Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley

Episode 49: Agroforestry and Biochar

David Newman from Arthur’s Point Farm in Ghent, NY, joins the podcast, Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley to talk about ecological restoration and soil health using agroforestry and biochar.

Agroforestry is a land management approach that combines with agriculture and trees. Planting trees, shrubs and hedges on farms can give Hudson Valley farmers healthier soil and higher yields – not to mention creating vital homes for wildlife. As well as having a massive positive impact on the soil, the environment and wildlife, agroforestry also boosts productivity as diverse systems are more productive than monocultures. Integrating trees into the landscape also helps to enhance biodiversity and foster climate resilience.

Applying biochar may also increase the fertility and health of acidic soils and also increase agricultural productivity. Biochar is a lightweight black residue, made of carbon and ashes, remaining after the pyrolysis of biomass. Biochar carbon remains in the ground for centuries, slowing the growth in atmospheric greenhouse gas levels. Simultaneously, its presence in the earth can improve water quality, increase soil fertility, raise agricultural productivity, and reduce pressure on old-growth forests. Its porous nature is effective at retaining both water and water-soluble nutrients.

Learn how you these techniques can be applied to improve the health of your land.

Hosts: Tim Kennelty and Jean Thomas

Guest: David Newman

Photo by: Tim Kennelty

Production Support: Linda Aydlett, Teresa Golden, Annie Scibienski

Episode 48: Raising Goats

Goats are amazing animals. They are tough, versatile and have many uses. Related to sheep, goats are lighter in build and have horns that arch backward, shorter tails, and straighter hair. Goats can survive and thrive just about anywhere. They are browsers and valued for eating inexpensive nutrient sources, such as woody plant and weeds that other livestock typically won’t consume. Goats have been used for milk, meat, fur, and skins across much of the world. Milk from goats is often turned into goat cheese.

On this fascinating episode of Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley, learn from Peter and Charlene Padin as they talk about their goat farm located in Columbia County. They explain their journey to becoming goat farmers and the joys and challenges of raising an Alpine goat herd. Did you know that goats dance? Charlene also describes the many kinds of cheese that can be made from goat’s milk.

Hosts: Tim Kennelty and Jean Thomas

Guests: Peter and Charlene Padin

Photo by: Tim Kennelty

Production Support: Linda Aydlett, Annie Scibienski, and Teresa Golden

Resources

Episode 47: Garden Maintenance, Online resources and Dutch Terms

This episode of the podcast, Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley, contains a potpourri of interesting topics.

Jean Thomas (It’s All Greek to Me) returns with a discussion of the Dutch influence on the Hudson Valley, including the wide variety of terms we use today that find their origins to the Netherlands. We all know that bulbs come from Holland, but are you aware of other common vocabulary terms like gherkin, coleslaw and cookie are derived from the Dutch? The Dutch influence on the Hudson Valley continues today.

Plant trials are the focus on Tools of the Trade with Tim Kennelty. Have you wondered how botanists evaluate which plant varieties perform best under certain conditions? Which cultivars are pollinator favorites? What one are the most disease resistant? Which native plant species will work best in your garden? On-line resources from the Mount Cuba Center in Delaware and the Chicago Botanic Garden are discussed which provides the answers.

Garden maintenance is the focus of this latest episode of the Veggie Patch with Teresa Golden. Watering, weeding and fertilizing are discussed as key elements to keep a vegetable garden thriving. Get answers to: How much water is needed? Does mulch really help to suppress weeds? What’s the value of fertilizer? In addition, she’ll cover some common garden tools that will make caring for your veggie patch easier.

Thanks for listening to Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley.

Hosts: Tim Kennelty and Jean Thomas

Guests: Jean Thomas, Time Kennelty and Teresa Golden

Photo by: Tim Kennelty

Production Support: Linda Aydlett, Annie Scibienski, and Teresa Golden

Resources

Episode 46: Hydrangeas and Holiday Plants

Hydrangeas are a very popular landscape shrub and the topic of this podcast episode on Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley. 

What’s the difference between a lace cap and a mophead hydrangea? Why isn’t my hydrangea flowering? Where should a hydrangea be planted? How do I figure out what kind of hydrangea I have in my yard? When should hydrangeas be pruned? How do I get my white hydrangea flowers to turn blue? Or pink? What are other landscape plants to consider that offer similar ‘showy’ flower displays? Why don’t the hydrangea plants I receive as gifts overwinter? Join podcast founders and Master Gardener Volunteers (Linda Aydlett, Teresa Golden, Tim Kennelty and Jean Thomas) in a round table discussion about hydrangeas and get your questions answered.

Then, Linda Levitt joins us with a new Flower Power segment to talk about Holiday plants including how to care for them. Amaryllis, Holiday Cactus and Poinsettias are all discussed.

Hosts: Tim Kennelty, Jean Thomas, Teresa Golden and Linda Aydlett

Guest:  Linda Levitt

Photo by: Tim Kennelty

Production Support: Linda Aydlett and Teresa Golden

Resources

Episode 45: Shade Gardening

Barbara Bravo, Master Gardener Volunteer from CCE of Ulster County, joins this Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley podcast episode to enlighten us about a variety of things to consider with shady landscapes. Understanding different levels of shade, setting appropriate plant expectations, and focusing on foliage, are just a few topics covered. Once established, shade gardens require less watering and maintenance, making them a favorite for many New Yorkers.

