Show: Master Gardener Station: KNCO File: 10:31.mp3 Air date: 2026-10-31 Source: OpenAI whisper-1 · shrunk from 123.6 MB to 24.7 MB, split into 8 pieces --- transcript --- 30. Welcome to the Master Gardeners and Friends KNCO radio program. My name is Chrissy Freeman, Master Gardener and Master Composter and I'll soon be joined by Christine Freeman, also a Master Gardener and Master Composter. Our program was brought to you by the University of California Cooperative Extension, the United States Department of Agriculture, Nevada County Master Gardeners, and KNCO News Talk Radio along with all of their fine sponsors. As Nevada County Master Gardeners, our mission is to inspire foothill home gardeners to improve and embrace research-based sustainable gardening practices so our community and our environment thrive. This is a two-way radio program and we're here for you. We're inviting you to call us today at 530-477-5626 that's 530-477-KNCO or text us at 913-4685 to ask a question or to share with us and others what's happening in your garden. So give us a call. We welcome your challenges and look forward to helping you find answers to all your gardening dilemmas. Again, the phone number is 477-5626 or 477-KNCO and the text line is 913-4685 and of course photos can be sent to us on the text line. So and we're off and running on Master Gardener and Friends Radio. The first thing I'm going to tell you about is the next couple of Master Gardener workshops coming right up. So we have Master Gardener workshops most Saturdays of the year from 10 to noon. At this time, these are given, the next two are being given at the Demo Garden and the Demo Garden is at 1036 West Main Street in Grass Valley. November 7th, we have Fall Fruit Tree Pruning. This is going to be a demonstration and hands-on so do come. We have really lovely fruit trees that we as Master Gardeners have learned how to train down so that they are of a human size so that you can pick the fruit and do the pruning without having to stand on a ladder. It's a very safe way to do fruit tree growing however you are. Then on November 14th, we have blueberries. We have some lovely blueberry bushes and you'll learn how to grow blueberries successfully in Nevada County, how to prune them and of course let's start at the very beginning how to select varieties that are going to do well in the climate where you live. So we really hope that you come to our workshops and meanwhile let's kind of get into some of what you're thinking about these days. So I'm figuring that one of the things that you're really thinking about is well is it going to rain this winter? How much and where how cold is it going to be? Like what's the weather going to be like for me as a gardener as well as for me as someone who lives in Nevada County. As you may or may not have heard there's going to be a very very strong El Nino. It's really likely we're going to have a very strong El Nino likely and it'll come January through March of 2027. So it's not happening yet. So what is an El Nino? An El Nino is a worldwide naturally occurring weather pattern. It starts in the Pacific in which you wind up in the in the higher atmospheres and it pulls the winds pull the warmth of the Pacific into other parts of the world. Sometimes it dries sometimes it rains and it so it depends on where you are what the effect of the El Nino is. Here on the west coast the chances are high that what we're going to have is warmer weather and a winter and a pardon me and a wetter winter. So what this means is more rain less snow and a lot more rain. So get ready for rain January through March. It's not really going to start until maybe December. November looks pretty dry actually. So if you're like me and you're like boy I really want to get out there and start planting my fall plants and the answer is well you'd really have to use a lot of water in order to mimic what would happen if we were having rains in early November. So instead we're just going to wait as long as we can or maybe we are going to water heavily and the point is those new little plants they really need a very easy start. So we want them to be able to have pretty consistent moisture while their roots are little and they're not able to take up much moisture at a time from the soil. So what we're going to have is a very strong El Nino starting in January maybe in December. So you say to yourself okay now I know that what should I be doing in my garden right now? The answer is among other things if you ever grow veggies the answer is there are some great winter veggies that you can start now. I'm looking forward to peas, snow peas, oh my gosh you know you just go out you pick off a couple peas and you just peel them open and eat them right there. The snow peas you just crunch them off. Coffee greens, broccoli, other things in the broccoli family so that's you know cauliflowers and brussels sprouts and all those things. Then all the root vegetables, beets, carrots so on and so forth and planting herbs. So planting herbs is something I really look forward to doing because you plant the herbs once and then for the most part you have them for the foreseeable future. It's really I think lovely to find a place where you live where you can plant your herbs close to your house not that by which I do not mean within the first five feet of your house by which I mean so that it's really easy for you to step outside your kitchen get outside cut the herbs that you want for dinner tonight bring it back in and you can do that in a planter box you can do that in a little corner we've had a place at the end of a deck so many places just look around and you'll find that one if you if you say well this has beating sun all the time or this has only morning sun that then you can select the herbs that are a good match for that kind of light and that kind of heat so in the hot spots I put rosemary oregano marjoram sage and even tarragon in the cooler spots in the spots that don't get that afternoon sun I do mint marjoram I want you to pay attention that marjoram and oregano do not really like quite the same conditions it's all it can also be a really nice place to put the tarragon I've had tarragon naturalized in my vegetable garden and that was a totally special experience because when you have tarragon really establish itself as a perennial then it's one less plant you have to plant in the fall and baby because once it's naturalized it's got those deep roots going it's there so enjoy thinking about what kind of herbs you want to plant those are culinary herbs there are other kinds we're going to take a little break and we'll be right back with master gardeners and friends why suffer through slow spotty internet or worse no internet at all at smarter broadband we believe fast reliable internet isn't a luxury it's essential whether you're working from home attending online classes streaming for your favorite shows you deserve the service that actually works that's why we deliver dependable fiber-fed line-of-sight internet to the places big companies tend to overlook right here in the sierra foothills with speeds up to 200 megabits per second and 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sunday at 8 a.m right here on knco news talk 8 30 welcome back to master gardeners and friends i'm master gardener chrissy freeman and i'm master gardener christine smith welcome back to mess button yeah welcome back to master gardeners and friends and i'm master gardener christine smith i'm master gardener chrissy freeman okay so we have it we have the celebration of fall really so fall is such a great time for gardeners isn't it christine and i have to say boo oh happy halloween i want you to know i made two so we finally moved to town yeah so for the first time in oh my gosh my entire adult life we're gonna have trick-or-treaters oh it's worth doing a little decoration yeah so how much fun it's really halloween in my spirit this year So I made a couple of very funky, I started with tomato cages and imagine that you make arms out of, I used irrigation insulation, you know, the foamy stuff, you could use, you can use pool noodles obviously, they'll probably be cheaper, a lot, I had the leftover insulation, there you go, but anyway, and then I covered it with a sheet and I gave it little black construction paper eyes and I gave it a little straw, I gave them little straw hats and I gave them gloves and I gave them boots underneath their white sheets and I had strung little white lights all around, inside, all around