Hello, and thanks for joining us for another episode of Mid American gardener.

I'm your host Tinisha, Spain and joining me in the studio today are two of our panelists, you'll definitely recognize, and they brought in a lot of really cool stuff to show off.

So let's just jump in and have them introduce themselves and tell you a little bit about themselves.

So okay, we'll start with you.

I'm Kay Carnes.

And I'm a master grip champion County Master Gardener.

And I thought mature out of Allerton park a lot.

And my specialty is heirloom vegetables and herbs, heirlooms and herbs.

All right, Jen.

Hi, I'm Jennifer Nelson.

I am a an instructor with the Department of Crop Sciences at University of Illinois, you'll find me teaching vegetable gardening there.

And I also have a blog, ground and growing.com.

And I love all things horticulture, especially house plants and vegetables.

I was gonna say she has a tiny house plant addiction anytime I say, Hey, do you want to be on the show?

She'll say, Yeah, I'll run by and pick up something real fast and come in with a couple of new plants.

So she uses excuse to feed that addiction.

You're my neighbor.

You're back in the classroom, too, right?

Yeah.

And thank you for braving this heat to come out today.

Because it is a scorcher out there, I should hear it, it will take it anything is better than out there.

Why not?

So alright, Jen, we'll start with you.

Whichever one you want to start with first, well, given the scorching temperatures, and I haven't had any really good rain.

During all this, I brought a very nice example of what some people might see in their garden and wonder what in the heck is going on this is called blossom end rot.

And it's common when we have periods of dry weather or in this case, this was in a container and gotten a little too dry.

Tomatoes can be really sensitive to that lack of moisture, because when the tomato is developing, and all those cells are growing and dividing, they need calcium and calcium has to travel with water.

So if there's not enough water in the plant, that means there's not enough calcium.

And so those areas that are trying to grow end up starting to die.

And so it's on the we call it blossom end rot because here's where that connects to the plant.

That's the stem.

And so if you remember that up in the case of a fruit a fruit used to be a flower.

So the opposite end of the the bottom of the tomato, what we would commonly call the bottom is the end where the flower was coming out.

People ask all the time, can I eat this since it's going to hurt me?

You can certainly eat it.

If you cut that off.

I wouldn't eat the obviously Ethan NASCI This is a tomato that is a particular favorite in our family.

This is the called Cherokee purple.

It's an heirloom.

It's usually I just picked another one that was great big, probably about a pound.

Oh, wow.

So if it's just a small area, I would definitely cut it off.

It kind of depends how desperate are you for a tomato.

I'm pretty desperate right now.

Lots of lots of cherry tomatoes, but not a lot.

A lot of my bigger tomatoes are pretty slow.

Interesting.

And so Oh, I'm sorry.

Oh, and also tomatoes won't set fruit in this super hot weather.

So you might notice you might notice a gap in your fruit production.

Okay, so if you if you start to see tomatoes with that, is there a way to course correct?

Can you water yeah.

And then it's like a snapshot in time.

So at the at the point that those tomatoes were growing, and it got to dry, they develop that but there if there's new tomatoes coming on and you keep the watering going, you won't see it.

Again, I have tomatoes that are perfect on this plant and to add a few tomatoes that look like this interesting.

So some varieties are way prone to it, too.

So you have to kind of look at that as well.

And you might decide to just, I had one variety one year and I can't remember which one it was.

But no matter what I did, it just didn't matter.

It just look like this.

And I'm like yeah, now what's the thing where I don't eat tomatoes?

So this is kind of off my radar.

But isn't it something if you water too much or too fast?

They can get those cracks?

Yeah.

And depending on how developed they are.

Okay, so there's a meat there's a there's a fine line in there between keeping them.

Moist slash.

Well, we're usually cracking comes when it's been dry.

And you Oh, oh, fast.

Gotcha.

Or they're starting to turn.

Yeah, you hear about people running out because there's a storm coming.

They're gonna pick all their cars.

I remember my mom sending me to do that sort of thing because yeah, that sudden deluge of water.

Got it.

So consistency is the key right with tomatoes.

Okay.

Thank you very much, Jen.

All right, Kay, for to you.

Well, we'll continue with the tomato.

NATO's I brought this this is one of my very favorite heirloom tomatoes and it's called Roma No it's not, but I love it because it's really thick and meaty.

Okay, okay and so that they will they're pretty hearty too they don't crack a lot they do get some blossom and Radek water on to but that's now how do you eat these this type?

Do you like them on sandwiches?

Do you just play a lot for cooking because they are so meaty.

So I use them for like spaghetti sauce, and things like that.

It's Amish paste.

Amish paste.

I knew.

I know.

It's in there.

It just takes Amish Amish paste and most of them are really a little bit bigger than this one.

And this was the most perfect lunch so I know you are big into tomato.

So how is your crop looking this year?

It's okay, I'm seeing a lot of cracking.

I'm seeing some blossom and rod.

I did have them watering with a soaker hose.

So you don't get the spray on everything.

But they're they're doing pretty good.

It's just been a tough summer.

It has been it really has like we had a period in there where it was just like nice and the rain was coming regularly.

And then it went right back to crazy hot and dry.

Oh, it's so hot and dry.

And you know it's 100 degrees today.

So yeah, I had the the deer have been a problem this year at my house and I had my tummy had to replace a bunch of tomatoes.

That's part of why they're so late.

And then I've got nice stuff starting to ripen.

And now it's so hot and dry.

The deer they're coming.

They want the moist meat.

Oh yes, they've eaten almost all the apples off the tree.

And I don't know if it's the deer or the rabbits but something ate all the blooms off the moms.

And yes, it's just there.

They're just so yeah, I had a lot of rabbit issues early on when I had cages around everything.

I'm gonna do that next year because they every year they eat me out of house and home.

We get peas and then we get nothing else.

No apples no lettuce are on like the second.

Like, round we are.

We are Yeah, because there's some really little guys I've seen in my younger Yes, for sure.

For sure.

So okay, Jen, we're back.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Okay, that's okay.

Oh, you're gonna cut into it.

Oh, okay, I gotta been here.

That's one of my very favorites.

And it's called Purple potted.

And it's a pole name.

Okay.

So you get these really pretty purple.

They get much bigger than this.

This is when you would harvest them from cooking.

Gotcha.

Because they're a lot more tender.

But the leaves have kind of a burgundy edge to them.

And the stems are purple.

So it's pretty good.

Look at it, too.

They are and the flowers are gorgeous.

They're this pink collar.

When we screw the bush version of that growing up.

I always want to stand around watch my mom cook them because because they get the kids I'm like, Alright, who wants to see the beans change, fellas?

How's the flavor?

Good?

That's very good.

Yeah, it's a nice painful and it's a good size to use are are pretty belt standard.

Like I said, these are young ones.

So they can get real sick and big beans.

Do they ever get stringy.

If you go too long nose, I just save and use for seed, save the seeds out of them till they dry and take the seeds out.

You know, that's a really good idea because you never get them all.

You know, so I'm gonna, I'm gonna do that.

Okay.

All right.

Jim, we're back to where we talk about next dealer's choice.

All right, what do you feel?

Well, I bought something that is in flower and I love this house plant because I literally don't do much except put it outside for the summer and I think that really helps with the flowering.

This is very brand it's got multiple, it's a variegated one.

Some of the variations got a little bit sunburned but has a really cool flower.

This is also called wax plant.

So the flowers look like they're almost sculpted out of wax and when they're freshly blooming, they smell like chocolate, which is pretty fun.

That's an added bonus at this point quite a while and it's gotten really long and part of the one of the things people always ask is how do you make sure the Hoya blooms How do you get it to bloom and my do nothing not It seems to be working.

But I'll tell you what I the mistake I made with another Hoya was I would start to see these sort of like long girls coming out and I thought it looks like it's just not growing right?

Like it's not getting enough light, it looks like all the leaves are so tiny, maybe I would just start to cut them off.

