Lynn Barber, Florida-Friendly LandscapingTM Agent
Susan Haddock, Commercial Horticulture Agent, and I are ‘Garden Talk’ radio show hosts each Saturday morning at 8 am on Inspiration AM 1110 WTIS. The programs are pre-recorded and there is a website feature that allows for listeners to type in questions, which we answer after the program.
All of the programs we have recorded are available for your listening pleasure on the archives section of WTIS’ website: http://www.wtis1110.com/garden-talk-2/. We have been providing educational gardening shows since April 2012, so there is quite a list from which to choose.
‘Garden Talk’ is primarily horticulture related. Some of our favorite programs are on topics including rainwater harvesting, irrigation, mulch, butterfly gardening, community and school gardens, fertilizer facts and functions, holiday plants, turfgrass, composting, choosing a lawn care company, Master Gardener programs, termites, common landscape questions, pruning, community water-wise award contest, and the list goes on and on. However, we have presented programs on financial planning tools, cooking turkey, raising chickens and making a solar cooker, that are part of other University of Florida (UF) Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) program areas.
We have collaborated with other UF/IFAS Extension offices; such as Pinellas County, Polk County, Pasco County, and an Extension Specialist, that have shared information within their specialty program areas. Each weekly 30-minute segment is heard by 48,000 listeners, and there are 700 listeners per day on the archived shows. This is tremendous for us and has increased the number of residents we are able reach by utilizing radio as a media option.
Dave, a professional landscaper, told me that he refers all of his clients to the WTIS website for ‘Garden Talk’ and wants us to present more programming on turfgrass. He feels we should do more to promote this educational resource. So, Dave, I have taken your advice!
We hope you will listen to ‘Garden Talk’ in the near future and we’re always looking for new topics and feedback. For more gardening information, please contact or visit the UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County, 744-5519, or visit us at 5339 County Road 579, Seffner, FL 33584.
