transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:00] Hi friends, and welcome back to the Garden Girls Podcast. I'm Dagny.

Speaker 2:
[00:09] And I'm Meg.

Speaker 1:
[00:11] And our friendship started in a group chat talking all things gardening. And today we're doing my favorite kind of episode, What's Growing On. We just started getting into it before we hit record, and we had to kind of stop ourselves because it got a little too funny too fast. Let's be real. Like, I don't want to set the bar too high, but we're kind of funny off camera, right? Like a little bit.

Speaker 2:
[00:31] I know, we need to start recording ourselves because I'm like, okay, we need to save this for the pot. Like, this is literally what it's about. Yeah, like we're two friends just chatting and talking, and like, why did we not hit record earlier? I don't know.

Speaker 3:
[00:48] We're going to start doing that. Because yeah, it was getting a bit funny.

Speaker 1:
[00:51] Yeah, we get lost in the conversation. But yeah, I mean, we were just getting updates here on the Etsy witch situation. Because I guess this became very controversial. But yeah, we still have not a lot of successfully hired an Etsy witch.

Speaker 2:
[01:05] Yeah, a lot of you are like very concerned about this. And just want to say, like, I was joking about hiring the Etsy witch. But also, like, I am still curious.

Speaker 3:
[01:17] So I might still do it. I don't know. Yeah.

Speaker 1:
[01:21] But just, I don't know.

Speaker 2:
[01:22] Why not?

Speaker 1:
[01:23] It's fun. I mean, listen, I feel like there's like so many different definitions of witches, right? Like, I kind of consider myself like a green witch. But I'm not like raining hellfire down on anybody. Like, I'm a good witch. I don't know. I'm not going to curse you. Like, people are like, I can't listen to this podcast anymore. It's got witches in it. Like, I don't know.

Speaker 3:
[01:48] No, the witches.

Speaker 1:
[01:51] They're astral projecting into the pod right now, probably.

Speaker 2:
[01:55] Yeah. No, I like, I realize that it can be a touchy subject for some people. It, you know, there's different cultures, there's different religions, there's different everything, and like, witches are always involved somehow or another. For me, it's whimsical.

Speaker 1:
[02:11] Okay, this reminds me, what are you doing with the whimsy in your garden? Like, have you, do you have any whimsy updates for us? I have an update.

Speaker 2:
[02:20] Actually, yes. When I, when I did the garden party, like my Bridgerton-themed, like, garden party, I stuck little, like, paper butterflies to the side of my shed.

Speaker 3:
[02:33] And then I just left them there because I was like, this is actually so cute. This is actually so cute.

Speaker 2:
[02:40] And, you know, I'm sure that when we have our first downpour, since they're paper, I'm probably going to have to take them off. But we are in a drought right now. Like, this is the longest drought in April that I remember. Because usually, you know, April showers bring me flowers.

Speaker 1:
[02:57] Right.

Speaker 2:
[02:57] April has had no showers. And it's insane. Yeah.

Speaker 1:
[03:02] Interesting. Yeah, we've been getting these, like, overnight thunderstorms the last couple of nights, which I, like, kind of enjoy, but the baby does not. He just, like, woke up screaming. I was like, yeah, this is a new experience for you. Sorry.

Speaker 3:
[03:18] Oh, no.

Speaker 2:
[03:19] Oh, no. Imagine what it's like to be a baby, and you had to go through a thunderstorm.

Speaker 1:
[03:25] I know.

Speaker 3:
[03:26] Like, you must really think, like, Hellfire is coming down.

Speaker 1:
[03:29] Girl, I love thunderstorms. I love the smell of rain, especially after a thunderstorm. But like, there was one time, it was a couple of years ago, that we had a lightning strike, like, literally outside of our house. Like, I did not see it, but it was the loudest thing I've ever experienced in my life. And I looked it up on the map later, and like, three heads struck all at once in, like, a triangular shape around our house, which, talk about witches, I don't know, something was going on there. But it was so loud that our cat was, like, traumatized by it. Because again, think about cats, like, they don't know what the heck is going on with this. So anytime we get thunder now, he's not a very skittish cat, but he did not like that. It took him a long time to, like, not completely freak out every time that we had another thunderstorm after that.

Speaker 2:
[04:22] I have a cat that is very scared of thunderstorms, just one of the three. He, as soon as he hears, like, any kind of low rumble, like, I can barely hear it, but I see me go skitter and just, like, run, and he goes and runs under a bed. I know that it's about to storm. As a child, I was very afraid of thunderstorms. In my adulthood, I am not, but I don't really like them. Okay, I like when they're, like, low rumbles, and it's, like, pre-thunderstorm, that's what I like. But when it's actively, like, raining cats and dogs, wind, and, like, lightning and stuff, I do get kind of anxious, and I'm just like, okay, I can't wait for this to be over, because it's scary. Like, nature can be scary.

Speaker 1:
[05:09] Yeah. It's intense, for sure. We just get amazing views off of the field of the lightning strikes, but yeah, if it gets a certain level of intensity, I can feel that. I can feel that stress, for sure. Yeah. It's a lot.

Speaker 2:
[05:23] It's like the earth is growling at you or something.

Speaker 1:
[05:26] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[05:26] Grrr.

Speaker 1:
[05:28] Not very whimsical at all. So paper butterflies. All right. I like the kind of temporary nature of that too, that adds like a little bit of whimsy in its own way of like, this isn't gonna last. Enjoy it while it's here. Yeah. That's cute. Exactly.

Speaker 2:
[05:45] I don't know if this... Well, okay, this does count as whimsy. So, I am adding two more bee hives to my small backyard garden.

Speaker 1:
[05:54] I don't know how it's gonna go, but I am... Yeah, where are these fitting?

Speaker 2:
[05:58] They're gonna go right beside of my other hive. Like, you can fit bee hives like beside of each other, and they'll be totally fine. But because bees are so like orientation-wired, you have to distinguish the hive somehow, or they'll go to the wrong hive. So, like, my hive now, it's just cedar wood, and I just finished it with tongue oil. So it's very just like wooden, which is not very whimsical. I'm getting the next two hives, and they're actually coming in today, so I've got to go to Lowe's, and I'm gonna get paint, and I'm gonna paint them. And I think I'm gonna do one, like a light blue color, and then draw flowers and clouds and things on it. And then the next one, I think I'm gonna do like light yellow, and then draw like honeycomb and bees and stuff.

Speaker 3:
[06:55] So that's whimsical.

Speaker 1:
[06:56] So whimsical.

Speaker 2:
[06:57] Exactly. I think so. And then the bees will be able to distinguish like, hey, I belong, my house is the yellow hive, or mine's the blue, or like...

Speaker 1:
[07:06] Oh, that's so cute.

Speaker 2:
[07:09] Girl, have you seen, we just watched the, I think, Secrets of the Bees on Hulu. It's a docu-series. It's so interesting.

Speaker 1:
[07:19] Bees are crazy.

Speaker 2:
[07:20] Bees are so cool. Like, literally so cool.

Speaker 1:
[07:24] Part of like what we did for training to become beekeepers is like the local beekeeping club had classes a long time ago that I went to. And a lot of them were just lectures about like crazy stuff you might not know about bees. And it was really crazy. Like, there's still so much we don't even understand about them. Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[07:45] And they did like this experiment of they put like these little balls in with bumblebees.

Speaker 1:
[07:54] Yes, the club was playing.

Speaker 2:
[07:57] Yes, like they were just having fun. They're like, there's no other reason for them to be doing this other than they enjoy it and they're having fun. And they're playing. And it's just like you would never think of an insect as like wanting to have fun and play. But like here it is.

Speaker 1:
[08:13] Oh, so cool. This gets me on another whole thought spiral that is not really garden related, but like as someone who has eaten plant based for like 20 plus years. And like, there's this whole train of thought of like, people used to think like in the 40s and 50s that cows had no emotions and feelings and things like that. And I keep coming back to that because people will be like, well, you don't know if the plants are screaming when you eat them. And I'm like, yeah, they honestly they probably are. But I have to eat something, you know? So it's like, I have to draw the line somewhere. But that's crazy because it's like, yeah, we don't think of bees as playing. We didn't think of cows as having these feelings. And yet they do. They 100% do. We just are trying to apply this humanistic mindset to it that like doesn't apply when we're noticing it. Yeah. Exactly.

Speaker 2:
[09:00] And that's why I feel like buying things from local farms is like your best bet. Like buying locally, whether you eat meat or whether you don't.

Speaker 1:
[09:11] Totally. Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[09:12] Buying locally is like the most sustainable thing because another part of that documentary that I didn't know about was how detrimental almond farming is. And now, I'm never going to drink almond milk. I feel so differently about almonds because they actually have to ship beehives, like a ton of beehives over to these almond fields every year. They lose beehives like crazy doing this. It stresses out the bees a ton. Like bees are, like I said, they're very like orientation. Like they don't want to move spots. They know where their spot is. So like imagine the stress on a beehive to be shipped across the country, put in a spot solely to pollinate all of these almond trees. That's the only reason. And then a lot of hives don't make it. And they showcase that a lot in the documentary. And that was really eye opening for me because I had no idea that that was a thing that happened. I think it's called like migratory beekeeping or something like that.

Speaker 1:
[10:12] It's not just for almonds, right? Like it's a lot of agricultural stuff that they have to do that for, I think.

Speaker 2:
[10:19] Probably not. I don't know. This is like something I did not know was happening at all. I was very oblivious to it. But I know that the almonds are like the biggest offense, offenses. Oh my god.

Speaker 1:
[10:32] Offenders.

Speaker 3:
[10:33] Offenders.

Speaker 2:
[10:34] Thank you. Oh my god.

Speaker 1:
[10:35] You're so close.

Speaker 3:
[10:37] My English has been so bad lately.

Speaker 1:
[10:39] It's the lesions. It's the lesions.

Speaker 2:
[10:41] Literally, girl.

Speaker 3:
[10:42] It literally is the lesions. I have an update about that as well.

Speaker 1:
[10:46] Oh man.

