, VA.
Congratulations, Linus!

For our May 2025 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest, we are giving away a set of three grow bag pots (value $30). 

   These fabric garden bags are made of quality nonwoven fabric material, sturdy and breathable, providing an ideal growing environment for plants and flowers. The grow bags are one-gallon sized. They have handles sewn on for easy transport. The nonwoven material provides good drainage for plants, allowing roots to breathe freely and plants to grow faster and more vigorously. When not in use, they can be folded flat and stored easily. They are reusable for at least three growing seasons and are machine-washable.

   To enter to win the grow bags, send an email by 5:00pm on May 31 to WashingtonGardenerMagazine@gmail.com with “Grow Bag Pots” in the Subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us what your favorite article was in our May 2025 issue and why. Please include your full name and mailing address. Winners will be announced and notified on/about June 1. Replies might be published. 

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Monday, May 26, 2025

Monday Thoughts: "Leave Room in Your Garden for Angels to Dance." ~ Anonymous

"Leave Room in Your Garden for Angels to Dance." ~ Anonymous

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Saturday, May 24, 2025

GardenDC Podcast Episode 242: A Lifetime of Gardening with Barbara Damrosch

In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with author Barbara Damrosch, about her latest book, A Life in the Garden*, about her lifetime of accumulated gardening wisdom.The plant profile is on Centaurea 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 Coaching Seedbirth by Christy Page of GreenPrints.

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

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 186: Planning Your Vegetable Garden


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.

Visit https://shop.kathyjentz.com/ to browse our new online store!

This episode is archived at: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/episodes/A-Lifetime-of-Gardening-with-Barbara-Damrosch-e339kn8

Show Notes will be posted after 5-27-2025.

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
Music: Let the Sunshine by James Mulvany

PIN THIS FOR LATER!
*Barbara's book can be ordered at https://amzn.to/45nGZ2H
(Note: This is an Amazon affiliate link.)
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Friday, May 23, 2025

Fenton Friday: Soggy Weeds

It has been a very wet week with heavy rains on most days and cooler-than-average temperatures, so I've hardly been out to the garden plot. That means the weeds are running rampant and I'm far behind on several chores.

At the pollinator garden strip, the Calendula and Common Mikweed (pictured above) are blooming as are a couple Bachelor's Buttons.

Look ahead, I need to start my cutting garden. I have several Dahlias that wintered over fine and will add a tray of Lisianthus seedlings that I purchased. The rest (Cosmos, Zinnias, etc.) I will start from seeds.

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 14th 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, May 21, 2025

May 2025 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine: British Ambassador’s Garden, Stevia, Fleabane, Wood Thrush, and much more…

 

The May 2025 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine is now out.

Inside this issue: 

·         Inside the British Ambassador’s Garden

·         A Party Time Houseplant

·         Native Fleabane

·         New Ironweed ‘Prairie Princess’

·         Little Beasts at the NGA

·         Wood Thrush

·         Best Practices for Lush Lawns

·         Stevia, a True Superplant

·         Modern Cottage Garden Tips

·         Garden Book Reviews and Contest

·         Azalea Miner Bee

·         Local Rose Breeder Ben Williams

and much more…

Note that any submissions, event listings, and advertisements for the June 2025 issue are due by June 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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Monday, May 19, 2025

Monday Thoughts: "A garden is where the mind rests, the heart beats, and the soul blossoms." ~ Dr. Pam Stephens Lehenbauerough

"A garden is where the mind rests, the heart beats, and the soul blossoms."

~ Dr. Pam Stephens Lehenbauerough

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Saturday, May 17, 2025

GardenDC Podcast Episode 241: Lost Trees and Climate Activism

In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with author and climate activist Mike Tidwell, about his latest book, The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue*, which is an exploration of global warming’s impact on his own home block.The plant profile is on Pagoda Dogwood 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 Bean Succession Planting by Christy Page of GreenPrints.

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

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 165: Gardening and the Weather with Margaret Roach

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2023/09/gardendc-podcast-episode-165-gardening.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 141: Nature's Best Hope

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2023/03/gardendc-podcast-episode-141-natures.html

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.

Visit https://shop.kathyjentz.com/ to browse our new online store!

This episode is archived at: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/episodes/Lost-Trees-and-Climate-Activism-e32v6j2

Show Notes will be posted after 5-20-2025.

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
Music: Let the Sunshine by James Mulvany

PIN THIS FOR LATER!
*Mike's book can be ordered at https://amzn.to/3SLPH3f
(Note: This is an Amazon affiliate link.)
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