♪♪ What are you growing here, Tom?

Yeah, it’s interesting.

So, things like this squash here... ♪♪ ♪♪ Welcome to "Gardening with Steil."

We all have a passion of some form or another, something we become so interested in, we dive deep, learn more, develop master skills around it, and eventually become an expert in it, hopefully inspiring a similar passion in someone else.

In gardening, there are many things to be passionate about -- breeding and selecting new and interesting plants, collecting diverse examples of a specific type of plant, mastering a growing technique or philosophy, or even growing something difficult or unique.

Gardening is so diverse that it becomes easy to find something to dive deep into, learn about, master, and inspire.

It becomes easy to have a plant passion.

Today we’re going to explore some of these plant passions and meet the people behind them.

Few vegetables have the ability to grow to the enormous sizes of pumpkins and squash.

The size of world-champion pumpkins is staggering.

Giant pumpkins have been recorded with a circumference greater than 10 feet and weighing over 1,000 pounds.

The current world-record pumpkin weighed more than a staggering 2,500 pounds.

Growing these behemoths is no small task.

We got a chance to meet with Pete Caspers of Peosta to talk about what it takes to grow record-breaking giant pumpkins.

Thank you, Pete, for inviting me out.

We’re standing here.

This is one of those state-record pumpkins?

Not quite?

Not quite.

This was second place at the Iowa State Fair in 2023, one of my smaller ones.

But you’ve had many state records, right?

I had two in 2022.

I broke it back-to-back weeks.

Well, I’m really excited to learn more about this.

It’s kind of amazing to think that something this large comes from just a regular seed, right?

Yep, just a regular seed.

Wow.

I’m sure it takes a lot of science and a little bit of art to grow pumpkins like this, right?

Oh, years and years of practice, trial and error, talking to other people, getting different growing techniques, and adjusting every year, finding something new to try and hope it works.

Yeah, well, I see the operation set up over there.

I’m really excited to go take a look.

Okay.

♪♪ Steil: Whoa!

These pumpkins are huge.

This is amazing, Pete.

The size of the leaves on the vines, the size of the vines.

And you still have weeks before you pick some of these, right?

Caspers: Three weeks, and they’re still doing about 10 to 12 pounds a day yet.

You have created a pretty specialized environment for all these pumpkins.

We have this shade cloth above us, right?

What’s that help with?

Our bright sun, it seems to cook things in here, the plant leaves and stuff, so I have that in there early.

Some people are against it and let their plants dry.

Thinks it toughens them up.

Me, they’re my babies, so they get special care.

I bet it helps with keeping some pests out, right?

Oh, yeah.

Our number-one pest in Iowa is the squash vine borer.

They’ll burrow a little larva right into the vine, and it’ll eat its way out or right into the fruit and kill your plant.

How do you grow a pumpkin this large?

Well, first you got to eliminate any social life.

This is your home.

This is your time.

I go with the drip irrigation.

Just a month and a half of nitrogen and keeping the plants growing.

We want to keep the pumpkin dry.

We keep the fans on them.

We got to really watch closely 'cause the vine will actually rip itself right off.

So we’re out here checking on tension every day.

And each one of these only has one pumpkin.

You probably make that happen, right?

Oh, yeah, yep, we shoot for one on the main vine coming from the stump.

My sweet spot's 16 feet.

Big competition for this, right?

Worldwide.

There’s 117 weigh-off sites around the world.

And we got two in Iowa.

But we all abide by the same rules.

They got to get weighed the same.

The vines got to be trimmed the same.

And we’re all competing for the top spot in the world.

You have a fairly good idea how much this weighs, right?

Yes, last night was day 80.

I measure every five days, but I’ll take a tape measure and go all the way around the circumference.

My state record, actually, it was just under 20 feet around.

Man: 2,424 pounds.

You did it, buddy.

Around Iowa, the top prize is $7,000 to win the Anamosa weigh-off.

And then they do give a bonus 750 bucks for the largest grown in Iowa.

Usually whoever gets that is our state champion that year, and I’ve won it four times.

You’re always trying to improve on your best.

There could be worse hobbies.

[ Laughs ] ♪♪ It’s amazing to think that those giant pumpkins started from a small seed.

