Episode 135: Spring Readiness For Gardens And Yards

Ready to turn late-winter restlessness into a real plan for spring? We dig into the choices that matter right now: how to secure fruit trees and berry bushes before they’re gone, which seeds actually germinate, and the simple gear that keeps young plants sturdy instead of leggy. With Adrian Lee of Van Belle Flowers, we get specific about pre-booked inventory, the best time to place custom orders, and how local Niagara growers shape availability across Ontario.

We also tackle the home setup that saves weeks: when to rely on grow lights, why bottom heat makes peppers explode with growth, and how to move seedlings from trays to cold frames without losing them to a rogue frost. If you’re weighing mini greenhouses, we cover placement, ground insulation, and why candles aren’t your friend. On the plant health side, we break down real-world pest control. Millipedes in your bay tree? Dry the soil surface and apply food-grade diatomaceous earth. Aphids swarming peppers or ornamentals? Layer biological controls with a safe, rinseable spray so you reclaim your leaves fast.

Flavour starts in the soil, so we walk through compost and aged manure, peat moss to loosen clay, and shredded leaves to feed the microbes that drive nutrients and water balance. For lawns, hitting corn gluten early matters; it stops weed seeds before they sprout. We round out with a plain-English guide to hardiness zones, how to stretch shorter seasons up north, and why choosing days-to-maturity that fit your frost window beats chasing trends. Tomatoes get a special spotlight, from classic beefsteak for slices to low-acid yellow varieties for those who want big taste without the bite.

If you’re itching to plant smarter this year, this guide gives you the moves to make this week and the patience to wait on the rest. Subscribe for more field-tested tips, share this episode with a friend who needs a spring nudge, and leave us a quick review to help other growers find the show.

Transcript

Show Open & Outdoor Ethos

SPEAKER_10 0:00

Back in 2016, Frank and I had a vision to amass the single largest database of muskie angling education material anywhere in the world.

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Our dream was to harness the knowledge of this amazing community and share it with passionate anglers just like you.

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Thus, the Ugly Pike Podcast was born and quickly grew to become one of the top fishing podcasts in North America.

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Step into the world of angling adventures and embrace the thrill of the catch with the Ugly Pike Podcast. Join us on our quest to understand what makes us different as anglers and to uncover what it takes to go after the infamous fish of 10,000 casts.

SPEAKER_10 0:36

The Ugly Pike Podcast isn't just about fishing, it's about creating a tight-knit community of passionate anglers who share the same love for the sport. Through laughter, through camaraderie, and an unwavering spirit of adventure, this podcast will bring people together. Subscribe now and never miss a moment of our angling adventures. Tight lines, everyone. Find Ugly Pike now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcasts.

Moon Shift, Trails & Maple Tapping

Guest Intro: Spring Plant Planning

SPEAKER_05 1:12

As the world gets louder and louder, the lessons of our natural world become harder and harder to hear, but they are still available to those who know where to listen. I'm Jerry Olette, and I was honored to serve as Ontario's Minister of Natural Resources. However, my journey into the woods didn't come from politics. Rather, it came from my time in the bush and a mushroom. In 2015, I was introduced to the birch-hungry fungus known as Chaga, a tree conch, with centuries of medicinal applications used by indigenous peoples all over the globe. After nearly a decade of harvest, use testimonials and research, my skepticism has faded to obsession. And I now spend my life dedicated to improving the lives of others through natural means. But that's not what the show is about. My pursuit is strange mushrooms, and my passion for the outdoors has brought me to the places and around the people that are shaped by our natural world. On Outdoor Journal Radio's Under the Canopy podcast, I'm going to take you along with me to see the places, meet the people that will help you find your outdoor passion and help you live a life close to nature and under the canopy. So join me today for another great episode, and hopefully, we can inspire a few more people to live their lives under the canopy. As always, we're thanking all our listeners all around the world and Canada and the States and you name it. And if you have any questions, ask them. You have any suggestions, don't be afraid to let us know. Now, it's that time of year, and I told everybody, if you go back and for those that are regular listeners, we appreciate you very much. But if you go back, I said, wait till the next moon, full moon, and we'll see a change. Well, guess what? Full moon was last night, and the change is starting today for the weather. All of a sudden, we're going to get, instead of last night, I think it was minus 14. By Saturday, we're up to 16. And for some reason, I don't know. I just seem to follow a bit of the moon phases, and it kind of indicates when we're going to get nice weather or changes in weather. And I told everybody a full moon ago, full moon ago, that wait till the next full moon. Surprise, surprise, and we're getting away with it. So I was out this morning with my chocolate lab as always, Nenson Gunner, and we're cutting a new trail. And I I I've talked about it before where I had Noel Hutcheson, who was a great parts and rec director for the city of Oshawa, and built a trail through the woods. Well, now I'm finding a lot of people are branching off that trail. And so guess who's out with his little trusty handheld saw, tail clearing branches, making sure it's safe and all that kind of stuff. People are going to use it. You want to make sure it's good to go, so we're out there and we're cutting a new trail. And it's going very well. A lot of it, uh mind you, one of the things I did do when I was had the ability and was elected official, I set up these classroom fish hatcheries with the schools along the Oshua Creek. And part of it was because I had to find a way to kind of show the kids some respect for the stream itself. And in a learning way, what I did was I brought in rainbow eggs and I developed a technology for rearing rainbow eggs in the schools. And we did about 12, 14 schools all along the Osho Creek. And that was to show kids, hey, it's not a place to throw tires and shopping carts, et cetera, et cetera. And there was a lot of kids that started to respect the creek and understand the life cycle of the fish. But I see that somebody's thrown a shopping cart in, so I guess uh that influence has gone through the school and we might be back to where we were once upon a time. But the end result was we released hundreds of thousands of fish in the Oshawa Creek, rainbow trout predominantly, although we did release the browns. And one of the local the district manager for the MR in the area when I was ministered, thought it'd do me a favor and release some Atlantics in the in the creek. But uh it's it's a new trail coming along, and I'm opening it up pretty good. A lot of people are using it. And this trail that we developed is put thousands of recreational hours in on an annual basis. I just know the number of peoples that go through and the amount of times they use these small trails. And guess who cleans it up and makes sure the branches are cleared up or we get a some blowdown? I'm working on it to get it cleaned up to make sure it's good to go. We're cutting a new section. Not only that, but as I said before, that it's that time of year when we're out tapping maple trees. Well, this year with all this snow is just like up to the knees in snow and trenching through it. Well, it's hard walking through that snow to get to my taps. And I still use an old pail system, as I mentioned before, the ones that use lines, have a line out there actually suck the sap from the tree. And they get far as more and more efficient. You don't get much loss, and they they keep the the the ratio right so they're not extracting too much to damage the tree. But I gotta tell you, walking through the snow as deep as it is, up to my knees, hauling a I bought a sled that holds about six five-gallon pails. Because when I collect the sap, I drag the sled around and fill the pails up and then haul it back out to the truck and then get it out that way. But and not only that, but my tapping has been a little bit different as well. So this year when I'm tapping, I'm tapping in clusters so I don't have to walk as much. So even though that side of the tree is not as good as the others, and I mentioned before, if you look on a tree and you see a large branch sticking out, or you see a root line there, that's a good spot to tap because you'll get sap coming out there. But if it's on the wrong side of a tree, I'm tapping on the other side so I can get a cluster of pails together to make it easier to haul, just so I don't have to struggle as much going through the bush. But that's what we do to get to things like maple syrup. Now, we had a quite a bit of interest with a previous guest, and we've brought him back on to talk about this time of the year and how people can get ready. And welcome back, Adrian Lee from Van Bell Flores. Flower.

