I don't have any new ones for you. I wanted to let you know how much I enjoy Mary James, thanks for the suggestion. The program is for San Diego gardeners but discussion of Lotusland, cactus wreaths and citrus is a pleasant diversion for Northern California gardeners too.

Mary did such a fantastic job of selecting great guests, and did a really good job interviewing her guests and extracting the most amount of information and relevant topics. Plus, the shows had the normal commercial breaks, and weren't filled with endless sponsor promos, as are several of the other syndicated California radio gardening shows I've found. As much as I respect Bryan Main and the Asakawas, their show, "The Garden Compass" is about 80% advertising and 20% material. I find myself zoning out when I listen, then miss the actual information. Very frustrating. Mary James took the approach of a journalist, and her format was spot on. I thought perhaps we might see her move over to Sirius radio, but still, no dedicated gardening show on Sirius either. Very sad! If you do a Google search, you might still be able to find the page from SignOnSanDiego.com where all of Mary's archived shows were saved, and download them. I was able to find it several months ago, after a bit of a search.

Patty S.

Yes, I find commercials annoying too. My hands are always dirt or I have to take off my garden gloves to fast forward.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mary James is at SD Gardens

There actually is a gardening show on Sirius on the public radio channel called "you bet your garden", but I don't agree with most of what he says in general, and his style is very preachy and heavy handed. For example he says you can never use a wood based compost on peat and don't like peat.

Think that's Mike McGrath, who was Editor-in-Chief of Organic Gardening magazine for several years. I believe he's from back east, so he's really not familiar with gardening in California. He's very much the organic gardener, and I would assume he would not be a fan of peat moss, as most organic gardeners believe the harvesting of peat is not considered a sustainable resource, and that peat wetlands ecosystem in Canada could be in jeapordy. Still wish I could find someone who is doing a good California gardening radio show that isn't full of advertisements and sponsor plugs. Sure miss Mary James!

Patty S.

I'm a fan of the Davis Garden Show, you can find it on podcast, no ads. It is focused on the Davis area but I find it very informative.

I found the show, but only found one podcast. It was good, but several years old. I'll look around for the new podcasts. Would be nice if they had a subscription via iTunes. That's where I found the single lone show.

Patty S.

Hi, try searching on "'davis garden show and beyond' on kdrt". There are like 30 back shows. I'll try to link to it here not sure if it'll work though.

Hope you like the show. I'm a huge fan because I wrote in and they actually answered my question on air. And it was very helpful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Davis Garden Show podcast

Thanks heddarosa. I'll do another search on iTunes for the show using that search criteria. The link will not go through to iTunes, but asks me to download iTunes, which I already have and have launched. So, I'll see if I can find this link, instead of the one I found.

Patty S.

The current davis garden show is listed in itunes under "davis garden show and beyond" and a new one hour episode is uploaded weekly. You might also be interested in "Get growing" and "The KFBK Garden show" also available on itunes. They are based in the Sacramento area and mostly address that area, but the host lived in San Diego for several years and know socal gardening as well.

Thanks boozer. Found the correct link in iTunes to subscribe to the podcast, plus I can download many of the past shows too, so that's great, I'm set. The KFBK show is Fred Hoffman, and I've heard his show a few times. Better than non-California gardening shows!

Patty S.

Ok not to obsess or anything but I also found one from KSRO, which is in my local county. Bummer is they have the commercials included.

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Talk

Heddarosa, thanks. I'll check this out. Still up in N. Calif, but better than Massachussetts!

Patty S.

I listen to Bob Tanem In The Garden on Sunday mornings 7AM-10AM. You can find him on KSFO 560 AM, and there are archives/podcast available to download. He is a longtime Marin County nurseryman and lecturer, and has a wonderful infectious laugh and friendly manner. He offers advice that steers people away from using toxic chemicals in their garden, and instead explains how to use low toxicity soap/oil sprays, beneficial insects, etc to get rid of diseases and pests. I like the fact that he takes the approach of using less harmful methods first, then resorts to stronger chemicals when absolutely necessary, and talks about how to use them responsibly. Most of us gardeners want to minimize chemical usage, but when there are times when you need to get serious with a problem, it is nice to have a person well educated in both natural and the "unnatural" products steer you in the right direction.

Thanks teckehound. I'll check our Bob's show. Marin County is N. Calif, but certainly better than a show in some other state. I am just so sad, still, that Mary James' show closed it's doors. I really liked Mary's format, which was an interview format. She would have a guest or two each show, and then discuss that guest's specialty or topic. It was just so full of great information. She is a journalist, and the show ran like a great informational column. Loved it! I'll check Bob's show out, and see if he has iTunes podcast downloads.

Patty S.