The Garden Journal

Join Michelle Stizza, Santa Fe County Extension Consumer Science Agent and her guest long-time County Fair volunteer JoAnn Brennan as they talk about preparations for the July 27 – August 2, 2025 Santa Fe County Fair. It’s time to plan your entries now!https://santafeextension.nmsu.edu/fcs/county-fair.html

Details and how to participate in the Xerces Pollinator Habitat Kit Program

Join Host Alexa Bradford for the first of two consecutive programs with renowned local tree expert Tracy Neal, who will discuss the climate and soil challenges for trees in the Santa Fe area.

Slow Food Santa Fe's Lissa Johnson and Nina Rosenberg talk with Mary and Zach Ben of Bidii Baby Foods, an Indigenous baby food line created by farmers and new parents to increase access to traditional foods in early childhood.

Host Alexa Bradford talks with Jannine Cabossel, “The Tomato Lady,” about what’s going on in the vegetable garden in the coming very busy month of May.See Jannine’s blog at https://giantveggiegardener.com.The May Vegetable Garden-2025 Visit here for the full notes from this show!

Join host Kaitlin Haase for a conversation with Victor Lucero, New Mexico Forestry Division's Forest Health Program Coordinator. Victor discusses his knowledge of integrated pest management and how to prevent pests from damaging trees while maintaining a wildlife-friendly landscape.NMSU Plant Pathology Extension - eps.nmsu.eduForest Health Program at the New Mexico Forestry Division - emnrd.nm.gov/sfd/forest-health

Join Host Alexa Bradford in conversation with Master Gardener project leaders Anne Rivas and Linda Hinckley to learn about the Santa Fe Compost Action Team (SCAT), the Master Composter Volunteer Training Course, and the joys of recycling waste and improving garden soil in Santa Fe.

Slow Food Santa Fe's Lissa Johnson and Nina Rosenberg talk with Ungelbah Dávilah, artist and writer, and Phil Viarrial, Director of the Pueblo of Pojoaque Bison Restoration Project.

Host Alexa Bradford talks with Jannine Cabossel, “The Tomato Lady,” about the inspiring Karl Foerster gardens outside Potsdam, Germany, and what’s going on in the vegetable garden in April.

Join Extension Agents Tom Dominguez, Michelle Stizza and Sunny Finley, as well as Master Gardener Kathy Mathias to learn about the Extension Service six week lecture series "Seed to Supper Vegetable Gardening", the Wildfire Mitigation Community Day on March 29, all things lavender, and more.

Join Kaitlin Haase with the Xerces Society for a conversation with butterfly researcher Simon Doneski, PhD student at UNM studying insect conservation. Simon will share his work on the conservation of butterflies and rare insects throughout the state of New Mexico, including the development of a new public database for these species. New Mexico Rare Arthropods Resource Butterflies of New Mexico Guide

Join Host Alexa Bradford in Part 2 of a conversation with nationally known orchardist Gordon Tooley, founder of Tooley’s Trees in Truchas, New Mexico, as he introduces listeners to Keyline Design, a water management plan that uses natural landscape contours and cultivation techniques to harvest rainwater and build soil health.

Slow Food Santa Fe's Lissa Johnson and Nina Rosenberg talk with New Mexico Department of Agriculture Secretary Jeff Witte about legislation the agency is sponsoring during the 2025 NM State Legislative Session related to food and farming.

Tune in to hear Jannine Cabossel "The Tomato Lady" discuss what's happening in the vegetable garden in March.

Kaitlin Haase speaks with Judy Calman, New Mexico Director of Policy for Audubon Southwest, who discusses efforts to reform the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish this legislative session.

Join Host Alexa Bradford in Part I of a conversation with nationally known orchardist Gordon Tooley, founder of Tooley’s Trees in Truchas, New Mexico, as he discusses planting and caring for trees in times of drought. Gordon will also introduce listeners to Keyline Design, a water management plan that uses natural landscape contours and cultivation techniques to harvest rainwater and build soil health.

