WPTF Weekend Gardener

40 Episodes
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By: Mike Raley & Rufus Edmisten

The WPTF Weekend Gardener is an award-winning radio talk show that has been on the air for over 40 years. Mike Raley has been the host since the show first aired in January of 1985, bringing expert gardening advice and fun conversation to listeners. Rufus Edmisten, former NC Secretary of State and Attorney General, has been a co-host for over 10 years, providing his unique insights and adding to the lively discussions. The Weekend Gardener is an evolution of The Tar Heel Gardener, a show that aired for 40 years and was hosted by North Carolina State University professor John H. Harris. Initially a 15...

WPTF Weekend Gardener - Live from The Aluminum Company of NC (Part 3 of 3)
Last Saturday at 7:21 PM

Today on the Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten and a plethora of guests, live from the The Aluminum Company of North Carolina.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Live from The Aluminum Company of NC (Part 2 of 3)
Last Saturday at 7:19 PM

Today on the Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten and a plethora of guests, live from the The Aluminum Company of North Carolina.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Live from The Aluminum Company of NC (Part 1 of 3)
Last Saturday at 7:16 PM

Today on the Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten and a plethora of guests, live from the The Aluminum Company of North Carolina.


Weekend Gardener – Live from the State Farmers Market (Part 3 of 3)
04/04/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten host the show with guests Chief Meteorologist Gary Stephenson of Spectrum News 1 and Dr. Patrick McMillan of Plant Delights Nursery at Juniper Level Botanic Garden.


Weekend Gardener – Live from the State Farmers Market (Part 2 of 3)
04/04/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten host the show with guests Chief Meteorologist Gary Stephenson of Spectrum News 1 and Dr. Patrick McMillan of Plant Delights Nursery at Juniper Level Botanic Garden.


