Master My Garden Podcast

Those government “be prepared” pamphlets spark an awkward question: how secure is our food supply really, and what happens if the easy options disappear? We take a calm, practical look at food security and self-sufficiency through a gardener’s lens, from what “secure” food actually means to what a family can realistically do without turning life into a full-time smallholding.We talk about how the weekly shop has shifted over the decades from basic ingredients to heavily processed foods, and why that changes the conversation about safety, nutrition, and long-term health. Using Ireland as an example, we unpack the reality of imports, seasonal eating, and why expecting tomatoes every week of the year quietly ties us to fragile supply chains. Then we bring it back to the ground: the real constraints are usually time, space, and consistency, not motivation.Rather than chasing 100% self-sufficiency, I share a more achievable approach: grow something meaningful, build the skills, and stack small wins. Perennial herbs, a few productive staples, and even a couple of fruit or nut trees can cut food miles, improve freshness, and add resilience to your household. We also explore why buying local is not “more expensive” in the full sense, because money spent with growers strengthens the community food system in a way supermarket loss leaders never will.If you enjoy practical gardening with a bigger purpose, subscribe to the podcast, share this episode with a friend who wants to grow more, and leave a review so more people can find it.This weeks sponsors: Better Plants https://betterplants.ieSupport the showIf there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know. Email:  [email protected]   Check out Master My Garden on the following channels   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/  Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/   Until next week  Happy gardening  John  

Planting vegetables every year is satisfying, but it can also feel like starting from scratch each spring. We go deep on perennial vegetables, the crops you establish once and then harvest for years, and why they’re such a smart move if you want a more resilient, lower-effort kitchen garden without giving up fresh homegrown food. I also share where my own experience is solid and where I’m still learning, so you can decide what’s genuinely worth your space. We weigh the real pros and cons: less annual sowing, earlier picking windows, and minimal soil disturbance for permaculture and food forest style gardens, balanced against the downsides of permanent planting, bulky growth, and the fact that some perennial veg simply tastes different to the annual versions. Patience matters too, especially with asparagus and rhubarb, where the best harvests come after a few seasons of establishment. From there, we work through a practical crop list including globe artichoke, Jerusalem artichoke, perennial kale varieties like Taunton Dean and Daubenton, nine-star broccoli, Egyptian walking onions, Welsh onions, wild garlic, horseradish, sorrel, sea kale, and even ways to get a “perennial effect” from crops like garlic or by changing how you harvest cabbage. I also mention Irish options for sourcing plants and why creating a dedicated perennial veg bed can keep everything manageable. If you enjoy gardening tips, perennial veg ideas, and realistic advice for Irish and UK-style growing conditions, subscribe, share the episode with a gardening friend, and leave a review. Which perennial vegetable are you most tempted to try first?This weeks sponsor Future Forest:  https://futureforests.ieSupport the showIf there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know. Email:  [email protected]   Check out Master My Garden on the following channels   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/  Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/   Until next week  Happy gardening  John  

Hand watering a greenhouse during a heatwave can turn into a daily scramble: alarms set for dawn, hoses dragged in unbearable temperatures, and still you watch water vanish into thin air through evaporation. We’ve both seen how quickly a polytunnel can dry out, how fast IBCs and water butts can empty, and how risky it feels to leave watering to someone who isn’t a gardener. So we get practical about greenhouse irrigation and how to set it up properly while the tunnel is relatively clear.We talk through the main irrigation options and what they mean for plant health: why overhead sprinklers often create too much humidity for tomatoes and cucumbers, and why drip irrigation is usually the smarter choice. Porous pipe, layflat hose, dripper pipe and individual drippers all deliver water gently at the root zone, keeping leaves dry and reducing disease pressure. We also cover the real-world details people trip over, like pressure limits, maximum run lengths, and why you should always build your system in zones with shut-off taps so you can control each line.From there, we move into the backbone of any reliable greenhouse watering system: rainwater harvesting and storage, proper filtration to prevent blocked drippers, and choosing a timer that matches your setup. We share a straightforward order of operations (water source, filter, timer, feed line, irrigation lines), plus a checklist for testing flow from the first metre to the last. Finally, we touch on greenhouse shading, mulching, and the mindset shift that matters most: automation helps, but you still have to observe and stay vigilant.If you found this useful, please subscribe, share the episode with a fellow gardener, and leave a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help more people find the show.This weeks sponsors: Better Plants See special offer here https://betterplants.ie/product/seaweed-soil-conditioner-2-x-10kg-buckets-special-offer/Support the showIf there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know. Email:  [email protected]   Check out Master My Garden on the following channels   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/  Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/   Until next week  Happy gardening  John  

