Plants Always Win

Feeding humanity doesn’t need to come at the Earth’s expense. Elspeth Hay is here to talk nut trees, ecosystems, and humans as keystone species.  In 2019, Elspeth was a local food writer who felt despondent about humans’ need to tear up nature in order to feed ourselves. When she discovered that acorns are edible—that they had, in fact, once been a central pillar of an abundant North American food system—she was electrified. This week she joins Erin to talk about the book that resulted from her all-consuming research into that subject, Feed Us with Trees: Nut Trees and the Future of Food. If you have ever felt like human beings are rootless and adrift without our own habitat or wild food that can sustain us, this conversation will open your eyes and seize your heart. Erin and Elspeth discuss the oak savannas and chestnut trees that, managed by Indigenous peoples’ understanding of succession ecology, once fed the human and more-than-human life of a continent. They look at the still-living food culture of chestnuts in Switzerland, grieve over the politics that deliberately erased abundance at home, and embrace hope at the re-emergence of traditional land management practices in agroforestry and restoration agriculture.  Join us in re-discovering our habitat and home. Who knows—maybe acorns will change your life, too.  Find Elspeth Hay Online Website: https://elspethhay.com/Instagram: @elspethhayThe Local Food Report: https://www.capeandislands.org/podcast/the-local-food-reportFeed Us with Trees: https://newsociety.com/book/feed-us-with-trees/?aff=65  Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment?  Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.  Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4JaBluesky: @plantsalwayswin.comTikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcastYouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcastWebsite: www.plantsalwayswin.com  CreditsWebsite Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH Timestamps 00:14 Introduction01:00 Feed Us with Trees: Nut Trees and The Future of Food 01:48 Elspeth’s Career in Food and the Environment02:41 The Lightbulb Moment: Humans Can Eat Acorns03:27 It Never Made Sense to Me That We Didn’t Have a Habitat07:39 The Chestnut Huts of Switzerland: A Living Food Culture09:46 Our Grief and Homesickness for Connection to Place and Species10:43 The Land of Opportunity Myth13:07 Oak Savannas and Chestnut Groves: Pillars of an Indigenous Food System14:39 Food is Politics: The Deliberate Dismantling of Abundance in North America19:40 Trespass Laws Were Created to Control Formerly Enslaved Foragers22:00 How Capitalism Makes Food Political23:47 The Movement to Revive Perennial Food Ecosystems26:50 Ecological Succession and Embracing Traditional Land Management30:41 Oaks as the Tree of Life, Biodiversity Champions32:00 Nature Preserves Are the Wrong Approach. The Land Needs Us.34:17 Hazelnut Basketry and Kuruk Culture to Elspeth and Erin’s Willow Basketry37:42 The New Forest in England: An Unenclosed English Farm40:20 Elspeth’s Recommended Resources41:50 Elspeth’s Shout-Outs44:26 Parting Words of Wisdom45:12 Outro and Contact Us

Kids ask the best nature questions! For this episode, a class of elementary-school students prepared a list of questions about plants for Sean and Erin to answer. The best part, of course, is that these are questions few adults would think to ask, and they let our hosts explore all sorts of fascinating topics. How did plants come to be the way they are? Why did they evolve to have roots (or no roots!) and leaves and fruit? What makes one tree grow big leaves while another one has narrow needles? We talk evolutionary niches, the tree of life, food chains, and even how plants move water and sugar through their cells.  Step into our plant-life classroom and see what you can learn from the curiosity of children! Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment?  Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.  Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4JaBluesky: @plantsalwayswin.comTikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcastYouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcastWebsite: www.plantsalwayswin.com  CreditsWebsite Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH Citations Bryophytes and Tracheophytes? Categories of Plants With and Without RootsPlant diversity. (n.d.). NatureWorks. https://nhpbs.org/natureworks/nwep14b.htm  The Parts of a LeafLibretexts. (2022, May 4). 13.1: Leaf parts and arrangement. Biology LibreTexts. https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Botany/A_Photographic_Atlas_for_Botany_(Morrow)/13%3A_Leaves/13.01%3A_Leaf_Parts_and_Arrangement  Making Paper from Plants at Home Quillen, K. (2023, October 3). How to make paper from plants – Mother Earth news. Mother Earth News – the Original Guide to Living Wisely. https://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/making-paper-from-plants-zm0z17jjzqui/ Lipman, B. (2024, October 16). Paper from Iris and Daylily. https://www.handpapermaking.org/post/paper-from-iris-and-daylily  Timestamps 00:13 Introduction01:13 What’s Growing On: Sean’s Seed Saving02:56 What’s Growing On: Erin’s Season Extension05:53 Do All Plants Have Roots? Let’s Talk Bryophytes06:08 Plants’ Vascular Systems: Xylem and Phloem08:40 Why Do Plants Need Roots?11:15 Many Types of Roots12:29 What is the Blade on a Leaf?14:40 Why do Oak Leaves Get So Big?20:22 How Fast Can Some Flowers Grow?26:17 Why Do Plants Grow Food?32:51 How Do Plants Survive the Winter?41:38 Erin’s New Picture Book: If You Go Walking42:58 How Do You Make Paper with Plants?46:10 Paper Recycling Tangent47:06 Making Paper from Daylilies and Iris54:33 Outro and Contact Us

This episode is what happens when two people’s loves for venus flytraps, spooky season, and movie musicals collide.  Yes, we’re doing nerdy Halloween horticulture by analyzing the representation of carnivorous plants in the classic musical Little Shop of Horrors—specifically the 1986 movie version. If you  haven’t seen the show, don’t worry; we set the stage for you and save any late-story spoilers for the very end. For the most part, we’re interested in one question: based on our knowledge of real-world carnivorous plants, how reasonable were Seymore’s guesses when he first tried to care for Audrey II? This requires, of course, an exploration of Venus flytraps’ habitat and habits, how they reproduce, and of the care they need to thrive in our homes.  The movie does raise one more hypothetical, and I’ll put this in code for our listeners who still need to watch it: that ending. Would it really have worked? We get a buzz out of exploring the idea. Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment?  Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.  Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast YouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcast Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com  Credits Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH Citations Little Shop of Horrors Oz, F. (Director). (1986). Little shop of horrors. The Geffen Company. Venus flytrap Overview Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula). (n.d.). iNaturalist. https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/52666-Dionaea-muscipula Venus flytraps benefit from fires Venus Flytrap. (n.d.). National Wildlife Federation. https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Plants-and-Fungi/Venus-Flytrap A chemical signal from the flytrap’s prey stimulates the secretion of enzymes. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – the University of Texas at Austin. (n.d.). https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=dimu4 Overwintering your venus flytrap Little Shop of Horrors. (2025, January 12). Overwintering Venus flytraps. Littleshopofhorrors.co.uk. https://www.littleshopofhorrors.co.uk/over-wintering-venus-flytraps/  Timestamps 00:39 Introduction 01:35 What’s Growing On: Sean’s Winter Prep 02:20 What’s Growing On: Erin’s Tomatoes and Greenhouse Build 03:10 Sean’s Pumpkin-Deer Showdown 05:48 Water Break 06:00 Setting the Scene: Little Shop of Horrors 07:44 How Carnivorous Plants Eat 11:26 Can a Carnivorous Plant Survive on Human Blood? 12:46 Venus Fly Trap Etymology 15:50 How the Venus Fly Trap Grows 18:35 Audrey II’s Structure vs. Venus Fly Trap Structure 21:39 Taking Care of Audrey II vs. a Venus Fly Trap 32:24 Overwintering Your Venus Fly Trap 34:51 SPOILER WATER BREAK 35:20 Propagating a Venus Fly Trap vs. Audrey II 41:28 Ethical Purchasing of Venus Fly Traps 42:49 Buying Cool Cultivated Varieties 43:33 Can You Kill a Plant with Electrocution? 47:29 Conclusion and Contact Us

