-From the socially distant studios of Rodale Institute Radio and Television at Lehigh Valley Public Media in Bethlehem, P.A., it is time for another pandemic episode of chemical free horticultural hijinx, "You Bet Your Garden."

I'm your host, Mike McGrath.

Do you have problems with deer?

Want to start a late season garden?

Aren't cartoon dice with legs, attacking your plants?

And you want to know why the smell of soil increases your endorphins?

We'll answer all with a fantastic four-part question of the week.

Plus, your fabulous phone call questions, comments, tips, tricks, suggestions, and ironically, and inculpable insinuations.

So keep your eyes and/or ears right here, cats and kittens, 'cause it's all coming up faster than you sniffing soil instead of taking Prozac to get up for putting that darn mask on one more time, right after this.

In life, we have many kinds of partner is provided by the Espoma Company, offering a complete selection of natural organic plant foods and potting soils.

More information about Espoma and the Espoma natural gardening community can be found at espoma.com.

-Support for "You Bet Your Garden" "You Bet Your Garden."

From the studios of Rodale Institute Radio and Television at Lehigh Valley Public Media in Bethlehem, P.A., I am your host, Mike McGrath.

Coming up later in the show, we have a fantastic four-part question of the week where we will talk about deer, raised beds, insects that look like dice with little cartoon legs, and we'll talk more about why your soil may be better for your mood than Prozac.

That's a lot to do.

So we better hop right to your fascinating phone calls at 833-727-958 -Thank you.

-Well, thank you, Ellen.

How you doing?

-I am just fine and I live in Dayton, Ohio.

-Dayton, Ohio.

Excellent.

What can we do you for?

-Well, I have a problem.

Earlier this spring, I had a shrub that got hit by Mother Nature's frozen ice box.

We had a late freeze.

-Mm-hmm.

-Sometimes we have frost, but this time it was a solid freeze.

-Mm-hmm.

-It affected a lot of trees, notably Japanese maples.

But in particular, I have a witch hazel.

It's a mature 10-year-old witch hazel.

-Mm-hmm.

-And I always like to look at its flowers in the early spring.

-No, it's not early spring.

It's late winter.

Witch hazel is perhaps the earliest blooming shrub that I'm familiar with.

But you would think that, you know, and in many cases it's more of a tree form than it is a shrub.

But you would think that a plant that has adapted to flower in still solid winter would be very resistant to frost.

I guess maybe you had a series of warm days leading up to that?

-Yes.

Yes, we did.

We had days up to 80 and beyond.

-Yeah.

-It's kind of crazy up and down.

So I think the poor bush just got excited and decided that it would start in swelling the bud.

-Well, not only that, I mean, all that warm weather had the sap running up to the, you know, top of the tree shrub.

And it's that sap that freezes.

I mean, if your buds freeze -- -Oh.

-...you simply lose the flowers for that season.

But if you have got a tree that thinks it's July and the sap is running like mad, that can be treacherous because especially if the temperature drops precipitously.

-As it did, yes.

-Yeah, that new sap just freezes solid.

And, you know, the branches can kind of explode.

-Well, what happened was that -- yeah, I just had buds sitting there and I had a few very, very tender leaves at the very, very end of the branches coming out, struggling out.

-Right.

And what kind of shape is it in now?

-Well, I did some drastic surgery.

-Oh.

So it was already injured.

So you figured amputation would be the answer?

[ Laughs ] -Well, it wasn't doing a heck of a lot, except at the very end of a few branches.

And that's what you cut off?

-No, actually, I took it down.

-Oh, that's pretty dramatic pruning.

-Yeah, yeah.

And it was kind of wobbed up in the inside of it.

So since I could see all the way through it, I decided that I would really do a drastic pruning job and kind of clean it out.

-Did you leave anything?

Was this the plant now known as stumpy?

-No, no, it's not stumpy at all.

It was probably, ooh, at least nine feet high.

It gets good watering from a neighbor's downspout.

And it was very, very happy for years and years.

But no, I took it down to just about five feet, I think.

-Okay, and what's the result been?

-Well, it's bursting out with leaves.

-Okay, good.

-It's looking a lot happier.

And I put some compose underneath it kind of spread that out every year.

-Always a good idea.

-Yeah.

And so, I'm kind of happy with what I did to it.

And it probably needed to be cleaned out in the inside anyway just to untangle it.

-Right.

In the future, I don't like pruning after a savage attack by Mother Nature, but you seem not to -- -Oh.

-Because everybody wants to do something, right?

Nature took its shot and then, "Oh, I guess we have to feed it.

I guess we have to prune it."

And my advice then as to binge watch more television.

Just let the plant try to repair itself.