SPEAKER_02 7:49

Thank you very much. Thank you for having me again.

SPEAKER_05 7:51

Oh, it's a pleasure. You know, we uh we did a Christmas show and talked about Christmas plants, but it's getting that time of year where people are asking about different questions about how do I get ready now to do my stuff for the spring? So, Adrian, is this the time of year that people start ordering their plants and flowers and stuff?

SPEAKER_02 8:09

Yes, as soon as the weather breaks, it's it all starts flowing in. In fact, I'm sitting at the computer doing a first order right now.

SPEAKER_05 8:16

Oh, very good. So um, and now is it just what kind of plants are they ordering? Are they ordering like their tomato plants? Are they ordering fruit trees and are they getting specialty fruit trees and stuff like that?

SPEAKER_02 8:28

So, yeah, I've already had a few orders for fruit trees and that, uh, sorry, fruit fruit bushes, which are going to come in very shortly. Um, usually within April, all that stuff starts flowing in.

SPEAKER_05 8:39

Okay. So, Adrian, so if can somebody come to you and order an apple tree?

SPEAKER_02 8:45

They can. Um, and springtime is a good time to do it because there's still availability right now. But if we get too late, then the availability goes down. Um, I usually don't carry a lot in fruit trees, so it's it is an all as is to order.

Ordering Fruit Trees & Bushes

SPEAKER_05 9:01

Okay. Now, can can they order the specialty trees that uh I talked about in the past, or we may have talked about in the last show? I don't think we did because we did this mostly Christmas plants, but where somebody can order an apple tree with three different strains of apple on it? Yep, they are still available, yeah. Oh, okay. And that's something they can order now. So it can be planted in. So if they order it now, which is basically March, um, when do they usually come in? How long do they take to get ready?

SPEAKER_02 9:29

So the the growers already have them go going. Um it's just a matter of availability. You know, if they're looking for certain varieties, um as long as it's still available, I can still get it in. Um most of my trees in that are already pre-booked in October. October. Okay. Yes.

SPEAKER_05 9:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 9:48

So as long as the availability is still there, I can still get it in.

SPEAKER_05 9:51

So where are the are these growers in Ontario as well, Adrian?

SPEAKER_02 9:55

They are. They're all in the Niagara area.

SPEAKER_05 9:57

Okay. So they're in the Niagara area and they basically grow, they they produce a lot of these things that when specialty orders come in for a facility like yours, right? Yes. Yeah. So what about, you know, and so that's fruit trees, and the same goes for a lot of plants. Now, what kind of plants do people come in and order in advance?

SPEAKER_02 10:17

So usually it's not if they're looking for something specific, then they'll come in and ask me to order it. Nine times out of ten, I've already got it on order, because again, I have pre-books already done that I did in October, and then I have a weekly guy that comes through on a uh usually on a Friday, right? Um, which I order the previous Saturday, so I can always order stuff. And he comes in every single week, um, right through until about the end of June, and then things start slowing down.

SPEAKER_05 10:47

Okay. So, Ken, now seeds. Do you sell seeds uh as well, uh, Adrian? So people can plant their own tomatoes and cucumbers and things like that?

SPEAKER_02 10:58

We do sell seeds. We have Ontario's uh seed company, and then we have West Coast seeds.

