Episode 2819

- [Narrator] On this Volunteer Gardener, Jeff Poppen demonstrates how to maximize the yield of a raised bed garden with double digging and successive planting. Troy Marden finds garden inspiration at the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show and Tammy Algood seeks expert advice on weed management. Join us. Here's a way to grow vegetables that will appeal to those that appreciate organization, variety, and a brag worthy harvest.

- Lately I've been starting gardens in Davidson County, in an effort to promote local organic and bio-dynamic farming. Besides the big gardens that I started at Bells Bend and Glen Leven, I've decided to try my hand at backyard gardening. The first thing we did here was we double dug these beds. That's where we go way deep down so the roots can penetrate deep into the soil. When your roots can penetrate that deeply, then your crop will do so much better. After double digging, I put three buckets of compost on the soil. The soil is beautiful! It's friable, it's got good texture, and it's got that dark color that implies fertility. We did have to pull out a lot of roots from nearby trees. Then, when we were ready to plant, we simply raked over the surface and started planting. This is a spring garden with peas and carrots. They're companion plants. They love to grow next to each other. And once the peas are harvested, there'll already be a bed of carrots. The variety here is sugar snap pea. And it's a beautiful, crunchy sweet pea, that you eat the pod and all. Over here, we have snow pea. The variety is Oregon Sugar Pod and it's also eating the pod and all. The peas don't swell up as much as they do in the sugar snaps. The carrots will mature towards the end of June and the beginning of July and once they're harvested, we'll have time for a crop of green beans, cucumbers and summer squash like zucchinis or yellow crookneck. Peas can get four feet tall so we put a trellis up and kind of leaned it back a little bit in order to let a little more light in for the carrots underneath. This early spring garden has a row of lettuce, a couple rows of beets, a row of radish and a row of Swiss chard. The lettuce is ready to harvest. We're gonna pull it up from the roots and shake off as much soil as we can to leave into the garden bed. And then we'll cut the tops off and we'll save the tops for a salad and then we'll put the roots and the garden refuse back into the compost pile. The radishes are also ready to pull up now. They've been in here a while. And radishes and lettuce, they're quick growing crops, so we'll get them out of here, which will leave more room for the Swiss chard and the beets. So we're loosening the ground up where we had our lettuce plants, in order to plant a crop of tomatoes. Because tomatoes will grow slowly at first and won't interfere with these beets which will be harvested by the time the tomatoes get big. This is a way of using successive planting in the garden so that we get the most out of every square foot. So I'm just gonna dig a little hole right here, put a little compost in and mix it in, water it real good. These are bare root plants I grew in my cold frame back at the farm. Into the mud I'll put those roots, making sure there's moist soil all around them. Keep those roots moist and then I just bury the stem a little bit because a tomato will root along a stem, unlike many other plants. Keep that dry soil on top will keep the moisture in and prevent the soil from caking over. Tomatoes need quite a bit of space so what we'll do here is we'll utilize this area right where the grass is so that we can trellis them over this way, sorta like we did the peas. There's a wooden frame around our garden bed here so that the grass and clover don't climb in. You'll notice there's a fence around the perimeter of the lawn and that will help keep critters out of the garden here. Now, besides the spring vegetables and the summer vegetables, we'll keep planting. Every time something comes out of here, something else will go in. And even into the fall, we'll have kale and turnips and all kinds of stuff that we can overwinter. The small backyard garden can be extremely productive.

- [Annette] Join me as we enter Yon's Paradise in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The home of Ferris and Yon Tyre. And just please let me walk with you. This is a gardener's paradise. There's just so many examples of true gardening work. There's just so many examples of true gardening work. And I cannot help but notice right off Yon, all of your evergreens that you have done

- Yes ma'am?

- How do you do this?

- So when I started, I buy this, it's a small bush that's the ground cover.

- Uh-huh.

- Then so one it's a Juniper small one, about four or five dollars. This is about almost 15 years.

- Yeah, I can tell.

- So branches come up so I don't need to all take them out. They like to stand up to sun like there then, so ...

- [Annette] The evergreen topiary's provide a lot of structure in your garden. But we are very fortunate to be here today to see all the wonderful color in addition.

- [Yon] Thank you. Not only is there an abundance for the eye to see with all of your many beautiful iris, the fragrance is just hanging overhead and I have to say it is something I'm sorry that no one else but us can smell right now.

- [Yon] Yes, that's all different smells ever.

- [Annette] Right, it's just part of the garden, isn't it? How many varieties of iris do you have?

- [Yon] About over 120.

- [Annette] Oh, wow.