Speaker 2:
[10:47] You know, I was being tested for ADHD. I might have already told you this, but I'll tell it to the pod. Because I went to my therapist, I was like, hey, I'm having a lot of trouble concentrating. I'm having a lot of trouble finishing tasks. I just feel very foggy. I feel dumber than I used to be like 10 years ago, Meghann, totally different from now. I feel like. And so she was like, hmm, maybe we should test you for ADHD. It sounds like this is like typical ADHD-like symptoms. And I was like, okay, apparently it's very underdiagnosed in girls at a young age. And so I was like, okay, cool. I will get the testing done. So I go and get the testing. It's like this really long process. You have to do a ton of assessments. Then you go in for like four hours, I think I was at the appointment, where they're doing brain testing. You're doing like puzzles and stuff. And they're like repeating, they're like, repeat this string of numbers back to me. And then they'll say it really fast, like five, two, eight, five, nine, six, whatever. And they're testing your like memory. They're testing your intelligence, everything. And then you go and you talk to a psychologist. And I talked to this psychologist for like two hours. You go through your entire background, like your personal everything. It's very extensive. And so the report came back. And not to brag, but I have above average intelligence.

Speaker 1:
[12:23] We knew this. Come on, Meg. No, just kidding.

Speaker 3:
[12:25] I'm only kidding.

Speaker 2:
[12:26] Only part, there were certain parts that were above average. A lot of it was just completely average.

Speaker 3:
[12:31] And I was like, okay, cool.

Speaker 2:
[12:33] But the above average part was the working memory, which people with true ADHD, usually that's kind of lacking and that's like an indicator of it. So they think that I do not have true ADHD. And they were like, we think you have Hashimoto's, which can cause brain fog, it can cause memory, it can cause concentration. You also have MS, which obviously you have lesions on your brain. And they were like, we think that you have ADHD like symptoms, but we don't think it's caused by that. We think it's the MS and like the autoimmune conditions. And I was like, go figure. That's literally my whole life. It's like, weird symptom, go to the doctor. It's your autoimmune system or your immune system. So I go to my neurologist and I bring her the report. And I'm like, hey, what do you think about this? And she's like, well, your biggest lesion is in a spot in the brain that could cause some of these things. And she basically just agrees. And she's like, this is not news to me. A lot of my MS patients struggle with this. And she was like, also, I think you're exhausted. And she started asking me all these questions. Like, how fatigued do you think you are? When you wake up, do you feel energized? Or are mornings hard for you? Mornings are the worst time of my day. And I don't feel energized. She was like, how much coffee are you relying on? And I'm like, I'm drinking coffee all day. I'm drinking coffee literally right now. And she's like, I think that you're really just exhausted, but you've gotten used to it. So you're not picking up on it. But I think you're suffering from fatigue, which is like the biggest symptom in MS And it's not just regular fatigue, it's something called central fatigue. Like it's fatigue of your central nervous system, which is like just more severe, I guess. And so we're trying out a medication, which some people actually do use for ADHD. But it's instead of like dopamine regulation, it's more to treat the fatigue. So it's like, it's still a stimulant, but it's like for fatigue instead. So I haven't tried it yet because low-key I'm kind of scared.

Speaker 1:
[14:54] Dude, that new med anxiety is so real. Like, I just started a new med for my arthritis last night. And like, there's this moment before you take anything new where you're just like, oh, God, what's going to happen?

Speaker 2:
[15:08] Yeah, like, am I going to die? Am I going to have an allergic reaction to this? What's going to happen? It's real because the side effects are real. And you're like, wow, what side effects am I going to have to go through? Because a lot of new meds, like you have that period where you just have to tough it out with the side effects. And then it gets better, like your body has to get used to it.

Speaker 3:
[15:30] So but this is just as needed.

Speaker 2:
[15:32] So she's like, if you, you know, wake up one day and you're like, hey, I'm like really feeling tired.

Speaker 3:
[15:37] I'm struggling.

Speaker 2:
[15:39] I can take it because it is like that, like some days are better than others. Some days I wake up and I feel great. Like today I woke up, I feel great. But then other days I wake up and I'm like, I don't want to leave my bed today. And my limbs, my limbs literally feel like they weigh a thousand pounds each.

Speaker 1:
[15:55] I hate that feeling.

Speaker 2:
[15:56] Yeah. It's the worst.

Speaker 1:
[15:58] I feel like I'm like walking through molasses. Like everything is just so heavy.

Speaker 2:
[16:04] And then it's like, I don't know about you, but I get in my head about it and I like feel really guilty. And I start thinking like, am I lazy? What's happening? And there's just like a lot of like self-guilt around chronic illness, because you feel like you should be doing more, and you feel like, like, why can I do this? And it's like getting used to this new normal. And you think in your past, you're like, I used to be so energetic, and I used to be able to do all of this stuff. And I used to be smarter, I feel like. And now I just have to get used to this new normal, which is like a whole challenge in itself.

Speaker 1:
[16:44] Chronic illness, it's like, you're a different version of yourself every day. And you have to... The comparisons just hurt you mentally, but it's so hard not to internalize that feeling of not being productive, especially, I feel like that's what our culture emphasizes is productivity. I really had to hammer it in to my own head that like rest is productive, to like feel as though I were doing something even when I'm not doing something, because it is like so easy to be really hard on yourself about that if you aren't intentional about like having a more positive mindset with it. And I still do that. I mean, I will have a day where I'm like, I got two things done, and at the end of the day, I spend an hour spiraling about how I didn't get enough done. And that's like, it's not helping anybody, but it's hard not to do it. Yeah, I struggle with that.

Speaker 2:
[17:39] That, you know, just like letting yourself rest and being okay with it. Really struggle with that. Just beat myself up all the time.

Speaker 1:
[17:48] Yeah, especially cause like with the garden, it's like, I wanna just sit here and rest, but I'm looking at everything that needs to be done. How do I just ignore all the things that need to be done?

