Garden Variety

If you want healthy plants, you need healthy soil.

Turf grass is so last season. Host Charity Nebbe discusses environmentally friendly lawn alternatives with horticulture experts.

Host Charity Nebbe and ISU Extension horticulturist Aaron Steil talk about spring flowering shrubs.

Grass specialist Adam Thoms discusses spring lawn chores and how to know when it’s time to mow.

You may need mittens, but now is the best time to prune fruit trees.

Your garden may be resting under a new blanket of snow, but planting time for cool season crops is just around the corner.

Pruning advice (because we're not good with dating advice) for your trees and shrubs.

Pruning oak trees and talking oak disease

Roses are red, and African Violets can be many different colors. Listen for advice on taking great care of them.

According to the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone maps Iowa is in Zone 5. Here's what that means and how that knowledge can help your garden.

Indoor plants can also attract unwanted visitors. An entomologist joins the show to tell us how to keep houseplants pest-free.

Aaron Steil and Cindy Hayne share ideas for all the gardeners on your shopping list.

A wildlife specialist discusses how gardeners, homeowners and landscapers can support bird populations throughout the year.

We're discussing late fall and winter forest stewardship — like IDing invasive species — and why winter is the best time to enjoy the woods.

While the cold has claimed outdoor plants for the season, holiday cactus is just getting ready to bloom.

An entomologist joins the show to tell us how insects survive the winter and how it’s possible for so many species to show up instantly the moment warm temperatures return.

Discussing decorative and delicious gourds with an ISU extension commercial vegetable and specialty crop specialist.

When the growing season ends and most plants have died back, ornamental grasses often still stand tall, providing color, texture and habitat in yards and gardens.

Time to take a drive across the state to enjoy the fall color.

ISU Extension turfgrass specialist Adam Thoms shares his fall lawn care to-do list.

It's time to plant daffodils for spring.

Pumpkin spice gets all the hype, but the first apples of fall deserve some love! Here are some tips for getting some great fruit to keep the doctor far away.

Yes, you can grow grapes in Iowa. And you should start planning now.

Fall pollen may wreak havoc on your allergies, but it's great for bees.

Talking about late season perennials that bring color and beauty to landscapes as the days grow shorter.

It's been a tough year for some of Iowa's trees. Conifer connoisseurs offer evergreen advice.

Plants that will survive — and even thrive — through the frost.

We're talking lawn care: seeding, re-seeding, core aeration and other late summer tasks.

A fruit crop specialist to discuss growing berries and some of the alternative berries that thrive in Iowa.

What we can do to support monarch butterflies and minimize harm from Japanese beetles.

Vegetable production specialist Ajay Nair talks about growing corn — the kind meant for your plate.

An Iowa DNR District Forester joins the show to discuss problems your trees may face, including oak and hackberry tatters.

On this episode of Garden Variety we provide guidance on selecting saplings and caring for newly planted trees.

It's harvest time for broccoli and cauliflower. On this episode of Garden Variety, all the best advice on caring for and harvesting these cool season crops.

Just gonna have to be a different plant — Brenton Arboretum's Melissa Burdick discusses the how to deal with the change of the landscape over time.

Ed Lyon, director of Reiman Gardens in Ames, helps you find the right groundcover plants for you.

On this bonus episode of the Garden Variety podcast, Charity Nebbe speaks with Doug Tallamy about the landscapes we’ve created, what the cost may be to many species and how each one of us can make a difference.

ISU entomologist Donald Lewis joins Garden Variety to talk solutions to your ant problems.

On this episode of Garden Variety, Charity speaks with ISU Extension horticulture specialist Dan Fillius about growing sweet potatoes.

On this episode of Garden Variety, Charity and ISU horticulturists Aaron Steil and Cindy Haynes discuss best practices for caring for peonies, irises and other spring-blooming perennials.

On this episode of Garden Variety, Charity speaks with Suzanne Slack of Iowa State University Extension about how to get your orchard off to a good growing season and handle all the problems that can leave you stumped.

Welcome to Garden Variety, the horticulture podcast for all the things you’d like to grow or grow better.

Whether you’re a master gardener, just getting started or somewhere in between, there's always something new to learn in your garden and landscape. That’s where “Garden Variety,” a horticulture podcast from Iowa Public Radio and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, comes in. On each episode, host Charity Nebbe will talk with horticulturists, foresters and other experts. We’ll learn about vegetable gardens, lawns, native plants, trees and more!“Garden Variety” is the podcast for all the things you’d like to grow or grow better. Coming soon!