Good Growing

On this week’s Good Growing podcast, Extension horticulture educator Jennifer Fishburn hangs out with the group to chat about gifts for gardeners. They dive into fool-proof gift ideas for the gardener in your life. From types of clothing to tools to entertainment, your list of gifts will be full after listening to this podcast. We even added to our own lists of what we would like to get this holiday season.

Plus, your questions:

What is a fast-growing tree that doesn’t drop a lot of debris?

Who can neighbors contact when they are having a dispute over a tree on the property line?

Are GMOs in local soybean meal safe to put in compost for an organic garden?

Can you cut back a limelight hydrangea in the winter?

Recently planted dwarf apple trees have settled and are now planted too low. Can these be reset at the correct height?

Find Extension books and publications at our PubsPlus website https://pubsplus.illinois.edu/

Contact the hosts

Ken Johnson [email protected]

Katie Parker [email protected]

Chris Enroth [email protected]

For this week's Thanksgiving episode the Good Growing team sits down with Illinois Extension local foods educator James Theuri to talk turkey! James gives us the background of turkey production and how you can raise a Thanksgiving turkey in your very own backyard. James also discusses turkey breeds and dealing with predators. Plus your questions:

Is it wise to introduce sheep with chickens and cows on the same pasture?

What can be killing my baby chicks?

What to do when I first receive my order of chicks?

I am grazing my chickens in my garden this winter. When do I need to remove them to avoid any food contamination issues with their manure?

All this and much more!

On this week's Good Growing podcast Andrew Holsinger joins the group to talk about their upcoming webinar series. From Christmas trees, wreaths, holiday plants, spices, even feeding the birds this winter, we cover a lot of ground in this episode. Register for the webinars at the link below.

• Christmas Tree Types: go.illinois.edu/GGChristmasTrees.

• Fun with Foliage: go.illinois.edu/GGEvergreenFoliage.

• Popular Holiday Plant Care: go.illinois.edu/GGHolidayPlantCare.

• Holiday Spices: go.illinois.edu/GGHolidaySpices.

• Create a Winter Bird Haven: go.illinois.edu/GGWinterBirds.

Questions we tackle on this week's show:

What would you recommend we plant to grow a live Christmas tree? Do we plant it after the holiday is over?

We harvested greenery to make a wreath, but most of it dried up and turned brown in a few weeks. Do we need to spray the wreath with something to keep this from happening?

Do you need to spray greenery to kill bugs?

If I cut the top off of a larger pine tree to use as a Christmas tree, will it regrow?

How can I keep my poinsettia alive?

How do I know if I have a Thanksgiving or a Christmas cactus?

I planted mint. Now it is everywhere! What can I do to stop mint from taking over everything?

Will a potted lemon tree ever produce lemons in Illinois?

What are some herbs to grow inside over the winter?

No birds at the bird feeder. Why?

In this week's episode of the Good Growing podcast Ken, Katie, and Chris chat with Illinois Extension horticulture educator Kelly Allsup about pollinators. Their conversation starts with monarch butterflies and community science projects geared toward studying monarchs and all pollinators. Plus your questions:

What seed mix should we plant around our new beehive?

What are some good late-flowering fall plants for migrating monarchs?

Is it possible to have a butterfly garden without bees?

Should I clean up my leaves and yard in the fall? What's the best thing for pollinators?

Community (Citizen) Science projects for pollinators:

Monarch Way Station Project https://www.monarchwatch.org/waystations/

University of Minnesota Bee Lawn https://www.beelab.umn.edu/learn-more/beelawn

University of Illinois I-Pollinate https://ipollinate.illinois.edu/

Illinois Extension Pollinator Pockets https://extension.illinois.edu/cfiv/pollinator-pockets

Illinois butterfly monitoring network https://bfly.org/

Monarch larva monitoring project https://monarchjointventure.org/mlmp

Check out the video version at https://youtu.be/VzbCNJFFXZg

On this week's Good Growing podcast the crew speaks with State Master Gardener Specialist Candice Hart about houseplants. A special feature for this episode is a live audience during the recording. Ken, Katie, and Chris pop into the Knox County Illinois Master Gardener meeting to get live questions. Throughout the episode we cover:

How houseplants react when they get moved inside for the winter

How to overwinter rosemary

Watering strategies for houseplants

Can you root prune instead of potting up?

Should you put gravel in the bottom of containers?

Is it best to let tap water sit overnight before watering plants?

Ice cubes and orchids. Is that the way to water them?

These topics and so much more!

