Check out this unique holiday!

Click here to read Marion's container gardening article published on HGTV.com.

Who is Marion Owen? A former merchant marine officer, Marion now stays busy in different ways. A bestselling author, she conducts small business and addresses groups as a keynote speaker. [Click here for her bio.] Marion is also an entrepreneur, having developed and patented PlanTea, the organic fertilizer in tea bags. Review her articles. She lives with her husband, Marty, in Kodiak, Alaska, where they operate Galley Gourmet cruises on their 42-foot yacht.

Contact info:

Marion Owen
PO Box 1694
Kodiak, AK 99615
907-486-5079
mygarden@alaska.net

The UpBeet Gardener radio show
Celebrating gardening, beets and life!
The UpBeet Gardener is a lifestyle series that's free to radio stations that air it and to folks who simply want to listen to it here. The 3-minute shows are produced by Marion Owen of Kodiak, Alaska and are posted below. Comments or questions: mygarden(at)alaska.net or 907-486-5079.

To download: Windows: Left-click on the file to play now, or right-click to save to disk. Mac users: Click on the file to listen/download.

To listen to the shows now: click here to download iTunes for Windows or Mac. Download Free Player: Windows Media Player. Additonal note: If you plan to share these files on your website, please do not link directly to this page. Download the files and place them on your server.

LIST OF SHOWS

LET'S TALK DIRT (May 7, 2008)
Let's talk dirt: If you want a great-looking lawn, you need to have great soil. Do you need fertilzers to do it? Is there anything wrong with a little 30:10:10 chemical fertilizer now and then?

GANDHI, STINGING NETTLES, AND DIFFICULT PEOPLE (April 30, 2008)
In his lifelong efforts to curb prejudice and violence, Mahatma Gandhi often used the term ahimsa. Ahimsa, spelled a-h-i-m-s-a is an ancient Sanskrit term usually translated as "nonviolence." There's more to this translation however, which shows the real significance of the word.

GET A WORKOUT IN YOUR GARDEN GYM (April 23, 2008)
Warm spring weather lures us outdoors like the Pied Piper. For some it's a welcome change, while others go outside kicking and screaming. Either way, be glad, because on average, we spend 95 percent of our time indoors. Once outside, how about a little exercise? You can set out on a walk or bike ride, go kayaking, or dive into yard work. Yard work? Since when is raking leaves real exercise? Well, participating in gardening and yard work is like having your own outdoor gym.

OK, SO READING THE LABEL ON A BOX OF FERTILIZER ISN'T VERY EXCITING, BUT... (April 9, 2008)
Your lawn is looking tired, your African violets aren't blooming like they used to, and your tomato seedlings are clamoring for food. Not just any food, health food. So off to the garden center or home improvement store you go in search of the perfect fertilizer. Once you find a potential box or bag, you start reading the label. Let's see...three hyphenated numbers... N, P and K, a list of nutrients, and a bunch of legal munbo-jumbo. What's it all mean?

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN BEES, PLANTS AND YOU (April 2, 2008)
Bees are having a tough time lately. In Missouri, a truck hauling more than 17 million bees went off the road and overturned in a field. Beekeepers were called in to help manage the bees that escaped, but not before firefighters sprayed the bees with foam. Then there's the mystery of vanishing bees, where entire colonies are disappearing. Now for those of us whose main contact with bees is swatting them away from a summer picnic or wincing from a sting, the disappearance of bee colonies may seem like a blessing. But that's not so...

WHEN PRISON FOOD IS CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT (March 26, 2008)
Were you ever punished by being sent to bed without supper? Going without a meal might be an improvement over what happens to prison inmates who are naughty. Inmates in several state prisons are served nutraloaf...a mixture of whole wheat bread, nondairy cheese, carrots, spinach, raisins, beans, tomato paste, powdered milk and potato flakes. One bite, and you know why history is peppered with wars fought over spice routes.

RED POPPIES, SIMPLE LESSON (March 19, 2008)
... I returned to the garden. But it was too late. The red poppy was fully open. My shoulders slumped a little in disappointment. Then I got to thinking, "Did I really need to answer the phone?" Sure, I had a list of errands to do, but honestly, I would rather have stayed put.

ROTOTILLING, NO-NO-TILLING (March 11, 2008)
When the sun comes out, so do garden tools like lawnmowers and rototillers. As effective as they may be, mowers and tillers are getting the evil eye for their use of fossil fuel, as well as their contribution to air and water pollution. Lately, rototillers are on the hot seat...

