You Bet Your Garden

April 7, 2012 — Are your boxwood shrubs making too much noise? Mike McGrath discusses what causes boxwoods to snap, crackle and pop. Plus he’ll speak with Lynn Steiner, co author of Rain Gardens: Sustainable Landscaping for a Beautiful Yard and a Healthy World. And of course your fabulous phone calls.

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While working outside this past weekend, I noticed a crackling or popping noise coming from my boxwoods...

March 31, 2012 — The colorful spice saffron costs a fortune, but it ‘grows’ on a flower. Mike McGrath discusses the unusual fall-blooming crocus that produces saffron. Plus your fabulous phone calls.

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We live at the border of Lancaster and Chester counties in Pennsylvania Dutch country. I am from Sweden and love to cook with saffron around the holidays...

March 24, 2012 — What does it take to grow really sweet carrots? Mike McGrath reveals the path to crunchy, sugary roots. Plus: Help save the Bats with Dr. Hazel Barton. And your fabulous phone calls.

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I love carrots, but mine never develop that sweet, crisp taste...

March 17, 2012 — Does a warm winter require you to make changes in your typical crabgrass prevention timing? Mike McGrath asks the expert when you should put your corn gluten down. Plus: chemical-free answers to all your growing questions.

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Mike: Our Master Gardener program was hoping to use corn gluten to stop weed seeds, but it looks like the quantities we’d need would be very expensive...

March 10, 2012 — Growers rejoice: the soil will soon unfreeze! Mike McGrath discusses which plants can be moved around easily in the spring and why winter moves are bad idea. Plus answers to all your growing questions.

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Hi! I’m writing to you in January, but we’re moving ten miles away in March and I want to take some of my plants...

March 3, 2012 — Do the folks who have had a warm winter face a severe chance of tomato blight this summer? Mike McGrath consults a noted plant pathologist that will tell us exactly what to expect. Plus answers to all your growing questions.

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Mike: I just read a post from someone at an heirloom seed company regarding the potential for bad tomato blight this season...

February 25, 2012 — Why don’t we see more gardeners growing their own peanuts? Mike McGrath reveals what it takes to produce a crop of these unusual legumes. Plus: Forcing Spring bulbs to bloom at your command; and answers to all your growing questions.

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I want to interest my grandson in gardening...

February 18, 2012 — Nothing livens up a summer day like a hummingbird sighting. Mike McGrath reveals what you can do to lure these little winged wonders to your landscape. Plus your fabulous phone calls.

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Our back yard now gets sun in Spring and Summer from about 11 a.m...

February 11, 2012 — When should fruit trees be pruned? And what does it take to get big, tasty fruits? Mike McGrath reveals some essential fruit tree timing and trickery. Plus: Mapping the spread of the bamboo invasion; and answers to all your growing questions.

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I am confused about my fruit trees. The past two years I’ve pruned my apple, peach, pear and plum trees right after the dead of winter...

February 4, 2012 — Many people are curious about the cultivars known as currants. Mike McGrath reveals what these fruits need to produce their distinctive berries. Plus: Non-toxic answers to all your growing questions.

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We have what we now realize is a blackcurrant bush. (I thought it was a gooseberry at first, as the leaves are similar and gooseberry grows wild in our woods...