Slow Food Santa Fe's Lissa Johnson and Nina Rosenberg talk with Slow Food USA's new Executive Director, Kris Reid, about her future plans for the organization.

Host Alexa Bradford talks with Jannine Cabossel, “The Tomato Lady,” about February activities for vegetable gardeners.See Jannine’s blog at giantveggiegardener.com

This month on People, Plants, and Pollinators Edition of the Garden Journal, Kaitlin welcomes Peter Lipscomb, Cerrillos Hills State Park manager and member of New Mexico Dark Sky.Join Kaitlin and Peter as they talk about the effects of light pollution on our ecosystems and proposed updates to the New Mexico Night Sky Protection Act.

Join host Alexa Bradford in conversation with WildEarth Guardians Interim Director Samantha Ruscavage-Barz, and learn about the mission and key initiatives of this Santa Fe based non-profit organization dedicated to protecting wild animals, wild spaces, and wild rivers in the West.See also https://wildearthguardians.org/

Join Slow Food Santa Fe's Lissa Johnson and Nina Rosenberg as they have a conversation with Jessica and Andre Kempton of Wild Leaven Bakery.

Join host Alexa Bradford in conversation with Jannine Cabossel, the Tomato Lady, as she urges vegetable gardeners to just 'chill out' in January, enjoy perusing seed catalogs, and planning for the 2025 season.

On this edition of People, Pollinators, and Plants, Kaitlin interviews Dr. Joanie King from the New Mexico State University Entomology department for an informal conversation about wasps and ants.

Join host Alexa Bradford in conversation with bookish Master Gardeners Marika Pineda, Laurie McGrath, and Christine Salem as they discuss their favorite books for gardeners and naturalists in time for the Christmas season.

Join Slow Food Santa Fe's Lissa Johnson and Nina Rosenberg as they continue their discussion on aqua- and hydroponic growing practices this month with Elan Silverblatt-Buser of Silver Leaf Farms in Corrales.

Join host Alexa Bradford in conversation with Jannine Cabossel "The Tomato Lady" as she talks about winter weather predictions, December garden tasks, and her favorite seed catalogs.

Santa Fe Extension Office Edition with Tom Dominguez - Nov 2024

On this edition of People, Plants, and Pollinators, Kaitlin interviews David Lightfoot, Arthropod Collections Manager for the Museum of Southwestern Biology.

In this rebroadcast of a January 15, 2022 program, hear Paula Garcia, Executive Director of the New Mexico Acequia Association, in conversation with Louis Head of the KUNM Raices Volunteer Collective. See https://lasacequias.org/congreso/ for information on the Acequia Association's 25th annual Congreso de las Acequias, November 15-16, 2024. See also the excellent 2023 NMPBS documentary "Acequias: The Legacy Lives On".

Join Slow Food Santa Fe's Lissa Johnson and Nina Rosenberg as they have a conversation with Charlie Shultz, Academic Director of the Controlled Environment Agriculture Program at Santa Fe Community College, about growing food using hydroponic and aquaponic system methods.

Jannine Cabossel, the Tomato Lady, joins host Alexa Bradford to offer suggestions for what we can be doing next month in our vegetable gardens. Jannine blogs at https://giantveggiegardener.com.Click here for program notes.Find the original episode page at https://www.ksfr.org/show/garden-journal-new/2023-09-20/11-26-2022-home-grown-new-mexico-edition-with-jannine-cabossel

On this edition of People, Plants, and Pollinators, Kaitlin interviews David Lightfoot, Arthropod Collections Manager for the Museum of Southwestern Biology.

Join host Alexa Bradford in conversation with Master Gardener Emeritus Laurie McGrath as they discuss fall garden prep in Santa Fe.

Join Slow Food Santa Fe's Lissa Johnson and Nina Rosenberg for a fascinating discussion with Kathleen Merrigan, inaugural executive director of the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, as they cover many topics related to the future of food.

