- From the poisonous studios of Lehigh Valley Public Media in Bethlehem, P.A., it is time for another horrifying episode of chemical-free horticultural hijinks.

You Bet Your Garden.

I'm your host, mad scientist Mike McGrath.

What's the scariest plant that can appear in your backyard?

Giant hogweed?

Poison ivy?

Poison hemlock, maybe?

Because it closely resembles Queen Anne's lace?

On today's show, we'll vote for pokeweed, because its toxic purple berries are so tempting to kids.

Otherwise, it's a fabulous phone call show, cats and kittens, yes, potential guests are busy examining their elderberries.

So, we will take that heaping helping of your telecommunicating questions, comments, tips, tricks, suggestions and fantastically furious fulminations.

So, keep your eyes and/or ears right here, true believers, because it's coming up faster than you pulling up poisonous plants.

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 a special Halloween edition of You Bet Your Garden from the studios of Lehigh Valley Public Media in Bethlehem, P.A.

I am your horrifying host, Mike McGrath.

Coming up later in the show, we will talk about a horrifying plant.

Even though it's poisonous, its beautiful berries are very attractive to children and pests, and it can cause severe problems.

There's also a great song about it!

I could've picked a lot of poisonous plants, but this one had a number-one hit.

But before that, a recent newspaper article that is more horrifying than Godzilla, Dracula, and the Mummy all put together.

Here you go.

Normally we do what's called B-roll, but this is such a big picture, I think you can see it.

And maybe, even you can read the headline, which is "Bumblebee May Be On the Road to Extinction".

These are some of my favorite insects.

"The American Bumble Bee, "a widespread species that appears to be in decline, "is being reviewed by the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service "for possible federal protection under the "Endangered Species Act."

Man, we can't wait to kill this planet, can we?

We're doing it all over the place.

"The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Protection "lists the reasons as pesticide use, climate change, "and loss of habitat."

This is more scary than the original Frankenstein.

If the bumblebee goes, we're out of here, we're dead meat.

So, I hope they do put it under the Endangered Species Act.

And please, don't use pesticides in your garden.

Don't use treated seed.

I'm serious.

If the native bees go, we're out of here.

So, please be nice to your bees.

They're not going to sting you!

They're just going to make food and flowers!

Ugh!

I can never retire, can I?

No, I gotta do this forever.

All right.

Time for your fabulous phone calls.

Sally, welcome to You Bet Your Garden.

- Hi, Mike!

I'm so excited.

Thanks so much.

- Well, I'm excited too, Sally.

Let's go for it.

Where are you?

- I am in Duluth, Minnesota.

- What can we do you for?

- OK, so I picked up these beautiful oleander plants from a local garden store.

When I got them home, they were blooming big, pink, white, beautiful flowers.

I brought them into my sunroom, which is my home office, and it does get quite warm in there through the summer.

And then, when it got too hot, I brought them outside and thought that was good.

I read that you could have them outdoors, as well.

Well, when I brought them back in and they were inside permanently, they started to develop these white, like, milky clusters near the stems.

Like, you know, on the leaf stem and...

They are not doing well, they are not healthy or happy.

- Did anybody warn you about this plant?

Oleander... - No, not really.

What...?

- Oh, my goodness!

Oleander is one of the most toxic plants on the planet.

Everything... No, I'm serious!

It's responsible for multiple deaths every year.

Every part of the plant is incredibly toxic.

The flowers, the leaves, the stems, the root.

It is recommended oleander never be planted anywhere where there are children or pets, because all you have to do to get a reaction is to rub up against it.

I'm surprised you didn't get a rash from handling it.

- Well, and now I'm wondering, that's exactly why I probably got them half off, because I thought...

They're so pretty!

And I get them home, and I have read, you know, about how poisonous they are.

But I also know, like, their symbolism was their endless love and charm.

And I thought, "well, this will be a good thing to bring home."

- Sally?

- And not endless love... - Sally, this is the Halloween show.

Endless love is what vampires do.

- Oh!

Yeah, they are not happy.

- No, they're dangerous.

These plants are recommended for temperate climates, like below Chicago and, you know, even maybe a little below that.

So, I think your climate is too cold for these plants, luckily.

I'm surprised that a local nursery was selling them.

Maybe with proper care and a sheltered place, they could survive outdoors.

But plants like this are not meant to go in and out like a revolving door.

You've got to pick one.

They need a lot of bright sunlight.

And you're about to go into a time when you get, like, four hours of sunlight a day, and the natives get restless.

So, to flower, they have to be... Oh, I have been even further up, and people go quite mad when there's only two hours of sunlight a day.

- Absolutely.

- But, then again, in the middle of summer, it almost never gets dark.

So, you take your pick.

Anyway, outdoors in a temperate climate, they need full sun.

