Growing Greener

Goats love invasive plants, says Elijah Goodwin, Director of Ecosystem Monitoring at New York's Stone Barns Center; and with careful timing and regulation the Center's herd is restoring ecological balance to its 80-acre campus and hundreds of acres of a famous nature preserve.

Revisiting a conversation from August 2023 with Dr. Bethany Bradley of the University of Massachusetts, who describes how plants introduced from outside our ecosystems may remain quiescent for decades before turning invasive, and how climate change is threatening to explode this threat.

Wildlife biologist Ken Bevis discusses the many benefits to biodiversity of "snags," standing dead trees, and how to incorporate them safely and aesthetically into our gardens.

In a replay of a conversation from September of 2023, Sheri Crabtree of Kentucky State University describes the northernmost species of the tropical custard apple family, the pawpaw, which offers delicious tropical flavor, a creamy texture, and thrives in the backyard garden as far north as USDA Zone 5.

William Cullina, a leading expert on the propagation of native plants, describes the special insights about a species' adaptations and ecology that starting from seed provides, and offers simple tips for success with this endeavor.