Master My Garden Podcast

10th March 2023 Master My Garden Podcast   What seeds to sow in March? In this week's episode John chats about what vegetable seeds to sow in March? What flower seed to sow in March? John also chats about other gardening Jobs for the month of March.   Firstly, as many of you know I always talk about knowing your area in terms of seed sowing and planting out because all areas are different. Ma...

Vine weevil, one of gardeners major and ongoing foe’s is the topic of this week's episode. A listener has asked for advice on how to deal with vine weevils in her pots and hanging baskets. So, John looks at ways to combat vine weevil and how you can control them using biological control nematodes. We also chat about ways to spot the problem early, the best potting mixes that may help and much...

In this weeks episode John chats about what vegetable seed he is sowing now. February is a funny month some years it can be very cold like in  2022 and other years it can be dry and mild like this year. When you get a February like we just had with good weather it really feels like spring has arrived and we get sowing our seeds at pace. While I am getting going now I will still go gently over the...

In this weeks episode John is joined by Andrew Bunting Vice President of Horticulture at Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to chat about Pennsylvania Horticultural Society gardening trends for 2023 survey. ABOUT PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY   The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), an internationally recognized nonprofit organization founded in 1827, uses horticulture to advance the h...

In this weeks episode John is joined by Ingrid Smyth, garden designer and member of GLDA to speak about the much anticipated 2023 GLDA seminar "Letting Nature In" With excellent speakers including Barry Kavanagh, Mary Reynolds, Randall Plunkett & Taina Suonio all looking at the theme letting nature in and talking about their experiences of letting nature in with there own unique situ...

In this weeks episode I chat to Paul Smyth who has recently been appointed as head gardener of RHSI Bellefield. Paul originally would have worked in the garden around 10 years ago as part of his college placement with the gardens creator Angela Jupe. Angela became a mentor to Paul over the years and following her passing the house and gardens were left to the RHSI with the long term aim of creatin...

January is a month when the promise and excitement of a new growing season kicks in and already, I see people posting pictures online of sowing vegetables. When this happens many of us feel like we are behind but in January even if you sow no seed, you are not behind.   In a month's time we will have about an hour more sunlight every day and at that stage sowing will make more sense to me at...

This weeks episode is a topical one and is suggested by a listener of the podcast. Stephen says "Fruits especially soft fruit are a winner with kids and engages them in gardening" it surely is and the bareroot season is the best time to go and create this fruit garden. In the bareroot season you can get a better selection of varieties bareroot, bareroot fruit trees/ bushes are easy to es...

In this weeks episode which is our first episode of 2023 I chat with organic grower Kitty Scully. Its a great chat with lots of great tips for growing organically. We also chat about food systems, farmers markets and lots more. Kitty is also an active member of the OGI small growers network see detail below. https://organicgrowersireland.ie OGI Small Growers Network Coordinator – Kitty Scully Kitt...

This weeks episode given that it falls on December 23rd I just a simple episode of thanks and gratitude. Firstly a thank you to all my guests in 2022 to many to mention individually all of whom have come on and shared their knowledge with us in the Master My Garden Community. There has been 50 episodes released in 2022 and the podcast continues to go from strength to strength with more and more li...

After an extremely wet October and November here in Ireland we have now had a couple of weeks without rain, just as the ground was beginning to dry out enough to allow the bare-root season to start we get heavy frosts. These frost in the long run might actually help to dry out the ground but for now they frozen soil means no planting can start. In this weeks episode John answers  a listeners quest...

In this week's episode of the podcast John chats with Jeff Lowenfels who is the author of a new book “Teaming with Bacteria” described as The Organic Gardener’s Guide to Endophytic Bacteria and the Rhizoghagy Cycle”   Now this sounds quite scientific but when you hear about bacteria and the function, they have in the soil then you will begin to understand why it is so important to nurture the...

