Ep. 410 - Cooling off in the South, viburnum, fried green tomatoes...and MORE!

Join Rob as he steers the show towards the homestead today covering topics such as regional weather forecasts, viburnum, a video on how to ripen green tomatoes, a recipe for southern fried green tomatoes, and making a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  

He decides to share an article titled "Viburnum" - sharing information about the plant itself and information such as planting and caring for viburnum as well.  

With over 20 years of experience in the landscape this is a good one for all you plant nerds and plant nerd wannabes out there.  

Rob asks the audience a few questions in today's show about the weather and landscape:

• Has it been a wet season where you are?  
• Do you grow Viburnum in your landscape?

Let us know in the comments!

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Discussion Links:

Old Farmer's Almanac - Daily Almanac

COOLING OFF IN THE SOUTH

VIBURNUM
Viburnum shrubs come in many forms, so there’s bound to be one that fits your garden! Here’s how to plant, grow, and care for viburnum shrubs at home.

HOW TO RIPEN GREEN TOMATOES

SOUTHERN FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

MAKING A BEAUTIFUL BOUQUET OF FLOWERS

York Meadow Farm: Lacto-Fermented Foods
Rich in probiotics, our fermented foods are also paleo and keto friendly. Eat a proper human diet.

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:01

If we stand together, we'll never fall.

