
Your Midwest Garden Podcast
A casual conversation about gardening in the Midwest with Toledo's Garden Guy, Mike O'Rourke and Rookie Gardener, Scott Sandstrom. Mike interviews various guests, from experts to local DIY gardeners in a relaxed conversation. While Scott keeps the subjects down to the weekend warrior level. We hope you enjoy each podcast episode, as even the most basic topics can reveal a surprise tip or hint you may not know about! Your Midwest Garden is sponsored by Black Diamond Nursery & Lawn Service. Serving the Toledo, Ohio area since 1953!
Episodes
149 episodes
Season 5: Final Thoughts 2024 Season
Today we wrap up season number FIVE! This final show of the season is a mixed bag of tidbits and wishes that you had a great gardening season. We know it was tough in the Midwest with another drought, Spotted Lantern Fly, Aphids and of c...
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Season 5
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Episode 22
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39:31

Growing under the Covers
Today's episode recorded just before Summer 2024 ended, is a part two of sorts to our recent episode, The Forgotten Season. This episode has Lisa teaching us about building and using garden row covers. Which let's us to continue...
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Season 5
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Episode 21
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1:13:20

ENCORE EPISODE: Vine Time!
ENCORE EPISODE: Bringing back one you may have missed in the archives... listen into VINE TIME! Gourds, Pumpkins or Squash?Mike has a mystery fruit growing in NW Ohio, bringing up the question about Cucurbita (Latin for go...
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Season 5
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Episode 20
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27:09

Garlic Fest '24 - Easy Step by Step Guide
Today, along with the Midwest Garden Gal... we walk through the simple step by step process of growing garlic in the Midwest. The good news is that this prcess is spread out over a nine month period and five of those months y...
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Season 5
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Episode 19
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52:15

Tree of Heaven-Troubles
,ALERT EPISODE:Today's episode stared with a conversation with a garden center customer. And took off from there... Mike & I have brought on board a returning guest, Amy Stone, of The Ohio State Extensio...
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Season 5
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Episode 18
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55:16

The Forgotten Season
The Midwest Garden Gal joins us once again to discuss The Forgotte n Season. The late planting season time to sow some more cool weather veggies right now in mid August! Take a listen and take advantage of the warm soil and soon to be coo...
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Season 5
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Episode 17
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53:11

Natives for Your Landscape
The guys welcome in, returning guest from Season One... Melisa Sherman-Weckerlin! Melisa is the grower at Black Diamond Garden Centers, our business and sponsor, where she also oversees plant buying. Melisa and Scott have been discussing native...
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Season 5
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Episode 16
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59:53

July's Garden Blues
Mike & Scott touch on a number of mid-summer gardening issues. From using a "Phone A Friend" Lifeline to basic tomato end rot to save your next harvest.
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Season 5
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Episode 15
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43:32

Soil & Water Conservation Resources
YMGP went on "on the road" today... we visited the Lucas Soil and Water Conservation District offices to discuss what they do and to find out about an event they are in charge of. So, if you are close by, plan on making a day trip to Holland, O...
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Season 5
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Episode 14
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34:35

YMGP Fan Appreciation Episode
Just a quick update on some news for YMGP as Feedspot RSS Reader has listed our show in their top 15 gardening podcasts for 2024! The best Nursery podcasts from thousands of podcasts on the web and ranked by relevancy, authority, social ...
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Season 5
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Episode 13
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16:24

Perennials for Pollinators
Today we welcome back The Midwest Garden Gal for a pollinators discussion. But more so, since June is perennial month and pollinators week falls within the month of June, we decided to combine the subjects into one fun conversation.L...
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Season 5
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Episode 12
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59:52

All the dirt on... ASIATIC LILIES
It seems like a perennial, the Asiatic lilies are on the come back... popularity wise. These easy to care for "true" lilies have great size and colorful blooms. So stop reading this and hit PLAY on your favorite podcast player app and ge...
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Season 5
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Episode 11
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42:58