Host Alexa Bradford talks with Jannine Cabossel, “The Tomato Lady,” about the weather and what to do in your vegetable garden in October. See Jannine’s blog at https://giantveggiegardener.com/

Host Kaitlin Haase talks about fireflies with Anna Walker, species survival officer for invertebrates with the New Mexico BioPark Society.Learn about the difference between glow worms and fireflies, where fireflies exist in New Mexico, and how you can get involved in firefly conservation.Report Sightings and Sign up for Surveys with the Firefly AtlasGuide to Southwest FirefliesWestern Firefly Project: A Community Science InitiativeFirefly Friendly Lighting Practices

Slow Food Santa Fe's Lissa Johnson and Nina Rosenberg talk with longtime Santa Fe Farmers' Market vendor Matt Romero of Romero Farms, about current farming challenges, growing and roasting chile peppers, selling produce to farmers' markets and restaurants and much more!

Host Alexa Bradford talks with Jannine Cabossel, “The Tomato Lady,” about what to do in your vegetable garden in September. See Jannine’s blog at https://giantveggiegardener.com

Tom Dominguez and Michelle Stizza of the Santa Fe County Extension Office will update listeners on what’s new and upcoming events.

Learn all about bees with local bee expert, Olivia Messinger Carril, author of The Bees in Your Backyard. Olivia will speak about the intriguing and diverse lives of wild native bees in New Mexico and which bees are active and flying in Santa Fe right now!beesinyourbackyard.com

Join host Alexa Bradford in conversation with Megan Marsee and Kali Bronson, presenters with the NMSU Desert Blooms “Ready, Set, Grow” webinar series and program leads with the Bernalillo County Water Conservation Program, to learn about the benefits of passive rainwater harvesting.https://desertblooms.nmsu.edu/grow.htmlhttps://www.bernco.gov/public-works/public-works-services/water-wastewater-stormwater/residential-rainwater-harvesting-training/residential-rainwater-harvesting-overview/

Slow Food Santa Fe's Lissa Johnson and Nina Rosenberg interview Chef Fernando Ruiz discussing his life story and his restaurant scheduled to open this month. The interview was recorded in August 2023; the commentary following has been updated with current news.

Host Alexa Bradford talks with Jannine Cabossel, “The Tomato Lady,” about what to do in your vegetable garden in August.See Jannine’s blog at https://giantveggiegardener.com

Steve Cary, the New Mexico "Butterfly Guy"Hear a conversation with Steve Cary, local butterfly expert and author of "Butterfly Landscapes of New Mexico", to learn about butterfly diversity in our state and how to support these brilliant insects in our gardens and beyond.Links: Butterflies of New Mexico online guide

Join host Alexa Bradford in conversation with Tannis Fox of the Western Environmental Law Center, Sarah Knopp of Amigos Bravos, and retired hydrogeologist Dale Doreumus of Rio Grande chapter of the Sierra Club, as they discuss the New Mexico Environment Department’s Water Protection Division regulatory proposal that could result in the discharge and use of treated fracking wastewater, also referred to as “produced water”.Visit www.amigosbarvos.com & www.riograndesieraclub.com

Slow Food Santa Fe's Lissa Johnson and Nina Rosenberg interview Lorraine Gray, Slow Food Turtle Island representative and Executive Director of Four Bridges Traveling Permaculture Institute about her time at the inaugural Terra Madre Americas conference in Sacramento, California in May.

Giant Veggie Gardener edition with Jannine Cabossel - June 2024

Extension Office Director Tom Dominguez and Family Consumer Science agent Michelle Stizza joins host Alexa Bradford to talk about updates and information on current and upcoming events at the Santa Fe Cooperative Extension Service campus, including Family Consumer Science and Agriculture & Natural Resources, See more at: https://santafeextension.nmsu.edu/index.html

Tune in to hear Mace Vaughn, Pollinator and Agricultural Biodiversity Co-Director for the Xerces Society, speak with Kaitlin Haase about the inception of Xerces' Pollinator and Agricultural Biodiversity Program and its various projects and partners across North America working to reverse pollinator declines.Invertebrate Conservation Resources - https://xerces.org/Santa Fe Pollinator Trail Habitat Kits - https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/habitat-kits/santa-fe

Slow Food Santa Fe - June 2024