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 faves.

We've got Martie and Kay in the house.

So quickly introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about you because we have lots to talk about today.

So we'll start with you.

Hi, I'm Martie Alangna.

I'm basically a retired.

landscaper, I've done a lot of just small yards that I I specialize really probably in perennials, trees and shrubs.

Alright, okay.

I'm Kay Carnes.

I'm Champaign County Master Gardener.

And my area of expertise is herbs and all all things herbs, and about their plants as well.

All right, saving.

Speaking of seeds.

That's an excellent segue.

So yesterday, I was making chili, cutting peppers.

And you know, the gardener in me decided, oh, my gosh, free seeds, you know, what can I do with these?

Can they grow?

Can I grow more, and these were from green peppers.

So I put them in a little baggie.

And I brought him in to ask the experts.

And so we were talking a little bit before and I've already learned some stuff I didn't know.

So there are the seeds.

And that's maybe half of what were in the green pepper.

So I wanted to ask you ladies, can I plant these?

Will they be viable?

Can I grow myself more green pepper?

Well, probably not if they're from a green pepper, because green peppers are not ripe peppers.

So the seeds have not had enough time to ripen to germinate.

So if you had a red pepper or yellow pepper, you might be able to get the seeds.

Also so many of these hybrids, and so they may not even Gotcha.

Even if they do germinate.

You don't know what you're gonna get excited, I thought that saved me three or $4 on a pack.

I know.

But we're getting desperate at this time of the year, which is orange another one that yellow is ripe.

This all purple, all of those start green.

All green peppers are just not sure that teenage peppers don't have the nice flavor that pepper housy the sweetness.

Gotcha.

Okay, well, there you have it.

So if you're cutting, making chili at your house with green peppers, pitch them because it's well also.

That's why That's why the peppers that are not green, that are other colors cost more, because they take longer to mature.

Well, they get them to mature Yeah, they get them to maturity, they have to stay in the field longer.

And they have to be picked a little more delicately because by the time they're ripe, they're not quite as tough and able to withstand beatings like green.

bounce around, they're tender because they're ripe, you know, like green future right peach.

Well, these are going to the compost.

And speaking of compost speaking of Comm just full of segues.

Today we have a question about we never get this question.

Never.

We have a lady on here who says that her soil is ridiculously fertile.

I just made an enemy of our entire viewing.

Let me read it real quick.

Shelly Frederick writes in I've been meaning to send this in since the fall my soil is crazy period.

I've lived in this house for 13 years and everything I plant goes nuts.

This picture and she sent one in is of one volunteer tomato, she planted cucumbers a couple of years ago and they just completely took over.

She wants to know if there's anything that maybe the previous owners did in this area that has just made the soil extremely fertile.

So this is a good problem to have, unless it's weedy but unless it's weedy but apparently her plant material does what we all wish are plant material that it grows so robustly that Weeds don't have a chance to shade it out.

Hey, probably Kate and I were discussing this and she, whoever was there before, probably amended the soil because of that house.

I don't know how old the house is.

But nowadays they scrape that nice black topsoil off, and then they want to sell it back to you.

So if you're building a house, tell them not to break that off and take it tell them you bought that real estate and that that topsoil comes with it.

And it used to be very productive beans.

Yeah.

Or they'll give you say, Yeah, they'll bring back filter.

So you tell the contractor, you pile it up over here, because that's where that's Raiders are going live.

And then when you're done with the house, we're gonna put some of their background there again.

So my contractor tried to wipe.

Yeah, but amending the soil comp.

Yeah, well, after a few years it would go it would not be as fertile.

That's what the mystery is with this.

She said every year yeah 13 years everything has gone crazy.

And that's why she stopped stump.

I'm guessing that she the the maybe did save the good black Illinois.

topsoil.

Thank you glaciers, and they put it back around the house.

But you can also amend I mean, the problems started with good soil.

But even when you start with poor soil, you can still amend it.

Composting.

We were talking about composting earlier.

And if you need compost, I happen to own a compost factory.

So you can contact me on Facebook Messenger.

If you'd like to.

I yeah, I have some horses.

So they they digest things pretty well.

I use it on my gardener.

We bet on sawdust.

So the most you might want to change is is adding some some acid maybe some cottonseed meal or something like that.

But the Yeah, it's got to be even get my bin to turn right now.

It's frozen solid.

I can't get anything in there.

But when it thaws out, yeah, I'll give it a nice quick stir.

Yeah.

Do you use compost in your flowers garden everyday, everyday use it on everyday everything.

What difference does it make truly like is it better than store bought plant food?

Oh, gosh, yeah.