Speaker 3:
[18:00] I know, I know, same.

Speaker 2:
[18:03] And I'm like, you know, it's go time here. There are so many things that need to be done. There's so many things that I need to plant. I have, I'm looking at my window right now at like a tray of things that I bought at this plant sale that need to be planted. I mean, I did this to myself because I have literally no self-control when it comes to a plant sale at all, zero self-control. Same. And I'm like, great. I got that like adrenaline rush buying all this stuff, but now I have to plant it.

Speaker 1:
[18:35] Yeah. And then it like never takes as long as you think it's going to either. Yeah. But at the same time, just like getting out there and like, like my potatoes, I literally didn't put my potatoes in until yesterday, because I've just been dealing with that huge shoot I've been working on. It's a secret right now, but you guys will see it soon. I know the secret. I just could not get out there, because the potatoes are one of the few things that I have to plant like lower to the ground. They're in grow bags. They're not in my raised bed. So crouching right now with like my knee would not bend. So that was really challenging. Yeah. Yeah. Trying to put that off as long as possible. And now it might be too late, but you know, you got them planted.

Speaker 2:
[19:21] I don't think it's too late actually. You know what? I have some potatoes that are sprouting in my pantry right now. And I'm just kind of like, I know it's too late here, but also maybe it's not. Like, I don't know.

Speaker 1:
[19:34] F it.

Speaker 2:
[19:34] Just try.

Speaker 3:
[19:35] I know.

Speaker 1:
[19:36] What's the worst that could happen? I also-

Speaker 2:
[19:38] Literally.

Speaker 3:
[19:39] Yeah.

Speaker 1:
[19:40] Speaking of whimsy, I just keep coming back to this. Yesterday, I planted flower seeds in a rotting tree stump. I don't know if it's going to work. But like, I feel like it should work. Like wildflower seeds, so I did alyssum. I feel like that will do okay. I like sprinkled like a very fine layer of potting soil over the rotting part of the stump so that it would have something to grip to. I want to see what happens, because wouldn't that be so cute?

Speaker 2:
[20:09] I was going to say, I'm imagining that in my head right now. And like, whoa, that would be really cute.

Speaker 3:
[20:15] I hope it works out. Keep me updated on that one, because I also have a rotting stump in my yard.

Speaker 1:
[20:21] Yeah, plant stuff in it.

Speaker 2:
[20:23] Well, so at this plant sale, I bought an elderberry. Finally, I have an elderberry tree. Yeah, and it's in a part shade spot, and the variety likes part shade. It's a Adams elderberry.

Speaker 1:
[20:37] Yep, I have one of those.

Speaker 2:
[20:39] And so this is like a plant this, not that situation. The tree stump that's rotting is a mimosa tree. Awful tree, like awful invasive tree here. It's a beautiful tree, but it's like so invasive. It's not native. It spreads like crazy, like awful tree. So we have been cutting it back every year and just not allowing it to grow. And then now the stump, I think the plant gave up and now it's like rotting. So I don't have like a stump grinder or anything like that. Like, I guess I could go and rent one of those and like actually grind it and then plant the elderberry right where it was. But there's also a spot right beside of it. So I'm just going to plant it beside of it and let the stump rot.

Speaker 1:
[21:28] I think that'll work because the elderberry kind of branches out. It'll probably like cover it eventually.

Speaker 2:
[21:33] Yeah. And it's like it's in this corner of my fence, like one of the corners, where I didn't know what to plant there because it's part shade. And so it's like perfect.

Speaker 3:
[21:46] It's meant to be. I need to plant that like today.

Speaker 1:
[21:49] I got so many things at this plant cell.

Speaker 2:
[21:51] It was UNCC, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and their botanical gardens, or their botanical whatever, they have a plant cell every year and they had so many native varieties that I never see available, and they were also very cheap. And so I loaded up and I got a ton of part shade and full shade native plants, because I have these little shady spots that I've been trying to plant something other than a freaking hosta, because I love hostas, but it's also like, oh my God, give me some variety.

Speaker 1:
[22:27] How many do you need? Yeah, right.

Speaker 3:
[22:31] So I got a ton of things.

Speaker 2:
[22:33] I got like a native little iris that's in full shade. I got some ferns that are in full shade. Yeah, I do too. So I can't wait to plant all those things out. I just got so many things. I don't know about you, but I black out. Like when I'm at a burn center or a plant sale, it is like my soul leaves my body, something else enters it entirely. And it's not me anymore.

Speaker 1:
[23:02] Money isn't real.

Speaker 2:
[23:07] Like, especially when you can use it as a write-off.

Speaker 1:
[23:10] I was gonna say. Yeah, I know.

Speaker 2:
[23:12] I'm like David from Schitt's Creek, like, it's a write-off.

Speaker 3:
[23:16] And then my fiance looks at me like, yeah, but you're still spending that money. And I'm like, yeah, but it's like, it's, it's like, it's free money, right?

Speaker 1:
[23:24] It's also like an investment, you know, like, yeah.

Speaker 3:
[23:28] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[23:29] And all the things I got were perennials, so it is truly an investment. Like, they come back every single year. The prices were so good, though. Highly recommend if you have like a botanical garden near you and they do a sale, because these things were six-inch pots that were fully started plants and they were like two or three bucks each.

