What a Long, Strange Garden Trip It’s Been
On our final show (for awhile), we talk about the Depave Movement across the world. Katya Reyna from Depave Portland and Mary Pat McGuire of...
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Science & Medicine
The Mike Nowak Show Podcasts
Mike Nowak, co-host Peggy Malecki and members of the show's green team discuss important gardening and environment topics with authorities in the field.
Episodes
20 of 300 episodesTomatomania V: Off to the Races
Tomato experts Craig LeHoullier ("Epic Tomatoes") and Keith Mueller ("KC Tomato") return yet again to impart their wisdom about America's fa...
Monarch Butterflies: Yet Another Species on the Brink
The monarch numbers from Mexico were just released and they're...okay. Which means that the iconic species is still threatened. Horticulturi...
How to Discover a Wild Area in the 21st Century
What's it like to "discover" a high-quality natural area in the Midwest? We talk to naturalist Steve Sass, who helped identify Indiana's Lyd...
The Sky’s the Limit for Women in Arboriculture
ISA certified arborist Megan Kacenski from Bartlett Tree Experts stops by to talk about how she became an arborist representative and what k...
The Hidden Dangers of Artificial Turf
Thousands of artificial turf fields have popped up across the country in the past few decades. The argument is that they're cheaper, easy to...
The Regeneration Miracle That Is Compost
The Mike Nowak Show with Peggy Malecki helps the Illinois Food Scrap Coalition kick off International Compost Awareness Week. Merleanne Ramp...
The Marvelous Melinda Myers Makes It Better
The Marvelous Melinda Myers returns to talk spring gardening. We learn about the changes in the latest version of her "Midwest Gardener's Ha...
Doug Tallamy on Fighting to Save Trees and Natural Areas
Author and educator Doug Tallamy returns to the show to talk about the importance of protecting and creating spaces to promote biodiversity....
The Possibilities of Amazing Native Plants
The subject is native plants and the instructors are brothers Kelsay and Tristan Shaw, who, between them, have put in about 50 years' work a...
How to Go Beyond Organic Growing
If it's spring, it's time to talk once again to Bob Benenson from Local Food Forum. He reports on as many issues as he can get to in about 2...
Green School Farms on the Front Line of Sustainability
Farmer Gary Fehr returns to the show to give Mike and Peggy a tour of his small farm near Lincoln, Nebraska. He is a commuter farmer who bel...
Phenology Is a Key Component of Life on Earth
If you're not familiar with the concept of phenology, we hope to give you an introduction on today's show. Alyssa Rosemartin from the USA Na...
Expect Great Growing in 2022
With the start of the 2022 gardening season upon us, we look at the business end and the personal side of great growing. Chris Beytes from B...
Start the Best Fruits and Vegetables
Lisa Hilgenberg is horticulturist for the Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden. There, she is responsible for s...
Sacrificing Birds for a Marketing Gimmick
Mike and Peggy welcome back MWRD Commissioner Kim Neely du Buclet to talk about recent green infrastructure water projects and even ways to...
Protect Creatures Great and Small
We talk animal welfare on today's show. Ryan Anderson from Midwest Grows Green previews "Hounds & Grounds," an event that will feature agili...
Can Backyard Composting Change the World?
We don't know if backyard composting can change the world, but it's a heck of a good start. Composting experts Amy Bartucci and Kate Caldwel...
Forest Preserves Unlock the Mysteries of Nature
Yes, it cold and there's snow. But if you live in the Chicago region, those are two excellent reasons to get out to a nearby forest preserve...
Doug Tallamy on Saving Nature and Ourselves
Entomologist, ecologist and author Doug Tallamy returns to the show. He discusses his latest book, The Nature of Oaks and his work to create...