Oh, heck yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

Um, okay, the gravitational pull of the planet is because the planets the same size all the time.

Okay, so nothing we've made, or construct or thought of, didn't come from, that we have on the earth see?

So, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, okay, you die, you turn into dirt.

That's why it stays the same size, you know, we might spin out or but if you started throwing stuff out, now it's been stopped doing that, okay, don't do that.

If you ask me yard anyway, compost, it's things that have broken down different elements.

I'm also horses are vegetarian for vegans out there.

You know, just like carrot peels only later.

And all of this stuff breaks down and it brings nutrients with it that the soil doesn't have.

And that's why the soil is so nice.

When you scratch back the pine needles under your pine tree, or when you go down into the woods, and the leaf litter is this thick.

And it's not it's beautiful.

Underneath there, it's crumbling, the soil structure is better.

Those things breaking down, don't just collapse together, like like mud, you know, the soil structure is improved.

It has because soil has to have air in it for you to grow anything.

It's not just the water, you have to have a good soil structure for air to be down to the roots as well.

They need water but they don't water all the time.

Most things anyway.

So, so yeah, compost is just, it's just when things break down, and they turn back to dirt.

And they fold the good stuff.

That's right.

That's right.

I know there's that there's not the same chemical structure in tomatoes as there is in pine needles.

There's not the same chemical structure in oak leaves as there is in shrimps shells.

No, you can put those in, by the way.

Okay, do you do you compost?

Yes, but it's kind of question.

I have a pile behind this in the back part of our property and, and that's where all my food scraps and it's nothing fancy.

I just keep dumping them underneath.

So there's this nice combo, but I have to dig that out.

This time of year though.

You just kind of leave it be and when you turn I mean Well, it's kind of it's frozen now.

But when it thaws, yeah, do you turn it or do you just sort of leave it until spring?

I leave it, leave it leave it.

Do you know what I want to be out in seven degree weather training?

I just don't, but right now is a perfect time to put compost or composted horse manure or for other compost.

That's all that you can put it on your garden now.

Particularly composted.

Or heck, you could put fresh manure on there right now if you're just itching to get outside because it's got Yeah, if you can't stand your fingers and warm, do it.

Put them on the garden.

And by the time you're going to plant things, it'll be broke down, exit freezes and thaws.

And it's really you know, the spring.

That's what happens.

That's what happens in the woods.

That's what happens in your yard.

Excellent.

All right, you brought a plant for us.

Let's talk about it.

I do.

This is a marjoram plant, which is another tender perennial.

It's a little pale because it's been in the east window, and it doesn't get a lot of sun, but it's obviously doing well.

marjoram is kind of like oregano, but it's got a different flavor to it.

But you can use it.

It's really great for meats, putting on beet and for soups.

And for tomato sauce.

Can you use it fresh?

Or does it have to be you can use it fresh or dried?

Doesn't matter?

Does that change the flavor profile, if it's probably drying, usually make some more of a stronger flavor because it takes out the moisture.

So it's a little bit stronger.

But somewhere in here.

I see had a little bit of flour.

Yeah, there's a little dried flower right there.

Do that.

Does it get bitter after it blooms sometimes like the others.

So there's some it's a pretty amazing plant.

That's it's got some medicinal properties, too.

Do you keep it just as a house?

Play it?

Or do you plant it out?

Well, this was planted and when the weather warms up, I'll put it back.

Gotcha.

Very cool.

Very cool.

Okay.

All right back to let's see, let's let's do a question.

This is from Mary Cholesky.

She says she's got moss that is still growing on the east side of her house.

And she likes it but says it's slippery it and you can see it here.

It's growing on some stepping stones in her yard.

And so she's kind of flirting with the idea of keeping it and or getting rid of it.

So if she wants to get rid of it, ladies, how would you eradicate Moss, because we know if you just scrape it and leave it it'll come right back?

So what are some things that she can do?

Well, the Vinegar Vinegar mix would take, you know, kill it off, but they do still have to scrape off the you know, the residue that we were talking about?

Initially, definitely scraping it off, scrape off what you have, that you don't want, and then treat the country with with the vinegar or vinegar and salt.

Or what was the other one Bleach Bleach?

bleach solution?

I'm not, I'm not gonna guarantee that it won't come back, because that's where it likes to live.

So we have to get every bit of it off of that little edging and everything.

I was gonna say is that something that she would probably have to do often you think, what is the date on that?

On that note, you know, I don't but it was recent, because there's snow, I can see the snow on the ground.

So it was within the last couple of weeks.

Because I was wondering, I'm like, Well, if it's and I looked at the picture, I didn't even notice the snow.

