The Growing Season

Matt McFarland
  • 5.0 (3)
  • HOME & GARDEN
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

The lighter side of landscaping. Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland, chat about horticulture served with a hearty helping of humour. With over 70 years of design and installation experience the McFarland boys dig into topics in a way you've rarely heard. Packed full of guests that represent various corners of the industry, The Growing Season is smile worthy.The Growing Season: No politics or pulpits, just plants and muddy workboots.

  1. The Growing Season, Feb 21, 2026 - Salt And Horticulture Pt. 2

    6D AGO

    The Growing Season, Feb 21, 2026 - Salt And Horticulture Pt. 2

    Sodium, sodium, they showed from their podium! Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland add another grain to their pile of salt with this week's Salt And Horticulture Pt. 2 on The Growing Season.  With the level of ice on walking and driving surfaces all across the GTA the trio felt it prudent to discuss salt tolerant plant materials.  Jack discusses an upcoming surgery.  He's a little nervous. Rising temperatures due to climate change causes our lake water to evaporate quicker, increasing the salt content in the soil. Sea Asparagus and Suaeda Maritime can live in places like Death Valley, one of the saltiest places on earth.  Matt rants about boxwoods and that leads to a chat about how street trees react to an over salted growing environment.  Salt Cedar leads to an episode of Strange But True. Purple Loosestrife and Hogweed join the chat.  Correlations between wildfires in Los Angeles and Australia are drawn.  How can Epsom salts diffuse salt exposure.  HYDRANGEA, HYDRANGEA, HYDRANGEA!  Also, SUMAC!   You know it.  Tiger Eyes Sumac is GORGEOUS.  Are dandelions salt tolerant?  Beebalm, horizontal Juniper, daylily, rugosa rose and many more plants are labelled 'salt tolerant.' Tune in. Looking to book a consult for your property?  We'd love to help.  CLICK HERE. What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE. Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast.  CLICK HERE.

    54 min
  2. The Growing Season, Feb 14, 2026 - Sexy Plants 2026

    FEB 14

    The Growing Season, Feb 14, 2026 - Sexy Plants 2026

    That's an awfully nice fire ant hill you have there! Wait.  What!? Its the time of year that Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland overlay horticulture and Valentine's Day on The Growing Season.  Annually, the trio discuss the collision of the two and this year doesn't disappoint.  Roses kick the show off, naturally.  Where are roses grown commercially? You'd be surprised to learn.  Matt tells a story about this daughter going to a dance with a boy.  Its rattled him. Coyote urine makes a GREAT Valentines Day gift.  Nothing says lovin' like pee.   How do you extend the life of your cut roses.  Are any of the myths or legends true? Chocolate is plant based.  The McFarlands dive into the details.  Who was Montezuma?  Why is he related to Valentine's Day? Is the a decline in testosterone in males?   What would cause that?  The differences between males and females regarding arousal stimulus is discussed.  Saltpeter and Matt's tale of internet science figures into the Valentine's Day and intimacy.  What is saltpeter made of? POMEGRANITE SUCKS.  Stinging nettles can make you frisky.  SERIOUS.  The show ends with a chat about Sylvester Stallone's classic, Rocky.  Tune in. Looking to book a consult for your property?  We'd love to help.  CLICK HERE. What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE. Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast.  CLICK HERE.

    54 min
  3. The Growing Season, Feb 7, 2026 - Put Your Plants On 2026

    FEB 7

    The Growing Season, Feb 7, 2026 - Put Your Plants On 2026

    Put on your hydrangea and lets get out and shovel the driveway! WHAT!? Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland highlight the intersection of textiles and horticulture on this week's episode of The Growing Season.  Matt opens the show with a discussion on a milestone that his family has reached. Silk moths and their fondness for mulberry begins the plant content.  How is silk made?  Synthetic silk and pineapples.  Not kidding! Milkweek, dandelions, bullrush and smokebush floof can all be used for a "down-like" material to replace goose down. Life jackets in WW2 became a home economics project for young people.  Why isn't cork as popular as it once was as a flooring material? The rise and obsession with milkweed gets highlighted.  CLIENTS ARE OBSESSED WITH IT.  Herbicides and roundup have drastically effected our horticulture industry.   Underwear made out of sythentic material vs. cotton gets a laugh.  Cotton requires SOOOOO much water to grow.   LIKE AN INSANE AMOUNT.  Why isnt flax used on a large scale for textiles?   Why hasn't it replaced cotton? Sawdust and tree lignans are discussed and their effect on those using wood to heat their homes.  Its an interesting chat.  Potato leather.  Grape leather.  Apple leather.  None are the stuff of fiction.  Tune in. Looking to book a consult for your property?  We'd love to help.  CLICK HERE. What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE. Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast.  CLICK HERE.

