Gardentalk: Recent Episodes
KTOO Public Media
A meadow off Sawmill Creek near Berners Bay. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/31GT_RespecHarvest1.mp3As part of the Kayaani Sisters Council, Naomi Michalsen helped develop a free guide for people who want to learn about how to sustainably and respectfully gather local plants. For this week’s Garden Talk, Michalsen shared some reflections on the practice of respectful harvesting.
“I didn’t really grow up talking about respectful harvesting. We didn’t say, ‘Hey, let’s go out and harvest respectfully!’” she said. “In today’s world, it seems like things are changing so quickly, that it is how we’re talking, and it is how we’re going out.”
She said that starts with building an understanding of the history and culture of the Indigenous people who have stewarded the land where you want to gather plants.
“Starting with our young kids, to kind of start with that idea that before we even go out to harvest — who are the people that live in the land that we’re harvesting? Build a deeper understanding and connection to the people on whose lands you are harvesting,” she said.
Michalsen said people should also feel spiritually prepared before they go out.
“Some people say a blessing or a song — a prayer. They might meditate, they might talk or sing to the plant. They might announce to the ancestors that they’re there,” she said. “Some people even said that their grandmother told stories the night before about the plant that they were going to harvest, and they would dream about this plant.”
Michalsen also emphasized that language is a powerful vessel for expressing gratitude and respect. She explained that learning and using the traditional names of plants is a great way to practice.
“I have a friend in Juneau, George Holly, he’s been working with a lot of the young children, and they’re creating songs around the plants and the environment around them. So it’s okay to create songs as well,” she said.
And she said it’s important to acknowledge one’s teachers.
“For example, Holly Churchill was one of my teachers when I learned how to gather cedar bark. So I always acknowledge that. Rita Blumenstein was one of my teachers around the plants, and so I acknowledge her as one of my teachers,” she said. “So, always acknowledging the people of the land, people that were your teachers — and I always would even gather for them as well, especially when they became older.”
A free, printable version of the Respectful Harvesting Guidelines is available on the University of Alaska Fairbanks website. Come back next week for more from this conversation.
Correction: An earlier version of this post misspelled Michalsen’s last name.
Primula chugensis. (Jensen-Olson Arboretum)https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/24GT_Primulas.mp3Green things have been sprouting up all over Juneau in the past month and a half. Along with the warmer weather comes a burst of color and life at the Jensen-Olson Arboretum.
Ginger Hudson, the arboretum’s manager, recently spoke with KTOO’s Garden Talk about what the arboretum has planned for Memorial Day weekend.
On Saturday, the arboretum will celebrate both National Public Gardens Day and their own Primula Day. There will be a plant sale starting at 10 a.m. and a guided tour of the garden with members of the American Primrose Society beginning at 11 a.m.
Primula auricula, sometimes called bear’s ears primrose. (Jensen-Olson Arboretum)Hudson says Public Gardens Day is a recognition of gardens across the country, which she says are like “plant museums” where visitors can explore unique collections. “It’s important to preserve these lands that are unique or special or have special plant collections. Some may have plants on them that are not found anywhere else in the world. And just to let folks know, ‘Look, this is another place you can come and relax or get ideas for your own garden.’” Hudson said.
The arboretum’s Primula Day is dedicated to the genus Primula, or primroses. Husdon says the arboretum cares for more than 170 varieties, including some that are considered threatened.
“We’re really excited about that because they grow really well here,” she said.
Primula denticulata (purple balls) and Primula elatior (pale yellow mass). (Jensen-Olson Arboretum)Hudson said that Caroline Jensen, who donated the arboretum property, loved primroses.
“The previous manager developed her collection into a larger collection for the accreditation acknowledgment — that puts us on the national and international stage. So we collect seeds and plants from all over when we can,” she said.
Visitors can buy their own Primulas from the arboretum during the plant sale. But for people who can’t grow them at home, Hudson says the gardens at the arboretum remain an accessible resource for everyone to enjoy and appreciate nature’s beauty.
“That’s why we have public gardens! If you don’t have a garden at home but you like gardens, well, you need to just come in and hang out here!” she said.
Primula ‘Lady Greer.’ (Jensen-Olson Arboretum)The Jensen-Olson Arboretum is currently open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. Admission is free, although donations are always welcome. You can find a full list of the arboretum’s future events online at friendsjoarboretum.org/events.
The view from Jensen-Olson Arboretum in Juneau. (Photo courtesy of the Jensen-Olson Arboretum).https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GT-for-May-17.mp3Spring is in bloom at Juneau’s Jensen-Olson Arboretum.
