Garden Bite with Teri Knight

Sunday is the Summer Solstice, celebrated for centuries. The beginning of summer, although this year feels like summer started in May! From Ancient Greeks to Native Americans and Vikings, learn more on today's Bite... ahh, I'm thinking of BLT's.... tomatoes here they come.

Garlic mustard was planted as an herb but escaped cultivation. The chemicals in garlic mustard reduce the growth of other plants around it and will outcompete native understory vegetation. Learn more about this herb and find recipes as well as ways to get rid of it on today's Bite!

Ground covers come to the rescue in many ways. From keeping weeds down to assist in soil erosion to helping keep moisture in the soil. With this heat, that's a great thing. There are many kinds of ground covers, learn about them on today's Garden Bite. 

It's the fungi with the funny name! Mycorrhizae fungi have a symbiotic relationship with the roots of many plants. What role does this fungi play? Can you have too much? It's all about the fungi on today's Garden Bite!  

We've had weather to melt the best of us. And those who love lawns are looking at brown already. There are a lot of great ideas from the University of Minnesota extension! Check out my website along with my podcast!

Plant sales are awesome but there are a few things to look for before purchasing. We can't expect perfection, after all they're on sale, however you do want to make good choices. Especially if you're purchasing perennials, trees or shrubs. 

Gardening is a lot of trial by error! Unless you get a few tips from those of us who've gardened for a while! On today's Bite, I give you some of the nuances of planting. 

Late blight is a lousy disease that affects tomatoes stems, leaves and fruit. The pathogen does not survive our winters but if you have "volunteer" tomatoes or potatoes coming up, and had late blight last year, pull them out! Learn more on gardenbite.com. 

June is an exciting month for vegetable gardeners. We've had some harvests of lettuces, radishes and such and we're seeing our tomatoes and peppers start to producing, although a ways out from harvesting! You can start some successive plantings now too. Check out gardenbite.com for even further details. 

Punctuate your landscape by stuffing in some annuals, either into the ground or in containers. They make great transitions for filling in those "holes" left by spring flowering perennials. Be sure to check out my website too! Gardenbite.com 

Wasps, the bane of the summer time picnic and those nests! Ugh, don’t get me started. BUT, and it’s a big one, they’re good for our ecosystem. Dang it! I mean, that’s good, but their bite is not fun. So how many wasp species are there? What do they actually DO for your ecosystem? That's on today's Garden Bite! Always take a look at my website gardenbite.com for a LOT more information on each episo...

I talk about perennials and annuals for pollinators but what about trees and shrubs? Today I talk about some of the recommended trees and shrubs for cold climates that pollinators dig! 

When I became a Master Gardener in 2003, there was a group of MG’s that formed a group called “Friends of Charlie” because nearly every other question asked by home gardeners was, “How do I get rid of Creeping Charlie”? Learn about what you can and cannot do, if you can get rid of it and whether you really want to! 

Oh such pretty flowers blooming in ditches, along railroad tracks and in large stretches of farm yards. Oh but what evil those beauties bring upon us. Dame’s Rocket looks like a native phlox but it’s not! Learn more about this pretty pest on today's Garden Bite.

Today is the day we reflect and remember our military personnel who gave their all for our freedom. The red poppy came to symbolize our war veterans in 1921.  It is a wildflower poppy.  During World war one, the fields of Flanders in western Belgium saw 4 years of unrelenting battle. After the war, these poppies came back in a most spectacular display. Learn more about the "corn poppy" a...

Got deer?  Get some deer resistant plants.  Notice I said resistant!  There are some plants that are naturally not delicious to deer.   Due to their toxicity, fragrance or texture, deer seem to be repelled by these plants.

Shrubs could use some food too but there are some caveats, we’ll get to those.  Keeping plants healthy also helps lower opportunities for disease and insects to do damage.  A caveat to fertilizer response is the environment your shrubs are grown in. Woody plants respond well to fertilizers with a 3-1-2 or 3-1-1 ratio, for instance, the package may read 24-8-16, 18-6-12 or 12-4-4, etc.&nb...

First, there IS NO poop in fertilizer! Proven Winners, one of the top plant breeders, says it’s really important to feed your container plants, which I talked about last week.  That makes sense, they’re roots can only go so far and get so much! There are 3 main kinds of fertilizer: water soluble, slow release, and controlled release.

Planting HERBS for pollinators! I’ve told you before that swallowtail caterpillars LOVE parsley and dill. Listen in for more herbs and be sure to plant enough for you AND the pollinators! Check my website for more details and recipes too. 

So often folks find a tree they like and then everyone plants it and then that’s all you see.  And then they get taken out by disease and our boulevards are naked.  Planting diverse species is the best way to protect them all. Plant this not that, take 2

This is one of my favorite times of year... planting my annuals in containers! But it can also be overwhelming. If you get plant-love overload at your local nursery, it can  make it difficult to choose plants!  There are some basic rules to follow that will help you create that eye-popper every time.

Tomatoes and peppers like warm soil. And who doesn't? Think about putting your toes in warm sand... or soil! It’s an exciting time to get our most favored vegetable garden plants in the ground! What are some of the best practices when planting these warm season crops? 

Since we discussed watering newly planted trees and shrubs I thought I would go a little further today.  We talk a lot about sun/shade conditions and soil types but one thing we don’t always check on when pursuing our favorite plants is whether they like dry feet or wet feet. It's important to know who likes what!

As I discussed trees yesterday, I wanted to talk about watering newly planted trees and shrubs. They need regular and consistent watering until root systems establish. Root systems of bare root, containerized, and balled and burlapped trees and shrubs have been severely reduced or restricted by nursery management practices. Learn best practices on today's show. 

My favorite arborist, Faith Appelquist, shared her thoughts on the worst trees for planting. Tree selection is a big deal, they’re an investment in dollars and time.  There are lots of considerations, one of those is the mature size of the tree you select. Learn more on today's Garden Bite with some good selections!