How to Help Your Plants Beat The Heat

In case you haven't noticed...IT'S HOT out lately!  We know you've been working hard all season to keep your garden plants looking happy and healthy, and this heatwave doesn't have to mean they will meet their demise!  

This week, we're sharing our favorite tips on how to help your gardens through any heatwave with plants that are still ALIVE!  Sound too good to be true?  It isn't, we promise!

https://www.instagram.com/thegalswhogrow/

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hi, I'm Monica with Lulu the A Fields. And I'm Cassie with Coppertop Gardens. And I'm Bailey with How Home and Garden. We have been cultivating our gardens and farms for years now, but something really special was sowed when we met and began working together.

SPEAKER_02 0:14

Our shared passion for growing the best local flowers and food has made us realize the impact it's had in not only our own homes, but also in our local community.

SPEAKER_03 0:22

We are the gals who grow, and we can't wait to inspire you to grow too. Hello everybody.

unknown 0:30

Hi.

SPEAKER_03 0:31

Welcome back to another week of Gals Who Grow. This week, we wanted to talk to all of you because we know it's getting hotter out, and while we had a great cool and slow starting summer, temperatures are heating up and things outside are starting to get a little toasty. Toasty, crunchy, a little crunchy, crispy. So we just wanted to talk about what we are doing to make our plants resilient to last through those hot temperatures, but also to make them more resilient for future years. Because I don't know about you guys, but I've totally had plants that have been very hurt by drought in the past. Yeah. Ones that are not as uh resilient resilient in the next year. I will say a lot of perennials do great with it, but newer perennials definitely struggle.

SPEAKER_02 1:26

Yeah, I think it it first depends on what kind of plant we're talking about. So for perennials established, like you said, like they for longer than three years. Yeah, they may need like an extra watering here and there, but they're most likely gonna be okay. But like new perennials, like what's the care for that?

SPEAKER_03 1:46

Yeah, new perennials, especially shrubs, trees, you should be putting if it's a shrub, like at least a gallon, most of the time, like two gallons of water on any new shrub or tree weekly if there's not been any rain, maybe even more than weekly.

SPEAKER_01 2:05

I was gonna say at least twice.

SPEAKER_03 2:06

If it's new new, yeah, yeah. If it's new new, yeah. Twice. Twice a week. Maybe maybe more. Three times. Yeah, just depending on how it looks, yeah. Depending on the soil, depending on where it is, if it's in full sun or part shade. Um, but yeah, you should not just put it out there and never look at it again. It definitely needs to be watered.

SPEAKER_02 2:26

It will die.

SPEAKER_03 2:26

It will die.

SPEAKER_02 2:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:28

We planted a sycamore a few years ago, and it took us like it took us the three years to get to the point where we didn't have to pour water on it. And now we don't. But there was one year that I thought we for sure lost it because all the leaves turned yellow. And I was like, oh well, that was oh, you know, it's now like it was the height of me at that point. Did you buy it or did you start it from seed? No, we we took it from my parents' old property, it was a seedling, and we just put it in the ground, but it's still out there now, and it's so cool.

SPEAKER_01 2:58

Six times are awesome.

SPEAKER_02 3:00

Yeah, I know. And that's a really good point. Like, if you have a new property or you're just planting something large or something that will be large, like a tree, but you have to think past the point of purchasing and planting, and you need to think like the long game, like I need to keep this alive until it can keep itself alive. Yes, yeah. So important point maybe don't buy like 50 trees if you are not willing to or able to provide that time to water the first year back. Yes, yes, which is a cost.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

That's why I definitely killed a lot of stuff last year that I bought. Right. And just didn't last year. It was so dry and dry.

SPEAKER_03 3:42

So dry last year. We had the serious drought, which is part of the reason we wanted to get ahead of it and talk about that on this episode because I've had things like that.

SPEAKER_01 3:52

That doesn't happen like last year. It was really we've been really lucky so far, but it could change. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:58

The other things that I think about a lot peonies. You have to water your peonies if they are in any sort of drought. You need to water and you need to fertilize. I still haven't fertilized my shit.

