In the Garden with UC Master Gardeners

Send us Fan Mail So you don’t have a big garden footprint.  No space to build and plant a box big enough to be worthwhile?  Well, think vertically!  This week on In the Garden with UC Master Gardeners, our Master Gardener hosts Katrina Kirkeby and Teena Spindler discuss all the possibilities to get plantings to grow in a very small space.  Get strawberries off the ground away from those slugs! Cov...

Send us Fan Mail   A showcase garden is designed to be both beautiful and purposeful — a space that draws people in, highlights plants at their best, and creates year-round interest. Whether your garden is large or small, learn how to transform it into a standout landscape. On this episode of “In the Garden with UC Master Gardeners”, our topic is How to Make a Showcase Garden!  Two University of C...

Send us Fan Mail Master Gardener Host Mark Oertel sat down with fellow Master Gardener Teena Spindler and discussed Heritage and Pass-Along Plants.  We call them that because these are plants that have been given or taken another person, and that person is often someone close to us.  This is a plant or a descendant of a plant that has been lovingly cared for or admired from afar.  You know what I’...

Send us Fan Mail On this edition of “In the Garden with UC Master Gardeners”, we bring you a show on the topic of “Indoor House Plants”.  Master Gardener Dece Morgan interviews Julie Bawden-Davis who is a fellow Master Gardener and a resident expert on indoor house plants. Bawden-Davis is a bestselling author, journalist, novelist, blogger, and YouTuber.  She’s authored over 45 books in a variety...

Send us Fan Mail   Master Gardener Katrina Kirkeby brings in Master Gardeners of Orange County Program Coordinator Randy Musser and fellow MG Teena Spindler to discuss the joys of participating in as well as visiting garden tours. The spring tour season is about to begin in late April in Southern California and goes all the way to the end of June in places like the Pacific Northwest. Spend a day c...

Send us Fan Mail PlantCon is a convention for plant enthusiasts that features a massive market with plant vendors from all over the world, educational seminars from experts, and specialized workshops.  It acts as a community gathering to connect plant lovers, creators, and professionals.  Since PlantCon was in Los Angeles this year,  our own KUCI reporter and host John Kim was there to interview s...

Send us Fan Mail   What one vegetable plant gets the most discussion every spring. It’s everyone’s favorite! The Tomato!  This week on “In The Garden with UC Master Gardeners”, we bring you a show we’ll call “Tomatoes 101” featuring our foremost tomato expert Master Gardener Brian Hale! Brian will let you know the secrets of starting tomatoes from seed as well as growing tips. If summer is coming...

Send us Fan Mail   Today on “In the Garden with UC Master Gardeners”, Master Gardener and KUCI Staff host Bill Brooks talks with an expert on one of the most ubiquitous features of Southern California landscapes. The topic this week is TURF! We’re talkin’ Lawn, Grass, Turf, Turfgrass, and Sod which all mean the same! Bill talks with Mike Henry, former Turf Advisor in Orange County and one of the o...

Send us Fan Mail Join us for another episode of “In The Garden with UC Master Gardeners”.   Master Gardeners Teena Spindler and Katrina Kirkeby expound on the meaning of lazy gardening! Or, as we call today’s show, Low Effort Flower Gardens. These two Master Gardeners often talk about leaving on vacation and coming back to see PRESENTS all over their gardens! Well, eventually, after some diligence...

Send us Fan Mail   Discover the beauty and anticipation of spring gardening in the new podcast episode, Fall Planted Bulbs for a Spring Bloom , hosted by UC Master Gardeners Marilyn Johnson and Teena Spindler. This delightful episode explores how bulbs produce some of the garden’s most beautiful blooms and why planting times vary across different parts of the world. Listeners will learn that in Ca...

Send us Fan Mail  Once again, it is time for another This Month In The Garden – our regular In The Garden with UC Master Gardeners show for what to do in the garden for a given month. It’s April so there is so much to focus on this month. It’s the “bloomiest time of the year”! Perennials from last year are taking off again! Vegetable gardening is always the big consideration right now so we’ll ope...

Send us Fan Mail   “In the Garden with UC Master Gardeners” Explores “Landscapes as Nature” on KUCI 88.9 FM.  Reimagine your outdoor spaces with an inspiring new episode titled “Landscapes as Nature.” Host Teena Spindler welcomes special guest Ron Vanderhoff of Roger's Gardens in Newport Beach for an engaging conversation on the growing movement toward naturalistic landscape design. This epis...

