Flower Power Garden Hour

How did two engineers become chocolate makers? As we discuss the process of making chocolate with Karla McNeil and Eddie Houston, owners of Cru Chocolate, it becomes clear that chocolate making is not only an art but part chemistry and engineering. This episode covers the history of cacao, its importance in many South American cultures and the steps to make beans to bar. Additionally, we dive into...

Growing a cover crop is a great way to incorporate nitrogen into the soil, but what exactly does this mean? What are the best plants for it and what are the steps to getting the most out of the cover crop. I sit down with Dr. Matt Amicucci, owner of Calyxo Biosystems , and discuss nitrogen fixation. We then veer into his involvement in the research and discovery of a native Oaxacan corn that makes...

Bees, butterflies, beetles, oh my. These are just some of the important pollinators needed to achieve great fruit and vegetable set in your garden. Find out which plants are best at attracting pollinators, as well as tips and tricks on hand pollinating when pollinators go MIA. Learn why your strawberries and squash are malformed, as well as how to plant corn to achieve high quality. This episode c...

An episode dedicated to answering questions submitted by listeners. Topics this week include: Peppers – poor growth and production Tomatoes and squash – what are the best fertilizers/amendments Leaf curling on tomatoes Epsom salt – good for plants (specifically tomatoes)? Technique for disinfecting gardening shears Marigolds as companion plants Is peat moss effective to retain moisture in soil To...

Marlene sits down with "Farmer Fred" Hoffman, renown long time Garden Show radio host, writer and lifetime Master Gardener. Having decades of both practical experience and countless hours with farmers/garden professionals, Fred is an incredible fountain of knowledge, tips, troubleshooting – and a amazing storyteller in the best sense. Subjects discussed: Farmer Fred history; Growing up in North Ho...

In this episode Marlene delves into making softwood cuttings in order to propagate clones of parent plants. Taking cuttings is a fast and reliable method of obtaining numerous plants from a small amount of source material. Marlene covers: Auxin -- primary hormone for root production Step by step process of how to successfully take a cutting Common issues people run into with cuttings To ask questi...

Marlene answers a variety of listener submitted questions this week. It's a grab bag of topics this time, including: How to treat a sparse looking Daphne How to stop insects from eating sweet basil and tomatoes Browning Camellias Yellowing leaves on a tomato plant Is putting ice cubes on soil an effective method of watering Pruning of Weeping Cherry tree To ask questions for future shows, submit t...

Tina Reikes was not always a farmer. 9/11 caused Tina to reevaluate her life, leading her to deviate from her corporate real estate career to seek something more fulfilling. Never having farmed, but armed with a desire to find a rural based lifestyle, Tina searched for the perfect location. A few years later, Bear Flag Farm was born. 26 acres tucked amongst almond & walnut orchards in the ag town...

A listener questions episode this week focusing on vegetables: Does cornmeal work as a pre-emergent herbicide Why does broccoli bolt? What is bolting? Do eggshells and/or diatomaceous earth effectively kill snails and slugs? Use of heat mats to start seeds My go-to soil amendments for vegetable garden soil preparation – and when to use To ask questions for future shows, submit them at Flower Power...

Kate Waldo owns Worm Fancy, a business focused on diverting food waste going into our landfills. She began by working with schools, and implementing local programs which yielded some astounding results – in some cases a 3x reduction in daily trash volume. The scale and applicability of raising composting worms varies widely – from single family home use, to schools & business, to large scale ag op...

A highly anticipated episode, featuring world renown tomato expert, Brad Gates. Based in Napa Valley, Brad owns Wild Boar Farms where he fastidiously spends years creating new varieties of exotic tomatoes, optimized to be "stunning looking tomato varieties with extreme flavor." To bring a new variety to market, it takes Brad on average 6-7 years of breeding for the desired traits and selecting the...

This is a much requested and anticipated episode with a deep dive on bees. Bee expert Dave Watson joins the show to share best practices for successfully raising bees. Dave provides a step by step process on how to set up your hive (including terminology/equipment), proper maintenance, location considerations, how to smoke bees, how to split colonies, pest/disease control, and much more (including...

This is part 1 of 2 that comprises a comprehensive breakdown of anything and everything about roses, with a focus on bare-root. Here Marlene covers: Types of roses: Old English, ramblers, climbers, hybrid teas, grandifloras, floribundas, moss rose Purchasing: What to look for when buying bare-root roses Planting: Bare-root, actively growing roses, grafted versus non-grafted, soil, temperature rang...