Check out the video version https://youtu.be/LrZAlBEyv98

Contact Candice Hart at [email protected]

Contact the hosts

Ken Johnson [email protected]

Katie Parker [email protected]

Chris Enroth [email protected]

On this week's Good Growing podcast it is a hostful episode where we talk about spooky plants. We dive into plants with a sinister history like deadly nightshade. And plants that just look evil such as devil's walking stick. Plus, just some all-around cool plants like witch hazel and bloodroot. Then we dive into the plants that bite back and talk carnivorous plants. All this plus your questions on asparagus and an invasive grass known as common reed grass or phragmites.

We also went all out and put on our Halloween costumes and turned on the cameras. If you want to watch a T-rex, field mouse, and Yukon Cornelius talk gardening head over to our YouTube channel to watch the videocast https://youtu.be/_hhNLx4CjO8

Check out Ken's article on spooky plants https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/good-growing/2020-10-28-more-spooky-and-scary-plants

Contact the hosts

Ken Johnson [email protected]

Katie Parker [email protected]

Chris Enroth [email protected]

On this week's episode of the Good Growing podcast, we talk with entomologist Dr. Kacie Athey all about spiders! What are these creepy dudes doing in our house? Are they really dangerous? Dr. Athey dispels the myths and answers your spider questions. We talk about:

Why do we see more spiders in the fall?

What's the deal? Aren't spiders insects?

Spider bites - what to look for.

Do we swallow spiders in our sleep?

Are daddy longlegs the most venomous spider in the world?

What are these fabled toilet spiders?

What's it like to get bit by a tarantula?

How do I keep spiders out of my house? Does the hedgeapple trick work?

Should you move indoor spiders outside?

Do wolf spiders travel in packs?

What are all those tiny glowing dots in the lawn when I shine my flashlight on them at night?

Plus, why were whiteflies swarming everywhere this year?

Got an insect question? Contact Dr. Athey

Contact the hosts

Ken Johnson [email protected]

Katie Parker [email protected]

Chris Enroth [email protected]

In this week’s episode of the Good Growing podcast, we chat with commercial agriculture educator Nathan Johanning about pumpkins! Nathan describes the ins and outs of growing this wonderfully diverse crop plus how to pick the perfect pumpkin for your fall décor. Plus, we discuss:

• What to do to make pumpkins last longer

• Can Jack-o’-lanterns be used for pie and vice versa?

• Just starting out growing pumpkins? There’s a lot to know. Nathan gives two big considerations.

• Can we grow pumpkins in containers?

• How do you grow giant pumpkins?

• What to do about weeds in the pumpkin patch?

Illinois Fruit and Vegetable Newsletter https://ipm.illinois.edu/ifvn/

Nathan’s series of videos on pumpkin production https://www.youtube.com/c/IllinoisLocalFoods/search?query=pumpkin

Contact the hosts

Ken Johnson [email protected]

Katie Parker [email protected]

Chris Enroth [email protected]

On this week's Good Growing podcast we are joined by energy and environment educator Duane Friend with Illinois Extension. Duane chats with Ken, Katie, and Chris all about soils and also helps us answer a question about ponds. In this episode we discuss:

Parts of Illinois are listed in a drought. What is the outlook for next year and what should we be watering our plants?

Is there a magic bullet for improving soil to fix sick plants?

How often should we be testing our soil?

What is a good cover crop for beginners?

Is it possible to garden without a tiller?

What to do after taking down a large above-ground swimming pool.

Suggestions for improving heavy clay soil.

Can we spray ponds weeds in the fall?

Check here for future recordings of Duane's compost programs

https://www.youtube.com/user/UIExtension/videos

Purdue Pond Guide

https://extension.purdue.edu/pondwildlife/

Contact the hosts

Ken Johnson [email protected]

Katie Parker [email protected]

Chris Enroth [email protected]

On this week’s Good Growing podcast, horticulture educator Martha Smith joins to talk about spring-blooming bulbs. With so many to pick from where does a beginner start? Martha gives some good bulbs for beginners and her favorites she has growing in her landscape. Plus, tips on how to plant them and keep the critters away. Plus listener questions:

What do we recommend for a homeowner to incorporate more flowering plants in their lawn that can be mowed?

How do you overwinter canna lily and calla lilies?

What is the best way to prepare a landscape bed now in the fall for planting in the spring?

What’s the deal with all these clouds of whiteflies in the yard?

Is tomato season over? Should we pull tomatoes off the plant now and save the green ones for fried green tomatoes?

Is fall the time to move lilies or should we wait until spring?

Signup for Gardening in the Air on October 10, 2020

https://web.extension.illinois.edu/registration/?RegistrationID=22551

Check out some of Martha's favorite spring bulbs

https://uofi.box.com/s/0yf36wexh1v77celqq7j5y847kcrcbns

Contact the hosts

Ken Johnson [email protected]

Katie Parker [email protected]

Chris Enroth [email protected]