Showing results by narrator "Mike McGrath" in All Categories

Are pesky mosquitoes making you miserable? This week on You Bet Your Garden, host Mike McGrath will review the steps you should take to avoid giving blood 'on the fly'. And of course, chemical free answers to all your garden questions.

Have you been told to prune the "sucker" offshoots off of your tomato plants? This week on You Bet Your Garden, host Mike McGrath will discuss why he thinks the right thing to do is to keep them on. Plus, an interview with a researcher who discusses the link between pesticides and myeloma. And of course, chemical free answers to all your garden questions.

It's time for Fall planting, and Mike McGrath will explain which plants do best in the cooler months. Plant garlic cloves now and harvest big fat bulbs next Spring; plant pansies now and get months of cool-season color, and edible flowers that fight varicose veins. It's also the perfect time to plant trees and shrubs. You might find great deals at your local nursery!

There are so many gardening products out there- so how do we get down to the essentials? Next week on You Bet Your Garden, host Mike McGrath shares his choice of "desert island" gardening supplies.

Tired of seeing your prized plants perish when frost comes calling? Mike McGrath will reveal his favorite gardening trick: bringing peppers, begonias, and impatiens inside for the winter. You can enjoy good eating and beautiful color through the cold season, and start out with nice, big plants next spring. He'll also explain which herbs can over-winter outside in which garden zones, and which ones have to come inside.

Looking for a lush, fragrant, fast-growing screening plant that supplies a highly valued cash crop and grows virtually anywhere? This week on You Bet Your Garden, we'll hop onto the idea of growing your own hops!

New federal laws may make it easier for homeowners to chase away those pestiferous Canada Geese. Ron Kokel of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service joins us to discuss these new regulations. Plus, on the Question of the Week: Do you turn your garden soil every spring and then fight weeds all summer long? Mike McGrath will explain how a "no-till" system can do away with all that work of weeding and soil turning, not only for your garden beds, but also your lawn.

Blueberries are one of nature's most perfect foods - they're packed with naturally occurring antioxidants that fight cancer and other ailments, plus phytochemicals that can delay the onset of dementia. Mike McGrath will discuss everything you need to know to grow your own, in your own backyard.

Noted Alaska gardener, garden writer, and radio host Jeff Lowenfels joins us to talk about how he created the "Plant a Row for the Hungry" program that allows gardeners to help feed people in need.

Is it possible to get truly chemical-free organic lawn care from a commercial provider? This week on You Bet Your Garden, host Mike McGrath will reveal the questions that you need to ask- and the answers you should receive - to be sure that your lawn care is organic. And, of course, we'll have more chemical-free answers to all your gardening questions.

Are your edible gardening efforts hampered by a lack of sun? On this edition of You Bet Your Garden, host Mike McGrath will reveal the tasty treats that can survive - and maybe even thrive - with some shade!

Are nasty pests planning to hitch a ride on your incoming houseplants? Mike McGrath will explain how to prepare plants that have spent the summer outside for overwintering in your house without bringing pests like aphids along. Plus, he'll offer specialized cures for fungus gnats and scale. We'll also hear about a new way for pipes and tree roots to peacefully coexist.

The terrible taste of store-bought tomatoes is enough to get even non-gardeners to put a few plants in the ground. Luckily, growing tomatoes is fun and easy, if you give them a few things they crave and require at planting time. Mike McGrath will help you achieve "love apple success" with his Top Ten Tips for Terrific Tomatoes!

Black spot is the scourge of rose growers everywhere. Mike McGrath will tell you how to prevent rose disease in general, and he'll name eighteen rose varieties that are naturally resistant to black spot and mildew, including a number of grandiflora and floribunda types, and even some hybrid teas!

Asparagus is the ultimate perennial vegetable. Plant a couple dozen crowns correctly and you'll harvest 20 pounds of tasty treats a year for decades to come. Mike McGrath will tell you how to get started and how to care for your patch to insure sequential seasons of springtime succulence.

We usually think of orchids as gorgeous and fickle indoor plants. But there's a whole world of hardy, perennial outdoor orchids! They grow anywhere from Alabama to Alaska.

Are you hoping to grow heirloom vegetables like Kentucky Wonder Beans, or Green Zebra Tomatoes and unusual varieties of flowers like beautiful sweet peas next season?

Does your compost just sit there instead of turning into rich "black gold"? Do you want to start making compost but don't know where to begin? Mike McGrath will explain the easy, no mess way to make the world's finest disease-fighting plant food. Mike will also reveal how to correctly incorporate kitchen scraps and other green waste into your pile.

The legendary Mel Bartholomew, creator of the wildly popular "Square Foot Garden", joins us to discuss his new guide to growing the most possible plants in the smallest possible space. Mel�s new book, All New Square Foot Gardening, adds 10 improvements to the original 25-year-old SFG method. Later on the show, Mike will reveal how people without any ground of their own can still get growing by joining a community garden.

Nationally acclaimed garden writer Barbara Damrosch joins us to talk about her new book The Garden Primer: The Completely Revised Gardeners' Bible. Together with her husband, Eliot Coleman, Barbara runs the famous Four Season Farm in Maine (fourseasonfarm.com). During the Question of the Week, Mike tackles questions related to vegetable gardening. With grocery prices rising steadily, many people plan on growing some of their own food this season.