Zonal Geranium Tidbits
What we thought would be a super fast episode... turned into a number of revealing tidbits unknown to Mike. But not to worry, Mike had a thing or two on that 5th Year Rookie. And Scott's hoping his one impressive tidbit find, YO...
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Season 5
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Episode 10
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39:13

The FOUR C's... A Garden's Best Friends!
The FOUR C's for this show are not what all the ladies are thinking... today's diamonds are not carats (but carrots is a better guess). Nope, today's C's are Cosmos, Coleus, Cleome and Cabbage (?).A few sun loving plants we think nee...
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Season 5
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Episode 9
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45:32

Cheap Tricks Gardening with The Midwest Garden Gal
Steve, one of our loyal listeners introduced Mike & I to Lisa Hinzman Howard, aka The Midwest Garden Gal after he attended one of her garden show lectures. That gave us a chance to invite Lisa on the show to discuss her recent book,...
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Season 5
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Episode 8
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55:05

Lawn Care: The Fertilization Steps + More
Let’s talk lawns, subscribers. If you fertilize your own or have a lawn service company push the spreader, you should know the basics. And seeing that the first-round application is close to closing as this article prints, it’s time to g...
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Season 5
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Episode 7
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48:50

Goldenrod's Bad Rap
The guys get into the nitty gritty of the Goldenrod, which gets a bad rap as a ragweed. A native North American perennial wildflower that's tall, slim with fluffy golden flower spikes in various shades of yellow. Once an invasive species...
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Season 5
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Episode 6
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46:03

When a Rose is Not A Rose-The Lenten Rose
One of the first spring bloomers, even popping up through the snow... the Hellebore. Associated with the Easter holiday, the Hellebore or Lenten Rose has an interesting association with the rising of Christ, the first bloomer of spring and of i...
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Season 5
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Episode 5
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35:02

ABC's of Clematis
Many think the Clematis Vine is a fragile, delicate flower. That it's a hard plant to keep going. But Scott thinks it's a great tropical looking climber and would look great in a sunny area. So we dive into the ABCs of the queen of the c...
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Season 5
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Episode 4
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56:15

Don't squirm, compost with worms!
Multiple chances of recycling occur with worm composting... from garbage to garden. Saving the landfills, food scraps that feed the worms, worms recycling that into compost, compost giving nutrients to veggies/herbs, veggies coming back ...
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Season 5
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Episode 3
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45:24

Prepping for Spring
And we're back... season number five has officially begun! To keep everyone from getting frostbite, I know... the warmer weather has hit us early but lets keep the itch to garden in the planning stages. Until the temps are cons...
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Season 5
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Episode 2
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39:36

ENCORE EPISODE: Advantages of Rain Water
GETTING THAT ITCH TO GET BACK INTO THE GARDEN? WELL NOW IS THE PERFECT TIME TO PREP. AND THAT MEANS GIVING YOUR PLANTS THE BEST WATER AVAILABLE... LISTEN IN TO THIS RECENT, BUT IMPORTANT EPISODE!We were in search of why rain water perks...
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Season 5
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Episode 1
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1:01:59

Season Four: That's a Wrap!
Our last episode for the 2023 gardening season... a little smorgasbord of last minute things to do, Mike does a reverse pop quiz on Scott, plus a few insights on the most downloaded episodes of season four. Jump to the end for several of ou...
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Season 4
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Episode 27
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52:02

Mushroom Energy
The guys welcome back, Mike Chancey...aka Mushroom Man. Mushroom Mike is here to explain to Scott which types of mushrooms are in the energy drink he has been consuming for a few weeks now.Why those particular mushrooms were probably chosen...
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Season 4
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Episode 26
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57:22

ALERT EPISODE - Spotted Lantern Fly
This episode is an unscheduled ALERT EPISODE! Amy Stone from The Ohio State Extension Office contacted us, wanting to update our listeners about the spread of the Spotted Lantern Fly.Listen in as we discuss the spread of this pest, h...
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Season 4
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Episode 25
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38:58