Ginger Hudson manages the arboretum, a city-owned garden located out the road just pass the Shrine of St. Therese. She spoke with KTOO’s Garden Talk about spring planting and upcoming events at the arboretum for Alaska Native Plant Month.
“In the Lower 48, Native Plant Month is in April,” Hudson said. “And as everybody knows, our gardens are still waking up.”
Alaska Native Plant Month takes place in May and was established last year to recognize the importance of native species and encourage Alaskans to plant them in their gardens.
On Sunday, the arboretum will host a free native plant walk at 11 a.m. that anyone can join.
The arboretum is home to a nationally-accredited primrose collection. There are more than 170 varieties of primroses on the property today. Hudson says they’re in prime bloom at the moment, so now is the time to see them.
“If you can make it out earlier, the primroses are in prime spectacular color right now,” she said. “But they do bloom from April until frost. There is always some kind of primula growing.”
You can also stop by next Saturday for Public Gardens Day and Primula Day, when the garden will hold a plant sale and host tours.
Hudson also shared recommendations for native plants to grow in local gardens, including flowering and fruit-producing varieties.
Find a full list of future events online at friendsjoarboretum.org/events.
A cherry tree in blossom by the stairs behind Fireweed Place in Juneau on April 24, 2024. Buyarski says the cherry trees downtown are “severely, really thick,” and that pruning would help a lot. (Will Mader/KTOO)https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Garden-Talk-4-Pruning.mp3If you’ve taken a walk outside in Juneau lately, you’ve probably noticed the smell of growing things. Maybe you’ve also noticed the budding and blooming trees and bushes.
Master Gardener Ed Buyarski says proper pruning techniques can help your trees reach their full potential. He says to start with some basic rules.
“First, take out any deadwood. The deadwood doesn’t do the tree any good,” he said. “This winter, with some of the heavy snow we had, there’s been a lot of broken branches. So trim those off neat and clean.”
He says that for apple and cherry trees, the goal is to create a “slightly open center,” without branches rubbing each other.
“We want to open the tree enough so the sun gets through to the flowers and the fruit and the leaves,” he said. “They even talk about, well, “A robin should be able to fly through your tree without hitting its wings.”
He also says that it’s important not to prune too much in the spring because that will only lead to more pruning.
“So you don’t want to take too much off. They say 20% maybe, at most,” he said. “If you stimulate too much new growth, that means you have to do more pruning. It’s kind of a vicious circle, this time of year.”
He says that’s not true for pruning later in the year, though.
“There’s actually a time from mid-June to mid-July for pruning, which is going to slow down the growth,” he said. “Because most of the energy in the tree is up in the branches and trunk.”
Buyarski says not to leave stubs, not to seal your pruning cuts with paint or anything rubbery, and not to fill cracks in the trunk.
“That is not beneficial,” he said. “But cleaning tools in between, especially moving from tree to tree, if you have a little container with some 10% bleach solution, you can dip your pruning tools into that or paint them with it so that you’re not transferring diseases from one tree to another.”
Buyarski also emphasized the importance of using clean and sharp tools, fertilizing the trees, and reducing competition from weeds and grass around the roots.
Parsley and flower starts in the process of being hardened off on April 22, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Christina Castellanos/Snowshoe Hollow Farm)https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GT-3.wavWith all of this spring sunshine warming the earth, Master Gardener Ed Buyarski says it’s time to think about starting seeds and transplanting. But before you put your seedlings in the ground, you’ll have to get them ready.
“Hardening them off is slowly getting them used to outdoor conditions,” he said.
Buyarski says it’s best to start taking your seedlings outside when it’s cloudy – or at least put them in the shade.
“And only doing this for a short time like an hour the first day and then two hours tomorrow and then three or four hours the next day,” he said. “You’re gradually getting them used to longer time periods outdoors.”
Once you’re ready to put them in the ground, Buyarski says you can use a horticultural fabric like Reemay or Agribon to help your transplants prosper.
“It provides a little bit of shade, a little bit of frost protection, and holds a few degrees of heat,” he said. “But the rainwater can still go through, the air goes through, some light goes through.”
And as far as seed potatoes go? It may not be as simple as grabbing your winter root cellar rejects, unless you grew those yourself.
“I do not recommend using regular eating potatoes from the grocery store for that purpose,” he said. “Eating potatoes do not have the same inspections for diseases and stuff.”
