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In this weeks episode of the podcast John chats about his gardening thoughts from Tuscany after a recent family holiday there.

How good it is to be back able to travel on family holidays again and we went to Tuscany to a camp site for 13 days. What a beautiful place it is and we all had a great time.

The gardens, plant selection and they way they grew and sold vegetables was really interesting to me and I think we can learn a lot from their systems. Although they have a much different climate for many months of the year overall they have as  beautiful gardens as we do with a lot less fuss and maintenance maybe that is something we can learn from them.
Many country houses are very self sufficient in terms of veg and fruit and this also is something we should strive for given that our climate is so favourable for growing our own food.

These are just some thoughts that ran through my head as I chilled out for two weeks in a very beautiful part of the world. 

There will be a blog post on this episode very soon on my website. This blog and previous blogs along with all podcast episodes are be available on my
Website :https://mastermygarden.com/

If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes please let me know.
Please like and follow Master My Garden on the following channels
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/
Twitter:https://twitter.com/tweetsbyMMG
or email [email protected]

Until next week 
Happy Gardening 
John 

Support the show

If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know.
Email: [email protected]

Master My Garden Courses:
https://mastermygarden.com/courses/


Check out Master My Garden on the following channels
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/

Until next week
Happy gardening
John

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In the past month John has visited the Gaffa trade show in Cologne Germany and the Glee show in Birmingham UK. It was interesting to see what products are coming down the tracks and what trends we can expect for the coming seasons in gardening products. 

There will be a blog post on this episode very soon on my website. This blog and previous blogs along with all podcast episodes are be available on my
Website :https://mastermygarden.com/

If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes please let me know.
Please like and follow Master My Garden on the following channels
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/
Twitter:https://twitter.com/tweetsbyMMG
or email [email protected]

Until next week 
Happy Gardening 
John 

Support the show

If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know.
Email: [email protected]

Master My Garden Courses:
https://mastermygarden.com/courses/


Check out Master My Garden on the following channels
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/

Until next week
Happy gardening
John

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In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast John is joined by the wonderful June Blake to chat about some plant combinations that June uses in her garden. Creating beds packed with colour and great performing plants are all covered in this super episode with one of Irelands best gardeners and creator of June Blake’s Garden in Wicklow.
You can find June on her website here

http://www.juneblake.ie/



There will be a blog post on this episode very soon on my website. This blog and previous blogs along with all podcast episodes are be available on my
Website :https://mastermygarden.com/

If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes please let me know.
Please like and follow Master My Garden on the following channels
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/
Twitter:https://twitter.com/tweetsbyMMG
or email [email protected]

Until next week 
Happy Gardening 
John 

Support the show

If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know.
Email: [email protected]

Master My Garden Courses:
https://mastermygarden.com/courses/


Check out Master My Garden on the following channels
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/

Until next week
Happy gardening
John

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In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast John looks at what to sow in July and other gardening jobs.

July is a month when all our vegetable beds are heaving with produce and space for new crops can be at a premium. It is also holiday time and a combination of holidays and full beds mean that people generally stop sowing their seed at this time of the year. However if you can keep sowing at this time you will have plants to go in after you harvest your onions, potatoes and other crops. This will ensure you have supply right through to the autumn and winter.

So what can we sow? We can still sow lettuce, scallions, chard, radish and many other successional crops. Also we can make the last sowing of beetroot and carrots outside.

Other gardening tasks we can do in July include taking softwood cuttings, staking perennials, and much more.

Also remember in July to enjoy your garden after all if you can't enjoy it why would you be gardening anyway. 

There will be a blog post on this episode very soon on my website. This blog and previous blogs along with all podcast episodes are be available on my
Website :https://mastermygarden.com/

If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes please let me know.
Please like and follow Master My Garden on the following channels
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/
Twitter:https://twitter.com/tweetsbyMMG
or email [email protected]

Until next week 
Happy Gardening 
John 

Support the show

If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know.
Email: [email protected]

Master My Garden Courses:
https://mastermygarden.com/courses/


Check out Master My Garden on the following channels
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/

Until next week
Happy gardening
John

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As gardeners do we strive too much for perfection and as a result we often don't start jobs ?
Or are we so focussed on what needs to be done that we struggle to find joy or happiness in what we already have in our gardens. All of these things rob us of the everyday joys that are and can be present in our gardens.

In this weeks episode John chats with Niall McCauley gardener and Youtube creator all about Niall own garden and his most recent video "5 Things we are still learning as gardeners" the video was recorded with Liz Zorab and highlights 5 things they are still learning but that many of us could take note of and apply to ourselves and our gardens to allow us to see the beauty in the messy middle as Niall describes.

