Compost, Paperbark Maples & Victory Gardens

In the first and second World Wars, Americans were called to till, sow and start victory gardens in place of lawns and vacant lots to feed a hungry nation. In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic prompted people to stay home, the tradition was reborn to localize food production in the face of supply chain disruptions and uncertainty. Less time commuting meant more time at home, so many beginner gardeners rushed out to build raised beds, arrange containers and clear fallow corners of the yard to plant a spring garden for food, beauty and a bit of garden therapy.

In this episode of Granite State Gardening, UNH Extension’s Emma Erler and Nate Bernitz discuss the history of victory gardening, gardening trends and how New Hampshire and UNH Extension adapted to the pandemic. 

Featured question: winter composting

Featured plant: paper bark maple (Acer griseum)

Closing gardening tip: holiday gift plant care after the holidays

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Email us questions, suggestions and feedback at [email protected]

Background Reading:

• In the latest edition of Radius Magazine, Emma Joyce tells the story of New Hampshire’s victory garden movement this spring: https://extension.unh.edu/blog/NH-residents-grow-victory-gardens
•  Emma Erler’s question of the week on winter composting, in blog format: https://extension.unh.edu/blog/can-you-compost-winter
•  Learn about the paperbark maple: https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=q110
•  UNH Extension’s fact sheet on care of flowering gift plants in the home: https://extension.unh.edu/resource/care-flowering-gift-plants-home-fact-sheet
•  More information on victory gardens from the New England Historical Society: https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/how-vicory-gardens-helped-win-world-war-2/
•  Information about the Victory Garden at Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth: https://www.strawberybanke.org/victory.cfm
•  Some basic guidance on planting a victory garden: https://extension.unh.edu/blog/planting-victory-garden
•  How the Wright Museum helps battle hunger with its Victory Garden: https://www.wrightmuseum.org/2018/07/02/wright-museum-victory-garden/
•  Learn about the Cornucopia Project: http://cornucopiaproject.org/
•  Information about UNH Extension’s Free Seed Program: https://extension.unh.edu/resource/free-seeds-education
•  Meet the NH Master Gardeners: https://extension.unh.edu/tags/meet-nh-master-gardeners
•  UNH Extension and COVID-19: https://extension.unh.edu/tags/covid-19

TRANSCRIPT

[Nate B] Greetings Granite State gardeners. Getting acquainted with the newest podcast from UNH Extension, how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted gardeners and gardening, the history of Victory Gardens from past to present, highlighting victory gardens and the Master Gardeners who cultivate them. We'll discuss all these topics and more on this edition, the first ever episode of Granite State Gardening.

Okay, our goal with the Granite State gardening podcast is to explore the world of gardening and help you achieve success in your garden. We're sticklers for research based information here at UNH Extension so you can count on us to share proven tips and solutions. We want to meet you where you're at as a gardener. So we're going to count on your feedback. What topics do you want us to explore with you? Is the information we're sharing to advance to basic or just right, email us at GSG.pod@ unh.edu. And let's get started and hear from my co host Emma.

[Emma E]   I'm [Emma E]rler and I am one of the horticulture experts for UNH Extension . My job is to help home gardeners and landscapers solve gardening issues, as well as teach workshops, write articles, and regularly appear on WMUR's Grow It  Green TV segment. I've been interested in gardening for as long as I can remember, I began helping my mom with her vegetable and flower gardens, starting seeds weeding, transplanting and eventually growing plants of my own. I still have a few house plants that I started in elementary school actually. Before I came to UNH Extension, I worked at a few different public gardens on the East Coast as a professional horticulturist. However, I found that my true passion is education, which brings me here. I'm really excited to be joining my friend and colleague Nate on this podcast.

[Nate B] And again I'm Nate Bernitz. I'm part of UNH Extension's home horticulture team and have the privilege to work with Emma and New Hampshire Master Gardeners. And also make sure everyone who has questions gets answers. I lead outreach efforts for Ask UNH Extension and Granite State Gardening and increasingly becoming an avid gardener myself. You'll mostly learn from Emma on this podcast, truth be told, but I hope to bring you some knowledge and laughs along the way as well. Before joining UNH Extension, I honestly had more experience gardening with oysters and clams than fruits and vegetables. But frankly, you can't work on this team and immerse yourself in the world of gardening without picking up a thing or two. I'm excited to co host this podcast and perhaps selfishly learn a lot myself right along with you. Okay, let's get into it.

[Emma E]   A segment of this podcast that I'm really excited about is the question of the week. Through our Infoline service, Nate and I get dozens of questions every week from home gardeners about various topics. And my goal is to focus on one of these questions each week really break it down and discuss the most important parts of it. So this week, I want to talk about winter composting. Basically, what it sounds like composting through the winter, getting started with composting for the first time in the winter. A lot of people just started composting for the first time this year. And something we've been asked a lot is whether it's possible to compost in the wintertime, or whether you have to stop for a while and begin again in the spring. So if you have already started, the answer is absolutely yes, you can totally start composting right now or you can keep composting. So the way composting works is that it's this decomposition process that happens with a variety...