- From the oh-so-sweet Univest Studios at Lehigh Valley Public Media in Bethlehem, P.A., it is time for another pea-picking episode of chemical-free horticultural hijinks, You Bet Your Garden.

Prices for fresh produce are predicted to rise rapidly this year.

Are you ready to protect your wallet?

I'm Mike McGrath, and on today's show, we'll help you grow more of your own fresh food, this time focusing on sweet and delicious spring peas, plus your fabulous phone call questions, comments, tips, tricks, suggestions and ridiculously rampant recriminations.

So keep your eyes and/or ears right here, cats and kittens, because it's all coming up faster than you picking sweet treats through July... right after this.

- Support for You Bet Your Garden is provided by the Espoma company, offering a complete selection of natural organic plant foods and potting soils.

More information about Espoma and the Espoma natural gardening community can be found at... - Welcome to another thrilling episode of You Bet Your Garden, from the Univest Studios at Lehigh Valley Public Media, in Bethlehem, P.A.

I am your host, Mike McGrath.

Coming up later in the show, another special treat for podcast and terrestrial radio listeners only.

We're going to talk about the Chinese New Year, better known as the Lunar New Year.

And it's another way to try to encourage good luck for your garden this year.

We're also going to tell you everything you need to get a bumper crop of peas.

And we're going to talk to the field guides who are going to learn me about the reality of the symbiosis of black walnut roots.

Woo!

That's a lot to get over with, or done with, or cover, or... Look, let's just take a phone call.

Lee, welcome to You Bet Your Garden.

- Oh, thank you.

It's great to be talking with you.

- It's great to be talking with you, Lee.

What they don't know outside of behind the scenes is that it took us a while to hook this call up.

But we're glad to have you on.

Thank you for your patience.

And how are you doing?

- I'm doing fine.

I just have a question or a worry that I hope that you can help me feel better about.

We've had a very rough winter here in Tennessee.

- What part of Tennessee, may I ask?

- Middle Tennessee.

We call our town Mount Julia, a suburb of Nashville.

- So what's going on?

- Well, about three weeks ago, we had a snowfall that was preceded by a freezing rain.

And we've lost a lot of ornamental shrubs, I believe, by now, the leaves are falling off.

Burford Holly, I think it is.

And even some of our Manhattan shrubs ornamental in our area and in our home yard.

And I was wondering if you could give me any peace of mind, will those come back?

- Well, you know, with all of these kind of questions, nobody knows the answer till spring arrives.

All of those plants have the capability of growing or putting on new growth.

They may need a year to kind of stumble around in the dark and recover, but there's no reason to believe that they are really most sincerely dead.

How has the rain been this winter?

- Well, pretty good this winter.

I looked to see if we were considered to have a drought during the summer, we went for weeks without rain in July, August, and September.

But then, when I looked at the records, it didn't consider a drought.

I was worried maybe that was part of the hardship.

And then, the ice came.

- Well, you're kind of right.

If weather like that is predicted, and it has been very dry lately, it may be counterintuitive, but it's a good idea to water your plants at the base before the weather event hits.

Plants that are well-hydrated are less likely to suffer tip-burn and other things from cold winds.

And it's a sin you didn't get a lot of snow because snow protects plants better than any kind of mulch.

But the most important thing you can do now is nothing.

Don't look at them.

Don't think about them.

Pick a good streaming service and binge on, like, eight different shows.

And in the spring, you should hopefully see signs of life.

If you do, don't clean them up.

Don't prune anything off.

Wait till everything has shown you what it's going to do.

Let's say we're in May now, and at that point, it would be safe to remove totally dead branches.

But other than that, it's in the hands of God, my child.

- I appreciate it.

Thank you so much.

It gives me peace of mind just to not intervene and step away.

And we'll try that and see what comes of it.

- Very good.

You'll do better than your neighbors who hop in there with fertilizer and pruners.

- All right, you take care, and bye-bye for now.

Sean, welcome to You Bet Your Garden.

- How are you doing?

- I'm just Ducky, Sean, how are you?

- Well, I guess I'm Ducky too, aren't I?

- Oh, you have to have your own duck for that, pal.

- I have two.

- You have two ducks?

Well, you're duckier than I, then, I've been defeated!

Now they'll let me out of this studio.

Where are you, Double-Ducky Sean?

- I'm in Nazareth, P.A.

- Oh, not too far from us!