    53 min
  4. The Growing Season, Jan 31, 2026 - Snowmageddon 2026

    JAN 31

    The Growing Season, Jan 31, 2026 - Snowmageddon 2026

    The GTA set records for snowfall! In light of the recent butt-whooping the Greater Toronto Area took in the recent, record setting, snowfall, Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland decided to use their Snowmageddon bullet on this week's episode of The Growing Season.  In an annual fashion, the trio highlight the events of the storm and take the opportunity to dive into all things white and fluffy.  1999's version of a snowstorm kicks the show off.  Matt correlates where he was then with where he is now.  HINT: it's the same place.  The amounts of snow, left by the ploughs, at the end of your driveway have been NUTS.  Matt rants.  Heavy metal accompanies said rant.   Jack details ways that you can avoid the windrow at the end of your driveway.  What is a "RAGING DULLARD?"  Various sizes and shapes of snow shovels come into focus.  What's the WORST winter-weather drive you've ever experienced?   Matt details his.  Where do you put all the snow that Mother Nature has donated to the City of Toronto?  The Great Lakes aren't frozen.  Does that have an effect on snowfalls?  Snowblower questions abound.  CC vs. Horsepower is explained. A Chevelle's engine block packed with snow turns into a trip down memory lane... Heated driveways - do they work?  Insulation in your home and frigidly cold temperatures overlap with an Avro Arrow story.  Snow is a fertilizer...we kid you not.  Can there be 2 similar snowflakes or is it a myth? Tune in. Looking to book a consult for your property?  We'd love to help.  CLICK HERE. What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE. Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast.  CLICK HERE.

    54 min
  5. The Growing Season, Jan 24, 2026 - Strange But True: Winter

    JAN 24

    The Growing Season, Jan 24, 2026 - Strange But True: Winter

    So we're in thick of it.  Right in the fluffy middle. Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland get real STRANGE on this week's episode of The Growing Season.  Winter, in all its glory, becomes the latest focus of Strange But True.  Penguins kick off the show.  Their breeding habits and marital preferences.   Their ability to withstand absolutely frigid temperatures and a freakish talent to hold their breath.  A group of penguins is called a "Waddle."  Cool, eh?  Penguin clouds...from you know where...  LOTS OF CLOUDS! Why has "Global Warming" been re-labelled "Climate Change?" There are lots of Penguins in Gotham City.   Matt takes great delight in talking about Batman.  Wood frogs and Walt Disney!?   Yup.  They correlate.  Reanimating catfish brings Disney and Wood Frogs to an interesting conclusion.  The lowest reported core temperature in a human will surprise you.  Scary avalanche stories are highlighted.  There is some real nightmare fuel here.  Alive, the film from 1993, becomes a discussion point.  "The Donner Party" from 1846-1847 is a story you probably haven't heard but won't soon forget.   What is the Iditarod? Its 1600km's of sheer canine will.  Bee's can "hold it" for absolutely insane lengths of time.  Where do they go to the bathroom in the winter?   Its kinda cool.  Cryoseisms and their role in recent history kicks off a Christmas Eve story.  A snow roller is not what you would think.  What is an "Ice Fern?" Tune in. Looking to book a consult for your property?  We'd love to help.  CLICK HERE. What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE. Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast.  CLICK HERE.