Speaker 1:
[23:48] No way.

Speaker 2:
[23:49] Would have been twice that at a garden center.

Speaker 1:
[23:51] Absolutely. Easily. Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[23:54] I actually have a haul video that I'm going to be posting of this probably next week.

Speaker 1:
[23:59] I love a haul. If you want to see the full haul, I'm into this. Yes. I tried to go to the garden center the other day. Oh man. Let me tell you, I know I've complained about this before, but it is slim pickings this time of year. Like, nobody gets it. No one understands what I'm trying to do, Meg. It's really upsetting. I had to make the garden look pretty for this big shoot, and I'm like walking into these farms, I'm like, I know you have lettuce plants in that greenhouse. Let me in the greenhouse. They're like, we don't have them yet. Like, I ended up at freaking Lowe's. They were unloading the truck of pansies and marigolds. Like, you know, they had the metal rolling cards with the plastic still wrapped around them. I marched right up and I'm just pulling trains out. I'm like, I'm sorry, guys, like, this is, I need something with color. And again, yeah, I just blacked out. I got two trays with flowers that, yeah, probably weren't ready to be sold yet.

Speaker 2:
[24:57] You're like, actually, I work here. Give me a place.

Speaker 1:
[24:59] Yeah, you know, the people at Lowe's, they don't care. As long as they don't make a mess, and I don't. So I just, I needed what I needed. It's just very upsetting to me when, like, I know that you, these local places, should have stuff by now. But like, there's not enough of us Northern gardeners, you know, growing this early, so I'm on my own.

Speaker 2:
[25:19] Well, I knew it's kind of in a smallish town, right? Like, it's pretty small and rural.

Speaker 1:
[25:24] Yeah, I mean, I was going outside of town to find these things, but yeah, there's still nothing. Like, I looked at multiple nurseries, and nobody had anything.

Speaker 2:
[25:37] Okay, well, maybe you need to start one. Maybe you need to start a nursery that's supplying the townsfolk with things that they need.

Speaker 1:
[25:48] I truly think that people around here are just like, oh, it's cold here in winter. We don't garden until May. And so there's just not the customer base to even sell to. It's just me. It's just me out here. And I should just be starting my own seeds and anticipating this problem. I do have stuff in the greenhouse. Like, it's looking pretty great in here, which is nice, but I didn't do any actual seeds starting this year.

Speaker 2:
[26:12] Well, you've been busy raising a child, so...

Speaker 1:
[26:17] Yeah, and rebuilding the entire garden, so that's cool.

Speaker 2:
[26:21] Oh, right. And then that too, like your beds collapsed. My beds collapsed.

Speaker 1:
[26:28] Again, this whole big shoot thing, the timing was not great, so that had to be dealt with immediately, also just because that's where my plants go and they need to go in now. Yeah, last fall, I had done all this work to make it so these beds were already chaos-sown with stuff that would come up on its own, and of course, that is no longer there, so I had to re-chaos-sow, but that was fun. Like at the end of this messy, grueling project to just go out with my seeds and just be like, Amaranth here, Calendula here, I don't care. I did definitely overseed the arugula. I had like this pound of arugula microgreen seeds, and I just was like, I'm going to fill in every blank spot in my garden with this, and now I have a problem and I need to go and sin it.

Speaker 2:
[27:18] It's just like, like find a local restaurant or something that you could like sell them to or something like that. Because yeah, we know that we just barely started liking arugula.

Speaker 1:
[27:30] You don't need all that. No, no, I kind of oversold that. But I have radishes coming up in the greenhouse, and Kieran has started, he's pretty early for this, but he started having cereals because he's very interested in food. And the pediatrician was like, I mean, try it if he's interested and he's not gagging, it's early, but it's fine. And he loved it. So he said in another week, he can start having some vegetables. And I want his first vegetable to be something that I grew. So I'm going to roast the radishes so they're not so spicy, and they're not crunchy, and mash them up. And I'm going to grow the first thing that he eats from the garden.

Speaker 3:
[28:11] Oh, I love that. He's going to be a foodie because he's like, I'm going to start early.

Speaker 1:
[28:18] Yeah. I'll take some buttered radishes with salt, mama. Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[28:26] On a piece of toast that you hand made.

Speaker 1:
[28:30] The sourdough, yes.

Speaker 2:
[28:32] Oh my gosh.

Speaker 1:
[28:33] That's hilarious.

Speaker 2:
[28:34] What else is going on in the garden? You've got radishes.

Speaker 1:
[28:37] Oh yeah. I have, so my giant winter spinach is about to bolt, so I'm going to like cut it all back and use it all up at once. I might make like a quiche or something. But man, that giant winter spinach, I don't know if I've already talked about this. The greenhouse, like everything froze solid because I did not. I mean, I had a baby, so I was just not good at keeping the temperature regulated and the plants protected in here. The winter spinach was the only thing that survived. That is like the hardiest plant I have ever seen. The leaves are enormous. The taste is excellent. Like it's just a wonderful, wonderful plant. I will always grow this in the spring and fall and winter. Highly recommend.

Speaker 3:
[29:15] I don't think I've grown that.

Speaker 1:
[29:16] It's just called winter spinach. Giant winter spinach. I think they have it at Southern Exposure. I'm pretty sure.

Speaker 2:
[29:23] Giant winter spinach. Okay.

