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Good Growing

Talking all things horticulture, ecology, and design.
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Latest Episode

This week, we have a Gardenbite excerpt from our webinar, in which we discussed wildlife damage in the home landscape. In this clip, Chris details two common rodents in Illinois that tend to pop up in the winter months around the outside and inside of our homes: the vole and the mouse.

Gardenbite: Dealing with Hornworms on Tomatoes

Ack! What happened to the tomato plant!? Have you ever walked out to the garden to find out a hungry hungry caterpillar has stripped the leaves off your tomato plant? These are known as tomato hornworms. And in this week's Gardenbite, Ken Johnson describes the hornworm, a super neat way to find...

Ep 112 Summer Insect Pests in the Garden | #GoodGrowing

Summertime is insect time! As our days warm up so do our insect populations. While most are beneficial, we have a small number of pest insects that plague us every year in the garden and landscape! This week Ken and Chris chat about the most common ones we face every summer. Or watch our smiling...

Gardenbite - Harvesting Vegetables

We're heading into the heart of harvest season! Illinois Extension horticulture educator Ken Johnson talks about how and when to harvest vegetables, so they are at their peak. Read the blog post: https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/good-growing/2020-07-15-harvesting-garden-vegetables Check out...

Good Growing Gardenbite- Scouting in the Garden

As we enter the thick of the summer growing season, you may be noticing some pests and diseases problems. Listen in as we revisit Ken Johnson's article on Scouting in the Garden https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/good-growing/2019-06-24-scouting-garden to effectively identify any pests or...

Ep. 111 Tips for Pollinators & favorite plants | #goodgrowing

On this week’s Good Growing podcast we are celebrating National Pollinator Week! We give helpful tips for helping out pollinators plus our favorite pollinator plants. Plus, tons of resources if you’re looking to include pollinator habitat in your landscape. Watch us YouTube https://youtu.be/...

Ep. 110 - Gardening in the heat | #GoodGrowing

It's getting hot! On this week's Good Growing podcast, we discuss gardening when the weather gets hot and tips to get you and your garden through the hot weather. Watch us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jjUi2MSfgF8 Skip to what you want to know: 02:30 - Strawberry moon 03:20 - How are your...

Gardenbite: Be on the watch for Spotted Lanternfly

On this week's gardenbite, Katie shares a blog post written by Ken Johnson about the Spotted lanternfly. The Spotted lanternfly is an invasive species with the potential to become a serious pest in the United States. Listen in to learn how it could become an issue and how to identify this pest.

Ep. 109 Growing Tomatoes & Peppers with Nick Frillman | #GoodGrowing

On this week's Good Growing podcast we chat with small farms and local foods educator Nick Frillman about getting our tomatoes and pepper off on the right foot (root?) this growing season. We chat about best practices for getting these very popular garden veggies growing. Plus dealing with the...

Ep. 108 - Answering your weed management questions | #GoodGrowing

On this week’s Good Growing podcast, we discuss some of your questions on managing weeds! Learn about managing quackgrass, bamboo, violets, and more. Watch us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/sFdJu4MCa4s Skip to what you want to know: 01:45 - Managing quackgrass in lawns 04:45 - How can I manage...

Gardenbite- Identifying Jumping Worms

This week's Good Growing looks back on a past blog post by University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator Chris Enroth about jumping worms. Jumping worms is an invasive species that we are currently hearing about in the news. Listen in to learn how to identify jumping worms and what to do...