Plants Always Win Podcast

Tag: horticulture

  • Ep. 47 Are You Starting Your Spring Garden Right?

    Ep. 47 Are You Starting Your Spring Garden Right?

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    Spring is tiptoeing in and we want to set you up for the smoothest garden year ever. This week we’re recording live on location in Erin’s garden and examining what tasks she has already done, what’s next on the list, and what pressures to let go of. (Remember: don’t let perfect be the enemy of good!)

    The first order of business as winter ends is to prune woody fruit-producing perennials. We chat about currants, apples, and grapes—yes, grapes in zone 4b. Naturally that leads into propagation: cuttings, mound layering, and even air layering. Next we talk seed starting indoors and out and the season extension that helps us save space on our windowsills. Then it’s on to spring bulbs to plant, fall bulbs that are blooming, water management (if you’re listening from a region with flooding, our hearts go out to you!) and the ever-vital skill of observation. Finally, we wrap up with a lightning round of fifteen other early-spring tasks that get you set up for success.

    Ready to get your hands dirty? Listen now!

    Take a Peek at Erin’s Garden

    Small year-old fruit tree cuttings are leafing out in pots on a potting bench.
    Last year’s cuttings
    A plant tag: Red Grape (Seeded) Swenson Red, Good for fresh eating and wine, self-fertile
    Swenson Red
    A freshly pruned grape vine is rooted at the base of a wooden arbour.
    The Swenson Red grape, pruned
    A small wooden trellis made from the end of a crib woven with twine has been wedged into a raised bed.
    The IKEA trellis
    Tiny green pea sprouts are just emerging at the base of a wooden trellis.
    The peas are sprouting!
    Young leaves are sprouting inside a transparent plastic container filled with potting soil.
    An early spring vegetable garden with a small collapsible greenhouse, an arbour, and raised beds. Not much is growing yet.
    Erin’s vegetable garden
    A green plastic sphere with round openings on two ends has been filled with damp soil and clamped around a narrow branch using zip ties.
    The air layering device

    Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? 

    Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon. 

    Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja
    Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com
    TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast
    YouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcast
    Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com 

    Credits
    Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin

    Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays

    License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH

    Timestamps

    00:41 Introduction
    02:11 The Myth That Your Garden Is Already Behind
    04:18 Late April in Zone 4b
    04:58 What Erin Has Done So Far
    05:56 Season Extension
    06:36 Growing Swenson Red Grapes in Zone 4b
    10:52 Pruning Currant Bushes
    12:45 Mound Layering: Intentional or Unintentional Propagation
    14:00 Apple Trees and Winter Damage
    15:46 Propagating Fruit Tree Cuttings
    17:28 Air Layering to Propagate Fruit Trees
    20:28 Sean’s Paean to Crabapples
    24:54 Starting Seeds Indoors and Hardening Off
    27:13 Starting Seeds When You Have No Indoor Space
    32:50 Use Up This Year’s Seed Inventory
    33:53 Bulbs to Plant in Spring
    35:00 Fall Bulbs and the Siberian Squill Controversy
    39:35 Native Lawn Alternatives
    42:32 Water Harvesting and Rain Gardens
    45:37 Observing Your Garden
    47:41 Lightning Round: Things To Do at This Time of Year
    53:53 Outro and Contact Us

  • Ep. 45 Hydrangea Happiness with C.L. Fornari

    Ep. 45 Hydrangea Happiness with C.L. Fornari

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    For some of us, happiness is a hydrangea in full, glorious bloom.

    And if you’re not yet well acquainted with these flowering shrubs, who better to learn from than The Garden Lady herself? C.L. Fornari is the author of the upcoming 2026 book Hydrangea Happiness: Planting, Pruning and Blooming, among many others. She’s also a well-known gardening radio host and podcaster, appearing over the years as a contributor on NPR’s The Cultivated Gardener, as host of GardenLine on WXTK, as co-host of the podcast Plantrama, and today as the eponymous host of The Garden Lady on several NPR stations. We get the scoop on her broadcasting career, on her founding of the Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival, and on how she planned a modern-day guide to hydrangeas that’s “more Instagram and less coffee table book.”

