The Mike Nowak Show Podcasts

Tim Pollak is an outdoor floriculturist for the Chicago Botanic Garden. He is also the caretaker for nine Titan Arums, one of which, named Spike, is about to bloom for this first time in its twelve year old existence. Mike talks to Pollak and to CBG public relations director Gloria Ciaccio about the science and the spectacle currently surrounding this plant, which produces a foul odor to attract pollinators. Then, Mike and Kathleen Thompson attempt to figure out why the Ginkgo biloba in their backyard suddenly died this year.

Bryant Williams is Manager of Engineering Services for the Cook County Department of Environmental Control. He is promoting a webinar on March 5 about the county's Demolition Debris Diversion Ordinance, which, since 2012, has kept more than 500,000 tons of material away from landfills.

Kelly Farley is Executive Director and Bryant Williams is Senior Director of the Rebuilding Exchange in Chicago. Mike sits down with them to discuss the mission of this not-for-profit organization, and to promote its upcoming fundraiser, Madison and Wabash Bash. Leah Gauthier reports on her continuing mission to reintroduce people to the exquisite taste of the Marshall Strawberry.

Kelly Farley is Executive Director and Bryant Williams is Senior Director of the Rebuilding Exchange in Chicago. Mike sits down with them to discuss the mission of this not-for-profit organization, and to promote its upcoming fundraiser, Madison and Wabash Bash. Leah Gauthier reports on her continuing mission to reintroduce people to the exquisite taste of the Marshall Strawberry.

Dr. Harry J. Klee is a professor in the Horticultural Sciences Department at the University of Florida. For about twenty years, he has been trying to hybridize a tomato that will survive the rigors of mass marketing and still have enough flavor to rise above the horrible, barely edible fruits that are now sold and that are considered the best we can grow.

Lauralyn Clawson of Growing Power Chicago explains why the new composting ordinance passed by the Chicago City Council is a vast improvement over the old laws. Dr. Cindy Skrukrud, Clean Water Advocate for the Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club, talks about how the state is attempting to reduce the runoff of nitrogen and phosphorus into our lakes and streams.

Podcast Episode

Mike visits a car wash to talk to Erlene Howard, owner of Collective Resource, Inc., which picks up food scraps in the Chicago area to turn into compost. Her company recently won a Green America People & Planet Green Business Award, which will enable her to purchase an automated container washing unit. Meteorologist Rick DiMaio explains how various global anomalies are affecting weather in the United States and elsewhere.

Mike interview author Doug Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home

Melinda Myers is a horticulturist, author, radio & TV personality, educator and much more. She and Mike chat about a number of gardening topics, including growing tomatoes, straw bale gardening, and natural lawn care.

Dusan Koleno recently graduated with honors in Computer Science from Roosevelt University. But it was a course that he took in the Sustainability Studies Program that helped him put his computer skills to work creating an app that helps you keep track of your home recycling. The app is called Recycle Tracker and it can be downloaded to Android phones.

Podcast Episode

Horticulturist Bill Shores has been growing organic food for award-winning Chicago Chef Rick Bayless for a decade, while building his own business, Shores Garden Consulting. Shores gives Mike a special tour of the small but productive garden behind the home of Rick and Deann Bayless in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago that provides much produce for the Bayless restaurants.

Bill Shores helps to keep the award-winning Rick Bayless restaurants stocked with fresh produce. What's amazing is that much of it is grown in Rick's backyard, where Shores coaxes a stunning amount of production out of a very small space. Roosevelt University student Dusan Koleno has developed a phone app that can help people keep track of their recycling.

Tom Ogren has been studying the effects of allergenic pollen on gardeners and the general population for twenty five years, writing numerous books on the subject, including Allergy-Free Gardening. Now he is in Canada, where he is performing an allergy audit. That is to say, he is tasked with examining the effects of planting too many male cloned trees and shrubs, where they can contribute to allergies and asthma.