The Horticulturati

In this episode, we talk about seed sharing and food justice with Hayden Kesterson and DJ Needelman from the Cooperative Gardens Commission. The CGC is an international grassroots collective of volunteers working to increase community food production, resource-sharing, and food sovereignty. Founded in 2020 in response to the Covid pandemic, one of the CGC’s main projects is seed distribution: sourcing commercial seed companies’ surplus inventory and distributing shipments of seeds to a network of hundreds of “seed hubs'' around the US and Canada, which in turn share the seeds with local communities. One of these hubs is Central Texas Seed Savers, founded by Horticulturati co-host, Colleen Dieter. Hayden and DJ run the CGC’s Seed Distribution initiative from the organization’s home base in Philadelphia. We discuss food apartheid and mutual aid; the challenges of organizing in the wake of the pandemic’s (ongoing) economic catastrophe; and why Hayden and DJ are motivated by the mighty power of seeds. Find the Cooperative Gardens Commission at https://www.coopgardens.org and support their 2024 Seed Distribution Fundraiser! This interview is part of Colleen’s research for her upcoming book for A&M Press about seed saving and seed libraries.  Editor Leah's note: We talk about Covid in the past-tense here. Ironically, Colleen had Covid at the time we recorded this episode, testing positive a few days later. She's recovered, but this little piece of context stands out as a reminder of how the pandemic continues to intervene into our lives, even as we imagine ourselves in a "post-Covid" world. 

New developments are afoot here at Horticulturati HQ! More episodes of this podcast are on the way. In the meantime, you will find Colleen's radio show, Horticulture Hangover, on a separate podcast feed. Please subscribe to Hangover to get your weekly dose gardening advice:  Apple podcasts Spotify Audible/Amazon Podcasts  Player for web browser Leah will also be releasing Season 2 of her other podcast, Hothouse. It's all about climate change and climate anxiety! Please subscribe to Hothouse:  Apple podcasts Spotify Google podcasts   Player for web browser As always, if you want to support us (and get every podcast we release on a single feed), join our Patreon! 

Colleen Dieter, co-host of the Horticulturati podcast also hosts the Horticulture Hangover Radio Show, a call-in (or text-in) show for gardening questions. Tune in to Horticulture Hangover live on Saturdays at 8-9 am CST: 99.7 AM and 590 FM. ATXgardens.com

Colleen Dieter, co-host of the Horticulturati podcast also hosts the Horticulture Hangover Radio Show, a call-in (or text-in) show for gardening questions. Tune in to Horticulture Hangover live on Saturdays at 8-9 am CST: 99.7 AM and 590 FM. ATXgardens.com

Colleen Dieter, co-host of the Horticulturati podcast also hosts the Horticulture Hangover Radio Show, a call-in (or text-in) show for gardening questions. Tune in to Horticulture Hangover live on Saturdays at 8-9 am CST: 99.7 AM and 590 FM. ATXgardens.com

Colleen Dieter, co-host of the Horticulturati podcast also hosts the Horticulture Hangover Radio Show, a call-in (or text-in) show for gardening questions. Tune in to Horticulture Hangover live on Saturdays at 8-9 am CST: 99.7 AM and 590 FM. ATXgardens.com

Colleen Dieter, co-host of the Horticulturati podcast also hosts the Horticulture Hangover Radio Show, a call-in (or text-in) show for gardening questions. Tune in to Horticulture Hangover live on Saturdays at 8-9 am CST: 99.7 AM and 590 FM. ATXgardens.com

Colleen Dieter, co-host of the Horticulturati podcast, also hosts the Horticulture Hangover Radio Show, a call-in (or text-in) show for gardening questions. Tune in to Horticulture Hangover live on Saturdays at 8-9 am CST: 99.7 AM and 590 FM. ATXgardens.com

What can we plant in the vegetable garden now? How should I fertilize my fruit trees? Get the answers for Central Texas now!  Colleen Dieter, co-host of the Horticulturati podcast also hosts the Horticulture Hangover Radio Show, a call-in (or text-in) show for gardening questions. Tune in to Horticulture Hangover live on Saturdays at 8-9 am CST: 99.7 AM and 590 FM. ATXgardens.com

Colleen Dieter, co-host of the Horticulturati podcast also hosts the Horticulture Hangover Radio Show, a call-in (or text-in) show for gardening questions. Tune in to Horticulture Hangover live on Saturdays at 8-9 am CST: 99.7 AM and 590 FM. ATXgardens.com

