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August in the Garden: Keeping Plants Alive & Minds Looking Ahead
88 Plays9 days ago
In this late-summer conversation, Alexis, Brett, and Ray reflect on the nostalgia of print magazines, book fairs, and the “adult book fair” season of seed catalogs. The crew dives into the realities of August in the garden—plants looking tired, leaf spot showing up, and the challenge of keeping things alive through heat and humidity.
They explore how August serves as a natural transition point: a pause between the frenzy of spring planting and the rush of fall preparation. From buying discounted shrubs and busted soil bags to ordering cover crops, garlic, and seeds before they sell out, the team shares practical tips for both home gardeners and commercial growers.
Discussion also turns to disease management strategies, irrigation struggles, and the importance of recordkeeping—reminding listeners that now is the perfect time to take notes, review finances, and plan rotations for next year.
As always, the hosts mix humor and storytelling with hands-on advice, wrapping up with a reminder that sometimes the best thing you can do in August is step back, breathe, and prepare for what’s ahead.
Questions/Comments/Feedback/Suggestions for Topics: hortculturepodcast@gmail.com
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Transcript
The Appeal of Physical Magazines
00:00:17
Alexis
Has anybody got any nerdy like magazines? like do you have a nerdy magazine that still comes to your door that you enjoy?
00:00:24
Plant People
I do. I actually do. Blue Ridge Magazine.
00:00:27
Alexis
What is it? so
00:00:28
Plant People
it's not a It's not plugging that magazine, but I love going to half-price books and used bookstores looking for old magazines. It doesn't matter, but um a subscription I still get is, I think it's Blue Ridge Magazine.
00:00:38
Alexis
yeah
00:00:42
Plant People
It's just a... magazine about the Blue Ridge area of the United States. And yeah, it's a physical paper magazine.
00:00:46
Brett
Oh, wow. Can you...
00:00:48
Plant People
And I still love those, but any more, I probably read more old copy stuff on magazines that I get at like used bookstores or in our public library has a magazine exchange.
00:01:00
Plant People
And I take my old Blue Ridge magazines and I swap them out for national geo or, you know, field and stream or whatever.
00:01:05
Alexis
um let's go see Oh, super cool. Libraries are the best.
00:01:07
Plant People
So Yeah, I do.
00:01:09
Brett
can you
00:01:09
Plant People
I love our local library. It's got a very cool program and I and i love it. You know, I don't even have to buy those.
00:01:13
Brett
can you
00:01:13
Plant People
I just swap out.
00:01:14
Brett
Can you explain the allure of that, Ray, of the old magazines and the and the why for you?
00:01:21
Plant People
Part of it is ah nostalgia, but, you know, and I get magazines, e-magazines on my iPad. But the problem with the iPad is, you know, it's got pros and cons, but it's a very personal thing for me. I'll get a notification. I'll get derailed off into email or some kind of direct message.
00:01:39
Plant People
when I want to ah kind of detox and unplug for a minute, just 15 minutes is it's good for me personally to go analog sometimes. And I love the feel of the pages and it's kind of like books that I've had this discussion with you guys, I think before it's the difference between an e-reader and a dedicated book.
00:01:59
Plant People
I mean, both have their place and both are amazing and awesome. Magazines are the same way for me. I just,
00:02:05
Brett
Mm-hmm.
00:02:05
Plant People
Love the feel. I love to go down at the end of the garden next to the creek. And I love to just crack open the magazine, sit in the Adirondack chair. And it's my zone. And I leave my phone like out of hand's reach when I do that.
00:02:18
Plant People
And I really enjoy that. And um I don't get a current subscription, but there was an old magazine. I think it was called Ideals Magazine. And ah probably spammed you guys with photos and, you know, inspirational things out of that in the past.
00:02:31
Plant People
but you know just just just magazines. And so I do a lot of diving on eBay and used bookstores for older magazines. And I'll read those and go through those and keep the ones I really enjoy and just put the rest back into the stream.
00:02:42
Brett
any Any particular genres of old magazines?
00:02:43
Alexis
ah
00:02:46
Plant People
I love outdoor type magazines, nature magazines. I'm a big fan of National Geographic. I always loved those things growing up. um My family would go to flea markets and just get big boxes of old magazines. And and at that time,
00:03:00
Plant People
National Geographic, the Yellow Books, uh, the small base magazines were one of the most common ones that we would get for whatever reason at, um, you know, flea markets and in places like that or peddler's malls.
00:03:02
Alexis
Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
00:03:06
Alexis
huh
00:03:12
Plant People
And I just loved when mom would to bring home this big box of old magazines and I would love it. But Field and Stream was an absolute favorite. I would love anything Field and Stream and, uh, love National Geo. That was two that I would commonly get and love those. Yeah. So I do love a good hard copy, uh,
00:03:30
Plant People
ah a magazine how about you guys?
00:03:30
Brett
Hmm.
00:03:31
Plant People
Is
00:03:32
Brett
Yeah. What about you, Alexis?
00:03:34
Alexis
Um, for like an actual magazine that I still get, I get, um, uh, cut flower quarterly
Nostalgia and Experiences of Book Fairs
00:03:43
Alexis
surprise, surprise.
00:03:43
Plant People
ah
00:03:45
Alexis
But that's one of the benefits of being a member of the, uh, association of cut flower growers is you get a quarterly magazine with research and, uh, uh,
00:03:52
Plant People
that like a slick magazine, beautiful pictures? and Is it a slick magazine?
00:03:55
Alexis
Oh, yeah. Always gorgeous.
00:03:56
Plant People
Like, oh yeah, gotcha.
00:03:58
Alexis
But ah really good articles. They do a great job with that magazine. I've never, I don't know. i've I've liked the Nat Geos, but I'm on Magazine Flipper. like i Like, I flip through the whole thing.
00:04:09
Alexis
I don't know how everybody else does, but i flip through the whole thing and I look to see what's interesting. And then I go back and read it. And that's my order.
00:04:15
Plant People
the first pass. Yeah.
00:04:17
Alexis
process But yeah, it's a great magazine. It's got a little bit of everything in it and research and new plants to look you know that are coming out on the market and um just tales. And um they have these different regions and you have like a ah chair or whatever for that region. And they they'll reach out to growers to get you know stories or or something. and but it's a way to build community development.
00:04:42
Alexis
even just through a magazine to know like other people are dealing with something similar to you in your region or whatever. But um yeah, i don't know. I saw it came in a little while ago and I was rearranging stuff and I have my stack because they're all really pretty, right?
00:04:56
Alexis
My stack of flower quarterlies. And I was like, oh, this is my one nerdy magazine that I get where I just get to like sit down and flip through it. And it's, yeah, it's, it's nice to just a little bit.
