Master My Garden Podcast

John Jones
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Home & Garden
  • Updated Weekly

Master My Garden podcast with John Jones. The gardening podcast that helps you master your own garden. With new episodes weekly packed full of gardening tips, how to garden guides, interviews with gardening experts on many gardening topics and just about anything that will help you in your garden whether you are a new or a seasoned gardener. I hope you enjoy.John

  1. 6d ago

    EP344- 10 Essential Fruits For Your Kitchen Garden: Fruit Truly Worth Growing.

    You can grow a lot of things in a kitchen garden, but fruit is where the difference hits hardest. A homegrown apple or strawberry can make supermarket fruit taste flat, and that’s why we pull together our 10 essential fruits for a kitchen garden, with a focus on what actually works in Ireland and what still works when space is tight. We start with the reality of gardening life: coming back from holidays, dealing with dry weather casualties, and the constant battle to keep plants watered without burning out. Then we get practical about the fruit that gives the biggest return, beginning with apples. We talk rootstocks for manageable trees, growing apples in pots, the basics of pruning and feeding, and why pollination partners matter. There’s also a very real warning about birds, including blackbirds stripping fruit when conditions are dry and water is scarce. From there we move through strawberries for true seasonal flavour, raspberries for unbeatable freshness, and reliable choices like Victoria plum and Conference pear. We also cover currants as heavy-cropping, low-fuss bushes, grapes as a brilliant greenhouse or polytunnel project, and a few curveballs like gooseberries and blueberries, including the key detail that blueberries need acidic, ericaceous compost. We finish with rhubarb, the crop that gives and gives with remarkably little effort once established. If you enjoy growing your own food, subscribe, share the episode with a gardening friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What’s on your personal list of 10 essential fruits? This weeks sponsor:  Crann From  Probio Carbon  https://www.probiocarbon.ie Support the show If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know. Email:  info@mastermygarden.com    Check out Master My Garden on the following channels    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/  Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/     Until next week   Happy gardening   John

  2. Jul 31

    EP343- Seed Sowing Guide For August: What To Sow In August For Autumn Harvests

    This weeks sponsors:  Seeds Ireland High Quality Seeds: See link below for listener offer.  https://seedsireland.ie/master August arrives and the seed sowing list shrinks, but that does not mean the growing season is over. We talk through a practical August sowing guide that keeps your veg patch productive, especially if you garden in a UK or Ireland climate where late summer can still deliver plenty of growth when you pick the right crops. We start with the dependable staples: spring onions for steady succession sowing, then lettuce choices that actually make sense now (think loose-leaf and butterhead rather than tight-heading types). We cover spinach variety switches as the month moves on, and why you can often sow a little more at this point because bolting pressure begins to ease. From there we move into quick, rewarding options like radish, plus the love-it-or-hate-it turnip, and how overwintering cabbages can be raised under cover and planted out for an early spring payoff, as long as you plan for protection from pigeons. Autumn salads get a proper spotlight too: rocket, mustard leaves, winter cress, tatsoi, pak choi and endive bring flavour and continuity when summer salads slow down. We also touch on herbs still worth sowing, plus chard and kale under cover. Then we share a fun late-season project: Christmas potatoes grown in containers using cold-stored early varieties, including why blight vigilance matters and how the container routine flips as frost approaches. We finish with the August essentials around watering tomatoes, tidying beds after onions and garlic, and staying alert for caterpillars, slugs and disease. If you find this helpful, subscribe, share it with a fellow gardener, and leave a review so more growers can find the show. Support the show If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know. Email:  info@mastermygarden.com    Check out Master My Garden on the following channels    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/  Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/     Until next week   Happy gardening   John

  3. Jul 24

    EP342- 10 Essential Vegetables For Every Kitchen Garden: The 10 Vegetables Worth Growing

    If you had to cut your kitchen garden down to just ten vegetables, what would you keep and why? We take on that exact challenge and build a list that is practical, flavour-led, and realistic for busy gardeners who want maximum results for the least fuss. We start with the five filters we use when deciding what deserves space in a bed: taste (does it beat the supermarket?), effort versus reward, ease of growing, cost to buy, and how many ways you can use or store it. That framework quickly separates “nice to grow” from “worth growing”, especially if you are gardening in limited space and want crops that keep paying you back over a long season. Then we get specific. We talk through tomatoes for that unbeatable homegrown flavour, potatoes for freshness you cannot replicate, and everyday staples like salad leaves, carrots, French beans, spring onions, beetroot, Swiss chard, red cabbage for the winter gap, and garlic for year-round cooking and great storage. Along the way we share simple, experience-based tips on sowing frequency, harvesting for continuity, and choosing crops that fit how you actually cook. If you enjoy vegetable gardening, growing your own food, and making a small garden more productive, hit subscribe, share the episode with a gardening friend, and leave us a review. What would your ten vegetables be? This weeks sponsor:  Crann From  Probio Carbon  https://www.probiocarbon.ie Support the show If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know. Email:  info@mastermygarden.com    Check out Master My Garden on the following channels    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/  Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/     Until next week   Happy gardening   John

