Master My Garden Podcast

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast John talks to Nicole Burke about her new book Kitchen Garden Revival and much mire. Nicole talks about how her book and her goal is to bring back the kitchen garden as an extension of the home. We chat about this concept and what makes a good kitchen garden. What vegetables are good to start with and how to set up a kitchen garden correctly. You ca...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast John is joined by Oliver Schurmann Mount Venus Nursery. Oliver and Liat Schurmann run Mount Venus nursery a specialist nursery in Dublin. The plants sold by Mount Venus are predominately grown onsite and they have a great reputation for growing a great plants and giving great planting advice. Mount Venus's  selection of plants is huge from the...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast John talks to Dave from Greenman nursery. The tag line for Greenman nursery is plants weird and unusual. Common and under-utilised. We talk about all of these including some interesting plants I have never heard of but am definitely going to check out for my own garden. Its a super chat with Dave and and great to hear about some of these weird and...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast John chats to Madeline McKeever Brown Envelope Seeds all about saving your own seeds. Seed saving is such a great thing to do for a number of reasons. You can gift your seeds to friends and get some in return. It's a very economical way go growing your own food. If you are saving your own seed you will be producing produce that has inbuilt res...

In this weeks episode John tells us what we can be sowing in our gardens at this time of year to give continuity of supply of veg for the coming months. John also talk about what perennials and grasses he is sowing over the coming weeks to fill out some new beds which are under development. He also talks about autumn flowering bulbs and much more.  Did you know you can now support the podcast on &...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast John talks to Alexandria Kelly week three winner of Irelands garden heroes. Alex is a young gardener who has created the most beautiful collection of gardens on Turra Lodge Farm. Set on the site of an old quarry and alive with rabbits the site certainly isn't without its challenges but Alex has created with the help of her family a garden to b...

It's mid season and some of us are having great success with tomatoes while others are not. So what are the main jobs we need to be doing with our tomatoes to ensure they keep cropping for the coming months. I am joined for this short bonus episode by Syl Doyle from Wilton Gardens in Wexford one of the best growers of tomatoes that I know. Wilton garden have recently started sharing their tom...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden Podcast I am joined by Dr. Karen O Hanlon to talk about the benefits of Biochar in your garden. Biochar is now starting to become spoken about quiet a lot and its benefits are far reaching and definitive. It has 58 stated uses but specifically in gardening terms it has huge benefits such as locking in carbon, retaining moisture, increasing the microbial ac...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I talk to Anne Hutton & Liam Kelly in their wonderful garden in Carlow town.  Liam described the garden as pollinator heaven in an urban setting so I said I have to see that. The garden didn't disappoint and just shows what can be achieved even in an urban setting if you want to help and provide for our pollinators. Anne & Liam are bot...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast John looks at the topic of the gardening boom which as occurred since the March 2020 when our worlds all changed with the arrival the global pandemic. Gardening has gone through a surge in popularity with many finding it to be very enjoyable and beneficial when all else around them was in disarray. So many new gardeners have entered the market and...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I chat to Niall Maxwell who is joint host of the new RTE garden show Ireland's Garden Heroes. The show is hosted by Niall who is an award winning garden designer by trade,  Ingrid Swan also an award winning garden designer and Jimi Blake renowned plants person and owner and creator of Huntingbrook garden. The show which runs over 6 episodes an...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I talk to Ita Patton craft gardener in the National Botanic gardens in Dublin.  Ita looked after the rose garden in the botanic gardens for many years and shares all that experience in this weeks episode. We talk about the rose garden in the Botanic gardens, care tips for best performing roses and some great performing varieties.  If you want to ha...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I talk to Coleman Power of Coleman Power from Coleman Power organic fitness all about the health benefits of growing your own food. We all know its a nice thing to do but what are the health benefits for your and your family in growing your own. We chat about great crops to start with, crops with good nutritional value and lots more. You can find C...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I talk to Colm O Driscoll head gardener of Airfield gardens. Its a great chat in which Colm talks about how he and his team garden the 6 acre garden which encompasses many borders, walled gardens, greenhouses and a 2 acre food production unit which supplies the on-site farmers market and restaurant. The whole garden is gardened organically and rege...

Did you know that 95% of all cut flower sold in Ireland are imported? Thats seems like a unnecessary percentage considering we can grow flowers so well here ourselves. This week I am joined by Anna Browne from Big Sky Flowers and Maura Sheedy from Maura's Cottage flowers to talk about the flower farmers of Ireland and Irish Flower week. Irish Flower week  runs from the 5th to the 11th of July...

In this weeks episode of Master My garden podcast I am joined by Moira Hart from Wexford Lavender farm Ireland's only commercial Lavender farm. Maura tells us how we can be successful with Lavender at home and gives her tips for success both in the ground and in pots.   About Wexford Lavender Farm: Situated in Co Wexford near Gorey the farm is organic and in total there is 5 acres of Lavender...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I am giving you an update from my garden the little wins and some areas of frustration that I have. My polytunnel is filling up and is starting to produce some beautiful vegetables and flowers. Most seeds I grew have been very successful but there are also some that have failed such as celery. This successes and failed are all part of growing your...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I am joined by Fred Townsend horticultural lecturer in Kildalton College to talk about the subject of horticultural education and career paths within horticulture.  It has been almost 25 years since I studied myself so it is interesting to see the changes in education but also to explore the many career option available to people now. It may not al...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I talk to Fiann O Nuallain The Holistic gardener. We look at the health benefits of gardening, both physical and mental. We examine the science behind these benefits and find out why gardening makes us happier and healthier. Fiann also discusses the medicinal benefits of plants and how he is spreading his knowledge through his books. Its a great ch...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I talk to Gerry Daly about the re-launch of the Irish Garden magazine. Publication of the magazine suspended last year at the start of the pandemic when advertising dried up over a period of a couple of weeks. Relaunched in April 2021 with some new writers and formatting its great to see it back and great to her that sales of the magazine for April...

In episode 070 of Master My Garden podcast which is a short solo episode I talk about the sweet potato plugs that I have just received and will be growing in the tunnel for the first time which is really exciting. I have 7 varieties to try out all of which are grown by the superb Pat Fitzgerald from Fitzgerald nurseries. One of these varieties is from Pat's Treasure Island series which is bas...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I talk to Seamus O Donnell Cluain na dTor garden Donegal. Its a great chat with Seamus where he talks about his garden and how he has started the garden with nature in mind and providing habitats for wildlife. From that basis he has developed a remarkable garden packed full of many plants including exotics not typically seen in costal gardens. Seam...

In episode 068 of Master My Garden podcast I talk to Greg Peterson of Urban Farm. It's a great chat with Greg and we cover a broad range of topics. We talk initially about urban farming and how somebody can grow food in an urban environment. We also talk about permaculture where Greg's shares the criteria by which he selects plants for his garden, which is that a plant must have more tha...

In episode 067 of Master My Garden podcast I am covering a topic which is not strictly speaking gardening but often goes hand in hand with gardeners, keeping chickens! A requested episode from a long time listener who is considering keeping hens for the first time. I have been keeping hens for 10-12 and while I am by no means an expert I have  picked up enough tips to help somebody as the consider...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I talk to Jill Jones from The Irish Flower garden. Jill runs her own garden podcast which is called the IFG Irish Flower Garden podcast which is a diary podcast about all that is happening in her garden. Described as all things green and a bit in between this podcast I lively and entertaining as Jill guides listens through the evolution of her gard...