These 5 things will lead us to enjoying our gardens more and ultimately becoming better gardeners. Its a great chat with Niall and has lots in it for all gardeners.

You can find Niall's Channel here

https://www.youtube.com/c/NiallGardens

Or follow on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/niallgardens/?hl=en

There will be a blog post on this episode very soon on my website. This blog and previous blogs along with all podcast episodes are be available on my
Website :https://mastermygarden.com/

If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes please let me know.
Please like and follow Master My Garden on the following channels
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/
Twitter:https://twitter.com/tweetsbyMMG
or email [email protected]

Until next week 
Happy Gardening 
John 

Support the show

If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know.
Email: [email protected]

Master My Garden Courses:
https://mastermygarden.com/courses/


Check out Master My Garden on the following channels
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/

Until next week
Happy gardening
John

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In this weeks episode of Master My Garden Podcast I chat with Clare Rooney from Willowpatch Farm. Clare is a breath of fresh air through her Instagram and new YouTube channel (links below) where she talks about her success's and failures in her garden. Keeping it very real that everything is not always perfect.

We have a great chat about growing pumpkins, tomatoes and lots of other veg as well as flowers which makes their way onto willowpatch farm's honesty stand and soon to appear in farmers markets.

Clare shares her tips for growing giant pumpkins, perfect tomatoes and we have a long chat about peat free composts.

When it comes to peat free composts there is no doubt that we should be moving away from using peat  based growing media in the long term.

But the discussion and movement is a bit imbalanced at present I think. For example you will see people online promoting the use of coir composts as a environmentally friendly solution and maybe it is if you live near the source but for Ireland,UK & many other regions coir is 100% not an environmentally friendly option given that it travels half way around the world to get to us and needs vast amounts of water to wet it before you can grow in it.

Many of the peat free composts available have issues and are not consistent in quality. Clare and John talk about he issues they have had with poor germination, poor follow on growth etc. Its an open and honest discussion and shows that while peat free is ideal there is a bigger picture that we all should look at when it comes to making out compost choices for growing our garden. Over the long term you would hope that a consistent, affordable, quality alternative will become available to all gardeners.

Its a great chat with Clare and you can follow her here. 

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/she_sows_seeds/?hl=en
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa1Xe4wqlkpMefIrgmEg-NQ

There will be a blog post on this episode very soon on my website. This blog and previous blogs along with all podcast episodes are be available on my
Website :https://mastermygarden.com/

If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes please let me know.
Please like and follow Master My Garden on the following channels
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/
Twitter:https://twitter.com/tweetsbyMMG
or email [email protected]

Until next week
Happy gardening
John 

Support the show

If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know.
Email: [email protected]

Master My Garden Courses:
https://mastermygarden.com/courses/


Check out Master My Garden on the following channels
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/

Until next week
Happy gardening
John

Send Me A Message!!

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast John chats with Head Gardener of Ballymaloe House Hotel Mags Coughlan.

Its a great episode where Mags chats to us about her role in Ballymaloe managing to bring food & cut flowers into the Hotel pretty much all year round. Mags tells us about her favourite vegetables to grow. What vegetables to use for all yer round supply and lots more.

Ballymaloe has fantastic gardens and it is Mags and her team who ensure that these are kept beautiful and priovide flowers all through the seasons.

We also chat about Mags experience with "No Dig" and what she has found from trialing.

You can check out the beautiful Ballymaloe here
https://www.ballymaloe.ie

There will be a blog post on this episode very soon on my website. This blog and previous blogs along with all podcast episodes are be available on my
Website :https://mastermygarden.com/

If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes please let me know.
Please like and follow Master My Garden on the following channels
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/
Twitter:https://twitter.com/tweetsbyMMG
or email [email protected]

Until next week
Happy gardening
John 

Support the show

If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know.
Email: [email protected]

Master My Garden Courses:
https://mastermygarden.com/courses/


Check out Master My Garden on the following channels
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/

Until next week
Happy gardening
John

Send Me A Message!!

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast,  John looks at what we can sow in June? 
and chat about other gardening jobs for June. 

June is a month where we are harvesting quiet a bit from our gardens & greenhouses and it is great to have these fresh vegetables & fruit. For me I am harvesting spinach, lettuce, spring onion, chard, radish, broccoli, cabbage, leeks, strawberries & lots of herbs. It is important in this moment to keep an eye on the future months so that we can continue to have an array of crops to choose from later in the year. So with that in mind we look at what crops we can sow in June and also other important gardening jobs for June.  