SPEAKER_02 4:10

Really, any really any perennial that is building its blooms for the next season, like like a peony, it blooms one time a year. Like you kinda anything does well with like better with fertilizer.

SPEAKER_03 4:25

Right now. Yeah, do it now. While you're thinking I have the worst part is I have my fertilizer and it's out there. It just has not been spread.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

I keep saying I'm gonna buy it and I don't.

SPEAKER_03 4:34

I just haven't done it. I need to do it. I part of me was like, I'm gonna weed around it before I feed the then.

SPEAKER_02 4:40

I'm like, on the way you water matters. Like, I think a lot of people don't quite understand how much water or how to water properly. It's a slow process. It is a wake-up call. Yes, it is a slow process. Like to the point where when I plant a new perennial, I just like put my hose on like the shower or the the drip setting, and I set it down at the base of the plant, I set a timer, and I walk away and I do something else. Yeah. Because I'm not gonna stand there for the amount of time that it takes.

SPEAKER_03 5:14

I don't know that Joey fully knows how long it takes. I told him to read a book while he's doing it. Because I was like, he is only sprinkling the top.

SPEAKER_01 5:24

All you have to do is try and water something and think you've done it good enough, then stick your stick your finger down. And it'll only be like one inch.

SPEAKER_02 5:32

Or you'll scratch scratch the surface off and you're like, holy crap, it's still totally completely dry.

SPEAKER_03 5:37

You thought you watered it well, and that does more harm than not watering at all because that makes the the roots come to the top for the water, and then they're just at the top of the soil where they dry out extra quickly. So the best thing you can do is a deep water fewer times deep and infringing is what they call it.

SPEAKER_01 5:58

Literally, like I I put my hose somewhere and then walk away. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:02

I remember seeing you do that, and I was like, I need to do that.

SPEAKER_01 6:06

Yes. Yeah. Because I'll get bored otherwise.

SPEAKER_02 6:09

I'll get bored and be like, that's good enough.

SPEAKER_01 6:10

You do have to like yeah, you gotta set a timer.

SPEAKER_02 6:14

That's why I said I gotta set a timer because you're gonna forget.

SPEAKER_03 6:17

Yeah, for sure. I wonder, I need to get like I'll get soaker hoses. I really do need to get soaker hoses for my raised beds, because that is hard.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

If I can get a drip system installed, my life would be. If I can get a cooler built and a drip system installed and a greenhouse built, by the time this airs, there will be a cooler in my garage built. This is off topic. That'd be amazing. That would be ask me about the cooler.

SPEAKER_02 6:41

Maybe don't. It's a sore subject right now. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:46

Um that is hard. Um, also the thing that I was gonna say is just like you you have to make sure that you're watering dahlias way more.

SPEAKER_03 6:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:58

Than you think I mean, yes. Once they're big, they are water drinkers.

SPEAKER_02 7:03

Well, just think about like they're I don't know, just the texture of the plant. Like you can tell it's thirsty by if you touch it, you're like, that thing is full of water. Like or it wants to be. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Same with tomatoes. I feel the same. I'm like, man, it's almost like dyes to me are almost like succulent-y feeling. Yeah. And that's how you're like, you're like, okay, you have to be. Yeah. But they're not succulent as in they can go a long time without water. Not true. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:30

I need water mine. But we've been getting some good rain when we're recording. So we have.

SPEAKER_02 7:36

I was saving a lot of this with my coworker. She's got all of her. Um, I gave her some tomatoes and she's got hers in pots. And she was like, Well, we've been getting really good rain. And I'm like, Yeah. I was like, but if you have potted plants, no potted plants, rain is not sufficient. No. And she's like, Oh my gosh, thanks for telling me. I was like, Yeah, you potted plants are needy. Like, they need actual, and again, like you have to really soak that sucker. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:01

On record, if you're gonna kill plant that's potted or in a newly planted one, it's gonna happen in July or August. Yes, yeah. So just set I have an alarm on my phone or on Alexa that goes off every day at 5 30 for for years. It's been like that. Just water plants. Don't forget to water your plants. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:22

The other thing is to be looking for like insect damage or like fungus damage because that is another way that plants can be really hurt during the drought season.