    Dive into this interview to learn about choosing the right hydrangea for a northern garden, about the truth of acidifying your soil for those beautiful blue mophead blooms, and about finding joy in your garden and your life. 

    Find C.L. Online at:

    Mentioned in This Episode

    Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? 

    Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon. 

    Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja
    Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com
    TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast
    YouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcast
    Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com 

    Credits
    Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin

    Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays

    License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH

    Timestamps: 

    00:14 Introduction
    00:56 C.L. Fornari’s Garden Radio Host Career
    05:52 Founding the Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival
    08:33 Why (and How!) C.L. Wrote About Hydrangeas
    11:21 Postcards from Plants
    14:43 How Many Hydrangeas? Breeding and Selection
    16:43 A Paniculata Hydrangea for Erin’s Cold, Clay Conditions
    18:47 Finding the Right Spot for Your Shrub
    21:16 Are Hydrangeas Invasive?
    23:00 Hydrangea paniculata, a.k.a. Panicled Hydrangea
    23:25 Hydrangea arborescens, aka Smooth Hydrangea
    24:15 Hydrangea macrophylla, a.k.a. Bigleaf Hydrangea, a.k.a. Mophead Hydrangea
    25:09 Hydrangea serrata, a.k.a. Mountain Hydrangea
    27:10 C.L.’s Hydrangea Poetry
    28:25 Hydrangea quercifolia, a.k.a. Oakleaf Hydrangea
    28:35 Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris., a.k.a. Climbing Hydrangea
    28:55 Acidifying Soil for Blue Hydrangeas
    31:05 The Stubborn Myth that Pine Needles Acidify Soil
    33:20 Moss Lawn Plant Rant
    34:27 Macrophylla Hydrangeas with Inconsistent Colours
    37:56 Poison Ivy Acres and Embracing All of Gardening
    39:40 Find C.L. Fornari Online
    40:45 Outro and Contact Us

  • Ep. 44 Internet Plant Science with Dr. Vikram Baliga

    Ep. 44 Internet Plant Science with Dr. Vikram Baliga

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    The internet is a minefield of questionable plant hacks, rage bait, and—sigh—banana water. Good thing The Plant Prof is here to shed some science on the matter.

    Vikram Baliga, a.k.a. The Plant Prof, is a professor of horticulture and the host of the podcasts Planthropology and Deep Roots. He is that rare being in the world of science: an academic who has also honed the skill of communicating with non-academic audiences. As he says, public taxes pay for science research. The public deserves good, true scientific information.

    Today’s conversation ranges across education and misinformation in the digital age, the evolution of science, and the importance of experimentation. Then we get practical with tips on compost tea, a nuanced discussion on using synthetic or organic fertilization methods, and garden hacks that actually work. Of course, we also have to take a few minutes to get excited about Vikram’s information–packed children’s book, Plants to the Rescue: The Plants, Trees, and Fungi that are Solving Some of the World’s Biggest Problems.  Have a listen; class is in session!

    Find Vikram Online at:

    Vikram’s Book:

    Plants to the Rescue , published by Neon Squid Books

    Timestamps

    00:14 Intro
    00:30 Meet Vikram Baliga, The Plant Prof
    02:33 Vikram’s Podcasts: The Planthropology Podcast and Deep
    Roots
    03:37 The Challenge of Public Science Communication
    10:42 Plants don’t read our textbooks.
    12:20 Plants Always Win Stole its Name from Planthropology Merch
    13:04 The Evolution of Science and the Freedom to Experiment
    15:56 Vikram’s Home Fertilizer Hack Experiments: Rice Water, Banana Water, Oatmeal, Cinnamon, etc.
    18:36 How to Make Compost Tea
    21:22 Synthetic Commercial Fertilizers vs. Organic Fertilizers for Containers, Planters, and Gardens
    30:48 Vikram’s New Kids’ Book: Plants to the Rescue
    36:50 Gardening Hacks that Actually Work
    40:04 Things That Make Your Gardening Life Easier
    40:41 That Time Sean Hacked his Leg Open 
    42:32 The Best Way to Grow a Garden is In Community
    44:52 Find Vikram Online
    45:43 Outro and Contact Us