You Bet Your Garden : WHYY

Grass clippings could be contaminating your compost

Mike McGrath explains how to make homemade mustard, what you can do for your storm-damaged trees, how to grow strawberries from seed, what stink horn fungus is, how to plant new bushes, and why grass clippings do not belong in your compost pile.

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Mike McGrath's tomato book, You Bet Your Tomatoes, is now available in French! Purchase here »

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Slow Food USA is an educational organization dedicated to stewardship of the land and ecologically sound food production. Slow Food aims to improve access to and availability of foods that are local and sustainably grown.

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When to Listen
Join Mike as he slays slugs, defeats deer, whacks weeds, mispronounces Latin words and saves plants across the nation every week on You Bet Your Garden — a breezy, light-hearted, and sometimes (OK - frequently) wild and crazy island of highly accurate and family-safe gardening information. Tune in every Saturday at 11 a.m. on WHYY-FM.

Recent Shows

That weed that's spreading all over might be Japanese knotweed!
Mike McGrath offers suggestions for protecting your saplings, battling weeds organically, guarding against rabbits and getting rid of Japanese knotweed. Plus: Mike speaks with Chelsey Fields, vegetable product manager for The Cook's Garden about special gourmet herbs cultivated on a mountaintop.
Getting married this summer? Grow your own bouquet!
Mike McGrath talks about protecting your garden from extreme sun and heat, using coffee grounds in the garden, incorporating animal manure into compost, what to grow in earthbox gardens, how to get larger produce from fruit trees, guarding against moles and voles, and how to grow your own wedding bouquet.
What does 'blight' really mean?
Mike McGrath offers suggestions for deterring animal pests, growing tangy tomatoes, what to do with chickweed, how to rehome carpenter bees, getting rid of fire ants, a good bet for shaded hanging baskets, lawn care tips for late spring, and how to fight blight in your garden.
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Mike McGrath advises his listeners in growing raspberries, the benefits of ants in a home garden, developing soil for a new raised bed, and how to grow potatoes above ground. Plus, Mike speaks with Dr. Phillip Kaufman, a professor at the University of Florida, about unusually large mosquitoes.