Showing results by author "Mike McGrath" in All Categories

Valentine's Day is coming up! Not sure what to get that special someone in your life? Bored with roses, or tired of them wilting so quickly?

Coffee drinkers like to recycle their grounds in their gardens. And coffee stores prefer to give their grounds to gardeners rather than pay to haul them away.

Mike McGrath takes a look back at the year 2006 with our favorite listener phone calls and gardening questions.

When did Americans become obsessed with their lawns, and how were they duped into believing that lawns needed massive overfeeding and unnecessary chemicals? Environmental Historian Ted Steinberg joins us to discuss these issues and his new book American Green: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn. Later on the show: Having trouble replacing plant-starving, house-staining wood mulch with plant feeding, weed-killing compost?

Michigan State University turf grass expert Dr. Trey Rogers, the "Yard Doctor", joins us to discuss the proper techniques for growing great grass; with a special emphasis on turfs that have to take a lot of traffic. Plus: In the Question of the Week, Mike will discuss how to handle bees, wasps, and yellow jackets living in lawns, congregating in compost piles, and buzzing inside bedrooms!

What's more annoying than a big, fat fly buzzing around your house, looking for nice clean things to land on? Flies in your garden! Mike McGrath will discuss indoor and outdoor fly control. He'll explain how to easily dispatch a roomful of the pests overnight with an organic remedy that's over a century old. And he'll discuss your outdoor fly control options, including the famous "shoo fly plant" that sterilizes house and white flies.

Are multi-legged creepy crawly things creeping you out? On the next episode of You Bet Your Garden, host Mike McGrath will help you figure out if your new friends are millipedes or centipedes; and what to do about them.

Squirrels and rabbits made a lot of tulip lovers miserable this spring - and now they're looking forward to the next course! Mike McGrath will reveal how you can easily deter rabbits from eating your garden. He'll also suggest tactics to keep squirrels from creating havoc in your landscape, and explain why neighbors who feed squirrels may be the worst garden pests of all!

Say perennial and most gardeners think blooming beauties - but you can also enjoy the returning bounty of perennial vegetables! Mike McGrath will name seven interesting edibles that you plant once and enjoy virtually forever. He'll also discuss the Biennial vegetable, explain how some potatoes and tomatoes seem to be perennial, and name the edible favorite that's perennial if protected from frost.

Frustrated trying to get grass to grow under a big ol' tree? This week on You Bet Your Garden, host Mike McGrath will explain what kind of sunlight and timing you need to achieve a carpet of turf under these towering titans. And of course, we'll have chemical-free answers to all your gardening questions.

Is your garden inundated with ladybug look-alikes? This week on You Bet Your Garden, host Mike McGrath discusses how to control the Mexican Bean Beetle - an unwanted cousin of one of our favorite insects. Chemical free answers to all your garden questions, plus your fabulous phone calls!

Many people experienced summer time droughts this year. Can you use household waste water to keep outdoor plants alive? Mike McGrath will discuss the do's and don'ts of using "greywater" from your shower, washing machine and sink.

Just in time for Valentine's Day (and with plenty of time for Mother's Day) professional flower grower Alina Alvarez joins us to discuss a new line of Fair Trade certified cut flowers. She is the CEO of InBloom Inc. The sale of these flowers directly benefits the Ecuadorians and Columbians who grow them. Plus, during the Question of the Week: Figs aren't just tasty; they contain more calcium than milk, more potassium than a banana, and more fiber than any other fruit!

Do white clouds appear whenever you rustle up the leaves of your poor plants? Mike McGrath will help you wipe out those whiteflies with sticky traps, suction, and a variety of non-toxic sprays. He'll also explain where they hide when they're not making pestiferous pillows in the air, and why the problem almost always begins in a greenhouse.

Water is a big issue for community gardens. They often don't have access to this valuable resource. Organic Gardening Editor Scott Meyer joins us to discuss the magazine's program that helps to keep community gardens well hydrated. And, do you struggle with sandy soil that just won't hold any water or nutrients? Or are you cursed with clay that holds water slightly better than a bathtub, and is drowning your poor plants?

Are the leaves on your poor plants stained and splotched? Blemished, and blotched? Mike McGrath will reveal how to protect your plants from leaf spots, without any sprays, chemical or organic!

If you've grown squash plants in your garden you've probably suffered the savage attentions of the dreaded vine borer, which can wipe out an entire crop and is hard to detect at first. Mike McGrath will reveal six all-natural ways to prevent this pest, including one that dates back to the 1890s!

Are mushrooms popping up in your lawn? Mike McGrath will reveal the single biggest cause of fungal growth and explain the surprisingly easy cures. He will also discuss the fascinating history of fabled fairy rings - and he suggests that you just might want to welcome these merry mycelia into your life!

Soil solarization is the tactic of last resort when your garden dirt is plagued by wilts and diseases, or is so infested with weed seeds you can't grow anything successfully. But you have to do it right - and live in a fairly warm region. Mike McGrath will reveal the hot details in the Question of the Week!

Have you tamed every weed in your lawn except those exasperating wild violets? They may be tough to get rid of, but they are really pretty! Mike McGrath will explain what makes them so close to invulnerable, and he'll reveal the surprising violet advice of a distinguished university turf-grass professor. He will also discuss the health benefits of these purple beauties.