Davis Garden Show

Hi Lois and Don,

First, I enjoy the Davis Garden Show immensely!  I find new and useful information every week, and I often find myself hunting out recommended plants on the internet, to find out if they will grow well for me.  Thanks to Lois' description, I am now the proud owner of a Bilbergia nutans!

One internet hunt that has not been effective, and I that I hope you can help me with, is the hunt to answer the question of why my creeping raspberries (Rubus calycinoides) aren't fruiting.  I have had them in a wine barrel planter for about 6-7 years.  They have grown immensely and are green and lush, but not a single blossom in all the time I have had them.  I took them as cuttings from a fruiting plant, and the container gets 5-7 hours of morning/early afternoon sun (on the NE side of my house, so eventually is shaded out) daily.  I keep the soil moderately moist (hand watered, well water that is high in calcium) and I add acid fertilizer approximately once per month.   I am in Climate Zone 9, in El Dorado County, at about 1600 feet elevation. 

I love the plant and if it never fruits, it is still beautiful and green, but one of the reasons I took the cutting in the first place was because I also loved the look of those golden berries mixed in with that rich green foliage.  What am I doing wrong?

Many thanks,

Donna

Recently, something has started eating the bark off our mature lemon tree. It's very dramatic and in some cases entirely girdling the branches. Haven't seen any culprits. We have had rats around for years, but the neighbor cat generally keeps them in check and they've never eaten the tree. What can we do?

I just discovered you as a replacement for the now-defunct Farmer Fred radio show. I listen to the podcast. It's extremely useful to have timely and local garden coverage again. Thanks! John, Fair Oaks, March 2021

Don and Lois,

Hi! I am back! I was recently given a little beet seedling along with a strawberry plant that I had bought at a yard sale. Before I go on, I want to let you know that this woman did a great job taking care of her plants and the ones she was selling also looked great. However, I forgot to ask her how to take care of the beets. I have never grown them before. Anything you can tell me that I should know about beets? I also would like to know how long these plants can live. I want them to do well. I may not harvest them, but instead enjoy the pretty plants that they are. I am, however harvesting the strawberries.

-Robin in Southern California

Don and Lois,

Hi! This might be unusual to ask, but can you tell me how to take care of Hulda Klager Lilacs here in Southern California? I had requested some from the author of a book I read. This author wrote about Hulda Kalger and all she went through in her life and to hybridize plants, especially lilacs. I have two small ones that the author shipped me through the mail along with some seeds. The plants will be possibly the creamy white blooming ones and the seeds pink blooming ones. I have the plants in a nice plastic pot of miracle grow infused potting soil. They are located in part sun and part shade. Anything you can tell me would be so helpful because I want to keep these plants alive. They have great meaning to me.

Thank you so much and it is great to ask you another question.

-Robin in Southern California

just wanted to say that Don has been excellent fill-in host and guest for Farmer Fred lately. Esp good was when he and Debbie Flower hosted together but he needed to let Debbie talk a little more. Have not heard the 1 hour show yhet on this Davis station but will start listening now. Its difficult to remember about a Thursday show but i see there's a Saturday rebroadcast, which is great because there is now almost a solid block of gardening shows to listen to on Saturday from 9 AM to 2 PM. Too bad this Davis radio station seems to be a little left of center and anti-business though from what i can see at first glance. Maybe Don can take over FF's show if/when he ever retires.

Don and Lois,

Hi! Miss me? I know I have not written in awhile, but I have been busy. But not too busy to really work on our new back yard garden. And not too busy to listen to the podcasts of your show. I know that tomatos are very popular lately, but do you have any advice on strawberries, such as how much water do strawberries need? Also, how do I keep my cat grass lasting a long time. The lady at the pet shop I bought the cat grass at said that it should last me a long time, but my last pot of cat grass died after about 2 months. It had been slightly chewed on by my neighbors' cat whom I bought it for in the first place. Would this shorten the grasses life expectancy? Your advice, as always, is welcome. Our back yard is turning out beautiful (with some help from Eric and my daughter.)

Looking forward to your next podcast and many more,
Robin in Southern California

What can you do about nutsedge?

HELP

Lois and Don are the BOMB! This is my favorite radio show!

I'm in Sacramento and found this show on Itunes podcasts. I started listening to the DGS podcasts and now I have to listen every week LIVE during lunch hour. It has helped me with my gardening. Because the Sacramento valley is so full of microclimates, there really no replacement for this show for us gardeners here. And the hosts are so delightful and interesting to listen to. I wish Don and Lois would write a book about gardening here! I would buy it! Keep up the good work KDRT!

YAY, Davis Garden Show!!!