Good Growing

Windbreaks, also known as shelter belts, play a crucial role in protecting the land from powerful Midwestern winds. Traditionally used on rural lands, windbreaks are living barriers that intercept wind, thereby reducing velocity and impact. During this week’s Gardenbite, Horticulture Educator Emily Swihart looks back at the history of Roosevelt’s ‘tree army’ and planting efforts in response to the...

It’s time for another Good Growing Halloween Spooktacular! We’re all dressed up again this year to talk about some creepy crawlies that have had or are still having an impact on humans or have a lot of lore behind them, including black widow and brown recluse spiders, stinging caterpillars, oriental rat fleas, lice, and more!     Watch us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DGbFkgEs2ZE   Skip to what you...

Now that the garden season is starting to wind down, it’s a good time to start thinking about getting our tools ready for winter. This week on the Good Growing Podcast, we discuss some things we do to get our garden tools ready for winter, including cleaning, sharpening, winterizing, organizing, and more!    Watch us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/o5VuG7Au7ng     Skip to what you want to know:     0...

This week on the Good Growing podcast Ken and Chris discuss why we clean up our gardens in the fall. Cutting down perennials, raking leaves, and pulling out spent vegetable plants is a common job for the gardener in the fall. As the autumn days get shorter our time is precious outdoors. What needs to be done now and what can wait until next year? Watch us on YouTube https://youtu.be/scU_YKv_gFE Sk...

It’s time for our last Grow Along check-in for 2024. Each year we at Good Growing decide to try growing some new (to us) vegetables. This year we invited you to grow along with us. This video is for those who signed up to receive seed for our Grow Along. In this video, we are trying the fruits of our labor. We share some of the different ways we have prepared the produce we grew as part of the Gro...

October has arrived, and while it may not feel like it at times, so has fall. This week on the Good Growing Podcast, we discuss some of the different things on our fall gardening to-do list, including caring for mums, moving houseplants indoors, planting garlic and woody plants, soil testing, and more!   Watch us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VbB2p-EyjDY   Skip to what you want to know:     00:35 –...

This week on the Good Growing Podcast, Chris compares the essential fall flavors of apple and pumpkin. If you had to choose, what side would you fall on? Team Apple? Or Team Pumpkin? Contact us!  Chris Enroth: cenroth@illinois.edu Ken Johnson: kjohnso@illinois.edu  Check out the Good Growing Blog: https://go.illinois.edu/goodgrowing Subscribe to the weekly Good Growing email: https://go.illinois.e...

This week on the Good Growing Podcast, we’re trying something new: toothache plant. Learn more about this interesting plant, what happens when you eat it, and how you can grow it yourself!    Watch us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Z7ywlxrKWTM     Skip to what you want to know:     00:40 – Introduction to toothache plant   05:50 – Eating toothache plant reactions   10:20 – How to grow toothache plan...

Have you ever wondered what causes the reds, yellows, oranges, and maroons of autumn? There are lots of different plant pigments beyond the green color of chloroplast. In this episode horticulture educator Chris Enroth peers inside the processes of a leaf in the fall and how we get those spectacular autumn leaf displays. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2puA2uMoXEg Skip to what you want to know:...

Have the weeds been popping up all over the place in your landscape? You’re in luck, fall is a great time to manage weeds. On this week’s Good Growing Podcast, we discuss why fall is a good time to manage weeds, types of weeds, and different ways we can manage them. We also discuss some herbicide updates on Roundup and glyphosate as well as Dacthal.   Watch us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/R8N_ANQk...

This week on the Good Growing podcast Ken and Chris talk about hazelnuts. Chris remembers hazelnut shrubs growing in the woods from his childhood, we compare European and American hazelnut species, talk about pests, what you might find if you go looking to buy hazelnut plants, and more!  Watch us on YouTube https://youtu.be/tWgbcfiYIKg Skip to what you want to know: 00:32 Hey Ken! The messy consum...

This week on the Good Growing Podcast: Join Ken and Chris as they delve into the fascinating world of cover crops! More and more home gardeners are discovering the benefits of using cover crops to enhance their gardens. Are you curious about how cover crops can transform your garden or landscape? Tune in to this week’s episode to uncover Ken and Chris’s top tips and insights on incorporating cover...