Speaker 1:
[29:24] That'll be on my list for fall. Yeah. Yeah. So the greenhouse has all sorts of my like cold weather stuff in it like two or three weeks ahead of where we are outside, which is excellent. So I've got a bunch of kale, violeta, bok choy, arugula at various stages. I mean, I've tried to just stick with like the basics of like what I know I like and what grows well in here. But it's yeah, it's looking pretty lush, and I'm really happy about that to finally have some green. The blueberry bushes are budding. The fruit trees, I just pruned all of the fruit trees. They're about to start budding. Yeah. There's a lot of trees to prune. That was my main task over the last couple of weeks. It's pruning all the trees.

Speaker 2:
[30:07] I've got to prune mine. Well, I've got to prune off the little, like the extra little fruits, because like I've got fruits on mine now.

Speaker 1:
[30:14] You're a month ahead.

Speaker 2:
[30:15] Yeah, we're a month ahead. So I've got the little fruits are coming in, and I'm so excited, but I've got to prune them off, which is always heartbreaking.

Speaker 3:
[30:23] It's hard. I just want them to all grow, but we can't do that.

Speaker 1:
[30:27] I know. I'm interested to see if we get a good fruit haul this year, because this is going to be their third year. And so I'm very hopeful that we'll actually get to harvest. Last year, all I got was a single apple, was the best apple in my life, but it was just one apple. I would like more than one. That would be great. I did that. I got my hollyhocks planted. I got my echinacea planted. I have my briar rose plant with the placenta that has been delayed because I did research at one point, and I thought it only had to be 12 inches deep. Let it be known. It needs to be three feet deep. It needs to be three feet deep, or a coyote will spell it. So I was going to plant it in this beautiful planter. I got this giant planter. No, it has to go in the ground. So now I have to pick an in-ground spot for this rose plant. And I was going to say make a three-foot hole, but let's be real, make Jeff make a three-foot hole because there's no freaking way. Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[31:31] He could go and rent an auger. So we're redoing our fence right now. My dad is actually redoing it for us, but he needed an auger to put the fence posts in, and we just rented one from Lowe's, and it is like crazy huge, but it digs down really deep.

Speaker 1:
[31:53] Oh my God.

Speaker 2:
[31:54] And it was like, I don't know, it was like 40 bucks or something to rent it for the day.

Speaker 1:
[31:59] I know. It's like, do you guys have a lot of like rocks when you're digging, or is that a New England thing? I feel like, okay, you do.

Speaker 2:
[32:07] Some parts of my yard are very rocky, but we just have like that clay.

Speaker 1:
[32:12] Oh yeah.

Speaker 2:
[32:12] The hard red clay. That's-

Speaker 1:
[32:14] Definitely need an auger.

Speaker 2:
[32:15] It's basically like rocks, essentially.

Speaker 1:
[32:19] Yeah, we've had problems in the past trying to dig down, because in New England, there's just giant boulders everywhere. I was digging at one point under this greenhouse before there was a greenhouse here, and I was planting beans and stuff in this area. I uncovered a radiator. Somebody somewhere in the past, you know those old steam radiators? Someone buried one back in my backyard. And I left it there, because what am I supposed to do? So sometimes digging three-foot holes can be problematic in our yard. Yeah. So I could pick a spot and then start digging and find a radiator and be like, oh, I guess I can't put my placenta here.

Speaker 2:
[33:01] I guess you'll just have to eat your placenta.

Speaker 1:
[33:05] It's too late for that. I didn't store it correctly to begin with, because I had it in a cooler full of ice overnight in our car before my mom picked it up and put it in the freezer. So I don't think the temperature was correct for food safety reasons.

Speaker 2:
[33:23] Okay. Maybe you can make some art with it. Have you seen people do that?

Speaker 3:
[33:30] I've seen videos.

Speaker 2:
[33:32] I think it was a doula and they were, oh my God, what were they doing? It wasn't like the actual placenta was the art. It was like they were using it as a print. Yes. They were using it as like a print. And it was kind of cool.

Speaker 3:
[33:48] I was like, oh, I would do that.

Speaker 1:
[33:50] Yeah, that is cool.

Speaker 3:
[33:52] But I still think I would have buried it.

Speaker 2:
[33:57] It's fine somewhere. You should do like some whimsy would be like, you don't even have to plant a rose bush above it. You could put like a statue or like a fountain above it or something like that. Then that would, you know, a predator wouldn't be able to dig it out.

Speaker 1:
[34:13] I do like the idea of covering it with something like, then I was like, what if I just put the planter itself up on a pedestal? Or like something. And so I had this like outdoor end table. Jeff was like, a coyote is just gonna tip it over. I was like, yeah, that's probably not a solution.

Speaker 2:
[34:30] Okay, get like a big planter, like one of those like barrel planters. And then like they're really tall. Like put the placenta at the bottom. Put the rose. And then you can put like chicken wire on top so that nothing can dig in it. I just actually did that with, so I added two fruit trees in the chicken run. And I was like, I don't know if this chicken wire, because it's kind of thin. I was like, I don't know if it's going to stop the chickens from digging, but it did.

Speaker 1:
[35:00] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[35:00] They don't, they're not digging in it. I just put, so I put the soil and then I put mulch on top, and then I laid the chicken wire right on top, and then I used landscape pins to like pin it down. And it's working, like, I don't know, maybe that could be an idea. Because I don't think a coyote, if you got like a big barrel planter that's heavy when you fill it with soil, I don't think that anything would be able to like tip it over. And then if you put the wire on top, you know, those things, even if it's a half barrel, like I have a couple of half barrels, those things are really heavy.