SPEAKER_01 0:11

Well, hi there, and welcome back to another episode of the All Around Growth Podcast. Today is Monday, August 29th, 2022. This is episode number 410 of a show that provides insight and tools to build the lives and homesteads of our dreams. My name is Rob Kaiser and I am your host. And speaking of homesteads, that's exactly what we're going to talk about today. We're going to dip into the whole farmer's almanac. We're going to take a look at the daily almanac and read some seasonal homestead-oriented material. We're going to cover topics such as cooling off in the south, viburnums, fried green tomatoes, and more. And I will outline what's up with the Daily Almanac today on Monday, August 29th, 2022. And then I will pick an article of choice, read it with you, provide some feedback on it as well as we go. And that is how today's show will go. This seemed like an appropriate type of episode for today for several reasons. One, it's getting to the point of the year where transition is occurring. Leaves are starting to fall from stressed trees. Autumn is right around the corner. And all of this is noticeable at dawn because the way that I've been waking and the way that I go about my morning routine and actually record speaking with you now, that is the time of day. It's dawn, it's sunrise. We are coming up in this day, we are coming up in this week together. So without further ado, let's get right into it and take a look at the Daily Almanac. And in the Daily Almanac, you can find questions like who was born on this day, what happened today in history, and little facts like there's 24 days until autumn begins. You know what? The other reason, real quick side note before we continue on with the Daily Almanac, one additional reason why I wanted to get into the Almanac today was because of the upcoming transition to the show pivot, if you will, and how the show is going to be not simply more geared toward the life and homestead of our dreams. That's kind of broad and vague, but I'm going to try to nail down the focus, or narrow down rather the focus of the show to the homestead here, my story, and how that all ties into how we're growing the business because the that that it doesn't necessarily need to be my focus, but I've chosen to make that my focus so that I can experience the level of success that I wish to experience with this endeavor, with my family, with Cody, with everybody that's participating in everything here, including the people that Cody works with. So to everything that's going on here, uh here's to giving it our best, and I will share more on exactly how we are going to pivot the podcast as time goes on. So stay tuned for that. Back to the Daily Almanac. Yeah, well, there's 24 days until autumn begins, and that is why we are seeing leaves fall. I mean, it's it's uh it's actually quite surprising that it's taken me this long to notice it, or at least mention it on the show. I noticed it a few weeks ago. We've been talking about it with family and everything here. You know, during August, trees start to yellow, but it's it's it's honestly been kind of wet. You know, I'm I'm interested in Cody's take because I'm a little bit detached now that I am not working my day job and I am not as engaged in the seasons as I used to be. You know, working in the kitchen with dad has got me a little insulated, and while we are at the farmer's market and um, you know, experience the weather on a daily basis, it's it's it's I don't know, it's it's different. Uh my my my focus has been elsewhere. So, you know, what's your take on the seasons this year? Let us know in the comments, in the telegram group, in Facebook, wherever me we, whatever platforms the communities exist on, they are on everything. We are also on float. And um let us know how you think of the season. Has it been wet? Has it been dry? I mean, I'm in northeast Ohio, so I guess it all depends on where you're at, but anyways, all that aside, there's 24 days until autumn begins. And there's questions of the day, puzzles of the day, and fun little poetic briefs such as this bright, bright, restless, bright through the sunburnt meads, wavers the butterfly, ever across its path, a pilot invisible leads, a sylphid fleet of the thistle's light and feathery seeds, and August pass by, passeth by. That's a poem by Edith Matilda Thomas, who lived from 1854 to 1925. And like I said, there are articles in here. Article like cooling off in the south, and only one more day until the Almanac debut day, where they reveal the full weather map, and today they add Texas, Oklahoma, and the Deep South, both cooler than typical, and you can see 16 regional forecasts in the article in today's Daily Almanac. Now, the link in the show notes takes you to the Daily Almanac, and I'm not sure how to get around this, but when you click on the link in the show notes to the Daily Almanac, whatever the date that you're listening to the show is, will take the link in the show notes will take you to that date. I don't know how to provide a link to the date of the recording, but for those of you who are into the Daily Almanac, who read the Daily Almanac, maybe you guys can let me know. Now it's worth pointing out that I don't receive there's no program, there's no affiliate program for the old farmer's almanac. I looked into it because I'd love to get uh into a piece of the action if I can help sell these things because I'm so into it, but there isn't. Uh so I just share this because I think it's cool and I think it's a great way to tie in what's going on out there with people who think like us to provide new ideas and just kind of provide fodder for conversation and ultimately some ideas that we can take action on and implement in our own lives as we hey build the lives and homesteads of our dreams. There's also articles today on viburnums. Viburnum shrubs come in many forms, so there's bound to be one that fits your garden. Here's how to plant, grow, and care for viburnum shrubs at home. All right. There is an article on how to ripen green tomatoes. And if your tomatoes have stopped ripening, it's time to take action. We'll shuse me. We'll show you how to ripen your green tomatoes both on and off the vine, and also when it's your cue to remove those tomatoes from the vine. There's a video on that link to in the uh show notes. I presume that you could probably find these articles by searching for their titles. For example, Cooling Off in the South, Old Farmer's Almanac, right? Um so there's a little suggestion for you. And depending on how you search, I would just recommend using pre-search, my search engine of choice. I will link to pre-search in the show notes. So, for example, if you down the road are listening to this in the future, hello future person, you can simply search for Southern Fried Green Tomatoes, Old Farmers Almanac, in your search engine of choice. For example, pre-search, which is linked to in the show notes, and you will likely find this article. Otherwise, if you're listening to this today, August 29th, 2022, then by all means check out the show notes for the Daily Almanac, and you will find this article on Southern Fried Green Tomatoes. Got