SPEAKER_02 8:31

It's just stress, like anything that can stress them. Use uh um some type of mulch to cover your soil around your perennials and your vegetable beds. Yeah, I have actually been doing that. Like it's one of those things where I'm like, I know I should do it, but I don't always take the time to do it. Oh my gosh, and the way that it's yes, I've actually been doing it. Whoa, that does it make a different difference. Like so big of a difference. So, what do you use? Um, I've used a couple different things on my blueberries and my strawberries. I used the pine-shaving like chicken bedding. That's working out great. It was really cheap. Um I use just like straw from wherever in my vegetable beds. Or I just plant so many little like low-growing flowers in between all the vegetables that it just like. I do living mulch a lot in my vegetable beds. Yeah, actually, that's mostly what I do. Um, and I was going to put straw around my potatoes, but then I planted them so densely that they've kind of created their own canopy, so they're fine. Your potatoes look amazing.

SPEAKER_01 9:39

They're huge, they're so massive. A little bit sad that I didn't plant my potatoes.

SPEAKER_02 9:44

Well, if these work, I have a method for you to try. But I'm not, it's we're still sciencing it out. So I don't want to talk about it quite yet, in case I'm wrong.

SPEAKER_03 9:54

But I have a ton of straw out there in a giant package, and it has not been mulched on anything but my ranunculus, which is done. I really oh no, I put it on my strawberries.

SPEAKER_01 10:04

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:04

Water fertilize.

SPEAKER_01 10:06

Yeah, fertilize and kill the bugs that are eating with a friendly way, either.

SPEAKER_03 10:13

Oh, just smush the one I was seeing. It was Japanese beetles. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:17

I've saw I've seen a couple, and I went out with my gloves and just smusheroo. Oh, I like to do it bear. I haven't seen any. I have not seen any yet. You've seen Japanese beetles? I've seen a couple. I saw one yesterday. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

On my rose bush. A couple.

SPEAKER_02 10:31

A couple on one variety of potatoes, not the other, just the one. And it's only been a couple. But I killed me found.

SPEAKER_01 10:38

Maybe you don't have any.

SPEAKER_03 10:39

Yeah. Wouldn't that be a lot of knock on one? That'd be great. Um, but I was gonna say you can fertilize, and if you're watering a lot, you can w fertilize with fish fertilizer. And this just made me think of my co-worker today. Shout out to Drew. He was asking me if I had ever used fish fertilizer. And I was like, Yes, I do. I use Neptune's Harvest. And he was like, Oh, the one I got, I love the smell of it. Oh, what? And I was like, I'm sorry, what? I don't think you're talking about the same thing that I'm talking about. And he was like, Yeah, the brand I have is called Alaska. I have that one and it's horrible. Drew, there it is. He was like, Oh, I think it smells good. And I was like, no. No, I swear we literally are gonna take it. Smells like salty sardines. Okay, this reminds me. Salty sardines, though, is not as bad as the Neptune's harvest that smells like literal poop.

SPEAKER_01 11:42

Well, this one is pretty bad. I mean, like, I honestly I've had fish fertilizer and it's just been sitting there because I used it once and I like I'm traumatized.

SPEAKER_03 11:53

I told him I made the mistake of accidentally putting it on seedlings once in my house, and it was like my laundry room was so stanky.

SPEAKER_01 12:02

Oh this reminds me of something that Poppy did yesterday, and I'm like, what the what is wrong with you? I opened up, she loves tuna. Like, loves tuna. And I opened up the can and like took the lid off and then like was getting ready to drain it. She walks up to the can and goes, I was like, what are you doing? She's like, look, it tastes so good. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 12:35

What gross does that? I can't. I cannot do that. We're gonna have to put an example. I literally was like, Drew was like warning. I'm gonna be so embarrassed if you guys hate it. But he and I were like, we're gonna each bring in a little sample of ours. Because I was like, no, stop it.