Now, if a situation like this arises again or you feel a need for more pruning, never remove more than one third of the plant.

-Oh, okay.

-It sounds like you came close to half.

So that's not the worst.

And the fact that it's leafing out well now means it'll absorb solar energy and will be able to set buds.

It's probably setting buds for next year already.

I think it's gonna bloom for you next season.

Knock on formica.

-I hope so.

-And good luck to you.

-Thank you very much.

I appreciate your advice.

-Well, I thank you.

Bye-bye.

Roger, welcome to You Bet Your Garden.

-Thank you.

-Well, thank you, Marcella.

How you doing?

-I'm fine.

How are you, Mike?

-I'm just ducky.

Thanks for asking.

Where's Marcella?

-Orefield, Pennsylvania.

-Oh, okay, very good.

What can we do for?

-Well, I just questioning if I have rose bushes that have nothing on the stalk should I cut those off or just leave them?

Okay, so you have rose bushes and some of them have blooms and some just have greenery?

-Yes, that is correct.

-I would not cut off any healthy greenery.

What I do with my roses is I wait until they start growing again in the spring and then I trim off any nasty parts and any clearly dead stuff, not even so much for the health of the plant, but it just makes the whole plant more attractive.

The thing people have to remember, and this is why I always urge not to prune tomato plants, is that every green leaf is collecting solar energy to fuel the growth and the health of the flowers.

The flowers can absorb solar energy.

And in the case of tomatoes or fruit trees, the fruits themselves can't absorb solar energy.

It's only the green leaves.

So every green, healthy leaf on your roses may not be contributing to the look of the plant, but it is contributing to the health of the plant.

-Okay.

-Now, one caveat there is I have -- I'm lousy with roses.

I have so many roses because people, you know, companies used to just send them to me.

I started thinking the U.P.S.

driver was a terrorist because I'd be out gardening.

I go inside to get a cold drink and there'd be a box the size of a refrigerator in my driveway.

And then it'd be, oh, 50 bare root roses.

Gee, thank you.

Just when I had hoped to spend the next year of my life dealing with.

So I got roses all over the place and sometimes, and I do the same thing with my peonies, sometimes they'll be a whole flush of greenery that's hiding the roses.

So, yes, I'll take that off.

I do that with my hydrangeas, too.

Once all the flowers have formed, I can make it look like there's more of them by cutting off selectively a couple of branches.

But if the branches aren't in the way and you can still see the roses, tremendous long-term advantage to leaving them in place.

-One other thing, I also have a trumpet vine and I've had it for over 30 years.

-Right.

-And it's never -- not one single bloom on it.

-What?

[ Laughs ] -Honestly.

And unfortunately, where it is, it is between a chain link fence and a cement.

And so, it was like about an edge.

It's a lot of green, gets a lot of sun, and I can't get to it to pull it up.

But it has never had one single bloom.

-Has it become invasive?

Is it out of control or is it just there and behaving but doesn't want to give you those hummingbird attracting flowers?

-Yes and yes.

I keep it under control because again, I can't get to it to get figured out.

But I would love it if it would bloom.

-Okay, so this is a good time of year to ask this question.

Get yourself a bag of rock phosphate.

It's a natural organic fertilizer that is pure phosphorus from mined deposits.

You can get it in any garden center.

It'd probably be very easy to buy online.

You don't need a big bag.

For a single trumpet vine, I would, you know, you can throw it through the chain link fence.

Give it about a cup of rock phosphate and then toss about an inch of compost or topsoil on top of that.

Now, rock phosphate is a mineral.

So it's gonna take a while to be absorbed.

But you'll see the results next year.

And if the results are promising, don't add more.

Because rock phosphate will release its nutrients for at least three years.

That's like working with dynamite.

I mean, if that doesn't work, then, you know, you figure out some clever way to get a little, you know, Japanese hand soil on there or something.

-Okay.

Well, I think that's about it so far.

-All right.

Thank you.

-Thank you, Mike.

-All right.

You take care.

Good luck.

All right.

That number to call.

Don't forget it.

Write it on a Shoprite bag with a crayon so you can always find it.

-Thank you.

-Well, thank you, Susan.

How you doing?

-I'm good, thanks.

-And where is Susan good?

-Chester County, Pennsylvania.

-All right.

What can we do you for?

-I live in a senior community.

-Right.

-And I've been here two years now and there are plenty of grounds of they're beautiful and but I notice in the fall, they collect the leaves and they disappear.

-Mm-hmm.

-They cart them off somewhere.

So I asked someone about it if we could keep them.

And they said that the garden club had asked that before that they wanted them to chop them up and make a pile and turn the pile.

And they said they were not going to do that.

-Okay.

