In The Garden

Dietrich Gehring and Laura Ten Eyck join Peter to discuss their book, "The Hop Grower's Handbook" and how you can get started growing hops at home. Buy "The Hop Grower's Handbook" here: https://www.amazon.com/Hop-Growers-Handbook-Sustainable-Small-Scale/dp/1603585559/

Peter and Joel talk about the environmental benefits of organic materials both in the garden and on the farm.

It may be August, but that doesn't mean you can't plant some delicious produce. And with the hot summer we have had, it may be a great August to plant with temperatures expected to keep trending warm. You can still grow certain types of peas, carrots, parsnips, beets, lettuce, cilantro, and more late into the season.

Wondering when to pick your zucchini and squash? Peter tells you when the ideal time to harvest is and how to keep your zucchini and squash plants producing as much as possible. And a bonus tip, what to do when you get a huge zucchini that's overripe.

After taking phone calls from listeners, Peter gives his advice on how to protect your cabbage from pests. And don't forget to water your plants often during this hot weather. Try to keep water off the leaves as that can magnify the heat of the sun and keep the soil moist.

Peter takes a call about how to maximize apple yields and gives his tips on how to get the best apples from your apple trees. Then he talks about how to grow mint for tea without having it take over your whole garden.

Peter talks about how to water your garden most effectively. While we enter the hottest months, now is the most important time to make sure you're watering your plants properly.

Peter talks about one of the most frustrating pests that plague gardens, Cutworms, and how to protect your plants from them. And as always Peter takes calls to answer your most pressing garden questions.

It's not too late to get your plants in the ground. The weather has still been a little cold recently and now is still the time to plant. Peter gives some more insight following up from a few weeks ago about planting and keeping those young starts safe...

The number one vegetable grown in gardens nationwide is tomatoes. And with the Memorial day weekend, now is the perfect time to plant. Peter gives some tips on growing tomatoes and some varieties of lettuce and other greens.

Peter Burke and Joel Najman talk mushrooms in response to a listener question. Peter gives his tips for growing potatoes and gives a few varieties to try.

This week we cover how to take care of your berry plants: blackberries, blueberries, and more. Proper care starts in the fall and continues into early spring to ensure a good crop. Then we talk about what sets to plant now and which to wait a couple we...

How often do you try something new in your garden? Whether it's new varieties, completely new types of produce, or different methods it's important to try something new each year to maximize your garden's efficiency and introduce yourself to new foods....

We're back in the garden for the 2019 growing season. Peter gives you tips on how to get your garden ready for the season; from melting the last bit of snow to loosening soil to compost needs.

Original Air Date: December 17, 2018 Monday’s show begins with Colin Meyn of VTDigger.org joining Dave for a review of Vermont news. Later: A chat with Kevin Christie, chair of the Vermont Rights Commission.

You don’t need a huge space for a cold cellar. A refrigerator fits the bill just fine. Ideally you want a cold place between 33 and 40 degrees. You can keep just about anything in a cold cellar. All the methods we discussed have different uses and advantages. Use them all to keep your harvest all year round.

Dehydration is one of the oldest methods of food preservation dating back thousands of years. There are endless possibilities when it comes to using a dehydrator. Some of our favorites are dried cantaloupe and strawberry rhubarb fruit leather. There are many dehydrators on the market so find the one you like best, any will do. You can also use a dehydrator to preserve your mints and herbs for homemade tea.

Why Drying is Effective To continue our series on Preserving the harvest let explore using a dehydrator. Drying foods is one of the oldest methods of food preservation dating back literally thousands of years.  Foods like grains and beans have long been a staple food for humankind dried to last not just one season but over many seasons.  Fruits, vegetables and meats can be preserved as well.  We found a few surprises when we started experimenting with a dehydrator; one of those surprises was dried cantaloupe.  The dried cantaloupe pieces delicious, chewy, exotic flavor and it actually didn’t take that long to dehydrate. My wife loves dried cantaloupe with cashews.  Another surprise was Strawberry-Rhubarb fruit leather.  We can’t make enough of it for the kids and we are always passing it to friends too.  It is simple and easy to make, we use 12 Rhubarb spears to make a batch so it is a great way to store, long term, a large amount of Rhubarb.  Drying Tips We found out that you can store 20 standard sized tom

Original Air Date: July 28, 2018 Why Freeze? Freezing your harvest is easy and rewarding.  I recommend it for everyone.  My own personal favorite is freezing Pesto; I make and freeze 30 - 1 cup containers for the winter from 16 plants that fill a 4x4 bed.  It is simple to make and freeze and get rewarded every week throughout the winter. Tomatoes are ridiculously easy to freeze.  I wash them, fill a gallon bag and throw them in the freezer.  When I’m ready to use them as soon as they begin to thaw I slip off the skins so there is no peeling.  In this case freezing is temporary storage until I use the tomatoes to can Salsa in a big batch.  What to Freeze We freeze soup stocks, apple cider, shitake mushrooms and tons of greens from kale, collards and swiss chard and some years when we have plenty we freeze spinach too. We also freeze peppers, beans, broccoli, and cauliflower when we have a good harvest (but dry our hot peppers). Most vegetables need to be ‘blanched’ before they are frozen.  Blanching is a quic

Original Air Date: July 21, 2018 To preserve the harvest, you a have a few options. Canning, Freezing, Cold Storage, Fermentation/Pickling, and Dehydration. Let’s start with canning. What is Canning? Canning is called ‘canning because it originally was done in, you guessed it, tin cans.  Today home canning is done solely in glass jars, Mason or Ball jars.  The glass jar with the metal insert with a rubber gasket and metal sealing ring has been in used since the early 1900’s and it is still the standard.  The heat and the rubber seal creates a vacuum in the jar that prevents any air from contaminating the food inside the jar. High Acid vs. Low Acid Foods There are two ways to ‘process’ canning jars and it is extremely important note the difference.  Hot Water Bath canning is only for high acid foods (4.6pH or lower) like fruits, jelly, tomatoes, and veggies in a vinegar brine like pickles.  Low acid vegetable like beans and corn (4.6 pH or high) must be processed in a pressure canner - MUST be done with th