Buyarski said that if you don’t have your own, you should try to buy certified seed potatoes instead.
Silverweed in bloom. (Courtesy of Khalil English)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. English spoke about silverweed’s importance as a food source across the North — and about where it grows in Juneau.
Listen:https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GT-2-FINAL-EDIT.mp3This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Khalil English: Silverweed first came into my life, I believe, through a book that I got from Professor Daniel Monteith called Haa Atxaayí Haa Kusteeyíx Sitee. It means, “Our food is our Lingít way of life.” And there are some plant foods in there that I had never heard of before, and one of them was tséit or silverweed. And that kind of just grew into something huge. I looked into some of the Lingít uses and how it’s harvested here, and then found, oh my gosh, it’s a beloved plant all throughout the Pacific Northwest and even circumboreal. It’s all around the North, and even in Europe, in Scotland, and Norway, etc. People have loved silverweed. So it ended up becoming a little bit of a self-history search, as well.
Chloe Pleznac: Can you tell me a little bit more about what some of those traditional uses are and how this plant fits into the history of all the indigenous cultures along the Pacific Northwest Coast? And even the circumpolar north, as you were saying.
Khalil English: A lot of the information that I have been able to learn comes from the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw, which are just the northern tip of Vancouver Island and a little bit on the mainland. And that’s where the temperate rainforest, it’s just non-stop, summer and winter rain. So we have these huge estuarine river systems, and people would bioengineer the salt marsh. So according to sources from the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw, there was not a single patch of saltmarsh that wasn’t owned and tended by someone. So it was a very intensively managed crop. There was a lot of food that people got from it. It was very important ceremonially, there was actually a taboo, at least in this area, for not eating the silverweed until, I think it was at least, around December, which has a little bit to do with getting the roots to taste sweeter. And then as far as Scotland, there’s sadly not as much information, but there is still a lot of love. In some of the few stories I could find. There was a little Gaelic phrase that I learned that I’ll share that kind of highlights some of the feelings around it. And it’s, brisgean beannaichte an Earraich, seachdamh aran a’ Ghàidheil. It means “blessed silverweed of spring, seventh bread of Gales.” And so along with millet and rye and wheat, silverweed was very important. And so people, when they were given their allotments for fishing, etc, silverweed patches were a part of that, at least in Scotland. And then when the potato famine happened, people actually returned to eating silverweed.
Chloe Pleznac: Do you know why it kind of has become a little disenfranchised? Why is it not known as well as these other food sources?
Khalil English: I think it depends on where we’re looking. So, for silverweed in the British Isles, from what I’ve garnered, it’s the fact that it was mostly a food that poor people ate. That’s why it wasn’t recorded so much. When we’re looking at the Pacific Northwest, then we’re dealing with a little bit more of that kind of direct intention to remove people from their food and remove people from the land. So of course, where silverweed grows, is the easiest land to develop. It’s the easiest land to put cows on. And so people were removed from their silverweed fields. There’s quite a few disheartening stories of people kind of giving up on those fields and walking away.
Chloe Pleznac: Where can people in Juneau typically find silverweed and respectfully harvest it?
Khalil English: Silverweed is abundant. There are actually quite a few subspecies of silverweed. So Pacific silverweed is what I’ve mostly been focusing on. They have the biggest roots and they’re going to be mostly along the oceanside. But even for folks in interior Alaska, or I don’t know, in Utah, there is still silverweed. It prefers more salty grounds. So for us, that’s right on the oceanside, could be at the edge of some lake, down further South. More direct places in Juneau might be Fish Creek. The Mendenhall Wetlands would be the most ideal spot, but of course, I don’t know how safe it is to eat anything out of there given the airport and the waste management system. But pretty much anywhere. Like Sandy Beach, all the edges are covered in silverweed. Any beach, right under that beach rye, that really grayish blue grass that is very thick? Silverweed is right there.
Chloe Pleznac: What time of year is the best time to keep an eye out for this? You were saying culturally, there’s a bit of connection at different times of the year for harvesting, perhaps?
Khalil English: For our area, what I’ve read is mostly people would harvest in the spring. And then what I’ve read for down in Vancouver, people mostly harvested in the fall. But I think it’s a little interchangeable. What they’re going for is once the plant starts growing actively, once you can see anything above ground, the roots are very, very astringent. They become really bitter. There’s a lot of tannins. So, when you harvest either at the very beginning of spring or in the fall, those tannins have reduced a lot. Then when you dry them and store them cold, the tannin content is further reduced. So, in wintertime, you got to kind of familiarize yourself with habitat, and then you can go and look for their dried leaves. They persist pretty well and are easy to recognize. And then you just dig in.