In this weeks episode John chats with Dee Sewell all about community gardens and their importance. Dee through her company Greenside Up Veg helps plan & design community gardens. She also tutors, mentors and helps various community,  therapeutic and school garden on a day to day basis.   You can find Dee through her website https://greensideup.ie There will be a blog post on this episode very...

What is the best Christmas gifts for gardeners 2022? In this episode John chats with Natasha Tierney who is a gardener and creator of beautiful gardening spaces in her own garden primarily from plants she has grown from seed. Her instagram page shows these gardening exploits very well and is worth checking out here. https://instagram.com/diyanddreams?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= In this weeks episode John...

I was recently asked what is the most popular episode of Master My Garden podcast so what better than a Top 10 just like the old days watching the charts so in this weeks episode that's what I cover.  If you want to listen back to any of these episodes below are all the episodes.  EP056- No Dig Gardening with expert No Dig gardener Charles Dowding.  EP026- How to grow a Wildflower meadow with...

In this weeks episode John chats about the extremely wet weather we have had in Ireland since the beginning of October and how that will impact the start of the bareroot season. Starting a No Dig garden is also discussed and the benefits of No Dig. A question that is asked regularly is how much compost will I need to start my no dig beds ? Well lets look at an example of that Lets say I want to ma...

In this weeks episode John talks to Conor Gallinagh horticultural advisor with Cafre. Conor and the team at Cafre are doing some really interesting work looking at plants growing in peat free which is interesting as us gardeners begin to transition away from peat growing media. We also chat about LED grow lights and whether they are viable to use commercially. Its a great chat with lots of other t...

Every year many I us grow our veg and never quiet know what to do with the gluts, does this happen to you ? I know for me I end of giving away much of what I grow, I have failed miserably on many occasions to freeze vegetables mostly the end up tasting terrible or breaking down when thawed. So in this weeks episode I chat with Lexi Scott a great gardener and even better cook who utilises all her h...

A listener asked what is the difference between softneck and hardneck garlic? and which one should I sow? So that's what John covers in this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast. Also covered in this weeks episode is cutting back perennials, mulching beds, planting autumn onion sets, sowing broad beans and much more. There will be a blog post on this episode very soon on my website. This...

In this weeks episode John chats all about Autumn planting bulbs for beautiful blooms next spring.  Autumn planting/ spring flowering bulbs really are a gardeners dream for many reasons including They add colour and lift your mood when not much else is flowering. Can be planted in the ground or in containers. When you chose your varieties well you can have flower from Jan to May. Many will natural...

In this weeks episode of the podcast John chats with the superb Rosie Maye "The Insomniac Gardener". Rosie Maye The Insomniac Gardener is a superb gardener who gardens in Slane Co Meath famous for it rich soil, mature trees and rolling hills along the Boyne river. The garden which I have yet to visit looks superb with many different features but what stand out from this chat with Rosie i...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast John Chats with Jane McCorkell Landscape Architect and Garden Designer. In a great chat Jane talks about the process of working with a garden designer and how you should prepare for that process. Jane also talks about current trends both the good and the over used. One of the key points mentioned is that when people get their garden designed and bu...

In this weeks episode John answers a listeners questions Cathriona & Stephen garden on a half acre site and are doing great things in their garden but a few challenges are coming up one of these challenges is slugs damaging potato tubers. This is very frustrating and disheartening so in this weeks episode we look at possible ways to reduce the problem going forward as well as answering some ot...

In this week's episode John talks about 10 plants with amazing autumn color. Over the coming weeks we will enter the period when many deciduous trees show off their amazing autumn color, and its at this time many people ask what are the best plants for autumn color? So, John goes through a list of 10 plants which have amazing autumn colors. All plants on the list are trees or large shrubs and...

In this weeks episode John chats about some of the gardening jobs for the month of September. While the sowing and planting is slowing down in the edible garden there are still so much we can do.  In the edible garden we can still sow some of the hardy leafy greens that will gives us greens through autumn and winter. These include Mizuna, Claytonia, Spinach, Rocket and more. Don't be afraid t...