ADRIAN MA, HOST:
Spring is almost here, and that means in many parts of the country, gardening season is upon us. And maybe you have a green thumb, or maybe you're thinking of dabbling in the garden arts. Either way, it seemed like the perfect excuse for us to call up Charity Nebbe, a host at Iowa Public Radio, and Aaron Steil, a horticulture specialist at Iowa State University Extension. Together, they produce Iowa Public Radio's Garden Variety podcast for all the things he'd like to grow or grow better. Aaron, Charity, thanks for being here.
CHARITY NEBBE, BYLINE: Thank you for having us.
AARON STEIL: Yes. Thanks.
MA: Charity, you host the podcast. So why don't we start with you? Is your show, Garden Variety, strictly for gardeners?
NEBBE: We do gear it toward people who would like to put something in soil, whether that's somebody with a garden or a yard or even with a houseplant. But I can tell you that a lot of people have told me that they don't garden. They may not even have plants, but they listen to the show, and they love it because for them, it's kind of an oasis of positive energy. We're always having a good time, and you're always going to learn something. So in this day and age, that feels pretty good.
MA: Yeah. And it seems like this podcast is coming out at the perfect time. I mean, Aaron, is that a fair statement? Like, now is sort of the ideal time to start into gardening. I mean, I imagine some folks are thinking, like - I don't know - maybe it's too late.
STEIL: No. I think it is a great time. I mean, especially for us here in the Midwest and folks in the Northeast, like, March is a great time to start preparing for spring. I mean, there's a lot you can do in terms of planning and kind of getting your ducks in a row so that you're ready to go out as soon as the weather allows it. I mean, you can start seeds indoors. Now is a great time to prune trees and shrubs, divide and transplant perennials when they start to come up out of the ground with their little leaves and even do things like aerate the lawn. So there's lots of stuff that's either starting or about to start, and this is a great time to start thinking about it.
MA: OK. So in your show, you focus a lot of episodes on vegetable gardens or landscape plants, but you also put a special emphasis on native plants. Why is that?
NEBBE: Well, I think part of the reason - I guess it's a personal interest of mine, for one thing. But we just have a lot more interest from listeners over the years. The real interest in native plants - in planting native, in supporting pollinators, in providing habitat for birds and other creatures - that interest has been growing. We get a lot of questions about alternative lawns these days.
And then we are in Iowa, so we love the tall grass prairie, and that was the primary ecosystem in the state before settlement. A lot of people want to try their hands at reconstructing a prairie, even if it's just a little patch in their yard. And, you know, going out and collecting your own seeds is something people can do, and it can be, really, a whole lot of fun. One of our prairie experts that we had on the show, Pauline Drobney, shared some advice on how to do that.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR CONTENT)
PAULINE DROBNEY: Some of those seeds are little fluffy things that kind of float in the wind. Other ones are held in these little vases with different shapes of seeds. And when the wind blows, the vase tips, and the seeds fall out. And others stick to you. And if you want to collect some of those, you just wear a nice wool sweater and walk through it, and you can plant your sweater.
(LAUGHTER)
MA: I guess that's one way to get started in gardening, just, like, wear clothing that attracts seeds.
NEBBE: Right. It may not be the most organized way.
MA: So do you have other tips that people might be able to use if they're interested in starting their own native plant garden?
STEIL: Yeah. I think, first and foremost, we recommend that you start small. You can always make it bigger later, but if you jump into it with this huge garden, it may very well overwhelm. And it's better to build up instead of trying to cut back with something like this. And we want to make sure we're getting the most benefit for insects and wildlife. So it's important to have a diverse mix, something that's blooming from as early in the season in spring as we can till late in the fall, even after frost. So if you're planting plants, you would put those plants, you know, like in the middle of the bed or towards the back if it's up against your house and small plants in front of those.
But if you're planting from seed, for a lot of home gardeners, the easiest approach for at least our tallgrass prairie plants, is to plant them in mid-spring, after frost - the threat of frost has passed. And if you collected your own seed, sometimes it makes it even easier if you plant them in late fall after everything has gone dormant because then Mother Nature can provide the cold treatment that those seeds need to germinate in the spring.
MA: OK. So far, we've covered the outdoor gardens, but we did say that this podcast would be for everybody, right? So what about folks with limited space who may be living in apartments? Can they get in on this gardening action?
STEIL: Oh, absolutely. I mean, we've shared tips on container gardening in our episodes for people who don't have a big yard. This is an option for people who have limited mobility too, who can't work in the garden easy, or for anyone who wants to just beautify their deck or patio. And really, it can be as simple as selecting container, making sure it has drainage. That's really important when we're growing. If we're trying to grow edible vegetables and other edible plants, it's particularly nice to get a large container, one as large as possible that we can make work because it makes watering a lot easier, especially later in the season. Fill it with potting soil and plant things in it.
I mean, ornamental annuals - you know, you think about petunias and impatients and marigolds - they are great for containers, good ones to start with if you don't have a lot of experience. And if you're growing vegetables, just make sure they're in the full sun, and the small, quick ones, like lettuce, radishes, and other greens like spinach and those kinds of things are really great options to start with in a container.
MA: That's horticultural specialist Aaron Steil along with host Charity Nebbe. And we've been talking with them about their podcast, Garden Variety. Thank you, Aaron, Charity, for taking the time and happy growing.
NEBBE: Thank you. You too.
STEIL: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
