tag: Gardening

Hey - who invited basil downy mildew to the pesto party? In this episode of Backyard Industry, Lisa Bralts consults a couple of local experts about this (sort of) new-to-Illinois plant disease - and gets both good news and bad news.

In this episode of Backyard Industry, Lisa Bralts explores the concept of foraging and eating particular invasive species, like the autumn olive, as one way of slowing them down.

After years of growing things outside, In My Backyard's Lisa Bralts considers getting over her fear of indoor plants after meeting a gentleman she calls "The Plant Whisperer".

Is the crafting/DIY/gardening/cooking trend really that new? Are women heading backward by heading into the kitchen and the garden and the craft room, or is there room for home economics and work outside the home? Lisa Bralts talks with an urban farmer/mother/geologist about the importance of relating to the world in terms other than economic in this week’s In My Backyard.

Books about food and gardens abound at IMBY HQ. In this episode of In My Backyard, Lisa Bralts gets a local bartender (and now fledgling gardener) named Flip Flop to read and review one of the newer arrivals, Amy Stewart's The Drunken Botanist. WEB-ONLY BONUS: Extra commentary provided by Flip Flop regarding the preparation of the cocktail that inspired the book. Just click "listen" over there on the left!

This winter's mild weather notwithstanding, it's a bit hard to believe the next growing season is already right around the corner. In this week's segment of In My Backyard, Lisa Bralts discovers that local growers aren't just thinking about the 2012 growing season - they're way ahead of the rest of us.

Urbana-Champaign's vibrant local food culture isn't a recent phenomenon -  it's been brewing for over 30 years. This week, Lisa examines the  community's - and her own - ties to an important part of that food culture: the Urbana Park District's organic garden plots at Meadowbrook Park and now, Victory Park.

With the mercury dropping, fresh snow on the ground, and spring barely on the horizon, Lisa looks for a little inspiration before settling in with the seed catalogs.