Good Growing

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

Have you ever wondered if trees and crops can grow together and actually benefit each other? Or maybe you've heard the term "agroforestry" and aren't quite sure what it means.

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...

Gardenbite: Good snakes for the garden & how to attract them

This week Good Growing looks back to our interview with Dr. John Vanek all about snakes. In this clip, John talks about ways to make our yards more snake friendly and what are some good ones to have in the garden. See our smiling faces at https://youtu.be/v6hl9FZSXdw Want to learn more about...

Gardenbite - Avoiding insect bites

This week Illinois Extension horticulture educator Ken Johnson talks about some things we can do to avoid being bitten by buffalo gnats, mosquitoes, and ticks. Check out the Good Growing Blog: go.illinois.edu/goodgrowing Subscribe to the weekly Good Growing email: go.illinois.edu/...

Ep. 107 Talking All About Illinois Extension with Judy Bingman | #GoodGrowing

On this week’s podcast, we chat with University of Illinois Extension Marketing and Communications manager Judy Bingman. Judy shares with us all things Illinois Extension including the history, goals, and future. She also shares some personal information about what motives her. Listen in to hear...

Ep. 106 Talking Spring Lawn Care and Organic Practices with Richard Hentschel | #GoodGrowing

On this week's Good Growing podcast we chat one last time with retiring horticulture educator Richard Hentschel. Richard dives into tips for spring lawn care and we get into environmentally friendly practices for our lawns and ask if they really work. Plus, Richard gives his parting tips to Katie,...

Ep. 105 Climate change and insects with Kacie Athey | Good Growing

On this week’s Good Growing Podcast, we chat with Assistant Professor and Faculty Extension Specialist Kacie Athey about climate change and insects. We discuss what impacts our changing climate may have on insects, like will we see range expansions, more generations, more plant damage, phenology,...

Ep. 104 The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Insects with Dr. Kacie Athey

On this week’s Good Growing podcast, we talk to Dr. Kacie Athey about biocontrols. Dr. Kacie Athey is an assistant professor and faculty extension specialist at University of Illinois and contributes much of her research into non-chemical insect control in specialty crop systems. Join us as we...

Ep. 103 Talking Bats in Illinois with Dr. Joy O'Keefe | #GoodGrowing

On this week's Good Growing podcast we sit down to talk with Dr. Joy O'Keefe all about bats! Dr. O'Keefe is an assistant professor at University of Illinois and a wildlife specialist with Extension who studies bats and how humans can work to co-exist with our flying fellow mammals. In this show we...