The Dirt

The Dirt is a weekly gardening brief for the Upper Valley, hosted by KTNA’s Jenny Willoughby. It’s the what, when, where, and how-to garden guide for any hopeful gardener.

Take me to the newest episode.

March 19, 2024

Learn how to build soil with compost and why it’s better than other things and what’s so bad about peat and what else you can use.

DIRT TIPS:

Use peat-free seed starting mixes, build soil with compost
Repair tools, clean out greenhouse and hoophouse

March 26, 2024

Learn the basics of starting seeds from the pots to the planting mix, which lights you should use if you’re growing indoors. You’ll also learn which seeds need heat, which need light, and which need both to germinate. Learn how to prevent leggy seedlings.

DIRT TIPS:

Start these seeds: tomatoes, peppers, asparagus, nasturtium, begonia, foxglove, geranium, and salvia
Use LED grow lights with 500 PPF

April 2, 2024

You’ll get a primer on soils, a quick lesson in protecting tender perennials from frost if they’ve already started to expand, and why fava beans are the best.

DIRT TIPS:

Don’t trample soil if possible
Protect your perennials
Clean up dog poop
Start basil, parsley, brassicas, and fava beans this week

April 9, 2024

Get those greens and herbs started. The main topic today is all about flower flies or syrphid flies and their importance as pollinators in Alaska. You’ll want to plant extra flower seeds just for the flower flies after this episode.

DIRT TIPS:

Start greens and herbs this week
Plan for pollinators

April 16, 2024

Keep succession sowing those greens and start some sweet alyssum to fill in those little spaces. You’ll learn which lettuces can be grown as cut-and-come-again and the best greens and cukes to grow. We also talk about the Talkeetna Recycling Center’s plastic pot recycling.

DIRT TIPS:

Start greens and alyssum this week
Gather plastic pots and take them to the Talkeetna Recycling Center

April 23, 2024

Learn how to take your plants for a walk, the best squashes to grow, plant sunflowers for fun, and how to attack chickweed before it takes over the garden.

DIRT TIPS:

Start squash, zucchini, pumpkins, and sunflowers this week
Get after the chickweed and horsetail as soon as it pops up

April 30, 2024

What is compost and why is it so important? Learn the steps to start and maintain a compost pile and how to add it to your soil for the happiest plants.

DIRT TIPS:

Plant extra sunflowers
Make room for a compost pile

May 7, 2024

Learn why it’s important to stay off wet soil, a reminder about succession sowing and how it works, and the importance of bumblebees in the garden.

DIRT TIPS:

Stay off wet soil to avoid compaction
Prepare to plant for bumblebees

May 14, 2024

Direct-sow some of the cold-hardy crops like peas, fava beans, radishes and carrots. Look forward to planting raspberries and learn how to build the best soil for them, how and when to prune for the best harvest, and how to prune to keep the plants healthy.

DIRT TIPS:

Direct sow cold-hardy crops like peas, fava beans, radishes, and carrots
Don’t plant out transplants, but continue taking them for walks
Get ready for raspberry planting

May 21, 2024

Learn what it means to harden off plants and which ones can be hardened off. Delay planting for at least one more week because nighttime temps are still too low. Get the best tips for currants and gooseberries.

DIRT TIPS:

Take plants outside for a few hours to harden them off
Don’t plant outside just yet
Get ready for currants and gooseberries

May 28, 2024

Learn about how to harden off plants to get them ready for planting. We’ll also talk about chitting or not chitting potatoes. Get the best tips haskaps and saskatoon berries.

DIRT TIPS:

Take plants outside for a few hours to harden them off
Cooler temp crops can stay outside overnight in the greenhouse
Get ready for haskaps and saskatoons

June 4, 2024

Learn what trap flowers are and how to interplant them with crops. We’ll also talk about allelopathy. This episode also includes a very brief primer on medicinal plants. Check with your doctor before using any of them.

DIRT TIPS:

Mix in pollinator and trap plants
Plant fast growing crops in with slower growers to maximize space
Elderberries should be in their own space

June 11, 2024

Learn about the most common invasive plants and what to plant in their place. Hawkweed, garlic mustard, and mayday trees are all on the chopping block. We’ll revisit some plants that are great alternatives.

DIRT TIPS:

Replace hawkweed with arnica
Pull any garlic mustard before it flowers
Get rid of any chokecherries or mayday trees

June 18, 2024

Learn how to read a fertilizer package and know what’s in it. Learn how to use those numbers and the type of fertilizer to get the most out of the plants you’re growing.

DIRT TIPS:

Pick the right fertilizer for the right plant
Use slow-release fertilizers for all season nutrient boosts
Be cautious with inorganic fertilizers

June 25, 2024

Learn what to look for in a plant’s rootball, how to fix root problems, and how to plant at the right depth.

DIRT TIPS:

Pick a plant that doesn’t have circling roots
Plant a bit high in the hole
Don’t add compost to the planting hole

July 2, 2024

Learn how to create a defensible space with your garden to reduce impacts from wildfire.

DIRT TIPS:

Use tanks to provide additional watering sources
Shorter plants go near the home, no evergreens within 30 feet
Use gravel or stone walkways to create fire breaks around your yard

July 9, 2024

Learn how to mimic nature in the garden by growing in groups and not-so-straight lines.

DIRT TIPS:

Reduce straight lines in the garden
Use garden paths to make curved gardens
Grow plants in groups

July 16, 2024

Learn all about Japanese knotweed, how it got here, and how to get rid of it.

DIRT TIPS:

If you find knotweed, clip it back now
In about a month, spray with glyphosate
Mechanical removal is not recommended

July 23, 2024

What’s this episode about: Learn all about growing roses in Alaska, a few hardy varieties that do very well here, and how to plant and care for them.

DIRT TIPS:

Plant shrub roses, not hybrid tea
Choose varieties for Zones 2 or 3
Only prune from the base of the plant

July 30, 2024

What’s this episode about: Learn what’s ready to harvest in the garden, including peonies, greens, and fruit and how to harvest and preserve it.

DIRT TIPS:

Cut peony flowers in the marshmallow phase
Harvest broccoli before it flowers
Turnip greens, strawberries, and honeyberries are in

August 6, 2024

What’s this episode about: Learn why harvesting zucchini while they’re small is important and what you can plant now to get crops before the end of the growing season.

DIRT TIPS:

Harvest zucchini before they become baseball bats
Plant radishes
Plant lettuce and mustard greens

August 13, 2024

What’s this episode about: Learn how soils are built from the particles up and how those particles all work together. Learn why some soils are better at draining or holding nutrients than others and how organic matter is key to making them better.

DIRT TIPS:

Add organic matter to clay soils
Test your soil by making a ribbon
Aim for loamy soils

August 20, 2024

What’s this episode about: Learn the history of sunflowers, which sunflowers work well, and what kinds of sunflowers to look for to help out pollinators.

DIRT TIPS:

Choose heirloom varieties
Plant later bloomers in the sunniest parts of the garden

August 27, 2024

What’s this episode about: Learn the history of dahlias, a few varieties to try, and how to dig and store them for winter.

DIRT TIPS:

Wait until after the first freeze to dig dahlias
Prune the stems down to a couple inches above the soil line
Store in a cool, humid place for winter

September 10, 2024

What’s this episode about: Learn what might be ready to harvest and dig deep into walking onions.

DIRT TIPS:

Check carrots, beets, and radishes to see if they’re ready to harvest
Now is the time to harvest and plant walking onions
Begin cleaning up spent stems and flowers in the garden

September 17, 2024

What’s this episode about: Learn how and why the leaves change color and what to do with them.

DIRT TIPS:

Leave the leaves
Leave piles of brush for the beneficial insects
Leave hollow-stemed plants in the garden for cavity nesters

September 24, 2024

What’s this episode about: Learn all about potatoes, from the history, to growing them, to eating them.

DIRT TIPS:

Green potatoes are fine to eat, with a few caveats
Store just above freezing
Keep a few seed potatoes for next year

June 14, 2025

This week’s episode is about peonies, their history, and how they became one of Alaska’s most popular crops.

June 21, 2025

This week’s episode is all about the common yarrow! There’s nothing common about this little plant that’s found all over the Mat-Su. It’s great for pollinators, fire-wise landscapes, and even as a medicinal plant.