They also need lots of water.

They can't stand drying out, which they would do in a warm room.

It sounds like you have either aphids or mealybugs, or both, have you...?

Oh, jeez.

I hope you haven't tried wiping them off.

All of a sudden, I remember what kind of plant... - I haven't!

- Yeah.

You can spray them off with sharp streams of water, but, you know, I don't know what to tell you.

If you planted them outside now, they probably wouldn't make it because they don't have time to acclimate.

I mean, no offense, but your first snow is right around the corner.

- And... - You're right.

- Yeah, and I don't know that they're a workable indoor plant unless you have an actual greenhouse where you can control the humidity and stuff, and have bright lights.

So, if you're going to keep them indoors, they would require artificial light and a humidifier.

But I recommend you put them in the trash, and go back to the nurse... No, I'm serious!

Go back to the nursery and say, "Why isn't there a warning on this plant?

"You shouldn't sell these without a warning "about how dangerous they are."

- Interesting.

I think I will do that.

- I can't believe our first call is about another toxic plant.

I think we got a thing going here.

All right, Sal.

- All right.

- Good luck to you, and I hope...

I wish for you easy sledding in the months to come.

- Thanks so much.

I appreciate it.

- All right.

You take care.

Josh!

Welcome to You Bet Your Garden.

- Hey, Mike, how's it going?

- It is going well, Josh, how are things going for you?

- Fantastic, I'm over here in sunny northeast Ohio, in the Rubber City.

- Oh!

Akron?

- Yes, sir.

You got it.

- All right, what can we do for Josh in or near Akron, Ohio?

- Well, Mike, I was working in my garden last week, emptying my compost bin and planting my hardneck garlic for the first time.

- OK. - And I'm looking at my maple trees, you know, thinking about composting everything.

And I remember earlier in the year when I saw dark spots on the leaves, and they've all lightened up, and I believe it's maple car spot?

But I'm wondering if those leaves are still safe to compost, if I'm going to, you know, cause any issues.

- First, I just have to say that some of these "horticultural terms" are absolutely ridiculous.

"Hello, extension service?

I have tar spots on my maple."

"Oh, you have maple tar spot."

"That's what I said!"

Yeah, it's a pretty innocuous condition.

Many, well, let's say ten years ago, I would've told people to not compost those leaves.

Then we had a special show with Lee Reich, the pruning expert, and the Dirt Doctor, Howard Garrett, from Texas.

And I think somebody else was here, and they all yelled at me because we had this kind of a phone call, and they said, "Absolutely compost them.

"How are you going to get the tree to stop if you don't "inoculate it against this disease or condition?"

So, yes, they should go into the compost.

They really changed my mind about what can go into the compost and can't, because I was as guilty as some garden writers of just things that don't happen naturally.

It's not part of my process.

And I would say don't compost diseased plants or weeds that have gone to seed.

- Sure.

- Well, to some degree, I believe it could be better, could be more natural to compost those diseased plants and then make sure you give that tree some of the resulting compost.

And if you make good hot compost, you can throw the weed seeds in, too, you know, because they will be deactivated in temperatures 140 and above.

But I wouldn't worry about it, I wouldn't think twice now, are you shredding your leaves well?

- Yeah, absolutely.

- And you said you didn't get your garlic in until October?

- That's true, yeah, it's a little late, but we have a busy schedule, so I... - Yeah, yeah, I got your excuses right here, man.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

"The dog ate my homework!"

Yeah, "The dog ate my garden records."

You know, in your climate, you're going to get bigger heads if you plant in early September.

I know the old garden lore used to say plant on Columbus Day.

Well, I don't think there is going to be a Columbus Day in a couple of years, so, "Oh, my God, I don't know when to plant my garlic!

I'm lost!"

But garlic growers in the Poconos, a very cold climate area, have experimented with early plantings, and nothing went wrong and everything went well.

They achieved bulbs that were one third bigger than if they had waited until October.

So, that's for next year.

- Wow.

So, early September?

- Yeah, yeah, that's for next year.

You know, unless you get busy and you have excuses, "Oh, I don't want to do that right now."

- All I want to do is garden, it's everything else that keeps me away from it.

- Yeah, I hear that.

Well, it's a respite from the green screen.

Oh, they're not green anymore!

That's right.

- Awesome.

Thank you, Mike.

Thank you.

- My pleasure.

You take care.

Bye-bye.

- Yeah, bye-bye.

- Barbara!

Welcome to You Bet Your Garden.

- Thank you.

- Well, thank you, Barb, how you doing?

- I'm doing pretty well.

- And where is Barbara?

- I'm doing well in the Nazareth area.

- OK!

Not near Jerusalem, but near Bethlehem, P.A.

- Correct.