the tomato cage and then I put gardening tools in their hands, so I had these two little, these two, well, they're not little, they're as big as my husband and myself, gardening goes to their front yard. Oh, that's so cute, I love it, I love it, that was fun, it was so fun and you know, like within the first half an hour while I was still kind of arranging things, two neighbors went by and one said, oh, happy Halloween and, you know, liked it and the other one went, boo, oh, that's so cute, yeah, everybody's getting in the spirit of things, it's true, so whatever you do for Halloween and you know, we hope that somebody comes by your house, we hope that kids come by, nobody's coming to Christine's house, just walking up my driveway is scary, so they never make it to the top, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly, the kids from your neighborhood, they come to our new neighborhood now, exactly, because now I live in a suburban neighborhood where street lights the whole nine yards, yeah, but I've heard anywhere from 30 to 100 kids, oh, yeah, so I don't know, we don't know how many, we have no idea how much candy to buy, lots, yeah, because you know what, when my kids were little and we lived out in the boondocks, yes, we brought them to town for trick-or-treating, if we didn't have a Halloween party, yes, at the house and had all the neighborhood kids come, right, then, yeah, we were, we took the kids to town, that was, I didn't really much care for that, but sometimes kids, you know, well, we indulge them, I indulge them once a year, you know, they just want candy, of course, they just want candy, yeah, so I would take them to town, but it wasn't for sure every year, but many, many, many folks, exactly, that live out, bring their kids in, yeah, it is the way that it is, yeah, there are now, you know, 10, maybe almost 12, maybe 12 kids who live out in the Chicago Park neighborhood where I lived before, and they're not walking house to house, I'll say this about that, you know, yeah, yeah, no, not out there, not out there, and it's just like, yeah, yeah, at my place, yeah, it's too dark and scary, because there are no streetlights, yes, yes, so anyway, happy Halloween, we hope that you're, that your fall pumpkins are moving from the garden to the front porch, indeed, absolutely, yeah, you know, this Halloween always reminds me of one time when the kids were all real little, and they grew a pumpkin, one of the giant pumpkins, oh, good for them, and they ended up, it was so big, they ended up with their photo in the paper, all the kids were hanging all over it, you know, I mean, that's, it was ginormous, oh, wow, it was huge, it was really cute, so, you know, that's a fun thing for kids to do, grow their own super giant pumpkin, or to grow their own pumpkins for carving, absolutely, and you know, if you have kids who would enjoy doing this, try to scatter somebody who does have a super giant pumpkin, and maybe they can give you some of the seeds, that you can try for next season, exactly, yeah, it's a great way, it's a great way to get a big one, for sure, absolutely, speaking of seeds, see, the seed, yay, seed library, so, the Master Gardeners have a, not, the Master Gardener Statewide Program has a blog, and you can get that if you go to UCANR, if you just put down Master Gardener Program Statewide Blog, you put that in your browser query, then you will find it, that's an easier thing to remember, and there is an article this September on one of the Master Gardener activities here in Nevada County, oh, yeah, sweet, and this is about the new seed library at Madeline Helling Library in Nevada City, nice, so, this is a partnership between the library and our UC Master Gardener Program here, and it started out as a way for people to share seeds, and so, Master Gardeners find places, find people who want to donate seeds, and then people can also bring their seeds in, if they have extra seeds, and then the Master Gardeners package the seeds up in labeled little envelopes, and there's, you know, one of those old card catalogs, like you used to see at the library, yeah, the old ones we used to dig through when we were kids, exactly, they're made of that really gorgeous oak, you know, typically it was oak, uh-huh, you got it, that thing, right, and it's right there, very easy to find in the Madeline Helling Library, awesome, and the seeds are free, oh, that's grand, you know, there are, there are seeds for spring veggies, for fall veggies, for native plants, for ornamentals, not everything grows well from seed, that's a whole other topic, but, yeah, but there's, and so, some of the seeds are ones that people have collected themselves from the plants on their property, and some of them are commercial seed packets that are maybe either something somebody decided they didn't want, didn't want, or it's, you know, maybe it was from last year, and so you'll get lower germination, but you take good care, you'll probably get some, and the price is right, these are all free seeds, can't beat free, absolutely, so, you know, if you say to yourself, I really want an inexpensive way to add some color to this area or that area, or I want to try a vegetable I haven't tried before, this could be a great kind of, there's a very low barrier to trying something new that's out there, now is a great time to get some of those seeds from our seed library, or other seed sources that you may have, and start plants from seed inside, you know, little paper cups, little egg cartons, whatever you happen to have around, you don't have to spend a lot of money in order to have, you know, like it's good to have seed starting mix, yeah, you buy the bag mix, right, yeah, don't just take soil from your garden, no, because it's really lovely, and of course that is how nature does it, but remember most of our vegetables and fruits are not native to this soil, yeah, so, and you want the seed starting soil, because it's sterilized, yes, yeah, so the seeds can freely grow and do their thing without any inhibitions, absolutely, we have to take a break, we're going to take a break, and we'll see you back at Master Gardeners and Friends, yes. 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I'm Master Gardener Christine Smith and I'm Master Gardener Chrissy Freeman. Yay, hoping for it. Yeah, awesome. So give us a call. Yes, our phone number is 530-477-5626. That's 477-KNCO. And we also have a text line so you can send us pictures or, you know, text comments, anything home gardening, and that's 530-913-4685. Absolutely. So give us a jingle, give us a text. We're here and ready and waiting. Absolutely. You know, I wanted to say one other thing before we move on from the fabulous topic of Halloween. Oh yeah, Halloween is fun. Okay, I know, we were, yeah, season. Okay, and that is, they're all fun. Yes, there's a nine scary plants to get you into the Halloween spirit. So obviously, unless you have one of these already ready, you can do one of these for next year. Yeah, you know, you could like do it in a pot and put it up on your front porch or, you know, plant a little Halloween garden. So here are some of them. Okay, there's a thing called a brain cactus. It's somewhere between a brain and a whole bunch of creepy crawly little worms and it doesn't really matter how people see it. They're both really creepy. And it really does. I used to have one of those and I just would always joke and say my brain. So you can, you can do it as a, as a houseplant. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, a houseplant. Yeah. So I think if you had it here, you could have it outside during the summer, but you'd still want to bring it in, right? Probably. Yeah, it'd be too cold for it. I don't like to let those guys, if they get hit with too much rain, number one, rain, they'll sog out and rot and, and the cold, you know, and the combo then cold and wet, that'll kill them instantly. So you want to bring them in and then they're safer. Yes. And then there is the perennial favorite Venus flytrap. They are so fun. I think it would be if you have kids who are like, maybe older than seven. So they know not to put their fingers in there. They would love to like catch a fly and feed it to the Venus flytrap. Anyway, I love that mysterious voice. So it's another interior potted plant because it doesn't like tender. It doesn't like winter. Oh my gosh, are these white ghost pipe flowers? They're, I don't know if you really could grow them very well because they're, they, people, they like the dark. They're, they're kind of symbiotic with some fungus and they really like dark spaces, but look into them, at least find a picture. Well, it seems like they'd be. You know in the deep dark forest. They would be so you yeah right along there with Hansel and Gretel going to the cottage So I think it's be pretty scary stuff. Oh, they'd be very scary. Yes, so if you have a place It's like too dark to do anything, but doesn't freeze like if you actually have a basement. Oh, it's maybe one little window It'd be fun This is something different. It's it's a succulent. It's called fire stick or sticks on fire It's a pencil cactus. Yeah. Yeah, I know that and it does kind of look like a plant on fire Like the bottom part is green and the top little skinny parts are kind of a Yeah, yeah, they're cute. They're very cute and fun. Okay. I've had that too. So it actually can Hurt your skin. So again Not around little kids. Yeah, you want it? Yeah, they're not appropriate for little kids. Yeah cactus spines are Really unfriendly. Oh, that was awesome It's it looks like Okay, it's it's got these little it's white short and Has these little spores and what comes out of the spores? is a Red substance that maybe looks like fake Yes, so for some reason Chemically inside the plant when it exudes excess moisture it comes out It must be sending away some impurities perhaps that's entirely yeah Yeah, if you find out if you know about the bleeding-tooth fungus Let us know. Yeah, so it does occur in the Pacific Northwest Oh, so if you say yourself, okay, I can find a place where it would be relatively cool and Get regular moisture. Yeah. Yeah, that's a great way for those plants how Plants are so amazing. Yes, you know, they're the Pacific Northwest. Hello. It's a rainforest and How awesome that that plant has adjusted and modified itself to survive in that environment? Absolutely, typically succulents and cactus if they have soggy roots man, they're they're goners Yeah, so this plants figured out how to get rid of the excess moisture. It has and you I'm Suspecting that if you went to Olympic National Forest one of my favorite places in the world that you would find this plant if you Went on a hunt really look and particularly in the moister months of the year so I like to go in August because I Though I'm from the Northwest when I was a little tiny child. I still do like not being cold. Yeah It's the damp cold net so yeah bone-chilling you just got to keep walking that's all there you go now oh This is probably one of the plants most associated with the spookiness of Halloween and And their relationship. Okay, and and a funny do you know about where they have one? No. Oh, yeah Yeah, it's kind of very well known Okay amongst, you know corpse flower lovers But it they have a have one growing at the San Francisco Conservatory Oh It's in bloom. They send out flyers and folks just line up to see it and smell it It's gnarly. It smells like a dead body. Yeah, really does It's foul, which of course I've never smelt a dead body So I guess this would be the closest I'd ever get I've never smelled a dead human body Okay, but we've smelled dead deer. Okay, you know they get hit and they're along the side of the road and you get that Pungent scent. Yeah, the smell of dead is gross, right? And yeah, but oh, yeah, they never never Ceases to Wow Everyone that sees it. So the reason that the San Francisco Conservatory sends out a note, you know to its Subscribers when it blooms is that it blooms every seven to ten years. Yeah. Yeah, it's not it's not an annual bloomer it's kind of it's kind of like You know, what is it like the Joshua trees and some of these other plants that bloom? Not every year, but when they bloom it's amazing pretty spectacular this thing It's not this thing is not renowned just because it smells bad I'm looking here at a photo of this plant in bloom and It has this big ruffled It looks like a single petal that goes all the way around Yeah comes out from a Green cone going straight up and then out of that We'll say single petal that is a maroon color with a little it's frilly with a little bit of yellow edge Out of it comes a huge tall stock of a cream yellow Mm-hmm. It's almost like a cone. Yes, kind of like a cone Or, you know, remember those ice creams we would get from the ice cream truck called missiles. Yeah, it's that shape Yes, a lot bigger. Yeah, and and ivory colored. Yeah, it's Pretty dark on spectacular looking and the picture is corpse flower blooming inside a greenhouse so Conservatory greenhouse. Yeah, I'm sure these are like native tropical of yes from the tropics And here is a California native that Cobra plant darling Tony a California I have seen these I've taken photos of them. They are other worldly truly, you know like many Carnivorous plants. Yes, and they are other worldly looking They are look like they came from an alien planet. Well, they they are so different from You know the the ones that get their energy from photosynthesizing. They get their energy from digesting Yeah, or bug juice, please. Yeah they're just They're trippy and fun and unique and amazing. They're kind of a pitcher plant. They're kind of a Translucent Not quite lime, but very bright green and they have little speckles of Around on them and when they grow they like they like really moist places and Then When you see them, you'll usually see yes in bogs and in great quantities where they're present Yeah, yeah, they're crowded. It's a it's a plethora of these Highly unusual alien looking plants absolutely that eat bugs. Yes. Yeah If you are a gardener and you're like, well, okay, I'm never gonna grow them But here's my chance if I just turn left here and go for 45 minutes and then go up this other road I'm going to see a bog of these Definitely do it. It's pretty cool. I I took us when I was visiting my brother in Oregon a couple years ago I took a side trip and it's like longer than that to get to them. Yeah There's a wonderful little preserve of them Along coastal Oregon kind of in the southern part of coastal, Oregon So if you're ever heading up that way look up where the Darlingtonia, you know Where are the Cobra plants and of course, they're called Cobra plants because they these really the the green part at the top It's really big. Yeah. Yeah look like the Cobras with the hood It's a hood and and and they have like part of their little Well, they're they're used to trick and entice the bugs up into the hood Because once those bugs get in that translucent hood they Lose all sense of direction and end up falling down the tube. Yes, and And then they get consumed that the tube has you know Digestive juices and they take care of that bug So much fun, they're not the kind of thing that we would Think that you could grow here. Oh, but to be on the lookout. Yeah in a greenhouse Okay greenhouse you can oh, I know people Amazing stuff. Anyway, yeah, did you say it's time for a break time for a break? 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I'm very thankful for it and the team at debt blue are phenomenal They're able to work with you. They're great call for your free debt resolution information now 800-200-6895 Does it give you joy if the answer is Then the solution is swap shop If you're joining the decluttering lifestyle swap shop is standing by to help you turn that clutter into cash I bet that'll give you joy swap shop in the shopping show monday through friday from 10 to 11 30 and the saturday morning edition Of swap shop from 8 to 10 weekly go on grab that stuff and ask does it give me joy? If not, give swap shop a call or a text swap shop six days a week on knco news talk 8 30 Hi, welcome back to master gardeners and friends I'm master gardener chrissy freeman and i'm master gardener christine smith and you have a topic I do have a topic I have a topic So as our regular listeners know I moved to a new place in may and i've been kind of Obsessing on trying to learn more about soil. It just seems more complex where I am than where I was so I discovered the concept of soil tilth and I was like, I know soil tilth is good I'm, like what is soil tilth? And how do you if it's good? How do you make any soil have better soil tilth if that's what you're going for? Yeah, and why would you want soil tilth? And when do you want more soil tilth? I was like, I don't even know what it is so I looked up I mean You know, sometimes a good old webster helps us out. You know, it was so true. So here it is It is In the word tilth you you see remnants of the word tillage