Biographies
Doug Oster
The Organic Gardener's Co-host Doug Oster is the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Backyard Gardener. His column is distributed regionally by the Associated Press and nationally by Scripps Howard News Service. He also works as writer, producer and on air talent for WQED-TV's OnQ program contributing stories related to gardening. Doug fills the same role at WYEP-FM's Allegheny Front program. He appears on KDKA-TV's Pittsburgh Today and the Saturday Morning show during their gardening segments.
Doug's "Grow Your Own" gardening/cooking column is syndicated nationally through the Los Angeles Times News Service.
He's also founder of Cultivating Success, a garden program for adoptive and foster children.
Doug gardens organically on four acres in Ross Township with his wife and three children. With kids aged 16, 18 and 20 he understands and embraces the therapeutic power of gardening.
Doug can be reached at doster@post-gazette.com or 724-772-9177.
Jessica Walliser
The Organic Gardener's Co-host Jessica Walliser has a bachelor's degree in horticulture from The Pennsylvania State University, where she specialized in ornamental horticulture.
She stars in WYEP-FM's Allegheny Front Organic Gardener radio segments and is a regular contributor to Organic Gardening, Hobby Farm Home, and Popular Farming magazines. Jessica's column in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 'The Good Earth' appears twice monthly and she has a monthly feature in 'The Western Pennsylvania Gardener's Gazette.'
Jessica teaches programs ranging from Plant Nutrition to Organic Pest Management at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens where she has been a faculty member for over 12 years. Along with speaking to local garden clubs, you can find Jessica lecturing to groups at various public and private garden facilities across the United States.
Jessica is the former operations manager of Muddy Paws Farm, a 25 acre organic market farm, and for ten years prior, she owned and operated a perennial garden maintenance company in the city of Pittsburgh.
She can be reached at jessATtheorganicgardenersDOTcom. You can find more information about Jessica, her speaking schedule, and a list of lecture topics at www.jessicawalliser.com
That's Doug and Mrs. Know-it All at the annual Edible Flowers Fest she holds in South Park. Denise Schreiber is greenhouse manager for Allegheny County Parks and an important part of the show. She calls in to voice her opinion and to help clarify answers to questions. Although your hosts like to mix it up with Mrs. Know-it All, the three are good friends and know it's all in good fun.
Denise has an A.S. degree in Floriculture from CCAC, a B.A. from Carlow University. She also has over 25 years of professional experience in horticulture as well as becoming adjunct faculty at CCAC South in the Spring of 2008.
She is also a member of the CCAC Horticulture Advisory Board. Denise is also a licensed pesticide applicator with both private and public licenses. She does presentations to local garden clubs and civic groups as well as holds classes and events in the Allegheny County Parks system including the Edible Flowers Food Fest which is the largest event of its kind in Pennsylvania. Denise is also a member of the planning committee of the W. Pa. Flowers Growers Group, dedicated to improving business and education for local greenhouses, growers and garden centers. She currently gardens on 3/4 acre in Pleasant Hills with my husband, daughter, mother and 4 cats. The groundhog is fair game. She can be reaced via e-mail at Denise.Schreiber@alleghenycounty.us or gardens@alleghenycounty.us. To find her on the web log onto Mrs. Know-It All