SPEAKER_01 12:51

Do not bring that shit off.

SPEAKER_02 12:54

Okay, I will say Neptune's harvest from my memory smells better than Alaskan. No to me. Because literally, like, I can handle the Neptune off-braining. The Neptune's is literally poop smell. I know.

SPEAKER_03 13:09

It is poop smell, Kathy.

SPEAKER_02 13:10

This one is like too fishy. And it's just like I think fishy over poop is fine. It makes me gag. Like, and I don't gag. Oh my god. I'm just like so curious now.

SPEAKER_01 13:24

I want to fertilize mine, but I'm afraid my dog's gonna dig up everything if I fertilize it.

SPEAKER_03 13:29

I don't think the fish fertilizer is much as bone blood and bone meal. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:34

No, it's the smell. Yeah. I think she'll smell it and be like, ooh, what is this? And just like start ripping out plants. My kids hate it. If I want them to leave me alone, I'll do it. Also, I have had someone fertilize their flowers too late and too close to harvest. Oh. Nope. And it's still on there. You can just do it smell before rain. Smell bad. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:58

Do it before rain. But it's it's one of the more like gentle ones, and it like a full year. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:06

It's really good. Oh, I don't know. I'll just dump it on everything. Yeah. Dump it in there. Yeah, it is good.

SPEAKER_03 14:12

It is good for the soil. I really need to use the rest of mine because I've had it for a year now and it needs to just go. I need to just.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

I'd be curious if I just put like a teaspoon of the Job's granular over everything. Like each perennial plant or each annual plant, what would happen? Maybe I should do an experiment. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:29

Man, I I mean, I don't think it I you can. I think you can burn the roots if you if you like stuck them in the root like where the roots are, but just on the soil.

SPEAKER_01 14:39

But they only break down if it's raining, right? Yeah. Or watered, whatever. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:45

I I literally go out there with the Job's organic granular and I'm just like a fairy. Just like spring like stepping through my field. It does smell really bad, but I just skip through my peonies and I'm just tossing it. And I yeah, I'll kill bags.

SPEAKER_01 15:04

I did put acidifier all around my blueberry bushes today. Good, good. Yesterday. Good.

SPEAKER_03 15:10

I need to do that again. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:12

Yeah, let's do just a real quick update on our little blueberries because this is our project for the year.

SPEAKER_03 15:18

Did you not gonna say I I'm not even confident that all four of mine have leafed out. Well, they're planted at least.

SPEAKER_01 15:31

Okay, I shit. We're gonna have to turn down the volume on the poor people wearing hair pods in the middle of them pulling them out of there.

SPEAKER_02 15:48

Okay, sorry I promoted them up. Um like everybody said exactly where yours are right and what they look like. Okay, I'm I am confident three of my four?

SPEAKER_03 16:03

I have all four and there's blueberries on them.

SPEAKER_01 16:07

Yes, it looks amazing, honestly.

SPEAKER_02 16:09

I saw only three full harvest. I'll have you know I saw one blueberry and I didn't I did.

SPEAKER_01 16:20

What you actually had a hair you actually had a blueberry?

SPEAKER_02 16:24

I mean it wasn't like impressive, but it was a baby berry.

SPEAKER_03 16:28

Buster and Spanky probably ate one. They probably did. No, I didn't have my excuse. I probably didn't have any other mine are in partial shape. And I'm just gonna leave them there. Because I think I like them where they are.

SPEAKER_02 16:43

Monica, um fertilizing. She fertilized hers today, Bailey. That's all we need to know.

SPEAKER_01 16:49

Hold up. Well, that was my quote unquote established ones that I've had for four years and I've still even done nothing. I have two and one raised bed, and I'm like, well, if you guys actually grow, I'll have to separate them, but it's so annoying. I bought them, I bought them for the greenery because Flora has blueberry greens in her very blue. Cut flowers in the early bossing them.