- All right, Barb, what can we do for you?

- Well, it's kind of interesting, this is your Halloween show because of the garden I'm...

I need some advice with what we, kind of, call the "garden of death."

We have flower beds around our home.

And this particular bed is on the north, it gets northwest exposure.

- OK, that's not ideal.

- No, it gets late sun, like, two, three-ish.

And... - Jeez I'm even up before that.

- For as long as we've been in this home, which is about 30 years, I've just had difficulty getting anything to grow over there.

So, I've taken out plans, put different plants in.

And, over the last few years, this bed has developed some moss.

And I've taken the moss out, and it comes back.

It just stays damp over there.

- OK. - And in the last couple years, the bed has also developed this little plant, and it looks like tiny, tiny lettuce leaves.

- OK. - And, over time, these little lettuce leaves, which start out a little raised off the dirt, kind of get flattened down, and they become sort of a mat on the surface of the flower bed.

So, I've got moss and I've got this mat of flattened lettuce leaves, and weeds growing on top of that.

So, even though I have this mat... - Well, you've got to pull the weeds.

- You've got to pull the weeds.

I mean, one of the problems with these shady sites is plants that naturally like shade are going to move in, if you don't buy them deliberately.

Now, northwest-facing, constantly wet, and I bet, well, I know your soil is heavily acidic, or the moss wouldn't thrive like this.

Would it be possible to weed out everything and leave the moss?

- It would be.

- Moss lawns in specific garden areas are super hot right now.

People are buying moss by the sheet, like sod, and trying to install it.

Mother Nature is telling you what wants to grow there, and you can fight it, if you want.

But, as you can see by what's happening to our planet on the West Coast, the East Coast, and everywhere in between, Mother Nature is kind of fed up with us.

And my boss back at Rodale Press, where I worked for 17 years, the late, great Bob Rodale, used to say, "People think they can just do anything "they want to this planet.

"But they forget that Mother Nature bats last."

So, you know, she's going to decide the game, and she is more powerful than all of us put together.

So when a nice plant is growing somewhere, I tell people to lean into it.

Now, you've got to pull the weeds.

Or, if some of them seem a little difficult to pull, you can you can get an iron-based herbicide.

It's not a chemical herbicide.

Gardens Alive sells it as "Iron X," and I've seen it for sale under different brand names in garden centers.

But the active ingredient is iron.

Or, as we used to say, "i-ren".

And it coats the plant, and it kills them.

It is a post-emergent herbicide that is super environmentally friendly.

But I would go with the moss.

If you don't, you know, there are shade-loving plants, but there are very few plants that like wet feet constantly.

So, I mean, you could put hostas in.

Have you ever tried them there?

- I haven't tried hostas, there is a little bit of a slope in the bed, I wasn't quite sure... - They'll stabilize it.

Oh, no, they'll stabilize the slope.

- OK. OK. - But consider a bed of moss with hostas interplanted in it.

The hostas will also spread.

So if you get fed up with the moss, by that time, you'll have just a clump from side-to-side of hostas.

- OK. - All right.

- "All right!"

- It's good to have a plan.

- Yes, I always try to have a plan.

All right.

Thank you, Barb.

Good luck to you.

- Thanks so much.

Thanks for taking my call.

- Thank you for making it.

Thank you.

Bye-bye.

- Bye-bye.

- It is time for our Halloween Special Question of the Week!

Back in September, Julie in nearby Hurford, P.A., posed a question on the Nextdoor site for our neighborhood, which is mostly about lost cats, car accidents and stuff.

She posted a photo of pokeweed, a poisonous Native American plant with distinctively flat purple berries and asked, "Does anyone know what this is?"

As of today, there are close to 100 responses.

Sherry, also in Hurford, immediately replied, "Pokeweed!

It's toxic!"

Short, correct, and to the point.

Then things got weird.

Jim in Green Lane called it "poke-berry" and said, "Well, it can be toxic."

Well, that was enough for me, so I chimed in to simply say, "Pokeweed!

Do not eat it!"

Then Ben in Quakertown shook the hornet's nest by claiming, "Actually, poke has a lot of health benefits "if eaten right."

Now that got my Irish up.

You can't say things like this about a highly-toxic plant.

I replied that only the young leaves in spring can be eaten, and only after a repeated regimen of boiling and rinsing, as in the song "Polk Salad Annie."

"The gators eat your granny."

Adding that the berries are poisonous!

Then Ben returns with a very large monkeywrench.

"I've never personally tried it or looked into it "until briefly just now.

"I've heard from multiple people over the years that "parts can be eaten.

"Upon brief research, it does seem that it's mostly "the leaves, but it is also said that the berries can be "eaten in very small amounts to help with certain illnesses.

