Planting the Plains
Airs Thursdays at 10:30 am CT and Saturdays at 8:35 am CT
Every week, Anthony Reardon presents Planting the Plains, a weekly feature designed to provide the High Plains with timely, yet timeless, research-based, reliable, horticultural information that can assist in bettering everyday lives by easing the burden of troublesome landscape issues.
Each episode will bring a new horticultural, entomological, or wildlife topic to the forefront, furthering practical knowledge on how that topic pertains to the average person, and how that person may need to address such a topic in their own backyard.
To reach Anthony with questions or comments, please send him an email!
Latest Episodes
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Looking for a plant that'll provide you with seeds and pollinators, AND help you remove heavy metals from your soil? What you're seeking is the sunflower, and this week, we'll talk about which types to grow (they're not ALL tall and thin...), and how to get the most out of your crop! -
You spend so much time and effort for the best growth in your garden, why risk damaging your vegetables just before you eat them? How you handle your cut vegetables immediately after harvesting can make a big difference in flavor and longevity. This week, we'll talk about the best ways to cut them, and how best to store these different items afterward. -
Spending time in the garden is such a joy, it's sometimes easy to get lost in your work. But here on the High Plains, the summer heat is merciless, and because perspiration can evaporate right off of you in arid conditions, you may not notice yourself losing fluids and beginning to develop signs of heat exhaustion, or worse. This week, we'll talk about ways to stay safe AND keep your garden in great shape! -
Are you interested in composting, but not interested or able to put in the time required to actively break down your materials? You might be interested in passive composting, which takes more time, but which lets time and the outdoors do the work for you, resulting in the same end result...just more slowly. -
Your plants will obviously require sun to grow their best, but how much sun is too much? Some plans can burn if they get too much, so it can benefit them to have some sort of shade or other protective cover, to help reduce the amount of sun they're getting. Shade cloths can be an excellent way to cover plants with materials that let in different amounts of sunlight, to help customize the shade to match the needs of your plants. -
Growing your garden can be its own reward, but if you're serious its long-term health, you may want to consider intercropping. Intercropping is a broad term that refers to the practice of growing two or more crops in close proximity. This practice offers numerous benefits, including increased crop diversity, resource efficiency, pest and disease control, and improved soil health! -
Growing fruit trees isn't as simple as just harvesting and eating; to help your tree thrive, produce the best fruit, and build strong limbs, it's important to trim the tree a bit to shape its growth. But it's also important not to just start whacking away at it...there's a real strategy to use, and we'll talk about it in this week's episode! -
Growing something you can eat in your garden is one of the easiest decisions of all time...why not get something back for your time and effort? One option that many folks always want to plant each year is blueberries...but the soil on the High Plains isn't always a great fit without amending it to become more acidic. This week, we'll talk about ways you can maximize your odds of success when growing these delicious and nutritious fruit in your own garden! -
With the warmer weather of May now here, you can expect to see bugs and other pests begin to appear in your garden. This week, we'll talk about the best ways to defend your plants against them, and which methods work best for specific types of plants! -
Weeds are a nuisance in any garden, but did you know that you can do a lot to prevent them from becoming a REAL problem? "Weeding" can take many forms, but some methods and some good timing can help to prevent bigger weed problems later. We'll talk about how you can do more to combat these weeds in your own garden, and leave more nutrients for your plants!