Continue to sow your successional vegetables including lettuce, spinach, spring onion, radish and any others you like in your regular sowing's. Sow carrots and beetroot early and late in the month. I will also be sowing some brassicas for harvest in autumn including Savoy cabbage, Kale & Broccoli. 

Other jobs that we can or must be doing this month include. 

• Keep your greenhouse ventilated to prevent disease such as tomato blight. 
• Take softwood cutting  deciduous shrubs most can be taken in the summer on soft new season growth. 
• Support perennials to ensure they don't fall over when in flower.
• Cut back early flowering lupin's & delphinium to get a second flush of flowers later in the year.
• Watch out and do preventative treatment for potato blight
• Top up garden ponds as evaporation of water can mean the pond heats up quicker and this leads to build up algae and green water. Try to ensure that 1/2 the surface of the pond is covered with floating plants for maximum effect. 

Other than that enjoy the June garden and hopefully some nice weather to soak it all in . 

There will be a blog post on this episode very soon on my website. This blog and previous blogs along with all podcast episodes are be available on my
Website :https://mastermygarden.com/

If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes please let me know.
Please like and follow Master My Garden on the following channels
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/
Twitter:https://twitter.com/tweetsbyMMG
or email [email protected]

Until next week
Happy gardening
John 

Support the show

If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know.
Email: [email protected]

Master My Garden Courses:
https://mastermygarden.com/courses/


Check out Master My Garden on the following channels
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/

Until next week
Happy gardening
John

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Bloom, Bord Bia's Gardening festival returns to the Phoenix Park Dublin from Thursday 2nd to Monday 6th June. 
On this weeks episode of Master My Garden Podcast I am joined by Carol Marks senior horticulture manager with Bord Bia who will tell us all what Bloom 2022 has in store. 

Now in its 16th year, Bloom has become Ireland’s largest gardening event and a great family day out it includes show gardens by some leading designers, postcard gardens. live stage with expert speakers and Q&A's. 

There are many horticultural retailers of plants and sundries and of course there is the food village promoting some of Ireland's best food & drink producers. There are live cooking demo's over the 5 days again showcasing many top chef's. 

Bloom spans over 70 acres in the Phoenix Park and will be bigger and better than ever after two years as a virtual event. 

For more details and for ticket information visit the Bloom website here

https://www.bordbiabloom.com/about-bloom/

There will be a blog post on this episode very soon on my website. This blog and previous blogs along with all podcast episodes are be available on my
Website :https://mastermygarden.com/

If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes please let me know.
Please like and follow Master My Garden on the following channels
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/
Twitter:https://twitter.com/tweetsbyMMG
or email [email protected]

Until next week
Happy gardening
John 

Support the show

If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know.
Email: [email protected]

Master My Garden Courses:
https://mastermygarden.com/courses/


Check out Master My Garden on the following channels
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/

Until next week
Happy gardening
John

Send Me A Message!!

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast John chats to world renowned microbiologist Dr.Elaine Ingham who has been one of the leading voices in soil health for 4 decades. 

What is going on in the soil is something that we all need to understand more and become in tune with, because a healthy soil has amazing benefits for the plants which grow within and also the foods that we consume from such soils. 

These benefits include all the obvious things like healthier plants, higher yield, better tasting food etc. 

But it is the deeper benefits that are truly fascinating  when plants are grown in healthy soil there is an advanced communication system that starts to develop between the plants and all the soil micro organisms. This communication system which Dr.Elaine refers to as the soil food web consists of bacteria, fungi, nematodes, worms and many more  soil organisms.

 When the soil and communication system is fully healthy lots of amazing things happen. 

• Plants request the exact nutrients they require and the micro organisms release the correct amount of the correct nutrient.
• Weeds are almost non existent 
• Plants cells are really tough and durable and so more resistant to drought, pests, diseases and any other stresses. 
• Carbon gets stored in the soil and roots of plants

It is a wonderful world under the soil one which we all need to get to understand a little better because understanding and treating the soil correctly just might be the cure for so many of the worlds issues right now.

To find out more about Dr.Elaines work or take some of the courses visit her website here

https://www.soilfoodweb.com/about/


There will be a blog post on this episode very soon on my website. This blog and previous blogs along with all podcast episodes are be available on my
Website :https://mastermygarden.com/

If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes please let me know.
Please like and follow Master My Garden on the following channels
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/
Twitter:https://twitter.com/tweetsbyMMG
or email [email protected]

Until next week
Happy gardening
John 

Support the show

If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know.
Email: [email protected]

Master My Garden Courses:
https://mastermygarden.com/courses/


Check out Master My Garden on the following channels
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/

Until next week
Happy gardening
John