Segment of S4E8 Garden question answered mid April - The Wisconsin vegetable Gardener radio show

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In segment four Joey and Holly answer gardeners questions

Note Giveaway: Open to listener 18 years and older and living the contagious united states this give away ends Thursday April 30th at 9 am cst winner will be notified via email on Thursday April 30th and will have 7 days to reply to claim their price for detail got to the Wisconsin vegetable gardener .com and click on the giveaway tab at the top of the page https://thewisconsinvegetablegardener.com/giveaway/

1. Q:If you catch the carrot tops going to seed, can you remove the flower heads? Will it force the plant to send more energy to the carrots underground?
A:If the carrot is flowering you have waited too long to harvest so if that is happening and it is not the 2nd year you need to harvest sooner. if you were to cut the flower off to save the carrot the carrot has already changed inside to start seed production and can become bitter if eaten

2. Q: Kathy asks Is there a bagged type of compost you are recommending to use in the raised bed? (sorry if this a redundant question)
A: Raised Garden Bed Mix is similar to potting mix. If you were to make your own raised garden bed soil mix, you could use 50% garden soil and 50% potting mix for a good drainage and aeration (if you use your own garden soil it will have weed seeds in it). Garden centers also make bagged soils specific to raised beds, making this the ideal choice if you are able to find a local garden center that sales it by bulk it is much cheaper. But if you are looking at bagged soil. There are a number a great companies out their here is what you are going to look for in a compost/raised bed mix peat moss topsoil compost and vermiculite

3. Q:I have 6 - 4x8 foot raised garden beds that were put in about 5 years ago. I was afraid to use treated wood as I did not want to contaminated the soil or ingest chemicals so I used regular wood. Of course, the carpenter ants loved this wood and now all the boards are deteriorated and collapsing. So they all must be replaced. I cannot afford cedar. The treaded wood has warnings about causing cancer on them. Do you think I could safely use PVC planks or do you have any other suggestions. Warmest regards,Mary
A: Thank you for the email and the question. Yes you can use PVC planks to replace your raised bed. We chose for our raised bed to use treated lumber as it is treated with a copper chemical and the research we have done show little to no leaching from the boards to the soil. Some will use treated lumber and cover the areas where the soil touched the lumber with a plastic. For PVC planks the only other suggestion would be if you can pick a light color so it d(continued)