Flower Power Garden Hour

Vegetable gardening 101 with Matt Amicucci. Matt is an Ag/Environmental chemistry PhD candidate, currently working in conjunction with the Foods For Health Institute. Their focus today is prepping vegetable gardens for spring planting. Marlene & Matt highlight their experiences with DIY raised beds, crops such as tomato and pepper varieties, organic gardening, fertilizing how-to, soil amending, seed starting, farm to fork, urban and sustainable gardening and Matt's unique planters. Matt can be found at @farmforageferment on Instagram

Marlene "The Plant Lady" talks to Joel Ledford, PhD arachnologist at UC Davis…that makes him a spider researcher to us lay people. Marlene & Joel discuss his varied pathway to becoming a leading expert in the field, including stops in the Marine Corp, time as an elementary school teacher and a post-doc fellowship at the California Academy of Sciences. Their conversation ranges from evolutionary mechanisms, unique habitats and survival strategies, arachnophobia, spider myths, and Joel’s adventures/travels as a researcher.

Marlene "The Plant Lady" sits down with Bob Starnes, owner of Shale Peak Horticulture. Bob is a leading expert in chemical-free pest management (aka bio-control), utilizing a multitude of predatory insects to control (ie hunt & kill) crop damaging pest populations. His IPM (integrated pest management) and consulting services are specifically targeted towards the burgeoning cannabis (marijuana) cultivator community in California. With a focus on maximizing efficacy, Bob utilizes bleeding edge drone and imaging technology to deploy beneficial insects and collect data on their impact. Bob’s company, Shale Peak Horticulture, can be found at http://www.sphort.com and on Instagram

Q&A with listener submitted questions. Topics include: Challenges of growing ficus Help with starting tulips Tips for increasing citrus crop yield Hydrangeas! Yucca! When to plant in the western US due to unseasonally early warmth The top blockbuster horticulture movie of 2017. And Bitcoin. To ask questions for future shows, submit them at Flower Power Garden Hour Facebook page, The Plant Lady Facebook page, or Instagram Ask your question about:  general gardening, specific tree care/health, specific flower/plant recommendations or issues, vegetable and fruits

Barry Rice is an astrobiologist, carnivorous plant and succulent researcher, 4th degree Kempo karate black belt and self-proclaimed agnostic Trekkie/Trekker.  He is an astronomy professor at Sierra College, and is world renown for his work with Carnivorous plants.  Barry can be found at sarracenia.com and his YouTube pages.

Intro to podcast and Marlene the Plant Lady answers questions submitted by listeners. To ask questions for future shows, submit them at Flower Power Garden Hour Facebook page, The Plant Lady Facebook page, or Instagram