It’s the versus episode they said couldn’t be done. Well, okay, not sure who “they” are, but something has certainly been conspiring against it. We first attempted an episode on sunchokes, also known as Jerusalem artichokes, in the fall of 2024, before Plants Always Win was launched. It got left on the cutting room floor. Then in September of this year we recorded a proper Sunchokes vs. Sunflowers face-off, spending two hours in the recording studio.  We later found out that Sean’s audio had quit after six minutes. But if you’re reading these words, we have finally succeeded! With the last of the warm autumn sunshine, we are bringing you sunflowers vs. sunchokes. Or, to put it another way, annual sunflowers vs. one of their many perennial sunflower cousins. Both are native to North America, and both are prolific food crops. The first, though, has been bred for its seed while the second is used for its tubers. And only one of them was at the centre of a $25 million scam that threw parts of the United States and Canada into an uproar in the 1980s.  Find out which one that is one by listening…and then reach out by email or social media to tell us which sunflower YOU feel won this week’s plant face-off. The Horti Awards Vote for Wait Like a Seed at bit.ly/hortiawards. Scroll to the very bottom and select it from the Books drop-down menu. You don’t have to vote in every category. Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment?  Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.  Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast YouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcast Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com  Credits Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH Citations Sunflower etymology Sunflower – Etymology, Origin & Meaning. (n.d.). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/word/sunflower Sunflowers as composite flowers Common sunflower. (n.d.). https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/helianthus_annuus.shtml  Sunflowers in Ontario top Native Sunflowers for Ontario Gardens — In Our Nature. (n.d.). In Our Nature. https://www.inournature.ca/sunflowers-of-ontario The too-many-to-read-out traditional uses of the annual sunflower USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center. (n.d.). ANNUAL SUNFLOWER. https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_hean3.pdf  Sunflower oil chemistry and uses Sunflower oil. (n.d.). Science Direct. Retrieved September 30, 2025, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemical-engineering/sunflower-oil  Growing sunflowers Spengler, T. (2023, February 10). Sunflower planting pros and cons. Gardening Know How. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/gardening-pros-cons/sunflower-planting-pros-and-cons  Allelopathy Allelopathy. (n.d.). Science Direct. Retrieved September 30, 2025, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/allelopathy   The world’s tallest sunflower Associated Press. (2025, September 15). World’s tallest sunflower blooms in an Indiana backyard as a tribute to Ukraine. Spectrum News 1. https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/columbus/news/2025/09/15/world-s-tallest-sunflower-indiana Anishinaabe use of sunchokes, a.k.a. Giisisoojiibik Geniusz, M. S. (2015). Plants have so much to give us, all we have to do is ask: Anishinaabe Botanical Teachings. U of Minnesota Press.  The Jerusalem artichoke multi-level marketing scam 1980s Farm Crisis: Origins, myths and realities: Jerusalem artichoke miracle crop was a sign – Agweek | #1 source for agriculture news, farming, markets. (2023, June 12). Agweek. https://www.agweek.com/business/1980s-farm-crisis-origins-myths-and-realities-jerusalem-artichoke-miracle-crop-was-a-sign  The Great Jerusalem Artichoke Circus: The Buying and Selling of the Rural American Dream, by Joseph A. Amato, 1993, University of Minnesota Press, 280 p.  Identify your turfgrass Different types of grass: Identifying your lawn’s grass type. (n.d.). Scotts. https://scotts.com/en-us/learn/different-types-of-grass-identify-your-grass.html  Timestamps 00:40 The Sunchoke Curse 02:29 What’s Growing On: Erin’s Garden-Fresh Meals and Horti Awards 04:20 What’s Growing On: Sean’s 1,001 Projects and Propagations 06:00 Water Break 06:15 The Plant Face-Off: Sunflowers 07:51 About the Name Sunflower 08:13 How Sunflowers Grow 08:55 Perennial Sunflowers of Ontario 10:25 Uses of the Annual Sunflower 12:00 Sunflowers are Composite Flowers 12:45 Heliotropism and Phototropism 14:35 The Benefits of Heliotropism 15:50 Sunflowers and Allelopathy 18:06 A Sunflower Guild 19:40 Garden-Nerd D&D Tangent 24:12 The Plant Face-Off: Sunchokes 24:45 The Only Tuberous Sunflowers 25:14 Eating Sunchoke Tubers…Without the Gas 26:25 Harvesting and Managing the Tubers 29:20 Anishinaabe Communities and Giisisoojiibik 30:30 Sunchokes’ Invasiveness in Central Europe 31:00 Get Familiar with New Foods You Can Grow 33:45 Jerusalem Artichoke Height and Appearance 35:49 The Jerusalem Artichoke Pyramid Scheme 42:00 Musings About Fuel from Sunflowers 45:59 Listener Question: How Do I Know What Kind of Grass I Have? 51:55 Conclusion and Contact Us

This episode is for anyone who has ever daydreamed about starting a community garden and for anyone who needs the boost of a good-news gardening story.   Our guest is Jessica Letteer, who founded the Wilkes-Barre Area Community Gardens five years ago and kicked off a local movement of soil building and community gardening in an area marked by poverty, blighted soil, and food deserts. Jess’ home in Pennsylvania’s Wyoming Valley bears the contamination left behind by abandoned coal mines, and services and infrastructure are chronically under-resourced. But she and a small group of other volunteers reached out to their city council, solicited donations, and started a program that now grows and distributes food, teaches regenerative agriculture skills, and puts on community events—all for free.  Longtime listeners will know that our co-host Erin Alladin also founded a community garden: Garden@Kimbourne Community Permaculture Project in Toronto, Ontario. In this episode, she and Jess compare notes on the steps they each took to start their projects and how they and their fellow volunteers kept them going. Jess also tells us about the process of establishing a nonprofit, about the other community organizations her group has partnered with, the ways they’re funding the garden, and—of course—all the incredible projects they have lined up for the future. Learn More: The Wilkes-Barre Area Community Gardens Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wilkesbarreacg/ Organizations Named in this Episode Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation: https://epcamr.org/home/  Food Dignity: https://fooddignitymovement.org/  Rising Tide Wellness: https://risingtide-wellness.org/  WIC: https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic  The Horti Awards Vote for Wait Like a Seed here! Scroll to the very bottom and select it from the Books drop-down menu. You don’t have to vote in every category. Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment?  Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon. Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast YouTube: @PlantsAlwaysWinPodcast Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja Timestamps 00:14 Introduction to Jessica Letteer 02:12 Introduction to Wilkes-Barre Area Community Gardens 03:35 How Wilkes-Barre Area Community Gardens Got Their Start 08:19 How Garden@Kimbourne Got its Start 09:58 Water Break: Wait Like a Seed and the Horti Awards 10:33 Concerns about Crime and Community Gardens 12:67 Healing the Community through Gardening 13:55 Becoming a Nonprofit 15:01 Partnering with Other Organizations 17:50 Food Dignity: Paying Farmers, Feeding People for Free 19:55 More Energy and Infrastructure Projects in the Gardens 21:55 Why Is Running All This With You??? 25:36 Funding! 26:44 Gardening in a Former Coal Town 32:27 Creating an Accessible Garden for People with Disabilities 35:15 What’s Next for Wilkes-Barre Community Gardens 36:18 Find The Garden Community Online 37:00 Shout-Outs 38:58 Outro and Contact Us