Now, I mean, it could be within a week or two.

But now I wonder if with the deep freeze that we've had if it's still there, but do you think that's something that you'd have to do often to come back and kind of retreat that forever?

Because the moss just naturally likes that area?

Yeah.

Okay.

Those were likes you know, you have a microclimate that parlays right into the next question.

All right, Ginny Davis Reinhardt writes in with the new USDA zone maps.

I've been reading a little bit into microclimates in yards, how do you determine where they are most likely to be located?

And I've got my eye on a couple of zone six roses.

So we are zoned in central Illinois, Champaign County where we are we were moved to six A from five b I believe, right?

So what does that mean for us?

Does that mean we can grow different things that we couldn't grow?

Yeah, you can try still gonna get my a microclimate Jenny is like a place that stays extra Sunny, extra shady, extra wet or extra dry as compared to everything else.

There's a there's a better smattering of of all of those elements, but in a microclimate like the inside corner of the house.

Okay, so So you have a house and it's just rectangular house but then you've got a little inset where the porches and there's a little you know, not a little inset Yeah, yeah, well inside corner instead of the outside corner.

Just like on the other parts of the house, that little inset is going to be a microclimate of some kind.

It'll either be shade here, if it's a sunny exposure, it'll be extra warm, because it'll hold heat because it's got two walls to collect heat.

Or maybe it's a place that's extra dry because there's a covering over.

Mary's got moss grown on the east side of her house.

On concrete, it's a perfect spot for moss.

And the moss just finds it.

I wouldn't mind Moss, I'd take moss over creeping charlie every day.

So what's our zone changing, though, on a serious note, because she asked about these roses.

Like Kay said, it's still going to freeze.

But you know, what does that mean, for us that we've moved a little bit, the angles moved, it's a little warmer.

And like I said, if you have either even a south facing wall, particularly like a brick wall, is going to be a microclimate.

If it gets a lot of sun, some places this, the South yard is shady.

But typically, if you have a south facing wall and it's, it catches a lot of sun, that's a microclimate.

It's gonna stay warmer, particularly if it's brick or stone, then the other parts of the house or even, you know, the part that gets full sun is gonna stay warmer than the part where a tree shades it even a little bit.

So you have to, you have to just think about the exposure.

Does does rain get there?

Or is your overhang too wide?

Okay, you know, or you can you can create a microclimate with maybe a trellis or something to create more shade, or wind block, or something like that.

You can you can create a little space that stays a little wetter or stays a little shady or stays a little hotter.

Gotcha.

If you don't just already have one somewhere.

Okay.

Would you gamble on zone six roses?

What zone six roses?

Would you try?

Would you give them a go?

Worth a try?

Yeah, it may work.

It may not that's part of gardening.

Gardening.

It's one big experiment every year.

Okay, Jenny, we say get the roses and just see what you get.

And for sure, for sure.

Protect them mightily in the winter, especially if they're a little extra tender.

Put a cage around him.

So the rabbits don't trim completely down.

The old rabbit solo rabbits you're edible.

My next question.

So I'm restless, right?

We all are.

I'm growing microgreens in the house.

And just wanted to show these really quickly.

I got these for $1 I've got them grown on my kitchen counter.

They've been I see I started them on.

It's been about three days.

So the picture that I took, I'm sorry, I'm not good at this.

The picture that I took is the bowl of microgreens that are in my kitchen just for me to look at and munch on and remember that spring is coming so this is just one of those things that it's you know, you can just walk by and grab some and go okay, I'll make it I'll make it so I am going through my see collection I found all of the things that I had leftover from last year before I order new so I wanted to ask the experts if it's okay to plant last year's leftovers so I've got watermelon I've got Bailey's I've got peas are there certain seeds that you can use after because you know they always say packaged buy or sell buy or use buy we all know that's marketing this is the district chunky seeds lasts forever means lasts forever.

I've got 10 year old beans seeds, it's germinate really ugly.

So it depends.

And these did really well last year for me.

That's why I hung on to them.

So yay.

Save me some money.

Get to save on these.

I'll get to save on the you know Well darling You can just go ahead and try those yes but are there seeds that don't hold up particularly well any that you can think of that you know if you just got them and I've had peppers and tomato seeds for I will I will guarantee you I've got some tomatoes.

I have a really small garden.

It's a small vegetable garden.

Any accessible freezer can but it's just two of us.

I mean, I'm happy to give things away but I don't want to take a lot more care than I have to right.

So a bag just seems to last me quite a bit because most things that are tender.

I also start early.

And if I want if I want six of these kinds of tomato plant I plant six seeds if they're a little puny.