One last thing I’ll share, and this was a little more of my focus, is something I’ve loved about silverweed, is it really highlights the relationship that people can and have for many thousands of years had with the earth. I think, too often when we’re talking about environmental topics, it becomes really depressing, and we kind of demonize ourselves. But, to me, this really highlights like, oh, we have a place we also are attending the earth as well. And by tending these wild systems, they can become more productive. We can take advantage of it and so can the rest of the wildlife. But in today’s world, of course, it’s a little harder to go out and say start bioengineering our salt marsh here. So, people can bring them into their gardens. They’re very adaptable.
Flowers bloom in the Rainbow Foods garden in Downtown Juneau on April 3, 2024. (Photo by Chloe Pleznac/KTOO)https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GT24-1.mp3With the spring equinox behind us and a stretch of sunny, warm days over the last few weeks, it feels like spring has arrived full-force in Juneau. Trees are budding, birds are singing, and things are starting to stir in the earth.
Master Gardener Ed Buyarski says it’s time to start doing the garden prep that will set you up for success later in the season.
“It’s a time for cleanup in the garden, if we didn’t do cleanup last fall,” he said. “Getting all the old cabbage and broccoli plants out of there, and other slimy stuff. Removing slug habitat is a good start. Greenhouse clean up, tidying up. And, if folks are like me — we had a greenhouse collapse this winter — getting that new greenhouse on order or rebuilt.”
Buyarski also suggests that gardeners should get their own bodies ready for the physicality of the growing season.
“One thing for me that I have found helpful as I have become rather mature is getting in ‘garden shape,” he said. “That’s doing some stretching exercises each day. Getting the shoulders exercised, stretching out the back and the legs and all of the rest of that.”
And as far as our recent weather? Buyarski says to pay attention to warmer days for opportunities to start the growing season off on a good foot.
“A gradual warm up is good. That’s what we want. Waking up soil microorganisms if we’re mixing in some compost and some organic fertilizers and making sure to have your garden beds covered with clear plastic right now so the soil can warm up,” he said.. “We’re trying to encourage everything to grow better, whether the clear plastic is directly on the soil, or we have hoops with clear plastic over them, little mini greenhouses — all of that will help.”
If you have questions or ideas for future Garden Talk features, please email chloe.pleznac@ktoo.org or leave a message at (907) 463-6492.
Daffodils bloom in a North Douglas flower bed lined with seaweed mulch. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GTALK-S1E22.mp3Now is the time to get flower bulbs in the ground before it freezes. For an impressive display of blooms in the spring, plant a lot of them.
Master Gardener Ed Buyarski recommends planting flower bulbs such as crocuses, daffodils, and tulips in a location with good drainage. They don’t need to be in full sun all year long, just in the spring.
“So we can plant them at the edge underneath deciduous trees, which will leaf out in late May and June,” Buyarski says.
Buyarski plants bulbs by the bucketful in the fall. He digs large six-inch deep holes or trenches that wind around his raised beds, scratches in fertilizer, and places bulbs in groups of five to ten. “The mantra is pointy-end up,” he says.
Buyarski suggests packing them in and planning for just one season of blooms.
“With tulips, we’re often treating them like annuals, just because the second year they don’t come back very well. And the third year just leaves.” he says. “You can plant them just about touching, four- or five-hundred bulbs, a spectacular show of color.”
Bulbs bloom in the middle of the Douglas roundabout earlier this spring. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)If the goal is a spring cutting garden, productivity of bulbs can be extended by strategically planting mid-season and late-season blooming daffodils and tulips varieties in the fall.
“You can have six weeks of cut flowers from that little patch of ground in front of your house.” Buyarski says.
After the daffodil and tulip bulbs are in the ground, he covers them up halfway. “So now you’ve got a three-inch-deep hole,” he says. “You can plant some short bulbs, like crocus and snowdrops and Blue Scylla.”
Although spring is half a year away, planting bulbs now is not only easier before the ground freezes, it also gives gardeners something to look forward to.
“You know, at this time we’re dreaming. We’re hoping and we’re planning all this stuff for six months from now.” Buyarski says. “And you know, we gardeners are an optimistic bunch.”