SPEAKER_05 11:04

So, how does somebody tell whether the seeds are are basically not aged out sort of thing?

SPEAKER_02 11:10

Or well, what's the way to tell? Because a lot of times they're born in there's there's a date on them, there's an expiry date, and we don't keep anything from the previous year. It all gets picked up.

SPEAKER_05 11:20

Okay, because when you go into some of these large um stores, whether it's a hardware kind of store thing, you you see these seed racks there that have been there all year long. And how so there's a seed expiry date on those packages when people are looking? There is, yeah. Okay, and just take a look at that. And and is it how long do they say the seeds are good for? I don't even know offhand.

SPEAKER_02 11:42

They're usually good for the season. Okay. Um so we carry them all the way through until uh October, November time, and then they're they're they are picked up, and then I get the fresh batch in usually it just after Christmas.

SPEAKER_05 11:56

Oh, okay. So I have we have one of those uh little, you know, you put these three little pods inside this grow light thing. Yep. And we've got parsley growing now at the house, and it's probably eight inches tall. Um, so uh I would imagine we were hoping my wife was hoping it was going to be cilantro, but it it ended up being some I think they put the wrong ones in the pot or it was marked wrong. Uh but um and so once they reach a certain level, we transport them, transplant them into another pot, larger size?

SPEAKER_02 12:33

Yes, you take them out of the seed tray and put them into a generally a four, two or four inch pot.

SPEAKER_05 12:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 12:39

And that way they can generate the root system and that ready for planting in May.

SPEAKER_05 12:44

Oh, okay. So and those, now, how long do you need to keep them under those grow lights? Does it always have to be under a grow light?

SPEAKER_02 12:52

No, some people transfer them to a cold frame a little bit later on, so they get the heat during the day and they're they're protected from frost and that at night if you want to transport, trans take them outside.

Seeds, Viability & Starter Gear

SPEAKER_05 13:04

Oh, I see. Okay. Now, what about these? I know I uh bought one of those. Um it's kind of a plastic greenhouse that's about four feet by six feet sort of thing.

SPEAKER_02 13:16

Right.

SPEAKER_05 13:17

Um, and but I I I don't use it for greenhouse purposes. I use it for curing for my Chaga when I do my Chaga harvest. So I take it up north, set it up, and I start to put the Chaga inside the racks because we're out in the snow and I just keep the if it's snowing out. Um those when do start people start using those sort of things?

SPEAKER_02 13:36

Well, it depends on the weather. You you have to make sure that the weather has broken because if it gets too cold, right, then obviously you're gonna freeze out there.

SPEAKER_05 13:46

So what kind of weather or what temperature are we looking for?

SPEAKER_02 13:49

Um we need to be pretty much out of the like the minuses overnight.

SPEAKER_05 13:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 13:56

The deep minuses.

SPEAKER_05 13:57

Right. So and but but part of what we're seeing now is this week coming, or you know, Saturday, uh, we're calling for plus sixteen.

SPEAKER_02 14:05

Right.

SPEAKER_05 14:05

But next week, who knows whether it's gonna be cold again?

SPEAKER_02 14:08

That's that's right. So that's the problem.

SPEAKER_05 14:10

Right.

SPEAKER_02 14:11

So you should really start them inside in a in a greenhouse, you know, one of those greenhouse trays. Okay, yeah. Before you transfer them outside. It's it's usually not until April when you can put them outside.

SPEAKER_05 14:25

So April. So these um these greenhouses sort of things, can if you have a n uh like a colder night, can you put candles inside to generate enough heat to make sure that they don't die from the temperature?

SPEAKER_02 14:40

I don't really recommend candles. Um, you don't really want an open flame going on anything. Um and that it it's it's not really gonna heat them enough.

SPEAKER_05 14:49

No?

SPEAKER_02 14:50

No.

SPEAKER_05 14:50

Oh, okay. Because I wondered because you know, candles also burn up the oxygen, which gives carbon dioxide there, which is good for plants, I believe.

SPEAKER_02 14:58

So I didn't know if yeah, you you're you're for germination and that you really you you depend on moisture, oxygen, and warmth.

SPEAKER_05 15:08

Oh, okay. So so if you have the trays that are germinated, then you can put them out later on and then a supplemental eat of some kind?

SPEAKER_02 15:17

You can, yes. And and if you're using the trays, you can also get the heat mats for them.

SPEAKER_05 15:22

Heat mats, okay.

SPEAKER_02 15:23

Which will keep them warm.

SPEAKER_05 15:25

Yeah, I recall um I had Master Gardener Bevon before, and she talked about peppers. Peppers prefer bottom-up heat uh in order to grow, which guess what most people like myself had no idea that was sort of stuff. So her her belief was put it on top of the fridge if you want it to get going good with peppers. Yep, that's always a good idea too. Yeah, and so yeah, so these heat mats do essentially the same thing, do they? They do, yep. Oh, okay. So now these these kind of like little plastic greenhouses sort of setups. Um, outside, do they need to be on skids or on patio slabs or anything, or just straight on the ground that could be quite cold?

SPEAKER_02 16:05

Um, I I don't recommend putting them directly on the ground because it is usually too cold in the spring to do that. Right. So what you do need to protect the bottom, whether they be on a on a heat mat or something else that's gonna keep them a little bit warmer.

