On Tuesday April 8th, I hosted a special edition of In a North State Garden during Northstate Public Radio’s Spring Membership drive the theme for which has been “A Steady Stream.” With this in mind, my special was a celebration of the steady stream of garden, nature, ecology and local food programming that North State Public Radio provides now and was also an introduction to some new tributaries to this healthy stream of information and community.
My guests on the program were Pam Geisel – former statewide coordinator of the University of California Master Gardener program, and a previous guest on In a North State Garden many times, as well as Matt Shilts, my producer and engineer for In a North State Garden. Joining us in spirit was Earl Bloor, food writer and photographer and co-publisher for the past 8 years with his wide Candace of the local food magazine, Edible Shasta Butte.
For the past 6.5 years, since I first approached Northstate Public Radio’s famed “Joe O” in November 2007 about Northstate Public Radio once again developing a garden program, the station has supported the weekly program In a North State Garden. We have produced more than 300 plant people and place profiles of interesting things going on and being done in relation to plants and the natural environment in our 10 county region. The entire journey has been expanding and illuminating for me personally.
This week, Northstate Public Radio and I would like to announce some increased diversity to our crop of garden and local food programming with the introduction of two new field-fork, from-the-ground-up programs that will be joining In a North State Garden as weekend plant-related programs.
Beginning with programming the week of April 19th, In a North State Garden will be joined in a weekly rotation with two additional plant programs – one conceived and hosted by Pam Geisel entitled “The Practical Gardener” the mission of which is to provide practical, research based solutions to garden problems and the other program entitled “Edible Northstate”, hosted by Earl Bloor, and the mission of this program being to raise awareness and educate our radio audience to the importance of improving our local food system for food availability, health and sustainable economic growth of our communities.
Our producer and engineer will be the unflappable Matt Shilts.
If you are a lover of the gardening/plant/environmental programming on Northstate Public Radio – you’re listening to In a North State Garden’s spring 2014 membership drive special “A Steady Stream of Plant Programming” from North State Public Radio. If environmental issues, community issues and local programming are important to you – I urge you to make a pledge to the station today: www.kcho.org.
“The Practical Gardener”, hosted by Pam Geisel.
Program Mission: to provide practical, research based solutions to garden problems.
Program Description: “THE PRACTICAL GARDENER is a show about helping to bring the science of gardening to home gardener in a way that is understandable. I want people understand the science but in ways that are applied, researched based and implementable in the home garden. I want to give people ideas about how they can have beautiful but sustainable gardens using practical methods. It’s always great fun to look at really complicated strategies for managing certain pests. However, the reality of what you might be able to actually implement at home is often limited. One great example is managing peach leaf curl on peaches and nectarines. I have heard one strategy to control this disease is to manually pick off infected individual leaves. The science and research doesn’t support this this practice in that it doesn’t do anything to reduce future infections or the spread of the disease. The practical and science based solution is to invest in resistant varieties if you are planting new trees and to spray the trees at bud swell in the spring before the buds show any color with copper.”
Pam’s Personal Story: “I have a Masters Degree in Plant Science with an emphasis in Pest Management with Post graduate work in Agronomy/turfgrass management. I have worked for the university of California in the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources as a Horticulture Advisor; first I Fresno County for 25 years and then was the Director for the UC Master Gardener program for 8 years at UC Davis. I moved to the North state about 7 years ago from Davis after meeting the love of my life. I recently retired from the University and now am a horticulture consultant and teacher for Master Gardener Training sessions throughout California.”
To reach Pam with questions or topics you’d like to hear covered, contact her by email: Pamela Geisel – pgeisel@ucanr.edu.
“Edible Northstate”, hosted by Earl Bloor
Purpose: To raise awareness and educate our radio audience to the importance of improving our local food system for food availability, health and sustainable economic growth of our communities.
Program Description: There is a wealth of people in north central California to tap for interesting programming and we also plan on interviewing experts and authors outside our region. Some interviews will be by phone, some in studio and some onsite in the fields, markets or restaurants. Edible Northstate will feature interviews with growers, chefs, food craft producers, consumers, policy makers and educators. We will highlight local issues and personalities who also represent national issues, problems and solutions
Topics for Discussion might include: -GMO -Differences in Round-Up Ready insertion compared with drought tolerant enhancement. Adding/removing genes -Climate Change -How is agriculture planning to adapt -How can home gardeners adapt – Aging Farmers and Barriers to farm/ranch ownership/operation – Pollination -Honeybee Colony Collapse -Post harvest produce from Financing to Co-Packer to Store Shelf -What’s involved, how to do it and who’s done it successfully – Positive Indicators and trends in small-scale agriculture -The future of urban agriculture – Water and urban ag policies that will improve local food production.
Earl’s Personal Story: For eight years my wife Candace Byrne and I have been
chronicling the local abundance of the Northstate in a magazine we publish, Edible Shasta-Butte .
I continue to be impressed with the growth in opportunities to purchase fresh, healthy, locally-grown food in our community and in communities throughout this country. Farmers’ Markets are growing and bursting at the seams with shoppers eager to purchase healthy food. More farmers’ markets are opening to meet this demand. And recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or CalFresh, are no longer issued paper Food Stamps. Instead, they are issued an Electronic Benefit Transfer (or EBT) card which can be used at farmers’ markets to pay for fresh, local food. And Farmers’ Markets are being supplemented with a growing number of CSAs ? Community Supported Agriculture programs ? in which individuals contract with farmers for regular (usually weekly) boxes of fresh produce.
And there are other innovative ways that food is being distributed. Such as the 15 different farms in Siskiyou County, Full Circle Farms, that pool their produce to offer weekly bags of fruit, vegetables, herb, artisan bread, mushrooms, flowers and more! And there are Craig and Jen Thompson in Scott Valley who operate Rockside Ranch Farmstand near Etna where all sorts of food and even firewood can be purchased or ordered for delivery.
To reach Earl with questions or topics you’d like to hear covered, contact him by email: Earl Bloor – earl.bloor@comcast.net.
The “From-the-Ground-Up” Suite of Garden Programs are co-productions of Northstate Public Radio.
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To submit plant/gardening related events/classes to the Jewellgarden.com on-line Calendar of Regional Gardening Events, send the pertinent information to me at: Jennifer@jewellgarden.com
Did you know I send out a weekly email with information about upcoming topics and gardening related events in the North State region? If you would like to be added to the mailing list, send an email to Jennifer@jewellgarden.com.
In a North State Garden is a weekly Northstate Public Radio and web-based program celebrating the art, craft and science of home gardening in Northern California. It is made possible in part by the Gateway Science Museum – Exploring the Natural History of the North State and on the campus of CSU, Chico. In a North State Garden is conceived, written, photographed and hosted by Jennifer Jewell – all rights reserved jewellgarden.com. In a North State Garden airs on Northstate Public Radio Saturday mornings at 7:34 AM Pacific time and Sunday morning at 8:34 AM Pacific time.
