Jeremy Siegel: You're listening to GBH's Morning Edition. Today could be the first time this year we reach 80 degrees in Boston. It is a beautiful forecast and a great time to get outside. We turn now to GBH meteorologist and gardening expert Dave Epstein for some tips on how we can productively spend time outdoors, and also to answer your questions about the weather and plants. Good morning Dave.

Dave Epstein: Good morning Jeremy. Too warm. I don't like 80.

Siegel: You don't like 80! Are we going to hit 80? Is it going to be the warmest day of the year so far?

Epstein: Absolutely not. No. For me, on my standpoint, I'd keep it under 70 the entire year if I could. Let's see. It very well could end up being the warmest day of the year with this first 80 degree. We have not hit 80 in Boston, the highest so far is 77 degrees. So we'll see whether or not we get to 80 or not.

Siegel: I got to dig a little in more on your anti 80 degrees opinion here. Is that because it gets too hot in your garden?

Epstein: Yeah, so I'll let you into my brain a little bit. I don't like the high sun angle as much as the heat. So the sun angle right now is getting towards its almost peak. So it peaks on the 21st of June. So we're very close to peak at this point. We're well into the 60s. We peak out in the low 70s in terms of how high the sun is at noon above the horizon. And with that very intense sun angle is just difficult to work outside. So with temperatures up in the upper 70s to near 80 this afternoon, plus that high sun angle, it just makes it a little warm for those of us that are working outside. But I get it. Lots of people love the beach and the sun and all that.

Siegel: Does high sun angle mean we should definitely be wearing sunscreen this time of year?

Epstein: Oh, absolutely. The sun right now is as strong as it would be about the last week of July. So if you want to sort of put it on the other end, remember, it's like a little curve. It's like a little bell curve. It peaks on that June 21st in terms of strength. And so you back up the number of days where we are now. And you can also move forward from June 21st. And they are identical strength.

Siegel: Let's say someone is a little braver than you and is willing to brave the intense sun and the scorching near-80 degree temperatures today. What should they be doing in their garden? Is there anything going on this week that you think folks should be looking at?

Epstein: Yeah, I think this is a good week to really start prepping the garden and thinking about putting in things like tomatoes and peppers and eggplants and some of those warm-weather crops. I would put them in. This weekend may be a good time to get some of those things in. Typically, I don't like to put things outside like that until the temperature at night stays above 50 degrees. And I think we're basically there. We had a few spots this morning in the upper 40s, but I think basically we're not going to go below 50 for the rest of the season now until we get to sometime in the fall. So that's one thing to do. I've got, where my tomatoes are going to go, I've got to clear out all the weeds. It's actually not weeds. It's a lot of kale. I've got to take the kale out and then I'll put down some fertilizer. I've got some organic tomato fertilizer that'll go down. I'll put the stakes in because I want a space where the tomatoes are going to go, and then I'll plant them this coming weekend. And that's how I'll be handling the garden. One thing about planting is if you can plant in the afternoon late, as late as you can before it gets dark, that's the ideal time. Because what happens is, is you don't have the high angle sun because the plants don't like it either. They're like me. And that lets them acclimate overnight and then again in the morning until the sun comes up. You don't want to plant like at 10 in the morning, because now they've got to survive that high angle sun throughout the rest of the afternoon. Also, a cloudy day is a good day to plant.

Siegel: We have a couple of listener questions coming in. Both of them are about eradicating weeds in their garden. So Lauren from Belmont says, what's the best way to eradicate thorny weeds? Brambles with strong roots from the garden. They're too ingrained to totally pull out. Is there natural way that works for you?

Epstein: Yeah. I mean, there's a few things you can do. You can cut them all the way back to the ground, and then you can try — depending on what they are, some of the brambles run under the ground and they'll just pop up somewhere else. But you can put down heavy amounts of newspaper and just really smother that area. But then the entire area isn't going to be useful for anything else. So I'm not sure whether that's an area she wants to take offline for the year. You know, you can also put down like a black plastic tarp and that will heat it up. And that kind of makes the soil so that nothing can grow there. The other thing you can do — you know, it's personal preferences, you can cut it and then paint on just a tiny bit of a weed killer right on there with a little paint brush. And that should also stop it. And that way you're not putting that chemical down, which I don't like to use all over the garden.

Siegel: All right. Maybe in a couple of seconds we can squeeze in an answer for Peter, who wants an alternative to industrial strength white vinegar on leaves or anything else to get rid of poison ivy.

Epstein: That's really tough. I mean, that's a really tough thing. I mean, gloves, a long sleeve shirt, just rip it out and throw it away. I try to do that.

Siegel: All right. That is meteorologist Dave Epstein. Thank you so much, Dave.

Epstein: You're welcome.

Siegel: You're listening to GBH News.

Meteorologist Dave Epstein is our go-to person for pressing weather questions on everything from winter blizzards to summer droughts. He’s also a horticulturist, meaning he’s an expert in anything that grows leaves and flowers. GBH's Morning Edition asked our audience for weather and gardening questions, and Epstein graciously answered them on the air.

Have a gardening or weather question for meteorologist Dave Epstein? Tweet him  @GrowingWisdom, email us at  thewakeup@wgbh.org, or text 617-300-2008.

We are trying to deal with poison ivy by spraying industrial strength white vinegar on the leaves. I do not think we are winning against the ivy. We are trying to avoid harsher chemicals. Can you suggest a solution? —Peter

Poison ivy can be hard to deal with, Epstein said. But he suggested handling it the old fashioned way with long pants and closed-toed shoes.

“That’s a really tough thing,” he said. “I mean, gloves, a long sleeve shirt, just rip it out and throw it away.”

How do I deal with thorny weeds in my yard?

Thorny plants can be hard to get rid of, Epstein said. Even if you cut them back all the way to the root, they can grow underground and pop up somewhere else.

“But you can put down heavy amounts of newspaper and just really smother that area,” Epstein said. “You can also put down like a black plastic tarp and that will heat it up. And that kind of makes the soil so that nothing can grow there.”

The downside: Nothing else will grow on that ground this year, Epstein said. But the area should be ready for planting again next spring, he said.

“The other thing you can do — you know, it's personal preferences — you can cut it and then paint on just a tiny bit of a weed killer right on there with a little paint brush,” he said. “And that should also stop it. And that way you're not putting that chemical down, which I don't like to use all over the garden.”

What time of day is best for planting?

It’s a great time to start on warm-weather crops, Epstein said: His tomatoes, peppers and eggplants should be going into the ground this weekend.

But not every minute of the day is good for gardening, he said.

“The sun angle right now is getting towards its almost peak,” he said. “The sun right now is as strong as it would be about the last week of July. … It's like a little bell curve. It peaks on June 21 in terms of strength. And so you back up the number of days where we are now. And you can also move forward from June 21st. And they are identical strength.”

That sun can be harsh for people working outside — don’t forget sunscreen and other forms of sun protection — and also on fledgling plants.

“If you can plant in the afternoon late, as late as you can before it gets dark, that's the ideal time,” Epstein said. “That lets them acclimate overnight and then again in the morning until the sun comes up. You don't want to plant like at 10 in the morning, because now they've got to survive that high angle sun throughout the rest of the afternoon.”

Bonus tip: “A cloudy day is a good day to plant,” Epstein said.

Happy gardening.