Garden for Life
Jackson County Master Gardener Lynn Kuntsman and long-time JPR host Geoffrey Riley explore everything you need to know about gardening, from cultivating native plants to finding the tastiest tomato varieties to organic pest control.Subscribe to access all episodes:
Why Southern Oregon gardeners should skip the rototiller
(Jackson County Master Gardeners Association )
May has arrived, and it can be tempting to rush into the garden and fire up the rototiller. But Jackson County Master Gardener Lynn Kunstman said the common practice can damage the ecosystem beneath the soil.
Soil is a complex biosphere, with organisms adapted to specific layers. When soil is turned over, deep-dwelling organisms are moved to the surface, while surface-dwelling organisms are buried in conditions where they cannot survive.
“You’re basically killing off the life in your soil every time you rototill,” Kunstman said.
Repeated tilling can al...
When to plant summer vegetables in Southern Oregon
A gardener removes weeds by the roots, a key step in maintaining healthy soil and preventing regrowth in spring garden beds.(Simon Kadula / Khaligo - stock.adobe.com)
April is the time for garden maintenance, according to Jackson County Master Gardener Lynn Kunstman.
She said gardeners should pull annual weeds by the roots and shake soil back into the bed to preserve nutrients.
She also recommends removing mulch in April to allow soil to warm, then reapplying it in late May or June to help retain moisture.
As temperatures rise, many gardeners begin...
Why your March garden should already be growing
(jbuinac - stock.adobe.com / 550712846)
While many gardeners in the Rogue Valley treat Mother’s Day as the traditional start of planting season, experts say waiting until May can mean missing a prime growing window.
Master Gardener Lynn Kunstman said the Mother’s Day guideline applies mainly to warm-season crops such as tomatoes and peppers, which cannot tolerate frost. March, however, falls within the shoulder season, when many cold-hardy vegetables grow well.
“Broccoli, Brussels sprouts ... cabbage, collard greens, kale — all of those are very, very cold resistant,” Kunstman says. Many of these plants originate in Northern E...
Preparing fall gardens for the winter season
Lithia Park in the fall. ( Ashland Garden Club)
Geoffrey Riley and Master Gardener Lynn Kunstman offer insights for gardeners in their button-up-for-winter segment. They discuss the final harvest of food gardens before frost sets in, how to get a garden ready for winter, and how to make moves now that give you, and the environment, more biodiversity later.
Preparing fall gardens for the winter season
Lithia Park in the fall. ( Ashland Garden Club)
Geoffrey Riley and Master Gardener Lynn Kunstman offer insights for gardeners in their button-up-for-winter segment. They discuss the final harvest of food gardens before frost sets in, how to get a garden ready for winter, and how to make moves now that give you, and the environment, more biodiversity later.
September is the transition season for planting
Geoffrey Riley and Master Gardener Lynn Kunstman talk about making the transition from summer crops to fall crops, and what kinds of soil amendments can help the health and productivity of your garden. Also, Jackson County Master Gardeners are hosting a Native Plant Sale on Sept. 27th.
Shielding plants from the summer heat
Garden for Life co-hosts Geoffrey Riley and Lynn Kunstman talk about how to protect plants from the summer heat, while beginning to take in the harvest of the garden.
Soil quality and bug wars
Co-hosts Geoffrey Riley and Lynn Kunstman talk about steps to improve soil quality WITHOUT tilling the garden, and how to encourage the good bugs to show up and eat the damaging bugs.
Gardening tips for early summer
Garden for Life co-hosts Geoffrey Riley and Lynn Kunstman offer tips for gardening in early summer. This episode is all about tending to new plants that are starting to grow, and keeping an eye on things like soil temperature and good watering techniques.
The care and keeping of your garden as the summer months approach
Former Jefferson Exchange host Geoffrey Riley and Jackson County Master Gardener Lynn Kunstman discuss the 2025 Spring Garden Fair and late-spring gardening tips.
Bugs or heat? It's an exciting time of year for gardeners
August started rather like July: hot, very hot. If you keep a garden, do not be surprised if your plants respond to the heat by snoozing. It takes a lot of energy for a tomato plant to set fruit in really hot weather, just for one example. We take up other issues of gardening at this time of year, in a new edition of Garden for Life.
Grace Florjancic, who coordinates the Master Gardener program in Jackson County, returns for more answers to our questions about how to make things grow well, and what to...
Slow soil, quickening insects: April gardening tips
We're right around the time of year when it's unlikely that a garden (at least in the Medford area) will be visited by frost overnight. Just the same, it may take a while for the soil to warm up. The insects require a bit less preheating, it turns out.
These and other gardening issues are part of our resumption of the Garden for Life podcast. Sitting in for Lynn Kunstman this time is Grace Florjancic, who is the Master Gardener training coordinator at Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center near Medford...
Forget the robins, Lynn Kunstman's return signals the approach of spring
Some of the flowers popped up during the warm spell in February, long before the official start of spring. With spring just days away (March 19th), it's time to kick into gardening gear for some of us, which means we can bring our resident master gardener, Lynn Kunstman, out of the winter deep-freeze.
Lynn, the current Statewide Master Gardener of the Year, can answer many plant questions, or at least direct us to the people who can. This session of Garden for Life is recorded, but we can stockpile questions for...