  4. Jul 17

    EP341- 10 Essential Herbs To Grow In Your Garden: The Essential Herb List For Flavour And Health

    If your herb bed could only earn space for ten plants, which ones would actually make your dinners better week after week? We take a listener request from Ivy in Connemara and build a clear, usable shortlist of essential herbs for an Irish garden, balancing everyday cooking with what genuinely grows well in our climate. We start with the hardy, low-effort staples that keep giving: rosemary, sage and thyme. We talk about why free-draining soil matters so much for Mediterranean herbs in Ireland, how many plants you really need for a household, and the little details that turn a struggling herb into a reliable year-round picker. From roast potatoes to stuffing and simple midweek meals, these are the herbs that justify their place. From there we move into the heavy lifters and the seasonal favourites: chives for near-daily use, parsley as a biennial you can easily preserve by freezing into ice-cube trays, and Italian cooking essentials like oregano, basil and bay laurel. We also get honest about the love-it-or-hate-it herbs, including coriander and dill, plus the practical reality that coriander needs repeat sowing if you want a steady supply. To round things out, we mention a few brilliant medicinal herbs for teas and wellbeing, and share details of our upcoming herbal workshop with Laura Darcy on 5 September. If you enjoy practical growing advice and want more flavour from your garden with less effort, subscribe, share the episode with a gardening friend, and leave us a review. This weeks sponsor:  Crann From  Probio Carbon  https://www.probiocarbon.ie Support the show If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know. Email:  info@mastermygarden.com    Check out Master My Garden on the following channels    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/  Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/     Until next week   Happy gardening   John

  5. Jul 10

    EP340- Rhonda Fleming Hayes Discusses Her New Book Garden For life : Practical Ways To Keep A Big Garden Enjoyable

    A big garden can be a gift, right up to the day it starts to feel like a second job. We’re joined by American garden writer Rhonda Fleming Hayes to talk about her book *Gardening for Life* and the practical reality behind a question many of us avoid: how do you keep gardening as you age without letting the work take over the joy? We dig into strategies that make a garden more manageable without stripping away what you love. Rhonda shares a simple but powerful idea for accessible garden design: create zones, bring the most intensively planted beds closer to the house, and let the far edges shift towards lower-maintenance planting, native plants, and even rewilding. We also chat about raised beds, elevated planters, and vertical gardening, especially for anyone thinking about “right sizing” to a smaller space while still wanting fresh herbs, salads, and colour. Safety gets a proper spotlight too, because a fall can change everything. We talk through common trip hazards, why it’s worth reviewing paths and patios, and how to rethink pride around getting help, whether that’s hedge cutting, ladders, or tree work. Along the way we touch on smarter, more ergonomic tools that reduce strain and keep you gardening longer. If you’ve got a big lawn, long hedges, or a garden you want to enjoy for decades, this one is for you. Subscribe for more, share it with a gardener in your life, and leave a review to help others find the show. Support the show If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know. Email:  info@mastermygarden.com    Check out Master My Garden on the following channels    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/  Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/     Until next week   Happy gardening   John