Colleen Dieter, co-host of the Horticulturati podcast also hosts the Horticulture Hangover Radio Show, a call-in (or text-in) show for gardening questions. Tune in to Horticulture Hangover live on Saturdays at 8-9 am CST: 99.7 AM and 590 FM. ATXgardens.com

Colleen Dieter, co-host of the Horticulturati podcast also hosts the Horticulture Hangover Radio Show, a call-in (or text-in) show for gardening questions. Tune in to Horticulture Hangover live on Saturdays at 8-9 am CST: 99.7 AM and 590 FM. ATXgardens.com

On this episode, we’re sinking our toes into St. Augustine grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum), icon of the Texas lawn from Hank Hill’s house to the State Capitol grounds. Millions of acres of prime farmland and front yards are dedicated to this non-edible crop. St. Augustine is so ubiquitous in our landscape it’s almost invisible. But what paradoxes are hiding in plain sight? This coastal pioneer species, which grows on all continents except Antarctica, would seem to be an evolutionary success story. Why is it so plagued with weeds, diseases and pests? Its seeds likely floated on ocean currents to take root across the globe. Yet in its modern form, it can’t be grown from seed at all. And despite being a host plant for numerous pollinators in its native range, it offers very little ecological value in manicured lawns. Why won’t it grow under trees? WHAT IS IT FOR? Listen in for our totally unbiased opinions.  First up, a special announcement! Colleen is writing a book about seed saving!  Mentioned in this episode:  “St. Augustine” by Richard L. Duble, Turfgrass Specialist, Texas Cooperative Extension; Diploids and triploids; “The biology of Stenotaphrum secundatum” by The Australian Government Department of Health; Houston Grass, YouTube; Becky Grubbs Bowling’s talk, “Can Trees and Turf Coexist?” at the 2022 ISA Texas Trees Conference; Cobalt St. Augustine; Atrazine; Shade Friendly Wildflower Mix from Native American Seed.   

We’re back with an Old Farmers’ Almanac episode! Continuously published since 1792, the Almanac is an American institution, rife with weather forecasts, recipes, gardening tips, and snake oil. Long advertised on its cover as “useful, with a pleasant degree of humor,” the new edition provides tips on the best days in 2024 to wash your floors, perm your hair, and make jams or jellies – according to the sun, moon, and stars.  Colleen traces her complex personal history with this grocery-checkout-aisle stalwart, a jumble of what she calls “astrological hooey and astronomical fact,” from her childhood fascination with natural phenomena, like bird migrations and eclipses, to her current wariness about the blurred line between fun folk wisdom and dangerous pseudoscience.  Despite ourselves, we find it pretty compelling. For a truly useful almanac, check out Colleen’s new Digital Texas Fruit Tree Calendar! Learn from a Central Texas fruit tree expert about when to plan, prune, and feed your fruit trees in 2024. Viewable on any device, this resource syncs with your Google or IOS calendar to take the guesswork out of maximizing your fruit harvest of figs, citrus, apples, peaches, pears and plums! With this superpower in your pocket, you’ll be empowered to care for your fruit trees with confidence. You’ll receive the file, plus video and text instructions for installing your calendar in an email after you purchase.  Mentioned in this episode:  “The Quiet Mysticism of Almanacs” by Jess McHugh (Los Angeles Review of Books, July 11 2021); “The Old Farmer’s Almanac Needs a Reboot” by Mark Athitakis (Washington Post, August 24 2022); “Farmer’s Almanac: Literature to Poop To” (Stuff You Should Know podcast, August 22 2023)  Join our Patreon for early access to Horticulturati episodes, bonus content, and more!  Email: info@horticulturati.com 

Here's the September 24 episode of Horticulture Hangover, our radio broadcast on KLBJ. Colleen reports back from the International Society of Arboriculture's Texas Tree Conference, and we take questions about Texas Madrones, hardy hibiscus, night-blooming cereus, and more.  Check out the Austin Organic Gardeners' Fall Plant Fundraiser on September 30 from 10am-2pm at Zilker Botanical Gardens. More info: https://www.austinorganicgardeners.org/ Tune in to Horticulture Hangover live on Saturdays at 8-9 am CST online here, or on the airwaves: 99.7 AM and 590 FM. Join our Patreon for early access to Horticulturati episodes, bonus content, and more!  Email: info@horticulturati.com 

  This week, Colleen is out of town, so Leah invited a guest host, horticulturist Willy Glenn from It's Your Nature and @yournativenursery. We discuss adapting our plant palette due to climate change, the challenges of propagating natives, and the beauty of grasses in the landscape. We also field some questions about planting wildflowers.   Tune in to Horticulture Hangover live on Saturdays at 8-9 am CST online here, or on the airwaves: 99.7 AM and 590 FM. Support the Horticulturati by joining our Patreon!  