00:05:07
Plant People
It's almost like an indulgence. Does it feel like that?
00:05:09
Alexis
you
00:05:09
Plant People
Like an indulgence?
00:05:09
Alexis
It does. Yeah, it does feel a little bit like an indulgence.
00:05:10
Plant People
Yeah.
00:05:12
Alexis
Like I can either drink my coffee or you know, whatever throughout the day.
00:05:12
Plant People
where
00:05:15
Alexis
And ah a little little you time is different from like a book. It's just some, it seems more low key in a way. So yeah. What about you, Brett?
00:05:27
Brett
I don't have any magazines. I spend all my time grinding, just hustling, you know, staying on the 24th.
00:05:30
Plant People
Just getting the hustle. Yeah.
00:05:34
Alexis
I don't indulge in anything besides work.
00:05:36
Brett
Yeah.
00:05:37
Plant People
Even even out digital magazines?
00:05:37
Brett
Indulgence to me, it sounds like weakness.
00:05:38
Plant People
Yeah.
00:05:40
Brett
So no, I actually don't.
00:05:40
Plant People
It's anti-theirical to the hustle.
00:05:43
Brett
I don't know that I have any more like physical magazines that come to the house. The most recent one that I um I canceled it probably couple of years ago. is called the fretboard journal.
00:05:53
Brett
And it was about, it was a guitar journal, like really high ah production value.
00:05:55
Plant People
Oh, Guitar Magazine.
00:05:59
Brett
Like it's a quarterly, but thick, like bound kind of almost like a look book type of a feel.
00:06:04
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:06:05
Plant People
Oh. Like a coffee table book or magazine.
00:06:06
Alexis
you
00:06:07
Brett
Yeah, yeah, not not quite, but but close.
00:06:08
Plant People
Yeah.
00:06:10
Brett
and um And it was cool.
00:06:11
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:06:11
Brett
I just found that a lot of the articles and stuff. So the the reality is, unfortunately, that ah the world of guitar is mostly inhabited by old dudes now.
00:06:25
Brett
And so a lot of the content is kind of tailored to old dudes as well. And while people who know me might be surprised that that's actually not my thing, um It's a...
00:06:37
Alexis
Tell me more about your your coin collection.
00:06:37
Brett
in
00:06:40
Plant People
Yeah, stamps and coins.
00:06:40
Brett
Yeah, I have the interests, but like the articles and content of some of the stuff, like a lot of it, i don't know.
00:06:42
Alexis
yeah
00:06:47
Brett
some They do a good job of featuring new artists and stuff, but there's kind of some glory days and kind of a just an implicit ah nostalgia for a time that before I was born, before any of us were born, um that is kind of in the guitar world in general.
00:07:00
Plant People
Yeah.
00:07:04
Brett
So anyway, that's a long way around of saying I don't get that magazine anymore, but. It was a cool one. You guys remember highlights magazines?
00:07:09
Plant People
I was always shocked. Oh yeah. i Loved it.
00:07:11
Alexis
Yes.
00:07:12
Plant People
Loved it. Yeah.
00:07:14
Brett
That was that would if I could get that again.
00:07:14
Plant People
Some of the best memories.
00:07:14
Alexis
but so Let's make an extension version version of that.
00:07:18
Brett
What's up?
00:07:18
Plant People
Yeah.
00:07:19
Alexis
An extension version of that?
00:07:21
Brett
There is one or we should have one.
00:07:21
Alexis
<unk>
00:07:22
Plant People
We should have them.
00:07:22
Alexis
We should have one. Mm-hmm.
00:07:23
Brett
Yeah.
00:07:23
Plant People
And it needs to be that newspaper print too.
00:07:26
Brett
I
00:07:26
Plant People
You know, like a good highlights magazine.
00:07:28
Alexis
good Good texture. Yeah.
00:07:30
Brett
i always remember the things where you would follow like the not or was you know, a
00:07:30
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:07:34
Plant People
Yeah.
00:07:34
Brett
ah follow the line, either ah slide like slides, you know, that the they were overlapping and you had to follow them and try to figure out, you know, how.
00:07:35
Plant People
A little puzzle.
00:07:40
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:07:44
Alexis
Which one is was the way out?
00:07:44
Brett
So that was when my my ah magazine experience peaked with highlights, I think.
00:07:50
Plant People
I know when Reed was a bit younger, I mean, he's going into middle school and my son is this year, which is hard for me to believe. Time passes so quick. But one thing that I loved um was book fairs. And those are still going on, you guys, book fairs.
00:08:05
Plant People
And ah I mean, I was more giddy than my son at any one point.
00:08:05
Brett
So
00:08:08
Plant People
We'd go into the book fair and I'm like, well, get this one. It was really for me. I mean, there's all these cool National Geo books are still there. And, you know, books about nature and butterflies and, you know, adventures.
00:08:20
Plant People
you know, out and about. But yeah, book fairs. ah When you mentioned highlights, it reminded me out a ofval
00:08:24
Brett
so i I have a theory about that that I have not tested or examined, so it's probably wrong. But i I think I feel like when when when we were younger and we went to the book fair.
00:08:33
Plant People
working theory.
00:08:38
Brett
The feeling of having a space that was so intensely marketed to us as children was like really novel to us.
00:08:49
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:08:49
Alexis
Mm.
00:08:50
Brett
But I feel like kids, the kids these days, they're like so heavily marketed to pretty much all the time that it feels less novel.
00:08:54
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:08:59
Brett
Like it's, it's just, there's, I remember just thinking this is, this is a weird space where like you can buy stuff and it's set up to appeal to me as a child. And um remember I'd get the, like ah the poster or the folder or whatever, like the Dodge Viper or something like that.
00:09:13
Plant People
Brett, it is still that. The Dodge Viper is still on the poster.
00:09:17
Brett
Hell yeah.
00:09:17
Plant People
and if And to take your you know quarters that you haven't spent otherwise, they still have pencils and erasers. Brett, the format is still the same. It's beautiful.
00:09:26
Brett
So this what's happening with this, it sounds like is that like what I said about the guitar stuff, Reed is like all the books of the book fairs for all these boomers who remember the Dodge Vipers and they just want to go and get a, you know, like it's a, it's kind of an old guy's game now.
00:09:27
Alexis
Oh.
00:09:43
Plant People
I don't know, man, that the energy at those book fairs. There's a little bit of like blood in the water energy, feeding frenzy.
00:09:47
Brett
They loved it. Okay. Yeah.