TEN YEARS OF LASAGNA GARDENING (March 4, 2008)
When Patricia Lanza's husband retired from the Navy, the couple decided to start a new life as innkeepers. Soon, demands on Patricia's time became so great she could no longer keep both the business and the garden going; the garden suffered. After planting in the spring, the garden went unattended. She needed a way to do it all...

HOW TO STOMACH THE HIGH COST OF FOOD (February 26, 2008)
Imagine buying a five dollar apple or an eight dollar head of lettuce. Sound crazy? Well, it could happen in our lifetime. Yet as food prices increase so does your ability to do something about it...

DINNER, AND OTHER PESTS (February 19, 2008)
There's nothing more irritating than having a telemarketer call you while you're eating dinner. It's one of the main reasons why so many people have signed up on the National Do Not Call List. There's another pest that can be just as irritating while you're trying to eat.

HEY, WHAT'S THE RUSH? (February 12, 2008)
..."It is often said that life in our modern world is so complicated, so busy, and so crowded that just to survive we have to hurry." Hurrying dimishes our quality of life. What can we do about it?

SMALL THINGS THAT MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE (February 5, 2008)
Florida gardener "Sally," maintains a flower garden. Sure, SHE enjoys the bright yellow, orange and red blossoms. But so does everyone who walks or drives by her house. Small things that make a big difference...

THE SOUND OF MONEY (January 28, 2008)
SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE!!! This, my friend, is the sound of money. OK, so they're actually seeds, but these seeds can help you SAVE money. That's right. You can drastically reduce your grocery bills by growing at least some of your own veggies. And one of the simplest ways to do that, is to grow your plants from seeds. So let's take a look under the hood and learn the basic steps of seed starting...

WHEN LITTLE FROGS ARE A BIG PAIN (January 22, 2008)
Did you know the U.S. spends $120 billion dollars each year to control and repair the impact of some 800 species infestations? Animals, plants, you name it. When talking plant aliens, about half of the worst invasive plant species in North America were brought here intentionally for their medicinal, ornamental, or food value...

GOING NUTS OVER PECANS (January 14, 2008)
Some people go nuts over pecans. In Albany, New York for example, two men stole 1400 pounds of pecans from a warehouse after breaking in through a bathroom window. And during the holidays when baking is at an all time high, store clerks can have a tough time keeping pecans in stock. I learned about pecans out of frustration, and got a lesson in patience...

CHINESE COUPLE GIVES BACK TO NATURE (January 1, 2008)
Surfing through Google news recently, a small article caught my eye. It was something about how a Chinese farmer gives back to nature. Wow, I thought, could one man in China really make a difference? The answer was yes and his story will warm your heart...

When An Jinlei and his wife contracted 8 acres of land near Beijing they decided to shun modern farming methods that might harm the earth and their produce. At first, fellow villagers thought the two farmers were strange and stupid...

What people are saying...

The shows are great--very nicely produced and interesting! --Jeff Wignall, WPKN 89.5 FM, Connecticut

Listeners tell us they really enjoy the program. You do a great job on the program... Keep it up. -- Bob Kern, station manager KFMJ-FM, Ketchikan, Alaska

We love it! -- Dawn Hutchinson, Program Director, KSTK-FM Wrangell, Alaska

Very cool. A great mix of fun and science. -- Marie Hofer, HGTV.com

I adore your show! --Tabitha, Calgary, Alberta
www.earthyfamily.com

I love the show and I'm not even a gardener! -- Pete Thompson, commercial Fisherman

I love your radio show! -- Deb McKinney, writer, Anchorage Daily News

I listen to the UpBeet Gardener because I like to learn new things. -- Drew Herman, journalist (working in his cubicle)

Where you can hear the UpBeet Gardener:

WRFA-LP 107.9 FM in Jamestown, New York

KIYU Galena
Galena, AK

KPFK 90.7 FM in Los Angeles, CA

KWMD in Anchorage and Kasilof, Alaska

KIAL-AM Unalaska/Dutch Harbor, AK

KFMJ-FM Ketchikan, AK

KRSA-AM Petersburg, AK

WPKN 89.5 FM
Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, New Hampshire

KHEN-FM Salida, Colorado

KSTK-FM Wrangell, AK

KCAM-AM Glennallen, AK

KCHU-AM
Valdez, AK
Whittier, AK
Cordova, AK
Chenega Bay, AK
Tatitlek, AK
Glennallen, AK
McCarthy, AK

KMXT-FM Kodiak, AK

KUHB-FM St. Paul, AK

KCAW-FM Sitka, AK

KVOK-AM and KRXX-FM Kodiak, AK