What can we do for Sean?

- All righty, so I have your compost book, right?

And I'm just starting...

I just did my first batch of shredded leaves, like, my first full attempt to do compost.

And what I did before is I would blend it up with my weed whacker in a garbage can.

But I just got a leaf mulcher for Christmas.

- Excellent!

- And I used it to finish up what I hadn't already.

And the chunks from the mulcher are, I don't know, I guess ten times bigger.

It's about the size of my palm-ish.

But when I blended it with the weed whacker, they got really small.

So my question, I suppose is, can you get it too small?

Is there a Goldilocks zone?

- No, absolutely not!

One of the rules in compost is the smaller the raw material, the quicker it will become finished compost.

So, you know, if you think about it, if you've got leaf particles that are really tiny, I mean, they are almost compost already, all they need, and they've got all this surface area to interact with the nitrogen in your pile.

So you know, when you buy a leaf blower/vacuum, one of the things you should look for is the mulching ratio.

For instance, the lowest I've seen is 12.

That means you could take 12 bags of whole leaves, shred them through the mulcher, and they would fill up one bag.

But there are also ones out there that have a mulching ratio of 20:1.

So you could literally dump 20 bags of whole leaves on the ground and put the result into one bag.

I did this on The Today Show one year.

It took the whole show.

Every time we went to commercial, I was sucking up another bag.

So I don't know... Do you know what your mulching ratio is?

- Yeah, it says it's 16:1.

- Okay, so that's kind of in the middle.

If you're getting uncomfortable with the trashcan and the line trimmer, a lot of people will suck up their leaves into the collection bag shredded, and then they'll pour them out and will shred them again.

The smaller the particle, the faster it will make compost, and the better quality it will be.

This is one of the ways you make really hot compost really fast.

- Awesome.

- All right.

You take care.

Thanks for calling.

- See you, Mike.

- We have a couple of special guests.

The Potters, what would you call you?

The hosts of a podcast called The Field Guide.

Bill is the guy in the Minnesota shirt, and Steve is the guy with the hat.

And they have some interesting information that they may be able to learn me something about the dreaded black walnut tree.

- So just to give people an idea of what we do, our podcast, The Field Guide, we pick a natural history topic and then we look into recent research on that topic.

And then, we go out to a national spot and record ourselves talking about what we learned and also trying to make some jokes and make it enjoyable.

But we often get ideas from listeners, and a listener sent in to us the idea of looking into black walnut.

And in gardening circles and in tree-people circles, black walnut has been known to be harmful to other plants growing in its vicinity, and it's just always kind of been accepted as gospel.

And this email said, you know, look into that, and it may not really be what people have always thought.

That piqued my interest immediately.

Steve and I, we both are of a skeptical nature, so we enjoy taking things, especially that we've always accepted as gospel, and diving into it to see, is this actually true or not?

And that email led us on the path that led to an episode we did on Black Walnut, and whether it really is harmful to other plants.

- To be completely honest, Bill was the one that did the vast majority of the research for this episode.

So I'll jump in here and there.

But for the most part, I'm going to let Bill lead the talk on this one.

- So right now, you're just a pretty face.

- Yeah, I'm trying.

- Steve's the talent.

- So tell me what you learned first.

It has been accepted that, you know, every part of the black walnut tree, but especially the roots, contains some material called juglone that is aliopathic, allopathic?

I can never tell which is a doctor and which is a plant killer, but it has been long accepted that they are tomato kryptonite.

Is that still the case, or are you doubting Bills and Steves?

- I think we're definitely doubting Bill and Steves.

And, you know, like most things within the natural world, it's hard to give a definitive answer.

But what we often find in the topics that we research is the stories often aren't as simple as they're first presented, and we often find that the real story is more nuanced, and it's more interesting.

So we're going to go back a ways, because I'll tell you that most of the articles or publications that talk about black walnut and its toxicity, almost all of them refer to the fact that black walnut's toxicity has been known since the first century.

The Roman writer, Pliny the Elder, he's often quoted as saying black walnut is poisonous to all the plants within its compass.

- Poor Pliny's not here to defend himself, you know!

- He is not, he is not.

But I think that's good reason to give us pause and maybe not use that as your main source.

But, you know, after him and probably until the 20th century that was accepted, that black walnut was poisonous.

And it was mostly stories that people told of seeing that certain plants wouldn't do well under black walnut.