green tomatoes? Try our Southern Fried Green Tomatoes recipe submitted by an almanac reader. In this recipe, you dip unripened tomato slices in a little flour, dip in egg mixture, and dredge in cornmeal mixture. Then you fry them up until they're crispy and golden brown. I don't know about you guys, but this is not something I eat very often. But boy oh boy, when I do, I sure do love it. It's not something I frequently make, but when it's prepared and I get to enjoy it. Now we're talking. And there's also an article on making a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Here's a foolproof approach to making a flower bouquet. Whether you grow your own flowers or are selecting flowers at a local market. Uh well, that's the sentence there. I misread it. Also, see which flowers are best for long-lasting bouquets. Anyways, if you're interested in making a beautiful bouquet of flowers, you can search for making a beautiful bouquet of flowers, Old Farmer's Almanac, or simply go to the show notes, the Daily Almanac today. But with that said, we are going to read about Viburnums because, well, Viburnums are one of my favorite plants. Okay, they have been one of my favorite plants for decades. I have many fond memories of viburnums. That may sound a little bit weird to those of you who are not plant nerds like myself, but I guess if if you're not a plant nerd and you want to become one, then this shows for you. And if you are a plant nerd, then welcome. You're in the right place. So here we go. We're gonna talk about viburnums. The botanical name of viburnum is well, viburnum. That is the genus. There's multiple species, and uh viburnums are a diverse plant that can grow in full sun, part sun, shade, depending on what species we're talking about here. Um there's a wide variety of species of plants that can range if in growing in USDA hardiness zones anywhere from three to eight. Chances are you can find one that'll uh work in your landscape where you live. And uh, anyways, before I get yammering about it, let's let's start reading the article and then I can yammer about it. So this article is written by well, I I don't know, I'm not sure who to give credit here to, but you can find this at almanac.com slash plant slash viburnum, and it is likely an ongoing article. So how to plant and care for viburnum shrubs. Viburnum shrubs come in many forms, so there's bound to be one that fits your garden. Here's how to plant, grow, and care for viburnum shrubs at home. Alright, about Viburnum. For a flowering shrub with abundant benefits, fragrance, fruit, colorful foliage, pollinator appeal, and more, look no further than Viburnums. The species offers more than 150 evergreen, semi-evergreen, and deciduous woody plants from which to choose. Also known as cranberry bush, hobble bush, arrowwood, nannyberry, or snowball bush, Viburnum range in size from 2 to 20 feet tall and usually serve in the landscape as screening, hedge, or focal points. Depending on the variety, Viburnum provides year-round visual interest and the cream white or pale pink bloom clusters can be lace cap, dome, and snowball shape with intoxicating or light perfume, although some have no scent. In the fall, the flowers, flavor favored by bees and butterflies, give way to yellow, orange, red, pink, blue, or black fruits, attractive to birds and wildlife, and foliage on plants that are not evergreen change to glossy red or violet or purple. All this and viburnums are easy care, fast growing, not fussy about soil, need little to no pruning, and seldom are troubled by diseases or pests. Alright, so planting viburnums. Here's what the old farmer's almanac has to say about planting viburnums. Viburnums thrive in full sun to partial or mostly shade, depending on the variety. They provide moisture retaining, or they uh we need to provide moisture retaining, but well-draining fertile soil. Add compost or aged manure if necessary before planting. The soil pH requirements vary by species. pH 5.5 to 6.5 is average. Check the variety, test the soil, and amend it as required. You're gonna see, real quick, I'm gonna interject here on this. Okay, in a lot of plant and garden articles, you're gonna see a lot of talk about soil pH requirements, you know, checking your soil, testing your soil, yada yada yada yada. Alright? Like, this is all I have to say about that. Like, if you're new to the horticulture game, and you're in an area where you're going to stay for a long time, 15 years or more, preferably until you die, then do a soil test, document the results, and then put it away. Okay? Like, you're not gonna change your soil that quickly to a point where you need to freak out and check your pHs and do all this shit. Like, people freak out about this stuff and invest a lot of time, effort, and energy and things that, in my opinion, aren't quite necessary. There's a whole world out there to live. Don't spend it on soil pH. Alright? Just like, you know, we can talk about soil another time, but but but this is something that people really, really go bananas about, and I'm not quite sure why. Don't think too much about it. They're just plants. Okay? And I I say this sometimes, and people think it's kind of like a demeaning thing to say, but like they're just plants. Back to the article. When to plant viburnum? Fall planting is preferred, but early spring planting is also possible as long as the shrubs are kept well watered throughout the spring and summer. 100% agreed. How to plant viburnum? Dig a hole as deep as the root ball and two times as wide. Set plants so the top roots are at the soil level or slightly below, I would say, or slightly above. Plant high, never die, plant low, you never know. Most people, when planting plants in the landscape, plant them way too low because more often than not, when plants are in production or dug from the fields at a wholesale nursery and then sold to a retail nursery where a lot of us buy them, they are not uh potted up properly and they are already too deep. So if we plant them too deep, they're destined to die. Plant high never die, plant low, you never know, and in-container plants always scrape off the top inch or two for soil. Same thing with bald and burlap trees. A lot of times they're stuck in the ground to grow out too deeply, and we need to look for the root flare of the plant where the stem of the plants go into the ground and it flares out into the root. That is where we want our soil level to be. Go look at trees in the landscape, in parks or cemeteries, you will see that root flare. That's what I'm talking about. That is how you want to gauge the depth of your planting back to the article. Half fill the hole with soil and then water it to settle the soil, fill with remaining soil on the soil surface, form a rim of soil around the outer edge of the hole, water inside the ring, space plants. I'm not even going to talk about that. Space plants, depending on the size, variety, and your objectives. Okay. Growing water width is soaking once per week if rainfall is less than one inch. Once established, mulch with four to six inches of pine straw or two to three inches of bark mulch. Fertilizer is seldom applied. In spring, apply