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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.

Ep. 152 Creating a water-conscious landscape | #GoodGrowing

On this week’s Good Growing podcast, we welcome Emily Swihart back to talk about water-conscious landscaping! Learn why planning our landscapes with water in mind is important and how we can incorporate water-conscious landscaping into our landscapes. 
 
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Ep. 151 How to grow and pick the perfect pumpkin | #GoodGrowing

This week on the Good Growing Podcast, Chris and Ken talk with commercial ag educator Nathan Johanning all about pumpkins! Nathan has been researching pumpkins with University of Illinois Extension for years and is himself a pumpkin grower. This week we dive into what is a growing season like...

Ep. 150 What's up with 2023 weather & what to expect for the winter | #GoodGrowing

This week on the Good Growing Podcast, Chris and Ken chat with state climatologist, Dr. Trent Ford. During the episode, we chat about what’s up with the weather for 2023. Soils are dry across Illinois. Is there any relief in sight? Will El Nino play a role in our weather this winter? Will it...

Ep. 149 All About Mulch: Lay it on thick and keep it chunky | #GoodGrowing

On this week’s Good Growing Podcast, we welcome Emily Swihart back to talk about mulch! Learn about what mulch is, what it’s good for, what mulches we should avoid using, and why our mulch should be thick and chunky. We also dispel some common misconceptions about mulch.
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Gardenbite: Moving houseplants indoors and overwinter care | #GoodGrowing

Now that night temperatures are starting to cool,  it’s time to start thinking about bringing houseplants back indoors for the winter. On this week's Good Growing Podcast, Ken Johnson discusses some steps we can take to successfully transition our houseplants indoors, as well as some tips...

Gardenbite: Three tips for a healthier lawn | #GoodGrowing

This week on the Good Growing podcast Chris shares a Gardenbite of when retired horticulture educator Richard Hentschel visited the show in 2021 to talk about fall lawn care. During the show, Richard spoke about three things we could all do to reduce our lawn inputs. 

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Gardenbite- Soil testing: Give your soil a check-up this fall | #GoodGrowing

Fall is almost here! On this week's Good Growing Podcast, Ken talks about something we should add to our to-do list for this fall: conducting a soil test. 

Contact us! 
Chris Enroth: cenroth@illinois.edu
Ken Johnson...

Ep. 148 Answering more of your summer garden questions | #GoodGrowing

On this week’s Good Growing podcast, we are answering more of your questions. We discuss the new invasive hornet that has been found in Georgia, coca mulch and worms in ponds, tree roots affecting building foundations, apple fruit rots, and more!
 
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Ep. 147 More than just mums: Fall blooming plants for the garden | #GoodGrowing

On this week’s Good Growing podcast, we discuss fall-blooming plants. While we typically reach for mums, there are a lot of other plants we can use in our landscapes for an end-of-season flower show! 
 
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Ep. 146 Time to start fall garden crops | #GoodGrowing

It may be hot out there, but fall gardening has already started in Illinois. This week on the Good Growing Podcast Ken and Chris share how the summer veggies faired and then describe their plans for fall crops. Learn about what you can get started in August for harvest in October and even into...