like the till the farms It's the same It's the same word source Because tilth is the physical condition of the soil like not, you know So it's like what is the soil like relative to how easy it is to till the soil? It's you know, it's about its density its feel You know, is it light as opposed to being compacted? Compacted Yeah, it's about the it's a feel of the soil and it's it's like If you imagine there you till the soil and then you put in the seeds It's like how how good is this soil going to be when you put in the seeds? How? How good a spot is this to plant seeds? Is it going to nurture the seeds? Exactly. Appropriately. Yeah, so can it support the plants as they grow. I'm like, oh, OK. So you say to yourself, well, do all plants need really good soil tilth? Depends on the plant. Oh, exactly. It depends, which is the Master Gardener semi-motto. I know, because it's true. So many things. It depends. Yes. It's true. In particular, we think about it when we think about edible plants. So when we think about vegetable crops and fruit crops, whether it's shrubs or it's trees, those are the ones that most benefit from better soil tilth, better plants. Absolutely. You know what? Years ago, I was researching growing asparagus. Oh, yeah. You know, with asparagus, a dedicated bed is what you need, because they're a perennial vegetable that you get it planted, get them going, and they'll provide you with asparagus for years. Yes. And tilth was one of the things. I learned about tilth way back then, and this was for a class. And it was mentioned with the asparagus, you've got to have good soil tilth. And think about it. Asparagus grows underground, pops up through the soil, and over and over and over. You know, the never-ending asparagus spear. How fun. I admire people who have figured out a way to, I mean, obviously in this county you need raised beds, but I think you need very raised beds in order to grow asparagus in this county. And I really admire people who can do it. I was like, my soil is just, no matter how much organic, I may add compost, I may have the soil tested, I may balance the soil by adding amendments, I may add compost every year, I may occasionally then test it again, and still it's going to be too heavy for asparagus. That's why it needs the dedicated raised bed, so you can really have that lighter soil. Right, and what I've found with my raised beds is over time, they sink down. Oh, don't they though, yeah. So that means, you know, turn it over. Get in there and, well, you can't turn it over after you've planted the asparagus. Right. But I think that you might be able to, never having done this, so I might be out for lunch. Well, maybe I shouldn't even say. But I think you could probably add more soil underneath by gently lifting the asparagus roots off season, very off season. I think maybe you and I can find out a little bit about how to grow asparagus in Nevada County and chat about it next time. That sounds like a good idea. Because you and I each have concepts, but we don't have enough information. But we both love asparagus. Oh man, yeah, asparagus is so yummy. Exactly. I love it. So it's not a vegetable for everybody, either to eat or to grow. But one of the things to get back to tilth then for a second, OK, asparagus, one of the queens of the plants that need tilth. But better tilth is really good for any of the vegetable beds. Pretty much, yeah. You know, and that's really where we worked on it. And if you work on your soil over years, in that regard, it does get better. It really gets better. Even once we learned, and you know, like when we first established those beds 20 years ago, we, of course, used a rototiller. Yeah, and so of course, now we got rid of that rototiller. And then all we do is plow it to plants from the previous year. We only just do a little bit of turning in of whatever compost or whatever. Yeah. But just enough to kind of get it being mixed into the soil. But otherwise, we don't disturb the lower part. But it's the minerals themselves that then break down in certain ways and allow the nature of the soil to improve. Exactly. So you say to yourself, so what plants don't need greater tilth than probably the soil you already have? And the short answer is native plants. Because when you look at our soil in the county, nobody's out there adding compost and amendments to all those forests and grasslands. Because those forests make their own amendments. They do. As the leaves and needles fall to the forest floor and they sit there, then they get covered by next years and next years, and then rain on rain. And they start compost happens everywhere. And so all these needles and leaves, they compost down and make more soil, more great mulch for the forest, and helps retain the water for the trees so things don't turn into a desert. It's just a win-win. It really is. And so what has happened over the millennia is that, say, the wind blows seed of a particular species far and wide. It's just as in that, I think, New Testament story. It depends on where the seed lands. If it lands on soil and in conditions that foster the growth of that plant, it will grow. So it grows where the tilth of the soil is fine for that plant. If it's not, then you don't have that plant there. Whether they're carried on the wind, or they're carried on animal fur, or they're bird hooves. Or poo them out. Yeah. Exactly. All those places. So over time, we have different habitats, have different plant communities. So the tilth of the soil where that plant grows natively is exactly the right tilth for that soil. So what we look for is we look around and we say, oh, I see. I live in a yellow pine forest area. It doesn't mean that I have just Ponderosa pines. But that's the name of that plant community. It also is where the black oaks live, most of the black oaks. So you look around and you say, OK, what plants like the kind of tilth that black oaks and yellow pines like? And then you have it. So you don't always have to amend it. It's just nice. You don't always have to try to change it, depending on what you're growing. But just to understand the concept so you know, oh, what is it like? So you say to yourself, well, what is it that I should be looking for, OK? And let's think about this for vegetables for a minute. Because that's, and fruit trees, the place, the kind of gardening for which you do want to optimize your tilth for the plants rather than optimizing the plants for the tilth. Like, yeah, if I was waiting around for vegetables that grew in this soil, I would have a much more limited palette of plants to grow and eat. Yeah, you'd be definitely, you could starve. Well, probably not, but yes. Oh, it's time for a break. Again. OK, break it is. OK, we'll be back. We'll be back. The Master Gardeners never run out of great advice on KNCO Grass Valley, Nevada City, 106.9 FM and 830 AM. It's 11 o'clock. If your project requires specialized equipment, there's only one call to make, and that's the HPE Rentals. HPE Rentals is the region's equipment rental leader with aerial lifts, backhoes, brush chippers, compaction equipment, concrete tools, dozers, excavators, forklifts, floor care equipment, generators, paint sprayers, pump scaffolding, trailer wood splitters, and a whole host of other equipment and supplies. Call today at 530-273-3100 or visit GoHPE.com to learn more. For equipment rentals, always rely on HPE Rentals. KNCO.com provides a way for your civic service group or nonprofit organization to tell everyone about an upcoming event or fundraiser, and it's free, the KNCO Community Calendar. Go to KNCO.com, click on the Calendar button in the blue bar, then click Submit an Event and fill out the form. Once OK'd, your event will be added to the community calendar on KNCO.com and added to many of the local area Chamber of Commerce websites as well. It's free and available to you from KNCO News Talk 830. Oh, that's cool. Oh, we're back. Oh, my. Welcome back to Master Gardeners and Friends. I'm Master Gardener Chrissy Freeman. And I'm Master Gardener Christine Smith. As you can tell, we chat while we're away from you, so we can come back and say, oh, we've thought of three more topics to talk with you about. Indeed. Absolutely. So much fun. So I just wanted to say one more thing about tilth before we go on, or a couple more things about tilth before we go on. OK, so what is soil? If you say to yourself, well, what is soil that has good tilth? And the first one is that it has lots of little crumb-like clumps of soil. They're