a few shovelfuls of compost or aged manure. In autumn, feed the roots by mixing whole fish meal with some compost. In early spring, prune selectively to maintain height and spread. And if an overgrown shrub requires a hard pruning or shearing, do it in early spring or after the bloom period. All I have to say about this is most plants in the landscape require very little fertilization, especially those that are in a yard which is fertilized. Okay. I believe in the tried and true things that work. And for plants that you are not eating, I believe Osmocote is a great time-release fertilizer, and it's just highly effective, and it works. Okay. For edible plants, that's an entirely different story. We handle those differently, but simple fertilization, if you don't want to think about it, you can do it with Espoma products that are available at any garden center. They're organic. We use Holy Tone on our blueberries. Holy tone, which is used for evergreens, is generally something that you want to put on plants that like acidic soils. Plant tone is another fertilizer that you just use for basically everything else. In this case, with biburnums, I'd throw some Holy Tone on there, be you know, done. Alright, recommended varieties. Of back to the article, we're going recommended varieties of Viburnum. We've got Vibernum Dentatum, aka Arrowwood, which is a scentless white lace cap flower cluster with blue and black berries, six to ten or up to fifteen feet high, with a wide mounded form with fall leaf colors of yellow, orange, red. That's hardy everywhere, zones two to eight. This is a great plant, guys. Um wonderful plant. Uh it's called arrowwood because I believe arrows back in the day used to be made from the branches of this particular species of viburnum. We've also got Viburnum Lantana, aka the Wayfaring Tree, with scentless creamy white lace cap flower clusters, red to black berries. This grows 10 to 15 feet high and wide with green leaves that turn purplish red in fall, and it's hardy in zones 3 to 7. Um Viburnum Lantana, I've never heard of the name Wayfaring Tree. I like it. And then we've got the old classic, the Viburnum Placatum tomentosum, aka double file viburnum, which has scentless white flower balls, red to black berries, grows eight to ten feet high and wide, with green leaves turning burgundy to purplish red in the fall, hardy in zones five to eight. And um this is a wonderful plant. This is one of my most favorite viburnums. It is just a classic plant, it looks great, it doesn't require anything in terms of work, it just does what it's supposed to do, and it looks wonderful. Then we've got another one with a name that I've always struggled to pronounce. It's a hybrid, it's Viburnum Carlcephalum. Uh it's otherwise known as a fragrant snowball viburnum. Alright, it's uh I'm thinking back to my old landscape days, but I'll just go ahead and read. Fragrant white flower balls, red to black berries six to ten feet tall and wide, green leaves turning reddish maroon in fall, hardy in zones six to eight. Now, this is one that I am struggling with because it was more familiar to me down south when I lived in North Carolina, whereas Viburnum Carlicei, or otherwise known as Korean spice viburnum, is what we primarily grow up here for a fragrant viburnum. It has pink to what little you know balls of little pink to white flowers, blue to turning into blue to black berries, you know, anywhere from five to eight feet tall and wide, with green leaves turning red to burgundy in the fall, and that is a fantastic and fragrant plant. If you want something that smells absolutely wonderful, that as far as I'm concerned smells better than a lilac, this is it. The Korean Spice Viburnum, Viburnum Carlicei. Fantastic, absolutely fantastic. Alright, so we've also got uh a T viburnum, one that I am not very familiar with, called Viburnum Setigerum, which has small scentless white flower clusters, clusters, abundant bright red berries. Grows 8 to 12 feet tall and 5 to 8 feet wide with green leaves turning purplish in the fall. Hmm. T viburnum. That's a new one to me. You ever heard of it? Let us know in the comments. Now, harvesting. This is new to me. We want to uh harvest Viburnum as cut flowers. Viburnum is one among one among many woody ornamentals that can be cut and put in a vase. Cut the thin cut the cut thin branches when the buds are starting to open, recut the bottom of the stem before placing it in a vase. Change the water every two to three days, and the blooms will last about one week. Viburnum branches can also be forced into bloom in the early spring. That's interesting. I never thought about using viburnum as cut flowers, but that would be fantastic. And I am specifically thinking about these Korean spice viburnum guys, Viburnum Carlice. My goodness. Alright, wit and wisdom. The stems of Arrowwood Viburnum are believed to have been used as arrow shafts by a number of indigenous peoples in North America. Tea viburnum leaves were traditionally used to make, believe it or not, tea. And nannyberry viburnum berries, dark blue at maturity, are edible raw or in jams and baked goods. I believe that there is another species of viburnum that are edible, that have edible berries, and I'm scrolling back through this and I'm not seeing it. Now we have some we have some native viburnum here, and I'm struggling to remember what they are off the top of my head what species it is. They have small red berries, and they are growing on the south side of the pond where the fields drain into the pond. Now they are also popping up below a couple of apple trees here and there, and um that is because birds are carrying them and spreading them. I am not touching them, I'm letting them go just to see what happens. I've basically stopped doing much of anything here in the landscape other than simple maintenance tasks, and it's been interesting to watch and see what happens. But, anyways, guys, um that is what we've got for today in the old farmer's almanac and the daily almanac. You can find the daily almanac at enews.almanac.com. Again, I don't I don't get compensated or anything for this. I just think the old farmer's almanac is classic content, something that I've been reading for a long time, dating back to when I when I was a kid. Remember seeing it in stores and my grandparents' house. Uh it was just something that was always around. Someone had it everywhere, and it's very familiar. So hopefully, guys, uh, you enjoyed today's show about cooling off in the south, viburnum and green fried green tomatoes with a focus on viburnums. But again, if you want to find any information about the 16 regional forecasts and the almanac debut day, the whole 2022-2023 winter forecast reveal, then check out the old farmers almanac at almanac.com. And there were also articles about my Burnham's ripening green tomatoes, along with recipes on southern fried green tomatoes, and making a beautiful bouquet of flowers. So, guys, have a great Monday. I hope you have a great week, and I look forward to catching you in tomorrow's show. This is Rob Kaiser, and thank you.

SPEAKER_00 30:51

What can I do for the beats, and then we'll get to the body?