- [Yon] Yes.

- [Annette] Which of all of these iris, and when you look at all the different colors, do you like?

- [Yon] When I started, I started ... I didn't know if they much have a varieties, but so, I work starts ... We bought a first house then a lady come and she drove by this. She gave me a star, so she collected irises too but so, "You want some irises?" "Okay." And then she gave me. I started like that. Then, "Oh, you have different varieties." Then I was happy. I made other friends. They have different my irises have. We collect each other.

- [Annette] Yes, your pass your plants along.

- [Yon] Yeah.

- [Annette] Well, you didn't want this side of your house to feel left out, did you?

- [Yon] Yes.

- [Annette] Last fall, I believe you said you all started a new garden. Tell me how you do this.

- [Yon] So, first I started to spray. This is all grass here, spray last year then I bought this family garden, family.

- [Annette] Oh, I see, right here, yeah. It's open weaved isn't it? It's different than plastic.

- [Yon] Yeah, it's supposed to for garden, can use flowerbeds. Then I just cover up then I asking my husband to go buy rocks, throw rocks about. Two times he bought it to throw rocks, then I cover up.

- [Annette] He went and got it by the truck load?

- [Yon] Yes, ma'am. I would love to have all different kinds of plants.

- [Annette] Longeur al here, and you do them symmetrically, and have the same on each side of the wall. Well, you're cutting down a lot of things here. You are not having to do a lot of labor work pulling up weeds, and you also are getting the benefit of warming the soil in the springtime, and you also don't have to water as much. So you're actually creating color for different times. You realize that you don't want a void of color during the summer months.

- [Yon] Yeah, yes. Springtime blooms, some of them springtime blooms, some of them summertime bloom. The summertime in full bloom so I can see all year, I like to see flowers.

- [Annette] I can see that you know what you're doing. We've heard of the line in the song that says "From sea to shining sea". Well, I will tell you this is from one rock border full of beauty blooming everywhere to the other side full of blooming beauty everywhere. Yon, I have to say that this is the most square footage that I have ever seen plants put into. And I like the way you've grouped them all together. Yon, I am very interested in you walking us through the process of what you do to take your roses, which are shrub roses, and make them into tree form. What are you doing here?

- [Yon] Well, because I don't have a big place, I have a small place, I don't like this crowding all bush, it's a mess. I can't plant nothing. That's what I would like to ... I like this green bottom that started, long stem come out so I stick them up and they grow like that.

- [Annette] So you've intertwined the canes as they've come up and you tie them up and the process you are training this and you say it's been this way two years?

- [Yon] Yes.

- [Annette] About two years.

- [Yon] Two, yeah.

- [Annette] Okay.

- [Yon] A bit over two years.

- [Annette] Well, if we take a little bit of a walk down this way, what we have here is what happens in how many years?

- [Yon] That's five years, about five years.

- [Annette] Five years. This is a double knockout, double knockout beauty. This is what you would call this. And that is the way those canes look down there with age, and actually, you gotta do this because there's so much weight up here.

- [Yon] Yes.

- [Annette] And I like the fact that you used the white PVC pipe. It's not really seen, it's not seen from the street.

- [Yon] Anything I have which is strong, have a stick around, I have to do this otherwise I find that this one it's ... Because of the move, I don't like it move out like that. This is to make it strong.

- [Annette] Well, that's the anchor of those rocks that you have down there, too, that keep it from moving around in the soil. And so, how do you do any maintenance on these? Do you do any? After this flush of blooms, Do you cut any of that off, or what do you do?

- [Yon] After all flowers are gone, so then I cut, trim a little bit. Not all, but after all cuts, next February, next year February, end of February, I cut them up shorter like that.

- [Annette] Yon, I believe this is another favorite peony because it came from a friend.

- [Yon] Yes.

- [Annette] Tell us how we got to today and all these peonies.

- [Yon] Yes, so when I started my friend gave me a small pot, then but when I started one place about two, three years I dig him out, spray, then so I have so ... About 16 of them in my yard.

- [Annette] I was gonna say, in my mind, I was starting to count because I've seen this beautiful color that just advances out of the blue and the greens and the white. It's just so beautiful. And you know peonies are finicky sometimes about being divided and when to divide them. Evidently, they just know you love them and they just go wherever you plant them. Yon, it's very obvious that your husband is very proud of you and your garden because to have a husband that does as much work to help his wife and then surprise her with this, tell us about this peony.

- [Yon] Yeah, we went to the store Lowes then so my husband told me, "So come over here", so, "Why? What's wrong?" "I show you something." then I went over there, this when I bought it, it was two-

- [Annette] Two little stands.