Dave Gregovich, Wildlife Habitat Analyst for ADF&G and local mushroom enthusiast (photo by Sheli DeLaney/KTOO)https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GTALK-S1E21.mp3Dave Gregovich, Wildlife Habitat Analyst for the Department of Fish and Game, is a mushroom enthusiast on the hunt for winter chanterelles. He starts the search in a forest near the North Douglas highway, and looks for areas with hemlock trees and blueberries.
“It’s not a super specialized mushroom,” Gregovich said. “In most places where you have old growth forest, you have at least a few winter chanterelles.”
Edible mushrooms found in Southeast Alaska can be foraged throughout the fall and into early winter, but winter chanterelles have very distinct characteristics that make them especially easy to identify, especially for beginners.
Winter chanterelles (right) have ridges under the cap, rather than the sharp gills found on other mushroom species (left) (photo by Sheli DeLaney/KTOO)“A lot of mushrooms have these really sharp blade-like gills on the underside of the cap. But winter chanterelles have these kind of ridges on the bottom of the cap.” Gregovich said. “And they are shaped like a funnel. They’ve got a hole in the top, and it funnels down to a hollow stem.”
Winter chanterelles are small, so it takes quite a few for a meal. And their texture can be pretty wet when you bring them home. But they are really good to eat, Gregovich said.
Winter chanterelles have a funnel-shaped cap, with a hole in the center and hollow stem (photo by Sheli DeLaney/KTOO)“What I like to do is put them under a fan for an hour or so, no heat,” he said. “And the other thing you can do is you can dry-sauté them. Before you add any oil or butter, put them in the pan just dry and let some of the water kind of evaporate from the mushrooms.”
In the temperate rainforest of Southeast Alaska, mushrooms almost always have plenty of moisture and good growing conditions in their environment.
“But one thing that is the case, you really don’t see most of these mushrooms until kind of the start of August, mid-August, and then they really start to pop.” Gregovich said. “A couple of species, including the winter chanterelle, can be around in November or even December.”
There are hundreds of species of mushrooms around Juneau. But Gregovich advises the average forager stick to the four that are easiest to identify: winter chanterelles, golden chanterelles, porcinis (aka King boletes), and chicken-of-the-woods.
“So you can just stick with those four kinds, and you can get out and find something that’s easy to identify and good to eat,” he said.
Ginger Hudson displays a digging fork, her preferred tool for removing plants from the ground without cutting their roots (photo by Sheli DeLaney/KTOO)https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GTALK-S1E20.mp3Early fall is a great time to dig up, divide, and transplant perennials. Plants can better adapt to new locations when the weather is cool and they are finished blooming.
At the Jensen-Olson Arboretum, horticulturist and manager Ginger Hudson demonstrated how to divide Japanese sedge, or Carex morrowii, that she found creeping into a walkway. She removed it from the ground using her preferred tool — a digging fork.
“If you use a shovel — that’s a big knife. You’re just going to cut a lot of roots,” Hudson said. “So a digging fork leaves as many roots intact as possible.”
Hudson used her fingers to loosen the large mass of soil, roots and greenery. At times she needed clippers to release the plants from each other, but she was careful not to cut away too much.
“You want a healthy mass of roots with the plants that you transplant,” she said. “You want large feeder roots, you want little thin hairy roots coming off those bigger roots.”
Plant clump of primula florindae being divided (Photo by Sheli DeLaney/KTOO)Some other perennials that can be divided this time of year are Primula florindae and Primula denticulata, popular varieties that grow well in Southeast Alaska.
“Because they like living here so well, they really reproduce well,” Hudson said. “They spread by plant clumps, which is vegetative. They also reseed themselves.”
Hudson says Juneau is renowned for being a great habitat for primulas, and the arboretum has a nationally recognized collection.
But they have thick, entangled root systems that take some patience to divide. Hudson works the clumps apart slowly with her fingers, then cuts away dead and damaged parts of the sections she separated.
“This year I have an extra step to add in, and that’s I’m going to be trimming foliage,” she said. “Because the slugs have really done a number on them, and they’re not pretty.”
A newly divided and trimmed primula florindae plant (photo with Sheli DeLaney/KTOO)Hudson says early fall is an ideal time of year to divide and transplant Primula florindae because their roots can get established before winter. Plus, primula are likely to lose their blooms if they are transplanted while flowering.
“The plant is then is going to spend energy trying to get reestablished trying to get its roots eating again. And so it’s not going to be able to feed the flowers,” she said.
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.
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 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.
Seedlings from Alaska certified seed potatoes should have soil mounded up around them as they grow every two- to three-inches.