SPEAKER_05 16:22

Okay. So um now when people are coming to order their plants, do they is is it necessary? I know because I quite a few years ago I tried to get a night blooming primrose, not an evening primrose, but a night blooming one. And uh I was constantly asked, well, what's the Latin name? And do people need the Latin name to get some specific plants?

SPEAKER_02 16:47

Not necessarily, and most people don't know the Latin name. Most people just know the common name. I mean, it's certainly if you know the Latin name, it certainly helps.

SPEAKER_05 16:57

Okay. Yeah. And so what somebody puts an order in, roughly how long does it take to get one of these orders?

SPEAKER_02 17:04

Um, it depends on availability, usually within a week or two.

SPEAKER_05 17:08

Oh, okay. And just uh yeah, it seems to be a lot depending on availability a lot of these growers down in the Niagara area.

SPEAKER_02 17:15

Yeah, because once they've once they've sold out, they've pretty much done for the crop for the season, then you can't find it anymore.

SPEAKER_05 17:23

Hmm. So, but uh there's a number of different growers, obviously. I recall when I was working. Yeah, I mentioned um working for international imports, and one of the the products this would be in the early 80s, I was selling for them, was uh grape shears. And I'd go into all the uh the the the vineyards and uh well not the vineyards, the uh the um oh who would sell them down there? Most of the well, I guess places like yours where you're at, and a lot of the uh co-ops and things like that, and they would all buy the grape shears down there.

SPEAKER_02 18:00

Right.

SPEAKER_05 18:00

Um so there was a lot of uh um interesting to see though the the way that area and a lot of the tender fruit grows a lot better down there, does it not?

SPEAKER_02 18:10

It does, yeah. The warmer down there.

SPEAKER_05 18:12

Right. So as it sort of changes, because Leamington would be the tomato capital of Canada of the world, I'm not sure which anymore. But uh Niagara has uh a lot of the tender fruit, and tender fruit would be, just so people know what tender fruit is, what would tender fruit be, Adrian?

SPEAKER_02 18:26

So your your tender fruit is is like your your your grapes, um I mean they they grow everything down there peaches, apples, yeah, cherries.

SPEAKER_05 18:40

Yeah, a lot of the the the um the peaches or the um um nectarines and things along those lines are tender fruit, I believe they call them, because it because they they damage easily, I guess, or a lot tender than than apples, right? So and how long roughly you know you mentioned a couple of weeks in order to get an order. And when people put in an order, is there a minimum sort of number that they need, or can they just order a couple of plants?

SPEAKER_02 19:06

No, they can just order a couple of plants. There's no minimums needed. Um springtime, usually April through May. I've got trucks coming on a weekly basis, so it's not a big deal just to throw it onto an order that I already have going.

SPEAKER_05 19:19

Right, okay. Now, a lot of people use these uh uh grow lights as well. I know that it seems to work pretty good. I know I got a cutting off one plant and I had it in the window, and it was going slow uh actually it broke off and I and I'm rerooting it. And so we had it on the window and I put it under the grow light, and the roots shooting out now have just exploded on it because the grow light is making such a big difference. Is that something that um uh uh you would recommend for a lot of people using and and growing these uh these trays and things like that? Grow lights?

SPEAKER_02 19:57

You can, yeah, absolutely. You can use grow lights. I mean, if you don't have the proper lighting, um, you know, if you can't get it into a self-tracing window where it's getting the the light and that that it needs, then absolutely use a grow light.

SPEAKER_05 20:10

So roughly how many hours of light does it need? Because as you know, as the summer comes along, our our daylight hours are a lot longer. So roughly how many hours does it need in order to have an effective?

SPEAKER_02 20:21

As long as you're following pretty much daytime lighting time, you you're okay.

SPEAKER_05 20:27

Okay. So, because I know um I think the grow lights that we have the partially growing under now in those pods um start at about six and go to pretty close to eleven o'clock at night.

SPEAKER_02 20:44

Yeah, and then they shut off overnight.

SPEAKER_05 20:47

Yes, yeah. Yeah. Is that is it do they have to have downtime like that? They do. They they should have some downtime. Right.

SPEAKER_02 20:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_09 21:05

How did a small town sheet metal mechanic come to build one of Canada's most iconic fishing lodges? I'm your host, Steve Nitswiki, and you'll find out about that and a whole lot more on the Outdoor Journal Radio Network's newest podcast, The Larry's of the Legender. But this comments will be more than that. Every week on the Mary Sable Legender, I'm going to introduce you to a ton of great people. Share their stories of tribulations and inspirations. If you agree, find diaries of a lodge owner now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

SPEAKER_05 22:13

And now it's time for another testimonial for Chenga Health and Women. Okay, and I'm here in Peterborough with uh Rudy from Peterborough. And Rudy, can you tell us about uh your success with your Chenga Cream? I love it.

SPEAKER_03 22:30

I have uh rare skin and give me anything to take away the itch. And free, it's just wonderful. I find it alleviates the itch within 30 seconds, which is just significant, no question about it. So do you think I'm happy with it? Absolutely.

Houseplant Pests & Safe Controls

SPEAKER_05 23:05

Alright, thanks Rudy, really appreciate that. We interrupt this program to bring you a special offer from Chaga Health and Wellness. If you've listened this far and you're still wondering about this strange mushroom that I keep talking about and whether you would benefit from it or not, I may have something of interest to you. To thank you for listening to the show, I'm going to make trying Chaga that much easier. By giving you a dollar off all our Chaga products at checkout. All you have to do is head over to our website, Chaga Health and Wellness.com, place a few items in the cart, and check out with the code CANAPY. C-A-N-O-P-Y. If you're new to Chaga, I'd highly recommend the regular Chaga tea. This comes with 15 tea bags per package, and each bag gives you around five or six cups of tea. Hey, thanks for listening. Back to the episode. Now, one of the other problems I have, Adrienne, is um the I've got uh a bay plant that we talked about in the last show, and you said uh once the spring comes out to to clip it off. But we transfer it planted it into a larger pot inside, and it's just full of millipedes. What do I use to get rid of all these millipedes in the pot?

