Garden Bite with Teri Knight

One more week to sow native seeds outdoors! Then it's indoor seed sowing/planting. All you need to get started and a list of WHEN to start WHICH seeds indoors! It's all on today's Garden Bite . Be sure to check out all the episodes. And let me know how you like my show! Thanks. tkgardenbite@gmail.com 

It’s fun Friday and I’m going to share some fab NEW Spring bloomers for 2022! A couple of sweet and color annuals and a pair of perennials to capture that first spring bloom on today's GardenBite . Oh so pretty!

Yesterday I talked about repotting your houseplants, today it's about the varied soils and mixes. What exactly does potting soil do? What are soil-less mixes? Is one better than the other? I share my own experience and more on today's GardenBite . 

Houseplants looking weary? Thin? Droopy? Or are their roots coming out the bottom of the pot? Time to repot. It's a how-to on today's GardenBite . 

The pandemic has produced a plethora of gardeners. Some are seeking a healthier way to live, not only mentally, but physically. Vegetables offer an amazing assortment of nutrients and their coloring helps to tell the story of how they might aid your immunity! Greens are good but so are purples and yellows and even white too. Learn more on my show and on my website GardenBite.com . 

Flowers, chocolate, cards... it's Valentine's Day. Today's Garden Bite is about the holiday's origins with a peek at celebrations around the world and a quick lesson on what the message is of the color of rose you select. That is, IF you select roses! Learn more on my website, GardenBite.com . 

For those of us in cold climates, now into mid March is a good time to prune our trees and shrubs. Well, most of them. Do NOT prune spring-flowering types. That information, how-to and sharpening your tools is all on today's Garden Bite . 

You don't have to have full sun to enjoy bountiful vegetables in your garden! There are plenty of options, some that can even handle 2 hours of direct sun. (they still need some!) And others that will do just fine in 4 to 6 hours! Full sun is 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight. I talk about all the variations and vegetables to choose on today's Garden Bite . 

Milkweed.  THE plant for monarch butterflies. But it’s not just the common milkweed. There are, in fact, several options. Low to high and various colors and shapes too. All of them are attractive to monarch butterflies and more! Oh these lovely natives. Check 'em out on today's Garden Bite . 

As we continue to deal with climate change, record temps high and low, increased drought and floods, there’s a change of climate in the gardening world in several ways including how we view trees and the planting of them as well as other ways homeowners are helping as best they can. That's all on today's Garden Bite . 

Plant some seeds in a container that forms a greenhouse effect and set them outside. Cheap, easy and allows for the seeds to be ready to plant in your garden when the soil warms up! The process of vernalization explained on today's Garden Bite along with best seeds and a video too! 

Pantone's 2022 Color of the Year is 'Very Peri'. I have plenty of fabulous plant choices to match that lovely shade of purple. Plus pictures and more information on the plants on my website, GardenBite.com along with more on 'Very Peri'! 

Monitoring our shrubs for critter damage continues on our trees and shrubs but it's also a good time to look for galls and cankers. These can be real issues down the road. Catch them now and prune them out. Learn about them and how to prune on today's Garden Bite . 

February 2nd each year brings the most-watched weather forecast of the year—and the only one led by a rodent. Learn the legend and the fact that, as cold climate gardeners, it kinda doesn't matter! But, there's more, I have predictions from NOAA in this episode. Learn more on Garden Bite . 

Oh how we long for some fresh greens when we're in the midst of winter. Sprouting seeds gives us that opportunity. Very nutritious and tasty too, it takes just about a week from seed to sandwich! Learn all about sprouting seeds to greens on today's Garden Bite . 

Snags are dead trees left standing. Why do you care? Oh because there is so much LIFE they have left to give. Unless they're a hazard, it's important to leave them alone. The cycle of life they provide is amazing. There is a great cartoon that I share on my website. I hope you'll take a look and learn all about it on today's Garden Bite ! 

Oh how wonderful it is to share your landscape with birds and butterflies! Today's Garden Bite is all about attracting them with the right natural food sources and tips to keep them coming back. It doesn't matter the size of your space, there's something for every one. 

As we ponder our gardens, vegetables specifically, companion planting is a great topic. It's been used for a VERY long time but until recently was poo pooed by academics. Except for those who wrote their own articles on the subject! One of them was my own Instructor from Master Gardener classes in 2003! I have lots of information on what to plant with who on today's Garden Bite . 

Orchids! Phalaenopsis orchids, aka Phals specifically, are the most popular indoor houseplant gift. Catching your eye in the produce aisle of the grocery store or in local garden centers, they can often be an impulse buy. The good news is they are relatively easy care. Find details such as what it means when the leaves are dark on Garden Bite . 

Air plants have become a fun, trendy houseplant. Their Latin name is Tillandsia and they are native to South and Central America with about 500 species or more! They need no soil, so where do their nutrients come from? How to display them? And much more on today's Garden Bite . 

Ugh, it's sub zero outside and all these ugly brown bugs are crawling around indoors. Okay, maybe not an army of them but enough that you wonder what are they doing in my home? Laying eggs? Ick. How do I get rid of them? That's on today's Garden BITE ! No, these stink bugs don't bite humans. 

Growing vegetables can seem a bit daunting for beginners. On the contrary, there are some really great choices to start with. Listen to today's Garden Bite and learn more about those vegetables on my website too! 

It's not just hosta. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE hosta but sometimes we need some flowers and other color besides green, cream and yellow. Today's Garden Bite is about some other options to cheer up your shady corner. 

Wow, I hope you are surviving our roller coaster of cold arctic air! As I write this, the temperature is 6 below zero but tomorrow is supposed to be 30 above. And then the deep freeze comes again. How on Earth do our wild birds stay warm? That's today's Garden Bite . 

Developed in our cold climate of the Upper Midwest, this new Prairie grass is a stunner. Over decades and multiple trials, the University of Minnesota Dept. of Horticulture introduces 'Golden Sunset' - an upright Sorghastrum nutans aka Indian grass and Yellow prairie grass. The color is a must see. Check out Garden Bite