Speaker 1:
[35:37] I'm trying to think like how big it would have to be, because like what I have is like 16 inches tall. But I feel like that they could still get into that. I don't know.

Speaker 2:
[35:50] You think if it's filled with soil, and then maybe you could even put like rock on top of it, like gravel on top, and then chicken wire. And then you wouldn't even see the chicken wire, because it'd probably like blend in with the rocks.

Speaker 1:
[36:06] Yeah, I like this idea.

Speaker 2:
[36:08] That's an idea. You're welcome. You're welcome.

Speaker 1:
[36:13] Did you know you'd be helping me plant my placenta today?

Speaker 3:
[36:16] No, I didn't.

Speaker 1:
[36:19] We're so close.

Speaker 2:
[36:21] If you can save it until I'm there, then I'll actually physically help you plant it.

Speaker 1:
[36:27] I was like, I have to make a video about this, right? I mean, I'm going to have to like blur it out or something, because I'm sure that would get me flagged. But the hook is just too good not to.

Speaker 2:
[36:35] Yeah, you do.

Speaker 1:
[36:37] I grew an organ, and now it's going to grow this rose. I'm sorry. That's crazy.

Speaker 2:
[36:42] It is crazy, but I love it.

Speaker 3:
[36:44] I mean, why not?

Speaker 2:
[36:45] It's the most natural thing, the most natural fertilizer that there is. There you go.

Speaker 1:
[36:50] So much iron, so much nitrogen.

Speaker 2:
[36:54] And then you can just up it even further and pee on it.

Speaker 3:
[36:58] Apparently what some people do.

Speaker 1:
[37:00] I see a lot of people are doing this. Remember, we did that Q&A, and it was like, I pee in my garden. Every other, it wasn't a Q&A, it was like the confessions. And every other confession was, I pee in my garden.

Speaker 2:
[37:11] Yeah, we're like, how many people are actually out here peeing in their garden?

Speaker 1:
[37:14] I didn't know this.

Speaker 2:
[37:17] There's a lot of people that pee in their garden. Yeah, I've never done that, but hey.

Speaker 1:
[37:23] To each their own.

Speaker 2:
[37:24] You can do whatever you want in your own garden.

Speaker 1:
[37:26] That's the point.

Speaker 2:
[37:27] That is the point.

Speaker 1:
[37:28] You can plant your organs in the garden.

Speaker 2:
[37:30] We are, in my garden, it's prime time. Like, our last frost has passed. I planted out my tomatoes yesterday, all of my tomatoes. I'm not planting out the... I know, I know. I'm not planting out the peppers yet because we are getting a little... It's weird, because we got this heat wave where it's been in the 90s in April, which is insane. We're in this drought, like I said. But then next week, it's dipping back down into the 60s, and it's like, okay, I was gonna wait to plant my tomatoes out until after this like cold front. But my tester tomato that I mentioned in another episode, it's doing like totally fine with, and it's been through several of these cold fronts now. And so I was like, the tomatoes are ready to be evicted, so I'm just gonna like go ahead and plant them out. But my peppers, I am gonna wait until after the cold front, because they're a little more, like they love the heat a little more, the peppers and the eggplants. But it feels so satisfying to go ahead and not to brag Dagny, but it feels so satisfying to have the tomatoes planted out. And like be one step closer to my summer tomato sandwich.

Speaker 1:
[38:43] Oh man, so excited.

Speaker 2:
[38:47] The blueberries are growing, like it's gonna be blueberry season before we know it. I feel like in the next few weeks, I have a very early variety that is like already, like the blueberries are already full, like I'm just waiting for them to ripen. My blackberry bushes, I'm gonna have so many blackberries this year. They are flowering like crazy, like one of my blackberries, it's just covered in white flowers. This is the most I've ever seen it flower. And then I have another one that not as much, but it's still like on its way. And like I said, I planted out those fruit trees. They are two cherry trees. So I planted Rainier and Bing cherry, and I put them in the chicken run, which I know I'm going to get comments probably about like, cherries can be poisonous to chickens if they eat the pit. Which I have to say, chickens are very smart, and they usually don't eat things like that. They don't like eat pits and stuff. I've thrown whole, I have actually given them cherries before, like supermarket cherries, and they just leave the pits alone. Because they know, I don't need to eat this. It's like too big for them, and also, they just know, they're animals, like they have the sixth sense. But I know I'm gonna get comments like that, like, oh, the cyanide, oh.

Speaker 3:
[40:06] But they're gonna be fine, guys, it's fine.

Speaker 2:
[40:11] Don't worry about my chickens. But I am hoping that it'll give them like some shade in the summer. And then also, like even though I have the chicken wire, I know the chickens are still hopping on top of it, but then they're like pooping and fertilizing the trees. And so hopefully, it'll be like this symbiotic thing. And then they'll get some cherry treats, and then I'll get some cherry treats. I've got like carrots popping up. My radishes are ready. Like my bed that I planted, all my Napa cabbages doing amazing.

Speaker 1:
[40:43] I'm hoping that it doesn't bolt.