Plant garlic bulbs pointy end up, about two inches deep and about six inches apart. Flower bulbs may be planted, depending on variety, from two to six inches deep.
These buckets of water, particularly when placed inside a greenhouse, can delay or even prevent the effects of a frost or sharp freeze. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO) Temperatures are dropping, and the amount of daylight is diminishing rapidly each day. But it’s hardly the time to give up entirely on gardening.
https://media.ktoo.org/2020/10/Gardentalk100120mixdown.mp3 Master Gardener Ed Buyarski says he’s stopped watering his greenhouse tomatoes as a way to force them to ripen.
“Peppers, eggplants, zucchini, squash — all of those are pretty tender. They, too, are kind of semi-tropical,” Buyarski says. “We can wrap them up in fleece blankets (or) put buckets of water in around them, that helps slow the freezing process.”
The fleece blankets will provide as much as five degrees of insulation. The buckets of water will act as cold sinks, delaying or even preventing freezing in some cases.
For potatoes, cut off the plant above the soil and put a tarp over the mound. That will keep the potatoes dry and help the skins toughen up before digging them up for indoor curing.
“Our carrots, cabbages, kale, parsnips, turnips, rutabagas — I guess all those cabbage family plants particularly — will get better with colder weather,” Buyarski explains.
“Their sugar content increases,” he says. “So, we can leave them out there and just harvest them as we need them until a really hard frost threatens, that might actually freeze the soil.”
Buyarski says he’s even harvested brussel sprouts, carrots and parsnips late into the fall and early winter.
Dahlias bloom in a Lemon Creek yard in September 2020. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO) Ornamental plants like petunias, begonias, dahlias and fuchsias won’t survive even a mild Southeast Alaska winter outside. We need to bring sub-tropical plants into a space that won’t freeze, says Master Gardener Ed Buyarski.
“If they hit 32 degrees, they’re probably toast,” Buyarski says. “I guess frozen, not toast.”
https://media.ktoo.org/2020/09/Gardentalk092420.mp3 Once a hard frost knocks back the foliage of dahlias and begonias, Buyarski recommends removing the tubers. Wash off the dahlia tubers while allowing the begonia tubers to dry out before putting them in a labeled paper bag and storing it in a place that does not freeze.
Dahlia tubers can also be stored in dry sawdust, dry shredded paper or dry straw in a paper grocery bag. They can be divided now or in the spring.
Fuschias should be trimmed back to 4-to-8 inch stems and can overwinter in a place colder than 40 degrees, like a root cellar. But Buyarski says check on them regularly to make sure they don’t dry out over the winter.
A fan keeps the air moving in a North Douglas greenhouse. The lower leaves of the lettuce in the background are turning yellow. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO) Are your veggies turning yellow this late in the season?
Master Gardener Ed Buyarski says it’s likely because most of the soil nutrients have been been washed away by this summer’s rains.
It may be too late this season for an application of weed juice or fertilizer. So Buyarski recommends trimming leaves from vegetables as soon as they begin turning yellow. Otherwise, they will be susceptible to slugs and fungus.
https://media.ktoo.org/2020/08/Gardentalk082020.mp3 With all the rain and moisture we’ve had this summer, Buyarski also recommends harvesting squash, zucchini and cucumbers as soon as possible — before they succumb to a fungus, which can spread fast in an environment where there is little air circulation.
The lower leaves of this lettuce are turning yellow and will soon fall victim to slugs and fungus if they are not removed. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
“Homemade Apple Pie” by WinstonWong* is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
There may be a few hundred apple trees of several different varieties in Juneau. The exact number is unknown.
For many of those trees, it’s harvest time.
But Master Gardener Ed Buyarski says tree owners should look carefully at the interiors of their trees. If the leaves and branches get too thick, then future apples on the north side of the tree won’t get enough sunlight to ripen. He recommends thinning out any interior growth while you’re already up there picking apples.
Yellow Transparents are usually the earliest apple variety. They should be picked at the end of August, when the fruit is still a little green. They will get mealy and turn pale yellow if you leave them on the tree too long.
Other varieties, like Pristine and William’s Pride, usually are picked later in the season as their flavor improves.
https://media.ktoo.org/2020/09/Gardentalk091720.mp3 For anyone wanting to plant a new apple tree, Buyarski says now is the perfect time to order. He suggests picking out an early ripening, scab resistant variety for next spring’s planting — and getting together with others for ordering multiple trees
This woolly bear caterpillar was spotted roaming an apple tree in Juneau in August 2016. (Photo courtesy Ed Buyarski) .