The quickest way to waste money on a hedge is to choose with your eyes first and your site second. With bare-root season around the corner, we walk you through a simple decision process that stops costly mistakes and helps you pick hedge plants that actually suit your garden, your soil and the amount of maintenance you can commit to over the years. We start with the big questions: what do you need the hedge to do, do you want privacy or shelter, are you trying to stock-proof a boundary, or are you building a wildlife-friendly habitat? From there we look at real-world garden conditions that make or break a hedge, like waterlogged patches along an otherwise dry run, coastal wind, exposure and frost. We also clear up the evergreen versus deciduous choice, including why beech hedging behaves like an “almost evergreen” option most of the year. Then we get practical with a wide range of popular choices. We talk through evergreen hedges such as yew, holly, privet, box, lonicera nitida, escallonia, griselinia and laurel, including the key caveats around disease, cold damage and invasive potential depending on variety and management. On the deciduous side we cover beech, hornbeam for wetter ground, and native mixed hedging with hawthorn, blackthorn and hazel for better biodiversity, seasonal interest and a more natural look. Finally, we underline the make-or-break period after planting: keeping the base weed-free, protecting moisture during dry spells, and clipping early to avoid that dreaded gappy bottom. If you want a hedge that looks good, works hard and stays manageable for decades, hit play, then subscribe, share the podcast with a fellow gardener, and leave a review so more people can find it. What job does your next hedge need to do?This weeks sponsors: Better Plants See special offer here https://betterplants.ie/product/seaweed-soil-conditioner-2-x-10kg-buckets-special-offer/Support the showIf there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know. Email:  [email protected]   Check out Master My Garden on the following channels   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/  Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/   Until next week  Happy gardening  John  

Timber raised beds rot. Cheap metal ones can rust, bow, and end up in the skip just as you’re getting the hang of growing. So what does a raised bed look like when it’s designed as a product for life? I’m joined by Brian O’Hara from East Cork, who built the Mia Grow Bed, an Irish-made aluminium raised garden bed with a 30-year warranty and a design that goes together in minutes. We talk about the real reason so many of us start a kitchen garden when kids arrive: you want better food, less waste, and a way to show children where meals actually come from. Brian shares his first season growing kale, herbs, cherry tomatoes, beetroot, strawberries and more, plus the small moments that make it addictive, like a three-year-old checking the bed every day and claiming nearly every strawberry. We also dig into choosing crops that give quick returns, especially when space and time are tight. Then we get practical and a bit nerdy: aluminium versus timber and galvanised steel, how rigid profiles stop beds bulging, what a wood grain finish really is, and why durability is a sustainability decision. We also cover modular raised beds, extension packs, and why manufacturing in Cork matters for quality and supply chain. If you care about grow your own, sustainable gardening, and smart garden design, you’ll take plenty from this one. Subscribe for more practical gardening chats, share the episode with a friend who’s planning raised beds, and leave a review to help more growers find the show. What would you plant first in a new raised bed?To Find Out More Visit:https://growmia.ieSupport the showIf there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know. Email:  [email protected]   Check out Master My Garden on the following channels   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/  Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/   Until next week  Happy gardening  John  

This weeks sponsors: Seeds Ireland High Quality Seeds: See link below for listener offer. https://seedsireland.ie/masterOctober gardening is a strange mix of momentum and endings: the weather can still feel warm, growth can still be strong, yet the shortening days quietly shut the door on many sowings. We talk through a clear, realistic October seed sowing guide that focuses on what still delivers value, especially if you want winter salads and a head start on spring.We run through the best autumn and overwintering crops to sow now, including winter spring onions, mustard leaves, mizuna, rocket, hardy spinach, late radish, and useful herbs like coriander, dill, chervil, and parsley. We also cover the winter leaf staples that thrive when light levels drop, plus the option of broad beans later in the month for an early crop next year. Alongside seeds, we dig into planting jobs that matter in October: garlic and winter onion sets, and why splitting your planting between polytunnel and outdoor beds can give you staggered harvests and a more resilient kitchen garden.Beyond sowing, we get practical about seasonal maintenance. We share tips for ripening tomatoes as sweetness fades with lower light, preparing and mulching empty beds, using green manures, and keeping polytunnel soil life alive with sensible watering. With autumn winds on the rise, we also talk polytunnel and greenhouse checks and quick repairs that prevent small tears becoming expensive problems.If you find the episode useful, subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next, share it with a gardening friend, and leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. What are you sowing or planting this October?Support the showIf there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know. Email:  [email protected]   Check out Master My Garden on the following channels   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/  Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/   Until next week  Happy gardening  John  

This weeks sponsors: Better Plants See special offer here https://betterplants.ie/product/seaweed-soil-conditioner-2-x-10kg-buckets-special-offer/Bats are flying over our gardens every night, doing a job most of us never see, and too many people still think they are blind, dangerous, or somehow “out to get you”. We sit down with Dr Niamh Roche, Senior Project Manager at Bat Conservation Ireland, to clear up the biggest bat misconceptions and replace them with the real story: bats are mammals built for precision flight, their wings are shaped like hands, and their echolocation is so advanced they can navigate and hunt tiny insects in near darkness.We get into what Irish bats actually do for gardeners, growers, and biodiversity. From pipistrelles roosting in buildings to brown long-eared bats that can hover and pick insects off leaves, different species fill different niches. Neve explains why bats matter as a form of natural pest control, how exclusion studies in orchards and crops show significant increases in insect damage when bats are kept out, and why bat activity is often a sign of good environmental quality.We also talk practical “gardening for bats” that you can start straight away: mowing less often, leaving patches of longer grass, accepting nettles and other native plants, and creating small messy corners that boost insect biomass. On the conservation side, Neve breaks down how Bat Conservation Ireland monitors bat populations with volunteers using bat detectors, car-based routes, waterway surveys, and roost counts, plus the resources you can use to learn more, including training and education materials. Subscribe, share this with a gardening friend, and leave a review so more people find the facts about bats and start making space for wildlife.For more information on Bat Conservation Ireland click the link below:https://www.batconservationireland.orgSupport the showIf there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know. Email:  [email protected]   Check out Master My Garden on the following channels   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/  Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/   Until next week  Happy gardening  John  

