Are you a beginning gardener looking for ways to grow your own vegetables without using harsh chemicals? If so, then you won’t want to miss the upcoming free organic gardening talk on heirloom tomatoes and peppers with TV & Radio Horticulturalist Nick Federoff. This is an excellent opportunity for those just starting out in their gardening journey as it will provide valuable information on how to create a garden that is both healthy and sustainable.
 
Organic gardening involves growing plants without the use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, instead relying upon natural methods such as composting and crop rotation. Not only does this help protect our environment from harmful pollutants but also provides us with nutrient-rich produce that tastes better than store bought varieties! Heirloom tomatoes and peppers are especially well suited for organic gardens due to their hardiness against pests, making them ideal choices if you’re looking for something easy yet rewarding.
                                               
By attending this talk, not only will you gain knowledge about these two popular vegetables but also learn tips on how best care for them throughout each season – from planting through harvesting! You'll even get advice about soil preparation techniques which can make all the difference when it comes time harvest time; by understanding what kind of conditions your crops need most in order thrive successfully at home. 
 
Don't miss out - join us at our free organic gardening talk where we'll discuss everything there is know about heirloom tomatoes & peppers so that beginners and seasoned gardeners like yourself can start off right with confidence knowing they have support every step along way towards growing a beautiful garden full of delicious bounty!
 
The O.C. Home & Garden Show, Anaheim Convention Center, 11AM on Saturday, April 22, 2023.  Because the convention center charges for parking the Home Show and talk is FREE!

​Question:  My hibiscus looks pretty healthy. But the healthy-looking buds keep drying up and falling off. It's got lots of buds, but no blooms. What am I supposed to do?

NICK: When you have a series of buds that don't open, the first thing I think about is to do a little investigative reporting. I want you to open up the bud, and with the magnifying glass, see what's inside, because it's probably a minute insect called a mite. Sometimes mites will make a little webbing, and with others, they don't. Now that you've identified it as a mite, you're going to have to come in there and spray this thing with a miticide that you would get at your local nursery and garden center. Then fertilize the plant, and you should be just fine.

​Question:  Someone on a Facebook group recently suggested that I use a fish hydrolysate for my potted plants. I have fish emulsion, is that okay to use?

NICK: Great attempt at trying to pronounce that word. I’d pronounce it hydrolysate. A fish hydrolysate and a fish emulsion are two different things, yet they are both used for fertilizing plants. One is better than the other. Fish emulsion after they process part of it for food, they'll make oils out of it and make up and other non-essential things, and they really cook all the nutrients out of it. Whereas a fish hydrolysate, after they use it for edible purposes, is a cold process, which retains more nutrients. My vote is for the hydrolysate.

​Question:  I live in Brooklyn, and my snake plant is in a south-facing window. It grows well in the center, but the outer leaves are breaking off. What do I do?

NICK: Snake plants are pretty rugged plants. However, it would be better if the plant did get morning sun as opposed to afternoon sun. Okay, put that all aside, we still have these outer leaves that are falling off. Normally when you have it in a southern window like that, you're thinking oh no, I got to water more. So we end up doing that. That right there is detrimental to the plant. They'll start rotting off and falling out. So ease up on your watering. The second thing is that your older growth will naturally die off on you. Maybe that's what's going on here.

​Question:  I’ve been given some wild flowers. Are you able to advise on if these things are safe to use for my garden? The instructions say just to throw it in a flower bed and the non-peat compost is going to germinate the flowers?

NICK: Okay. So what he's talking about over here is that there's a seed company that is doing something that's kind of in the world of novelties. Where they're taking the seeds, and they're putting them in medicine capsules. And inside the capsule is a little bit of an organic material to help the seed grow. There's nothing wrong with doing something like this, as long as you get plenty of moisture on those seeds, because it's all encapsulated, the seed is there, you probably got a little fertilizer, you throw it on the ground and it'll eventually sprout for you.

​Question:  I’ve had a pear tree for at least 10 years, and it gets a lot of flowers and green leaves, but I don't get any fruit off of it. What can I do?

NICK: What I really need to know is whether or not you had any fruit on the pear tree in the previous 10 years, because one of two different things is happening. Either you're pruning it incorrectly, or number two, which is probably most likely the reason here, it's not getting enough or it's getting too many chill hours, which is a collective amount of hours that the tree will hold in its system and then when it gets enough, it'll be able to produce for you. Certain trees need a lot of chill hours, or others they need very little, and that's usually around the 45-degree mark.

Oranges are believed to be native to Southeast Asia. It was introduced into Europe by traders during the Middle Ages. The fruit quickly became popular all over Europe due to its sweet taste and nutritional value. In fact it was so popular that it eventually made its way across the Atlantic Ocean with Spanish explorers who brought them back from their voyages in South America.
 
Oranges are packed full of vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin A, B6 & C which helps keep our immune system strong while providing us with energy throughout the day. They also contain antioxidants which help protect our cells from damage caused by free radicals; these can help reduce inflammation within our bodies too! Additionally they’re rich in fiber which helps promote healthy digestion as well as aiding weight loss efforts when eaten regularly instead of sugary snacks or drinks throughout your day-to-day life. Oranges have even been linked with reducing cholesterol levels thanks again due largely thanks for their high content on dietary fiber found within them too!
 
 Scurvy is a disease caused by lack vitamin C (ascorbic acid) deficiency – this can lead serious issues including gum bleeding & tooth decay but thankfully nowadays we don’t see cases like this anymore because people now get enough through diet alone or supplements taken daily if needed - something not available until recently historically speaking however eating citrus fruits such as oranges were one way sailors used try combat scurvy before modern medicine came along.
 
 To take care of an orange tree you need ensure there's enough water available especially during hotter months when evaporation rates increase significantly; mulching around base trunk will also help retain moisture better whilst keeping weeds at bay - pruning should done periodically remove any deadwood/branches that may be present plus thinning out dense foliage where necessary give more light access areas lower down allowing fruit ripen fully without issue later on... Finally fertilizing every few weeks spring summer time will provide essential nutrients plant needs grow healthily produce quality yields year after year no matter what climate conditions may throw up against you either!. 
 
 Lastly let talk about making delicious homemade Orange Juice.  Cut the orange in half (opposite of the stem and bottom) and…squeeze!

​Question:  I’ve had a monstera for about two years and it doesn't seem to grow anymore. It has a lot of leaves, but it's the stems that continue to grow without making new leaves.

NICK: This is a classic case of a plant that is root bound. What I want you to do is to slip that plant out of the container and check those roots. Chances are they're pretty gnarly looking and wrapped around inside of that plant container and they're just bursting to get out. So what you want to do is to move this thing up into a larger container. You can prune off about one quarter to no more than one third of those roots and kind of loosen it up, use some fresh potting soil to re-pot it up in its new container. And remember, don't bury it any deeper than it came out of this existing container.