Gardentalk - KTOO

Gardentalk – How to top tomatoes and get the most out of hardy, cold-tolerant greens

You can plant lettuce, mustard greens, spinach, kale and radishes right now. They will either be ready for a fall harvest or will tolerate the winter's cooler conditions and have a head start next spring.

Gardentalk – Planning ahead for a springtime splash of color

Tulips, crocus, daffodils, snowdrops and alliums bloom with different colors, heights and sometimes at different times of the season.

Woolly bear caterpillar tries to escape its glass prison located in a North Douglas kitchen in August 2019. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)

Gardentalk – Should you plant mystery seeds? Should you squish woolly bear caterpillars?

Call the Alaska Division of Agriculture in Palmer if you get a mysterious seed packet from overseas.

Gardentalk – Collecting and planting your own flower and vegetable seeds

Master Gardener Ed Buyarski collects seeds from kale, radish, parsnips and spinach in his garden. He's also tried growing shooting stars, wild columbine and chocolate lily flowers from collected seeds. But timing is key.

Gardentalk – How to thin out apples and veggies, and when to pick peonies

Get rid of some apples now to get bigger and better tasting ones at the end of the season.

Gardentalk – Time to harvest garlic, but watch out for mold

Plants with moldy garlic stems or skins should be cleaned and processed separately.

Gardentalk – How to reuse your kitchen food waste as nutrients for your garden

Materials decompose or break down into basic nutrients that benefit a flower or vegetable garden.

Gardentalk – Pick your garlic scapes when they curl

When any remaining scapes fully uncurl and the garlic plant's lower leaves turn yellow, then that's the signal to check if the bulbs are big enough to harvest.