Outta The Park

This week its an OTP exclusive as we are lucky enough to catch up with former Blue Jay Justin Smoak and the wonderful Kristin Smoak, as they prepare to head to Japan. Justin has signed a contract with the Tokyo Giants and despite what must be a pretty hectic time for them, they were kind enough to both sit for a chat with us!

Quick! What is the most annoying weed to remove from your garden? In our opinion its the Nettle. But just guess what many are using to make textiles from? You guessed it - our prickly pal the Nettle. On this week's episode of The Growing Season The McFarlands chat about the various horticultural organisms used to make textiles. Bananas, Pineapples, Flax, Corn, Hemp, Jute, Silk, Sisal and Sugar Cane are all touched on. Even your food waste and MANURE is being used to create fabric. You'll look at your clothes a whole lot differently after you hear Jack, Lynne and Matt discuss them. Need a visual? We gotchu. CLICK HERE. Looking to book a consult for your property to get ahead of the Spring rush? We'd love to help. CLICK HERE. What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE. Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast. CLICK HERE. Watch "The Land Line," our LIVE streaming show. CLICK HERE.

We kick off the New Year right on Sessions as we talk with renowned Canadian Artist Kevin Kane. Best known for his work with The Grapes of Wrath, Kevin catches us up on the stunning array of projects, he's been busying himself with over the last while, including joining up with another fantastic Canadian band, The Northern Pikes. We talk about everything: from the early days of the Grapes of Wrath, to fishing trips with Much Music, to the current strange times that musicians find themselves in. Its a talk every Canadian musician and music fan should hear!

Just because we can't get away to a tropical locale doesn't mean we can't bring the islands to you! The McFarlands kick off 2021 with some sunscreen. The Growing Season chats about many of the plants you'd see on a destination vacation. Heliconia, palm trees, bamboo and much more are touched on. Have you ever seen a cashew fruit? You're gonna be amazed! Sit back and smile through just under an hour of laughs and lei's! Need a visual? We gotchu. CLICK HERE. Looking to book a consult for your property to get ahead of the Spring rush? We'd love to help. CLICK HERE. What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE. Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast. CLICK HERE. Watch "The Land Line," our LIVE streaming show. CLICK HERE.

It's the last episode of 2020. The Growing Season caps the year off in style with a chat about all those horticultural gifts you got for Christmas and now have to figure out what to do with them. FELCO's, snake plants, seeds, teas - how do you properly store these items or care for them? Jack, Lynne and Matt tackle the ins and outs of it. The piece de resistance is a sit down with Chris Colaneri. Chris and his family own Niagara's Colaneri Estate Winery and they make some of the finest wine in all of Canada. The McFarlands are treated to a walk through the horticultural aspects of wine making. How did COVID19 affect Chris' business? How did they rebound from everything that happened. It's part 1 of a wonderful chat with a fun, warm and energetic person. Find Colaneri Estate Wines ONLINE. CLICK HERE. Need a visual? We gotchu. CLICK HERE. Looking to book a consult for your property to get ahead of the Spring rush? We'd love to help. CLICK HERE. What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE. Subscr

We catch up with Jordan Gibbons, fresh off the release of her band The Barrens' debut album; its called Young and its available NOW. We also catch up with her father, former Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. Lots of good baseball AND music talk in this conversation! John shares some news about a couple of seismic changes that have occurred in his life, since leaving Toronto.

Its beginning to smell a lot like Christmas! We're almost there! Santa is almost here. On this week's episode of The Growing Season the McFarlands chat about many of the horticultural visitors that arrive at this time of the year. Poinsettias, nuts and trees all feature heavily in the Christmas Season and TGS crew chat about it all. The cherry on top of the show is Allison Johnston of The Spice Trader. A WONDERFUL guest, Allison guides The McFarlands through all the spices that feature prominently during this time of the year. Frankincense, myrrh, nutmeg and many more are all touched on. You'll laugh along as the quartet give you a window into the mind of one of The Growing Season's favourite guests. Follow The Spice Trader on Twitter. CLICK HERE. Visit The Spice Trader online. CLICK HERE. Need a visual? We gotchu. CLICK HERE. Looking to book a consult for your property to get ahead of the Spring rush? We'd love to help. CLICK HERE. What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE. Subscribe t

By the time she was 12 she was smoking pot with her mother. She became a member of one of the most famous, all female rock bands ever. Bassist Kathy Valentine shares some of her story on Sessions. Be sure to check out her autobiography, All I Ever Wanted

In an unbelievably powerful and uplifting episode, we speak to former Blue Jay Todd Stottlemyre. Todd is releasing a new book this month titled the Observer. It promises to be a powerful read with lots of Blue Jay content, but also some profound and uplifting perspectives on the world we find ourselves in today. This talk goes to some pretty powerful places as Todd shares some strikingly honest and wonderful observations!

What does the winter have in store for us Southern Ontarians? Chris St. Clair, of The Weather Network, rejoins us on The Growing Season to chat about the upcoming La Nina and what exactly that means for our snow shovels. Jack, Lynne, Matt and Chris touch on a myriad of topics including the melting of the polar ice caps, 100 year storms and flooding. If you're a weather junkie you're going to love the chat. On the Christmas side of things The Growing Season chats about real vs. artificial Christmas trees. Matt discovers that Crown Land is. Follow Chris St. Clair on Twitter. CLICK HERE. Visit The Weather Network online. CLICK HERE. Need a visual? We gotchu. CLICK HERE. Looking to book a consult for your property to get ahead of the Spring rush? We'd love to help. CLICK HERE. What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE. Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast. CLICK HERE. Watch "The Land Line," our LIVE streaming show. CLICK HERE.

We catch up with Electro-Pop sensation Mauve, in a refreshingly positive chat. Fresh off the release of her newest single, Right. We talk about how Mauve is staying positive in the covid-world, what she's planning next and some of the motivations and inspirations behind her super catchy tunes! Barry and Tom also take a look back at a dark day in music history, with the tragic loss of John Lennon 40 years ago today.

We catch up with former Blue Jay and fan favourite Jason Grilli in a talk that goes from the Blue Jays playoff runs of the 80s and 90s to Jason's fantastic new crib. Along the way we also hear what its like to hang with Eddie Vedder!

Let's see what everybody else is doing. The McFarlands pack up The Growing Season and traverse the globe to chat about what other cultures use for Christmas Trees. Jack, Lynne and Matt chat about the Philippines, New Zealand, Germany, Greenland, Ireland, The UK and more. You'd be surprised to learn about the Kiwi Christmas Tree! The Growing Season also chats about The Norfolk Island Pine, a tropical plant that can be used as an alternate Christmas Tree. Need a visual? We gotchu. CLICK HERE. Looking to book a consult for your property to get ahead of the Spring rush? We'd love to help. CLICK HERE. What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE. Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast. CLICK HERE. Watch "The Land Line," our LIVE streaming show. CLICK HERE.

We catch up with 11-time JUNO award winning artist Murray McLauchlan. Fresh off the release of his powerful double-single, featuring songs; The One Percent and I Live on a White Cloud. This is a great chat that touches on everything from the systemic racism and inequity that inspired his latest work, to Star Trek episodes that taught us to strive to be better!

This week we catch up with former Blue Jays closer Casey Janssen. Casey shares some wonderful insights from throughout his career and speaks candidly about his decision to pack it in. Barry and Tom also talk about some pretty big news from Blue Jay land; both the possible demolition of the Roger's Centre and the letting go of longtime broadcaster Mike Wilner.

Last week we talked about the sweaters, now lets get to the boots...err roots in this case. After chatting about the bark of a plant The McFarlands go below ground and discuss the ins and outs of a plant's root system. Can roots relocate? What is the best way to care for a trees feeding and anchor system? Its all laid out for you. You might reconsider using salt of any kind on your property after this show. Need a visual? We gotchu. CLICK HERE. Looking to book a consult for your property with spring finally here? We'd love to help. CLICK HERE. What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE. Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast. CLICK HERE. Watch "The Land Line," our LIVE streaming show. CLICK HERE.

We catch up with A Family Curse. This fantastic duo is the result of a collaboration between Canadian musician Kandle Osborne and her father Neil Osborne, who is of course the lead singer of Canadian rock legends 54.40. This chat is a great look into what seems to be a pretty cool father daughter relationship, that has resulted in some pretty fantastic music!

In a hard hitting episode, we catch up with former Blue Jay Brett Cecil for a remarkably frank discussion about the path his life has taken since he left Toronto. We also talk with Barry's friend Mio Yokoi, who has recently begun documenting her battle against cancer. Despite dealing with some heavy topics this week, both Brett and Mio take this episode to a seriously positive and uplifting place!

Its all bark! Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland discuss what's under the hood of your favourite plant materials. What exactly is bark and, outside of the obvious, why is it necessary? The thickest bark, the thinnest and the interesting environmental adaptations that plants have made over the years are all touched on. Looking for bark for winter interest? We have you covered. Need a visual? We gotchu. CLICK HERE. Looking to book a consult for your property with spring finally here? We'd love to help. CLICK HERE. What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE. Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast. CLICK HERE. Watch "The Land Line," our LIVE streaming show. CLICK HERE.

We catch up with Scott Richmond whose life after baseball has included... an awful lot of baseball! From his early career to his work with Baseball Canada, Scott shares some wonderful stories and perspectives.