    54 min
  6. The Growing Season, Jan 17, 2026 - Salt And Horticulture Pt. 1

    JAN 17

    The Growing Season, Jan 17, 2026 - Salt And Horticulture Pt. 1

    Its the time of the year when a simple walk to the bus stop can be TREACHEROUS! Many of us are salting our exterior surfaces to reduce the chance of slipping.  This week on The Growing Season, Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland discuss salt and horticulture on part 1 of a two part series.  What are the effects on salt on the human body? Salt and the ambient amount of salt in food is discussed.  Canned soup comes into focus.  Why is salt used in food? What about beverages?  A gas powered blender and ice hockey intersect.  How many milligrams of salt is necessary for a healthy diet on a daily basis?  The history of salt and its uses is chatted about.  Are Camels' humps water storage?   A myth is debunked.  Are there salt mines in Canada?  What about Ontario?  Where is "Death Valley" and what is the pH of the soil?  The trio guesses and Lynne NAILS it.  What animals THRIVE in salty environments? What animals need a dosage of salt to regulate their biological systems? Matt discusses his stinky feet and some advice is given that uses salt as a remedy for Matt's issues.  LEECHES and salt.  Memories from the late 80's abound.  Salt and your house pets are correlated.  Tune in. Looking to book a consult for your property?  We'd love to help.  CLICK HERE. What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE. Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast.  CLICK HERE.

    54 min
  7. The Growing Season, Jan 10, 2026 - Sub-zero Horticulture: Northwest Territories

    JAN 10

    The Growing Season, Jan 10, 2026 - Sub-zero Horticulture: Northwest Territories

    You think it's wintry in the GTA?   Lets look and see what's happening in The Northwest Territories.  Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland continue the new year with a deep dive into Horticulture in the Northwest Territories on this week's episode of The Growing Season.  Matt highlights a wonderful development in his career.  Its been years in the making.  A travelogue starts the proceedings.  Why is Yellowknife called Yellowknife?   HINT:  It has to do with Yellow Knives!  Frost free days and growing produce - what is the correlation?  What happens when you shrink the number of frost free days? Crowberry, Cloudberry, Saskatoon berry, Bearberry are just a few of the fruiters that feature.   Matt gushes about Serviceberry.  Is Bunchberry the flower of Canada?   There is a debate.  How can you get vitamin C and D, naturally,  in the Northwest Territories?  MUSHROOMS and vitamin D are a couple.  WHAT!?  How would one acquire fruit during the winter months in Yellowknife?  Would fresh produce be SUPER expensive in this area?  ICE ROAD TRUCKERS!   Dun, dun, dun... Chill hours, and how they affect the growth of fruit, are discussed.  Why are many of Canada's horticultural innovations coming from our prairie provinces?  Evergreen trees - do they exist in the Northwest Territories?  Matt tells a story about an engagement ring.  Tune in. Looking to book a consult for your property?  We'd love to help.  CLICK HERE. What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE. Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast.  CLICK HERE.

    54 min
  8. The Growing Season, Jan 3, 2026 - Gone: Grasslands

    JAN 3

    The Growing Season, Jan 3, 2026 - Gone: Grasslands

    What if!? That's how we start off in 2026.  Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland get hypothetical.  The Growing Season kicks off the new year with your lawn in mind.   Your lawn, as in the thing buried under the snow.  Its gone! What if our grasslands just disappeared?  How would that effect our ecology? Why this topic? Why now? What is the opposite of grasslands?  You'd be surprised to learn.  The differences between the water consumption of grasslands and forests are compared and contrasted.  Sound dampening of Grasslands and Trees...  Buffalo grass and its effect on the dust bowl in the 1930's is a journey through history.  Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" ties into this topic with ease.  Cows, cows and more cows feature heavily into the show content.  Big, bovine basics.  What is a Texas Longhorn!? Female cows are kept pregnant almost constantly.  That's a lot of strain on a cows body.  What is a carbon sink? Is grass a filtration system for soil and water tables?  Toronto's Don Valley Parkway becomes a focus.  It's a parking lot but it's BEAUTIFUL.  Topographically it sits really low in its landmass.  How do they deal with flooding?  Grass is highly drought tolerant. It's also a colony plant.  How were the wildfires in California affected by government practices?  "The Asian Steps" is the largest grassland on earth.  IT'S REALLY BIG!  Tune in. Looking to book a consult for your property?  We'd love to help.  CLICK HERE. What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE. Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast.  CLICK HERE.

    54 min
See All (190)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

The lighter side of landscaping. Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland, chat about horticulture served with a hearty helping of humour. With over 70 years of design and installation experience the McFarland boys dig into topics in a way you've rarely heard. Packed full of guests that represent various corners of the industry, The Growing Season is smile worthy.The Growing Season: No politics or pulpits, just plants and muddy workboots.

Information

  • Creator
    Matt McFarland
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    190
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Growing Season
  • Show Website
    The Growing Season