00:09:50
Plant People
These kids, the parents were like, like, okay, I'm cutting you off at $150. Like, I mean, the fervor of these kids going in there, the energy in that room, and it is slam packed every single one I've been to, which is kind of shocking.
00:09:56
Brett
Oh, wow.
00:10:05
Plant People
I know, but at least at his school, they were always jam packed with huge lines, five people checking people out.
00:10:10
Brett
Oh, I see. I see. I misunderstood.
00:10:12
Plant People
And lots of energy. No, the energy is.
00:10:14
Brett
i thought you were saying that Reed and his friends were not that into it.
00:10:14
Alexis
I never went with my parents.
00:10:18
Plant People
No, no. re The energy was there. And Reed has three little individual libraries, one upstairs, one on the middle floor. And he's taken up some of my room in the basement um for books.
00:10:28
Plant People
I mean, he's he's got quite a collection, but I don't know what it is.
00:10:32
Brett
Yeah, we always, we went during school.
00:10:32
Plant People
Yeah, still going.
00:10:34
Brett
is that what you were saying, to Alexis?
00:10:34
Alexis
Yeah, we went during school, but there was no parents.
00:10:35
Plant People
Yes. Well, it's during school. ah there's That's one session, okay? The big session is when they let the parents come with them because then they get our energy and money as well.
00:10:45
Brett
That's a smart move.
00:10:46
Plant People
So there's always two opportunities.
00:10:47
Brett
It's a smart move.
00:10:47
Alexis
Yeah, very smart.
00:10:49
Plant People
Yeah. Marketing, but no, apparently um print is alive and well.
00:10:49
Alexis
Very smart.
00:10:53
Alexis
The book there was like independence, right? Like you're not – like your you you know your mom gives you a crisp 10 or 20 and you get to spend it the way you want and it's in your pocket and it was and it's in a store that's meant for you.
00:10:55
Plant People
It will, yeah. Your first taste of consumerism. Yeah.
00:11:07
Alexis
So it was like – was just independence I feel like.
00:11:09
Plant People
Did you guys get the little pre-runner to that?
00:11:09
Alexis
Yeah.
00:11:11
Plant People
You had the little, where you could check out all the books and stuff and the little leaflets.
00:11:15
Alexis
Yeah.
00:11:16
Plant People
Yeah.
00:11:16
Alexis
They taunted you.
00:11:18
Plant People
Yeah. Scholastic book fairs.
00:11:19
Brett
they
00:11:19
Alexis
This is what you can expect.
00:11:21
Brett
They need to market like a like a shirt or something
00:11:21
Plant People
It's good stuff.
00:11:26
Brett
of like, so as you you have parents coming back, I don't know how many years it's been since your first book fair as a child, Ray, but like they need to market like 35 year book, book fair veteran or like 40 year.
00:11:34
Plant People
First grade. Hmm.
00:11:42
Brett
And I bet they could sell those to the parents like crazy.
00:11:43
Plant People
Hey, if they had a pin for that, I'd be the first in line to buy it. My commemorative pins.
00:11:47
Brett
Yeah, exactly.
00:11:48
Plant People
Yeah. Because I mean, i got caught up in that energy and, and, and I wasn't the only one in the room. Parents were being very nostalgic.
00:11:54
Alexis
Thank you.
00:11:55
Plant People
And I talked to multiple people that I did not know. And we were all excited to be there and talked about the old book fairs that we were a part of, uh,
00:12:03
Brett
Yeah.
00:12:04
Plant People
So the more things change, Brett, I guess sometimes the more they stay the same. So those book fairs, I mean, they still have lots of energy and lots ah lots of juice behind them.
00:12:09
Brett
It's a little.
00:12:14
Plant People
so know
00:12:15
Brett
indicated, my theory was wrong because I basically it was on fault like incorrect premises. I thought the kids were not into it and you were, but they everyone was into it.
00:12:24
Plant People
ah Yeah. and And I think the parents got even more into
Gardening Through Seasonal Transitions
00:12:28
Plant People
it when they saw that their kids, I think it was a synergy kind of thing. You know, they one fed off the other kind of thing.
00:12:33
Alexis
Each other.
00:12:34
Plant People
Yeah.
00:12:34
Alexis
Yeah.
00:12:34
Plant People
But, you know, ah I don't know. that It was a packed room. That's the only indicator I had for these events. And the lines were always very long and they had multiple checkout stations. So, yeah.
00:12:44
Brett
Well, and ah another thing that's, ah yeah. And I, but we could talk about book fairs the entire episode. Maybe that's what people would prefer. Um, like the, the, the idea of buying something physically in person has more of a novelty to it now than it did.
00:12:54
Plant People
That'll be the other podcast.
00:13:03
Brett
Like had to go somewhere to physically buy everything back when I was going to the book fairs, which i mean was a long time ago, but not that long ago.
00:13:07
Alexis
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:13:08
Plant People
Yeah.
00:13:12
Brett
Um,
00:13:12
Plant People
No.
00:13:13
Brett
and now And now the idea of like even going and physically and like using cash is another thing that's more novel now. um i still am.
00:13:21
Plant People
That's one thing I don't miss is making change and using cash, but not, it is very novel. and I heard read with his friends talking the other day and, uh, it was him being so retro because he was buying games on disc and he thinks that's the coolest thing they ever.
00:13:35
Plant People
You know, everything's digital downloads now, instant downloads when, and all his buddies come over and they play his disc based games.
00:13:36
Brett
Mm-hmm.
00:13:42
Plant People
And it's,
00:13:42
Brett
Mm-hmm.
00:13:43
Plant People
And I heard him talking to him He said, it's about the process, man. You actually get to go and talk to other gamers at GameStop. I think a GameStop was the store he had last was at. And they were like, what? Why don't you you know get your games on Steam or these online platforms? He goes, I do, but it's not as fun. It's not real, man.
00:13:59
Plant People
And he was having this whole conversation. I was so proud.
00:14:02
Alexis
Not real, man.
00:14:04
Plant People
he said he said He said, I talked to three different gamers at the game store. And I was like, yes. Yeah. Remember the community.
00:14:10
Brett
Yeah. i can't imagine I can't imagine that coming up in a household with you and Jen that he would be excited to get out and talk to people about stuff that they're passionate about and just get excited together with other people.
00:14:11
Plant People
ah Remember the community.
00:14:20
Plant People
Yeah. i mean, there's no restraining orders on our son yet.
00:14:22
Alexis
Right? it's Shocking.
00:14:23
Brett
Where does that come from?
00:14:23
Plant People
So, yeah.
00:14:24
Brett
Where does that come from? You never know.
00:14:25
Plant People
I mean, more things change, man.
