Where are the Gardening Podcasts?

It's been a while since we reviewed gardening podcasts, so it's time for an update and hopefully, your recommendations - I need more for the little iPod Shuffle that keeps me company in the garden. 

It may just be that there are really very few American podcasts about gardening.  I know Amy and lots of others love Wiggley Wigglers but sorry, English farm life is just too unfamiliar to me.  Who and what ARE they talking about?  And why are they laughing all the time?

Moving on, here are the gardening podcasts I listen to and actually understand.

Real Dirt with Ken Druse

Garden writer Ken Druse has done what garden writers everywhere are finding is easier said than done -  found sponsors for his podcast and blog.  So right there, kudos!  But more importantly, it's real garden talk from and for real gardeners.  Plus, I usually know or at least know OF the folks he interviews - like Margaret Roach, Saxon Holt, Stephanie Cohen, and yours truly (I couldn't remember names of plants but laughed a lot and it was fun.  I'm sure somebody in Cornwall is asking "What IS that woman laughing about?")

Ken's blog provides news of each episode, like this post about a recent tour of his own garden that included a visit by a BEAR.  In New Jersey, mind you.

A Way to Garden with Margaret Roach

I assume you're all aware of the ex-Martha Stewart Living editor Margaret Roach and the wonderful blog A Way to Garden she launched two years ago, after which it quickly rose to become a top traffic-getter.  (A sign that readers really do recognize quality.)  But did you know she also has a weekly gardening show, listed here on iTunes?  I was discouraged to discover that Margaret doesn't just excel at writing but also at casual repartee.  (Seems unfair.)

Funny story about her June 7 broadcast, which I was listening to while driving to the Bay to visit Robin Ripley.  Near the end (20:16 minutes) Margaret's interviewer asked out of the blue: So what's all this about trouble between you and Susan Harris?  This is what happens when bloggers start even good-natured arguments with other bloggers, as I had here when I read - to my shock - that she identified my primary lawn replacement plant as a different creeping sedum than I had for years been identifying it.  I believe I called her a "known troublemaker".

I won't make you listen to the podcast to find out how Margaret responds to taxonomic challenges. She revealed on the radio show that when she read my post (sent her via a comment on her sedum page) she went out into the garden at 10 at night to grab some of the stuff.  Then back to her office to consult her taxonomic reference books, which allowed her to leave a really geeky comment on my post.

So the next time I make any assumptions about New York garden writers in the flashy world of magazine publishing not being real gardeners passionate about the subject, I'll just shut my mouth.

That's it for gardening podcasts on my iTunes subscription list, so can anyone recommend any others?

Nongardening podcasts - coz a girl's gotta listen
Now to veer off-topic a bit, are there any nongardening podcasts you guys love?  Here are my faves, but I could use some more: Bob Edwards Weekend, Fresh Air, On the Media, PRI Arts and Entertainment, To the Best of our Knowledge, Real Time with Bill Maher, Slate Culture Gabfest, This American Life, Studio 360, and the nonpolitical episodes of DC's Kojo Nnambi Show.  Make that the nonpolitical episodes of ALL of these shows - coz when I'm in the garden or on the treadmill I want entertainment and enlightenment, not news, especially the political kind. 

Comments

[Katie]

I lied, I listen to LIVE presentations!

I just don't download and listen to podcasts.

[Laura Bell]

This is so timely ! I've been looking for good podcasts to fill my workday - the work I'm doing of late is very repetitive & requires nearly no brain power so I need something engaging to keep from nodding off.

Most of my faves have been mentioned already - Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, Stuff You Should Know, The Gestalt Gardener, Fresh Air, Ken Druse ...

Another non-gardening podcast I like is Stuff You Missed in History Class, from the same group that brings us Stuff You Should Know. Simply fascinating !

[Layanee]

For New England gardening, you can listen to The Garden Guys Podcasts: www.garden-guys.com

[Jayme Jenkins]

Is there room for shameless self promotion? Teresa O'Connor and I are excited about the guests we've interviewed so far on the Nest In Style podcast, and we've scheduled more for the rest of the year. There are just too many awesome people out there. We want to reach everyone!

Since I travel less these days, I don't listen to podcasts as often, but when I do, they are: Good Enough Gardening, Suze Orman, Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food, 60 Minutes and Ted.com

I will have to check out everyone's suggestions and update my list. Thanks!

[Patty]

Stuff You Should Know with Chuck and Josh is informative and funny. http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/stuff-you-should-know-podcast.htm

Check it out!

[Judi]

I listen to many Garden Podcasts on my commute. In addition to the many listed, I also recommend Davis Garden Show, Greendays Gardening Panel, Gardening in the NorthWest, Get Growing with Farmer Fred, WHYY You Bet Your Garden. Good Enough Gardening remains my favorite.

[Laura Bell]

... oddly enough, I just listened to a Gestalt Gardener podcast & heard my sister (who lives in Mississippi) on the show. She's apparently something of a regular caller ( her words).

[Layanee]

Podcasts available of The Garden Guys radio show at www.garden-guys.com/

[Liz Stein]

I like KUOW's greendays gardening panel--based in Seattle, they broadcast every week, with a native plants expert, an organic vegetable expert, a mostly-decorative expert, and a nice vibe, plus the speakers aren't full of themselves. I downloaded a a whole bunch once, and most of them are painful. Oh, and I like Alternative Kitchen Garden, she's always interesting and pleasant to listen to.

[Claire, Plantpassion]

I love listening to podcasts as I garden, and as an englishwomen, Wiggly Wigglers is hugely funny, but I can understand how you might be perplexed, as I often am when listening to Ken Druse and Good Enough Gardening, - both of which I like, but don't always understand, - we are nations divided by the same language. - Just shows there is need for more gardening podcasts

[Barry]

Wiggly Wigglers is a great gardening/farming podcast and you have to listen to the 225+ shows to get a sense of their real depth. And Tales From Terry's Allotment is beyond stunning (and the Welsh accent is exceptional). The best gardening podcasts are coming from the UK but there is no shortage of good shows. Want more?

Gardening podcasts that are imaginative, entertaining, able to make you smile and laugh... Want still more?

Alternative Kitchen Garden. (UK)
BBC Gardener's Question Time. (UK)
The Garden Show (Canada)
Gardening Tips from Tatton Park. (UK)
Gardening With Tim and Joe. (UK)
Scotland's Gardens. (UK)
BBC Gardening Illustrated Magazine. (UK)
Gardener's Corner (UK)

Going to farming...
BBC Farming Today.

There is something exceptional about the UK shows. They entertain while informing, can make you laugh by not taking themselves too seriously. And you get a chance to hear John Cushnie (he died this year) in the Gardener's Question Time archives. He was/is a treat.