SPEAKER_03 17:12

I do love their leaves. That's why we all got them, let's be real.

SPEAKER_02 17:21

Okay, we'll update you all again.

SPEAKER_01 17:22

Okay, next year. Next year. Hold on. We can give them an update. Maybe I painted them yesterday, okay? Oh good.

SPEAKER_02 17:39

It was after we talked.

SPEAKER_01 17:41

Yeah, I did all this research on what the proper way to do it was, and I loaded in all of this stuff in my cart. It was gonna be like, well, I purchased, I actually purchased some special soil. Yes. The plants were the cheapest. And then at like four o'clock in the morning I woke up and I'm like, why the fuck did I do that?

unknown 18:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 18:07

I canceled that order. And then I like proceeded to do a whole bunch of research. And I decided. Literally, I decided, scrap it all. I'm not spending all this money. I'm just I had a I had peat moss and I had the acidifier already. Yeah. Cause they say, like, get this special um azalea or like hydrangea and blueberry soil. And then you want to get pine bark. And you need to get peat whatever, peat moss, and then you need the acidifier and you need this special bucket. And I was like, okay. So I didn't do that. I just had peat moss and acidifier and some old ass soil in bags. Yep. That's all I'm doing. We're gonna have to put an explicit on this, sorry guys. That's all I did. And that's like five times.

SPEAKER_03 19:03

She's gonna have you're gonna have bountiful blueberry harvest next year.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

I mixed it as fast as I can, put a little bit of acidifier on top, and put them in dirt. I just loved them. I think that's it. And I knew it was gonna rain, so I'm gonna do it.

SPEAKER_03 19:16

I cannot believe you had a blueberry already. I definitely do. Hers look freaking amazing.

SPEAKER_02 19:20

When I say I had a blueberry, it was like the world's tiniest little like I was like, is that a blueberry?

SPEAKER_01 19:27

Yeah, but she's got a ton of greens on it. I had one root that still had green on it. So I planted all four. I think they'll be fine. I'm hoping. And then I also bought a blackberry one that actually didn't plant that either.

SPEAKER_03 19:40

Oh, we have blackberries rooting like crazy everywhere in the back.

SPEAKER_01 19:44

Brandon's gonna kill me because he was I was like, this isn't a business expense, this is a family expense because it's blueberries and we're gonna feed the family. And he's like, fine and gave me his card. He was like, $80 later, we have some potential blueberries. Great. That's okay. I picked two strawberries this year. Oh, the strawberries.

SPEAKER_02 20:09

But yeah, but those are first year, so maybe next year.

SPEAKER_03 20:12

Yeah. Oh no, we'll see. Strawberries. I'm pretty sure Buster and Spanky got every last one. Damn it, Buster and Spanky. They're out there. Each one has a bed to themselves. Okay, hold on.

SPEAKER_01 20:24

How are your blueberries, Bailey? What did you put them?

SPEAKER_03 20:27

They're leafed out. They're in the back of the house. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 20:29

But I don't know that we're not gonna have blueberries the first year. She got a blueberry. Well, she's an anomaly.

SPEAKER_03 20:37

Get out of here with your blueberries on the first year.

SPEAKER_01 20:40

Cassie is like the queen of growing food. If there is a zombie apocalypse, Cassie's gonna feed it.

SPEAKER_03 20:48

She's gonna feed us. We're showing up. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 20:51

She loves us that much. I have enough peas for everyone right now. I've got enough walnuts to have enough potatoes for everyone, too.

SPEAKER_03 20:58

I'll bring the walnuts.

SPEAKER_01 20:59

I'll have some beets and carrots.

SPEAKER_03 21:02

Hey, radishes.

SPEAKER_02 21:05

Radishes. All very nutritious. We'll be fine.

SPEAKER_03 21:08

Guys, we really should have done. Is it too late to do a like a Thanksgiving episode where we all bring food to share with everybody? No.

SPEAKER_01 21:17

When are we gonna do that?

SPEAKER_03 21:18

This year. No, it's not too late.

