Ontario Today's Gardening Show: How to prep your garden for a vacation

Our guest for the hour is Prince Edward Island's chef Michael Smith. He is a long-time television host and cookbook author. His newest book is called "Wood, Fire and Smoke: Recipes and Techniques for Wood-Fired Cooking."

We hear from the lead author of a study looking at the increase in obesity rates Canada saw during the pandemic, McMaster University's Laura Anderson, and we hear from endocrinologist Dr. Tamara Spaic.

Your stories with financial and economic educator Kyla Scanlon, author of the book In This Economy? How Money & Markets Really Work.

Your stories with Jeffrey Brook, air quality expert at the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health and a scientist with the federal government's Environment and Climate Change Canada. 

Education Minister Paul Calandra has appointed supervisors to balance the books at several boards citing deficits and depleted reserves. We hear your reaction. Our guest for the hour is Kris Rushowy, the Toronto Star's education reporter at Queen's Park.

Paul Zammitt is our expert gardener on Ontario Today. He starts off today's gardening call-in about ways to prepare your plants for a little neglect while you go away and enjoy summer holidays. 

Your stories about going for a dip in the lakes, ponds, creaks and rivers that run through Ontario's towns and cities. Our guest is Mark Mattson, the Waterkeeper for Lake Ontario and president of Swim Drink Fish Canada, a charity that helps restore the health of local waters

Our guest for the hour is Stephen Laskowski, president of the Canadian Trucking Alliance, a group that advocates for trucking companies as well as owner-operators. His group is calling for the federal government to crack down on the use of independent contractors in the industry -- essentially gig work. We also hear from Navi Aujla, service director with the Labour Community Services of Peel who has helped drivers file labour complaints and we hear from CBC reporter Robyn Miller.

We hear your stories of downsizing and we hear from a GTA-based realtor Jacqueline Watson who says the pandemic changed her business to focus on helping older adults move into smaller homes.

We hear about the impact long commutes have -- especially for middle-class Ontarians who cannot afford to live close to work. Our guest is Jeanhy Shim, she co-wrote a CivicAction report calledThe Human Story of Workforce Housing.