Master My Garden Podcast

This weeks sponsors: 
Seeds Ireland High Quality Seeds: See link below for listener offer. 
https://seedsireland.ie/master
October gardening is a strange mix of momentum and endings: the weather can still feel warm, growth can still be strong, yet the shortening days quietly shut the door on many sowings. We talk through a clear, realistic October seed sowing guide that focuses on what still delivers value, especially if you want winter salads and a head start on spring.

We run through the best autumn and overwintering crops to sow now, including winter spring onions, mustard leaves, mizuna, rocket, hardy spinach, late radish, and useful herbs like coriander, dill, chervil, and parsley. We also cover the winter leaf staples that thrive when light levels drop, plus the option of broad beans later in the month for an early crop next year. Alongside seeds, we dig into planting jobs that matter in October: garlic and winter onion sets, and why splitting your planting between polytunnel and outdoor beds can give you staggered harvests and a more resilient kitchen garden.

Beyond sowing, we get practical about seasonal maintenance. We share tips for ripening tomatoes as sweetness fades with lower light, preparing and mulching empty beds, using green manures, and keeping polytunnel soil life alive with sensible watering. With autumn winds on the rise, we also talk polytunnel and greenhouse checks and quick repairs that prevent small tears becoming expensive problems.

If you find the episode useful, subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next, share it with a gardening friend, and leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. What are you sowing or planting this October?
Support the show
If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know.
Email:  [email protected]   

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

This weeks sponsors: Better Plants 
See special offer here 
https://betterplants.ie/product/seaweed-soil-conditioner-2-x-10kg-buckets-special-offer/
Bats are flying over our gardens every night, doing a job most of us never see, and too many people still think they are blind, dangerous, or somehow “out to get you”. We sit down with Dr Niamh Roche, Senior Project Manager at Bat Conservation Ireland, to clear up the biggest bat misconceptions and replace them with the real story: bats are mammals built for precision flight, their wings are shaped like hands, and their echolocation is so advanced they can navigate and hunt tiny insects in near darkness.

We get into what Irish bats actually do for gardeners, growers, and biodiversity. From pipistrelles roosting in buildings to brown long-eared bats that can hover and pick insects off leaves, different species fill different niches. Neve explains why bats matter as a form of natural pest control, how exclusion studies in orchards and crops show significant increases in insect damage when bats are kept out, and why bat activity is often a sign of good environmental quality.

We also talk practical “gardening for bats” that you can start straight away: mowing less often, leaving patches of longer grass, accepting nettles and other native plants, and creating small messy corners that boost insect biomass. On the conservation side, Neve breaks down how Bat Conservation Ireland monitors bat populations with volunteers using bat detectors, car-based routes, waterway surveys, and roost counts, plus the resources you can use to learn more, including training and education materials. Subscribe, share this with a gardening friend, and leave a review so more people find the facts about bats and start making space for wildlife.
For more information on Bat Conservation Ireland click the link below:
https://www.batconservationireland.org
Support the show
If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know.
Email:  [email protected]   

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

This weeks sponsors: Better Plants 
See special offer here 
https://betterplants.ie/product/seaweed-soil-conditioner-2-x-10kg-buckets-special-offer/
Autumn colour can be breathtaking, but it can also disappear in a flash. One week your garden is glowing red and gold, the next it feels flat and bare because the weather shifts and the best leaf colour drops fast. We want a better plan than hoping a single tree carries the whole season, so we take a practical look at how to build an autumn garden that holds its nerve from September right through to Christmas. 

We walk through a layered approach that works in large gardens, small gardens, and even in pots. We start with late flowering perennials that still look “alive” when everything else is winding down, then move into reliable foliage performers like amelanchier, cotinus, acers, liquidambar and the ever-impressive red oak. From there we add the colour that keeps going after flowers fade: berries on viburnum opulus, sorbus, hawthorn, aronia and crab apples, all with a real biodiversity bonus for birds. 

Then we lean into the plants that truly shine when the first frost hits. Ornamental grasses such as miscanthus and Stipa gigantea bring structure and sparkle on bright mornings, while bark and stems take over for winter with white birch trunks, peeling paperbark maple, and dogwoods in red or yellow. We finish with simple autumn bedding and container ideas plus a quick garden audit you can do today to spot what your space is missing. Subscribe, share with a gardening friend, and leave a review if the layered approach helps you plan your best autumn yet.
If you want to join in the perennial grow along join here:
https://master-my-garden-perennial-grow-along.subscribepage.io/

Support the show
If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know.
Email:  [email protected]   

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

Join The Perennial Grow Along here 
https://master-my-garden-perennial-grow-along.subscribepage.io/
A full perennial border can look like something only open gardens and big budgets can pull off, until you do the maths and realise you can grow the bulk of it yourself. We’re outlining the 2026 perennial grow along plan and showing how a few packets of seed, a handful of trays, and a bit of organisation can turn into a serious number of plants for next summer’s planting.

We talk through the whole timeline from autumn sowing to pricking out in October, keeping seedlings healthy through winter, and then topping up with spring sowing (including options like dahlias from seed). Along the way we share the essentials: choosing a colour scheme, picking perennial seeds that actually suit your border design, using any container with proper drainage as a seed tray, and labelling so you do not lose track of varieties and dates when things start to germinate at different speeds.

You’ll also hear the honest bit: not every seed tray will be a winner. Some perennials are brilliantly straightforward, while others are finicky or sporadic. We cover what to expect from tricky germinators like echinacea, why lavender often needs cold stratification, and how a cold polytunnel or greenhouse can help you grow on without babying everything.

If you want a high-colour, pollinator-friendly perennial border that you can genuinely say you grew yourself, join the grow along, then subscribe, share this with a gardening mate, and leave us a review so more people can find it.
Support the show
If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know.
Email:  [email protected]   

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

The fastest way to make next spring feel brighter starts right now with a bag of bulbs and a spade. We walk through spring flowering bulbs from the ground up: what to buy in September, where they shine in borders, pots, lawns and under trees, and how to get a display that comes back year after year with almost no fuss. 

We cover the classics and the standouts: tulips for bold April colour themes (plus the types that actually return), daffodils and miniature narcissus for a long flowering run from winter into spring, and early heroes like crocus and snowdrops for that first lift when the garden still looks grey. We also talk pollinator-friendly choices, including native bluebells, and a few underused favourites like snakeshead fritillaria, anemones and muscari for naturalising and texture. If you want one crowd-pleaser, we explain why alliums are so hard to beat for impact and bees. 

You’ll leave with practical, confidence-building rules: avoid waterlogged soil, build free drainage in containers, plant bulbs at roughly three times their depth, and always set the pointy end upwards. We also share two container strategies for small spaces: staging pots for a tidy, swap-in display, and lasagne planting for layered flowering over weeks. Plus, we preview our upcoming perennial grow along and how to sign up. Subscribe, share this with a gardening friend, and leave a review if you want more simple wins like this.
Support the show
If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know.
Email:  [email protected]   

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