Dr. Dana Green, a.k.a. “The Eyepatch Biologist” is back for part two! This free-flying conversation just couldn’t be contained to a single hour. We plunge straight in this week with an urgent question: how do bats relieve themselves without dribbling on their own heads? From there the facts come thick and fast: microchiroptera (our local insect-eating, echolocating bats) vs. megachiroptera (bigger fruit-eating bats from other climates that don’t echolocate); the truth about bats’ sense of sight; and the unexpected songs of silverhair bats. Dana shares how to attract bats to our properties without welcoming them into our homes, and we delve into the devastating consequences of pesticide use in the ecosystem—and how to report it when you witness someone applying pesticides illegally.  Throughout the interview we also get some of Dana’s opinions on the quality of bat representation in media, including Daredevil, Dungeons and Dragons, Batman and vampire books. The episode wraps up with a lightning round of facts, favourites, and myth busting—and a promise to bring Dana back for even more ecological eloquence in the future! Learn More: Dana’s website: https://www.danagreeneco.com/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theeyepatchbiologist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eyepatchbiologist/ Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment?  Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon. Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast YouTube: @PlantsAlwaysWinPodcast Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja Timestamps 00:12 Introduction 01:00 How do Bats Relieve Themselves? 01:58 Flying Foxes, or Megachiroptera, a Subgroup of Bats 03:30 Bats Aren’t Blind 04:48 Echolocation Representation in Daredevil 06:00 Bats that Jam Each Other’s Echolocation Signals 07:28 Singing Silverhair Bats 10:25 Creating Bat Habitat at Your Home 12:00 Pesticides in the Ecosystem 20:15 Lightning Round 20:28 Should We Be Concerned about Diseases in Bats? 20:46 Are Bats Attracted to Long Hair? 21:17 Do Bats Suck Blood? Should We Worry? 23:03 Do Bats Mate for Life? What’s a Bat Leck? 23:48 Hammerhead Bats’ Big Honkers 24:40 The World’s Biggest Bat 26:00 The World’s Smallest Bat 28:39 Cutest Bat Struggles 29:40 The World’s Ugliest (and Wrinkliest) Bat 31:00 A Bat Scientist’s Opinion on Batman 34:20 Great Bat Representation in Kids’ Books and Movies 36:00 Dana’s Love of Vampires 39:15 Find Dana Online 41:44 Outro and Contact Us

Dr. Dana Green is a bat expert who is known online as The Eyepatch Biologist. As a science communicator, a pun connoisseur, and a woman who knows a good joke when it’s staring her in the face, she says of herself, “What a wonderful bat advocate to go half blind.” In Dana’s interview with Sean, she tells us about her master’s degree studying grasshopper mice (predatory, solitary, highly aggressive mice that howl) and her PhD in bat ecology, which she completed at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan. We learn about echolocation and other bat chatter, fact check Hank Green’s viral video (Do we know where bats go in winter? Not entirely…) and learn about bat species in Canada. We assuage some fears about bats carrying disease, explore the challenges of tracking bat migration, exclaim over the mysteries of bat reproduction, and celebrate their benefits in the garden. The episode is as wide-ranging as these fascinating mammals are, but we spend time especially on the lives of hoary bats, pallid bats, New Zealand’s flightless bats, and the Mexican free-tailed bat…or at least their smell!  Craving even more bat facts? Then you’re in luck! Part two of this interview will be posted next week.  Learn More Dana’s website: https://www.danagreeneco.com/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theeyepatchbiologist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eyepatchbiologist/ Scientists and Communicators Sean and Dana drop a lot of names in this conversation. Here are the experts they mention:  Hank Green, science communicator: https://hankgreen.com/  Dr. Brock Fenton, bat researcher and mentor of bat researchers: https://letstalkscience.ca/careers/brock-fenton Mark Brigham, Dana’s supervisor at the University of Regina: https://www.uregina.ca/science/biology/directory/academic-staff-and-adjuncts/mark-brigham.html   Robert Barclay, bat researcher: https://profiles.ucalgary.ca/robert-barclay  Ted Weller, migratory hoary bat researcher: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Theodore-Weller  Sophiane, aka @honkifurhoary, science communicator: https://www.instagram.com/honkifurhoary/ Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon. Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast YouTube: @PlantsAlwaysWinPodcast Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja Citations Bat Reproduction Fact Check H, T. (2020, October 16). BAT Reproduction – Illinois BAT Conservation program. https://www.illinoisbats.org/bat-reproduction    Timestamps 00:12 Introducing Dr. Dana Green 01:36 Bats, Grasshopper Mice, and Going Feral: Dana’s Education Journey 04:55 Sound Bite: Grasshopper Mouse 05:01 Can You Hear Echolocation?  05:30 Sound Bite: Echolocation 07:25 Dana’s Retinal Detachment 15:40 Dana Caused Sean’s First TikTok Violation 16:53 Bat Species in Canada 19:00 The Bat Research Community 21:30 Do We Know Where Bats Go In Winter? 25:53 Bats’ Unique Relationship with Disease 28:47 Tangent: Funding Rant 31:00 Back to Bat Tracking 34:45 Ted Weller, Bat Pregnancy, and Pups 41:36 The Pallid Bat, Potential Pollinator and Centipede Eater 44:00 Bats as Garden Friends 47:33 Outdoor Cats are Ecological Disasters 51:42 Bats’ Horrendous Smell 53:46 Conclusion and Contact Us

Our gardens are winding down for the season, but our audience is putting on a growth spurt! This crop of new listeners has seeded our Q&A inbox with a flush of questions, which we love to see. And while we’d normally answer these at the end of our versus episodes, we currently have a backlog of recorded episodes and we don’t want folks to have to wait for answers. That means it’s time for another Q&A special! We start with questions inspired by Sean’s recent video about an apple tree sold with its graft and root flare buried well below soil level. If you want to understand how fruit trees are grafted and sold, how to plant them successfully, and what to expect from them as they grow, keep your ears peeled for this conversation. Next, we move on to plants that listeners are hoping to get rid of, touching briefly on bindweed (covered more thoroughly in episode 31) before digging into horsetail, that pervasive prehistoric plant. The question was “How do I get rid of it?” and we do address that—but you’ll find some options you might not have expected in our answers. Finally, we chat about an anecdote that was shared with us: “This year I learned that cosmos don’t like fertilizer.” It’s true that feeding nitrogen to flowering plants will push them to produce more greenery than blooms. But we’re here to offer some education on what you can do to give them a boost. Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment?  Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.  Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast YouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcast Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com  Learn More About Horsetail: https://www.rhs.org.uk/weeds/horsetail Find bare-root fruit trees grown in Ontario from: Golden Bough Tree Farm (Marlbank, ON, in Tweed): https://goldenboughtreefarm.ca/  Northern Food Forest (Calvin, ON, near North Bay): https://northernfoodforest.ca/  Pineneedle Farms (Pontypool, ON, within Kawartha Lakes: https://www.pineneedlefarms.ca/  Silver Creek Nursery (Wellesley, Ontario, in the Waterloo region): https://silvercreeknursery.ca/ Whiffletree Farm & Nursery (Elora, ON): https://www.whiffletreefarmandnursery.ca/  Credits Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH Timestamps 00:12 Intro 00:55 What’s Growing On? Erin’s Fall Fair Entries 04:46 What’s Growing On? Sean’s Fall Fruit Trees Planting 08:50 Water Break 10:42 Is a buried graft the reason my apple tree keeps dying? 11:43 What is a root flare?  14:54 Do nurseries make mistakes like this on purpose to sell more trees? 16:36 Will a tree always die if its graft is below ground level? 19:07 If you let suckers from a root stock grow up, will they produce fruit? 21:40 If the tree survives having its graft buried, is everything okay? 23:00 I planted apples 3-4 years ago. They are suckering like crazy and haven’t produced any fruit. What can I do? 25:45 What fruit tree is best to plant in Ontario – something hardy and not fussy? 30:15 What if I need to eradicate field bindweed from my lawn instead of my garden? 35:42 How can I get rid of horsetail? I tried replacing all my soil and it still came back. 45:01 Fertilizing stopped my flowers from blooming. What should I have done? 56:00 Outro and Contact Us