- [Yon] "Oh!" so my favorite, I never said this one but I buy all, I will have to buy more but this is the only one left, so ...

- [Annette] Well, Ferris is absolutely a good man to help his wife. But I'll say that that is a very special color and I think you just told me you do have a favorite plant in your garden. This peony is very special to you, and I thank you so much for allowing us to come into your private garden and share your private minutes with us.

- [Yon] Thank you very much.

- [Troy] It's always a pleasure to be at the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show, and returning this year with a garden after a few years away is Hewitt Garden Center. And Hewitt always has spectacular plant material. They do such a good job of growing unique and interesting and unusual things. It's always a showcase of unique plants with Hewitt, from Japanese maples to these beautifully forced Daffodils, and then we've got these gorgeous lenten roses in a variety of colors and sizes, and then all the way down to this very unique ... This is not an outdoor plant, but a little greenhouse primula primrose. There are some hardy primroses but this one in particular is a great little windowsill plant early in the season. Another unique feature of this year's garden is this amazing stone trough that has been planted up with dwarf conifers, little sedums. They've used incredible rocks in it, just a way to create a unique little landscape within a larger garden. And this is something that you actually could do at home, even if all you have is a patio space. If you live in a condo or something like that, a unique planter like this, and it doesn't have to be stone. But any kind of a unique planter that would give you space to do something in a garden of any size. Another unique feature of this garden, and I think something that each of us can take home is that just because you have a flat lot because we're on a flat concrete floor where the Lawn and Garden Show is, you can create these berms, you can create any kind of topography that you want by the use of boulders, bringing in soil, so don't be limited by what you have when you have a dream of what you want. One of the things that I enjoy every year about all of the gardens here at the Lawn and Garden Show are all of the unique textures and colors that everyone uses. It's a great way to get ideas for your own home garden. In this garden, they've used annuals, perennials, bulbs, and of course, this is a show so you're going to see some things that are a little bit out of season but it's still a great way to come down, get ideas about how to design your own home landscapes and get ideas also if you need a little help in your garden about who the real players are here in town and who can help you out.

- [Tammy] One thing all gardeners have in common: weeds. Many have used Roundup to keep those invasive pests at bay but maybe now you're looking for alternatives. But what are they? Here to help round up the good options is Neil Rhodes, my friend who is the weed specialist with the UT Extension service. Neil, we're glad you're here.

- Thank you Tammy, it's great to be here.

- Talk to me about glyphosate, which seems to be at the center of this issue. What is it?

- Glyphosate is a herbicide, and it's been around a long time. It's been registered at the EPA since 1974. It's one of the most widely used crop protection chemicals in the world, used in row crops and then of course a lot of homeowner uses, as we're here to talk about today. Glyphosate is actually the active ingredient and it is off patent now, so you will see a lot of different versions of glyphosate.

- Yeah, show us some.

- Yes, these are some that you'll see in the store. They don't say Roundup, but the active ingredient is glyphosate. Most of the homeowner versions of Roundup glyphosate contain pelargonic acid, which produces a quick burn so you can see it work faster than glyphosate by itself.

- [Tammy] How do I look at all of these options and decide which one is for me?

- Okay, glyphosate, Roundup, other versions of it is, in terms of weed control, is certainly not a perfect mousetrap, but it comes as close as any other. It's what's known as a non-selective herbicide. It either kills or suppresses all vegetation that you'll run into in a typical homeowner landscape. So having an idea of what your weeds are, and the best way to get that, get your weeds identified is at your local county extension office. They're there to serve you. And then you can get a recommendation for the county extension agent, and they'll help you sort through that myriad of homeowner products.

- [Tammy] A lot of times, it's just grass that's coming up in cracks in your sidewalk and that kind, in your garden, that kind of thing.

- [Neil] That's correct. This one right here called Grass B Gon as the name would imply, is actually fluazifop, which is the active ingredient in fusilade, which has been around a long time. If it's just grass that you're after, fluazifop products are excellent choices. Now, they don't control broadleaf weeds, chickweed, henbit and some of those.

- [Tammy] Right.

- [Neil] But it is very effective on grasses including perennial grasses like Bermuda grass, which it's hard to contain and tends to run under sidewalks and into landscape.

- [Tammy] Okay, so chickweed and henbit, everybody gets those in the spring.

- [Neil] Yes.

- [Tammy] They come up profilically. Is something that says weed and grass killer, is that something that would work?