SPEAKER_01 21:20

Let's do it. Around Thanksgiving?

SPEAKER_03 21:22

Yeah. Like a little bit. We're like this came from the garden. Yeah. Everybody will bring something from their garden.

SPEAKER_01 21:28

I don't know how bountiful my garden's gonna be in Thanksgiving.

SPEAKER_03 21:30

You can literally make radish or whatever. Like just bring a radish dish or bring a, you know.

SPEAKER_01 21:37

Hey, Cassie, bring the blueberry pie.

SPEAKER_02 21:42

This is a blueberry pie.

SPEAKER_01 21:46

The rest is what I grew in my yard. Open roasted rabbit.

unknown 21:55

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_03 21:56

Spanky. You are not. Kidding. No, I would never spank you and buzzer of homes forever.

SPEAKER_02 22:05

Oh gosh. Okay, well, we've completely veered off topic. Okay, besides watering well and mulching and fertilizing and watching for pest pressure. Oh, I have another one. If you see grossly diseased leaves, take them off.

SPEAKER_03 22:22

Yeah, pull pull anything that's got like black spot on roses, pull those leaves, don't let them fall. Or if they do leaf blower them away from your plants.

SPEAKER_01 22:31

Yeah. Anything that looks not the way. Wait, hold on. I have botrytis on my peonies. On some of them. What do I do? Well, that's let it go for now. Yes. On your peonies, it's those that that like black looking that is dang near well dead.

SPEAKER_02 22:46

Really?

SPEAKER_01 22:47

Like I should just Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:48

Cut it. If your peonies are like totally brown, cut them, cut them to the ground. And then throw away that uh that greenery because you you don't want to like compost that.

SPEAKER_03 23:01

But it I mean it will come back next year. It's just yeah, so depressing.

SPEAKER_02 23:05

It's just something that you kind of either live with every treat. And treating it's hard, so you just live with it.

SPEAKER_01 23:10

How do you treat it?

SPEAKER_02 23:11

It's you gotta do like copper fungicide and all that stuff. It's really not worth it. Like it's because it's just gonna come back. It's in the soil. Like it's gonna come back every year, so just deal with it.

SPEAKER_01 23:23

It doesn't hurt just one section of my yard. So is this kind of on topic? Is your recommendation if it that whole area doesn't really produce that well? It's one section of my peonies that get botrytis. Because I got them on the clearance rack at Lowe's, do not do that.

SPEAKER_02 23:42

Should I just pull them all? I mean, if there's something else you could put there that would be better. That brings you more joy.

SPEAKER_03 23:50

Last longer in the season.

SPEAKER_01 23:51

Would they get but would the next thing get botrytis in?

SPEAKER_03 23:55

If you put peonies in, yes.

SPEAKER_01 23:57

Not gonna put more peonies in.

SPEAKER_02 24:00

I don't think every plant is susceptible to it like peonies are. So yeah, you could just look up like what blah blah blah is not susceptible to botrytis, and then you could just replace it.

SPEAKER_01 24:12

I think that's what I want to do.

SPEAKER_02 24:13

Yeah. I mean, you said you were getting rid of peonies anyway, so now the time.

SPEAKER_01 24:18

Yeah. You're right. Okay. Who wants to buy peonies? Well, no one wants to buy blues, but those botrytis ridden ones. They're like ones that I got from Lowe's on the sale rack, and I should have known better. But that was three years ago, and I didn't.

SPEAKER_02 24:39

I will say, back on the topic of struggling through summer. If you have plants, is that the topic we're going to struggle? That's when it's morphed into the episode.

SPEAKER_01 24:53

The only thing I'm struggling with is my blueberries that tend to get plants in the book.

SPEAKER_03 25:00

Cassie just switched the topic. She was like, well, since we're talking about how much the summer's really dragon used to mud.

SPEAKER_02 25:08

Which is this is how I would feel if all of these things were, you know, happening to me in my garden.

SPEAKER_01 25:14

Yeah. Um that's true.