Do you make compost at home? Do you delight in the experience? If your answer to either of those questions is no, this week’s guest is here to help. Delaina Arnold is the community programs manager with the Georgian Bay Mnidoo Gamii Biosphere, a UNESCO-designated “ecologically significant” landscape where people are striving to live in balance with nature. As part of that striving, the Biosphere launched a pilot project in 2025 to help people learn about home composting, to get started doing it themselves, and to troubleshoot any problems. Now we get to benefit from all that education, as Delaina answers Erin’s questions on the subject. We begin with the big question: why bother rotting our kitchen scraps at all? Then it’s on to busting common myths before entering a crash course on home composting: where to place your bin, what type to make or buy, and how not to hate the container you use for collecting scraps. We troubleshoot common problems like wildlife, smell, and slow decomposition, then get into a tangent on the truth about using urine in your compost. Of course we also cover how to decompose your garden trimmings safely and what to do with manure.  Ready to make some black gold with us? Then dive in to the interview. Learn More “Do the Rot Thing” webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74UODcc3IZE All the Biosphere’s short, downloadable gardening guides, including “Composting 101”: https://georgianbaybiosphere.com/gardens/ The Biosphere’s community calendar: https://georgianbaybiosphere.com/events/      The Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve website: https://georgianbaybiosphere.com/ Citations Urine and Soil Study Rumeau, M., Pistocchi, C., Ait-Mouheb, N., Marsden, C., & Brunel, B. (2024). Unveiling the impact of human urine fertilization on soil bacterial communities: A path toward sustainable fertilization. Applied Soil Ecology, 201, 105471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2024.105471 Follow the Biosphere On Social Media On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gbtownship/  On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GBayBiosphere  Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment?  Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.  Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast YouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcast Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com  Credits Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH Timestamps 00:12 Intro 00:47 Meet Delaina Arnold of the Georgian Bay Biosphere 01:50 What is the Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve? 05:08 Why Home Composting Matters: Landfills, Methane, and Soil 09:09 The Seguin & Township of Georgian Bay Kitchen to Compost Pilot Project 11:33 Myths about Home Composting: Wildlife, Stirring, and What to Add 14:47 What if You Don’t Turn Your Compost? Erin’s Dirty, Little Secret 16:35 Where to Locate Your Compost Bin: Sun, Drainage, and Access 18:14 Choosing Your Compost Bin 20:09 Pick a Cute Countertop Compost Container 22:30 Composting Tips 23:27 Composting Troubleshooting 25:15 Wildlife Problems with Compost 29:19 Fact Check: Adding Urine to Compost 32:20 Brown Materials You Can Add 34:05 Can You Add Garden Clippings to Your Compost Bin?  37:45 Resources and Contact for the Georgian Bay Biosphere 39:30 Outro and Contact Us

“I am very enthusiastic about [gardening]. I don’t know if I’m that great at it. I’m not very knowledgeable. I can’t really answer any of your garden questions, but I love getting my hands dirty.” Gardening is for everyone! We’ve interviewed plenty of experts on Plants Always Win who’ve mastered everything from groundcovers to home hydroponics, but every so often we like to bring you a less experienced guest who is already skilled in one crucial area: gardening with joyful abandon. In their day job, Chris Paul Rainbows is a speaker and strategist who helps organizations create spaces where everyone belongs. In their own space at home, Chris has tapped into the joy that 80s and 90s children’s television once brought them, designing whimsical gardens inspired by Polkadot Door, Mr. Dressup, Sesame Street, and more. They take us back to the urban-farm inspiration that led them to buy their current home, and the transformation it has undergone with chickens, rabbits, and a surprise pumpkin patch that led to some heartwarming community building. Community, gardening, and cultivating joy are inextricable subjects for Chris, who is an activist for queer and trans visibility. We talk hostas, native plants, managing invasive bindweed, and Chris’ upcoming debut book for 2026, Guinea Pigs Don’t Wear Pants.  Now come on into the pumpkin patch through the Polkadot Door and remind yourself just how FUN gardening can be.  Find Chris Paul Rainbows Online at their website, where you can also find information about Chris’ upcoming picture book, Guinea Pigs Don’t Wear Pants: https://www.chrispaulrainbows.com/  on TikTok: tiktok.com/@chrispaulrainbows on Instagram: instagram.com/chrispaulrainbows/ on YouTube: youtube.com/@chrispaulrainbows  on Facebook: facebook.com/Chrispaulrainbows/ on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chrisfarias/  Learn More About The Unicorn Fund: https://www.chrispaulrainbows.com/blog/unchained-philanthropy-hamilton Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.  Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast YouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcast Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com  Credits Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH Timestamps 00:25 Introduction and Housekeeping 01:55 Meet Chris Paul Rainbows 03:10 Gardening as Play 06:29 Protesting for Urban Chickens 07:47 Female and Male Gingko Biloba Trees 09:35 Corpse Flowers and Little Shop of Horrors 11:30 Pest Control and Fertilizer: Chickens Will Provide 13:45 Can You Go to Jail for an Overgrown Lawn? 15:17 Invasive Micro-Clover Lawn Replacement 16:29 Militant Native Plant Communities 17:23 Chris’ Inner Child Garden Project 19:47 300 Accidental Pumpkin Plants 21:54 The Unicorn Fund and the Most Sincere Pumpkin Patch 24:14 Pumpkin Care and Powdery Mildew 27:30 Strange and Fun Pumpkin Types 29:15 Hand Pollinating Pumpkins 30:30 The Importance of Queer and Trans Joy 33:50 Plant Sexes and Pollination 37:15 Chris and Sean Talk Parrots and Budgies 41:03 Dealing with Field Bindweed 47:27 Chris’ Children’s TV-inspired Garden Plans 48:39 Relationship Roles: The Problem Maker and the Problem Solver 49:36 How Oscar the Boxwood Grouch Started Everything 52:09 Find Chris Online 52:46 Chris’ Upcoming Picture Book, Guinea Pigs Don’t Wear Pants 53:56 Outro and Contact Us

Are you finding yourself thirsty for a little soda pop this summer? How about for some botanical knowledge about soda pop’s history? In this plant face-off episode, Erin and Sean put some fizz into the competition with the plants behind two iconic flavours: the cola nut that gives cola its kick, and the sassafras that puts the root in root beer. Or, at least, the plants that did serve those roles before the advent of artificial flavouring.  Erin takes the first swig with a dramatic overview of the North American Sassafras albidum, an aromatic tree with a long history of use for medicine, food, furniture, and one nautical beverage that almost saw it hunted to extinction. She peers into the muddy waters surrounding its first use in root beer and, later, its controversial ban by the FDA, speculates about Choctaw influence on its use in gumbo, and delights over the Kanien’kéha (Mohawk) name, wenhákeras, meaning “smelly thing.”  Sean takes his kick at the can with the cola nut, the key ingredient behind the flavour and caffeine of cola beverages. He discusses the flavourful Malvaceae family tree of the West African cola tree (also spelled kola) (Cola nitida and Cola acuminata) and its surprising identity as a broad-leaf evergreen before serving up some knowledge about the fruit’s growing habits and its cultural history as a stimulant and a beverage ingredient. After some medical meanderings and a look at modern-day distribution, we wrap up Coca-Cola origins and its present-day ingredients. Who had the most interesting facts to share today? Vote for your favourite by tagging us on social media and using the hashtag #PAWFaceOff.  Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.  Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast YouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcast Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com  Credits Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH Citations Common names for sassafras Wood and charcoal indentification in southern MD. (n.d.). https://apps.jefpat.maryland.gov/woodandcharcoalid/Webpages-trees/Sassafras.htm Indigenous names for sassafras Plenty Canada. (2024). SaSSaFras. Greenbelt Indigenous Botanical Survey. https://gibsurvey.ca/species/sassafras Furniture uses Packard Forest Products. (2011, October 30). Sassafras – Packard Forest products. https://packardforestproducts.com/lumber/hardwood-lumber/species-guide/sassafras/ Food and medicine uses MacKinnon, A., & Kershaw, L. (2016). Edible and medicinal plants of Canada. Publishing Partners. Root beer’s origins and the banning of safrole oil Verberg, S. (2023, November 30). Root beer: the quintessential American soda. American Homebrewers Association. https://homebrewersassociation.org/beyond-beer/root-beer-the-quintessential-american-soda/ Sassafras oil and toxicity https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/sassafras The history of sassafras in North America Sassafras: Native gem of North America. (2022, October 10). Cornell Botanic Gardens. https://cornellbotanicgardens.org/sassafras-native-gem-of-north-america Sassafras in Ontario Sassafras. (n.d.). ontario.ca. https://www.ontario.ca/page/sassafras Growing sassafras Sassafras albidum (Cinnamon Wood, Common Sassafras, Mitten Tree, Sassafras, White Sassafras) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. (n.d.). https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/sassafras-albidum/ Hassani, N. (2025, May 7). How to grow and care for sassafras. The Spruce. https://www.thespruce.com/sassafras-tree-plant-profile-5199214 Cola nut overview Kola Trees (Genus Cola). (n.d.). iNaturalist. https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/132989-Cola Wikipedia contributors. (2025, July 18). Kola nut. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kola_nut Cola nut etymology Kola – Etymology, Origin & Meaning. (n.d.). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/word/kola Medicinal uses for cola nut and caffeine Cola nut: health benefits, side effects, uses, dose & precautions. (2021, June 11). RxList. https://www.rxlist.com/supplements/cola_nut.htm#:~:text=Cola%20nut%20is%20used%20for,used%20as%20a%20flavoring%20ingredient Timestamps 00:11 Introduction 01:13 What’s Growing On? Sean’s Fruit Shrubs and Willow Wall 03:38 What’s Growing On? Reciprocity in Erin’s Vegetable Garden 06:03 The Range of Serviceberry Taste 06:51 Water Break: Regionalisms 07:19 The Plant Face-Off 08:25 Sassafras Albidum, an Aromatic Shrub 09:08 The Etymology of Sassafras  11:10 Indigenous Names for Sassafras 12:55 The Distinct Look of a Sassafras Tree 15:47 Wildlife, Building and Dye Use of Sassafras 16:16 Sassafras’ Medicinal Properties 20:00 Eating Sassafras leaves, stems, and pith 21:49 How Sassafras Gave Us Root Beer…And What Went Wrong 25:27 The Great Sassafras Hunts for Saloop 27:33 The Invention of Root Beer 28:50 Making Fermented vs. Carbonated Root Beer 30:24 Growing Sassafras for Beauty, Hedges, Specimen Trees, and Remediation 36:05 Water Break: Love Your Library 37:28 Cola Nut? Kola Nut? Pick Your Spelling. 39:54 West African Names for Cola Nut 40:58 The Etymology of Cola Nut 42:56 The Cola Tree, Both Evergreen and Deciduous 43:55 Cola’s Unusual Flowering and Fruiting Habit 45:45 Cola Range and Cultivation 46:44 The Cola Nut: A Fleshy Pod 47:57 Culinary and Medicinal Uses of Cola 51:00 Cultural and Hospitality Uses in West Africa 52:29 Cola Nut Harvesting 53:20 The Invention of Coca Cola 54:40 1880 Ad for Coca Cola, an “Intellectual Beverage” 56:11 Conclusion and Contact Us

