Garden Talk

Gardening tips and information from KTOO in Juneau. Tune in Wednesdays at 3:00 p.m. on Juneau Afternoon.

A whale of a potato harvest: A North Douglas gardener harvests his potato crop on Thursday. It's unclear why so many potatoes grew into the shape of marine mammals, but it likely has to do with the particular variety of fingerling potatoes. All of these potatoes will go into temporary storage unwashed since their skins are still so thin and delicate.

Gardentalk – Clean up and garlic planting prep

Clear out debris and old dying plants in your garden before they become prime habitat for slugs. Don't put old potato and cabbage plants into the compost bin. Individual garlic cloves should be planted six inches apart and two inches deep, and with the pointy end up.

Master Gardener Ed Buyarski harvested these potatoes of the Caribe and Magic Molly varieties which suffered from potato scab. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)

Gardentalk – Scabby potatoes

Peel off the scab and eat the potatoes immediately. They won't keep very well in your root cellar. Master Gardener Ed Buyarski also has tips for mitigating potato scab, how to carefully harvest potatoes, techniques to harden or age potatoes before harvest, and setting aside small seed potatoes for next season's planting.

Get the hatchet for dividing peonies. (Photo courtesy of Ed Buyarski)

Gardentalk – Peony division and planting

Master Gardener Ed Buyarski recommends digging them up, hosing them down to wash off the soil, and using a hatchet to cut and separate each clump's roots. Divide up the plant so that each tuber or gnarly root section has at least two to five buds.

Bulbs ready for planting.

Gardentalk – Stock up on bulbs

Store your new bulbs in a cool, dry place like a garage or basement until it's time for planting in October.

Screen capture of a video of a banded woolly bear caterpillar. (Courtesy 360North television)

Gardentalk – Woolly bear caterpillars and ripening fruit

Apples, kiwis, raspberries and gooseberries are ripening this week. Pick them before they go bad!

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Potato, potahtoe

Gardentalk – Late summer thinning harvest

Master Gardener Ed Buyarski suggests thinning carrots, turnips, beets and radishes so they have room to grow until October. Also, don't forget to check your garden for drainage problems, and the Juneau Food Festival is August 26.

Judges debate criteria and potential awards for one entry.

Gardentalk – Harvest Fair and greenhouse management

Harvest Fair runs 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, August 19, at the Juneau Community Garden.

Much of the area around the bear viewing platform was under at least two feet of water this evening. This porcupine headed up a tree across from the platforms. (Photo by Heather Bryant/KTOO)

Gardentalk – Porcupine protection

You can marinate porcupine quarters in raspberry wheat beer, or slow cook on the grill with onions and garlic for nine hours.

New growth appears on kale that survived a mild winter in KTOO's Agricultural Test Station and Garden of Science

Gardentalk – Second planting

Master Gardener Ed Buyarski encourages us to plant radish, kale, lettuce, spinach, and other vegetables for the remainder of the summer season.

Flower buds form on potato plants in a North Douglas garden

Gardentalk – Sampling potatoes

Master Gardener Ed Buyarski has some tips for harvesting our first potatoes and previews the 10th Birthday Celebration for the Jensen-Olson Arboretum.

Garden Talk