Weekend Gardener – Live from the State Farmers Market (Part 1 of 3)
04/04/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten host the show with guests Chief Meteorologist Gary Stephenson of Spectrum News 1 and Dr. Patrick McMillan of Plant Delights Nursery at Juniper Level Botanic Garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Snakes & Spring (Part 3 of 3)
03/28/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten host the show with special guest Phil Campbell of Campbell Road Nursery.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Snakes & Spring (Part 2 of 3)
03/28/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten host the show with special guest Phil Campbell of Campbell Road Nursery.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Snakes & Spring (Part 1 of 3)
03/28/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten host the show with special guest Phil Campbell of Campbell Road Nursery.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Roots & Routes (Part 3 of 3)
03/21/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley is joined by Nelsa Cox, Paul McKenzie, and Rufus Edmisten to talk about the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Roots & Routes (Part 2 of 3)
03/21/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley is joined by Nelsa Cox, Paul McKenzie, and Rufus Edmisten to talk about the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Roots & Routes (Part 1 of 3)
03/21/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley is joined by Nelsa Cox, Paul McKenzie, and Rufus Edmisten to talk about the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Azaleas and Crepe Murder (Part 3 of 3)
03/14/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten host the show with guests Phil Campbell of Campbell Road Nursery and Tony Avent of Juniper Level Botanic Garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Azaleas and Crepe Murder (Part 2 of 3)
03/14/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten host the show with guests Phil Campbell of Campbell Road Nursery and Tony Avent of Juniper Level Botanic Garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Azaleas & Crepe Murder (Part 1 of 3)
03/14/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten host the show with guests Phil Campbell of Campbell Road Nursery and Tony Avent of Juniper Level Botanic Garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - BLTs & Walking Sticks (Part 3 of 3)
03/07/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten host the show with guest Gerald Adams, retired head gardener of the Governor’s Mansion, to discuss all sorts of topics related to the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - BLTs & Walking Sticks (Part 2 of 3)
03/07/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten host the show with guest Gerald Adams, retired head gardener of the Governor’s Mansion, to discuss all sorts of topics related to the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - BLTs & Walking Sticks (Part 1 of 3)
03/07/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten host the show with guest Gerald Adams, retired head gardener of the Governor’s Mansion, to discuss all sorts of topics related to the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Extension Agents and Tomatoes (Part 3 of 3)
02/28/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley is joined by extension agent, Amanda Bratcher, gardener, author, and educator, Craig LeHoullier, prolific horticulturist and plant conservationist, Tony Avent, and Rufus Edmisten to talk about the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Extension Agents and Tomatoes (Part 2 of 3)
02/28/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley is joined by extension agent, Amanda Bratcher, gardener, author, and educator, Craig LeHoullier, prolific horticulturist and plant conservationist, Tony Avent, and Rufus Edmisten to talk about the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Extension Agents and Tomatoes (Part 1 of 3)
02/28/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley is joined by extension agent, Amanda Bratcher, gardener, author, and educator, Craig LeHoullier, prolific horticulturist and plant conservationist, Tony Avent, and Rufus Edmisten to talk about the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Trout Lilies, Legal Counsel, and Birthday Singing (Part 3 of 3)
02/21/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley is joined by Nelsa Cox, Phil Campbell, and Rufus Edmisten to talk about the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Trout Lilies, Legal Counsel, and Birthday Singing (Part 2 of 3)
02/21/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley is joined by Nelsa Cox, Phil Campbell, and Rufus Edmisten to talk about the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Trout Lilies, Legal Counsel, and Birthday Singing (Part 1 of 3)
02/21/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley is joined by Nelsa Cox, Phil Campbell, and Rufus Edmisten to talk about the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Howler Monkeys and Bladderworts (Part 3 of 3)
02/14/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten host the show with guest Dr. Patrick McMillan, Botanist, Conservation Biologist, Plantsman, and Horticulturist, to talk about the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Howler Monkeys and Bladderworts (Part 2 of 3)
02/14/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten host the show with guest Dr. Patrick McMillan, Botanist, Conservation Biologist, Plantsman, and Horticulturist, to talk about the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Howler Monkeys and Bladderworts (Part 1 of 3)
02/14/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten host the show with guest Dr. Patrick McMillan, Botanist, Conservation Biologist, Plantsman, and Horticulturist, to talk about the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Bees, Oysters, and Tomato Sandwiches (Part 3 of 3)
02/07/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten host the show with guest Gerald Adams, retired head gardener of the Governor’s Mansion, to discuss a plethora of topics related to the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Bees, Oysters, and Tomato Sandwiches (Part 2 of 3)
02/07/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten host the show with guest Gerald Adams, retired head gardener of the Governor’s Mansion, to discuss a plethora of topics related to the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Bees, Oysters, and Tomato Sandwiches (Part 1 of 3)
02/07/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten host the show with guest Gerald Adams, retired head gardener of the Governor’s Mansion, to discuss a plethora of topics related to the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Snowy Stories (Part 3 of 3)
01/31/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley, Nelsa Cox, and Rufus Edmisten host the show with guest callers to talk about current winter precipitation and how it could affect the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Snowy Stories (Part 2 of 3)
01/31/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley, Nelsa Cox, and Rufus Edmisten host the show with guest callers to talk about current winter precipitation and how it could affect the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Snowy Stories (Part 1 of 3)
01/31/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley, Nelsa Cox, and Rufus Edmisten host the show with guest callers to talk about current winter precipitation and how it could affect the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Winter Weather Worries (Part 3 of 3)
01/24/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley, Phil Campbell and Rufus Edmisten host the show with guest Mark Baumgartner to talk about winter weather affecting the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Winter Weather Worries (Part 2 of 3)
01/24/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley, Phil Campbell and Rufus Edmisten host the show with guest Mark Baumgartner to talk about winter weather affecting the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Winter Weather Worries (Part 1 of 3)
01/24/2026

Today on Weekend Gardener, Mike Raley, Phil Campbell and Rufus Edmisten host the show with guest Mark Baumgartner to talk about winter weather affecting the garden.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Slugs, Wild Gingers, and Winter Curiosities (Part 3 of 3)
01/17/2026

In the final hour, Raley and Edmisten reunite with Adams and McMillan to share stories of family gardens and farming traditions. They provide tips on growing eggplant and managing pests, and reflect on the lessons learned from their upbringing surrounded by food and flowers, emphasizing the personal connections to gardening.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Slugs, Wild Gingers, and Winter Curiosities (Part 2 of 3)
01/17/2026

In this segment, Raley and Edmisten continue with Adams and McMillan, focusing on tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and culinary herbs. They discuss growing specialty herbs like culantro and Vietnamese coriander, heat-tolerant cilantro alternatives, mint varieties, and seed saving, while sharing practical gardening advice and insights from farmers' markets.


WPTF Weekend Gardener - Slugs, Wild Gingers, and Winter Curiosities (Part 1 of 3)
01/17/2026


Weekend Gardener 1-10-2025: Gung-Ho on Mitogrow (Part 3 of 3)
01/10/2026

Mike Raley and Rufus Edmisten end the show in the studio with special guests Paul McKenzie, retired extension agent, and Chad Tyson, Director of Operations at Mitogrow.