SPEAKER_03 25:15

She's like, dry this, fungal and shoes, we're up to black spot. We got dead penies to the ground.

SPEAKER_02 25:24

Japanese beetles everywhere. But if you have a plant you really love and you want to save, you could go to the extreme measures of putting up like shape cloth and trying to help it survive. Oh, that's sweet. I wouldn't do that, but you could do that.

SPEAKER_03 25:43

I mean, I can't judge after the freaking having every bed sheet I own on display in the spring. I know. The links we go to for our children. Yeah. Truly, like, I will you if you do shade cloth, that is I know helpful. More power to you.

SPEAKER_02 26:01

It can help a little bit, but also just know like realistically, your plants are gonna get tired at some point, and that's natural. It's part of their life cycle. It's supposed to happen. It just is a matter of when. What's our word?

SPEAKER_03 26:15

The best thing you can do is if you can keep them.

SPEAKER_02 26:18

That's the word. I would say the Japanese word.

SPEAKER_03 26:29

Wobby sobby. The longer you can keep things alive and happy looking, though, the better chance they have for the next year because they have more time for their leaves to photosynthesize and yeah, that's what that's why I'm worried that the the botrytis is like, these are already black. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:47

Yeah, this is early for them to be black.

SPEAKER_03 26:50

I have some have spots on mine for sure. I have spots, but I need to feed them and I need to feed them soon so that they can take that in before they turn black.

SPEAKER_01 27:03

All right.

SPEAKER_03 27:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:05

Well, now that we've depressed everyone with all the issues.

SPEAKER_03 27:08

No, if your peonies are black, there is hope. They can will come back.

SPEAKER_02 27:12

We have empowered them with knowledge, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:15

And we're not gonna be hit with all of those things. Yeah. Let's let's hope you got one of them. The locusts are coming!

SPEAKER_01 27:23

No, no, no, no, no, no. Wait, is this a cicada summer? Do we know? Oh, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 27:29

Not like a bad one. That's like every 17 years or something, and it just happened like a few years ago. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 27:34

So we should. I was like, sometimes those things are so loud and gross, they fall on my head.

SPEAKER_03 27:42

Just on your head.

SPEAKER_01 27:44

I mean, they fall from the trees.

SPEAKER_03 27:46

They fall on my head. Yeah, yeah. Um, and don't forget about the spotted lantern fly. And if you see them, report it and squish it. Yep. Gross.

SPEAKER_01 27:57

Oh gosh, I forgot about those.

SPEAKER_02 27:58

Um remember, water deeply, and everything will be fine.

SPEAKER_03 28:02

It'll all be okay. It'll happen all over again next year. You do the best you can. Forget the rest. Forget the rest. Eat the one blueberry.

SPEAKER_01 28:12

It helps if you walk out in the garden with a drink in your hand. It does.

SPEAKER_03 28:16

Eat the one blueberry or let Spanky have it. And just okay. You're gonna have to change his name. Joey named him and was very adamant. He wanted to name there's actually three of them, but Buster and Spanky are the ones that hang out the most. The other one's name is Alfalfa.

SPEAKER_01 28:36

How do you know which one's which?

SPEAKER_03 28:38

Well, Spanky is running around like crazy. So that's Spanky. Buster sits there and he likes to eat out of the one bed. He's lazy. He's in that bed all the time. So his that's Buster. Spanky's the one running around nonstop in circles around you. And then Alfalfa's the one that's hidden off in the corner.

SPEAKER_01 28:59

Does he have like a little piece of hair that sticks up?

SPEAKER_03 29:01

Yeah, just the one. I I do think Spanky had a little bit more of like a color on the side of him, too. I we'll go out and see if they're out there. They might be.

SPEAKER_02 29:13

We should go look. Yeah, we should.

SPEAKER_03 29:15

Well, bye guys, we gotta go find these rods.

SPEAKER_01 29:21

See you next time. Bye. Hey, thanks for listening to our podcast. If you want to follow us on the social, find us at the Gals Who Grow Podcast on Instagram, and follow us on Spotify or your favorite podcast app.