And I started reading that these, this is a sign that this is going to produce a flower.

So for years, destroying it, yes, the expert wrecks her own stuff.

But what happens to it like this is this had a flower on it earlier.

And I've also read the leave this because feature flowers can come off of this.

So I've left that I've just left that alone.

And if it if it doesn't form the new one, fine.

If not, it's not hurting anything.

But also I've kept it in the same pot.

And it's it prefers to be root bound.

So it's doing fine.

I had another one that has a different shaped leaf that I had for years and years and flowered in the pot broke.

And so I just put it in pretty much the same size pot and it died.

So it was really not liking being disturbed at all.

But this is a great one for if you're forgetful about watering, it doesn't like to be super wet.

Over the winter, outside, I watered it a bit more because it's actively growing but kind of a set it and forget it kind of plant and then everyone's like, wow, look, you've got a blooming plant, you must know that you're really on top of things.

So it but it's it's a waiting game too, because it's taken years for it to have multiple blooms on it in one summer.

I didn't realize jolla was one of those plants where if you're into it, you're really into it like pasta, folks, there are lots of jolla folks out there.

And then from that, I didn't know that there were so many different types of oil.

And I've got a few but I've got one that's never flowered, but it's still growing and it seems happy.

So maybe some days.

For some of them.

It seems to be like the age of the vine or the length of the vine influences.

Gotcha.

Whether it blooms and how much and, and all that stuff but can't believe you are chopping off.

No.

For a long time do Yeah, I felt really dumb.

And it happens to the best of us.

Like you said, even the experts make mistakes.

And those are those moments where I'm just like, Hi, I'm not doing too bad.

We're not doing all right.

Okay, we're back to you.

Okay, well, um, let's see what I got in here in your handy dandy basket.

I wanted to talk a little bit about drying herbs.

This is kind of partially slightly parsed parsley, which is one of my very favorites.

But you don't want to dry it in heat.

It can because it just totally loses its flavor.

So I dry it in the refrigerator.

I cut the guts.

And I just cut the individual flowers off leaves and put them in a tray.

Okay, and stick them in a hurry.

You leave something in the refrigerator.

You can make that work for you to your advantage.

I just put that on a tray in the refrigerator.

It takes a while.

But then it dries and it really holds the green and it holds some flavor really well.

I'm a real big fan of flat leaf parsley.

Do you grow your herbs in pots or are they in the ground?

Ground, mostly in the ground.

And then I also have this kind of droopy.

This is kind of a little known, or it's called Mexican oregano.

And it's a member of the Verbania family.

Okay.

But it's got kind of a spicy flavor and it's used a lot in southwestern and Mexican cooking.

That's quite popular in those areas.

Interesting.

But it's got kind of a strong odor to it, but it's kind of citrusy.

It's not a true Reagan.

Have You Ever Have you ever had heard of it?

And I've never seen it too.

It smells good.

It smells like a towel.

Yeah.

Oregano smell like It's like making me on oregano.

It's a member of the Romanian family.

Wow, that's it smells really good.

So what what dishes do you use this whatever.

Wow.

That sounds good.

I like that to taste as good as it smells.

I'm a fan.

It does.

And it grows pretty quickly.

You know, considering it's not going to overwinter and I was gonna ask is it an annual?

Yeah, well, it's a perennial but it's a tender perennial so it's not going to survive and you're greenhouse, but I could try to wrestle it into my garage maybe more successful with that than rosemary.

I Can't you drive these the same way that you drive the parsley.

Do you know this, I would just lay in a tray out, you know, in the air, just leave it open, same thing.

This is Sage, I just wrote that that's something you would dry.

You know, just cut the leaves off and dry or tray.

The only.

Let's see.

What else Basil.

Basil.

You don't want to put basil in the refrigerator, because you're going to end up.

Yep.

That's the real reason I brought the basil is about harvesting it.

Because if you caught it, I don't know if they can get it.

Yep, got it.

Right here at the base, you can see there's too little tidy leaves coming out.