This week we’re celebrating the difference that can be made when a regional government supports its people and businesses in taking climate action. Get inspired by impactful local initiatives in Muskoka, Ontario, like: the Climate Hero Program, which awards individuals and businesses Bronze, Silver, and Gold rankings for the climate-friendly actions they take (including planting a pollinator garden!) the Muskoka EnvironHub website packed with resources the Muskoka GeoHub, an online web mapping portal featuring floodplain mapping, real-time water levels, shoreline videos, and more a Community Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan and, importantly, a Corporate Greenhouse Gas Initiative since the onus for change cannot be on residents alone. Our guest, Lauren Saville, is the Community Climate Initiatives Coordinator in Muskoka. Her work takes her into the heart of a cottage-country community where “the environment is the economy and the economy is the environment.” She helps residents understand how the changing climate is impacting their wallets and ways of life, and offers them opportunities to make real change. She gives presentations to schools and to the public, inspiring and equipping them to take action in their own lives. And she’s involved with a huge range of initiatives that make life better for people AND the planet.  Listen now and get motivated by the interconnectedness of environment, economy, and community well-being.  Access Muskoka’s excellent community resources: The Climate Hero Program: https://www.engagemuskoka.ca/climate-heroes The Muskoka EnviroHub: https://www.muskoka.on.ca/en/environment/EnviroHub.aspx Upcoming Outreach and Education Events with Lauren: https://www.muskoka.on.ca/en/environment/outreach-and-education.aspx  The Muskoka GeoHub: https://www.muskoka.on.ca/en/environment/maps.aspx  segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.  Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast YouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcast Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com  Credits Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH Timestamps 00:50 Introducing Lauren Saville, Community Climate Initiatives Coordinator 02:20 Tackling Climate Change at the Community and Corporate Levels 06:43 Insurers are Motivated to Mitigate Climate Change 07:51 How the Community Responds 09:37 Climate Complacency: When Nature’s Beauty Backfires 11:10 Sean Joins the Climate Hero Program 15:04 Lauren’s Community and School Talks 18:58 Pollinator Plants, Shoreline Greening, and Love Your Lake 23:30 Partnering with Other Organizations Drives Change! 25:48 What Is a Watershed? 27:03 What Lauren Loves About her Job 32:15 Love for Muskoka, Love for Nature 33:55 Lauren’s Home Garden Projects 35:15 Find Muskoka’s EnviroHub and Stewardship Outreach 36:22 We Can All Make Change 38:25 Outro and Contact Us

This week we talk about the activism embedded in native plant gardening and the creation of pollinator habitat with Lorraine Johnson. Lorraine styles herself as a “cultivation activist”. It’s a term she came up with to describe the common purpose at the intersection of everything she does, from writing books to giving talks to supporting the fight against harmful grass and weed bylaws. This episode is for anyone who: feels guilt or overwhelm when they think about gardening, native plants, and invasive species feels anger or frustration about garden centres promoting invasive plants needs tools and resources to fight bylaws that make it hard to grow ecologically responsible gardens (even in cities that have signed pollinator pledges and are investing in flood protection!) wants to feel re-energized about the value of gardening as activism You can find Lorraine online at https://lorrainejohnson.ca, where she shares her bibliography, her presentation topics, a blog with lots of updates on native-plant advocacy, and a (sometimes up-to-date) list of upcoming events where she’ll be presenting.  Here are the resources Lorraine shared for bylaw advocacy: Network of Nature’s interactive map for finding a native plant nursery near you: https://networkofnature.org/where-to-buy.htm/  Ecological Design Lab’s Bylaws for Biodiversity toolkit for municipalities: https://ecologicaldesignlab.ca/site/uploads/2024/07/EDL_Bylaws-Biodiversity_ToolkitforMunicipalities.pdf The David Suzuki Foundation Action Alert Bylaw tool https://davidsuzuki.org/action/bylaws-for-biodiversity/  The 1000 Islands Master Gardeners’ post about the Kingston, Ontario bylaw reform on which they collaborated: https://1000islandsmastergardeners.ca/2024/07/29/prohibited-plants-in-kingstons-new-bylaw/ A news story about Kyla Moore’s advocacy on Thunder Bay, Ontario’s bylaw change: https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/thunder-bay-could-be-a-leader-says-boulevard-garden-advocate-9982234  Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.  Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast YouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcast Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com  Credits Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH TImestamps 00:11 Introducing Lorraine Johnson 01:29 Cultivation Activist: Making Change with Plants 07:53 Native-Plant Gardening for Joy, not as a Burden 11:16 Tips to get Started with Native Plants 12:40 Finding Your Community of Pollinator People 15:52 Relieving the Burden: Do the Best You Can 17:50 What has Changed in Four Decades of Native-Plant Gardening 23:13 Meet People Where they’re at 25:45 Reclaiming Responsibility as a Joy 27:14 Plants as our Kin 27:20 Changing Language: Naturalized vs. Native 31:44 Changing Language: Invasive Species and Groundcovers 34:46 Native Groundcover Options 38:00 Gardening Isn’t Just for Humans 40:00 Reforming Grass and Weeds Bylaws 45:00 Convincing Municipalities to Change Bad Bylaws 46:00 Kyla Moore’s Successful Bylaw Campaign in Thunder Bay, Ontario 47:41 Proactive Bylaw Reform in Kingston, Ontario 48:48 Native Plant Suggestions for New Developments 51:07 Street Trees and Project Swallowtail in Toronto 54:01 The Canadian Coalition for Invasive Plant Regulation 58:50 “Nothing Will Grow Here.” Working with the Land 1:05:55 2025: A Year of Abundance 1:09:01 Shout-Out: David Suzuki Foundation Action Alert Bylaws 1:11:12 Finding Lorraine Online 1:14:04 Outro and Contact Us