When you picture a butterfly garden, you probably envision big, colorful flowers. But did you know that over 100 butterfly species in Texas use native grasses and sedges as their larval host plants? In this episode, Leah makes the case for adding grasses to your pollinator garden. The majority of grass-obligate butterflies – skippers and satyrs—are small, brown, and understudied. Leah argues that our aesthetic preference for the “charismatic megafauna” of the world of Lepidoptera has created a blind spot for conservationists and gardeners alike, and this spells bad news for little brown butterflies. This leads us down a philosophical rabbit hole, so we bring in rhetorician Eric Dieter (Colleen’s husband) to discuss the role of aesthetic biases, gaps in scholarly literature, and data collection in contributing to the problem of ecological “unknown unknowns.”  Then we talk about one researcher who is studying this topic, Diane Narem, and cover her recommendations for using native grasses and sedges to support a more diverse butterfly habitat.  Mentioned:  Butterfly Gardening For the South by Geyata Ajilvsgi (Taylor, 1990); “St. Augustine grass” (Stenotaphrum secundatum) by Richard L. Duble (Texas Cooperative Extension, A&M); “Native Plant Myth Number One” by Shirley Denton (Florida Native Plant Society blog, 2013) “Meadows for Home Gardens: More Than Just Wildflowers” by Craig Huegel (Palmetto, the Quarterly Journal of the Florida Native Plant Society, 2020); “Mitigating The Effects Of Climate Change On Grassland Butterflies” by Angela Laws (Xerces Society, September 2020); “Satyrinae” (nymphalidae.net); Native Host Plants for Texas Butterflies by Jim Weber, Lynne Weber, and Roland H Wauer (2nd printing, A&M Press 2021); Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium); Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s Native Plant Information Network; National Wildlife Federation’s Native Plants Finder; “The Importance of a Rare Butterfly” by Diane Narem (TEDxBrookings, 2014); Gardening with Native Grasses in Cold Climates and a Guide to the Butterflies They Support by Daine Narem and Mary Hockenberry Meyer (ebook from University of Minnesota 2020). For more info on this topic, check out these past Horticulturati episodes: Design for Conservation (June 12, 2022) Metamorphosis and Victory Gardens  (May 17, 2020) Pocket Prairies with John Hart Asher  (May 14, 2022) Support the Horticulturati on Patreon! Email us at info@horticulturati.com                 

On this week's radio show, landscape designer Michele Fonzi joins Leah to talk about framing the garden with hardscaping. Michelle is a landscape construction expert, horticulturist, and project manager who builds commercial and residential spaces with her company, Michele Fonzi Designs. We discuss the architectural side of garden design -- dry creek beds, pathways, stairs, and stonework -- and her life lessons from being a woman in a male-dominated field. Follow Michele on on Instagram and Facebook. Colleen will be back on the mic next week!  Join our Patreon for early access to Horticulturati episodes, bonus content, and more!  Email: info@horticulturati.com 

Here's the July 29 episode of Horticulture Hangover, our radio broadcast on KLBJ.  Leah reports on her visit to Braken Cave -- the world's largest bat colony! -- summer home to 15-20 million bats, then we talk about multi-trunked red oaks tendency to fall apart, watering trees, dealing with invasive grasses (KR bluestem and Johnsongrass), and the marvelous mistflowers.  Tune in to Horticulture Hangover live on Saturdays at 8-9 am CST online here, or on the airwaves: 99.7 AM and 590 FM. Join our Patreon for early access to Horticulturati episodes, bonus content, and more!  Email: info@horticulturati.com 

  When the phones are down, the show must go on! Here's the July 22 episode of Horticulture Hangover, our radio broadcast on KLBJ.  We talk about ants and aphids, when to pick melons, growing grapes, and transplanting stuff when it's not quite the right time.   Tune in to Horticulture Hangover live on Saturdays at 8-9 am CST online here, or on the airwaves: 99.7 AM and 590 FM. Join our Patreon for early access to Horticulturati episodes, bonus content, and more!  Email: info@horticulturati.com