Growing Greener

Latest Episodes:

Making Our Vegetable Gardens More Climate Resilient Jun 28, 2023

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"Grow Your Own" is a cornerstone of sustainability, but our vegetable gardens are being challenged by increasingly erratic weather as the climate changes. John Traunfeld, Program Director at the University of Maryland's Home & Garden Information Center shares his experiences in making food gardens more climate resilient, and how this can even draw our communities closer together.

Gardening on a Lead-Contaminated Soil Jun 21, 2023

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Lead contamination is common in soils of many residential neighborhoods in urban, suburban, and even rural settings. Soil scientist Clay Robinson – "Dr. Dirt" – details where this problem is most likely, how to test your soil, and how appropriate gardening can provide protection.

Sculpting Sunlight Jun 14, 2023

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Artist Robert Adzema discusses his history of creating ingenious and innovative sundials, and what sundials can teach the gardener about plants' primary fuel.

Beautiful and Field Tested Native Lawns Jun 07, 2023

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Dan Jaffe Wilder's response to the polluting sterility of the traditional lawn? Plant strawberries. And that's only one of many intriguing – and tested - proposals made by this talented native plants pioneer.

A Critical Look at Permaculture May 31, 2023

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Robert Kourik, a pioneer of sustainable gardening, draws on his 45 years of experience with Permaculture to explore the strengths and weaknesses of this controversial gardening movement

More about Mulch May 24, 2023

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Will "volcano mulch" the landscaper piled around the bases of your trees kill them? And is a mulch made of ground-up shipping pallets really beneficial for your plants? You may be surprised by the science-based insights about common organic mulches that Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott of Washington State University shares in the most recent "Growing Greener."

Plant a Living Mulch May 17, 2023

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Ecological gardening leader Larry Weaner details how you can get all the benefits of conventional mulch, plus boosting biodiversity and wildlife, with a well-designed and beautiful groundcover of native plants

Guaranteeing Your Right to a Healthy Environment May 10, 2023

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Maya K. van Rossum discusses Green Amendments for the Generations, the movement she founded to bring an amendment to every state constitution guaranteeing residents' basic human right to clean air and water, and a healthy environment

An Introduction to Veganic Gardening May 03, 2023

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John Walker, a horticulturist who trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and a multi award winner environmental writer, shares advice on Veganic Gardening, an approach that combines organic practices with plant-based nurturing of the soil with resources found or grown on-site for maximum sustainability.

Shopping for Topsoil Apr 26, 2023

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Buying topsoil is a quick and popular fix for many garden problems – but buyer beware says Dawn Pettinelli, Director of the University of Connecticut's Soil & Nutrient Analysis Lab. There are no industry standards, not even a definition, of what makes a good topsoil. Dawn shares tips on making sure the topsoil you buy is non-toxic and of a quality that will benefit your plants.

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