I plan to in that one but I don't plan them right together.

Because when they germinate and they come up and this one's like, Oh, this is horrible you by the survival of it gets the whole Pete squared.

So happy.

You can you fold seeds, you can just you can just do the the wet paper towel test on them.

Yeah.

You get a paper towel, damping it and squeeze out the excess moisture, put put seeds in it, fold it over, put it in a plastic bag, so it stays down.

Put it in a warm place, see if they germinate.

You know, I like it.

Actually, that's how I start some of my like tomato and just to see how I go.

Yeah, that's a really great idea, the germination rate is going to fall as the seed gets older, likely.

But you know, there's no sense in just buying and more when you still have I am not John Bowden Steiner, I do not buy packet of seeds and, you know, go merrily on my way is Johnny tomato seed, I, you know, I want for that.

I have room for like a dozen tomato plants.

So I have to be selective.

Also, I have, I have there's a lot of local individuals who raise tomato plants and peppers and eggplant and when they get to do spring starts, I try to seek them out and and buy plants from them.

You know, that's a great, I don't have to give up my space on my counter.

They've got a little greenhouses.

You go just eliminate that whole first step and three or $4 tomato plant off you times, you know more than I've spaced for, because I'm an idiot.

Last question, I came full of questions.

You're awesome.

So I've been threatening my family to save all jugs.

And I want to try toilet paper roll slash paper towel rolls inside here.

And I'm going to ask you about this just to keep them organized.

So I'm talking about winter sewing.

So what we would do is stop me from wrong, we would cut this jug along here but not completely off, save some sort of be a little flippy guy, right.

And then soil on the bottom put your seeds in.

This would be your vent for days that it gets really warm and sunny.

You don't want to cook the plants, but it gives them a natural start outside in the cold weather.

So you don't have to worry about starting seeds in the house how to do that.

Okay, where are you?

I only I didn't think that's what you were gonna go with that you didn't know I thought you're saving them for putting around your your early so no, well, that's good to know.

I'm cutting the bottom out and just plopping them over the ones in the ground.

That's after you plant them.

Yeah, I say yeah, milk jugs and use jugs and anything like that.

Even soda bottles, but I tried to get the green ones for and milk jugs that are opaque.

These are fine for starting, like you're thinking about doing.

But in the in the spring, sometimes the sun gets pretty hot, and then I those holes, the ones that are green or white will hold the the heat and they you know, dig down the ground a little bit you don't have to worry about the paper towel cord because the cutworms won't climb over the plastic.

But I cut I cut out like even leaves it I leave the handle.

I cut out here all the way up.

But this is slightly before it's warm enough for them to go.

Yes.

So I cut that out.

We need folks to start saving their trash though.

They cut the bottom out, you put it down over the plant and then it is open all the time but I also then mulch around them with straw.

Gotcha and I don't fluff my straw.

Straw will come off and hail so it off the bale in a thing called a flake.

It's a flake of straw.

It's a little flat section about that thick.

I lay those on and I just lay them on the soil and they're, they're thick, they're denser weeds will not go through them.

Then I grow between them if you're unlucky, but they won't go through.

When I plant potatoes I planted potatoes in a row and then I put flakes of hay butted right up against one another ride over the top are not hay straw.

flakes of straw.

And then the plate is will come up through that little crease but holds this moisture like moisturize business Yeah, and it doesn't blow around.

Love that.

Yeah, love that.

So the rolls the toilet paper and paper towel rolls.

This is where they come into play.

This is my thinking if I put them if I stacked them in the bottom of this and then planted the seeds individually in the rolls when they're ready.

to go into the ground, I can just pop those out, pop them out of the tube and boom, and they go kind of like in a nursery style.

What do you think?

I'm really bored.

You must be ready to garden.

Yeah, we all are paper rolls.

I mean, you know what I'm saying?

If I if I stood them up, yeah, and started the seeds down in them, and then you know, I could just pop them out.

I'm thinking maybe a half a toilet paper.

Okay, maybe there'll be two tone the seed.

Gotcha.

Yeah.

Yeah, there'll be there'll be strong, maybe even 30.

Got it?

Yeah.

See, I was.

I was in the neighborhood.

You're in there.

I was in the neighborhood.

Well, it's a good idea.

My question today is acres.

I have to get back outside and get to gardening because show seed catalogs are rolling in.

We are getting there people so hang in.

Thank you ladies so much for coming in today.

Had fun as usual.

Thank you for watching.

If you've got questions, you can send them into us at your garden@gmail.com or you can look for us on Facebook or Instagram.

Just search mid American gardener and we will see you next time.

Goodnight.