00:14:26
Brett
um Well, you said that you said the energy, ah you know, caught getting caught up in the energy at the book fair.
00:14:30
Plant People
Yeah.
00:14:33
Brett
i have been feeling in the world, the outdoor world in particular, a lot of energy. ah feel like we're in this like swirling, almost peak of energetic heat.
00:14:45
Brett
And i don't know.
00:14:45
Plant People
We're in the dog days, correct? Is that correct?
00:14:48
Brett
I mean, maybe the puppy, the puppy days, right?
00:14:49
Plant People
I think we're through the dog days at 12th or third was something. Yeah.
00:14:53
Brett
the young The young dog days, you know it'll it'll grow over the... But like plant the plants seem to be kind of... They're like on the verge of being like, can we chill yet?
00:15:06
Brett
It goes from like, yes, yes, yes, yes yes to, oh, okay.
00:15:07
Alexis
Literally and figuratively.
00:15:11
Brett
It's kind of warm, kind of humid.
00:15:11
Alexis
Yeah.
00:15:12
Brett
um is that how How's your all's peak of summer been?
00:15:14
Plant People
My plants are looking ratty.
00:15:18
Plant People
It's been an interesting year with a lot of moisture early and now we've had extended periods of lots of hot weather. We've had we've had some rains here and there, but I don't know. you know Stuff is having like lots of leaf spots for me.
00:15:34
Plant People
ah Now at this point, Reed, our son, I mentioned him earlier. He's growing zinnias that he's selling to the neighborhood and we've put him several you know pretty good sized patches of zinnias out, but they all have leaf spots and nor they have all these diseases I'm normally not worried about was zinnias and the foliage is looking real bad.
00:15:51
Plant People
It's looking a little tired on the Tackett homestead here ah lately looking.
00:15:55
Alexis
Yeah.
00:15:56
Plant People
I mean, I don't know. Is that true for you guys? Things are looking a little tired for me.
00:16:00
Brett
What do you attribute the leaf spot to?
00:16:00
Alexis
Yeah, my shrubs are, huh my shrubs are feeling, feeling the heat, feeling the, we, we really haven't had rain.
00:16:02
Brett
Oh, sorry. Sorry.
00:16:08
Alexis
And if we do, it's, so aggressive that like really none of it is seeking seeping in and becoming beneficial um to the plants besides just raising the humidity um but yeah everything's looking kind of kind of sad i'm starting to think about putting irrigation on stuff like you know putting a sprinkler on stuff that i don't have drip on um
00:16:10
Plant People
spotty. Yeah.
00:16:16
Plant People
Yeah.
00:16:19
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:16:28
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:16:31
Alexis
And then, yeah, all of the earlier planted stuff has kind of hit its peak and is on the other side of the bell curve coming down with, you know, leaf spots and powdery mildew.
00:16:40
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:16:40
Alexis
And um I know I'm already thinking about and taking notes of all the things I want to do differently next year, all the things I still need to do for this year.
00:16:41
Plant People
Yeah.
00:16:51
Alexis
um It's always just living in the future, man.
00:16:54
Brett
So is it, is this like a, I realize, you know, you're, that is you're constantly thinking about what, you know, what comes next or what you're going to do next. It's just sort of a rotating thing. But do you feel like this is a like natural break point in the year of not, not taking a break, but like of,
00:17:10
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:17:12
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:17:13
Brett
Behind you is the primary growing season of 2025. Ahead of you is the rest of it plus the upcoming. like ah is that Is this about the time of year where you're thinking that way?
00:17:23
Alexis
Yeah, yeah. August always feels like the transition month to me where like you have planted everything that is going to bloom for this year.
00:17:38
Alexis
And then August is kind of the month where I feel like I mentally – grapple all the things that have to happen because nothing has to happen this month if that makes sense like and This is just kind of prep work to get yourself ready for fall planting for you know all of that kind of stuff Um, but august there's just like nothing that has to be done this month at least in my world And I think in a lot of vegetable world like maybe you're starting some seeds But you might have probably started those end of july You know, but you're and you're ordering stuff like there's stuff being done, but it's just like
00:18:12
Alexis
on the farm itself it's just i feel like it's just like keeping things alive like august is keeping things alive and preparing for the next step which is like september is when that like kicks into gear again um i feel like it's pretty similar in the veggie world and even the fruit world right like i'm trying to think of what fruit we have locally that we're harvesting right now any nothing right
00:18:17
Plant People
Yeah.
00:18:35
Plant People
Yeah. Well, I mean, a lot of it seems like, especially like in orchards and stuff.
00:18:38
Brett
Maybe some blackberries still.
00:18:39
Plant People
And yeah, there, there's stuff out there, but it's, it's almost like,
00:18:40
Alexis
Yeah, maybe it's library, so.
00:18:45
Plant People
when's a switch? When does that switch in people's minds, like as consumers, particularly when you mentioned like orchards and fruit and things like that, like that fall vibe starts to hit.
00:18:52
Alexis
sir
00:18:54
Plant People
It's almost like Mariah Carey. We expect to hear that, you know, the Christmas vibe descend upon us.
00:18:58
Alexis
It's time, yeah
00:19:00
Plant People
What's the fall vibe? Is it Jack the Pumpkin King that starts singing his song and it descends on us? But I don't know. i'm I'm with you, Alexis. It feels like a transition period. and And that's a little different for some producers, of course, that have
00:19:12
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:19:13
Plant People
protected, you know, areas like high tunnels or greenhouses.
00:19:16
Alexis
Sure.
00:19:17
Plant People
But, um, yeah.
00:19:17
Alexis
It's not that there's nothing happening. It's just that like the very active and part of your brain that is, you know, in the spring, you're, harve you know, for a lot of people with those protected structures, they're harvesting, they're planting, they're prepping, they're they're doing like from a to Z, the full scope of the farm.
00:19:19
Plant People
Yeah. Still lots going on.
00:19:36
Alexis
And in the fall, it's the full scope of the farm too, where August, you know, end of July, end of, you know, into August is is more like,
00:19:39
Plant People
Yeah.
00:19:44
Alexis
you're only doing the harvesting, you're only reaping and kind of keeping things alive. You're not planting and this and this and this, you know, starting seeds, buth blah, blah, blah. It seems to just kind of be like a second for you to catch your breath, which is weird to think of it in the summer because that's when things are usually at their peak for a lot of people.
00:19:58
Plant People
just
00:20:03
Alexis
But like, It's much easier to just go through and harvest and sell the stuff than it is to harvest, sell, plant, seed, you know, all these other things that go into it. um And so that's where like the brain kind of takes takes a second and starts thinking about what's next to me.