It’s Part II of the nightshade party! Sean and Erin plunge back in with tomatoes and peppers, covering cultural history, culinary and medical uses, and fun facts about these garden staples of the nightshade family. If you could look back thousands of years to see gardens in the Andes mountains, you would find both of them growing there. Find out how peppers once acted both as a trade good and a discipline tool, where tomatoes have spread most around the world, and the truth about the fantastical-sounding tomato-potato.  If you want to know more about growing tomatoes and peppers or to explore their botany and etymology, be sure to check out Part I of this plant face-off.  Who brought the most fascinating facts about their plant this week? Vote for borage or cosmos by tagging us on social media and using the hashtag #PAWFaceOff.   Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.  Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast YouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcast Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com  Credits Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH Citations The biggest global tomato-growing nations today Solanum lycopersicum (Tomato, Tomatoes). (n.d.). North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/solanum-lycopersicum/#:~:text=The%20genus%20name%2C%20Solanum%2C%20is,when%20they%20came%20to%20Europe Tomato varieties, history, and misconceptions of toxicity The University of Vermont. (n.d.). A History of Tomatoes. University of Vermont Extension. https://www.uvm.edu/extension/news/history-tomatoes#:~:text=Tomatoes%20have%20undergone%20centuries%20of,Andes%20of%20 western%20South%20africa  Heirloom vegetables Heirloom vegetables. (n.d.). Wisconsin Horticulture. https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/heirloom-vegetables/  Carnivorous tomatoes! Chase, M. W., Christenhusz, M. J. M., Sanders, D., & Fay, M. F. (2009). Murderous plants: Victorian Gothic, Darwin and modern insights into vegetable carnivory. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 161(4), 329–356. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.01014.x  Toxicity of capsaicin Rohrig, B. (2013). Hot peppers: Muy caliente! In Chemmatters. American Chemical Society. https://www.acs.org/chemmatters  The debate about weaponizing capsaicin Peppers as non-lethal weapons. (2022). In The Royal Society of Chemistry eBooks (pp. 145–155). https://doi.org/10.1039/9781839160646-00145 Chili peppers in cultural history Kelly, V. a. P. B. C. P. (2021, March 5). The Trail of Fire: The Story of the Chili Pepper. Synaptic Space. https://synapticspace.wordpress.com/2019/05/02/the-long-journey-of-the-chili-pepper/ The capsaicin isn’t in the pepper seeds Cronin, J. R. (2002). The chili pepper’s pungent principle: capsaicin delivers diverse health benefits. Alternative and Complementary Therapies, 8(2), 110–113. https://doi.org/10.1089/10762800252909865  Timestamps 00:11 Introduction 01:28 Culinary and Medicinal Uses of Peppers 04:30 Pepper Spray Throughout History 05:55 Is Capsaicin Toxic?  07:00 Why Capsaicin Burns 09:44 Health Benefits of Capsaicin 12:24 Nutritional Benefits of Tomatoes 16:15 A Brief History of Tomatoes 20:41 A Brief History of Peppers 27:00 Tomato Fun Facts  30:00 Heirloom Varieties 38:43 The Tomato Potato 40:36 Tomatoes are Carnivorous? 43:22 Pepper Seeds are not Where the Heat Is! 44:45 The Scoville Scale to Measure the Heat of Peppers 37:37 Outro and Contact Us

In this shady plant face-off, Sean and Erin explore two of the gardening world’s favourite nightshades: tomatoes and peppers. Both are members of the family Solanaceae, and have plenty of traits in common, so rather than splitting the episode in half our two hosts try a livelier approach this week, passing the stage back and forth to talk about their chosen plant’s botany, etymology, growing habits, and pest and disease management. Prepare for a wealth of interesting information (did you know the Spanish word for tomato references an old belief in their aphrodisiac qualities?) alongside practical gardening tips (make sure you don’t feed your pepper plant too late in the season).  And what about our other usual categories of cultural history, culinary and medical uses, and fascinating facts? Well, there’s just so much to say about these delicious horticultural staples that you’ll have to tune in next week to hear the rest.  Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.  Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja  Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com  TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast  YouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcast Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com  Credits Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH Citations Tomato overview and etymology Solanum lycopersicum (Tomato, Tomatoes). (n.d.). North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/solanum-lycopersicum/#:~:text=The%20genus%20name%2C%20Solanum%2C%20is,when%20they%20came%20to%20Europe A History of Tomatoes The University of Vermont. (n.d.). A History of Tomatoes. University of Vermont Extension. https://www.uvm.edu/extension/news/history-tomatoes#:~:text=Tomatoes%20have%20undergone%20centuries%20of,Andes%20of%20western%20South%20America  Heirloom Vegetables Heirloom vegetables. (n.d.). Wisconsin Horticulture. https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/heirloom-vegetables/  Adventitious Roots on Tomatoes Grant, A. (2021, June 19). Bumpy tomato stems: Learn about white growths on tomato plants. Gardening Know How. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/tomato/white-growths-on-tomato-plants.htm  Carnivorous Tomatoes! Chase, M. W., Christenhusz, M. J. M., Sanders, D., & Fay, M. F. (2009). Murderous plants: Victorian Gothic, Darwin and modern insights into vegetable carnivory. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 161(4), 329–356. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.01014.x  Bell pepper overview Capsicum annuum Grossum Group (Bell Pepper, Green Pepper, Red Pepper, Sweet Pepper). (n.d.). North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. Retrieved June 2, 2025, from https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/capsicum-annuum-grossum-group/#:~:text=The%20Grossum%20Group%20of%20this,plant%20grows%20upright%20and%20bushy.  Hot pepper overview Capsicum frutescens (Bird Pepper, Capsicum, Hot Pepper, Tabasco Pepper). (n.d.). North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. Retrieved June 4, 2025, from https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/capsicum-frutescens/ Growing peppers in Canada College of Agriculture and Bioresources. (n.d.). Peppers. Gardening at USASK. Retrieved June 2, 2025, from https://gardening.usask.ca/gardening-advice/gardenline-nested-pages/food-plant-pages/vegetables/peppers.php  Planting conditions for peppers: home gardeners Jeavons, J. (2012). How to Grow More Vegetables, eighth edition: (and Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops) Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine (8th ed.). Random House Digital, Inc. Growing peppers profitably as a market gardener Fortier, J., & Bilodeau, M. (2014). The market gardener: A Successful Grower’s Handbook for Small-scale Organic Farming. New Society Publishers. Toxicity of capsaicin Rohrig, B. (2013). Hot peppers: Muy caliente! In Chemmatters. American Chemical Society. https://www.acs.org/chemmatters  Timestamps 00:12 Introduction 01:08 What’s Growing On: Erin’s doing EVERYTHING 01:35 What’s Growing On: Sean’s Grafting, Chickens, and Late Frosts 03:40 Canada in June: A Compressed Garden Season 05:24 Water Break: Fruits vs. Vegetables 07:38 Botanical Background: Solanaceae, the Nightshade Family 10:50 Tomato Taxonomy 11:53 The Native Range of Tomatoes 14:07 Hot Peppers, Bell Peppers, and Cayenne Pepper 16:37 Aztec Empire Tangent 18:19 Etymology and Black Pepper vs. Capsicum Peppers 20:03 Caring for Tomatoes 22:36 How Deep do you Plant Your Tomato? 24:59 Starting Tomatoes from Seed 26:56 Soil and Fertilization for Tomatoes 29:53 Grafting Tomatoes 31:35 Tomato Toxins 34:33 How Peppers Grow 37:40 Don’t Fertilize Peppers too Late 39:35 Should You Top Your Pepper Plants? 42:16 How Market Gardeners Grow Peppers 43:30 Irrigation and Blossom-End Rot 45:26 Pests and Diseases of Peppers 46:50 Pests and Diseases of Tomatoes 52:05 How to Mitigate Pests and Disease 59:41 Outro

Smart hydroponics pioneer Jennifer Holston grows a living pantry in her home through all seasons. And so can you.  When most of us hear the word “hydroponics,” we picture sprawling operations in a warehouse or basement, possibly constructed from home-drilled PVC pipes and buckets. We might also have a very specific idea of the kind of plants that are grown hydroponically. But over the last decade, attractive, compact, and easy-to-use home-scale hydroponic systems have become available. This week’s guest, Jennifer Holston, was an early adopter and she uses her bookshelf-sized indoor garden to grow everything from the expected herbs and lettuce to tomatoes, cucumbers, and even an experimental pumpkin.  Jennifer wants everyone to feel comfortable embracing hydroponic gardening—not necessarily as a replacement for growing plants in soil, but as a complement to it. She explains how the technology in today’s hydroponic systems (including AI features in some) has taught her to be more sensitive to her plants’ needs, and how this kind of gardening is both surprisingly sustainable and prodigiously productive. The conversation addresses nutrient management, plant care, disease prevention, maintenance, and resources where listeners can learn more (see below for that list).  Jennifer is working on the first comprehensive book for home hydroponic gardeners, Arable: Modern Indoor Hydroponics to Sustain and Fulfill (coming in 2026). Stay tuned for announcements (and read Jennifer’s blog posts) on her website at www.Gardening-anywhere.com. You can also find Jennifer on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GardeningAnywhere Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gardeninganywhere Online Resources Cornell University—Agriculture and Life Sciences, www.greenhouse.cornell.edu  University of Arizona—www.ag.arizona.edu/hydroponic  U.S. Department of Agriculture—www.usda.gov  National Library of Medicine (search here for studies about hydroponics)—https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/  Books Howard Resh, Hobby Hydroponics 2nd ed. Donald L. Coan, Toward a Hydroponic Future Fact Check The name of the bacterium sometimes used to counter Pythium (root rot) in hydroponic systems is Bacillus amyloliquefaciens.  Jennifer was reaching for remembered details of a study that compared nutrients in tomatoes grown hydroponically vs. in soil. Here’s the study she was referencing:  Verdoliva, S. G., Gwyn-Jones, D., Detheridge, A., & Robson, P. (2021). Controlled comparisons between soil and hydroponic systems reveal increased water use efficiency and higher lycopene and β-carotene contents in hydroponically grown tomatoes. Scientia Horticulturae, 279, 109896. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2021.109896 Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.  Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja  Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com  TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast  YouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcast Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com  Credits Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH  Timestamps 00:34 Introducing Jennifer Holston, Smart Hydroponics Pioneer 02:06 Growing Hydroponically through Texas Summers and Michigan Winters 03:00 Buttons, Lights, and AI: What’s New in Modern Home Hydroponics 06:30 Using and Maintaining Your Hydroponic System 12:00 Air, Pruning, and Pollination (with Dinosaurs?) 16:50 Using Nutrient Mixes for Abundantly Nutritious Produce 18:44 Sustainability and Resource Use in Hydroponics 25:04 Comparing Hydroponics to Traditional Gardening 26:15 AI in Gardening: Not Scary, it Turns Out 30:20 Beyond Cannabis: Hydroponics Preconceptions 37:38 Growing Vining Plants in Your Home 39:30 Keeping it Clean: Avoiding Disease in a Hydroponic System 43:18 Dealing with Hard Water and Chlorinated Water 46:47 Graduating from the Garden AI’s Mentorship 50:00 Resources for Aspiring Hydroponic Gardeners 52:29 Where to Find Jennifer Online 53:11 Jennifer’s Upcoming Book on Home Hydroponics 54:38 Conclusion and Contact Us

We’re berry excited for this extra delicious plant face-off.  In this week’s shrub showdown, our hosts go head to head with serviceberries and haskaps. Sean represents the former, a member of the Amelanchier genus also known as saskatoons, juneberries, and shadbushes, among other names. With cocky confidence of a guaranteed win, he extols their hardiness (down to zone 1!), their robust hybridization, and their independence when it comes to fertilization. Who needs a pollenizer? Not serviceberry! Sometimes they don’t even need pollinators. With tangents into breeding seedless fruits and food-as-medicine research, we savour serviceberry’s taste, versatility, abundance, ecosystem benefits, and ability to thrive across North America. Erin swings in second with haskaps, a relatively new fruit on the commercial block. She tells us about breeding programs in near-polar regions around the world that are crossing varieties from Canada, Russia, and Japan for taste and resilience. While haskaps do need pollenizers to set fruit, Erin argues for their ease of care, their long lives, and their bountiful all-at-once harvests. The conversation delves into humane ways of bird-proofing berry crops, the perils of “superfood” marketing, and the fragility of fruit trees that bloom too soon. Haskap blossoms, by the way, can survive a -7 C frost.  Who made you want to grow their berry of choice in your own garden? Vote for your favourite by tagging us on social media and using the hashtag #PAWFaceOff.  Citations Serviceberry Species in Ontario Muma, W. (n.d.). Serviceberries Group. Ontario Trees and Shrubs. https://ontariotrees.com/main/group.php?id=81 The Downy Serviceberry Tree Tree Canada, Arbres Canada. (2017, August 6). Downy serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea) – Tree Canada. Tree Canada. https://treecanada.ca/resources/trees-of-canada/downy-serviceberry-amelanchier-arborea/  The cultivar “Altaglow”, a dwarf Saskatoon, is hardy to zone 1 Mahr, S. (n.d.). Serviceberry, Amelanchier spp. Wisconsin Horticulture. https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/serviceberry-amelanchier-spp/  Serviceberry phytochemical research Donno, D., Cerutti, A., Mellano, M., Prgomet, Z., & Beccaro, G. (2016). Serviceberry, a berry fruit with growing interest of industry: Physicochemical and quali-quantitative health-related compound characterisation. Journal of Functional Foods, 26, 157–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2016.07.014 Haskap resilience. Camerise Québec. (2025, January 21). Grow haskap – Camerise Québec. https://camerisequebec.com/en/grow-haskap/ Growing haskaps in Canada resource from the University of Saskatchewan breeding program Bors, B. & University of Saskatchewan. (n.d.). Growing haskap in Canada. https://research-groups.usask.ca/fruit/documents/haskap/growinghaskapinCanada.pdf Antioxidants and Vitamin C in haskaps: Specialty Croppertunities Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. (n.d.-a). Haskap. Specialty Croppertunities. https://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/CropOp/en/spec_fruit/berries/hask.html Haskap care for home gardeners Haskaps – Gardening at USASK – College of Agriculture and Bioresources. (n.d.). Gardening. https://gardening.usask.ca/gardening-advice/gardenline-nested-pages/food-plant-pages/fruit/haskap.php Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.  Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja  Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com  TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast  YouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcast Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com  Credits Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH Timestamps 00:12 Introduction  1:12 What’s Growing On: Erin’s Weeding Adventures 1:58 What’s Growing On: Sean’s Woodchips and Natural Wall 06:12 Should Have Asked for a Hoe 09:15 The Plant Face Off: Serviceberries, Sean’s Guaranteed Win? 10:20 A Serviceberry By Any Other Name 13:30 Range and Growing Habits 17:35 Sean’s Ode to the Beauty of the Serviceberry 20:50 Apomixis: This Plant Don’t Need No Man (or Woman) 22:40 Diploids and Polyploids: Making Seedless Plants 26:35 Serviceberry Hardiness Zones 29:30 Serviceberry Pests and Diseases 32:16 When Will Western Medicine Research More Food? 33:59 All Hail Alexis Nikole, AKA Black Forager 36:42 The Plant Face-Off: Haskaps 35:06 Haskap Etymology: Hasukappu, Honeyberry, Lonicera caerulea 38:36 The Endless Loop of Inter-Referential Internet Research 40:27 The Cultivation History of Haskaps 43:10 The University of Saskatchewan Breeding Program 45:00 Using Fruit Tree Pollenizers 49:17 What’s a Haskap Like Anyway? Totally Tubular. 48:53 How to Know Your Haskap Berries are Ripe 50:11 Safe Bird Netting for Berries 51:43 Haskaps Tolerate Cold, Clay, Damp, Disease, and Pests 54:25 Haskap Uses: Food, Medicine and Superfoods 56:45 Plant Care: Growing Haskaps at Home 58:55 Patented Plants 1:02:00 Outro and Contact Us

