Growing Together: A Gardening Podcast · Forum Communications Co.

The benefits of planning out your garden before the spring season

·48 min·3 clips

Don Kinsler says he plans gardens by asking, "What worked well" and what failed last year.

1. Growing Together: A Gardening Podcast centers on planning a garden before the spring season. 2. John Lamb hosts with Don Kinsler, the North Dakota State University Extension horticulturist for Cass County, whose garden advice drives the episode. 3. The episode asks how to turn late winter into a practical garden plan for the 2026 growing season. 4. Don starts with Gloria’s hibiscus question and says March 1 is his kickoff for fertilizer and pruning. 5. He recommends a water-soluble fertilizer every two to four weeks, with repotting if the hibiscus has been in the same pot for a year or more. 6. Don compares that timing to his overwintered geraniums, which he cuts back by at least half on March 1 and fertilizes again. 7. He says planning should begin with last year’s results, including mildew on tall phlox and defoliating disease on lilacs. 8. He also uses last year’s vegetable garden as a guide, especially the decision to grow pole beans on portable fencing instead of bush beans. 9. John adds that his vegetable beds are still being refined, with overplanted tomatoes and delicata squash grown in a cage that became too heavy. 10. Don says he wants to make more curb-appeal decisions by trialing new varieties in less visible spots before moving successes forward. 11. Don gives pre-emergent weed control as another planning item, naming generic trifluralin and its effect on purslane. 12. He also notes that pre-emergent products do not stop weeds that return from established roots like dandelions or thistle. 13. John describes losing shade when trees were removed, turning a former hosta patch into a much brighter area. 14. Don connects that shift to larger changes in communities, including the possible loss of ash trees to emerald ash borer. 15. Don says heavy clay soil will always need organic matter, and he names compost, peat moss, and well-rotted manure as improvements. 16. He also talks about hose problems, retractable hose systems, and hose guides that keep lines from snagging plants. 17. The tone stays practical and conversational, with John asking follow-up questions while Don answers from experience. 18. The format mixes listener mail, on-air problem solving, and a back-and-forth planning conversation. 19. Gardeners who want a concrete spring checklist will get the most from it. 20. Listeners wanting plant design theory without seasonal timing may skip it.

As heard by us

A grounded spring gardening conversation that keeps the prep practical and easy to follow.

This spring gardening chat stays close to the work at hand. John Lamb and Don Kinsler talk through the season's first indoor jobs, from starting begonia and onion seeds to keeping geraniums under lights in bloom.

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Why you'd press play

Get your garden sorted before spring fully kicks in and the season gets busy.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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