Episodes

Ron Poe from the Nebraska Department of Transportation joins us to talk about NDOT's goals for creating a "Nebraska" landscape along our state highways. He answers our questions about pollinator habitat, erosion control, tree planting, mowing practices and more. A little light reading for those who are interested: NDOT's Vegetation Manual. Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail. Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: https://plantnebraska.org/podcast Follow us @N...

It feels like a second New Year after 2 winter storms and 4 snow days which makes for a good day to talk about resolutions! Sarah and Hanna review their resolutions, goals and plans for their 2024 gardens and share their predictions of what will be in and what will be out this year. Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail. Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: https://plantnebraska.org/podcast Follow us @NEBloomBox on Facebook and Instagram Follow us @growingwith...

Happy New Year! Sarah, Hanna and Bob review the Great Plants selections for this year. The Great Plants program is a collaboration between the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum and the Nebraska Nursery and Landscape Association to promote underutilized plants that are favorites of industry professionals in Nebraska. Each year a tree, conifer, shrub, perennial, and grass are selected to be highlighted and promoted for the year. Find the Great Plants Gardener publication here. Send us your questions...

An update but unfortunately not a definitive answer on the palm tree debate. We'll be taking a little break since our next scheduled episode would land on Christmas Day; our next episode will be coming January 8th with the 2024 Great Plants selections!

This week we will review the recent USDA Zone Map update and what it means for Nebraska. We also talk about the limitations of the map and the other factors we consider when predicting plant hardiness. USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map A couple of sources we used to get a better understanding of the USDA map: https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/pages/map-creation https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/new-plant-hardiness-map-used-gardeners-nationwide-and-based-osu-climate-data-unveiled Show Notes S...

Our top gifts for gardeners! Each year we round up some of our favorite gardening/outdoor products that we think would make good gifts, many we have enjoyed receiving ourselves. This year we created categories: NSA Merch at plantnebraskashop.org Kids little shovel Bird Enthusiasts Chefs/Cooks Uline Jars New Gardener Experienced Gardeners All the books we mentioned can be found on our Bookshop.org profile. We hope this gives you some ideas for gifts to give the gardeners in your life (or ...

Dave Zahn is back to finish our conversation about harvesting and storing nuts so they can be enjoyed through the winter. Also joining us is Sam Creal who makes syrup from the walnut trees on his property. Check out Creal Baking to learn more about how to purchase. They don't currently ship syrup but can be found at farmers' markets and craft shows in eastern Nebraska. Show Notes Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail. Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: http...

Dave Zahn, a long time member of the Nebraska Nut Growers Association, joins us this week to talk about nut trees that are native to Nebraska as well as introduced species that grow well here. We talk planting, growing and a little about harvesting nuts both for personal use and as a crop. To be continued with part 2 focused more on harvest and processing! Learn more about the Nebraska Nut Growers Association Show Notes Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave us a voi...

It may be fall but gardening season isn’t over! This week we are talking all about fall planting bulbs: how, what, when and how to protect them from critters. We had a lot of fun recording this episode and out ‘end of planting season’ caught up with us; check out the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum on Patreon for an uncut version featuring bears and shrews. Show Notes Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail. Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: https://plantnebrask...

Heather Beyers, founder of Great Plains Nursery, joins us this week to talk about trees to plant in your landscape or community. Great Plains works hard to promote native trees that increase the biodiversity of our landscapes while meeting the needs of humans and thriving in urban settings (not an easy task!). That mission makes Heather a good source of ideas for trees to plant, not just for their beauty and hardiness, but also for wildlife and insects. Learn more about Great Plains Nursery Sh...

An interview with Jenny Hopwood from the Xerces Society all about the life cycle of stem nesting bees and how we can create habitat for them. Often known for their work with pollinator habitat, the Xerces Society works with any invertebrate species. Their mission: The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international nonprofit organization that protects the natural world through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats. As a science-based organization, we both conduct...

Listen in to today’s episode where Sarah and Hanna share and discuss their favorite nature and gardening related apps. From iNaturalist to SkyView to Planter there are a lot of tools to help you learn about and enjoy they great outdoors. There is also a “deleted scene” from this episode available on our Patreon! Show Notes Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail. Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: https://plantnebraska.org/podcast Follow us @NEBloomBox on Face...