There are a lot of garden remedies that have been used throughout the years, and some of them are still recommended today. Do they work? Should we still be using them? On this week’s Good Growing Podcast, we discuss some of these old-time remedies like vinegar, pruning paint, dynamite, pesticide concoctions, and more.    Watch us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/v64wU2PINS8     Skip to what you want t...

In this episode, we dive into the latest challenges facing gardeners and landscapers. From toppling trees to the potential for itchy mites dropping from the sky, Ken and Chris have a list of things that might be bugging your garden and landscape! Watch us on YouTube https://youtu.be/r3od_YL19_s Skip to what you want to know: 00:38 Hey Ken! 01:57 Chris found a pretty bug! A dog-day cicada. 03:47 Up...

It’s time for another Grow Along check-in. Each year we at Good Growing decide to try growing some new (to us) vegetables. This year we invited you to grow along with us. This video is for those who signed up to receive seed for our Grow Along. In this video, we check in and share how our Grow Along crops are progressing in our gardens, answer some of your questions, and share some of our plans fo...

Many of us skipped planting trees this spring to avoid damage from periodical cicadas. But now that we’re approaching fall, we have an opportunity to plant some trees. Our Gardenbite this week goes back to 2022 when we had a conversation with Emily Swihart about fall tree planting. We discussed what trees can be planted in the fall, things to consider when planting trees, how to plant and care for...

Have you been having problems in your garden this year? We certainly have! On this week’s Good Growing Podcast, we discuss some of the most common problems we’ve been seeing in gardens so far this year, including problems with coneflowers, oak wilt, fire blight, and blossom end rot. Plus, where have all the Japanese beetles gone?   Watch us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/7O96jjEbZ3o   Skip to what y...

This week on the Good Growing podcast, Ken and Chris sift through a survey that asks homeowners about water-saving products that can be used during water restrictions. The duo go down the list of products suggested by the survey and discuss whether these items would truly help save water and benefit your plants during a severe drought. After debating the merits of the survey’s products, Ken and Ch...

While we tend to focus on the positives of plants, not all plants work well in all gardens or for all gardens. Whether they are too aggressive, require too much time and maintenance, or we just don’t like them, there are a variety of reasons we may not want to grow certain plants. On this week’s Good Growing Podcast, we discuss some of the plants we’ve grown in our gardens that we wouldn’t plant a...

Our Gardenbite for this week goes back to 2021 where Ken and Katie answered all of Chris' sweet corn growing questions. Right now we are starting to see sweet corn getting ready to pick in Illinois. How do we know when sweet corn should be harvested? Plus, what about some common sweet corn pests that tend to show up in July like raccoons and corn earworms? Contact us!  Chris Enroth: cenroth@illino...

Each year we at Good Growing decide to try growing some new (to us) vegetables. This year we want to invite you to grow along with us. This video is for those who signed up to receive seed for our Grow Along. In this video Emily, Ken, and Chris check in and share how this year's crops are doing in their gardens and our plans for culturing these plants through the summer.  We want to hear back from...

Milkweeds have become a popular garden plant in the last several years. They are most commonly planted to help support monarch butterflies because milkweeds are the sole food source for monarch caterpillars. If you’ve ever gone out to check your milkweed plants for monarch caterpillars, you may have been surprised to find other insects living and feeding on your milkweed plants. After all, milkwee...

This week on the Good Growing podcast Ken and Chris answer early summer gardening questions. From landscapes and lawns to tomatoes and ticks, we share recent questions we have been getting into our local Extension offices.  Watch us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/CFPmxJvc_kk Skip to what you want to know: 00:31 Hey Ken! 01:12 It's a hot one out there for only being June. 02:55 What is causing all th...

Have you ever gone on vacation only to come back to an out-of-control landscape or, even worse, dead plants? Check out this week’s Good Growing Podcast to learn about some steps we can take to get our landscapes ready for when we’re on vacation.    Watch us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/JiC1RavU3kk     Skip to what you want to know:     00:30 – Welcome, Ken and Emily!   01:45 – What kind of gardens...

This week on the Good Growing podcast we bring you a short gardenbite explaining what causes blossom end rot and why throwing eggshells in the planting hole at the beginning of the growing season might not be doing anything to help. Nick Frillman talks about calcium, tomatoes, and the best advice to prevent blossom end rot. Contact us!  Chris Enroth: cenroth@illinois.edu Ken Johnson: kjohnso@illin...