Gardentalk

Master Gardener Ed Buyarski spoke with KTOO's Chloe Pleznac about potential problems to look for, which plants may be ready to harvest and even shares his anti-slug elixir.

For this week's Garden Talk, Chloe spoke with Joel Bos about outdoor programs for kids — and about how anyone can get involved in community gardening.

If you've listened to Garden Talk before, you've heard the term “master gardener.” But what do they do?

Buyarski says gardeners should be “pulling weeds, pulling weeds, and pulling some more weeds.” 

Companion planting is a technique gardeners can use to increase their yield, boost soil fertility, and reduce weeds and pests.

Michalsen stresses that going out with an expert is crucial to staying safe and learning to properly identify plants. 

For this week's Garden Talk, Naomi Michalsen shared some reflections on the practice of respectful harvesting.

The arboretum cares for more than 170 varieties of Primula.

The manager of Juneau's city-owned garden shares tips for spring planting and upcoming events at the arboretum for Alaska Native Plant Month. 

Master Gardener Ed Buyarski says your apple and cherry trees shouldn't have any rubbing branches — that a robin should be able to fly through a tree without hitting its wings.

Before you put your seedlings in the ground, you'll have to get them ready.

For this week's Garden Talk, KTOO's Chloe Pleznac spoke with Khalil English about his research on silverweed, a seemingly inconspicuous plant with deep roots in Pacific Northwest history.

Master Gardener Ed Buyarski says it's time to start doing the work that will set you up for success.

If the goal is a spring cutting garden, productivity can be extended by strategically planting mid- and late-season blooming varieties in the fall.

Winter chanterelles have very distinct characteristics that make them easy to identify, especially for beginners.

Plants can better adapt to new locations when the weather is cool and they are finished blooming.

Primula florindae flowers can bloom in a variety of shades when planted alongside a primula of a different color.

Some cucumber and tomato varieties do particularly well in Southeast Alaska greenhouses.

Chickweed has a mild taste and is nutritious when eaten fresh.

After garlic is harvested, it can be cured by hanging in a warm, dry place with good air circulation for a few weeks.

A year after completion, the greenhouse has produced its share of successes and setbacks.

With both plants, the shoots, tips and leaves are edible and delicious in salads and sauces.

Starting now through mid-August, garlic plants will be ready to harvest. But gardeners should look out for botrytis, a fungus disease that can spread throughout crops.

If they haven't already, your full-sized garlic plants may soon produce long, curled shoots called "scapes." What they are and what to do with them, on this week's episode of Garden Talk

In this week’s episode, Ed Buyarski talks about the best practices for watering your plants during this long hot and dry spell. If you have questions for Garden Talk, email edbuyarski@hotmail.com or call 907-209-8905.      

This week, Ed Buyarski shares a wide variety of methods for combatting slugs in your garden. Also, how to prepare your crops for a summer heat wave. If you have questions for Garden Talk, email edbuyarski@hotmail.com or call 907-209-8905.

Ed Buyarski is eating homegrown salads every night and you can too! Tips for midsummer–making use of garlic scapes, best flowering summer perennials, planting second crops of leafy greens, and more. If you have questions for Garden Talk, email edbuyarski@hotmail.com or call 907-209-8905.

On today’s episode, we’ll hear about the importance of thinning seedlings for better quality produce. And, Ed Buyarski recommends what to do with the sprouts. If you have questions for Garden Talk, email edbuyarski@hotmail.com or call 907-209-8905.

On this episode of Garden Talk, Ed Buyarksi discusses the different ways that flowers, vegetables, fruits and berries need to be pollinated. Bees, birds, wind, and sometimes the gardeners themselves are all needed to make it happen. If you have questions for Garden Talk, email edbuyarski@hotmail.com or call 907-209-8905.

On this episode of Garden Talk, Ed Buyarski shares techniques on thermoregulating your vegetable plants in hotter temperatures, particularly in greenhouses. He also updates us on what he’s planting this time of year. If you have questions for Garden Talk, email edbuyarski@hotmail.com or call 907-209-8905.

Ed Buyarski says gardens are slow in coming to fruition this year, due to cooler weather. But he says it’s still a good time to fertilize your plants. If you have questions for Garden Talk, email edbuyarski@hotmail.com or call 907-209-8905.

