You’re standing in the middle of a garden center, flat of tomato starts in hand, and the sun feels just right. It’s mid-April. You’ve got the itch. But if you were listening to Ron Wilson in the garden on your Saturday morning drive, you’d hear that familiar, friendly warning: put the trowel down.
Ron isn't being a buzzkill. He's being a realist. He’s spent over 30 years in the "green industry," much of it managing Natorp’s in Cincinnati and leading the Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association. He knows that the air temperature is a liar. The soil is where the truth lives.
The Soil Temperature Trap
Most amateur gardeners look at the sky; Ron Wilson looks at the dirt. Honestly, one of the biggest takeaways from his long-running iHeartRadio show is the obsession with soil thermometers. It sounds nerdy. It’s actually essential.
If you shove a pepper plant into 50°F soil because the afternoon air hit 75°F, that plant is going to sit there and pout. It might even stunt for the rest of the season. Ron often points listeners toward resources like GreenCast to check local soil temps. You want that dirt to be at least 60°F—consistently—before the warm-weather "divas" go in the ground.
- Dormant Seeding: If you’re itching to do something in the cold, Ron is a huge advocate for dormant seeding your lawn.
- The Logic: You put the seed down while the ground is still cold enough that it won't germinate.
- The Result: The freezing and thawing cycles of late winter tuck the seed into the soil for you. When spring actually hits, your grass is already ahead of the curve.
Why Native Plants Aren't Just a Trend
You've likely heard the buzz about "rewilding" or native gardening. Ron dives into this constantly, often chatting with Scott Beuerlein from the Cincinnati Botanical Garden. It’s not just about being eco-friendly, though that’s a big part of it. It’s about laziness—the good kind.
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Native plants are literally "built" for your local weather swings. In the Midwest, that means plants that can handle a week of 95°F humidity followed by a sudden October frost. Ron pushes for things like the Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) or the surprisingly beautiful Italian Arum (Arum italicum).
He doesn’t just talk about the "what." He talks about the "how." For instance, when transplanting larger shrubs like a Rose of Sharon, he’s a stickler for root pruning. You can’t just hack a plant out of the earth and expect it to survive the shock. You have to prepare the root ball months in advance to encourage the growth of feeder roots close to the trunk. It’s those tiny details that separate the "green thumbs" from the people who buy new plants every single May.
The Yardboy’s Indoor Secrets
When the Ohio winter gets too brutal to even think about the mulch pile, the show shifts focus. Indoor air quality is a recurring theme, especially when Ron brings on his buddy Gary Sullivan. They’ve spent plenty of time debating whether houseplants actually "clean" the air.
Spoiler: You’d need a literal jungle in your living room to make a massive dent in VOCs, but that doesn't stop Ron from encouraging the "Art of Kokedama." These are those cool moss-covered soil balls that allow you to grow plants without a traditional pot. It’s a popular indoor trend he’s highlighted recently because it forces you to pay attention to moisture levels in a way a plastic pot doesn't.
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Winter Maintenance Checklist
Wait, don't put the mower away just yet. Ron’s advice for the "off-season" is usually more active than you'd think:
- Snowblower Prep: Don't wait for the first blizzard. Change the oil and check the spark plugs now.
- Tool Care: Clean the sap and dirt off your pruners. Rust is the enemy.
- Watering Evergreens: If it’s a dry winter, your evergreens are still transpiring. They might need a drink even if the grass is brown.
- Microgreens: If you’re missing the taste of the garden, Ron recommends grabbing a few seed catalogs (Burpee or Johnny’s are his go-tos) and starting microgreens on a windowsill.
Dealing With Pests (And Moles)
"Buggy Joe" Boggs is a frequent guest for a reason. Whether it's the decline of honey bees or the invasion of the Varroa mite, the show doesn't shy away from the hard science of entomology. But for the average homeowner, the questions are usually simpler: "How do I get these moles out of my yard?"
Ron's take is usually pretty blunt. Most of the "home remedies"—the juicy fruit gum, the vibrating stakes, the castor oil—are hit or miss. Mostly miss. He’ll tell you that if you want them gone, you have to address the food source (grubs) or use traps. It’s that kind of no-nonsense advice that has kept listeners tuning in for decades.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Weekend
If you want to garden like the "Yardboy" himself, start with these three moves this weekend:
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Get a soil thermometer. Stop guessing based on the calendar. If the soil isn't 60°F, your tomatoes are staying in their pots.
Check your mulch depth. Ron often warns against "mulch volcanoes" piled up against tree trunks. It rots the bark. Keep it a few inches away from the flare of the tree.
Plan for pollinators. Even a small pot of native milkweed or coneflowers makes a difference. As Ron and Barbie Bletcher (the "Queen Bee") often discuss, habitat loss is the biggest threat to our local honey producers.
Gardening isn't a set-it-and-forget-it hobby. It’s a conversation with the environment. By listening to the cues the weather and soil are giving you—much like the advice shared on Ron Wilson in the garden—you stop fighting nature and start working with it.
Next Steps for Your Garden:
- Check your local extension office for a 2026 Phenology calendar to track "Growing Degree Days."
- Audit your irrigation system for leaks before the spring rush begins.
- Start a tray of microgreens today to satisfy the "planting itch" without risking your summer crops.