Before winter really sets in, a chat with Lynn
If you live near a farm, you may notice green things still in the ground. There ARE vegetables--cabbages and carrots and more--that do just fine in the cold ground. But for most gardeners, this is the slow season. So we take it slow and easy in the return of our gardening podcast, Garden for Life.
Lynn Kunstman from Jackson County Master Gardeners fields our questions about late fall/early winter gardening activities. We can take your questions for FUTURE segments at JX@jeffnet.org... or submit a question about specific plants...
As the leaves fall: an October take on gardening, with Lynn Kunstman
At least west of the Cascades, winters can be fairly mild in these parts, so some items will still grow in gardens through the cold season. October seemed to sneak up on us, so it's time to talk about cleaning out the summer plants and prepping for the rest of Fall and the fast-approaching winter weather.
Jackson County Master Gardener and Oregon State Master Gardener of the Year Lynn Kunstman returns for our monthly gardening Q&A. What's your gardening issue? If Lynn doesn't know the answer, she will know someone who does. <...
Heat and harvest and more August happenings, in a live Garden For Life
Just about the time the tomatoes and cucumbers (and the plums and cherries and pears) started ripening, the big heat wave arrived. If gardeners didn't much want to go out there, how were the plants coping?
We put that question and more to Lynn Kunstman on her latest visit. Lynn is a Jackson County Master Gardener and our partner in a recurring segment we call Garden for Life. Lynn is happy to take up concerns from listeners, and she joins us live this time around; you can join in by emailing jx...
Watery tomatoes, and other harvest season happenings in Garden For Life
After a hot spell, summer settled down a bit, and local gardens appear to be responding, giving forth flowers and fruits and veggies. Some, anyway. We check results both positive and negative (like a complaint about watery tomatoes) with our regular guest Lynn Kunstman.
Lynn is a Jackson County Master Gardener and our partner in a recurring segment we call Garden for Life. Lynn is happy to take up concerns from listeners, and she joins us live this time around; you can join in by emailing jx@jeffnet.org.
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Harvest time approaches, as we Garden for Life
Fruit and vegetables are getting big, and flowers are in full bloom in many a garden. And if we're not careful, bugs are having some fun with the garden bounty.
We talk bugs and planting for the cool season and more with Geoffrey Riley and Lynn Kunstman. Lynn is a Jackson County Master Gardener and our partner in a recurring segment we call Garden for Life. Lynn is happy to take up concerns from listeners, and you can get questions into the next session by emailing jx@jeffnet.org. <...
Garden for Life: The really hot days in the garden, with guidance from Lynn
There's no point looking for rain for most of us at this time of year. If we want plants to grow, we need to bring out the hose. And a little expertise can't hurt, so we reach out again to Lynn Kunstman.
Lynn is a Jackson County Master Gardener and our partner in a recurring segment we call Garden for Life. She's live with us for this segment, and you can get questions into this or the next session by emailing jx@jeffnet.org. You can also get help from the <...
Well, NOW it's hot: Garden for Life covers July gardening issues
We've learned from gardening experts how to "harden" plants grown from seeds indoors, before they are transplanted outdoors. Now, when the weather has turned hot and bright, is when that hardening pays off for the plants.
We'll talk about this and other hot-season issues with our Lynn Kunstman. Lynn is a Jackson County Master Gardener and our partner in a recurring segment we call Garden for Life. She's live with us for this segment, and you can get questions into this or the next session by emailing jx@jeffnet.org.
<...June is busting out, in Garden for Life
Gardeners have to watch the calendar through spring, waiting for the last frost dates to clear before putting summer plants in the ground. They should be there by now, Lynn Kunstman tells us.
Lynn is a Jackson County Master Gardener and our partner in a segment we call Garden for Life. Now that the growing season has arrived, we'll schedule more visits with Lynn, and you can get questions into the next session by emailing jx@jeffnet.org.
You can also get help from the Master...
Lynn lays down the law on soil temps, in Garden for Life
Warm days lie ahead, we know that. It's just that they took longer than usual to arrive this year, after a longish and mostly wettish winter. And just because the air turns warm does not mean the soil is warm enough to receive plants.
We go over that with Master Gardener Lynn Kunstman in this month's edition of Garden for Life. If you need some help identifying a plant or a problem with it, contact the Master Gardener Plant Clinic. California listeners can find local master gardeners through the program through ...
Baby, it's cold outside: preseason tips
Yes, spring is coming, but it is indeed taking its sweet time about getting here. So those of us dreaming of spring and summer gardening have to wait just a bit longer, like until the soil is actually warm enough for seeds to germinate. But you CAN start some seeds indoors before the warm days arrive.
We talk about indoor starts and soil amendments and more with Lynn Kuntsman of Jackson County Master Gardeners, in this month's edition of Garden for Life.
If you need some help identifying a...
Back to the garden with Lynn Kunstman
Things are just a bit dormant in the plant world these days. The heart of the growing season is months away for most of us, though a few things--like the garlic you planted last fall--might be sprouting.
Lynn Kunstman from Jackson County Master Gardeners returns with her green-thumb insights in our Garden for Life segment, talking about midwinter issues like perusing seed catalogs (and sprouting garlic).
We can take your questions for FUTURE segments at JX@jeffnet.org... or submit a question about specific plants to the <...