In this week’s Garden Talk, Ed Buyarski talks with KTOO’s Rhonda McBride about how to help your strawberries survive an onslaught of threats — from mold, mildew and slugs, to porcupines that dine voraciously on their leaves, as well as the squirrels who love the berries. If you have questions for Garden Talk, email edbuyarski@hotmail.com or call…

On this episode of Garden Talk, Ed Buyarski extolls the virtues of cultivating flowers. If you have questions for Garden Talk, email edbuyarski@hotmail.com or call 907-209-8905.

This is the time to tranplant or plant berries, cherries, and apples! Ed Buyarski shares tips about the best varieties to grow in Southeast Alaska, and how to make sure they get pollinated. If you have questions for Garden Talk, email edbuyarski@hotmail.com or call 907-209-8905.

On this week’s episode of Garden Talk, Ed Buyarski discusses the ways he tracks the weather and keeps records of his garden from year to year. If you have questions for Garden Talk, email edbuyarski@hotmail.com or call 907-209-8905.

Time to start direct sowing cool weather crops! Some warm weather crops can be started indoors under lights right now as well. And Ed Buyarski shares advice about how to handle gardening fails. If you have questions for Garden Talk, email edbuyarski@hotmail.com or call 907-209-8905.

On this week’s episode, Ed Buyarski reminds us that this is the time of year to transplant trees and shrubs. It is also a good time to divide perennials such as hostas and rhubarb. If you have questions for Garden Talk, email edbuyarski@hotmail.com or call 907-209-8905.

On this week’s Garden Talk, Ed Buyarski addresses the hot topic of what do to with our garlic and other unharvested crops from last season. He also shares tips on tending to new sprouts and perennials. If you have questions for Garden Talk, email edbuyarski@hotmail.com or call 907-209-8905.

On this week’s episode of Garden Talk, Ed Buyarski shares tips for pruning trees in the spring to stimulate growth and fruit production. He also walks us through some of the perennial herbs that can overwinter in hoop houses. If you have questions for Garden Talk, email edbuyarski@hotmail.com or call 907-209-8905.

On this week’s episode of Garden Talk, host Ed Buyarski talks about direct sowing seeds, and shares everything you need to start growing potatoes (Spoiler alert: no tires!) If you have questions for Garden Talk, email edbuyarski@hotmail.com or call 907-209-8905

Ed Buyarski talks about preparing your gardens for spring seedlings, and discusses how to build and fill a raised bed for first-timers. Find instructions for building a raised bed here: Ed’s Raised box recipe. If you have questions for Garden Talk, email edbuyarski@hotmail.com or call 907-209-8905

On this week’s episode of Garden Talk, Ed Buyarski reminds us that it’s time to start seeds for spring and summer planting. He shares tips on seed selection, lighting, and transplanting.

Ed Buyarski talks about tending to house plants during the time before spring garden prep begins in earnest. He gives tips on planters, battling fungus gnats, and lighting. If you have questions for Garden Talk, email edbuyarski@hotmail.com or call 907-209-8905.

It's the right time for either planting fast-growing lettuce and radishes or slower-growing swiss chard and mustard greens.

An oscillating fan will also help distribute the pollen in a greenhouse, and extra heat will help extend the growing season.

Joe Orsi recommends carefully digging the garlic plants out from below, washing the bulbs, and peeling off some of the wrappers before hanging them to dry.

Deb Rudis says the best places around Juneau to view Alaska wildflowers include up the road to the Eaglecrest Ski Area, Brotherhood Bridge meadow, Eagle Beach area and Cowee Meadows off 38 mile Glacier Highway.

Snap them off when they start bending over and looping on themselves or you may have small garlic bulbs at harvest time.

Blueberries, raspberries, apples and cherries all seem to be late this season, likely because they have little energy left over from last year's cool and wet conditions.

Other common edible plants in the Juneau area include dandelion, broadleaf plantain, broadleaf avens, chickweed, sourdock, fireweed, and salmonberry.

Lisa Daugherty prefers layering carbon on top of food scraps in a compost bin so that it doesn't attract flies, squirrels, ravens, and bears.