-So I said, well, how about -- couldn't we just get a pile and maybe we could the people that live here could do something or could we just keep the pile?

-Mm-hmm.

-And no.

-Did they ever tell you what they do with the leaves?

Did they ship them off to China?

I mean, what happened?

-I think an outside company takes them away.

-And probably turns them into compost that you then have to buy.

Well, you know, there is always the option of it's better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission.

-Right.

-Because the leaves are there.

And obviously, if you're in a seniors community, you don't want to be doing a lot of heavy work, but you get yourself a rechargeable leaf blower that has a vacuum setting and a collection bag.

And during leaf fall season, you can just go out, you know, do 20 minutes and empty the bag into a big -- the biggest plastic trash can you can find and keep pushing the leaves down, compressing them.

And once you get that filled, you probably will have enough perfect leaf mulch to cover all your garden beds.

-Well, I do listen to you.

And I did do that.

I bought myself a leaf blower and that touched the leaves up.

And in fact, I contacted walking around the premises one day I saw the company that carts them away was here doing something and I asked the man if he would give me a pile of leaves every fall.

And he said, sure.

-Great.

-Yeah, and in fact, he did have a pile and I got it.

And I did my mulching and it's beautiful.

But I'm just concerned about the whole -- it just seems like such a waste to me that there's so many trees here.

and they must get a big pile and couldn't -- couldn't I convince them to make a pile even as it's solid leaves that have not been cut up?

And how long would it take them to rot that we could use them?

-So I suspect because landfills really don't accept green waste, so to speak, anymore, that the leaves are being taken to a compost site.

You said you're in Chester County?

-Uh-huh.

-They're probably being taken to a nearby composting site.

-Oh, okay.

-And they're being probably being professionally composted in giant windrows.

And does the landscaping company come and mulch your beds for you or anything like that?

Is there like a rule that you got to use this trash wood or anything?

-I don't think they do that because I know the guys who work here are maintenance guys, looks like they're the ones that put the mulch down.

-Yeah.

But did the wood mulch is out there, right?

-Right, right.

But you don't think like I said, if we could convince them to say just make a big pile of leaves and they wouldn't have to turn the pile, how long would that take a break down?

-Well, it depends on the size of the pile.

Shredded leaves break down, of course, much more quickly than whole leaves.

But you know, corollary is also true.

The one I just spoke of is the smaller the particle size, the faster the composting.

But also the bigger the pile, the faster the composting.

So we're talking a lot of leaves piled up in an out of the way place.

You know, typically about a year and a half, I'm going to say.

-See, that wouldn't be dead, I think.

-Well, and it would be very environmentally sound.

I have actually been contracted in the past by a couple of these places to improve their sustainability practices.

So, you might get a good reception.

I would start by going to the landscaping committee meeting and just seeing where their heads are at.

-All right, you think in a year and a half we could actually use that to mulch.

-Absolutely.

What would happen is the top and the sides might not look finished, but the whole interior will be.

-Ah, okay, great.

-Okay?

-All right, well, I'm going to try.

-All right.

You go for it.

-Okay.

-I love it.

-Thanks a lot.

-Take care.

-You, too.

Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

All right.

As promised, it is time for the Question of the Week.

A four-parter, which we are calling evil squirrels, cartoon dice, killing a lawn softly, and explaining endorphins.

To start, Daniel writes, "My wife and I listen to your podcast "and are just ducky in Sanatoga, P.A., "which is just east of Pottstown.

"Deer are an issue here as they can't be hunted near homes.

"I was hoping you could tell us which motion activated "sprinkler you would recommend to repel deer, other critters, and of course, those Satan evil servants," the squirrels.

"We are planting three raised beds each 12 inches high, "13 inches wide, and 11 inches long.

"side by side with a 36-inch space between each.

"Would a sprinkler be enough or should we also use a pain to install fence?"

Well, these are really small beds.

Not sure the terrain you're working with, but I see no reason for three-foot wide lanes.

The standard is two feet.

So feel free to shrink the lanes in between the beds and expand those beds a bit.

That said, a motion activated sprinkler should be perfect to protect an area of that size.

I really can't endorse a specific brand, but I can suggest you visit the Land of Amazonia and read the reviews.

And while it's getting late in the season to get started, I still think it's a good idea to build the beds now.

Then you can grow a lot of cool season crops like lettuce, spinach, kale, and beets.

And be sure to save one of those beds for a big planting of garlic, which in your area or the climate is similar to the Philadelphia suburbs, should be planted around September 1st.

If you're going to mail order your planting garlic.

Get that order in now as the rush for plants and supplies this season has not decreased in the least.

Or talk to the folks at your local farmer's market and see if you can reserve some locally grown garlic.