This weeks sponsors: Better Plants See special offer here https://betterplants.ie/product/seaweed-soil-conditioner-2-x-10kg-buckets-special-offer/Autumn colour can be breathtaking, but it can also disappear in a flash. One week your garden is glowing red and gold, the next it feels flat and bare because the weather shifts and the best leaf colour drops fast. We want a better plan than hoping a single tree carries the whole season, so we take a practical look at how to build an autumn garden that holds its nerve from September right through to Christmas. We walk through a layered approach that works in large gardens, small gardens, and even in pots. We start with late flowering perennials that still look “alive” when everything else is winding down, then move into reliable foliage performers like amelanchier, cotinus, acers, liquidambar and the ever-impressive red oak. From there we add the colour that keeps going after flowers fade: berries on viburnum opulus, sorbus, hawthorn, aronia and crab apples, all with a real biodiversity bonus for birds. Then we lean into the plants that truly shine when the first frost hits. Ornamental grasses such as miscanthus and Stipa gigantea bring structure and sparkle on bright mornings, while bark and stems take over for winter with white birch trunks, peeling paperbark maple, and dogwoods in red or yellow. We finish with simple autumn bedding and container ideas plus a quick garden audit you can do today to spot what your space is missing. Subscribe, share with a gardening friend, and leave a review if the layered approach helps you plan your best autumn yet.If you want to join in the perennial grow along join here:https://master-my-garden-perennial-grow-along.subscribepage.io/Support the showIf there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know. Email:  [email protected]   Check out Master My Garden on the following channels   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/  Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/   Until next week  Happy gardening  John  

Join The Perennial Grow Along here https://master-my-garden-perennial-grow-along.subscribepage.io/A full perennial border can look like something only open gardens and big budgets can pull off, until you do the maths and realise you can grow the bulk of it yourself. We’re outlining the 2026 perennial grow along plan and showing how a few packets of seed, a handful of trays, and a bit of organisation can turn into a serious number of plants for next summer’s planting.We talk through the whole timeline from autumn sowing to pricking out in October, keeping seedlings healthy through winter, and then topping up with spring sowing (including options like dahlias from seed). Along the way we share the essentials: choosing a colour scheme, picking perennial seeds that actually suit your border design, using any container with proper drainage as a seed tray, and labelling so you do not lose track of varieties and dates when things start to germinate at different speeds.You’ll also hear the honest bit: not every seed tray will be a winner. Some perennials are brilliantly straightforward, while others are finicky or sporadic. We cover what to expect from tricky germinators like echinacea, why lavender often needs cold stratification, and how a cold polytunnel or greenhouse can help you grow on without babying everything.If you want a high-colour, pollinator-friendly perennial border that you can genuinely say you grew yourself, join the grow along, then subscribe, share this with a gardening mate, and leave us a review so more people can find it.Support the showIf there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know. Email:  [email protected]   Check out Master My Garden on the following channels   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/  Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/   Until next week  Happy gardening  John  

The fastest way to make next spring feel brighter starts right now with a bag of bulbs and a spade. We walk through spring flowering bulbs from the ground up: what to buy in September, where they shine in borders, pots, lawns and under trees, and how to get a display that comes back year after year with almost no fuss. We cover the classics and the standouts: tulips for bold April colour themes (plus the types that actually return), daffodils and miniature narcissus for a long flowering run from winter into spring, and early heroes like crocus and snowdrops for that first lift when the garden still looks grey. We also talk pollinator-friendly choices, including native bluebells, and a few underused favourites like snakeshead fritillaria, anemones and muscari for naturalising and texture. If you want one crowd-pleaser, we explain why alliums are so hard to beat for impact and bees. You’ll leave with practical, confidence-building rules: avoid waterlogged soil, build free drainage in containers, plant bulbs at roughly three times their depth, and always set the pointy end upwards. We also share two container strategies for small spaces: staging pots for a tidy, swap-in display, and lasagne planting for layered flowering over weeks. Plus, we preview our upcoming perennial grow along and how to sign up. Subscribe, share this with a gardening friend, and leave a review if you want more simple wins like this.Support the showIf there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know. Email:  [email protected]   Check out Master My Garden on the following channels   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/  Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/   Until next week  Happy gardening  John