A listener questions episode this week featuring: African violets….tips for re-potting Succulent protection in cold weather and frost All about Rue (Ruta graveolens)….growing tips Mushroom infestation…potential diagnosis and recommendations Pest control (beetles)…how to selectively predate their larvae To ask questions for future shows, submit them at Flower Power Garden Hour Facebook page, The Pl...

Alan Yip, Masters in Horticulture and Biodiversity, joins for Part 2 on a discussion around everything houseplants. Here we focus on tips and tricks about how to optimize your indoor plants. Topics include: Potting soils – how to choose or make your own Make your plants shiny (?) Protecting plants from cats Treat fungal gnats Dispelling common myths Common issues, such as leaf browning To ask ques...

Alan Yip, Masters in Horticulture and Biodiversity, joins today for a discussion on houseplants. Alan is an expert on orchids, and we will do an upcoming episode specifically on those. Here we talk about all things houseplants, focusing on ones which are easy to grow, tips for making them thrive, and common problems and solutions. We also dive into which houseplants are the popular ones currently....

Delmar Duldulao was the Head Gardener at the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, CA for over 20 years. The Winchester House is an 161 room estate in the heart of Silicon Valley, originally built by Sarah Winchester in the early 1900's. Originally on 160 acres of fruit orchards, the house still sits on 4.5 acres, with 2 being manicured gardens. The Winchester House is where I had my first job and...

Dr. Richard Karban is a researcher at UC Davis, where he is an expert in the field of plant defenses and plant-insect interactions. His studies with sagebrush and how they "communicate" to decrease herbivore predation has been groundbreaking. Plant communication has been a hotly contested discussion for the better part of a decade. Although the general consensus in the scientific community now is...

Brendan Wilce is a UCD graduate with a BA in Environmental Horticulture & Urban Forestry.  He is a nursery industry veteran, currently working at El Dorado Nursery in Shingle Springs, CA.  Brendan is a longtime friend and colleague, and has an amazing collection of succulents (Pachypodium, Stapeliads, Aloes, Agaves, dwarf Cactus), maples, oaks, woodland perennials, & rhododendron species.  He is a...

A listener questions episode this week featuring: Leaf curling on citrus trees Geriatric Christmas Cactus not blooming Difficulty growing Rhododendron in Northern California Mosaic Virus (or some other virus) in vegetables such as zucchini, tomatoes, cucumber Gnats infiltrated hibiscus Stubborn Plumeria not blooming To ask questions for future shows, submit them at Flower Power Garden Hour Faceboo...

Tony Lord first developed his love of exotic edible plants while working as a social anthropologist in Micronesia. After his retirement as an Anthropology Professor at Long Beach State, he continued this passion in his Sacramento garden. Scouring plant & seed catalogs, Tony is intrigued by any plant that says, "will amaze your neighbors". He is driven by the challenge of a difficult plant to culti...

It's late August which means…time to start preparing and planting your Fall/Winter vegetable garden NOW!! Marlene discusses: Strategy to plant Winter vegetables when summer garden still going well Direct sow seeds or plant starters (small plants) Types of winter vegetables and containers/locations they can be grown in (Kale, broccoli, brussel sprouts, beets, carrots, radishes, onions, potatoes, ca...

A listener Q&A episode this week featuring: Seedless green & red grapes producing very small fruit – why and how to fix How to know when a watermelon is ripe and ready to harvest Avocado trees grown indoors – when and how to move outside Edible weeds – example, Purslane Techniques to propagate a Crape Myrtle from a sucker Azalea health Best soil type for raised vegetable beds Yellow spots – causes...

Mutations happen, just ask the X-Men. Zane Moore, a PhD student at UC Davis, wants to know why. More specifically he wants to know what possible long term ramifications can be – an effect known as "mutational meltdown". Zane's particular area of study are Albino Redwoods, mutant trees that lack chlorophyll. He has been studying these since he was 16 years old after hearing a radio interview about...

A listener questions episode this week featuring: Hydrangeas not blooming – why?? Fungus on Squash Lemon tree issues – dropping fruit Plumeria not growing after transplant Best indoor plants for low light workspace Best flowers for a cutting garden Apple Cider Vinegar for fertilizer? To ask questions for future shows, submit them at Flower Power Garden Hour Facebook page, The Plant Lady Facebook p...