SPEAKER_02 24:38

Okay, so a couple of things. You can use the diatomaceous earth, the food grade one, and your biggest thing is don't overwater because you're allowing that breeding to happen if you're keeping it too wet.

SPEAKER_05 24:52

Oh, okay. So I I saw somewhere that if you mix a solution of uh 3% hydrogen peroxide uh on a basis of 25% hydrogen peroxide, 3% with 75% water would kill them off. I tried that, didn't work.

SPEAKER_02 25:10

No, you'll probably be better to use the diatomaceous earth.

SPEAKER_05 25:13

Diatomaceous earth. Now, what does that mean?

SPEAKER_02 25:16

So I have to take, I just put it in with the stuff that's there now, or I have to get take the Yeah, it comes out, it's almost like a um it's almost like a talcum powder, and you you squirt it onto the top of the soil.

SPEAKER_05 25:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 25:29

And it will actually break break them down. It breaks the shell and all that down. You can use it on earwoods and that as well.

SPEAKER_05 25:36

Okay, so what other kind of winter bugs that would people be having, and how do we deal with a lot of those ones? I know, to be perfectly honest, uh, we cut a Christmas tree every year, and we think that there's spiders that come into the house from the Christmas tree.

SPEAKER_02 25:51

Right.

SPEAKER_05 25:52

So, how do we get rid of the spiders and all that kind of stuff then through the house? Or any suggestions on that? Or they pretty much uh um when we bring a Christmas tree in, is there something we can do?

SPEAKER_02 26:03

Um well, you should give it a spray down before uh and a wash down before you bring your Christmas tree in, which will help. Um you can use something like an insecticidal soap or a spider spidercide on it before you bring the tree in.

SPEAKER_05 26:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 26:20

I have these um once I was given a it's called just work, sorry, just going back to the millipedes, right? They do they do not hurt the plant. They don't eat the plant in that. They're they're just they're just annoying to people, that's all.

SPEAKER_05 26:34

Oh, really? I thought that they uh because uh everybody does the the Google search, and when it came up, it said that what it suggested to do was to take all the soil off and cut all the dead roots because it was eating the dead roots. But that's not the case I'm hearing now.

SPEAKER_02 26:52

No, it it doesn't eat the plant at all. It's it's just be it's just an annoyance to people if it gets to the point where there's too many of them because they s they can start crawling out of the plants and around the house.

Aphids, Safe Sprays & Hardiness Zones

SPEAKER_05 27:04

Exactly. So that's that's not harmful in any way. No. Okay, I thought it was eating the plant, so I wonder now with the number that we had. Oh, okay. So and another one, Adrian, we had was um I had a a friend of mine whose son was going with a girl from Central America, and she had this it's it's uh kind of a pepper plant. It's called a a weirberry and a weir pepper. And so, and they were great, uh very flavorful when you pickled them and you could put them in and cook with them and things like that. They were very, very nice, kind of on a same level of a hotness of a uh maybe a little bit less than a lapina, but uh very, very flavorful. But when I got the plant, it was absolutely covered in aphids. What what should I have done there? Because I tried everything to get rid of these aphids, even putting ladybugs on the plant, yeah, and and it didn't seem to work enough.

SPEAKER_02 28:09

So if yeah, if the ladybugs aren't working enough, there is a product on the market called Safer's end all. Safer's end all, yeah. And and that will help with that. So you apply it once or twice and then rinse it down afterwards, and it's completely safe.

SPEAKER_05 28:26

And um this is something you can do the whole plant, and it doesn't you don't have to keep it off the soil or things like that? Nope. Nope. Oh, see? These are some things that because eventually the I didn't couldn't get rid of them, and all the plant died. So, but uh and I had a uh a crop of berries because you have to keep it inside, obviously from Central America. It's used to a very different climatic area. Zone. So what zone would Ontario be in?

SPEAKER_02 28:55

Ontario is a zone uh five.

SPEAKER_05 28:58

Zone five. So how many zones are there?

SPEAKER_02 29:01

There's actually so there's actually zone, oh, there's ten uh nine zones altogether. Okay. So we're a we're technically a five A in this region.

SPEAKER_05 29:11

So a five, maybe we can you can explain to our our listeners what a plant zone, or what do we call it? Is it called a plant zone, or uh how do they call it?

SPEAKER_02 29:20

Yep, yeah, it's a zone for the for the plant. Yep. Okay, so most of the plants that come through have a zone on them. Right. And I usually only carry, there's only usually one or two plants in a zone six that I'll carry. And they're they're a little on the tender side, so you have to know how to protect them for the winter.

SPEAKER_05 29:38

So can can you kind of give us a breakdown of where these zones are so when people are looking at zones and and an understanding of what a zone is, like so people can understand because a zone five could be in Ontario, but it also could be in Europe, could it not be it can depending, yes, absolutely, depending on the climate. Okay, so maybe you can give us a better understanding of what zones are.