And my question, reading through the research is, why are people planting tomatoes under black walnut trees?

- Because we got no place else!

- Okay.

All right.

- Desperation, yeah.

- So in the '20s, that's when researchers started looking into it.

There was three researchers that really started to notice that tomatoes and apple trees especially weren't doing well under black walnut trees.

And there was one researcher from Virginia, his name was Abe Massey, and he wrote about how he noticed in his garden that certain tomato plants, parts of the plant were wilting.

So what this guy did is he dug down into the soil and he reported that every wilting tomato plant that had part of it wilting, part of their roots were touching a black walnut root.

I love to imagine this guy's wife coming home and finding holes all over his backyard, and him trying to explain, "The black walnut is killing the tomato plants!"

- But that's a eureka moment!

- But again, that's observational science.

So they assume that that's what it must be.

But in the late '20s, there was a bit of a backlash.

Some researchers actually came out and said, you know, the trees that they're saying are walnuts, those aren't even walnut trees.

Now, it's hard to determine 100 years later if that's actually accurate.

But for the next 20 years or so, until about the '50s, there was kind of this back and forth of Massey and the researcher saying, no, black walnut is toxic.

And then, researchers on the other side saying maybe not.

And they would often have photos from farmers saying, "Look, I have black walnuts and things are growing fine "under and around them."

So in the late '40s, the USDA actually came out with a publication saying black walnut is harmless.

It has not been proven conclusively.

But, like most good stories, it refused to die.

And a lot of people just ignored that.

And in the '50s, they started to do research into juglone.

And that research, some of it did show that, yes, juglone does have toxic effects on plants.

- The juglone is just the precursor.

Shouldn't they be testing this super hydro, semi, hemi-juglone that happens underneath the soil?

- So to be clear, hydro-juglone is the precursor.

That's what's in... - Oh, that's in the tree.

-Right, and then juglone is the product that comes out.

So I don't know of any tests that have been done on hydro-juglone.

This is all been, everything we saw was just looking at juglone because that's what ends up in the soil eventually.

- All right, guys, you've been great.

Thank you so much for a stimulating conversation that leads us to actually nowhere.

But yeah, those are the most fun.

I listened to a couple of your podcasts, you're great, guys.

- Oh, thanks.

- Steve actually speaks on them, ladies and gentlemen.

- Well, I'll speak, you know, usually there's a lot of time to throw in little things here and there.

But Bill and I kind of switch who does the research for any given article.

So it's kind of fun because, you know, Bill has one style and I have one style.

And when it's his turn to do one, I'll be jumping in with a bunch of stuff.

And when it's my turn, he'll be jumping into mine with a bunch of stuff, and it's always kind of fun to see the directions we take it.

- And you guys are fun!

And the podcast is called The Field Guides, and I found it right away without knowing anything else, so it's out there.

Thanks very much for being with us today, it was fun.

- Our pleasure.

- Thanks for having us.

- Like Thanos, it is inevitable.

The Question of the Week, which is not so much a question as a continuation of our instructions for a happy and profitable garden this year, while outside produce prices go through the roof.

This week...

They're the perfect cool weather crop, and that's part two of our organic solution to produce price inflation.

Peas are my favorite cool weather crop.

Crunchy, deliciously sweet, fun to grow, and kids love them!

My pair of hooligans love snow peas so much growing up that there was little picking for me to do, although they'd let me have a few every once in a while.

Anyway, all types are cool-weather lovers.

They are often called June peas, because the vines typically shrivel up and die in early July's heat.

Peas are one of the few crops that like a sweet soil, which means slightly on the alkaline side.

So dusting a little ash from a hardwood stove in their planting lanes is a great idea, especially if you live in a climate that generally has acidic soil.

All peas also have the ability to "fix nitrogen from the air" by way of a symbiotic relationship between their root system and specific strains of bacteria, providing free nitrogen to the plants for fast, strong growth.

The right type of bacteria may already be in your garden, but using a fresh helping of "pea and bean inoculate" will greatly improve your harvest.

This inoculate is widely available at independent garden centers and via seed catalogs, and online.

It generally comes in the form of a freeze-dried powder containing a bacterium specific to peas and beans.

Now, the timing of pea-planting is crucial.

The average days to maturity of most pea varieties is around 60 days.

So you want to time your plantings to produce their first flush of sugary goodness around June 1st.

That makes early April the ideal time to plant.

