Ken Johnson
University of Illinois Extension Horticulture Educator serving Calhoun, Cass, Greene, Morgan, and Scott Counties
Appears in 315 Episodes
Ep. 126 Last-minute gifts for gardeners | #GoodGrowing
Did you put off gift-buying this year? You’re in luck! On this week’s Good Growing Podcast, we’re talking about last-minute gifts for gardeners. Get some ideas for gif...
Gardenbite: Exploring reduced tillage in vegetable production | #GoodGrowing
This week on the Good Growing podcast local foods educator Nick Frillman examines the impacts of tilling the soil and alternatives to lessen the damage tilling can hav...
Gardenbite - Squirrels: Illinois species and their shenanigans
This week we take a clip from a webinar about wildlife damage in the landscape. In this clip Illinois Extension horticulture educator Ken Johnson talks about the diffe...
Ep 125 - Christmas trees: real, fake, potted, and alternatives
On this week’s Good Growing Podcast, we’re talking Christmas trees. We discuss some of the different types of trees you can find, which are more sustainable cut or fak...
Ep. 124 The Local Thanksgiving Challenge | #goodgrowing
On this week's Good Growing podcast we welcome a new podcast contributor, Nick Frillman! Nick is a local food system and small farms educator with University of Illino...
Gardenbite: Growing and harvesting cranberries | #GoodGrowing
The holidays are coming up, which means cranberries will be on many of our menus. Learn more about growing and harvesting these popular native fruits.
Ep. 123 Growing and Eating Black Walnuts | #GoodGrowing
This week on the Good Growing podcast we talk all about black walnut. This episode is full of information on black walnut from growing it to eating it. We start with l...
Ep. 122 - Identifying and managing garlic mustard | #GoodGrowing
On this week’s Good Growing Podcast, we talk with Illinois Extension Forestry Specialist Chris Evans and Media Communications Coordinator Emily Steele about garlic mus...
Ep. 121 Spooktacular: Dangerous and Deadly Plants | #GoodGrowing
What do an ant and a rubber tree have to say about toxic plants? Apparently, more than one would think! This week Ken and Chris dress up in celebration of Halloween an...
Gardenbite: Three favorite native plants for Illinois | #GoodGrowing
This week for the Good Growing podcast we throw it back to 2021 when Visiting Outreach Associate Layne Knoche gives his three favorite native plants to include in a ho...
Ep. 120 - Some invasive plants in Illinois and their management | #GoodGrowing
On this week’s Good Growing Podcast, we continue our discussion on problematic plants in the landscape by getting into some invasive plants we have in Illinois. We dis...
KILL Your Callery Pear & Burning Bush and plant these instead | #GoodGrowing
Are they invasive? Not legally in the state of Illinois. (Yet!) But we are seeing Callery pear and burning bush escape from our yards into natural areas across the sta...
Ep. 118 - Good plant, bad plant part 1 | #GoodGrowing
On this week’s Good Growing Podcast, we talk about some problematic plants in the landscape, wintercreeper and Japanese barberry, They have been widely planted, but in...
Ep. 117 - Growing Fall Strawberries with Grant McCarty | #GoodGrowing
On this week's Good Growing podcast Ken and Chris chat with Illinois Extension small farms and local foods educator Grant McCarty. First, we dive into the odd crops we...
Gardenbite: Growing mums | #GoodGrowing
As we approach fall, chrysanthemums, aka mums, start appearing in nurseries and garden centers. They are a staple in many landscapes and can provide some much-needed c...
Gardenbite: Landscape Fabric - Good or bad? | #GoodGrowing
This week on Good Growing we take an excerpt from our webinar on gardening myths to see if these are the best practices or not! In this video horticulture educator, Ch...
Ep. 116 - Tree planting and care with Emily Swihart | #goodgrowing
Trees are one of the biggest investments we have in our landscapes. On this week’s Good Growing Podcast, we talk with University of Illinois Extension horticulture edu...
Ep. 115 - Monarch Butterfly Status Update with Brodie Dunn
This week on the Good Growing podcast we chat with Brodie Dunn about the recent listing of the monarch butterfly as an endangered species by the IUCN. What does that m...
Ep. 114 - Late blooming plants | #goodgrowing
We’re heading towards fall, which means it’s time for our third wave of blooming plants. On this week’s Good Growing Podcast, we talk about some of our favorite late s...
Gardenbite: Planting a Fall Vegetable Garden
It may be hard to believe, but as we enjoy fresh tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, and other vegetables from our garden this summer, it's also time to start plan...