SPEAKER_02 30:00

So you your zone is basically how how the plant can handle the winter. Okay. So if it's too cold for uh a zone six, then it's not going to survive the winter.

SPEAKER_05 30:16

So is a zone six southern more southern than a zone five?

SPEAKER_02 30:20

It is, absolutely. Okay. Yeah, so if if you're buying plants in central Ontario, then you need to buy something that is either a zone five, four, three.

unknown 30:31

Really?

SPEAKER_02 30:32

So the higher you go, the tenderer it is.

SPEAKER_05 30:35

So are we seeing changes in that? Because I know when I was Minister of Natural Resources, one of the things that was quite surprising, I used to, to be perfectly honest, in the 70s, I used to see, and and New York State had a higher roadkill ratio than the estimated population of deer in the province of Ontario. But because of the the way the winters had been changing, they'd become uh deer could rapidly grow in those areas and to the point where we have the populations that we have now. Are we seeing temperature changes that basically change a lot of those zones or the plants that are growing in it?

SPEAKER_02 31:17

Um well, I guess it that's that's a good climate question.

SPEAKER_05 31:22

I mean, we're supposed to we're supposed to be in um zone five always been a zone five, or is this once a part of the we have basically always been a zone five? Okay. And so whereabouts would the kind of the any idea from an Ontario perspective, what section would be a zone four or zone three?

SPEAKER_02 31:46

So the further north you go, the the zones are gonna go down. So when you get up to um Timmins, you're you're definitely in a zone four. You can't do you can't do anything in a zone five because it's not going to survive the winter up there.

SPEAKER_05 32:01

Okay. So uh and Timmins, and what sort of do you know what kind of uh fruits and vegetables could be grown in a zone four?

SPEAKER_02 32:09

We you can grow anything for the for the wintertime. Your period is just shorter, so you would have to start them earlier.

SPEAKER_05 32:16

I see. Oh, okay. So how many growing days for some of these plants do you roughly need? Any idea?

SPEAKER_02 32:24

Uh that can depend from 60 to 90 days for fruiting or or or or bearing fruit, depending on on which variety it is. There's so many variations in that.

SPEAKER_05 32:37

Right. Now I have one friend in Thunder Bay, Silvio, who um Silvio has a number of businesses. He's uh construction up there, he's uh he's got uh subdivisions, he's got a golf course. He also has a winery growing in uh a 400-acre winery in Chile. But he's talking about planting grapevines in Thunder Bay because they're genetically modified to be able to handle the harshness of winters up that way. Is you seeing things like that with other plants as well?

Growing Seasons, GMOs & Grapes Up North

SPEAKER_02 33:16

Well, yes, there is a lot of um modifications going on with different plants. Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_05 33:22

Okay. And is it uh is there is there ones that uh that can handle the zone fours a lot better? That you're aware of, or or which uh which ones are research being done on? Because I know there's a lot of what we call them GMOs, genetically modified, um, that uh would be able to sustain a lot of those kind of temperatures. Any idea?

SPEAKER_02 33:44

I have no idea on that question.

SPEAKER_05 33:46

Yeah, it's okay. I I I don't know because I know that there's a lot of issues about a lot of people with concerns, but when you get the ability to grow grapes in Thunder Bay, I was quite surprising.

SPEAKER_02 33:57

And it's I know, and that surprises me too, actually.

SPEAKER_05 34:00

Yeah, it was some way that they were I for some reason, I believe it was some sort of uh uh grain, alfalfa, or wheat kind of uh um DNA that was being put into the grapevines to be able to have them survive the winters, but I'm not I can't verify that. I just recall briefly hearing something about it.

SPEAKER_02 34:20

I'm not aware of that.

SPEAKER_05 34:22

Right. So yeah, and so heritage plants, though. To be honest, Adrian, one of the things that drive me crazy is uh tomatoes don't taste like a tomato used to taste when I recall them. Whether my taste buds have changed or my belief is that they're growing them for size and looks as opposed to taste. How do you specifically get that old taste and we'll talk about tomatoes the way it used to be?

SPEAKER_02 34:50

So your general still my best selling one is your your all-time favorite beefsteak, right? Your good slicing tomatoes, and we are seeing an uptake in the yellow tomatoes now because it's a low acid. So either the pear tomatoes, um, I think there's a pineapple one now, um, and they're all yellow, and they're specifically for people who, if you've got arthritis, they're less acidic.

SPEAKER_05 35:19

Right.

SPEAKER_02 35:19

Because the acid in tomatoes actually irritates your arthritis.

SPEAKER_05 35:24

Right.

unknown 35:25

Huh.

SPEAKER_02 35:26

We're seeing a figure up take in those now.

SPEAKER_05 35:29

Yeah, and so but there's a lot of demand for, I think they call them heritage plants. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_02 35:35

Yes. So the black cream, all those different varieties, we do sell them. Um that they still don't sell as fast as all the other slicing tomatoes, beef steak tomatoes.

SPEAKER_05 35:47

Right.

unknown 35:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:48

Beef steak is probably our best-selling one.

Tomato Taste, Heirlooms & Choices

SPEAKER_05 35:51

Yes, and that's the one that uh we uh we prefer and we used to like as well. I mean, my uh my wife Diane talks about it all the time, being a little girl and just going out in the into the uh the big garden they had in the backyard and having tomatoes or bringing tomatoes and cucumbers in and having a tomato and cucumber and lettuce salad right from the garden, which uh try to get that same one. Now, when the first house we bought was uh a family house, and my it was my uh house my grandparents built, and my grandmother had grown a cherry tree from a cherry seed. Okay, um, so just a cherry uh pit and and planted it and grew the tree in the backyard. And this cherry tree always produced red cherries. Um, and of course, the sweet ones the birds would go crazy for, the sour ones the birds wouldn't have as much. But one year and only one year, the entire tree produced all yellow cherries. Any idea why something like that would happen? Ever heard of that?