And when we look to grow something unique or special, it’s important to start with the right seed.

Sometimes those seeds aren’t available from a retailer, and to get just the thing we’re looking for, we have to collect, store, and germinate our own seed.

Saving seed can sometimes feel a little daunting, but it doesn’t have to be.

By collecting and saving seed from our garden, we can often get just the plant we’re looking for.

It’s best to start by saving seeds from plants that are self-pollinated and open-pollinated.

Self-pollinated varieties of plants are easier to save seed from than cross-pollinated types.

Self-pollinated plants do not require an external vector like the wind or an insect for pollination and are more likely to produce seed that resembles the parent plant.

Open-pollinated plants produce seeds that resemble the parent plants as long as they’re not allowed to cross-pollinate with another variety of the same species.

So if you have a plant that is both self-pollinated and open-pollinated, it’s easy to collect seed from them and have it grow into something that looks exactly like the parent next year.

If you have an open-pollinated plant that requires cross-pollination, which some of our vegetables definitely do, you can still get true-to-type seed if you only grow that one variety of species in any given season.

These plants can also be isolated from each other by distance, grown under netting to prevent pollinators from transferring pollen, or grown at different times of the year so the flowers are not in bloom at the same time, preventing cross-pollination.

Some plants that fit these parameters and therefore make great candidates for seed saving include vegetables like beans, lettuce, peas, tomatoes, and peppers, and flowers like marigold, zinnia, morning glory, cleome, nasturtium, poppy, and sunflower.

The precise timing of seed harvest will vary from species to species.

Collect seed after it’s been allowed to reach full maturity.

These wisteria pods here are not quite mature, but these ones are, and so we’ll want to make sure that we collect them at their full maturity.

Just like plants flower at different times of the year, their seed pods are going to be ready at different times of the year, as well.

Once harvested, you’ll need to clean the seed to allow for the best storage.

Seeds in dry fruit pods like beans, grains, marigolds, echinacea, columbine, they need to be separated from the chaff.

And you can do this in several ways.

You can do threshing, smashing, and shelling, which is basically physically removing the seeds from the plant.

So the seeds of this columbine come out just by shaking the plant.

Same is true for our echinacea.

We can also use screening.

This is where we use a porous material to sift the seed out and allow the seed to come through but keep the chaff out of that seed mix as it falls through.

We can also use winnowing.

Winnowing uses a fan that blows the chaff -- lightweight chaff away but allows the heavier seed to fall down.

When we’re using screening and winnowing, we often have to do it several times to remove as much of the chaff as possible.

Seeds of fleshy fruit are processed in a different way.

So things like this squash here, tomatoes, peppers, these plants are wet-processed, which is a bit more of a process here.

We’re going to basically remove the seeds from our fruit, and we’re going to soak them in water to allow all of the chaff and pulp and all that stuff to separate.

And what’s interesting is that often the pulp and the inviable seeds or the nonviable seeds will float to the top, and the good seeds will sink to the bottom.

For things like squash, sometimes the pulp is really sticky, so letting it sit for a little while will allow you to more easily remove the pulp.

And for things like tomato, we often have to ferment them to allow that pulp that’s clinging to the seeds to loosen up and get that gelatinous covering off.

Once the pulp is removed, we want to rinse the seed using a colander or a screen, and it is important to dry the seeds as quickly as possible.

Spread them over things like screens, coffee filters, sheet pans, or even a piece of plywood.

Just don’t put them on newspaper or cardboard because they’ll stick when they dry.

Once seeds are clean and dry, we need to store them, and the proper storage conditions for seeds are cool and dry.

Those are the two most important things so that we have good viability for planting in the future.

A sealed jar, like a glass jar, is a great way to protect seeds from pests like mice and store them, keeping them dry.

We can also use a plastic container.

As long as it seals tightly, it allows things to stay dry.

I also make sure that I do a good job of labeling all my things, 'cause the last thing you want to do is get your seeds mixed up and plant the wrong thing next year.

Once you have them in a sealed container, you’ll want to store them in a cool place, like a cool closet, a root cellar, or your refrigerator.

You’ll be ready next year with all this great new seed to plant your garden.

The variety of plants to grow in your garden is tremendous.

Some of our favorite plants also have a tremendous amount of variety within them.