Cole Imperi is known for her trailblazing work in thanatology, the study of death, dying and grief. But she’s also a master gardener: someone who helps others learn how to make life flourish. In this interview, she shows us how grief and gardening have much in common, from the importance of community engagement and cultural sensitivity to the roles of healing, resistance, and emotional well-being. After all, gardening can’t be separated from cultural practices and traditions. Everything in gardening connects back to broader societal themes.  On a more pragmatic level, Cole and Sean compare notes on how the Master Gardeners in Ontario (Sean) and Los Angeles (Cole) are trained, and what role they serve in their communities. The Master Gardener mandate is to offer free, unbiased gardening advice to the public, but how they do that can vary from place to place. Cole also reveals to our hosts the existence of master preservers in the United States, and the wealth of safe, tested recipes available from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. The conversation touches on the roles of citizen science and the Master Gardeners in the wake of the 2025 LA wildfires, the potential gardening has to spark social change, California’s unique gardening sunset zones, the right to rot, and the role of embalming in various cultures.  Trigger warnings: death, dying, embalming, LA wildfires For more on grief, loss, gardening, and thanobotany, visit Cole’s website at coleimperi.com. You can also find Cole on social media: TikTok: @coleimperi Instagram: @imperi The Curious Spirit newsletter: https://imperi.substack.com/  Cole’s Plugs The University of California Master Gardeners: https://ucanr.edu/statewide-program/uc-master-gardener-program  The National Center for Home Food Preservation: nchfp.uga.edu  Sunset Zones: https://sunsetplantcollection.com/climate-zones/  Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.  Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja  Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com  TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast  YouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcast Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com  Credits Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH Timestamps 00:38 Introducing Cole Imperi 1:27 Thanatology: the Study of Death, Dying, Grief, and Loss 06:42 How Cole Came to the Master Gardeners of LA 08:02 Master Gardeners in the United States 11:44 How Sean Came to the Master Gardeners of Muskoka 16:16 The Mission of the Master Gardeners 20:33 Community Loss and Gardening in Glassell Park, Los Angeles 23:15 Training Master Gardeners in Grief and Trauma after the LA Wildfires 27:15 Soil Samples, Citizen Science, and The Plants that Survived the Fires 29:05 Plant Names: Accessibility and Decolonization 33:05 Garden Plots and Cemetery Plots: What is Permanent? 35:08 The Master Food Preserver Program 39:30 Water Break 40:19 The Land We Take Up After Death 44:18 Culture and the Embalming Spectrum 50:28 Cole’s Favourite Plant: The Sunchoke 52:04 Hardiness Zones and Sunset Zones 58:10 Find Cole Online 58:57 Cole’s Plugs 59:28 Outro and Contact Us

Every spring, the gardening and sustainability side of the internet explodes with posts: Practice No Mow May! Let your lawn bloom! Support pollinators! But does a lawn and garden initiative begun in the UK have the same environmental impact in North America? That’s the subject under scrutiny in this episode as we examine whether well-meaning horticulture advice can be exported around the world.  This week, Sean comes armed with research while Erin is equipped with curiosity. Is practicing No Mow May in Ontario helpful, harmful, or neutral? Does a lawn full of imported dandelions somehow hinder our pollinators? What native plants should they be visiting in spring? Sean shares the history of the No Mow May initiative, the research that has been undertaken in recent years, and the nuance needed to consider non-pollinating insects as well. And of course our hosts both make sure to send you on your way equipped with ideas for lawn care and landscaping that really do result in healthy soil and thriving wildlife and insects for your Ontario garden.  Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.  Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja  Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com  TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast  YouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcast Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com  Credits Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH Citations The World Wildlife Fund’s suggestions for better practices than No Mow May Jakubowski, E. (2024, May 1). Does ‘No Mow May’ really help pollinators? – WWF.CA. WWF.CA. https://wwf.ca/stories/no-mow-may-help-pollinators/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=10648121956&gbraid=0AAAAADtP0wTPs9QPnyYBcokUaZZXTAaOt&gclid=CjwKCAjwiezABhBZEiwAEbTPGLUOHJp-q4gXd_Nb2UdOWbyxzZeeJUjZRQwsA1thuLTxyKe-4roM0hoC5YcQAvD_BwE A discussion of what will pop up from your lawn’s seed bank if you don’t mow Vogt, B. (2023, April 9). Just say no to no mow may. Monarch Gardens. https://www.monarchgard.com/thedeepmiddle/just-say-no-to-no-mow-may  Timestamps 00:12 Intro 2:06 What’s Growing On: Erin’s Spring Bulbs 3:22: What’s Growing On: Sean’s Client Gardens…with Erin! 6:05 Water Break 06:15 What is No Mow May (and Mo-Mo May)? 07:42: Does No Mow May Work in North America? 08:15 The Harms of Not Mowing in May in Ontario 11:15 Our Native Pollinators Visit Shrubs in May 12:38 Studies Conducted on No Mow May 14:10 Tree Seedlings vs. Meadows (Who Will Win?) 15:00 Lawn-Cutting Equipment Options 18:15 Pros of No Mow May 19:50 How to Help Your Lawn Support Insects 23:46 Converting Lawn to Wildflowers 30:25 Better Ways to Help Pollinators 38:00 Doing Without Pesticides, Herbicides, and Synthetic Fertilizers 43:00 Say No to Absolutes, Usually 44:23 Conclusion and Contact Us

Have you ever wanted to go a step beyond organic gardening and buzzword-y sustainable practices? To grow food, flowers, community, and even society in relationship with the land? This week’s guest, Debby Ward of Prior Unity Garden, helps her clients and students do just that in their own yards. This week she joins Erin to talk about two systems she draws on in her work: permaculture and biodynamics. Debby shares her own journey in organic gardening and her mission to help clients understand their gardens, not just to maintain them. She and Erin compare notes on the principles of permaculture (Observe and interact! Use small, slow changes! Stack functions!) and the ethics that underpin it (earth care, people care, fair share). Then Debby introduces Erin to biodynamics, another holistic approach to food production that seeks to marry the scientific and the spiritual. The conversation emphasizes the debt owed to Indigenous ways of knowing, the interconnectedness of gardening practices, and the importance of building community relationships with both the human and the more-than-human worlds. Debby offers courses, coaching, blog posts, and resources a-plenty at her website: http://priorunitygarden.com/ You can also find her on social media:  Pinterest: https://ca.pinterest.com/priorunitygarden/  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8PXaUp3Y5_8QXmu4Wt2vKQ  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/priorunitygarden/?ref=embed_page# Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.  Discord: https://discord.gg/K6wF9dY4Ja  Bluesky: @plantsalwayswin.com  TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast  YouTube: @plantsalwayswinpodcast Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com  Credits Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH Timestamps 00:12 Intro 00:48 Introducing Debby Ward 2:07 Prior Unity Garden 05:17 Defining Permaculture: Integrated, Evolving Systems 07:00 The Permaculture Ethics: Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share 08:25 The Permaculture Principles 11:12 Permaculture Origins 15:20 How Debby Applies Permaculture with Clients 18:32 Water Break: Giveaway! 19:30 Biodynamics: Relationship with the Spirit of the Land 22:15 Applying Biodynamics as a Home Gardener 24:10 Provings, Research, and Radishes 26:45 Using Biodynamics with Clients: Everything is Connected 29:09 Resources and Contact Debby 30:08 What the Horticulture Industry Could Learn from Holistic Practices 32:20 Find Debby on Social Media 33:49 Outro and Contact Us