aggregates. So like little bunches of soil all stuck together. But there are plenty of spaces in between them. Those spaces are important for roots and water. Roots and water. And air, too. And air. Absolutely, yes. Because it's easier than with soil like that for the oxygen and the carbon dioxide to exchange more easily. And we want that. That's what we want. Yes. And so it's loose. It's looser. I mean, a lot of us, we go out to our yard, and oh, I want to plant something here. Well, golly, that can be quite the project if you have just our native soil. Well, yes. It's very compacted. And it's mostly clay. Well, or even if it's clay loam, which is what a lot of places actually are, they're not actually clay, even though we think of them as clay. Yes. OK, true. I misspoke. But in either of those cases, you say to yourself, if I'm going to grow vegetables or fruit trees here, I would do well to improve the tilth of the soil. Exactly. OK. To loosen it up. So then you say to yourself, how do I improve the tilth of the soil? Well, the things I'm going to mention, they're just like, this is the reason that these things are mentioned, adding compost to the soil. Yeah, or I call it organic matter. Yes. Get that organic matter into the soil in compost. Soil builder, they have all the names, the growers, if you buy it in bags. Right. And but something that's not the regular dirt, you get that organic stuff in there, and gosh darn, it just, the soil becomes lighter, it's easier to dig in, it's easier for the plants to grow. Again, they have a looser time, their roots can grow faster and deeper, which is what we want around here. Because the deeper the roots, the more resilient they are to changes in the amount of water. And more drought tolerant. Yes, exactly. Because they're diving deep for their water, as opposed to just roots hanging on the top, waiting for water. Plants that do that can get fried. Absolutely true. Easily. And you know, speaking of ways to add organic matter to the soil, another way to increase tilth is cover crops. Yes. Yes, that's a great way. Because see, you can have your cover crop and have some legumes in it. They're, you know, beans, typically, beans, peas. And peas, yeah. And they are wonderful because they fix nitrogen within their own roots. Yes. And then that nitrogen is in the soil for your next round of plants to use. Yes. And you know, for a veggie garden, veggies are heavy nutrient users. They're heavy feeders. So you always need to be adding more nutrients back in, in particular the nitrogen. Because that fuels the foliage growth. Right. And the veggies really need that. That's right. Absolutely. Yay. Yay, indeed. Organic matter, more please. Yes. Yes. And then the last part of that, well, there are two more parts. One is rotating crops. Yes. Because then what you're getting is the plants that are the heaviest feeders are not in the same place every year. Like tomatoes, super heavy feeders. Cucumbers, not so much. Yeah. and yeah and especially things like corn and see corn's a super heavy nitrogen user that's why the native americans discovered the three sisters the three sisters they plant corn beans and squash together and see beans like i just said remember folks they their roots fix nitrogen corn is a very heavy nitrogen feeder and so wow they're getting fresh nitrogen from these bean plants that are growing with them and the squash they're just happy campers well they're they're what they're doing they're shading the soil that's right so that there's less evaporative loss because where the corn and the beans and the squash grow tend to be places that are very sunny and because the the indigenous peoples did not have irrigation systems bingo if there wasn't enough water where the plant was they'd have to carry make a basket and carry it they're like oh let's try to avoid that yeah yeah yeah so they had you know it's kind of like a little almost you know self-contained ecosystem there because they're that those three plants are giving each other what they need that's right yay that's pretty dark going absolutely and the native americans figured that out a long time before we got here oh my gosh yes and when we got here we didn't pick up on it flipping bright ideas we ended up with the dust bowl couldn't fight that weather yes so then the very last thing on how to improve the tilth again it's something that we've talked about in other contexts which is to avoid really turning over the soil because that way what's happening is you're keeping that soil structure and you're keeping the carbon from being lost into the atmosphere so you you want to not have the rototiller yeah not use that spade fork deep across every bed these are uh methods of the past yeah yeah i mean i plead guilty but i've been gardening for 50 years so that was then this is now yeah we've learned a lot since yeah yeah yeah so anyway until the fork is that anything's pretty much better than a rototiller yes because it has a way of compacting down what's left yes that's not good yeah and a tilt fork it just loosens all of it and i if all you do is just those are pretty cool you don't turn it all the way over you just put in a little air hole yeah there you go time for another another break hot diggity okay we will catch you in a minute at grass valley provisions caring for the community also means caring for the place we call home that's why wolf creek community alliance is their community beneficiary for november every sunday throughout the month a portion of provisions proceeds will help support this important local organization wolf creek community alliance is a volunteer-run non-profit working to protect preserve and restore the wolf creek watershed through cleanup water monitoring education and stewardship they're helping keep this natural resource healthy for generations to come when you shop provisions on sundays in november it helps support that mission well-rooted in nevada county 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county's two prime cinema theaters the sutton and the del oro bad decisions limit future options make enough bad decisions and you will destroy your life listen to the flot line with your host rick hughes every sunday morning at eight here on knco news talk 830 the flot line describes a main line of resistance in your soul built on god's word join us each sunday for 30 minutes of inspiration motivation and education all without manipulation that's the flot line with rick hughes every sunday at 8 a.m right here on news talk 830 the prop 40 wealth tax may sound like a good idea at first but the fine print tells a different story prop 40 won't fix health care it sends tens of billions of dollars to health insurance companies with no oversight or accountability and no requirement they lower your health care costs and prop 40 doesn't just tax billionaires when the money runs out it has a huge loophole that gives politicians the power to expand the tax to anyone without voter approval that means your personal savings home equity even your retirement could all be taxed it's no wonder governor newsom javier becerra teachers planned parenthood affiliates of california and over 40 newspapers from across the state all agree vote no on the prop 40 wealth tax ad paid for by no on prop 40 doctors teachers small businesses working families and public safety against the reckless wealth tax experiment ad committee's top funder building a better california all right welcome back to master gardeners and friends radio show i'm master gardener christine smith and i'm master gardener chrissy freeman and we're having fun we're talking about our yards yeah and yeah we can talk about your yards if you give us a call absolutely at five three zero four seven seven five six two six that's four seven seven k n c o every time it corrects me up every single time well i'll tell you i love it i love it this is this is nothing compared with pat who did swap shop before us so he did uh there's a guy named johnny hoolihan who was raised in nevada county oh and about 20 years ago he moved to nashville and he is a singer-songwriter and here's the thing to know unfortunately well fortunately for the people who've he's coming november 11th to give a concert unfortunately all the tickets are sold out so we're not going to be able to go if you don't already have a ticket but fortunately he has a whole album of songs about nevada county figure huh that's so cool so it's johnny hoolihan and the song that we want you to listen to is one that he wrote because