00:20:23
Plant People
and
00:20:24
Alexis
don't know.
00:20:25
Plant People
Just the calls that come into an extension office, this is a natural break point this time of year here in Kentucky. For me, it always has been the difference between a a home grower and a commercial grower.
00:20:36
Plant People
ah Home growers that may not have a very rigorous disease control program. Everything's in even more decline naturally, and that's fine.
00:20:41
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:20:42
Plant People
That suits their goals. It's an intentional sort of thing that they may not be they may not be spraying a lot for whatever. But commercial growers are still, if something looks good on a commercial farm, it looks good because of intention and planning and a deliberate effort.
00:20:56
Alexis
right
00:20:59
Plant People
So you still have these commercial operations going. Of course, you know ah gangbusters are selling and you know they have all these things going on. But for homeowners, I find that it's different. I don't work with a tremendous amount of homeowners and I haven't over the years.
00:21:13
Plant People
that do fall gardening for whatever reason. But I kind of get that by this time of the year, you're hot and you're tired.
00:21:15
Alexis
Mm-hmm. They're tired. School starts.
00:21:19
Plant People
Yes.
00:21:19
Alexis
Yeah.
00:21:20
Plant People
School starts is a big one, you know, for people that may have school age children, they're occupied with other things and the seasonality is kicked in. ah You know, it's like, well, those veggies out in the home garden, they've had a good run, but we're done.
00:21:28
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:21:31
Brett
Thank you.
00:21:32
Plant People
so yeah um having a fall garden for just home growers has always been a tough sell for me, even though I have those classes from time to time. And we talk about, you know, growing transplants and you should have done your broccoli back in July. started the, you know, we talk about all those topics, but this is a natural period of the year. That's a break point that highlights the differences between home growers and commercial producers, commercial producers, because they have all these additional inputs and intentions for their, you know, crops, they're still going good.
00:22:03
Plant People
They, for the most part, they still look good.
00:22:03
Alexis
Right.
00:22:05
Plant People
The vine crops. I mean, Vine crops for homeowners this time of year, not so good. Usually commercial producers usually if they've done a good, yeah.
00:22:11
Alexis
The squash bugs got into them.
00:22:13
Plant People
Yeah. Commercial producers are the only ones with good looking vine crops this time of year, typically.
00:22:16
Alexis
The zucchinis are now like eight pounds each because they've stopped harvesting them.
00:22:19
Plant People
Yeah.
00:22:19
Brett
Thank you.
00:22:20
Plant People
Yeah. And they've sent the relay back to the vine.
00:22:21
Alexis
Yeah.
00:22:23
Plant People
Stop producing because you've missed the zucchini.
00:22:24
Alexis
yeah
00:22:25
Plant People
Yeah. Yeah.
00:22:26
Alexis
yeah
00:22:26
Plant People
So for me, that's this time of year. That's why it's a transition time of year for me. um You know, from that aspect.
00:22:33
Alexis
the And it's Yeah, I think there's just like a rest time. If you are commercial or even if you're homeowner and you're like, okay, I'm done for the year, but what can I do to make next year better or something like that?
00:22:44
Plant People
Oh, yeah.
00:22:44
Alexis
I think it's a good time to start thinking about what you might need. And so like, you know, I always go to – it's a great time to buy a lot of that stuff you need for the fall, um like cover crop, like garlic if you want to plant garlic, um and also like seed ordering.
00:23:01
Alexis
I think a lot of us think of seeds –
00:23:02
Plant People
I was going to say.
00:23:03
Alexis
purchasing seeds in the January, but number one, you can get some really good discounts if you buy them before the end of the year.
00:23:06
Plant People
Hmm.
00:23:10
Alexis
um And those seeds will you know be good still for the spring. So if you're thinking, oh, I know I want to grow this lettuce again, or I know I want to grow this type of zinia again, you know ordering now can save you money, ah but also you're more likely to get that seed, right?
00:23:27
Alexis
So a lot of lot of them are sold out even by January and February now.
00:23:31
Plant People
yeah
00:23:31
Alexis
so um it's just a thought there are on thinking ah proactively now with assuming you have some brain space for it because you're not doing all of the the early season stuff you have some brain space to start thinking a little more proactively
00:23:43
Plant People
yeah
00:23:47
Plant People
it's ah I call it adult book fair season. That's what seed catalogs are. That's the book fair for a
00:23:52
Alexis
beautiful segue
00:23:53
Plant People
for For adults. I mean, ah it it really is. I mean, we were talking about the book fair earlier and I kept thinking, but we all get seed catalogs, but we're not talking about those as magazines. And ah they're some of my favorites.
00:24:03
Alexis
um
00:24:05
Plant People
I didn't count those, but maybe we should have talked about that angle a little bit. ah When do seeds catalog, don't they start showing up?
00:24:10
Alexis
uh-huh
00:24:12
Plant People
I mean, I know commercial catalogs are in a different schedule, release schedule than more home geared magazines. But once those things start showing up, it's an exciting time. It's exciting.
00:24:23
Alexis
Yeah, and that's early. Or like if you're a homeowner and you want to plant some new shrubs, if you're in Kentucky and you're wanting to plant some new shrubs in your home, you know, ah landscape, fall is from 90%, I would say, of the shrubs we plant in Kentucky, are they prefer to be planted in the fall ah rather than in the spring.
00:24:29
Plant People
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:24:43
Alexis
So again, you can get a good discount on them um because a lot of them are just going on sale right now. But, ah you know, you can also make sure that they're more successful by plain and planting them in the fall. So go out there, like I just mulch my front beds.
00:24:57
Alexis
And one thing that like I know really like took the time to notice while I was mulching was My beds look great. The plants that are in them are really healthy, but they're all spring bloomers.
00:25:08
Plant People
Yeah.
00:25:08
Alexis
ah And so like spring and June.
00:25:08
Plant People
Yeah.
00:25:10
Alexis
And so right now everything is just green, which, you know, is nice. But I'd like to have some more color in there for the summer and for the fall. And so what did I do? I went to the store and I found something on sale that will be blooming in the in the summer or the fall to put in there.
00:25:25
Alexis
And so just those little things um are are nice to observe this time of year, I think.
00:25:29
Plant People
yeah um It's also, we talked about like adult book fair season, but for me, it is what I call busted bag season. It's when I start to go around to the local box stores and they know me my name now.
00:25:42
Plant People
And I'm like, so do you have any mulch or raised bed soil that has busted? I ask for busted bags and the timing is critical. Okay. Because first of all, put
00:25:52
Alexis
You're giving everybody your secret. You're not going to find it anymore.