"I have a few friends who are very into herbalist stuff, "and they have said that they've eaten it or mentioned "its health benefits.

"That's all I know."

Ugh...

This is exactly why I warn people to stick to reputable websites, and not irresponsible chatter.

Always stick with the safest advice.

Never lead people closer to the River Styx.

Then Ben pulls around again, claiming that his younger sister ate a few when they were kids and the hospital said not to bother coming in.

Hmm, that would be a pricey lawsuit today.

John, in Upper Saucon, jumped to my defense with, "Criminy!

If Mike McGrath says don't eat it, don't eat it!"

Followed by blush-worthy compliments.

Thank you, John.

Then Stella from Springfield, P.A., sent the scariest note.

"I'm quite surprised at these responses, because I have one "of these plants, and I've been treating it as elderberry "for years, making a syrup and using it for myself "and my grandkids."

Yeah, they look similar.

But here are the differences.

Some of the research on poke-berry shows that it is not as toxic as people believe, and is even used to make jelly.

I can never retire, can I?

"I will continue to research this topic, but I guess to be "on the safe side, "I'll just buy elderberry syrup from now on."

The pokeweed berries in her cited article's photo look nothing like the American pokeweed, P Americana, that grows wild all over our area.

Oh, and neither plant looks anything like elderberries.

They're round!

These are flat!

Although simply called "pokeweed" in the article, a little research showed it to be a vastly different variety whose common name is Indian Pokeweed, which is native to India and the Far East, and can now be found in Europe, not the Native Americans I thought it meant.

There is also a Mexican Pokeweed, but little seems to be known about these other species.

There are around 30 different varieties worldwide, and all are presumed to be toxic to mammals - but not birds, who gleefully spread the seeds.

It turns out that there are many recorded fatalities among grazing farm animals, but few reports of human death.

However, humans who eat the berries, stems, and/or roots of this plant may wish they were dead.

The National Poison Control Center puts it succinctly.

"Pokeberries are found in grape-like clusters on tall "perennials with purple-red stems.

"Eating several berries can cause pain, nausea, "vomiting and diarrhea.

"Adults have eaten the roots, "mistaking them for medicinal plants.

"Serious gastrointestinal problems have occurred, "including bloody vomiting, bloody diarrhea, "and dangerously low blood pressure."

Charming!

Now, what can be eaten very carefully is poke salad, or poke sallet.

In regions of the American South and other rural areas, gathering poke salad in the spring is an annual, but somewhat dangerous event.

The gatherers, like the made-famous-by-song "Polk Salad Annie" clip off the very youngest leaves, take them home, and boil and rinse them three times to remove most of the toxins.

The result is mixed with other spring greens, including dandelion leaves, purslane, wild onion, and wild garlic, and cooked down in a pot with water and eaten as a soup or stew, with the leftover liquid called "pot liquor" especially prized.

But let me make it clear, these spring tonics are poverty foods that supply essential vitamins, minerals, and naturally-occurring phytochemicals to people who have little to no food to eat after winter.

Before you decide to try anything like this, take a class on foraging from a reputable source.

Do not trust unaffiliated sources!

As they say about wild mushrooms, "There are old mushroom hunters, "and there are bold mushroom hunters, "but there are no old, bold mushroom hunters."

And if you're picking poke down South, be sure to be aware of your surroundings, lest gators eat you like they ate granny.

Well, that sure was some good information about pokeweed, now wasn't it?

Luckily, you can read that article over at your leisure or your leisure, because the Question of the Week appears in print at the Gardens Alive website.

Just click the link for the Question of the Week at our website, which is still and will forever be YouBetYourGarden.org.

Anybody tries to change it, I unleash my monsters.

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 of Life website.

You Bet Your Garden is a half hour public television show, an hour-long public radio show and podcast, all produced and delivered to you weekly by Lehigh Valley Public Media in Bethlehem, P.A.

Our radio show is distributed by PRX, Public Radio Exchange.

You Bet Your Garden was created by Mike McGrath.

Mike McGrath was created when he fell asleep next to a nuclear reactor and woke up looking more like Homer Simpson than anyone should.

Yikes!

My producer is threatening to plant pokeweed on my property if I don't get out of this studio.

We must be out of time.

But you can call us any time at... Or send us your e-mail, your tired, your poor, your wretched emails teeming towards our garden shore at...

Please include your location, or Godzilla will come and get you.

You'll find all of our contact information, plus answers to your garden questions, audio of this show, video of this show, audio and video of recent shows and old shows and links to our internationally-renowned podcast, all at our website...

I'm your host, Mike McGrath, and I'll be outside scaring trick-or-treaters with my brand-new life-size, motion-activated skeleton with light-up eyes!

And I'll also be sucking up leaves and pulling up poke until I can see you again next week.