pat he came he talked with pat about knco radio and so at some point pat said to him you know i think hometown radio would be a great thing for you to write a song about then next week johnny hoolihan came on and he sang his new song hometown radio which is about knco and and nevada county oh so cool you have got to listen to it oh that's so fun i bet you we can find it on youtube it's on youtube it's on spotify that i know for sure yeah i don't know how to play it here on the radio but maybe for next time maybe we can figure out something next time we'll we'll talk with the engineer ahead of time and figure out how we can play it for you wearing our master garden friends radio show here on knco that'd be so is that it oh thanks that's john our engineer yeah bus feels like the whole town waking up with me on a frequency that sets my memory free hometown radio they take me back in time from mill street nights to the gold mine days you spend stories in the warmest ways no matter where these highways go i'm carrying my hometown radio oh man that was awesome oh thank you john for finding it so fast yeah dude that was awesome he's got a smile too i know we're all got big smiles here in the booth yep okay that's great so here we are what a great voice he has oh my gosh he's a really good singer very much so yeah oh how fun oh i i'm envious of the folks that have tickets for the concert i know that's awesome well he'll just have to come back again exactly or at another show wouldn't that be grand oh my god so much fun yes ah love it so anyway okay let's tell you a little bit about a couple other things that we've got going here as master gardeners in case you have master in case you have gardening questions that come up during the week yes okay there are options there are we've got a hotline so you can call and leave your message 24 7 and the phone number is 530 2730919 yay and that's our hotline and when you call you know just try to in a few number of words state your your issue and be sure and leave your name and your phone number and a good time for somebody to reach you because what we'll do is we pick up those calls and then do the research needed for each one and then call folks back and so it's all good you can have answers to your questions anytime you think of it and the wonderful thing is that not every master gardener is an expert on every aspect of of home horticulture exactly so I once maybe this is even before I was a master gardener I had a question about growing strawberries oh there you go yeah so somebody called back who was a master gardener who knew about growing strawberries and she had great advice for me so if you can identify the topic with then we can find somebody who can answer your question yep on a related note uh-huh you can't if say you have uh say you have a bug you want to have identified okay say you say to yourself well I want to talk to somebody in person you can do that okay so we have uh office hours yes go ahead oh I'm sorry I interrupted no no you didn't go ahead uh on two Tuesdays are we back with Thursdays also I think we're still just Tuesdays I could be wrong Tuesdays from nine to noon uh we have someone man in the office and it is at the Grass Valley Veterans Hall uh at uh 255 South Auburn Street yes and you just when you go in the front doors take a hard right and that big old door that's where we're at absolutely come on in and say oh I'd like to talk to the master gardener on on site and let's say you have a plant that has a problem oh if you want to bring in a bug or you want to bring in a disease yeah some weirdo looking leaf be sure to put it in a clean Ziploc bag because we don't want anything that could be problematic to escape into the rest of the You know any kind of sealed container that yeah, that's transparent. Yeah Yeah, pardon me and And and you know of a reasonable size, you know, you don't have to bring the whole branch Yeah To me once and the whole branch came in and unbagged and I was like, oh Yes, so the other thing we want to tell you about if you have questions is say you want to You'd rather write out your question or say you have photos of like an apple tree and you're like why what should I do? It's this tall or it it's like this where where should I where should I prune it? you know not that we can give you detailed answers, but there could be things where you say to yourself a Visual would really be helpful in having somebody be able to really answer my question. That's okay You can do that. If you go to our website, which you can read by simply putting in your browser master gardeners, Nevada County You will find our website when you find our website then on the left hand side. There's a whole there's a set of Navigation links one is called Ask a master gardener when you click master. Ask him ask a master gardener You will see a link Pretty close to the top Called you see master gardeners of Nevada County help desk There we are and you click there You can fill out the form so you can write whatever you want to write and you can attach up to three photos So there are all these different ways that you can reach out to our helpdesk and there's more Okay, there is more. So Yeah The the workshops we talked about the two workshops November 7th and November 14th. The 7th is pruning fruit trees and the 14th is All about blueberry raising blueberries. So they're going to be absolutely fabulous And when you're at any workshop, there are always Extra master gardeners there. Yes that you once the the presentation is completed then you can ask Master gardeners questions. Absolutely. So then that's always pretty fun I've I've when I used to attend workshops regularly I you know, we'd always volley a lot of questions, right and that was that was very helpful for folks. Absolutely and as long as there are Farmer's markets going on. Oh, yeah, right the farmers market. Yeah, the master gardeners are there so the master gardener, pardon me, so the The farmers market is still going right now In Grass Valley over by Ra Over on Freeman Lane, that's that yeah over. Oh, you know, okay. Okay. Yeah That one is still going on, but I don't know Pine Creek Center. Thank you. Okay, Pine Creek Center. Thank you girl So we always have a booth there. Yeah, and So those are really great ways to do that. The other thing to know is that you can buy our Oh This garden guide that we have put together Oh, it's the Western Sierra foothills garden guide And this is done by the master gardeners of Nevada Nevada County for a home gardening here in this county. Yeah right here in Western, Nevada County so it's it's just it's just for us and by us and I I worked on a couple of the chapters on this book and the thing that I will say is the quality is Spectacular and I remember not not because of what I wrote but because of the process that we used to get people reviewing material Yeah, and and you know, well reviewed. It's well reviewed. Mm-hmm, and I know that when I first moved to this county, this was absolutely the very first thing I bought Yeah, you know what it's it's I was going to suggest it's a great housewarming gift for yes Yes. Oh, yeah, they love it because you know, I know when I moved up here. Oh my goodness I had to learn a whole new plant palette and because I came from the San Francisco Bay Area Oh, you know for our hello everything grows year-round. Yes And it's a whole different plant palette down there. And so it was it was great fun To learn about that new palette. It's really true and like in a in the chapter about your home orchard They will they and we include fruit and nut tree varieties for the foothills Okay, well here and the same will be true for some of the other topics that are very specific Beneficial insects in Sierra foothill gardener. Yeah, that's us. I hope there are no benefit Well, there are plenty of beneficials, but not beneficial insects in the Nevada County master gardeners themselves. Sorry You know, I try to keep away from bugs. Yeah We gotta take a break now the break but you know what folks if you want a good resource Yeah, you can't beat this our garden guide and if you know anything and if you know anybody who's a gardener whom you're gonna Give a holiday gift to oh, yeah. Yeah. Okay. It's a good one We'll be right back And electric with professional quality for friendly service and reliability It's as easy as Hi, it's Andrew Twidwell owner of ABT plumbing electric heat and air, you know We've been fixing things around Nevada County since 2001 if there's one thing I've learned It's that home repairs never happen at a good time Maybe your water heater just quit your drains are backed up The lights are flickering or your furnace is acting up when you need it the most Whatever the problem my team and I are here to help fast reliable and done right the first time So something goes wrong at your house. Don't stress. Just give us a call plumbing electrical heating and air It's as easy as ABT call us at 5 3 0 2 3 0 9 0 9 2 or visit us at abtplumbing.com The number again is 5 3 0 2 3 0 9 0 9 2. We're your hometown team and we've got you covered It's as easy as Did you know that over 50% of Americans don't feel confident about their retirement I'm Seth Leishman, and I'm Rick Fisher You know us as Austro financial consultants as the trusted voice on financial guidance here on KNCO For over 40 years. We've been helping individuals families and businesses in our community Secure their financial futures at Austro financial. We don't just manage investments We create personalized strategies that turn your dreams into achievable goals Whether it's retiring early funding education or building a legacy as your neighbors We understand your finances can work for you or against you at Austro financial. 