Plants like lily, rose, or hosta can have a wide range of colors, forms, sizes, fragrances, and shapes.

Cindy Haynes got an opportunity to visit Nan Ripley’s garden outside of Nevada, where she is collecting and breeding thousands of daylilies in all colors and forms.

Haynes: I love that these plants are small, they’re young, they’re blooming, they’re reblooming, they’re tough, they’re durable.

This would be a perfect garden plant for any new gardener.

Thank you so much for having me here...

Thank you for coming.

Yes.

...on this beautiful day and surrounded by these gorgeous flowers.

Look at all the colors out here.

This is fantastic.

Thank you.

How long have you been doing this?

How long have you been breeding daylilies?

1999.

Okay, so quite a while.

So how many introductions do you have?

I have 64 right now.

And you’re continually breeding?

Every day that the daylilies are blooming.

We have them starting at early, extra early, mid, late.

And so we have flowers from June until past August.

Oh, how fantastic.

This one is catching my eye.

Tell me about this one.

That’s Great Creator.

And it’s got a great color and teeth that we put on it with a metallic edge.

I know.

I like the little ruffling.

And it makes a nice kind of contrast.

What’s this one over there?

That is Lori’s Blond Curls.

It's called Curls because the petals kind of curl.

Yes, the petals curl in.

And then when the breeze blows, they kind of dance.

Ah, very nice, very nice.

And I know that you have some awards for this one.

Scarlet Pimpernel.

It won the Stout Silver Medal.

That’s the highest award you can get in the Daylily Society.

Everybody across the nation has to vote, and you have to get votes from all those places.

That’s very pretty.

I love the dark ones.

This one’s just gorgeous.

I like how it’s the dark and light in the center.

And see, when the wind blows, it dances.

There’s another one that’s dancing over there.

What is that one?

Oh, yes.

That’s Dancing Away With My Heart.

I love this one.

It is so beautiful.

I love the contrast with the burgundy and the bright yellow center.

It just really shines.

And it’s nice and tall.

And it’s got tons of flowers.

This is a nice one.

Thank you.

And what’s with the tags?

I hybridize this.

In other words, I put pollen on this from another flower, and then I mark it with a label that says the father, 'cause we know this is the mother.

And then if you just touch this, you’ll feel the seed pod.

Oh, nice.

The ovary is making the seed pod.

So you know what seed to collect.

Yes, we know we’re going to have a flower pod from that and seeds to plant later.

Excellent, so can you show me that process?

Sure.

Excellent.

Take this one here.

Okay.

And what I would look at with this is we’re going to try to put these curls on this one.

It’s got the same kind of look inside.

So being as that we have fresh pollen, we’re going to take one of these.

We’re going to put it on the pistil right there.

You want to make sure that the pistil is moist.

So we can see that moist.

We just put that right on there, and it’s done.

And then we would just put a marker on it and say the parent, like that.

And it’s done.

♪♪ So welcome to my baby bed.

These are where my work pays off or not.

We look for strong plants, saturated color, variety.

This, like this beautiful red here, this is going to last for a long time because we have so many buds on the scape.

And that’s one of the things you want to look for if you’re going to buy a daylily.

There’s over 20 blooms on this one stem.

Mm-hmm, yes.

That's nice.

That’s nice.

And it’s got a rebloom coming.

So we know when we see that that we are doing our work right.

You just can’t beat a daylily.

They're some of the best plants for the home landscape.

It’s a lot of fun to come out and see new faces every morning.

♪♪ Thanks for letting us visit your garden.

Oh, thank you for coming.

I think It’s wonderful that we’re here and we’re looking at daylilies, and I love the fact that we’re ending on daylilies and what it means.

The Hemerocallis, or daylily, means flower for a day.

Correct.

And that we can show that with yesterday’s flower, today’s flower, and tomorrow’s flower, even though they only lasted a day.

Correct.

There were so many wonderful and unique daylilies in Nan’s garden.

It’s easy to see why you would become passionate about collecting them.

And speaking of collections, there are many other groups of plants that are quite collectible.

Cindy had the chance to tour the home garden of brothers Gary and Tom Whittenbaugh in Oelwein, where a passion for collecting dwarf conifers and alpine plants has beautiful results.