They'll be harvesting this year's crop very soon.

We move on to Nancy in Flourtown, P.A., which is where all the flour comes from.

She writes, "I found a colony of tiny black bugs "with white dots on my roses.

"I instinctively squash them with a gloved hand, "but did not think to get a picture first.

"I couldn't I.D.

them on Google.

"I'm hoping they were not beneficial.

"Can you help me with this?

P.S.

It's great to see your handsome face on PBS39."

Well, thanks, but I think you may need new glasses.

Now, those crazy black and white cartoon dice with legs are the nymph form of our newest invasive enemy, the spotted lantern fly.

Now, don't feel bad.

I didn't know what they were when they showed up.

Interestingly enough on my roses as well last season, because I didn't know what they were, I did nothing and they did no damage I could see.

My advice is to spray them off with sharp streams of water early in the morning or soak them with insecticidal soap or light horticultural oil designed for use in the summer.

Number three, it's a triple already.

Judy in South Central P.A.

who listens to us Sundays on WPSU in State College writes, "I'm looking for an easy way to create space for a garden.

"What would you think about covering a portion of grass "with black plastic?

Would it kill the grass?

"Would it be easier than digging up the grass?

Any other suggestions?"

Well, you will have nothing but misery if you attempt to kill a portion of a lawn and then try to grow a flat earth garden there.

It would take years for the plastic to do the initial job well in your climate.

And then the grass would quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly move back in.

Success will follow however, if you scout that area of lawn until dirt blows out the back of the mower, lay down a single sheet of thick cardboard over top, and then top that with a nice raised bed frame that you will then fill with a mix of high quality compost, screen top soil, and lots of perlite.

Yes, my love affair with perlite continues.

Then, as we just mentioned, you can plant fall crops in it right away and be ready to hit the ground running at full speed next season.

Remember to keep the width at or under four feet but you can make it as long as you like.

We conclude with Margaret in Hampton, Virginia, which is in the Norfolk, Virginia Beach area.

She writes, "Can you give me a reference "for a show that aired several weeks ago?

"You and the guests were having a discussion "about how the smell of good soil increases one's levels of endorphins."

Absolutely, but first, I have to apologize to our guests that day, Suzanne Longacre, who was supposed to discuss something completely different with me, companion planting.

But she talked about that research while we were getting ready for the interview.

And then I blindsided her by turning the interview into a discussion of this fascinating phenomenon.

We got a lot of requests for the, quote, "original study," but my research found that the information came from several studies that had been combined to make numerous different articles in the, quote, "popular press," which is only to say that these compilations were not peer reviewed.

But I read them.

They're all well-written and well-researched.

We'll post links to a number of them with this week's article at the Gardens Alive website.

They're all a little different and all contain links to some of the original peer reviewed studies.

Well, that sure was a lot of interesting advice in 900 words now, wouldn't it?

Luckily for those of you who wish to read the information over with those promised links to detailed articles about how this smell and soil may be better for your soul than Prozac, the question of the week appears in print at the Gardens Alive website.

Just click the link for the Question of the Week at our website, which is still and will forever be, youbetyourgarden.org.

Gardens Alive supports the "You Bet Your Garden" Question of the Week and you'll always find the latest Question of the Week at the Gardens Alive website.

"You Bet Your Garden" is a half hour public television show, an hour long public radio show and podcast, all produced and delivered to you weekly by Rodale Institute Radio and Television at Lehigh Valley Public Media in Bethlehem, P.A.. Our radio show is proudly distributed by PRX, the Public Radio Exchange.

"You Bet Your Garden" was created by Mike McGrath.

Mike McGrath was created when he saw the Three Stooges live at Sciolla's in Northeast Philly in 1960.

And even though the iron appeared to shoot steam, Moe didn't seem to be actually able to hurt Larry with it.

Yikes.

My producer is threatening to sequester my soil if I don't get out of this studio.

We must be out of time.

But you can call us anytime at 833-727-9588.

Justin, welcome to You Bet Your Garden.

your tired, your poor, your wretched, refuse teeming towards our garden shore at ybyg@wlvt.org.

How much would you get in Scrabble for those four letters?

I've got to figure that out.

You'll find all of our contact information plus answers to your garden questions, audio of this show, video of this show, audio and video of old shows and links to our priceless internationally renowned podcasts.

It's all at that website youbetyourgarden.org.

I'm your host, Mike McGrath.

I'm listening to the crazy world of Arthur Brown, keeping an eye on my potatoes, getting ready to harvest my garlic, and wondering why I have to pay for my wine when I'm wearing a mask in the liquor store and I got 20 accomplices.

Oh, well, keep your mask on and Ducky and I will see you again next week.

♪♪