00:25:54
Plant People
I know I'm really messing this up.
00:25:54
Brett
Yeah.
00:25:56
Plant People
I live in on the West Coast, by the way, don not in central Kentucky. No, ah but this time of year, I start to read. And you mentioned deals that, you know. ah your local garden centers. These are times of year that I look for potting soil particularly because it is so expensive.
00:26:13
Plant People
And you sometimes you can get end of season deals on those things.
00:26:17
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:26:18
Plant People
But I think more and more people, there's more competitors. I've scoped them out. I see them back in, you know, driving their truck around behind Lowe's and I'm like, no, you don't. ah But, you know, it is a pretty good time of year to get deals on certain things because I don't think people are thinking about putting their deciduous shrubs and, you know, trees in this time of year, even though it's the best time.
00:26:35
Alexis
Yeah.
00:26:38
Plant People
And, you know, not only, you know, soil and and mulch and things like that, but sometimes you can get a better deal this time of year.
00:26:38
Alexis
yeah
00:26:46
Plant People
So I encourage people not to give up.
00:26:47
Alexis
Yeah. Well, yeah. And your farm, your supplies too.
00:26:48
Plant People
Yeah.
00:26:50
Alexis
So like if you're, as you're going around and, you know, looking at stuff and you go, oh, you know, I want to put in in a new bed or, uh, you know, whatever you look and say, oh, I don't have any drip tape.
00:26:58
Plant People
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:27:00
Alexis
I'm going to need to go make sure you get some of that. Again, a lot of the time there are deals if you buy it before the beginning of the year, because it's for tax reasons for businesses, but bla blah, blah, blah, blah. So just being a little bit like proactive taking that.
00:27:14
Alexis
We always say take the notebook with you or your phone or whatever you like to take little notes on. and And while you have a little bit of room in your brain, take some of those proactive notes about things you want to buy.
00:27:26
Alexis
And, you know, hopefully you've got fall income if you're a farm and can grab some of those things before the beginning of the year. And then you can put that on your taxes as, you know, expenses.
00:27:36
Alexis
yeah.
00:27:37
Plant People
Yeah.
00:27:38
Brett
Yeah, I think in general, this this time of year where you're talking about, you know, but on the production side of of a lot of things, you're keeping it alive and waiting for the next step and in September and into October.
00:27:38
Plant People
ah
00:27:50
Brett
it's ah It's a time, you know, most people, well, some people do it on an ongoing basis, but some people its it would might be a nice moment to just make sure that the expenses and the ah receipts and the all those things that may be piled up on the in the armrest or the dash of the truck or
00:28:05
Alexis
and
00:28:10
Alexis
Yeah.
00:28:12
Brett
crumpled up and thrown in that shoe box or whatever, um just to take a look at those and and make sure that you've input things.
00:28:16
Alexis
Yeah.
00:28:17
Brett
and Because if it's really hot outside and you're going to get out of the heat for a little while, and you but you want to do something toward toward that you know business.
00:28:23
Alexis
Hopefully.
00:28:26
Brett
In addition to the production considerations, there's also the business side and the kind of the record keeping side of things.
00:28:31
Alexis
Totally.
00:28:32
Brett
that this this I read something yesterday that was talking about how with it being so, so hot and these heat domes and things that we're having that it's almost that, uh, that summer ends up becoming like winter where we spend more time inside than anything else.
00:28:45
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:28:45
Plant People
Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:28:48
Brett
And winter's the time when we tend to think about, you know, going through those records and and that type of stuff on the business side.
00:28:49
Alexis
Yeah.
00:28:55
Brett
Um, and I think on in my, in my neck of the woods, it's all about just watering, watering, watering, watering.
00:28:57
Alexis
That's a really good point.
00:29:03
Plant People
Yeah.
00:29:03
Brett
Um, um And luckily we've had a decent amount of rain off and on this summer. We has, it hasn't been nearly as dry as it has been in some years past, but it is amazing how much water, uh, all the, and of course I have, I'm the moron that grows plants and pots exclusive, almost exclusive.
00:29:19
Plant People
yeah
00:29:22
Brett
Well, that's not true. I have a bunch of the ground too, but, um, I have a lot of plants and pots.
00:29:26
Alexis
We have a lot of potted plants and I feel that.
00:29:28
Brett
Yeah.
00:29:28
Plant People
containers are dry.
00:29:29
Alexis
I feel that so hard.
00:29:30
Plant People
I mean, it's almost daily in containers now. It's incredible depending on the specific plant daily.
00:29:34
Alexis
Mine is definitely daily and they're wilted by the time I get to them.
00:29:37
Plant People
Yeah.
00:29:38
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:29:38
Brett
yeah
00:29:38
Plant People
Well, and I look and I'm like, how is the potting soil shrinking away from the walls of the container? I just watered you yesterday evening and that's the next day. So yeah. Yeah.
00:29:47
Brett
well this is really interesting it's and i think it it tracks with the enthusiasm thing but like early in the season you're enthusiastic people are enthusiastic about their gardens and they are watering them often when they do not need to be watered um they're worried about it and and the reason for that is
00:29:47
Plant People
Yeah.
00:30:01
Alexis
and sir
00:30:04
Brett
you know we're we're at the worst time of the year for the evapotranspiration, or I guess best if you're a fan of evapotranspiration.
00:30:12
Plant People
hey If you like things to be dry and wilty.
00:30:14
Brett
if you're If you're a fan of evapotranspiration, you're in the peak your season right
00:30:17
Plant People
You're in your
Plant Disease Management and Prevention
00:30:18
Plant People
season.
00:30:18
Brett
now.
00:30:18
Alexis
Raise your hand.
00:30:19
Brett
and And that is that is the amount of water that is just evaporating, you know just because it's hot out and it just dries. You put a glass of water outside and it's gone. It's evaporated. And then also the amount that's getting passing through the plant and coming out through the plant, it's losing water, transpiring really, really rapidly.
00:30:35
Plant People
Yeah.
00:30:36
Brett
and
00:30:36
Plant People
yeah
00:30:37
Brett
It's just, it's, um it's unbelievable. Every year it's like almost a shock of just how drastically more the plants, I mean, we do too, I guess, need to drink more water, but how much more water they, they seem to need.
00:30:41
Plant People
me
00:30:48
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:30:50
Brett
And also how awesome the native plants are, are when it's so dry.
00:30:54
Plant People
yeah they look good right now uh this is the first time i it's crazy it's crazy i got my lawn this is the first time
00:30:54
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:30:58
Brett
So yeah, those are the,
00:31:03
Brett
but And the other, and I'll just, I'll pitch in one more thought here, just in a more existential vein, I guess, is that, you know, we think about August and like, I always think of August as like the hottest month and maybe it statistically is, but like day length wise, we are, you know, we're out.