SPEAKER_02 37:01

I have not heard of that. I'm gonna suggest that maybe there was a lack of nutrients or and or sunlight that year.

SPEAKER_05 37:09

Okay. I have no idea. It was just, and the cherries had an exceptional flavor and taste. Of course, uh, my grandmother and grandparents were from Ukraine and and Poland. Um, so everything they grew, and her whole backyard was garden. There was no grass in there. You don't waste uh you don't waste yards to have grass in it. And from when she came across from Ukraine, everything was utilized to grow. And of course, they jarred them all. Well, we jarred everything and and and had a great uh success with a lot of the plants that uh we would bring out of there. But uh yeah, it was only one year I was totally shocked and could not figure out why. Those cherries were the and the entire tree was all yellow. So, like you said, uh could have been a nutrient, or but I haven't been able to figure it all out, but it was a good year for us anyways.

SPEAKER_02 37:59

Yeah, there must have been something happening that year, whether it was uh too wet that year or lack of lack of sunlight.

SPEAKER_05 38:08

Right. All right. So yeah, I don't think at that time we might I would have monitored that kind of thing, but uh certainly it was something that was very interesting. Okay, now what about preparing your soil, like uh fertilizers and peat moss and stuff like that? When's a good time to get that stuff and start to use some of that stuff, Adrian?

SPEAKER_02 38:25

As soon as you can start getting into the ground, once the ground is thawed out and you can start like uh digging in some fresh um either compost or manure to get some good nutrients into it.

Soil Prep, Compost, Leaves & Amendments

SPEAKER_05 38:38

Okay, and so what do you suggest? Now I I I've been to be honest, I've been experimenting. We had a garden that had uh pretty uh much when we moved into the place we have 27 years ago as a new uh junipers, that it was virtually all sandy soil because all the nutrients had been depleted. So I've been uh using a couple of different things. I put sawdust in there, uh hardwood sawdust, because I do a lot of cutting and I talk about the uh the fireplace insert that we have that's still going, and very much enjoy that. But uh a lot of that I will put a lot of that in and tea bags, and then I was using a um rice. You know how you wash your rice and you get the rice starch? I would pour the rice starch in there to see if I can generate some nutrients or get some essentially mycelium growing in in order to produce good soil. So, what sort of things can can people utilize? I know I mentioned the um the in-laws uh being from Ukraine, what they had uh they'd take all their tree leaves, and you would uh my father-in-law would take his lawnmower and then put them in a huge pile in the yard, and then take the lawnmower and go over it and over and over it again, and then they would rake it on a tarp and pull the tarp out of the garden and then use a tiller to till them into the garden to keep good soil.

SPEAKER_02 40:00

Yeah, yeah, and that does work too. I I I never I never um dispose of my leaves on because I have a fairly large property and I always cut the grass, I cut the leaves and I mulch them back into the the ground.

SPEAKER_05 40:15

Well, very good.

SPEAKER_02 40:16

That's fine.

SPEAKER_05 40:17

So so now's the time as soon as it starts to lighten up. And is it uh peat moss? Why put peat moss in and what does peat moss do to help? Just so people who who are not used to gardening would understand.

SPEAKER_02 40:27

So it's gonna help with moisture and it's gonna help break up some of that um clay soil.

SPEAKER_05 40:32

Okay. So manure and peat moss and fertilizer. And is there a specific type of fertilizer that people need for specific type of plants? Because I've got maple trees, I've got junipers, I've got uh bruise.

SPEAKER_02 40:46

There's evergreen fertilizers, there's fruit fertilizers. So depending on what your soil and that, what it is you're growing, you what's what's you you mainly have on your property is what you should be using.

SPEAKER_05 40:59

Right. Okay. And when do we start um fertilizing our lawns?

SPEAKER_02 41:04

Usually in March. If you're gonna if you're gonna use the corn gluten, you have to get that on really early. So corn corn gluten is going to help with your daily lines because it stops seeds from germinating that have been sitting there since last year. It'll help those germinate. But once that seed is germinated, the corn gluten doesn't do anything anymore.

SPEAKER_05 41:25

Oh, okay. So so in March, as soon as uh the snow is off, you don't put it on the snow and let it go in, right?

SPEAKER_02 41:31

No, as soon as the snow pack is gone and you can get that down on your lawn, that's the time to do it.

SPEAKER_05 41:36

Well, and that's something when I was minister, I was quite uh found it very interesting was that snow load in northern Ontario actually dictates a lot of how fire forest fire conditions will end up be. So they have these things called the indices. And what happens is if we get a large amount of snow like we did this year, that's great. However, if it's a fast thaw and the ground is frozen, then the snow actually can't thaw and seep into the ground, so you don't have a deep moisture content. That's true. And it would just run off, and which is very problematic because it makes for a dry forest and the likelihood of forest fires increases substantially. And it's the same with our lawns and everything else. If we get a snow, slow, gradual thaw, then it has a chance to seep in deeper into the soil, which gives better conditions, I believe. Correct. Yep. All right, Adrian. Well, uh, how can people get find out more information or where can they get in touch with you?