- [Neil] That is something you might look for. This particular one is a broad spectrum material. It has one of the active ingredients is dicamba, which is where you get the broadleaf control. So be careful using it around shrubbery. Use it in cool weather. Actually, those winter annuals like chickweed and henbit germinate in the fall, and so really, the best time to control those is around Christmas prior to New Years, and that way, they don't get too big and they're out of your way the next spring when you're planning your vegetable garden and things like that.

- [Tammy] Got it. Okay, so talk to me about the label because I know that there's practically a book here that's attached to this particular one. Talk to me about the label.

- [Neil] Yes, we need to have that discussion. By law, every crop protection chemical, whether it's a herbicide, insecticide or a fungicide is required to have a label. That label tells the active ingredients, it has directions for use and what is very important it's very early in the label is the PPE section, or Personal Protective Equipment. Every chemical is required to have that. And it's unique to each chemical. It tells you what to wear in terms of minimizing or eliminating practically, exposure. So if you'll follow the directions that are specific for the material on Personal Protective Equipment and then wash up afterwards, you have really done a lot to minimize exposure, whatever chemical it is.

- And tell me, are there some things that aren't as effective?

- That is correct.

- What are those?

- Well, there's some products down here that basically, these materials, course they're registered with EPA and they give a flash burn. I was talking about the pelargonic acid, actually one of these is a mixture of clove oil and citric acid. Doesn't move within the plant like glyphosate does, but it causes a flash burn, and so it kinda makes sense. It's not gonna control, they're not gonna control perennials and annuals if they've got much size on all, it's just gonna give a quick burn and they'll rebound from that.

- So it makes-

- Sometimes that's all people are looking for.

- So it makes you think it's doing something but it's not really taking care of the roots?

- In most weeds, that is correct. So just make yourself a mental note if you do use it, to come back about a week later and see if it's regrowing. It probably will be if we're getting rain.

- Neil, are there some home remedies? I see a lot of things with dishwashing detergents that a homeowner can use that are effective.

- The internet has a lot of information. Some of it is better than others, but there's a lot of references on the internet of things like vinegar and epsom salts and table salts, and then the dishwashing liquid actually does help materials to spread on the leaf. So that's not all ... Not all bull. But there are surfactants that you can buy in the store that do a better job of that and don't foam as bad. But most of those, I would spend my time looking for something more effective because they either don't work or they cause minimal burn and you end up wasting time.

- [Tammy] I'm in my garden and I've got beautiful plants, but then I've got weeds starting to come up. How do I take care of the weeds and not hurt the investment of the plants that I've got in my garden?

- [Neil] Excellent question because herbicides don't know the difference between your valuable plant and weeds. A number of things to think about. Just a simple cardboard box, cut side of it out and make it as a shield. A lot of it is picking a day that's good to spray or not to spray. Wind, we need to avoid spraying in the wind because the movement onto the plants, and then also temperature is important. Some of the materials like dicamba that we mentioned a little earlier, volatilize under high temperatures. So avoid those days that are 85 or above because you do get vapor movement, which can be just as damaging. One last thing is to not use herbicides that are soil active. They can be taken up by the roots. None of these that we talked about today are soil active, and those really, they're good materials in their place, but they don't have a place in the garden.

- Okay, so Neil, what about pre-emergence herbicides? Is that something that a gardener should utilize?

- They should be considered. There's a place. Pre-emergence means by definition is a herbicide that works prior to emergence of the weeds. They don't kill the seed but as the weed seed germinates, the weed either takes it up by the emerging shoot or by the emerging roots. They are effective on small seeded broadleaves and on annual grasses. Perhaps the most widely used or most popular one on the market is Preen, which the active ingredient is trifluralin, which was actually first registered in the 1970s as a cotton herbicide. And so it's one of the most widely available. There are a number of others at your supply store, so on some weeds, they are effective.

- [Tammy] But get it out early, after the plant's up, it's not gonna help you.

- [Neil] That's right, you've missed the boat.

- If people are still confused, what's your suggestion for them? Because there's so many weeds and so many products on the market. What would you suggest that they do?

- The best thing that homeowners and all other people can do is contact your local county extension office. They're there to serve you. Your tax dollars pay for that service. And contact the agent and say, "Hey, I've got these weeds", or, "I've got this concern", or, "I've got this insect". They're there to help you, and they're the best source of unbiased information for homeowners, farmers and the other citizens of your state.

- And I'm assuming you have a weed free yard?

- You've heard the story about the cobbler that had the kids that had holes in their shoes?

- [Tammy] Yeah.

- [Neil] Enough said.

- [Tammy] Got it.

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