So if you cut it like here, then this is going to produce another set of leaves.

And so you get a lot of basil.

Yes, from one plant by doing that, because it'll just keep reproducing.

You know, growing out that no, there.

We love a cut and come again.

Yeah, so I just showed through like, you don't want to let it flower because then the flavor changes.

So it's good.

Kind of a good way to get rid of the flowers.

It's interesting.

Now let me ask you this.

I have a basket that it sat on the porch and it's grown and it's really full hasn't flowered, but it's getting to the point now where I need to harvest.

Can you freeze?

Okay, so the only thing you can do is dry dry.

Okay.

Okay.

Because the cold just turns it black and mushy.

Got it?

Okay, so I've gotten mine with olive oil and put it in Yeah.

And I chopped it up with olive oil and put it in ice cube trays.

You could do green oil, we protect it but you gotta be Okay Nick.

Just go straight to the skillet.

Yeah, or thought out make pesto or whatever.

Interesting.

You like pesto?

Pesto freezes.

Well, yeah, yes, pets, but not the actual leaves.

Okay.

And then I know wanted to ask you to do you grind everything when you're about to use it?

Or do you when you're storing it?

Like would you leave these whole?

Does it maintain flavor?

Yeah, I do I leave that hole.

It depends on the herbs that most of them.

I might crush it up a little bit, just a little dry.

And I tell you what can I think about you every time I open that spice cabinet, right next to the stove.

Every time I'm just like, man, if k was here right now she'd be so disappointed.

Vice Cabinet.

And that's why I just I haven't dried herbs, big jars, till smaller jars for the spice can so that they're not in there as long it's permanent.

Now.

Remember that forever.

This is not good for the irregular.

All right, thank you so much.

All right, Jen, we're back to you.

Okay, I brought kind of a recap of update update update show until so you might remember I was trying to see if it was true.

And it was kind of inspired by John Bowden Steiner brought in some beautiful ginger plants that he had started from grocery store ginger, and he was telling me how to look at the roots and find ones that had like the start of some sprouts on them.

So I found some and I messed around with it at home in December and nothing did anything.

So I brought some into the greenhouse on campus and they started growing and they took a while I had always wondered I'd read that it takes anywhere from six to eight weeks for them to really start growing.

And that was really the case.

It didn't do much indeed even took a while in the greenhouse.

But then I started noticing and this particular plant at home like what is coming out the side and their flower heads.

And these are not the individual flowers, you can kind of see a dead one there.

They're really pretty and kind of purpley when they're blooming but there's one coming out up here too.

I don't know if that means that it's like swan song.

And it's I'm new at this.

But you can see this was the original route from the grocery store and it's put on quite a bit of new growth.

So I need to I need to figure out a pot that allows for more horizontal than then deep growth but maybe like a succulent pot yeah that's what I'm thinking something like that.

And so I guess if I want to harvest at some point I can get nice fresh ginger is fresh ginger.

That's incredible.

So I also tried to grow ginger except for I buried mine.

And it rotted.

Gin walked in today with this.

I immediately was like Ah okay, that's what I did wrong.

Try again set it on.

tarp and let it do its thing.

Yeah, just think of like, like I like a German Iris.

It's, it's kind of how I did it was like set like maybe halfway in there but the roots once I get going they grew through the flat on the greenhouse bench they grew through.

They were riding once they took off, they took off.

That's awesome.

I'm gonna have to try that again.

This time I won't bury it and we've got a couple questions and a few minutes left.

Let's see, Carrie from effing ham wants to know how to get Crown Vetch out of her flower bed.

She said she's been pulling it all summer.

And it's relentless.

And she wants to know if you guys have any suggestions or ways that she could get rid of this menace?

Well, I've had some not Crown Vetch, but I've had some particularly stubborn plants, weeds and plants I planted on purpose and didn't do the proper research like I tell everyone else to do.

But she might want to take just like a kind of one of those spongy craft brushes or paint brushes and do some roundup or some other non selective herbicide on the individual shoots that are coming up.

Wow.