00:31:25
Alexis
on the downward.
00:31:26
Brett
on the down, like into the downward, the six month downward, downward swing.
00:31:28
Plant People
On the downswing, yeah.
00:31:30
Brett
And so it's this, it's the, the tail of the whip or whatever the, I don't know what the term is, but that, that like the movement happened and we won't feel the cooling off and everything necessarily, but I can, you can start to feel that shortening.
00:31:30
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:31:44
Brett
And, and so for me,
00:31:45
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:31:45
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:31:47
Brett
I think that's an interesting aspect of August is that it's it's both, we're already into the senescence of the of the year, but it still feels like, whoa, we were carrying a lot of speed coming into this turn.
00:31:55
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:32:00
Brett
Um, and we still, we still have it, uh, in the heat and in the plants and everything else. But ah I was curious just real quick, very specifically, Ray, like, what do you attribute? You say you have more leaf spot and more stuff on the zinnias than you would have expected.
00:32:13
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:32:14
Brett
Is that, has that been the case for you too? Like more Alexis, more disease pressure this year or.
00:32:20
Alexis
Um, I, I planned a lot of my stuff later to avoid this, so they're not quite as tired, so they're putting up a little better fight, but, um, I would, I would normally say yes.
00:32:25
Plant People
a
00:32:25
Brett
Okay.
00:32:29
Brett
I gotcha. I was gonna um was just curious what you like what you attribute that to this year. was it something about this year or just the?
00:32:38
Plant People
Mine is ah two things. ah The density, Reed loves to sow seeds and he sowed a high density and it's at a low point where there's not a lot of air movement down next to that this one section of the creek.
00:32:44
Brett
Hmm.
00:32:49
Plant People
So it's a ah micro pocket of high relative humidity. So density and humidity both have worked against us and we don't spray anything on his little plots down there.
00:33:00
Brett
Sure.
00:33:00
Plant People
um So that those are things that you know I saw coming out. With all those rains, I was like, oh, here we go. So, but they've done pretty good. It's just here lately. There's little purple spots everywhere.
00:33:10
Alexis
Yeah, the humidity the humidity has been really bad, but I think that the... really high temperatures from a disease standpoint.
00:33:21
Alexis
I've actually kind of worked in the favor because even the disease shuts down.
00:33:23
Plant People
Yeah.
00:33:24
Alexis
But I think as soon as we go back into cool weather, a lot of those diseases are just dormant in the plant where they infected when it was, you know, cool and wet.
00:33:30
Plant People
Yeah.
00:33:33
Alexis
And so they're dormant right now.
00:33:33
Plant People
Hmm.
00:33:34
Alexis
And then I think, I think we're going to see what feels like very rapid disease take over as it cools down.
00:33:39
Plant People
Especially if we have that nighttime moisture, if you're watering. Yeah.
00:33:44
Alexis
Hmm.
00:33:44
Plant People
ah Especially if you have the nighttime moisture, if we if we combine it with, you know, rains or irrigation at night, then I think you're right.
00:33:47
Alexis
Yeah.
00:33:51
Plant People
We're going to see a lot of heavy late season disease pressures here.
00:33:52
Alexis
Yeah.
00:33:55
Plant People
I think it's going to be here.
00:33:55
Brett
Yeah, that was something we talked about in in an earlier episode this year, as far as disease control and prevention and stuff like that.
00:33:58
Plant People
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:34:00
Brett
And it's just to briefly give that recap the that the diseases in their spore forms or whatever, you know baby pre pre-emerged forms get onto the plant and they tend to thrive in that cooler weather, right?
00:34:16
Brett
And then it gets hot and they go dormant, but they're still there. And then it gets cool and they come back and sort of thrive again. And
00:34:22
Alexis
Vengeance.
00:34:24
Brett
Yeah, you all cued me into that, like in just thinking of it in that way earlier this year on the podcast. And I was like, oh, that makes sense. Why gets cooler and some of these needle blights and other things show up.
00:34:35
Brett
It's like, oh, okay, cool.
00:34:36
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:34:36
Brett
Well, and so I'm i'm hopeful this year.
00:34:37
Alexis
Yeah, if it seems
00:34:39
Brett
i got ahead of it in the spring, but we'll see.
00:34:39
Alexis
yeah
00:34:41
Plant People
Yeah.
00:34:41
Alexis
if like it happens overnight, which is what we hear a lot, like then it was um infection that po like you know rate was reinvigorated basically with the cool weather.
00:34:50
Plant People
Yeah.
00:34:50
Alexis
um But if it's something that kind of like, you know you're in the end of September or early October and you're seeing it, it was probably infected when it cooled down the second time.
00:34:58
Plant People
Yeah.
00:34:59
Alexis
But um yeah, so...
00:35:01
Brett
And the the way to have intervened on that would have been to spray in the spring or to treat it in some way in the spring.
00:35:07
Alexis
Yeah, spraying in the spring, but, ah you know, if you're if you're concerned about something and you're trying to push it a little bit longer, trying to get the couple last tomatoes or, you know, what you want your dahlias or your zinnias to push a little longer, spraying in the fall will either well either slow it down or if you missed infection early because you planted later or something, then you're going to prevent infection in the fall.
00:35:28
Alexis
So it's kind of a multifaceted thing there, but yeah, I would...
00:35:34
Brett
And that's why you planted your zinnia's late.
00:35:37
Alexis
Yeah, I put in, ah i I knew I didn't, I put in some stuff for July for a specific event that I needed it for, but um the majority of my stuff in the summer annual category that we we say, put i wade I probably put them in four to five weeks later than normal.
00:35:57
Alexis
ah So they're just now really starting to bloom. And so they're there like kind of strongest as we hit into this cool period. um But I am seeing that or those few colors I planted early ah for my July event.
00:36:11
Alexis
So I plant them in at normal time, not early, normal time. They are, I'm starting to see the signs of them slow down. So it's kind of neat to see, you know,
00:36:17
Plant People
um
00:36:19
Alexis
you really can time them that way. um And how a plant that is quote unquote tired is, ah you know, just so much more susceptible to disease because they're in the rows two feet apart.
00:36:32
Alexis
You know what I mean? They're not, they're, they're right there. They're experiencing the same things, but they've missed, they missed the early window and they're just not as tired. And so ah that's a pretty cool thing. We should do a whole, we could do a whole um episode on maybe succession planting of,
00:36:46
Alexis
whatever it is, like succession planting some veggies and stuff like that, just to keep them at their best, keep plants at their best.