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So you only have to make one trip B&C ace home and garden center And welcome back to master gardeners and friends radio show I'm master gardener Christine Smith, I'm master gardener Chrissy Freeman So it's getting chilly folks. Yeah. Yeah, it is. I brought my outdoor plants inside Yeah Those are gonna have to do they're all they're trailing inside. They really grew over the summer. Holy smokes are so long Oh, I'm gonna have to start draping them, you know Yeah, tops of the windows yes something there they were they had a happy summer and And It's just so pretty I'm gonna put him in my my new bedroom. Oh I had remodeled. Okay. Yeah. So when do you feed your Container plants that you bring in for the over the winter Oh, I give them in the early in the late winter early spring or what early spring typically that's when I'd what I do and I give them Earthworm castings and they love this And if I think they need, you know, well-rounded I'll get an organic meal type fertilizer and That's just I like I just use a I've gotten to where I just use general purpose, you know an all-purpose Organic and and put that in on, you know, and work it in a little bit. Yeah, and Yeah, so they're they're very happy. They really responded and I did both this year. Mm-hmm Some years I'm better than others. Oh some years. It doesn't happen at all. Yeah So they are a very forgiving my my can all my container plants. They're pretty awesome actually and And I don't have nearly as many as I had previously so that makes things a lot easier on me Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it is Important to have no more container plants than you can manage. Exactly. Yeah, I I used to Put a whole lot of time into them Mm-hmm, and I just don't in as much as I used to, you know, slowing down slowing down. Yeah, and So I'm adjusting. Okay, and how long do you keep them in? That's a good thing Yeah, right sizing our landscaping and Gardening goals. Yes. It's a hard thing to do. Yeah, and to realize oh gee I have to I the best choice would be to scale back in My endeavors because then I will take better care of what I have Instead of reaching reaching and getting myself all frantic because oh, but I need to go over and do this to that one You know, yeah, so I've I've embraced the you know Sizing down sizing it down and and then really given the proper care to what what I do have I don't think I'm quite there, but I can aspire to it. Well, it's because I have a new we have Yeah, it's like I have 75 plants that are waiting to get it or the rain Yeah. Yeah. Okay, because you're waiting and that you know there again we were talking about Soil till yes and Those plants that are waning that's why we plant in the fall because we've had a chance to Maybe do a little improvement if it's needed in our soils and the temperature has come down and We want to plant our plants in soil that has good tilt So the roots those roots can Be active and and drill down as deep as possible During the cooler season and get acclimated to their new living environment without the high stress of 100 degree weather or no, you know, I call our Nevada County summers You know plant killers because it's rough and it's so dry and so hot that you know The plants aren't established. That's why I don't plant in the summertime Oh, please and you know, and if it's full Sun, no, no, no, that's so cruel Right. The only place that you can plant all year long Really are the plants that are riparian plants and water You're going to be putting in a place where you're going to give them that regular winner. Yeah, because the plants that are adapted to having Yeah Periods when their roots get drier. Yeah They Don't have the root development to be able to survive Yeah with the water that their roots get if you don't water them very frequently But if you water them very frequently, they don't have a chance to dry out. So it's really a quandary yeah, you need that's where as always I Suggest to folks, you know do a little research on your plans Absolutely, you know, what kind of native environment do they live in? You know, where do they come from? Yeah, and and and so then you can think about well, is this an appropriate plant for this location? Mm-hmm, and it encompasses, you know, the the Sun exposure the cold Is it a windy spot? Is there lots of water? Does water run off naturally? Or does it tend to puddle? And all plants have different needs. That list is an excellent list, and there's one more, and that is the natural acidity of the soil. Yes, thank you. Yes, yes, that's another element. So all these elements work together to make the plants happy. And so if you get them in appropriate locations, they'll be happier. Absolutely. Yeah, I didn't wind that up very well. No, that's okay. So then, here it is, it's fall. And so the question is, well, what do we as gardeners do in the fall while we wait for it to rain so we can plant the plants that we have? Okay? Yeah. So the first thing I think of is I think of the fruit trees. Uh-huh. Because there I was at the demo garden this past week. Oh, yeah, you were helping prune the fruit trees? I was just, I was raking the leaves out from under the trees. Yeah, good deal. And you say to yourself, why don't you're supposed to leave the leaves? Well, it depends. That's right! Master Gardener semi-motto. Yeah. Okay, so how does it depend? And the answer is this, fruit trees are not, with rare, rare, rare, rare exceptions, you know, like they're not native to where we live. Okay? The fruit trees that we're talking about, they're not native to where we live. So, they can get pathogens in the leaves that remain active over winter. These are, many of our fruit trees are from places like the lower Himalayas. Seriously, you know, apples, peaches, you know, a lot of them are from these places where it gets so cold, historically, so cold that nothing lives through the winter that is on that leaf. So, you don't get pathogens that pass from the leaf up into the tree again the next year. Yeah. But we're not there. We don't live in the lower Himalaya. I would say we're not ready. We think it's cold now. Oh, no. Okay, you're talking about 40 degrees. Yeah, you know. So, we need to get rid of the leaves that fall from under the fruit trees. We need to get rid of any of the fruit that has fallen, and we need to get rid of the mummies. It's Halloween. Get rid of your mummies. So, what are the mummies of the fruit trees? They are those fruit that has remained hanging from the tree that they just mummify and molder and look really gross. They're very dried out. Yucky. And so, you want to get those off. Yeah. And you know what? Do yourself a favor. Don't put them in your compost pile. No, no, no. Because of that pathogen thing. Yes, yes. Just bag it up and get it off your property. Yeah, it is the one exception to compost everything. We don't compost the stuff that we're talking about in the fall. In the summer, when we are thinning the fruit trees. I've composted that before. Yes, I compost that because unless it's something that doesn't look healthy. But for the most part, if they look healthy, then you can compost those. It does mean you wind up with a thousand peach pits in your compost. Because the peach pits do not ever compost. They don't break down, huh? They just don't. And then they become the bottom layer. So, they can replace those big branches you put on the bottom for aeration. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly. And we have, I think, our last spread coming up. So, we'll be back shortly. Okay. Oh, that's something. and 30% off all standard rooms Sunday through Thursday. Settle in and relax in our luxurious rooms and enjoy everything the resort has to offer. From casino excitement and free live entertainment to award-winning craft beer and delicious dining at the brewery. The Lodge at Feather Falls Casino Resort. Your place to stay. Must be 21 or older. Blackout days apply. Management reserves all rights. All you can eat. Prime rib and crab legs? Oh yeah, this is not a drill. Feather Falls Casino Resort's Dream Catcher Buffet is serving up the ultimate surf and turf. Slow roasted prime rib, sweet buttery crab legs. Pile your plate high. 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We present programs such as Focus on Family, Music and the Spoken Word, In the Word from Gold Country Cavalry Chapel and more. Our Sunday programming is here for you each weekend from 6 to 10 a.m. If you can't make it to church or just want to join others in the praise or enhance your biblical experience, tune in each Sunday morning to KNCO News Talk 830, also on iHeartRadio. Welcome back to Master Gardeners and Friends Radio. I'm Chrissy Freeman, Master Gardener. And I'm Christine Smith, Master Gardener. We are here for our last little bit of Master Gardeners and Friends. So we want to finish talking about fall cleanup in your garden. Yes, yes, yes. Well, me, because I don't have a veggie garden, I'm cleaning up and having clean, having someone clean up my yard for me, finally, finally, tackling the berry bushes. Oh, hurrah. So I'm really happy about that. But the rest of my yard, it's, it's, you know, picking up, raking up the excess leaves. I have a really big, really big cedar trees. And they drop, you know, dead fall, little branches and constantly. And we've had a lot more wind than we've ever had before. And so we get a lot more tree, I call it tree fall. And, you know, cleaning that up because it gets all over in the beds and some of it gets stuck in my Japanese maples. And, you know, so that, getting that cleaned up and getting stuff put away. You know, kind of just thinking about battening down the hatches, you know, not every hose needs to be out. That's true. And, you know, just kind of battening down the hatches, getting ready for winter. You know, and you write about, okay, so what do you do? So that leaves, if leaves fall under the tree from which they have grown, that's generally just fine. But when the wind blows them, onto nearby ground covers and shrubs, then this is not really where you want those leaves to spend the winter, is it? Exactly, yeah. I like to clear those out because they, I have at my place, and I've experienced this, black oak trees. And the leaves are the larger size. They get pretty good, you know, maybe not quite the size of a woman's hand, but they get pretty big. And so they can act as a blanket, a cover, that blocks water from going into the soil of the beds, of the beds where they fall, at my place. And I want the water to penetrate the soil. They also block the sunlight hitting that plant. So that plant, those leaves on the ground cover of the shrub are not getting sunlight to photosynthesize. They're not getting air exchange. And so they get dead. Yeah. So we have to, and I know this was by, you know, I didn't care about the leaves that fell, I don't care about the leaves that fall under the tree, but the leaves that fall on the other plant, just stay on the other plants. This is a problem. And then, sure, you know, sometimes you don't want them on some of your paths. We understand all of that. So what you want to do is you want to rake those up and you can put them in your garden paths. If you have garden paths where it would be fine to do that, you can put them in your compost. It's great to chop them up somewhat before you do either of those things. Yeah, they'll compost down much faster. And then put them around the base of the source trees or the source shrubs. It's like give that back. Remember, all those leaves have nutrients in them that as they decompose will go back into the soil. And if they're right by the plant that used them, then they're right by a plant that can use it again. Exactly. Myself, I blow off my parking area, whole parking area. I have it as gravel so it's permeable. Yeah. Nice. I blow them off and down to my I call it well, the lower 40. Yeah. Okay, folks, I have a .65 acre parcel. So, that's kind of overstating it a bit, but it amuses me. Yes, yes. I say it. But I blow them out down there real thick. And then I always am watering them a few times a year because I'm blowing them out and piling them on top of the blackberries that are starting to encroach. And they help to suppress them a little. Nice. A little. Yes, yes. But they're an organic item. Yes. And you know me, organic matter, organic matter, piling up, breaking down as the rains come. And so, they're feeding the soil. And I love it because I'm not hauling oak leaves to the dump. Oh, please don't. Leave them on your property. Exactly. Find a place on your property for all those leaves except the fruit tree leaves. Yeah, except the fruit tree leaves. Because it's a natural gift. It's a gift for me. Well, it's the way that this ecosystem, that all ecosystems are designed to function in a healthy way in perpetuity. It's like the cycle just continues over and over again because the same inputs are available. Yeah, yeah. And then we have successful habitats. That's right. I'm tickled pink by doing that. It keeps that area. It's real nice, actually. Yes. You know, it's just covered with leaves and they're thick as nails. It's all get out and you know it's easy to walk around and stuff. Yeah. A little thick. They're a little, they can be, you know, it's a fun kickable play area. If you want to kick wheat, kick leaves. Let's just go kick them leaves. I think of kids falling in the leaf piles. Yes. You always see, I think, I'm sure there's a Norman Rockwell painting about it. I'm sure you're right. Yeah. Yeah. Moving on. Yeah. Well, I think the whole question of what do we do in the fall to get ready while we're waiting for those moments when we can plant the other because what we're waiting for it. I mean, many of us, not maybe not everybody, but what a lot of us are waiting for is for there to have been some rain. I'm afraid that once it starts to rain, it's not going to stop. So we're going to find ourselves saying, oh, now I can plant and it's raining every day. And then it's too soggy and you shouldn't plant. Or it's too soggy for us. Yeah. And we don't want to plant while we're there in all of our rain gear. I'm a diehard, but at this stage, I draw the line. I have gardened in the pouring rain before when I was younger because I wanted to get things done. Oh, silly me. No, no, no, no. I got to figure out what I'm going to do. I'm watching it with a nice cup of cocoa in my hand out the window. I'm planning on reading the next time that it rains like that. Yes. Yes. So the one other thing that I would say is, OK, if we think it's not going to really rain until December, which is what's likely to be the case, and it'll be heavy January through March, but I think it's going to chances are it will start sometime in December. That gives us a month. Let's get ready for the rain. I think I'd be inclined to get plant now. And even if I have to carry buckets or hook a couple of hoses together for, you know, a couple of weeks of hand watering, I think I'd be more inclined if I had a lot of plants to plant. I think I'd be inclined to do that. You know, we're just finishing up redoing the irrigation in the backyard because it's new and the irrigation was old. There are a couple of areas we can't finish that with right yet because we have some other landscape. Hardscaping to do. Yeah, we've got some steps to do. But maybe I could finish a couple of the of the circuits and test they're finished and test them. And when they're tested, then give them a nice long soak. Yeah. So that the soil is full of moisture. Yes. And easier to dig holes. Yeah. That would be a godsend. Wouldn't that be great? Well, maybe you can do that, too. Yeah. Here's our secret for how you can start planting before the rains come. OK. --- end of transcript ---