Speaker 2:
[40:46] I've been like crossing my fingers this whole time. Please, with the heat wave, like please don't bolt. You're doing so good. One step closer to kimchi, doing amazing.

Speaker 1:
[40:55] And to just pick it at this point. I can't.

Speaker 2:
[40:58] Because like, you know how Napa is supposed to grow like really tall?

Speaker 1:
[41:01] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[41:01] Like it's growing out, but it's like starting. You know, it's like starting to condense in the middle. Like I think like we're close, maybe.

Speaker 1:
[41:11] Some shade cloth on it.

Speaker 2:
[41:12] I might do that. I've said that I'm like way too lazy to do that in the past, but I'm really invested in this Napa cabbage, so I might have to do that. I planted out my squash, my beans, seeds. However, this year, like I did direct sow my squash and cucumbers, but I am making backups this year, because I don't know if you guys remember what happened last year was I didn't make any backups, and I just did direct sow them, but then I have like a huge roly-poly problem, like a huge roly-poly population, and I know that they are good for the soil, because they're little composters, like they help with decomposition, they help improve your soil, but I have a lot of them. And what's annoying is like as soon as the seedling pops up, they want to chomp. Of course. And so they chomped all of my squash last year, and then I didn't have any backups ready to go, and then it was like kind of too late at that point to really start over with the winter squash. So this year I started backups in soil blocks. Good. By the way, I am loving soil blocking, and I think that I'm converted 100%. I think I'm converted 100%. I don't know if I'll like ever use a seed tray again, to be honest. Yeah, my seedlings are so healthy. Like, they're the healthiest seedlings that I've ever grown. And it was like way less maintenance because I started with the large soil blocks. I know that a lot of people start with the little mini ones and then they up-pot.

Speaker 1:
[42:41] That's crazy.

Speaker 2:
[42:42] You really don't have to do that. You can just start in a large one, and then that's enough to get it to a plantable size. As long as you time everything correctly, like, start it in a large soil block, and then like when it's ready to go, it's ready to go.

Speaker 1:
[43:00] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[43:00] And so if you don't start too early to where they're just completely outgrowing.

Speaker 1:
[43:05] Sure, yeah. Those soil blocks.

Speaker 2:
[43:07] So I think it's just like the timing, but I don't think I'm going back. They're so healthy. And like when I plant them out, it's like they don't skip a beat. They're ready to go. I don't know. I'm just totally converted.

Speaker 1:
[43:19] Did you end up getting the Swift blocker?

Speaker 2:
[43:22] I did, and I love it.

Speaker 1:
[43:25] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[43:25] I really love it. Especially for the really big ones. So like I have the regular soil blocker that's like the four, I think, two by twos. But then the Swift blocker I got were like the four by fours. And so I planted my tomatoes in those because I know the tomatoes are going to get huge fast, and they're going to need a lot of soil to grow. So I planted the tomatoes in the four by fours. Perfect.

Speaker 1:
[43:52] Perfect tomato seedlings.

Speaker 2:
[43:55] Some of the healthiest tomato seedlings I've ever grown.

Speaker 1:
[43:58] Oh, man. You're making me regret not starting seeds this year. Now, I want to try it again. I did it my first year gardening, and I saw the same thing that they transplant better, the air pruning on the roots just really helps, like they just thrive. And then it just became too difficult with getting this big pot of mix together and getting the right dampness, and pressing it in, and squeezing the handle. And I feel like the SwiftBlocker will be easier on my hands, but I mean, there's no way I could be doing it right now, honestly, because my pain is so bad, and my hands are not functioning. But I do want to try it at a point where my medication's actually working. Let's see if this one actually works, but maybe I'll try it for the fall.

Speaker 2:
[44:43] I was going to say try it in the fall.

Speaker 1:
[44:44] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[44:45] And also, to be honest, the process, I still hate it. I hate it. I don't like making them. But I'm like, the results are so good that I just have to do it and get over it. But the Swift Blocker, I think, does make it a lot easier on your hands. It was easier on my elbow. I have arthritis on my elbow, and it was a lot easier on my elbow.

Speaker 1:
[45:09] Okay.

Speaker 2:
[45:10] Way easier. Because instead of that plunging movement, you just press it down. And it's just, I don't know, like when you're constantly making this plunging and like packing movement, it can be hard on your joints. So it's easier. Like it's still not my favorite. You still get messy, but whatever. If you guys are looking for even more updates, be sure to follow our YouTube channels. I realized that a lot of you are finding us via the podcast, and you've never seen us before on our other social channels, but we do have other social channels and our YouTube, especially we go a lot more into detail with everything. I know with my YouTube, like I'm really trying this year to show you guys literally everything. Like when I plant seeds, you're seeing it. When I'm transplanting, you're seeing it. You're literally seeing every variety that I'm planting when I'm planting it, and you're watching updates throughout the entire year. So if there's ever a question of like, hey, what are you growing? It's on my YouTube. When did you plant this? It's on my YouTube. Just go to my YouTube and go to Dagny's YouTube, because she just hit 100,000, so she's going to get her little plaque.

Speaker 1:
[46:22] I'm getting the plaque. I can't wait. Thank you. All right. We'll wrap it up there, but let us know in the comments what you are growing. Make sure that you like and subscribe. You can find us anywhere you listen to podcasts. You can find Meg at MeggrowsPlants. You can find me at The Cottage Beach. And thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next time.