I like this garden.

I also love this garden and how you’ve kind of combined the different dwarf conifers with the rock garden plants, with the regular perennials, as well, and like the Daphne, which is a beautiful little shrub blooming this time of year, and the gentian, which is the best blue ever in flowers.

So tell me, when did the garden start?

When did you start this garden?

Tom: Gary and I started it probably about 1985.

We always got tired of just looking at dirt for nine months of the year and flowers for about three months.

So, our dad’s name was Francis, and our mother’s name was Martha.

So we kind of combined the two names in tribute to them.

That’s nice, and this garden is a tribute to both of you, as well, because Gary’s the conifer guru, and then your contribution to the garden?

Yeah, yeah, he’s the plants guy, and I’m kind of the hardscape guy.

Well, thank you, Gary, for letting us come to your garden.

Yes, yes.

Do you know about how many conifers you have in the garden?

Probably 350.

Yeah, and I always give you a hard time 'cause you’ve got 350 dwarf conifers, or miniature conifers, but you’ve got more rock garden plants, right?

Yes.

More perennials than conifers.

Yes, yes.

This garden has inspired so many people.

Yes.

So this garden has been on so many tours...

Yes.

Yes.

...garden clubs in that 30 years.

Yes.

So that’s a wonderful legacy in itself...

Yes, yeah, right, right.

...that you’ve inspired other -- Haynes: The new growth on conifers fascinates me.

Look at how brilliant that is.

Tom: And the new growth is just fantastic, almost like a flower.

I love all the tiny little plants.

You have a cactus garden?

Yes, that’s what I call our desert, as it were.

It’s -- Monument Valley is my shorter name for it.

I like that you've, like I said, combined all of these different styles.

So you see a little bit of Gary, you see a little bit of Tom, and then you see a lot of other things, too, so...

Probably one of Gary’s favorites, it’s Picea glauca Pendula.

It’s probably one of the oldest conifers on the yard.

Haven’t cut it down, but it stays narrow, so we can keep it in our yard.

Haynes: Thank you, Tom, so much for having me.

Well, thank you.

I appreciate it so much.

You’re welcome back anytime.

I will be back.

I will be back.

♪♪ We got to meet quite a few passionate gardeners today.

Whether they are growing something huge, collecting something beautiful, or practicing an age-old gardening technique, each gardener shared with us their expertise in hopes of inspiring.

It’s easy to see that gardening is both an art and a science.

Nowhere do we see the art and science of gardening more clearly displayed than with bonsai.

We got a chance to meet members of the Iowa Bonsai Association to learn more about these beautiful trees grown in a very unique way.

♪♪ ♪♪ There are so many beautiful plants in here.

Tell me, what exactly is bonsai?

Interesting question.

"Bonsai" is actually a noun, and it literally means "tree in a pot."

However, it’s kind of misleading, because bonsai, I like to think of it as a verb.

It’s literally a process of technically making a tree proportional and making it small.

So it’s a matter of pruning up and down and in, et cetera, over and over over generations to make a large tree small or getting a small tree to grow.

And it can be applied to any type of tree.

And you start training it.

I see that there’s some things in here that you’re using, like wire and other things, to get these shapes.

How does that all work?

Training is a process that takes over years and years.

Wire is a common training tool because you can wire the branches.

Literally, it’s wrapping a branch and moving it into an area that you want to.

That’s the styling process.

But you’re limited by your imagination and your intelligence.

Well, there’s a lot to see here.

Let’s go check out some others.

♪♪ ♪♪ Heinen: This is one of our major shows of the year.

Reiman Gardens has sponsored a Iowa bonsai display for the last 18 to 20 years.

Steil: What a beautiful tree.

What’s the story behind this?

Absolutely gorgeous.

This is an olive tree created -- styled by a friend of mine from Nevada, Iowa.

This tree is approximately 65 years old.

She’s been training it in the ballpark of 30 years.

Wow.

I know these take a lot of care.

You have to do something every day, right?

Yes.

They take daily care.

Bonsai brings a sense of satisfaction.

It’s extremely esthetic.

It’s constantly changing.

It’s a serene process.

It gives you peace of mind.

♪♪ ♪♪ Thank you for joining me on "Gardening with Steil."