  6. Jul 3

    EP339- Seed Sowing Guide For July: Stop Treating July Like The Finish Line

    This weeks sponsors:  Seeds Ireland High Quality Seeds: See link below for listener offer.  https://seedsireland.ie/master July is where a lot of edible gardens quietly lose momentum and it’s exactly why so many plots run out of steam in autumn. We’re keeping it simple and practical with a July seed sowing guide that helps you stay productive well beyond summer, even if your beds look full and you’re half in holiday mode. We talk through what’s genuinely worth sowing now for succession and speed: salad leaves like lettuce, spinach, rocket and spring onions, plus quick wins like radish and turnips. We also cover the “last chance” feel of July for crops such as beetroot and carrots, and how choosing the right timing and varieties sets you up for lifting and eating later in the year. If your germination has struggled in the heat, we share straightforward fixes, including avoiding trays baking in direct sun and keeping watering steady. The big focus is on brassicas for overwinter harvests and early spring rewards, from autumn cabbage and savoy to calabrese, kale, cauliflower and purple sprouting broccoli. We also get into the unglamorous but crucial side of mid-summer growing: protecting seedlings from cabbage white butterfly with netting, keeping polytunnels ventilated, watering tomatoes properly, and staying vigilant for aphids, slugs returning after rain, and potato blight warnings. There’s also a useful run-through of herbs you can still sow now and a list of flower seeds that can keep your borders moving. If you want your vegetable garden, polytunnel, or allotment to produce for as close to 12 months as possible, this is the moment to act. Subscribe, share the episode with a gardening mate, and leave a review with the one crop you’re committing to sow this July. Support the show If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know. Email:  info@mastermygarden.com    Check out Master My Garden on the following channels    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/  Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/     Until next week   Happy gardening   John

  7. Jun 26

    EP338- Carlow Garden Festival Preview With Eileen O Rourke CEO Carlow Tourism: Nine Days Of Garden Talks Across Carlow

    Carlow Garden Festival is back better than ever in 2026 with an amazing line up of speakers: a pick-and-mix week where you can build your own perfect gardening break. We’re joined by Eileen O’Rourke, CEO of Carlow Tourism, to walk through the programme day by day so you know exactly what’s on, where it’s happening, and how to choose the events that match your garden and your curiosity.  We talk biodiversity and working with nature, from lessons that come straight from the seasons to practical ways of supporting beneficial insects and healthier soil. We also dig into the design side: how to “paint with plants”, how to combine colour and texture for long-lasting borders, and why plants should stay the star of the show even when modern garden features try to steal the spotlight. If you’ve been searching for real-world planting design advice, sustainable gardening ideas, or a gardening event in Ireland that’s genuinely useful, this lineup is built to send you home with plans.  We also get into the fun bits that make the festival feel like a holiday: evening talks in garden settings, guided tours, great cafés, and a garden-party atmosphere at Altamont. There’s space for specialist interests too, including herbal medicine talks on Irish medicinal plants and hands-on botanical print workshops, plus an honest nod to the “plantaholic” urge we all understand.  Have a listen, pick your must-see talk, and then subscribe, share the episode with a gardening friend, and leave us a review so more people can find the podcast. You can get your tickets here:  https://carlowgardentrail.digitickets.co.uk/tickets Or phone:  Phone: 059-9130411 Support the show If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know. Email:  info@mastermygarden.com    Check out Master My Garden on the following channels    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/  Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/     Until next week   Happy gardening   John

  8. Jun 19

    EP337- Online Garden Consultations That Get You Unstuck

    June 2026 consultations available to book here  https://mastermygarden.com/consultation/ You can spend months staring at your garden and still not know what to do first, especially after a new build, a renovation, or a big change in how you want to use the space. We’re sharing a short, practical announcement episode about a service we’ve brought back: online garden consultations that help you move from ideas to a clear, doable plan. We explain exactly what you get from a one-hour-ish Zoom garden consultation, including a simple pre-call questionnaire to clarify your goals, what’s blocking you, and the budget you’re working with. This is not a garden design service. It’s hands-on garden coaching focused on actionable next steps, smart sequencing, and the kind of decisions that stop you wasting money on plants, trees, and materials that don’t suit your site. You’ll also hear real examples of what people bring to these calls: a 1970s house renovation needing boundary, pond and patio guidance; a steep, tricky site that needed a staged landscaping plan; a new build with a paper plan that didn’t match real conditions; and even an outdoor classroom garden designed to feel private, welcoming and rich in pollinator-friendly planting. We keep availability intentionally tight with only two slots per month, and we share the current booking details, price, and how to secure a time. If you want tailored garden advice you can act on straight away, subscribe, share the episode with a friend who’s stuck, and leave us a review. Support the show If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know. Email:  info@mastermygarden.com    Check out Master My Garden on the following channels    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/  Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/     Until next week   Happy gardening   John

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Master My Garden podcast with John Jones. The gardening podcast that helps you master your own garden. With new episodes weekly packed full of gardening tips, how to garden guides, interviews with gardening experts on many gardening topics and just about anything that will help you in your garden whether you are a new or a seasoned gardener. I hope you enjoy.John

Information

  • Creator
    John Jones
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    344
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Master My Garden Podcast
  • Show Website
    Master My Garden Podcast