Gardening on the radio (and the web)

When I was recovering last fall, I tried to keep up my interest in gardening by using radio and the web to learn. There are some very useful – and fun -- resources out there. Here are my favorites:

BBC Radio 4’s Gardener’s Question Time The British view gardening as a national responsibility. I love listening to these gardening experts quarrel with such polite passion about the right way to garden. In one show, the panelist mocked the gardening skills of Monty Don (a BBC gardening host) and exclaimed, “He’s not gardener. Look at how he holds a spade.” Wow. What’s the right way to hold a spade? Anyway – informative with a British accent.

Martha Stewart’s Homegrown (Sirius 112) Margaret Roach, an editor at Martha Stewart’s magazines, and Andrew Beckman, the head of the Garden section of Martha Stewart Living, have collaborated on a superb garden show. I’ve listened to it since it first came on the air and they have grown more comfortable with the discussion. Of course, it does require a Sirius satellite radio – which is worth the investment.

Ken Druse’s Real Dirt (Sirius 114 and on Lime.com) Ken Druse is the author of several astonishingly beautiful garden books. He is collaborating with Vicki Johnson, a New Jersey garden writer, on a radio show that wanders through gardens and garden topics. Often interesting, it isn’t as well structured or paced as the other shows. But I always listen and usually learn.

NPR’s You Bet Your Garden (Sirius 135 and other NPR stations) Mike McGrath, a former editor of Organic Gardening is a passionate and informed advisor on gardening in a safe and organic manner. Not as fun as NPR’s Car Talk, but McGrath grows on you.

There are also a host of podcasts that are also fun. If one has iTunes, simply search on the podcasts for “garden”. Two that I would recommend are Douglas Welch's “Gardener’s Notebook” and Iowa State University's “Gardening in the Zone”.