S3E4 What to know before buying plants - The Wisconsin Vegetable Gardener radio show

Replay of segment 1 of The Wisconsin Vegetable Gardener Radio Show
from 3-23-19
Heard on 860AM WNOV & W293cx 106.5FM Milwaukee, WI Saturday mornings 9-10AM CST
Heard on WAAM 1600 AM Ann Arbor, MI Sundays 7-8AM est
Heard on WWDB 860 AM Philadelphia, PA Sundays 7-8AM est
Starting April 2nd Heard on KMET 1490 AM Tuesdays 9 - 10 AM pst Banning, CA
listen here during show hours for your station:
WNOV https://tinyurl.com/y8lwd922
WWDB: https://wwdbam.com/
WAAM https://tinyurl.com/p68cvft

Check out https://thewisconsinvegetablegardener.com/

Contact Joey and Holly:
Email them at [email protected]
Reach the show anytime through the Instant access text hotline 414-368-9311
Thank you for listening and downloading the show.

Topics: Joey and Holly talks Talk about in segment 1 what you need to know before buying plants at your local nursery.

Things to be aware of when buying plants from your local garden center or nursery (we will reference Bluemel’s)
1. Not every plant they sell can be planted outside in your area year round – tropicals, other zones, citrus, etc
2. If it doesn’t look healthy doesn’t mean you can make it healthy – look for signs of disease
3. We recommend go to an independent garden center vs a garden department at a big box store
4. Don’t be afraid to talk to the staff and ask questions – they are there to help – google may not give you everything you need to know
5. Don’t buy vegetables in full bloom
6. Look at all your options – they may have a variety that will work better for you than what you went in for
7. garden center that values and promotes education
8. Determine what you will do with said plant before you buy it – don’t buy just because you might have a spot for it
-Pay attention to the quality of employees you see as it reflects a lot about the business itself. If the employees seem to not care, neither does the management.

-Do not be shocked if you see a plant or two with bugs or signs of a disease. ALL garden centers (even the good ones) have to battle these issues and it is hard to be perfect when you are maintaining thousands of plants! Shop with caution, but stay away from garden centers where majority of their inventory seems infected.

-Don’t be afraid to offer your suggestions and input. Garden centers with solid management will appreciate hearing from their customers. Tell them what you like/dislike. Don’t forget to compliment as well!

-If you purchase a plant and then experience issues- notify the garden center as soon as you see any signs of plant distress. 9 out of 10 times a good garden center will be able to address and solve the problem. Don’t let the problem persist as your issue may then progress to the point of being un-reversable.

Check out the following sponsors that make the radio show possible: Thank you

Power Planter of www.powerplanter.com
IV Organics of www.ivorganics.com
Dr. Earth of www.drearth.com organic
Root maker of www.rootmaker.com
Flame Engineering Inc. of www.flameengineering.com Use coupon code WVG19 to get free shipping.
Pomona Universal Pectin of www.pomonapectin.com
Bobbex of www.Bobbex.com:
Beans & Barley of www.beansandbarley.com
MIgardener of www.MIgardener.com
Outpost Natural Foods Co-op of www.outpost.coop
Root Assassin of www.rootassassinshovel.com .
Handy Safety Knife of www.handysafetyknife.com Use promo code WVG to get 10% off &free shipping one time use only
BioSafe of www.biosafe.net Save 10% on your next order use coupon code TWVG at checkout
Chapin Manufacturing Inc. of www.chapinmfg.com
Pro Plugger of www.proplugger.com
Dharmaceuticals of www.dharmaceuticals.com
Soil Savvy of www.mysoilsavvy.com Use coupon code TWVG19 to save 10% at checkout
Tomato Snaps of www.tomatosnaps.com
Drip Garden of www.dripgarden.com Drip Garden
The Madison Greenhouse Store of www.madisongreenhousestore.com
Standard Process Inc. of www.standardprocess.com
Bi(continued)