Two Minutes in the Garden

Bite-sized informative updates on gardening basics, solutions, myths, news and other subjects of interest to gardeners both new and experienced. From the popular Empress of Dirt website (empressofdirt.net), home of creative and frugal ideas for your backyard garden.

First Frost: How the Cold Damages Plants 10/29/2020

First Frost: How the Cold Damages Plants In the fall, we may scramble to bring some plants indoors or cover them -- while others will make it through the winter fine. What do frost and cold temperatures do to plants? NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/16589693

What You May Not Know About Pumpkins 10/24/2020

What You May Not Know About Pumpkins They're one of the easiest plants to grow -- even if they are garden hogs -- and were one of the first vegetables ever cultivated. ALSO FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/16522010

Do Leaves Rob the Soil? 10/19/2020

Do Leaves Rob the Soil? Some people are still reluctant to "leave the leaves" -- and one objection is that leaves will "rob the soil" of an essential nutrient. NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/16451444

What Should We Do With Fall Leaves? 10/16/2020

What Should We Do With Fall Leaves? There's lots of good nutrients in fall leaves -- and we know not to send them to landfill -- but can we really just "leave the leaves"? NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/16420232

How Deep Should You Plant Bulbs? 10/11/2020

How Deep Should You Plant Bulbs? You'll find all sorts of conflicting advice online about planting depth, but does it really make much of a difference how deep you put your bulbs? MORE FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/16351550

Planting Bulbs and Keeping the Safe from Wildlife 10/08/2020

Planting Bulbs and Keeping the Safe from Wildlife When it comes to planting bulbs, you'll hear a lot of old school advice -- but how much of it should you follow? And how can you protect bulbs from squirrels and other wildlife? MORE FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/16311206

When is the Best Time to Plant Bulbs? 10/05/2020

When is the Best Time to Plant Bulbs? You'll hear a lot of conflicting advice about when to plant bulbs in the fall. You have a range of options, and each has strengths and weaknesses. MORE FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/16268597

Are Green Tomatoes Safe to Eat? 10/01/2020

Are Green Tomatoes Safe to Eat? Is it safe to eat green tomatoes? As with green potatoes, they do contain higher concentrations of a toxin, but is it anything to be concerned about? NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/16220216

Should Tomatoes Go in the Refrigerator? 09/26/2020

Should Tomatoes Go in the Refrigerator? We found the usual advice not to put potatoes in the fridge was pretty iffy, but what about their close relatives -- tomatoes? NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/16160615

Do Potatoes Belong in the Refrigerator? 09/23/2020

Do Potatoes Belong in the Refrigerator? The usual advice given to gardeners is not to store potatoes in the fridge. But is this good advice and what is it based on? NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/16118000

Storing Potatoes Safely 09/20/2020

Storing Potatoes Safely How should you store potatoes and how long will they keep? And is it safe to eat green potatoes? NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/16076222

When to Harvest Potatoes 09/17/2020

When to Harvest Potatoes They're the world's most popular vegetable. End of the season is the time to harvest mature potatoes, but you have to be careful when you do. NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/16041356

Growing Chard in Your Garden 09/12/2020

Growing Chard in Your Garden It may not the world's best known vegetable, but Swiss chard is a favorite for many gardeners all through the fall. NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/15978539

Choosing Plants for Alternative Lawns 09/07/2020

Choosing Plants for Alternative Lawns If not chosen carefully, plants for alternative lawns can end up being mushy or patchy and needing frequent reseeding. And you'll probably want a mix of several different kinds. NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/15908084

Lawn Alternatives: What Will the Neighbors Think? 09/04/2020

Lawn Alternatives: What Will the Neighbors Think? Some lawn alternatives can be pretty wild -- maybe too wild for your neighbours or your neighbourhood, but there are way to help manage that. NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/15878099

The Search For Alternative Lawns 09/01/2020

The Search For Alternative Lawns When we talk about alternative lawns, we could mean an alternative TO a lawn -- such as a meadow -- or an alternative FORM of something we'd still recognize as a lawn. You can take either path. NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: BOOKS mentioned in this episode: by Lionel Smith by Owen Wormser /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/15830012

Lawns: Both Loved and Loathed 08/29/2020

Lawns: Both Loved and Loathed We're less obsessed today with the traditional "perfect lawn" -- and the water and chemicals needed to achieve it. But lawns aren't going away -- and there's increased interest in alternative kinds of lawns. NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/15797315

Roots We Use to Make New Plants 08/25/2020

Roots We Use to Make New Plants We rely on adventitious roots for plant propagation -- as does the horticultural industry. Sometimes we force them and with some plants they happen naturally. NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/15740303

Healthy Shoots Need Healthy Roots 08/22/2020

Healthy Shoots Need Healthy Roots Flowers, leaves and stems need healthy roots to thrive. And how far from the trunk do a tree's roots extend? POPULAR THIS WEEK at Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/15710786

Understanding Plant Roots 08/19/2020

Understanding Plant Roots How do plant roots work? What are the different kinds of roots -- and why are they important to plants? NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/15666884

The Best Way to Store Seeds 08/15/2020

The Best Way to Store Seeds What's the best way to store your leftover seeds? Or is there a best way? Is the fridge better than a drawer? And what about a freezer? POPULAR THIS WEEK from Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/15619748

The Weed that Became One of the World's Most Important Plants 08/12/2020

The Weed that Became One of the World's Most Important Plants If you found thale cress in your garden, you'd probably pull it out. Even insects don't find it interesting. But much of what we know about flowering plants comes from this weed. NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/15577979

Get Free Plants You'll Love with Cuttings 08/08/2020

Get Free Plants You'll Love with Cuttings There are different ways to make cuttings and different times of the year to make them, but they're all pretty easy to learn. READ MORE from Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/15528515

Preventing Pests Organically with Diatomaceous Earth 08/04/2020

Preventing Pests Organically with Diatomaceous Earth It's used in all sorts of things from pool filters to kitty litter -- and in gardening diatomaceous earth is touted as an effective organic pesticide. NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/15469766

How to Grow Bee Balm and Attract Pollinators 08/01/2020

How to Grow Bee Balm and Attract Pollinators It's a very popular garden flower from the mint family that not only adds vibrant colour to your garden, but also attracts bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. READ MORE at Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/15433931

Tomatoes: The Most Popular Garden Veggie 07/29/2020

Tomatoes: The Most Popular Garden Veggie It's one of the most popular plants grown in gardens around the world -- and one of the biggest vegetable crops worldwide. But it wasn't always that way. NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/15392570

Preventing Blossom-End Rot 07/25/2020

Preventing Blossom-End Rot We'd all prefer a simple solution, but preventing blossom-end rot isn't as easy as adding calcium to your soil -- or even consistent watering. NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/15344813

How to Get Rid of Japanese Beetles 07/21/2020

How to Get Rid of Japanese Beetles What can you do to avoid getting Japanese beetles in your garden -- or at least reduce the damage they do? And do traps do more harm than good? NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/15291239

Japanese Beetles: The Basics 07/18/2020

Japanese Beetles: The Basics They only live about 10-15% of their lives above ground, but as both larvae and adults, Japanese beetles can do a lot of damage to your garden. NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/15253589

Is That a Bee? Or a Wasp? 07/15/2020

Is That a Bee? Or a Wasp? As much as we love them, most of us would have a hard time reliably picking bees out of a lineup. NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/15212357

Two Minutes in the Garden

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