Send us Fan Mail   This week “In the Garden with UC Master Gardeners” on 88.9 FM KUCI Irvine explores the captivating world of bromeliads.  In this episode, Master Gardener Bill Brooks sits down with Cristy Brenner, President of the Saddleback Valley Bromeliad Society, who shares her deep passion and decades of experience with these unique and eye-catching plants. Brenner, who has been “addicted”...

Send us Fan Mail   Part Two of Two of Master Gardener Mark Fierle’s interview with the founder of Square Foot Gardening - Mel Bartholomew.  An engineer by training, Mel researched and developed the Square Foot Gardening method and first published his ideas in 1981.  His book “Square Foot Gardening" went on to become the best selling gardening book in America.  Currently, most home gardeners g...

Send us Fan Mail   Sally Richards, Hydroponics Master Gardener expert, joins us today and gives us the story of the team she was instrumental in creating within our local county Master Gardener organization. Year-round venues featuring hydroponic systems to view by the public are few and far between, so listen and learn how easy it is to grow the hydroponic way.  Learn how to have year-round veget...

Send us Fan Mail   California is almost ten years into the legislation, planning, and implementation of one of the most significant environmental plans ever developed. Senate Bill 1383 was passed in 2016 with the goal of diverting methane-producing organic waste from California’s landfills. This week on In the Garden with UC Master Gardeners, our intrepid host and Master Gardener Bill Brooks met u...

Send us Fan Mail   The hot and dry season can occur year round in California.   Our intrepid “In the Garden” host Master Gardener David Letourneau is bringing you a much-needed episode called “Creating A Defensible Space Against Wildfires”. David talked with OC Fire Authority representatives Teri Merritt, Fire Prevention Specialist / Wildland Pre-Fire Management and Captain Larry Kurtz to bring yo...

Send us Fan Mail Have a small space and love to grow food? A reprise of a popular show on “In the Garden with UC Master Gardeners", our beloved former “In the Garden” host Mark Fierle spoke to an icon of the gardening world – Mel Bartholomew. In this show, first aired less than one year before Mel passed away - Mel talks about his visionary concept called Square Foot Gardening. From learning...

Send us Fan Mail   Plants that eat bugs? You read that right! You know gardeners need to control bad bugs eating our beautiful gardens, right? But believe it or not, there are certain types of plants that seek their nourishment from insects and others that become trapped in specialized plant parts like sticky leaves or deep pitcher-like appendages. We know them as Carnivorous plants. In The Garden...

Send us Fan Mail   The growing incidents of human/coyote conflicts such as the encounter on the sand in Huntington Beach in April 2022 exhibit a need to discuss ways of measuring and then managing for the coexistence of the urban homeowner/gardener and the now urban coyote populations. “In the Garden with UC Master Gardeners”, explores the subject of Coyotes and a unique method of monitoring their...

Send us Fan Mail In the Garden presents a new episode titled “Garden Innovations at The Giving Farm,” hosted by Bill Brooks. In this episode, Brooks explores groundbreaking work happening at Westminster High School’s The Giving Farm.  Located on the campus of Westminster High School, the Giving Farm is home to a vibrant eight-acre farm and orchard that has become a model of innovation, education,...

Send us Fan Mail You might be anxious to revamp your garden layout. You might want to try a method that will put issues like pest control, soil quality, and accessibility all in YOUR hands! The subject of this edition of “In The Garden with UC Master Gardeners” is Raised Bed Gardening. Master Gardener Bill Brooks got together for a long-distance interview with a fellow Master Gardener from Colorad...

Send us Fan Mail I t’s time for This Month In The Garden for the month of March.  The key emphasis at this time of year are three words: Plant, Feed, and Control. But don’t jump the gun.  Remember to think about what plant you want where.  By knowing what you want to plant, you’ll know the type of fertilizer you will need.  Think about TOMATOES! How are you going to keep them off the ground? Teena...

Send us Fan Mail The topic this week on “In the Garden” with UC Master Gardeners is Bird-Friendly Gardens. We join Melissa Rapp, a current UC Master Gardener AND Executive Committee President at the Sea and Sage Audubon Society on bird friendly gardens.. Melissa will bring us up to current times at Society based in the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary across the road from UCI off Michelson (Riparian...

Send us Fan Mail 26 Miles Across the Sea!  This week on In the Garden with UC Master Gardeners, we head that way with Master Gardener Bill Brooks. Bill spent the day talking to various plant propagators at the Catalina Conservancy’s Ackerman Native Plant Nursery about starting native plants from seed to repopulate the natural landscape of Santa Catalina Island. Over 85 species of container stock a...