Note - despite what you avoid, it may not be lucky to plant your peas on St Patrick's Day if you live in the mid-Atlantic or cooler type of climate, as Saint Pat's feast day falls on March 17th this year, and the soil may not be warm enough to allow that fabulous nitrogen fixation.

It may even be frozen solid.

Better to wait until April 1st, unless you want to risk being a fool.

Types of peas.

Snow peas.

A favorite ingredient in salads and Chinese dishes that include mixed vegetables.

You eat the slender treats, pod and all.

Pick early and often.

Don't let the seeds swell up inside the pot.

And if you miss a few big ones, don't worry.

Just zip the pots open and eat the tasty peas inside.

Early and frequent picking maximizes the flavor and increases the yield.

Snap peas, a southern favorite.

These are a bit larger than snow peas, but are still typically eaten pot and all, after you snap off the top.

Again, pick early and often.

If you get to big, just eat the peas inside as the pods start to get tough after too much time on the plant.

And finally, we get to English shelling peas.

These are left on the vine until the peas inside swell up nicely.

Then you zip open the pod and eat the tender and sweet peas inside.

They taste great raw.

But a springtime tradition is to cook them up with spring onions.

Scallions with a small bulb underground.

Generally served as a soup, you'll find hundreds of recipes online.

Note - the heavily-scented flowering plant, commonly known as Sweet Pea is not edible!

In fact, it is poisonous.

Unfortunately, it also has some botanical features that resemble true pea plants.

All real peas are edible, but ornamental Sweet Pea flowers are not.

Now, best as I know, all pea vines are "self-supporting".

Give them something to climb on and their talented tendrils will take care of the rest.

But how high does this support need to be?

Dwarf snow peas, also known as bush snow peas, can be very tidy, depending on the variety.

Even the shortest plants will produce full-sized pods, and the shorter the plant, the easier it will be for kids to reach those priceless prizes.

Examine seed packets and catalog descriptions, carefully looking for the final height of the plant.

If that information is not there, search the variety name at other sources.

If all else fails, turn to Google, search for "final height" of your variety name, "pea".

The same is true of snap and shelling peas.

If the plant is supposed to get tall, you have to grow it against fencing or purchase a real trellis, which you'll also use for pole beans.

After the peas are fried, then you'll use them for peas and beans.

And next year, don't worry.

True dwarf or bush varieties can get by with those tiny little old school tomato cages.

But some shelling pea varieties need a really tall trellis.

No matter what the type, pre-sprout your peas by soaking them in water overnight, and then, wrap them in moist paper towels.

Place the towels in a Ziploc bag, but don't zip it.

Just leave the open bags out at room temperature.

Check them daily to make sure the peas inside are moist, but not sopping wet.

Mist them if they are dry.

When you see wiggly little sprouts appear, it is go-time!

Dig out lanes in a shape that will accommodate your trellises-eses.

Dust some wood, ash into the lanes, roll the damp seeds around in the inoculate, and drop them into the lanes a few inches apart.

You can add more inoculate on top, but be sure to save some for your bean crops.

Refill the lanes with the soil you removed, then spread an inch of quality compost over top for good luck.

Don't add any nitrogen-rich fertilizer!

You can let the atmosphere handle that.

Well, that sure was some timely advice about planting, now, wouldn't it?

Luckily for yous, the Question of the Week appears in print at the Gardens Alive website.

To read it over at your leisure or, of course, your leisure, just click the link for The Question of the Week at our website, which is still and will forever be... Gardens Alive supports the You Bet Your Garden Question of the Week, and you will always find the latest Question of the Week at the Gardens Alive website.

You Bet Your Garden is a half hour public television show and hour-long public radio show and podcast all produced and delivered to you weekly and strongly from the Univest Studios at Lehigh Valley Public Media, in Bethlehem, PA. Our radio show is distributed by PRX, The Public Radio Exchange.

You Bet Your Garden was created by Mike McGrath.

Mike McGrath was created when a mad doctor combined DNA from a Brandywine tomato with DNA from Soupy Sales.

Yikes!

My producer is threatening to poach my pods if I don't get out of this studio.

We must be out of time.

But you can call us any time, you really can, at... Or send us your email, your tired, your poor, your wretched email refuse teeming towards our garden shore at...

Please include your location, or you'll make me so sad!

I'm your pea-planting host, Mike McGrath, and I'll be playing with my seed packets until I can see you again... next week.