Hosts: Tim Kennelty and Jean Thomas

Guest: Barbara Bravo

Photo by: Tim Kennelty

Production Support: Linda Aydlett and Teresa Golden

Resources

Episode 44: Mums, Sedums, Annual Vines and Season Extenders

This podcast episode of Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley is perfect for the autumnal season. Extending the growing season, mums, asters, sedums and annual vines are all topics of conversation during the fall in New York.

The Veggie Patch with Teresa Golden covers a wide range of options to help extend the gardening season, including cloches, row covers and hoop houses. These tips and tools may allow your garden to keep producing for a few weeks longer than if left to Mother Nature’s own devices.

The Cover Up with Jean Thomas and Tim Kennelty is also quite timely. Morning Glories are the featured annual vines, but this category extends to gourd and mini-pumpkin vines, scarlet running beans, and more. Sedums and Hens and Chicks are featured ground covers (and succulents) in this episode. These herbaceous perennials, commonly known as stonecrops, are great options for rock gardens and other areas that are drought prone.  Both of these vines and ground covers are low maintenance and relatively easy to grow.

Linda Levitt returns with Flower Power. She discusses how to grow popular fall flowers that include Mums, Asters and Montauk Daisies. Including these beautiful plants in your flower gardens will bring lots of fall color to your landscape.

Hosts: Tim Kennelty and Jean Thomas

Guests: Teresa Golden and Linda Levitt

Photo By: Tim Kennelty

Production Support: Linda Aydlett and Teresa Golden

Resources

Episode 43: Hortus Arboretum

Learn about the Hortus Arboretum & Botanical Gardens. Located in Stone Ridge (Ulster County, NY), the gardens are run as a non-profit organization whose mission is to sustain the native, unusual and historic plant life of our area and serve as a vital educational resource for the public.

Join Scott Serrano and Allyson Levy, co-founders and executive directors, in a podcast that provides insights into the history, current offerings and future plans for this wonderful living textbook of plants that can be grown in the Hudson Valley.

Hosts: Tim Kennelty and Jean Thomas

Guests: Allyson Levy and Scott Serrano

Photo by: Tim Kennelty

Production Support: Linda Aydlett and Teresa Golden

Resources

Episode 42: American Ginseng

Ginseng plants are perennial herbs that are harvested for their taproot which is used for cooking and medicinal purposes. American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) grows in cooler climates in North America, including New York State. Ginseng has been associated with some of the world’s most ancient healing traditions. Wild ginseng grows naturally in mountains where a plant can take years to reach maturity. Cultivated ginseng is grown under shaded coverings to keep the plants cool and mimic the wooded environment of its wild counterpart.

Join Bob Beyfuss, a retired CCE employee, in an informative discussion about this plant that can be found or cultivated in the Hudson Valley.

Hosts: Tim Kennelty and Jean Thomas

Guest: Bob Beyfuss

Production Support: Linda Aydlett and Teresa Golden

Resources

Episode 41: Winterizing the Garden, Coneflowers, Mugwort & Overmountain

This week’s podcast episode contains a little bit of everything for residents of the Hudson Valley. Teresa Golden (The Veggie Patch) starts it off with a segment about how to put a vegetable garden ‘to bed’ for the winter. Sanitation and composting are covered as key elements to successfully preparing a garden to survive the winter and be ready to get off to a fast start in the spring.

Then Tim Kennelty (Good Plant/ Bad Plant) is back with another segment featuring the purple cornflower (echinacea purpurea) , a favorite New York garden perennial and a very colorful native flower, beloved by birds and pollinators.He also discusses the challenges of dealing with mugwort, a common weed in the garden which is also a prolific invasive.

The episode concludes with another virtual tour with Heidi Bock (Trekking the Trails).The Overmountain Conservation area, located in Ancram, NY, consists of 10 miles of trails with awesome scenic overlooks of both the Catskill and Taconic Mountains.It’s also a great place to see grassland birds.

We hope these segments inform, educate, and inspire you to enjoy the natural beauty that exists in New York’s Hudson Valley.Enjoy!

Hosts: Tim Kennelty and Jean Thomas

Guests: Teresa Golden, Tim Kennelty and Heidi Bock

Photo by: Tim Kennelty

Resources

Episode 40: Food Insecurity

Hunger remains a persistent reality for many New Yorkers.  The USDA defines hunger as a physiological condition that many result from food insecurity.  Food insecurity is an economic and social condition reflecting a household's inability to provide enough food for every person to live an active, healthy live.  

Rebecca Polmateer, Program Director from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Columbia and Greene Counties, joins the podcast, Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley, and goes into detail about the causes, prevalence, and realities of food insecurity.  She also describes the numerous programs that are available to help those who are food insecure.  

Hosts: Tim Kennelty and Jean Thomas

Guest: Rebecca Polmateer

Photo by: Tim Kennelty

Production Support: Linda Aydlett and Teresa Golden