SPEAKER_02 42:35

Uh they can reach me at um uh 905-623-4441 to ask any questions. And we are located uh at um on in Bowmanville. Bowmanville on Highway 2. Yes, 1979 Highway 2.

SPEAKER_05 42:55

1979 Highway 2. And what are your hours so uh people can make sure they're you're open when they come by?

Fertilizers, Corn Gluten & Thaw Patterns

SPEAKER_02 43:02

So right now we're open 9 till 5, and that's only because we've got some construction going on. We're um we're planning on opening a new um vibrant gift shop um come April 1st. We're hoping to be ready by April 1st. Um and and then the hours are going to change back to from 9 till 6. And come springtime, we will actually be open on Sundays this year.

SPEAKER_05 43:31

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_02 43:31

This will be a first for us.

SPEAKER_05 43:33

All right, so very good. Well, thank you very much for being on the show. Really appreciate that. And anybody wants to, they can reach out and get in touch with there at Van Bell Flowers on in Bowmanville on Highway 2. Correct. Thanks very much, Adrian.

SPEAKER_02 43:48

Thank you so much for having me back on. Very good. Okay, take care, Jerry.

Garden Center Details & Hours

SPEAKER_05 43:53

Yep. Okay, now this week, as I mentioned before, I It will be at the Twenty Sports and Vote and RV show, which runs March the thirteenth, Friday the thirteenth, Saturday the 14th, and Sunday the 15th at the Twenty Sports and Wellness Center in Belleville. And we will be up there. We're upstairs in the auditorium, upstairs booth number 10. And as I've mentioned before, we're gonna have a little giveaway. I'm trying to find new Chaga blends for people to utilize and have. So, and I will be in little rum roll having the new blends at the show. So in the past, we've got the straight chaga, we've got chaga chai, chaga green tea, and I've got chaga apple cinnamon, which is a great, really loved, goes over very well. One we call Morning Glory, which is roasted chicory root, roasted dandelion rooted chaga, and the other chaga products as well, Chaga soap, and I have a specialty product that I only take to shows and a lot of the events that I do because I can't produce enough of it for our retailers to carry. And if you want to try something very unique, you come and see me there. And it's a very high concentration of chaga. It's a little bit of a secret. I'm not gonna say what it is, you've got to come and see me at the show to get a taste of it and to see what it's like. But it works great as a glaze, as a salad dressing, as a sweetener, all kinds of options that has the chaga in it. But I'll also have this year it will have which we didn't have before was Chaga mint and a brand new one which will be released at these shows, which is Chaga turmeric, ginger, black pepper, and chaga, of course, teas. And those uh the testing of those has gone over very well. So at this event, if you show up there, come and see us and just kick off what you think blends would be go over very well. You know, is a raspberry chaga, a good one, or any of the ideas you may have, let us know because we could be uh um ashwagandha, it could be uh a mate, it could be a valerian root, all kinds of different stuff like that that people look for, and it's a favorite. You come and check it off, and I put it in, and once a day I'm gonna do a giveaway, and what it'll be will be a Chaiga package of all the blends of teas. You're gonna have one of each of the stuff, and I'll throw in some of the other stuff as well, and we will mail that out to people and uh just give us your email and a mailing address, um, and we will send out one package a day, and your chances of getting something like that are pretty good. It'll give you an opportunity to to enjoy it. Not only that, but we'll have all the samples there at these shows that you can try and taste because it's something that uh if people haven't tried the straight chaga, it's quite surprising. People look at it and go, I'm not drinking that. And lo and behold, they try it, and surprise, surprise, hey, that's not that bad. Now, that's this coming week, Friday, March the 13th, Saturday the 14th, and the 16th, and then the following week, I will be at the Toronto Sportsman Show. It's uh March 19th, which is the Thursday to the 22nd at the International Center in Mississauga and Airport Road. All kind of stuff there, been going there for decades, and you can try that, and we will be having that giveaway at that show for 2026 for both shows as well. So if you want to come and try some and sample some and ask some questions and find out some details, guess what? Come on down and see us, we'd be happy to see you. See you there. Looking forward to meeting people at the show as always, because it's great talking and learning. Guess what? We're always learning and finding out new information out there under the canopy.

SPEAKER_07 47:57

Now, you might know us as the hosts of Canada's favorite fishing show, but now we're hosting a podcast. That's right. Every Thursday, Ang and I will be right here in your ears, bringing you a brand new episode of Outdoor Journal Radio. Hmm. Now what are we going to talk about for two hours every week? Well, you know there's gonna be a lot of fishing.

Event Giveaways & New Chaga Blends

SPEAKER_00 48:15

I knew exactly where those fish were going to be and how to catch them, and they were easy to catch.

SPEAKER_07 48:20

Yeah, but it's not just a fishing show. We're going to be talking to people from all facets of the outdoors, from athletes, all the other guys would go golfing.

SPEAKER_06 48:29

Me and Garchomp Turkey, and all the Russians would go fishing.

SPEAKER_00 48:33

The scientists. And now that we're reforesting and letting things, it's the perfect transmission environment to line the thing.

SPEAKER_04 48:40

Chefs, if any game isn't cooked properly, marinated for eating me, you will taste it.

SPEAKER_07 48:46

And whoever else will pick up the phone. Wherever you are, Outdoor Journal Radio seeks to answer the questions and tell the stories of all those who enjoy being outside.

SPEAKER_06 48:55

Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.