Close up view of tiny heirloom cherry tomato flowers that are preparing to bloom in an indoor aeroponic garden in September 2020. For tomato plants growing outside or in a greenhouse, such flowers should trimmed off now so the plant can devote its remaining energy for ripening of existing tomato fruit. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO) If you have tomato plants flowering in your greenhouse right now, now is the time to top them off.
Master Gardener Ed Buyarski says tomato plants need to devote any remaining energy to ripening fruit that has already emerged instead of wasting it on flowers that are unlikely to mature or produce any fruit later this fall.
Just use nail clippers or your fingers to trim or pinch off any new flowers.
Buyarski also says it’s the last call for harvesting cucumbers and zucchini. This summer’s prolonged rains have set up perfect conditions for a severe spreading of fungus.
“To the point that removal (of those plants and vegetables) is the best option,” Buyarski says.
https://media.ktoo.org/2020/09/Garden090320.mp3 Also, the gardening season is not over.
You can plant lettuce, mustard greens, spinach, kale, and radishes in your greenhouse right now. They will either be ready for a fall harvest or will tolerate the winter’s cooler conditions and have a head start next spring.
Buyarski says he has nine-month-old lettuce in his greenhouse that is just now beginning to bolt.
Bulbs bloom in the middle of the Douglas roundabout in Spring 2015. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO) Bulbs are already appearing in Juneau stores right now. But Master Gardener Ed Buyarski says don’t plant them just yet.
Instead, set them aside in a cool, dark place like your garage. Then wait to plant them until at least the middle or end of October, when temperatures are really dropping.
https://media.ktoo.org/2020/09/Gardentalk091020.mp3 Buyarski says that for best root growth, bulbs should get at least 90 to 120 days in cool soil of about 40 degrees.
“Last year was kind of weird,” Buyarski remembers.
He recalls his flower and garlic bulbs started sprouting their green top growth too early during last December’s mild conditions.
“Then, temperatures on New Year’s Day dropped about 30 degrees,” Buyarski says. The new period of cold temperatures postponed any further top growth.
He says you can start preparing any well-drained soil now. If the soil is too moist, then mix in some sand.
Bulbs come in all varieties, colors and heights and may be specified as early or mid-season bloomers.
Tulips might only bloom well for their first season, but other varieties might bloom year after year.
Unprotected tulip buds are a favorite browsing snack for deer in the higher elevation neighborhoods of Juneau and Douglas. But deer seem to stay away from daffodils, snowdrops and alliums.
A woolly bear caterpillar tries to escape its glass prison in a North Douglas kitchen in August 2019. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO) Alaskans say they’ve been getting unsolicited packets of seeds in the mail. Or seeds that Alaskans think they ordered from U.S. seed retailers, but they ended up coming from China or other places overseas instead.
https://media.ktoo.org/2020/08/Garden081320.mp3 Don’t plant them, says Master Gardener Ed Buyarski. They have not been inspected for disease and may be an invasive species. They also may have not been approved for importation into the U.S.
“There’s rules for that too,” Buyarski says. “Some things are not allowed because of crop seed protection.”
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service botanists examine tomato seeds sent to U. S. residents from Uzbekistan to determine if they harbor any plant pests or disease. (USDA photo) Dave Schade, head of the Alaska Division of Agriculture, encourages Alaskans to call his office at 745-7200 if they get any mystery seeds from overseas. He says his staff will ask questions about the packages and how the seeds arrived in the mail. They’ll also ask you to send the packages to their office in Palmer. From there, the mystery seeds will go to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for further examination and investigation.
“Tell us what you have. We’ll tell you how to get it to us,” says Schade. “We’ll collect the information of what you think happened”
Schade also said the agriculture division would love to get the original packaging — and don’t open the little plastic bags with the seeds.
Buyarski advises gardeners to stick with known varieties from reputable U.S. seed companies.
If you do know where your seeds came from, now is the perfect time for a second planting of fast-growing greens like lettuce, mustard greens and kale.
Buyarski also warns that the root maggot may be infesting root vegetables in Juneau. Do not put root maggot-infested vegetable remains into your compost. Buyarski says gardeners may be able to keep the main portion of the vegetable, but they should get rid of the roots and surrounding soil by burning them or putting them in a bag for the dump.
Also, the woolly bear caterpillar is back in Juneau, chewing on trees, bushes, vegetables and herbs. They’ve been seen feasting on apple trees, alders, parsley and berry plants.