Did you know Nebraska has over 200 species of butterfly? Hanna and Sarah compare which species they see the most in their urban vs rural yards and how to create nesting habitat. They also take a look at the species that migrate including Monarchs. Join our iNaturalist bioblitz and see how many butterflies we can photograph through September 1st! Mail in dead butterflies and moths to USGS Monarch Watch Tagging Kit Nebraska Game & Parks Butterfly guide Show Notes Send us your questions at gr...

Botanical Latin- the language of plants- can be baffling but also incredibly helpful. Not really a language at all, this system of naming (nomenclature) gives each plant and official and universal name. These scientific names come in handy when identifying plants with regional common names or when several plants have the same common name; like sunflowers. International Botanical Congress (yes, it's real) Show Notes Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave us a voicemai...

Erin Ingram and Jenny Keshwani join us from GROWABLE, science literacy team, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. They recently hosted an event called Climate and Mental Health for high school and college students and shared with us what they learned. View the documentary "Gen Z Mental Health: Climate Stories" Show Notes Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail. Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: https://plantnebraska.org/podcast Follow us @NEBloomBox on Fac...

Join the new Nebraska Statewide Arboretum Patreon for weekly plant profiles, bonus podcast content and behind the scenes looks in our greenhouse and at our projects! https://www.patreon.com/NebraskaStatewideArboretum

It’s the middle of the summer and hopefully everyone has something blooming in their garden! But, midsummer brings some issues with it as well; flopping, insects, diseases & Random Death (it happens to us all). These issues aren’t unique to this time of year but they often intensify in the summer heat. June 17th is Member Appreciation week at the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum! We are a member supported nonprofit and rely on our wonderful members to help us plant Nebraska every year. Learn more a...

How does heat affect plants? How do plants affect temperature? Summer in the City: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7ofnHmxE-I Photosynthesis: Mrs. Frizzle says it best: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMNVwkxoW6k Stomata: any of the minute pores in the epidermis (skin) of the leaf or stem of a plant, forming a slit of variable width which allows movement of gases in and out of the intercellular spaces. Transpiration: the exhalation of water vapor through the stomata. Evapotranspiration: th...

Happy Wildflower Week! The first week of June we always celebrate Nebraska Wildflower Week by traveling to the panhandle to spend time hiking and visiting with our partners and friends. For this episode we're going to take you along with us. Show Notes Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail. Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: https://plantnebraska.org/podcast Follow us @NEBloomBox on Facebook and Instagram Follow us @growingwithbloombox on Pinterest Learn ...

It's time for another episode of the Bloom Box Growing Deeper podcast. In this edition, Sarah and Hanna answer listeners' questions about gardening, including how much to water during this very dry spring, how to deal with invasive weeds and more.  Show Notes Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail. Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: https://plantnebraska.org/podcast Follow us @NEBloomBox on Facebook and Instagram Follow us @growingwithbloombox on Pinterest...

Denise Wally, former Nebraska Forest Service coworker and current friend, joins us to talk about her love of growing mushrooms. As a member of the Nebraska Mycological Society she enjoys teaching others about the identification, culinary uses and growing of mushrooms. She has experimented with ways to include mushrooms in both her landscape and her culinary gardens with great success, both for the mushrooms and the other plants! Show Notes Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.co...

It’s Spring Affair Week and that applies to EVERYTHING we do at NSA. So, today’s episode is all about Spring Affair. Sarah and Hanna share practical tips and tricks to use while you’re shopping and list more than a few plants you should look for while you’re shopping. Toby and Michelle also join in to talk about vendors and creating spring affair news. Spring Affair is our major fundraiser for the year and is one of the largest plant sales in the Midwest! Show Notes Send us your questions at ...

Chrissy Land, Western Nebraska Community Forester for the Nebraska Forest Service, joins us to talk about the importance of trees to bees. As a forester she knows and loves trees, as a beekeeper she knows and loves bees, and with a background in landscape design and maintenance she knows how to combine the two! Doug Tallamy is one of our favorite authors when it comes to the ecological importance of trees, especially oaks. Check out our Bookshop link to find our most read books of his. Spring...

April Fool's! No tricks here but we are changing things up and talking about all our 'unpurposeful' gardening projects. We always try to help you garden with a purpose but today that purpose is whatever brings you joy whether or not it has a direct tie to habitat or ecological services. Show Notes Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail. Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: https://plantnebraska.org/podcast Follow us @NEBloomBox on Facebook and Instagram Follow...