Because what we were talking before the show, that's one if you leave a bit behind, it's going to just grow more land sometimes disturbing.

It makes the problem worse, at least initially.

Oh boy, you were you had a suggestion about digging, digging it out, or trying anyway, trying to cut out to get all the root.

And sometimes if you just pull it elite some of the route.

It's useless and it'll send it like every little bit you leave is a new plant.

Yeah.

You tried to get rid of me?

Well watch.

Either tried to dig the whole thing out or do it like a what do they call it?

What do you guys call it up?

Something applicate Yep, spot treat.

Yeah, spot treatment, it may take a few times and you just kind of want to exhaust the routes that are remaining are gonna only have so much energy to keep sending shoots up.

So it's a battle of wills at this point.

That Oh, well.

Okay, we have four minutes left.

This is from Magdalena Casper ship.

She has two questions.

The first one is she's got a future plan that she said is not looking great.

It's taking a turn for the worst.

She has been watering it consistently and even gave it fertilizer, but it's just not looking up.

It gets morning sun and she wants to know if there's anything that she can do for that.

Or if you guys have any related future incidents, all of my related future incidents have ended up with the fusion.

Be honest.

Everything I know about them says that they prefer a much cooler wetter summer than what we typically have here.

So maybe move to Washington State with your facial.

Oh, yeah.

Okay.

And even even with the morning sun, that's probably it's just been so hot.

It's been snowing.

Okay, sorry about your fuchsia.

But you might, you might have to put something else right there.

And then the second part of her question, she bought a pitcher plant and wants to know about overwintering it now she says in here.

It's a floating pitcher plant.

So we don't know if that is roots in the water or in a pot floating.

But you did some research and found out that pitcher plants need their tender is that it?

Well, they are making bog plant.

There's some I think I'm not.

This is kind of off of the top of my head.

I think there are some that might be hardy in this area.

But if they're floating, if it's a floating planter, like we were thinking it might be, it's not going to survive, like anything in a pot is not going to survive if it gets frozen solid.

So you'd have to come up with some way to to keep it from freezing and probably keep it cool but not frozen, and probably keep it pretty wet because it's a bog plan.

So it's not going to want to just be like, like a Cana thrown in the Yeah, they don't look at it until springtime.

Yeah, though.

So that's what I would think I would think of it's floating, you're not going to want to leave it where it's at.

So I could be completely wrong, but I don't I just based on other things that I've attempted.

Okay, that's what I would say.

So maybe a basement or crawlspace because the garage might even need to be like, if you're gonna just keep it really moist and just, you're gonna have to check on it fairly often.

I would think if you're gonna keep it moist to make sure it's not rotting.

Alright, we've got just a baby a little over a minute or so left, I would just wanted to ask how your yards and gardens are faring this year.

Jen Howard, how are things going?

Okay, we've had like I said the deer some deer problems on our tomatoes recently because they're just thirsty and hungry and I had a lot of problem with some fungal disease and bacterial will on my cucumbers and my cantaloupe bit the dust it just up in it just randomly wilted and died and it was not dry.

And so I'm pretty sure It was interesting material well, but the I've never said I should have brought this for Chantel.

I've never seen cucumbers that looks so horrible.

I used to sometimes having them get kind of little funky fungus sure, like lesions on the leaves.

But the I had a couple of nice looking cucumbers smaller what they called Asian types that have real thin skin.

And then like, I went back to harvest more and they were just covered in these brown spots and like salt, like almost like completely solid like brown.

I think they're still edible if I Pilon jar, and I'm desperate for how am i How bad do you want it?

I think is from water.

I think some of the irrigation for the lawn.

Gotcha is getting it and I think it's getting was spreading it by splashing because it was watering from overhead.

Gotcha.

I had cucumbers that they're doing really well on I get gigantic ones.

And it's a cucumber that I grew last year and even the big ones were really tasty.

And this year, even little ones are bitter.

We're out of time.

Thank you so much for watching.

Got a question, send it in your garden@gmail.com We'll see you next time.

Good night.