00:36:55
Brett
Hmm.
00:36:56
Plant People
Yeah, we had some late planted zinnias at the office and they look fantastic.
00:36:56
Brett
That's cool.
00:36:59
Plant People
They're full sun and the density is much lower and they're beautiful.
00:37:03
Alexis
and That too.
00:37:03
Plant People
they're they're They're thriving and they're watered. You know, we bottom water those in some large stock tank containers and and they look much better than our zinnias do at home.
00:37:14
Plant People
The early planted ones that were high density. So yeah, not not not so good.
00:37:20
Alexis
so so yeah mostly i feel like I want in this episode my thing that I would like to get out to to listeners is to take advantage of you know potentially a little more brain space to you know look over the Brett bringing up the records such a great point because it's sort of like we're in almost like a period time of winter right now with being inside so like
00:37:20
Plant People
Not so good.
00:37:32
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:37:43
Alexis
Do your due diligence. Go in there. see you And you know also, at least from a flower farmer perspective, and I think that it's like this for a lot of different commercial growers, there's a lot of things that are going to come out of your bank account that you ordered in the spring that you're not getting until the fall.
00:37:58
Alexis
And so knowing what is in there, how much money you think you're going to make, And can you pay for all of those bulbs or all of those transplants or whatever that are about to come out? And so like going back through and saying, okay, in October, I really need to make sure there's $1,000 in there because i my tulips are coming out or whatever that looks like um is another, you know, thing. So take advantage of that.
00:38:22
Alexis
Order your cover crop seed. Order anything special that you really want to get your hands on ah for next year. you know, maybe just get in that small order of the things that sell out fast.
00:38:34
Alexis
And just sort of like mentally prepare yourself for the September-October madness that ah comes with, you know, right before the first ah frost.
00:38:43
Plant People
Thank you.
00:38:44
Alexis
So... ah It's always ah hectic. Spring is really hectic, but fall is hectic in almost like a different way because you're like the plants are slowing down, but you are not slowing down versus in the spring.
00:38:58
Alexis
I feel like your energies match, right? Like you're ramping up so and the plants are ramping up, um but it's almost that it's not the same in the fall to me. At least that's from my experience.
00:39:07
Plant People
Sometimes tomatoes in the ground, I just want to mow them down.
00:39:08
Brett
Yeah.
00:39:10
Plant People
I'm like, I'm tired of looking at you.
00:39:11
Alexis
Yeah. Yeah.
00:39:12
Plant People
I'm i'm going to mow you down. You still have unwrapping fruit on your vine, but I am mowing you down.
00:39:17
Alexis
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:39:18
Plant People
Yeah, so i don't have to look at it. ah This has been a good year, and I've been at point of emphasis the last four weeks.
00:39:20
Alexis
Mm.
00:39:24
Plant People
You know, it's been a wet spring, historically wet spring in Kentucky, is just encouraging, particularly homeowners, commercial folks already do a pretty good job at this. But rotation, I'm using this as a kind of a teachable moment.
00:39:35
Plant People
Lots of disease pressure in home gardens in some cases. And so I've talked a lot about with individuals that call into our office, I'm really stressing stressing rotation, um considering that where possible in home gardens.
00:39:47
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:39:49
Plant People
So, you know, we've talked a lot about different crops and different families of plants and disease pressure and how that carries over from one year to the other. So that's been my takeaway for this season is, ah you know, let's take a look at garden cleanup, sanitation, and then go ahead and get your rotation plan in place for next year.
00:40:05
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:40:07
Plant People
That's kind of...
00:40:08
Alexis
and if you don't know what that plan is, just write down where everything was on a sheet of paper so that you remember. And then you can figure that out in January when you're not as exhausted.
00:40:17
Brett
Yeah, I think that that for me is the is the thing that I kind of the core of what I was saying is like, you don't have to do all your record keeping now, but you you are at the unique point. So like if you were projecting things out, making plans for a year from now, then that is you making plans that are happening way, way far away. Well, now six, you're six months in, you're closer to those plans, or maybe this is the year out, you know, and now you are here in real time and you're able to not have to recall it from memory, but actually find it right there in front
Closing Thoughts and Community Engagement
00:40:49
Brett
of you.
00:40:49
Brett
just to do that exact thing that you said, write something down, get yourself, make yourself a memory note. i always think of it as current Brett doing a favor for future Brett on whatever thing it is of like, we had a meeting or we talked about this, doing this thing.
00:40:59
Alexis
Hell yeah. Yeah.
00:41:03
Brett
I'm going to write that down for future Brett whose memory is not good.
00:41:04
Plant People
A little journaling.
00:41:05
Alexis
Yeah, you don't have to make decisions right now, but you need to put the right information down so that when you need to make the decision, you feel comfortable with it.
00:41:08
Brett
Exactly.
00:41:13
Brett
Yeah.
00:41:13
Alexis
um Yeah, that's that's what I do.
00:41:14
Brett
You're, you're able to collect that data for yourself right now.
00:41:15
Alexis
Just, yeah.
00:41:17
Brett
Do it, collect it.
00:41:20
Alexis
Past you will just do it Future you will thank you for it. And you'll be like, wow, I say that all the time. Thanks, Past Alexis. I appreciate that.
00:41:27
Brett
Yeah, yeah. yeah
00:41:31
Alexis
Well, cool. Well, yeah, we hope you all enjoyed it. If you've got questions or thoughts about, you know, well, what kind of cover crop do I get? Or what is the rotation? Again, is it are tomatoes and eggplants in the same family?
00:41:45
Alexis
Whatever that looks like, you know, you can feel free to shoot us an email. You can find that in the show notes. Don't forget, we have a Gmail now. So that one's new, ah but it does come directly to all of us. Um,
00:41:56
Alexis
We will have ah next episode. We should have our fourth podcast ah member back on. So we're excited to have Jessica back with us.
00:42:04
Plant People
Woo-hoo. whoo
00:42:04
Alexis
So, you know, if you've not been listening and you just happen to jump on this episode, ah you know, and you're waiting for her to come back, she is coming back. We have not kicked her out. We love her so much. ah but we're excited to have her with us again. Follow us on Instagram at Hort Culture Podcast.
00:42:19
Alexis
Leave us a review. ah That's really great. It helps the algorithm, lets people know where to find us, and you know we pop up on other people's feeds. So it seems silly, but it is actually very helpful.
00:42:31
Alexis
And every time I say this, I go try and leave a podcast review for another podcast because I feel like that's good karma. But we thank you all for being here with us today, and we hope you join us next time.
00:42:42
Alexis
Have a great one.