Buyarski encourages gardeners to squish the caterpillars and throw them in the trash.
He advises against letting children play with the caterpillars because their white hairs can irritate the skin.
A kaleidoscope of Alaskan wildflowers in a meadow off Sawmill Creek, near Berners Bay. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO) If you’ve ever coveted your neighbor’s prize cucumbers or wanted to duplicate an Alaskan wildflower meadow in your backyard, there’s a way you can do that. Just collect the seeds and plant them yourself.
https://media.ktoo.org/2020/08/Gardentalk080720web.mp3 Master Gardener Ed Buyarski says he collects seeds from kale, radish, parsnips and spinach in his garden. He’s also tried growing shooting stars, wild columbine and chocolate lily flowers from collected seeds. But timing is key.
“Those can all be collected once the seed pods, the stems finish blooming, turn brown — and then some of those seed pods will start to open up,” Buyarski says. “If you wait too long, they will seed themselves out across your garden. Kind of like in my garden, I’ve got kale growing everywhere where it has gone to flower over many years.”
Purple or mountain shooting star near Juneau. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO) Buyarski says he’s now growing primrose seedlings from seeds that he collected in April from the plant’s tall stem.
Lupines and geraniums have seed pods that explode to spread their seeds out further away from the plant. Buyarski recommends picking the pods before they burst, while they’re still a little bit green. Put them into a cardboard box and store them in a dry place, like a garage.
Seeds can be dried over the winter or planted immediately. In the latter case, they will become dormant with this winter’s cold weather before naturally sprouting in the spring.
Kale, columbine and mustard seed pods selected by Ed Buyarski from KTOO’s Agricultural Test Station and Garden of Science. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
This locally grown apple tree has already been thinned of extra fruit. (Photo courtesy Ed Buyarski) It may seem a little counter-intuitive at first. But you have to get rid of some apples now to get bigger and better tasting ones at the end of the season.
https://media.ktoo.org/2020/07/Garden072320.mp3 Master Gardener Ed Buyarski says gardeners should thin out clusters of four or five apples to a reasonable leaf-to-apple ratio.
“Somebody who’s being really obsessive, they say forty leaves to one fruit,’ Buyarski said.
He prefers leaving one per cluster so that the remaining apples are spaced out along a branch.
Thinning apples will allow more color and sugars to develop in the remaining fruit. It will also extend the life of the tree because it removes extra weight that could break limbs and branches.
Any scabby or wormy apples should be thrown in the garbage, not in the compost.
Buyarski is also thinning out beets and carrots to about an inch apart before starting with mid-season planting. It’s also time to start planting lettuce, radish and turnips seeds.
Peony flowers and stems should be picked before they bloom. For proper timing, Buyarski says buds should feel like a marshmallow just before all the flower petals open up. This way, peonies will last much longer than if you waited for the flowers to fully open before picking them.
Freshly harvested garlic (Photo courtesy of Ed Buyarski) After nine months of patiently waiting, this is the moment many Southeast Alaska gardeners have been anticipating. Garlic is probably ready for harvest, right now.
https://media.ktoo.org/2020/07/garden073020.mp3 Master Gardener Ed Buyarski with a bunch of freshly harvested garlic in front of a garlic planter. (Photo courtesy of Ed Buyarski) Master Gardener Ed Buyarski reminds gardeners of the key signals for harvest — the unfurling of bulbous scapes and the yellowing of the lowest leaves of the garlic plant.
Carefully check if the garlic bulbs in the soil are big enough for harvest, with intact skins that are free of mold.
Moldy garlic (see photo below) should be removed immediately so that other garlic is not infected.
Plants with moldy garlic stems or skins should be cleaned and processed separately to avoid transmitting mold spores.
Dispose or throw out the moldy parts in the trash, not in your compost bin, where they will contaminate other organic matter.
For mold-free garlic, you can cut the stems to about 6 inches, remove the roots and use the leaves in soups and salads.
Clean off the dirt and then store and dry the garlic for about two weeks in a warm, dry place — like a furnace room — where temperatures may be 70 to 80 degrees.
But you don’t have to harvest everything right now.
“That is the game I’m playing,” says Buyarski.
He says he’s leaving other a few other garlic plants in the ground so they can get bigger in any warm and dry weather that comes over the next few weeks.
Garlic with white or gray mold (left) and healthy garlic (right). Gardeners should clean and process moldy garlic separately and dispose of the moldy skins and the stems in the trash, not in the compost. (Photo courtesy of Ed Buyarski)