Good Growing: Delivering research‑based horticulture across digital platforms
Horticulture & Turfgrass
Chris Enroth
Horticulture Educator
U of I Extension Unit 10
Macomb
Abstract
Good Growing is a multi-faceted educational outreach collaboration that strives to inform, inspire, and empower Illinois residents by offering gardening expertise and timely seasonal guidance. The suite of programs includes print media, a blog, a podcast, webinars, and videos covering a wide range of horticultural topics. and propelling it as a modern source of Extension information. These formats offer flexibility for diverse lifestyles and learning styles, whether followers prefer listening during a commute, watching short educational segments, or reading timely horticulture updates from their inbox. Together, they strengthen engagement, promote practical, research-based knowledge, and foster meaningful connections with new and long-standing audiences. As digital consumption habits continue to evolve, Good Growing’s multi-modal approach ensures Extension remains accessible, relevant, and responsive to the needs of today’s communities. Since 2020, the Good Growing Blog has become the most widely viewed Illinois Extension blog, surpassing 1.9 million views. The Good Growing Podcast has been streamed more than 273,000 times. The team has delivered 19 webinars attended live by 1,750 participants, with recorded sessions receiving an additional 164,600 + views. Twenty-nine how-to videos have accumulated over 224,000 views, and weekly emails reach more than 2,100 subscribers. This sustained growth reflects the team’s commitment to innovation and their ability to connect with diverse audiences. The Good Growing Grow Along, launched in 2023, is an effort to engage with the Good Growing community. Each year, participants are mailed seeds of ‘new’ or unique garden crops and flowers for everyone to grow together and report on their experience. This has led to an improved dialogue and interaction with Good Growing’s online audience. Survey results show strong educational impact: All respondents indicated they used information from Good Growing in some way. A majority indicated the blog (89%) and podcast (81%) increased their knowledge; many used the information to manage their landscapes more effectively (65% blog, 61% podcast), resolve a specific problem (48% blog, 39% podcast), or conserve resources (29% blog, 30% podcast). These outcomes underscore Good Growing’s success in fulfilling the Extension mission by providing accessible, research-based, and seasonally relevant horticultural information.
Authors: Chris Enroth, Ken Johnson, Emily Swihart
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Chris Enroth Horticulture Educator, University of Illinois Extension, Illinois, 61455
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Ken Johnson Horticulture Educator, University of Illinois Extension, Illinois, 62650
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Emily Swihart Horticulture Educator, University of Illinois Extension, Illinois, 61264