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Gardening in the spring

pixabay.com

Rick Heflebower
I'm sure the biggest difference is going to be a temperature, our temperatures have climbed well into the 80s, which is actually unusual, even for us. We're currently backed down in the 50s and 60s, but usually, oh, probably the latter part of March, we get quite warm. So we're a good month to six weeks ahead of northern Utah in terms of season. So this actually becomes our early spring planting season, down here in southwest Utah.

Nick Porath
Great, and what are some things that Utahns can do across the state, both across the state and regionally as far as gardening tips.

Rick Heflebower
So I think one thing that people should be thinking about is if they're going to grow transplants to put in their garden from seed, in other words, if you've got seeds of varieties of, let's say, tomatoes, or peppers, or eggplants, that you want to grow, and get them to where they're big enough to move into your garden. And then this would be once the danger of frost has passed, now would be the time to be growing those transplants. And usually it takes anywhere from four to sometimes as much as eight weeks from the time you see those until they're big enough to move into the garden. So for us down here, we've already started growing those transplants. But I would say even in northern Utah, he would want to be growing those transplants now, so that they would be ready. Oh, by say mid May, to put out into the garden, usually around mid to latter may, most of the frosty peer period has passed for a good bit of your time. So it's usually safe to plant outside. But of course that will vary by region, starting in the south and going further north.

Nick Porath
Do you have any other gardening tips either regional or across the state?

Rick Heflebower
Yeah, I would say as far as gardening tips go. I mean, you know, just we have a few days here where it's a bit stormy, chilly, a bit rainy. This is the very end of March. But that is going to pass probably rather quickly. And we'll get back to our sort of gentle warm season. Seasonal weather always comes as much I should say always comes with a bit of wind. And that's how we've been adding lately. But that'll pass. And so I would say for gardeners not to be discouraged, and do what you can to prepare for gardening season because it literally is just around the corner.

Nick Porath
Great! And we are currently in our spring member drive here at Utah Public Radio. And our theme this year is wild about UPR. So what does it mean to you to be wild about UPR?

Rick Heflebower
Well, I would say I have people that I run into all the time, that tell me that they actually listen to UPR and they love the information that comes, and in particular the gardening information. People see me in the grocery store, or wherever throughout the community and they always ask about gardening and they have come to know, it's all public radio is one of those sources for gardening information.

Nicholas Porath is a Logan native and music lover. Having graduated from USU with a degree in broadcast journalism, it was while studying journalism that he found his niche and newfound love for radio. He first started out as an intern behind the scenes and eventually made his way to the production and control rooms where he worked as a fill-in host, as well as producer for numerous UPR programs including <i>Cropping Up, Access Utah, Behind the Headlines</i> and more. In 2023 he took on a new hurdle as UPR’s new Radio Broadcast Engineer. He still works as a programming producer and is a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers.