Just Grow Something | The "Why" Behind the "How" of Gardening
Karin Velez
Grow a better vegetable garden, whether you're a seasoned gardener or have never grown a thing in your life. Karin helps home gardeners learn to grow their own food using evidence-based techniques and research. She talks all about specific plants, pests, diseases, soil and plant health, mulch, garden planning, and more. It's not just the "how" but also the "why" that makes us better. The goal? For everyone to know how to grow their own food no matter what sized space they have or their experience level.
Tune in each week to plan, learn, and grow with your friend in...
Successful Indoor Seed Starting - Ep. 237
Success with starting seeds indoors comes down to a handful of factors: your materials and technique, soil temperature, air temperature, light, and air flow. How we approach each of these will determine how successful our outcome is. Just like any new skill, starting seeds indoors and successfully getting them to the transplant stage takes practice. Last week we talked about the supplies we need to get started. This week, we’re covering how to use them.
Today on Just Grow Something, we’re going
Essential Seed Starting Supplies (and one scam) - Ep. 236
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We talked last week about how to time our seed starting so
we can get a jump on the gardening season without being too early or too late.
This week we’re focusing on what we need in terms of supplies to get those
seeds going.
There are tons and tons of options out there from the plain
basics to the super fancy and everything in between. There is also a wide ra
How to Time Indoor Seed Starting - Ep. 235
Once those seed orders are rolling in, your garden plan is shaping up, and the days slowly get a little bit longer, we start to get restless. We want to get our hands in the dirt! This leads to the temptation to get started on our indoor seed starting, but for most of us it really isn’t time to start very many of those seeds just yet. This will depend on your growing zone, of course, and when your last spring frost date is if you have one, but it will also depend on what you’re planning to grow.
7 Steps to Planning Your Entire Garden Year - Ep. 234
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All this month we’ve been talking about garden planning because it’s that time. The slower month of January means taking the time to really figure out what we want to grow in the garden and last week we talked about how to fit it all in.
This week, we’re talking about my secret weapon to keeping on track – the humble calendar. This may not seem like a big deal but, let me tell
Getting More from the Garden: Succession Planting and Intercropping - Ep. 233
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If you have struggled in the past with how to fit all the plants you want to grow into the space you have available for gardening, you are not alone. It’s probably the number one question I get from clients when I step into their yards: how do I lay out my plants so they all fit?
This not something that is intuitive or easy to figure out without a lot of trial and error, so don’t feel bad if you have
How Many Plants Do You Need? - Ep. 232
Last week we defined our “why” for gardening as a way to help determine our goals. Part of that goal requires us to think about the types of things we want to grow in our garden and the number of people we’re feeding in our family or whomever we are growing for. This also helps determine how much space we need for the garden to meet those goals and whether or not our existing space is big enough, or even too big.
It’s very easy to overdo it, especially in the first few years because you don’t kn
Setting Goals and Budgets for the Garden - Ep. 231
Okay, my gardening friend, tell me this: why are you gardening? Did you start gardening during the pandemic because everything was locked down and you were at home all the time and needed some sort of contact with another living thing and that living thing ended up being plants? Or is gardening something you grew up doing and just automatically continued as an adult? Do you garden to reduce the family food budget or maybe your goal is to grow all your family’s produce for the entire year? Maybe
Top 5 Episodes, an Honorable Mention, and an All-Time Favorite
I went back through the episodes for this season and looked at the statistics to find which episodes really stood out for you guys this year and thought I would share those so, if you really need a garden podcast fix this week you could jump back and listen to one of those. There was one surprise on the list that I will cover at the end and one all-time favorite, but first let’s look at the top 5 for 2024.
I will leave links to each of these episodes in the episode notes and it was also in this
Reviewing Your Gardening Season: 10 things to track in your garden journal - Ep. 230
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Depending on where you live your gardening season may just be winding down or at least slowing a little bit or it may have been done for a couple of months now. This is a great time to take a deep breath, recover from the busyness and demands of the garden, and then to look back and reflect.
Planning for next year’s garden will be happening soon enough and I know some of you have alre
Attracting Pollinators and Predators to the Garden - Ep. 229
If you’ve ever had shrunken ends on your zucchini or curled ends on your cucumbers, then you have seen the results of a lack of pollination. This doesn’t always mean we don’t have enough pollinators, sometimes it means the pollinators couldn’t do their job for some other reason, like heat, humidity or the density of our plants.
But, it is becoming more and more common for us to see a lack of pollinators in our vegetable gardens. Neighboring pesticide users, invasive species, widespread habitat l
Integrated Pest Management in the Home Garden - Ep. 228
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What is your biggest problem in the garden? If you’re like most gardeners, this can be any number of things … weeds, deer and rabbits, diseases. But the number one thing I hear from gardeners that they feel is so out of their control is insect pests. Once we think we have one pest figured out another moves in to wreck as much havoc as the first, sometimes more, and it feels like a los
Ten Most Versatile Herbs for Fresh and Dried Use - Ep. 227
I didn’t grow up learning how to cook. When I say I had no idea how to season my food as a young adult, I mean NO idea. I didn’t even use salt and pepper. It took me years to not just learn how to cook from a practical application standpoint, but also how to use herbs and spice blends.
When I started gardening, growing herbs wasn’t at the top of my list. I didn’t really think there could be much difference between the dried stuff I bought in the store and using it fresh out of the garden. I star
Top 5 Perennial Herbs by USDA Hardiness Zone - Ep. 226
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We all want things to be just a little bit easier in the garden, right? It’s part of why I try to plant things in the fall to overwinter that will start growing on their own in the spring. It means less effort on my part during a very busy time in the garden when it seems like everything has to go in all at once.
The best low-effort thing I can think of in the garden is a perennial and the
Winter Produce Storage: Tips for Keeping Your Fall Harvest Fresh Through the Cold Months - Ep. 225
As we head toward the end of fall and into winter it’s time to start using some of what we’ve stored from the garden. Bountiful fall harvests of things like onions, potatoes, carrots, and beets, whether we grew them ourselves or managed to snag some from the local farmers market or CSA, can absolutely be stored up for long-term use. In fact, many of us count on these harvests or market scores to feed our families throughout the winter.
But it can be very disheartening to go into your pantry or b
Three Ways to Grow Nutritious Greens Indoors - Ep. 224
It is November, which means we are firmly seated in fall and many of us have seen the total demise of our gardens. In fact, some of us have had several weeks since we saw anything green out there and it’s kind of depressing! Have no fear, there is a way to get a fresh green pick-me-up in the kitchen even when the outside seems bleary – three ways, in fact!
Today on Just Grow Something we’re going to cover three ways to grow nutritious greens indoors. This can absolutely be done year-round, but i
Tropical Gardening, Plus Your Biggest Garden Failures of the Season - Ep. 223
If you’ve been watching my social media accounts you’ve seen me posting about my recent trip to Puerto Rico. I was hoping to see what backyard gardeners were growing in a tropical region and also get an idea of what crops are economically significant to the region and I was actually surprised by what I learned.
Today on Just Grow Something we’re going to talk about what crops are prevalent in Puerto Rico and how we can duplicate some of that in our own homes even if we live somewhere that is dec
How to Amend the Soil in Fall for a Better Garden in Spring - Ep. 222
Adding the right soil amendments in the fall is a great way to set up your garden for success in the spring. By incorporating amendments now, you give them time to break down and integrate into the soil, providing nutrients and improving soil texture for the next growing season.
Today on Just Grow Something we’re going to breakdown the best amendments for addressing specific nutrient deficiencies, as well as general-purpose options that we can add to our soil now to benefit our garden in the spr
Garlic Planting Tips by Climate - Ep. 221
Last week we talked onions, this week it’s another allium, garlic. The timing on planting onions in the fall is just about the same as when we plant our garlic for overwintering and garlic spends just about as much time in the garden as those fall-planted onions do.
Just like our onions, there are specific considerations for growing garlic – the right variety, the right soil, specific planting depth and spacing, planting time, and nutrients. If this all sounds vaguely familiar, that’s because th
Planting Onions in Fall for a Summer Harvest - Ep. 220
This is the episode so many of you have asked for and now is the perfect time because, in most locations, this is the time to be planting onion sets or seedlings to overwinter and harvest the next summer. Successfully growing full-sized onions for fresh eating and for storage seems to allude many of us, I had trouble with it the first few tries, for sure, and I think it boils down to a couple of things. First is planting depth and spacing, second is soil texture and nutrients, and third is the t
How to Dry and Store Cut Flowers - Ep. 219
The fruits and veggies coming from our gardens are not the only things we can dry and store in the off-season. Think about the vibrant colors from the flowers in our yards and containers. We can absolutely preserve that beauty to use year-round, or at least to display through the dreary winter season, by simply air-drying them.
There are lots of ways we can use those cut flowers, ornamental grasses, and even edible flowers and herbs in our home décor and pantry. Yes, you’ve got the typical dried
Simple Compost Solutions for Every Garden Space - Ep. 218
As we start to wind down the summer gardening season it’s a great time to be adding compost to your beds to help give the soil a boost. Letting the compost break down over the winter gives it adequate time to become activated with all the little microorganisms that are so important for delivering nutrients to our plants in the soil.
But, purchasing compost, especially really good compost, can be pricey and the bigger your garden, the higher the price tag! It’s hard to justify sometimes because s
Fall Garden Checklist by Hardiness Zone - Ep. 217
As the fall season is practically upon us and the pumpkin spice gods are already blessing us with their bounty, it’s time to get your garden ready for the changing weather. Fall gardening can look very different depending on your climate, but no matter where you live, the changing season means there are some important tasks to attend to for the success of your garden now and into the spring.
Today on Just Grow Something we’re tackling your fall garden checklist. Whether you’re buttoning up your
Proper Seed Drying and Storage - Ep. 216
Last week on the podcast we talked about which seeds we should be saving from the garden, how mature the fruits need to be when we harvest seeds and a bit about how to dry and test them. This week, we’re focusing on storing them properly.
When we get seeds from a catalog or other seed supplier, they’ve often gone through a set of steps that we may not be duplicating at home with our own saved seeds. Seed suppliers are required to test their seeds not just for germination percentage, but also for
Saving Seeds Properly - Ep. 215
Saving seeds from our gardens to use the next spring it is a great way to not only help our budget out a little bit but also to give ourselves some food security and doesn’t sound like it should be a very difficult task. At that point we’re not relying on someone else to grow our seeds for us that we have to buy over and over again. Just collect the seeds from whatever you want to keep, rinse them, dry them, and pack them away for next year, right?
Well, yes, but also, no. The method I just des
How to Choose a Garlic Variety to Grow - Ep. 214
If you have intentions of growing garlic for next year, now is the time to be ordering your seed garlic. Garlic needs about six months in the ground to get to maturity so, here in the northern hemisphere, we may be planting our garlic as early as mid-September in some areas.
With the plethora of catalogs and websites and garden centers offering garlic to gardeners, how do you know what variety of garlic to choose? And should you be choosing hard neck, or soft neck, or that look-a-like Elephant g
How to Grow Beets - Ep. 213
If you didn’t plan for a fall garden and maybe have changed your mind a little bit and want to give it a go, you might be looking for something you can very quickly put into the ground and grow directly from seed. Enter beets. They will happily germinate in almost any temperature of soil and they greatly appreciate the cooler days of fall when they are coming to maturity. They’re not fool-proof, because there is a little effort needed in terms of thinning in most cases and they do need a nice, l
Artificial Intelligence and Gardening Advice - Ep. 212
I do searches online for gardening topics all the time. I will search key phrases to see if I can come up with topics that people seem to be searching for or gardening questions that may be trending. I even search specific ideas to see if there is new information or research that I’m not aware of. And more and more frequently I’m noticing a disturbing trend.
As I look at the search results, often times I will see multiple pages in a row, usually sponsored results, that have the exact same key ph
Preparing to Preserve: Basic Canning Supplies for Beginners - Ep. 211
There is something very satisfying about growing your own food, for sure, and being able to walk out into the garden to pick your lunch or your dinner. But, in the dead of a Midwest winter, the ability to be able to “shop” your own pantry for the things you eat the most, that you grew, that is a whole other level.
So, today on Just Grow Something we’re going to talk about the basic necessities you need for starting your own canning adventure. We’ll mostly focus on boiling-water canning and what
Heirloom vs Hybrid vs GMO - Ep. 210
Over the past decade or so there has been much debate about whether open-pollinated and heirloom varieties should be the preferred choice for gardeners over hybrids. And there's been even louder discussion (arguments) over GMOs or genetically engineered plants. Why all the fuss?
We're getting a bit sciencey today. I mean, more than usual. We're discussing the difference between all these types of plants, when and how they are appropriate to use in our home gardens, and what, if any,
Don't Overwater in the Heat - Focal Point Friday
Mother Nature has opened the blast furnace door on west central Missouri. I recorded this quick episode on the fly in the gardens to share with you a little wisdom about what our plants are doing in the heat and how to avoid further damage to things like tomatoes by overwatering. Let's dig in!
You can find the video version of this podcast on Spotify and YouTube!
Growing Brussels Sprouts - Ep. 209
Back on episode 200, the Ask Me Anything episode, someone asked if I would do an episode on growing Brussels sprouts. I said no at the time because I hadn’t yet successfully grown them but indicated it may be soon because Brussels were having a moment in my garden this spring and it was looking good.
Well, here we are and we’re talking Brussels because I managed to successfully grow and harvest a summer crop from a spring planting and have round two of seedlings started already for planting soon
Starting a Garden Side Hustle - Ep. 208
Maybe you’ve heard the origin story of how I started gardening and then came to be a market farmer which lead to me getting a degree in horticulture which led to me doing this podcast. The short story is I had a really successful, very large, garden and I was sick of being stuck inside all the time working my day job and tried to find a way to make some side money from the garden, and the rest is history.
Maybe you’ve been in the same position. A lot of gardeners do really, really well a couple
Managing Heat Stress in Garden Plants - Ep. 207
It’s the middle of July and it’s the time of year when heat stress in plants can be a significant challenge for gardeners. If you’re gardening in the peak of summer or in a region with consistently high temperatures, heat stress can lead to wilting, reduced yields, poor fruit quality, and even cause plants to just up and die. But, we can do something about it. Lots of things, actually.
Today on Just Grow Something we’re talking effective management of heat stress in our plants, including prevent
Epsom Salts - Magic or Myth? - Ep. 206
If you are in any gardening group, whether an in-person club or online, you likely see countless home remedies for everything that ails our plants. Gardeners tout everything as a miracle cure for something in the garden, from putting tums in the soil to burying fish, making weed killer out of vinegar and salt (please don’t) to using dawn dish soap as an insecticide (again, please don’t).
One that pops up over and over again is using Epsom salts, either sprinkled or added to the soil or used as a
Steps for Planning the Fall Garden (and Why You Should Grow One) - Ep. 205
Last week on the podcast we talked about your summer succession plantings, things you can plant in the summer and harvest in the summer on repeat. This week, it’s all about fall, baby. I know it may seem like the summer growing season just started, especially if you have very few frost-free days, but this really is the time to be planning for a fall harvest. In order to get a viable crop before your first frost date or first hard freeze or before your Persephone Period hits, the steps to get the
Summer Succession Planting for a Greater Harvest - Ep. 204
We are officially in summer in the northern hemisphere and, for many of us, she came in with a bang. It will hit 100 F here today with a heat index of 112 F and it feels like walking in front of a blast furnace stepping out into the sun.
This may make you think the summer growing season is a one-and-done situation, especially if you live somewhere further south than me where the temperatures can be even more brutal on a regular basis. I’m here to tell you that’s not the case. In fact, even if yo
When Are Onions Ready to Harvest? - Ep. 203
I posted a video last week on TikTok and Reels about how to tell if your onions are ready to harvest and there was a lot of feedback. Onions are one of those crops that can take a long time to master and, even then, getting a good harvest can be hit or miss. Which is probably why that video got the response it did.
Today on Just Grow Something we’ll go over how to tell if your onions are ready to harvest, when you should wait, and when you should pull them early based on the conditions of the pl
Squash Vine Borers and Squash Bugs in Cucumber Plants - Focal Point Friday Ep. 202
Well, I dropped the ball! This is a follow up to Tuesdays episode about problems in cucumbers. I failed to mention two pests that plague many gardeners - squash vine borers and squash bugs.
So, let's remedy this situation! Spend a quick 15 minutes with me while we talk about these pests and how to prevent them.
Problems with Cucumbers - Ep. 201
The summer gardening season is just about in full swing here in the northern hemisphere and cucumbers are definitely a crowd favorite. Whether you’re growing the for slicing, snacking, or pickling, a properly managed cucumber vine can be very productive. But it seems like when things go wrong with cucumbers, they go really wrong. Whether it’s dying plants, funky looking fruit, diseases, or other issues with our favorite cucurbit, we do have preventions and solutions.
Today on Just Grow Something
Celebrating 200 Episodes: Ask Me Anything! - Ep. 200
Welcome to the 200th episode of the Just Grow Something podcast, my gardening friends! I launched this podcast back in February of 2021 as a way to pass on the gardening knowledge I had gained from my experiences on our own homestead and farm and what I had learned as I worked my way through my horticulture degree at Oregon State University. I’ve continued to learn along the way and pass on as much of that to you as I reasonably can in the 30 minutes or so a week we spend together here, as well
Trellising Techniques for Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Beans and Peas - Ep. 199
One of the most labor-intensive parts of growing some of our garden crops, like tomatoes, can be trellising them. Other plants naturally just climb whatever we place next to them without much intervention from us, but they do sometimes need some initial guidance. Cucumbers and peas are two good examples of this. Often times this depends on the type of trellis we’re using.
The type of trellis we use boils down to personal preference, the amount of space we have, the materials available to us, and
Cloning Plants for Succession and Expansion -Ep. 198
One of the strategies I use and encourage other gardeners to use for getting the most out of their gardens each year is succession planting. This is the process of planting a new crop of something after the first one has a little bit of growth on it so that we can harvest pretty continuously or planting a second crop after a first one has given its all.
This might make you think that you need to be buying new transplants or starting new seedlings all over again to get these succession plantings
Problems with Peppers - Ep. 197
Growing peppers is one of the most asked about topics at the farm stand and the most played episodes of this podcast. Most of the time the frustration comes with either not getting bell peppers to grow large enough or other problems for peppers, in general, including sunscald, lack of ripening, and just generally poor plant growth and low production levels. And, of course, there are the problems with pests and diseases.
Today on Just Grow Something, we’re tackling all that and more. If you’ve ha
Gardening in Shade and Solving Your Garden Maintenance Problems - Ep. 196
I hear from a lot of frustrated would-be gardeners at the farmer’s market stand who say they just don’t have enough sun in their yard to be able to grow anything. Of course, they can always go to maximum effort by growing in smaller containers and moving them around the yard as the season progresses to catch the light as the sun shifts, which is a lot of work, but it’s also very possible that many of these potential gardeners have more sun than they think. And this goes for my gardeners who are
Preventing and Controlling Foliar Disease in the Garden - Ep. 195
Foliar diseases in both vegetable and fruit plants can significantly impact our yield and the quality of that yield if left unmanaged. If you’ve ever had powdery mildew on your cucumbers or early blight in your tomatoes, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Even though the disease is affecting the leaves, the interruption of photosynthesis by the fungus affects the fruit development, and then the disease will jump from the leaves to the fruit and then we’ve got a real mess on our hands. And
Growing Strawberries - Ep. 194
We talk a lot about growing vegetables on this show but, in truth, I am a huge fruit eater. I love fruit, either on it’s own or on a salad, in smoothies, in desserts, love it. Being someone who is a proponent of sustainable agriculture I also prefer to get my fruits locally if I can. That’s not to say I don’t always have bananas in this house and that I don’t love a good Mandarin orange, but if I can grow it myself, I feel much better. Fruit trees can be intimidating, and they can be temperament
Proper Soil Temperatures for Transplanting - Ep. 193
Using the last frost date in spring or our average air temperatures might be a good guideline to start with when figuring out when to plant the garden, but a better method for knowing when it’s actually time to sow those seeds or transplant those plants is the soil temperature. Even though the air temperatures may be warmer than usual, the soil knows the truth. If that soil is cold and wet, or might be that way in the next ten days, your tomatoes, or peppers, or whatever, are not going to be hap
Amendments to Add in Spring for the Summer Garden - Ep. 192
Back in November I talked to you about doing a soil test, using slow-release amendments in the garden to do their work gradually over the winter, and then doing another soil test in the spring to see how well it worked. Now’s the time in most areas to be doing that spring soil test before you start planting your spring or summer gardens.
But, what do you do if that spring test shows the amendments you added in the fall just weren’t enough to fix the problem? This time around you’ll need somethin
Your Biggest Pests in the Garden - Ep. 191
I had such a fantastic response to the March Question of the Month and we had such great conversations on Facebook and Instagram that I made this week’s entire episode all about! You came in clutch with problems and solutions and there was plenty of community discussion, which is what I love. Gardeners helping gardeners.
We all have a lot of pests and some very clever ways to deal with them. And not all of them are insects. So, today on Just Grow Something we are talking all about your biggest p
Hardening Off Seedlings Before Transplant - Ep. 190
Hardening off is a process that helps plants adjust to the outdoor environment, preventing shock and ensuring they thrive once planted in the garden. Gradual exposure helps the plants acclimate to the conditions they will experience out in the garden or in their containers on your porch before you put them out there.
Today on Just Grow Something we’ll go over the exact steps we need to take to harden off our plants prior to putting them out into the garden. This includes whether you’re growing t
Straw Bale Gardening - Ep. 189
Years ago I had some straw bales I’d used initially as fall décor that ended up in my chicken coop. The bales were used partially as a wind break all winter and partially as a roost. Well, chickens do what chickens do when they roost and by the spring of the following year those straw bales were full of nitrogen-rich chicken poop and starting to fall apart. So, I moved the out of the coop, watered the down really well for about a week, and planted a bunch of plants into them.
This was my first i
Donations and Dollar Stands with Meg Lea - Ep. 188
Today's episode is a special interview with Meg Lea of the Fox and Hound Garden in Wisconsin. Meg harvested an unbelievable amount of food from her Zone 4b gardens last year and donated over two thirds of it.
We chat about all things gardening, from planning to production, donations and dollar roadside stands, overambitious plantings and failing forward. It's a great conversation with a fellow gardener that you'll love to listen in to. By the end you'll have commiserated and mayb
Maintaining Fruit Trees, Bushes, and Canes - Ep. 187
If you’re planning to put in new fruit trees, bushes, or canes in your garden the best time of year, generally, is spring. We want the soil to warm up enough that the roots of the plants will begin to seek out water and nutrients as soon as placed in the ground with as little transplant shock as possible. But, if we have existing fruit trees, bushes, or canes then any maintenance on those trees should be done before the soil begins to really warm up and the plants come out of dormancy. This is u
Different Ways to Grow Potatoes - Ep. 186
Potatoes are a cool season crop, and most varieties need between 60 and 120 days to mature, so that means getting them in the ground as soon as the soil can be worked and giving them the time they need to grow. The great thing about potatoes is they can be harvested at any size, so it’s a crop that can do well in a short-season area and can also be grown in places other than big, long in-ground rows. If you have minimal space or you can only garden in grow bags or buckets, you can still grow pot
Heat Mats and Grow Lights - Ep. 185
This month we’re talking a lot about seed starting and we can’t talk about starting seeds without talking about heat and light. Seeds sprout more quickly and efficiently when they’ve got the correct soil temperatures and the easiest way to do this is with a seedling heat mat. It’s not a requirement, though, so we’ll also talk about some ways you can up the ante on the soil temperatures during seed starting without a heat mat.
Once those seeds do sprout and you're nurturing those little seedl
Seed Starting Soils and Containers - Ep. 184
Seed starting does not need to be intimidating but it does come with a special set of requirements for true success. Two components to that success are the soils we use and the containers we choose. Not all soils and containers are created equal. Today we dig into the different types of seed starting mediums and containers available on the market and ones we can dig up in our own home. (Pun intended.) Ssurprise surprise, the potting soil you choose to use may not actually be soil at all. And the
Starting Flower Seedlings Indoors - Ep. 183
If you’re planning to grow flowers alongside your vegetables this year, there may be some additional steps you’ll need to take when getting those started. Most annual flowers are started in ways very similar to our annual vegetable plants. But some flowers are trickier to start, especially perennials. And some can’t easily be started from seed and need to be propagated using other methods.
Today on Just Grow Something we’re going to talk about the easiest flowers to start from seed and those “sp
Soil Blocks and Flower Bars with Kathy Gormandy - Ep. 182
Soil blocking is a seed starting technique that uses small blocks of soil or seed starting mix. There are no containers, no small plastic cells, just the soil itself. The benefit of soil blocking is, of course, you’re not keeping a bunch of plastic containers around to start your seeds in, but also there is no chance for the roots of the seedlings to become bound by a container. The plants roots will reach the edge of the soil block and simply stop growing until the block is planted, the roots c
Succession Planting to Extend the Harvest - Ep. 181
As we start to get our garden plans in order for this year, succession planting is something that absolutely should be included in our calendars and our garden maps. It’s really the best way to ensure not only to do you have more to harvest throughout the season but that you take advantage of open spaces in the garden when one crop ends or the season changes.
Today on Just Grow Something we’ll talk about what succession planting is, how it relates to interplanting and relay planting, and how to
Interplanting to Maximize Your Harvest - Ep. 180
There is a fine line in gardening between overcrowding the plants and making efficient use of space. If we do it right, the plants benefit from each other and we can get way more out of our garden than we ever dreamed. But if we step over that line, we end up with plants competing with each other for space, water, sunlight, and nutrients and our yield is dramatically reduced.
As we start planning our gardens for the year it’s time to take a look at the space we have to work with and plan out our
How to Choose a Plant Variety - Ep. 179
You may have an idea of what you want to grow in terms of vegetables in your garden – say zucchini and tomatoes, for example. If you open the seed catalog or website to the page for zucchini you may find as many 18 to 25 different varieties to choose from, each with their own unique set of attributes in terms of shape, size, color, growing conditions, disease resistance, pollination type, and more. Move on to tomatoes, well now you’re talking hundreds of varieties in different classes from cherr
Choosing a Seed Supplier - Ep. 178
It used to be easy to just choose a catalog and order seeds because there were only a handful of choices and, generally speaking, unless you were going to the nursery or garden center to buy seed packets from a kiosk, you were ordering from a physical catalog that you actually got in the mail. But, nowadays, a simple internet search will yield thousands of results from companies all over the world and it’s a little bit more difficult to weed out the bad guys.
So, today we are going to talk about
Top Episode 1: Growing Peppers - Ep. 177
Let's revisit the most downloaded episode of this podcast the past three season: growing peppers! Peppers are one of those plants that I get asked about all the time; it’s also one of those vegetables that is a mainstay in many people’s kitchens, and they can be expensive at the grocery store, so knowing how to grow your own is high up on the gardening wish list for a lot of people. So, today we talk all about peppers, both sweet and hot, how to get them to germinate, their feeding requireme
Top Episode 2: Growing Potatoes - Ep. 176
Potatoes are a staple in many households. The wonderful thing about Irish potatoes is that they can be grown just about anywhere, in ground or in planters or buckets. They can be a quick shoulder-season crop or they can spend 120 days in the ground, making way for fall-planted crops when they’re done. You can pick them early for baby potatoes, leave them late for storage potatoes, or anything in between, and they are one of the easiest crops for beginners because they are pretty hands off. Which
Top Episode 3: Growing Onions - Ep. 175
Welcome back, my gardening friends, to another episode of Just Grow Something as we count down the top four episodes of all time throughout the month of December. This week we revisit the #3 most listened to episode of this show: Growing Onions.
Onions are such a staple in most kitchens, it's no surprise many gardeners want to grow their own. The problem is they can be a bit tricky if you don't understand the difference in daylength requirements for growing those giant bulbs. Nutrient n
Top Episode 4: Growing Zucchini - Ep. 174
Over the past season we have welcomed a lot of new listeners from all over the world, so I thought for the month of December it’d be fun to revisit the top four episodes of the past three seasons of this podcast.
We’ll start with your #4 favorite episode of all time: Growing Zucchini and other summer squashes. This is actually an episode from this season so for it to be in the number four spot means you guys were really interested in this information, and I am happy to share it again. I’ve edite
Climbing Seed Prices and Proper Seed Storage - Ep. 173
The seed catalogs for the 2024 gardening season here in North America have begun rolling in and it always makes me excited. One of my favorite things to do on a chilly night is set myself up in my chair by the fire with a hot cup of something tasty, snuggle under a blanket with a stack of seed catalogs and a highlighter, and just peruse the newest hybrids and old favorites, marking the catalog as I go. If you like to do the same, this year you might be in for a little bit of a shock.
If you’re n
Updated USDA Hardiness Zone Map - Ep. 172
On November 17th the USDA updated the Hardiness Zone Map based on data from the past 30 years and many of us are now in new zones. So, what does that mean? Today on Just Grow Something we’re going to deep dive into the USDA Hardiness Zone Map; what the zone numbers and colors mean, how to use the map, what’s new and different with this version, what this means for perennials versus annual plants, and how it all ties into changes we may or may not want to make in our garden plans. Let's dig i
Starting Your Own Sweet Potato Slips - Ep. 171
Many home gardeners and market growers alike rely on seed companies and other suppliers for not just our seeds, but also our started plants, roots, or bulbs. Things like garlic, onions, and seed potatoes are often purchased rather than saved from the previous harvest or started at home and sweet potatoes also fall into this category. For years I purchased started sweet potato slips to grow and I often still do, just because of the quantity I need.
Today on Just Grow Something we’re going to go
Fall Amendments for the Spring Garden - Ep. 170
Fall is officially here, and I don’t know about you, but my garden is ready for a bit of a break. But that doesn’t mean the garden soil shouldn’t be doing something in the meantime. We all know testing our soil is the only real way to find out what is lacking in our gardens as far as nutrients are concerned and what the pH level is of that soil. Testing your soil now and adding the appropriate amendments means they will have a chance to break down into the soil, incorporate themselves, and becom
Microgreen Basics - Ep. 169
Microgreens can be grown at any time of the year with very little in the way of equipment and it is super easy to get started. For many of us home gardeners, the season for salad greens can be short. And I don’t know about you, but I still crave fresh greens in the wintertime. The easiest answer to supplementing our greens is to grow microgreens indoors.
So, today on Just Grow Something we’re getting started with growing microgreens; what supplies you need, which are the easiest ones for beginne
Growing Garlic as a Perennial - Ep. 168
Right about now is the time that some of us are looking at getting our garlic cloves into the ground for next summer’s harvest. It really is a pretty simple crop to grow but it seems like seed garlic is getting more and more expensive to purchase. I generally save the best specimens from this year’s harvest and plant it in the fall, but our bulbs this year were far from impressive, none of them really worthy of saving (remember, we save the best and eat the rest) and I found myself having to ord
Frost Protection Measures in the Garden - Ep. 167
It’s been an unusually warm start to fall in many areas of North America, my home in west central Missouri is no exception where we’re still seeing temperatures up into the 90s F the past few days. But I know we’re inching closer to our usual first frost date and I’m most certainly going to be prepared because our weather is notorious for changing practically overnight and then changing again.
If you’re somewhere that experiences frost, which is basically anywhere up through USDA Hardiness zone
When to Plant Your Cover Crops - Focal Point Friday
We talked all about cover crops in the last episode: why we should use them and which crops perform what job. Let's chat today about when each of those crops should go into the ground for best results.
Don't forget you can get a garden cover crop mix from True Leaf Market here:
Check out True Leaf Market’s Cover Crop Mix
Getting Started with Cover Crops - Ep. 166
As the growing season is winding down in many areas, we may be looking at some bare empty spaces in our gardens and wondering what to do with them. Should you just mulch it over? Add fresh compost and let it sit? How about a cover crop?
Using a cover crop gives back a ton of benefits: improving soil structure, preventing erosion, acting as a living mulch, and adding nutrients back into the soil. And, yes, this can be done in both in-ground beds and raised planters. What you plant and what you do
Overlooked Edibles: Parts of Our Garden We Didn't Know We Can Eat - Ep. 165
Obviously, we grow our vegetable gardens so we can harvest most of the plants to eat. Yes, some of them are pretty flowers and foliage that are a feast for the eyes, but mainly we just want to eat, right? I generally subscribe to the idea that no parts of the plants we grow should be wasted. If it’s not something we’re going to eat, that green matter needs to go into the compost pile so it can go back into the soil and grow more yummy veggies for my plate.
Turns out I’ve been doing the eating pa
Growing Garlic in Warm Climates - Focal Point Friday
Garlic needs specific conditions to grow and, often times, gardeners in warmer climates have a hard time meeting those conditions. Let's talk about some tips and tricks to making sure the conditions are right for growing garlic in your garden and one way to cheat the system!
Reference episode:
Ep. 67 - When and How to Plant Your Garlic, Plus Tips for Warmer Climates
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Crops to Plant in Fall and Harvest in Spring - Ep. 164
This week, let’s take a different approach and talk about things to plant now and through the late fall to get a jump on the spring harvest or even harvest in the summer.
The timing of these plantings is going to vary by the region you garden in but the concepts are the same. Plant something now and let it get well-rooted, allow it to go dormant, then as the daylength increases in the spring watch it bounce back up with growth as soon as the conditions are right with no effort on our part in the
Five Crops to Plant in Fall for Winter Harvest, Zone by Zone - Ep. 163
If you live in an area that sees hard freezes in winter and sometimes extremely low temperatures, then you might think there isn’t anything you can grow for harvest in the winter. Not so! Even if you live in areas where the ground is routinely frozen solid for months on end, you can keep some crops in the ground and, with some effort, harvest some of those during at least the early parts of winter before bringing the final harvest indoors.
If you live in an area where you can grow food year-roun
Direct Sowing Seeds in Late Summer Heat - Focal Point Friday
We've talked about transplanting fall crops in the late summer heat, but what about sowing those seeds directly into the garden? Soil temperature is a real concern here, so today we'll spend a few minutes reviewing the optimal germination temperature for direct-sown fall garden crops and a few tricks for reducing the soil temperature more quickly.
Resources:
Taylor Precision Products Standard Grade Thermometer
Soil Temperature and Seed Germination (psu.edu)
Ep. 142 - Planting by Soil Tem
Storing the Most Popular Types of Fall Garden Crops: No Freezing, No Canning, No Dehydrating Required - Ep. 162
Late summer and all through fall are the times many gardeners are harvesting crops they want to keep for the long-term to use throughout the winter. How do we harvest and store these vegetables to be sure they retain their flavor, texture, and nutrient value? Today we'll discuss basic cold storage of the most popular types of fall garden crop: no refrigeration, no freezing, no canning, no dehydrating. Just what you can rig up in your basement, a closet, a garage or, if you’re lucky, a root c
Shade Options for Late Summer Transplants - Focal Point Friday
When talking about protecting our summer transplants from excessive heat to get them through to a fall harvest, we can't overlook the possibilities of shade. Temporary shade structures in the late summer garden can help protect our transplants, but it doesn't always require us to purchase or create something! On this Focal Point Friday episode, we spend just five minutes discussing six different options for protecting our fall transplants from too much sun.
Resources:
Fall Garden Transpl
Fall Garden Transplants: Tips for Success in the Heat - Ep. 161
If you’re somewhere where Mother Nature is currently trying to cook you, what do you do to prepare and transplant crops that prefer cooler weather than what you've got? Do you wait? Do you forge ahead and just keep your fingers crossed? Today we’ll talk about how to mitigate the heat when trying to transplant fall crops including the reason why I actually didn’t get any of my plants in the ground last week and, instead, am transplanting now when it’s even hotter. Our heat index yesterday was
More Fermenting Basics - Focal Point Friday
Let's throwback to my first episode on fermenting and talk a little bit more about the basics. What are those bacteria doing? How safe is fermentation? Let's talk pickling versus fermenting, veggies versus fruits, and cold storage.
Episode Resources:
Ep. 113 – Dehydrating, Cold Storage, and Fermenting: More Ways to Store Your Harvest
Just Grow Something with Karin Velez (justgrowsomethingpodcast.com)
Getting Started in Fermenting - Ep. 160
Fermenting foods can be a fun and rewarding way to both preserve the harvest and enhance the flavors of our garden bounty. If you're a beginner looking to get started with fermenting your own foods, I’ve discovered it’s not hard, but there are some essential things to know. Today on Just Grow Something we’ll look at the key tenants behind fermenting foods, the basics of getting started, what types of equipment are necessary and what are just nice-to-haves. Ready to start fermenting? Let’s di
Avoiding Disease in Saved Seeds - Focal Point Friday
It's always best to start with saving seeds from your healthiest plants. But what if disease is unavoidable? In this throwback to episode 62, we talk about the two best treatments for saving seeds from plants infected with disease.
Episode Resources:
Hot Water Treatment for Seeds – Louisiana State University
Ep. 62 - Properly Saving Seeds in Your Garden
Just Grow Something with Karin Velez (justgrowsomethingpodcast.com)
How to Start Saving Seeds From Your Garden (and Why) - Ep. 159
If you were gardening in 2020 you likely remember the shortage of seeds that happened when the world shut down and suddenly everybody was growing a garden. Many seed companies were overwhelmed with the influx of orders and that shortage continued into the 2021 season. There’s nothing more disappointing than to peruse a beautiful seed catalog and make out your list of favorites to grow, only to be told the company is sold out.
Enter seed saving. If you grow heirloom or open-pollinated varieties,
Timing Fall Garden Starts - Focal Point Friday
On this Focal Point Friday, we go back to Episode 101 and talk about three important things to consider when starting plants for the fall garden: germination time, days to maturity, and harvest window.
Episode Resources:
Ep. 101 - How to Prepare and What to Grow in Your Fall Garden
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Positively Farming Media Podcast Playlist on Spotify
Late Summer Succession Planting - Ep. 158
Succession planting gets a lot of attention in the early part of the season when we’re fresh and the garden is new, and we're not beat down by weather or pests or diseases or the endless pulling of weeds. But we often forget about it toward the hottest part of the year. This is why having a garden plan that goes from spring all the way through to fall and even into winter helps, because it’s laid out for us and it doesn’t require thought, just effort.
Succession planting is a really valuable
Five Best Veggies to Grow in the Fall Garden by Region - Focal Point Friday
When we're talking about fall gardening, it's important to know what grows well in our area at that time of the season so we can better plan. Let's chat about the factors that go into deciding what to grow in the fall garden and my top five picks for your USDA Hardiness Zone, from Zone 1 to Zone 13.
Your Fall Garden Planning Checklist - Ep. 157
If you’ve never grown a fall garden, you are missing out. There seems to be so much less insect and disease pressure with a fall garden. The weather seems to be a bit more predictable, too, even if it is still hot when we get started.
This doesn’t mean the fall garden is fool-proof, but it does mean that many of us get a second chance or sort of “redo” of our spring crops. If there were things that didn’t grow well for us that we’d like to try again, fall is often a great time to do that. If the
Safe Rainwater Collection: Beating Drought in Your Garden - Ep. 156
If you're in an area that is facing a drought this summer, like I am, you might be thinking of ways to combat it in the garden. Enter the rain barrel!
Home gardeners often use rain barrels to collect rainwater from roofs as a supplement to summer irrigation. Rainwater is a natural and unchlorinated water source for plants, but rooftop runoff can be contaminated by chemical and biological pollutants.
Today we talk about the practicality of rain barrels, possible contaminants and where they co
The Link Between Ultra-Processed Foods and Mental Health - Focal Point Friday
Is eating ultra-processed foods associated with depression, anxiety, memory problems, and trouble reasoning? An article I read in early May took me down a research rabbit hole and there are a lot of recent studies that say just that: 60% of the American diet is ultra-processed foods and they are causing mental health issues and cognitive decline.
Today we're digging into the data and uncovering what defines ultra-processed foods, how much it affects our mental health, and to what extent.
Resourc
Growing Melons: Watermelon, Cantaloupe and More - Ep. 155
There are few things that taste like summer quite like cantaloupe or watermelon. These hydrating favorites can sometimes be a little mystifying for new gardeners to grow. And what's the difference between a crenshaw and a canary melon?
On today’s episode, we’re digging into all things melon. What does it take to grow them, can they cross-pollinate, and what’s the trick to picking a truly ripe watermelon? Let's Dig in!
Episode References and Citations:
Wasylikowa, Krystyna; van der Veen,
Excessive Heat in the Garden: Helping Our Tomatoes, Peppers and Other Summer Plants - Focal Point Friday
It's hot and your plants look awful! Extreme heat can mean extreme responses from our gardens. Let's spend a few minutes talking about what's normal, what we should and shouldn't be doing, and how we can help when needed to help the summer garden get through a heat wave.
Summer Garden Checklist: Eight Tasks to Keep the Harvest Going - Ep. 154
Today we’re talking specific tasks we need to perform in the garden to get our best yield and to keep the harvest going through to fall. Unfortunately, our gardens are not “set and forget it” kind of things. We can’t just put the plants out there and come back in six weeks and expect to harvest. And as the days heat up and summertime events take over it can be tempting to skip some of these things in favor of other more fun activities.
We’re going to run down the list of eight things we need to
What is Well-Draining Soil? - Ep. 153
The description on just about every seed packet or plant tag usually says something along the lines of, this plant “likes fertile, well-draining soil, with lots of organic matter.” The fertility part we likely understand, and we talk about soil organic matter all the time around here. But what about well-draining soil? What does that mean, how do we know if we have it, and what do we do if we don’t? If our soil isn’t well-draining are we destined to only garden in planters where we can completel
Glyphosate, Liver Disease, and Metabolic Syndromes in Children - Focal Point Friday
New research from the UC Berkeley School of Public Health shows that childhood exposure to glyphosate is linked to liver inflammation and metabolic disorder in early adulthood, which could lead to liver cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease later in life.
Thousands of people have filed lawsuits against Monsanto, the maker of Roundup, and its parent company, Bayer, claiming that exposure to glyphosate caused them to develop cancer.
Levels of glyphosate found in our foods have always been w
Growing Okra - Ep. 152
On today’s episode we go over the basics of growing okra, including preferred temperatures and conditions that are key to its success, and discuss ways to work around some of those preferences to get yourself a crop even in a short season or difficult climate. You can most certainly grow this southern favorite in a cooler climate with a shorter season with just a few tricks!
Episode Resources:
Vegetables. Wageningen, Netherlands: Backhuys. 2004. p. 21. ISBN 9057821478.
"Okra, or 'Gumbo,
Can Parthenocarpic Zucchini Save Our Harvest by Helping Us Avoid Pests?
If you're in the U.S. Midwest, squash bugs and squash vine borers often keep you from getting your best zucchini harvest. But what if there were a variety of zucchini you could keep covered the whole time you were growing it so the pests couldn't get to it? And it would fruit without pollination? Today we explore the possibility of parthenocarpy in zucchini varieties, where to find them, and how they can thwart our biggest zucchini pests.
EPISODE RESOURCES:
Burpee 'Sure Thing' zu
Conflicting Gardening Advice: Who Should We Believe? - Ep. 151
Sometimes it is very difficult to sift through all the information and advice we get as gardeners and to know what exactly we should be doing out there. This source says one thing, that blog says another thing, and the book on our bedside swears those other two are incorrect. What are we supposed to do?
Today we’re talking about two specific pieces of advice I was asked about over the weekend that seem to be complete opposites of each other but, in reality, they are two sides of the same coin. O
Garden Amendments and Pets: Dangerous Mulch, Moldy Compost, Mycotoxins and More - Focal Point Friday
Our pets are part of the family and we hate to see anything happen to them. Let's be sure there's nothing we're doing in the garden that might be hazardous to their health. Today's discussion is all about avoiding the dangers from our compost piles, mushroom compost, mulch, fertilizers and amendments.
Episode Resources:
Mushroom Toxicity | VCA Animal Hospitals (vcahospitals.com)
Tremorgenic Mycotoxins - Moldy Food Strikes Back - CriticalCareDVM
Common Garden Dangers for Dogs - Bl
Rhubarb, Asparagus Beetles, Fertilizer, and Other Gardener Questions - Ep. 150
The height of the gardening season in the northern hemisphere is on the horizon which means peak time for gardening questions! Today we dig into why rhubarb might not turn red when ready to harvest, what the numbers on fertilizers mean and why the source matters, battling asparagus beetles, and preventing garden damage from animals during drought.
If you've got a gardening question, I'd love to hear it! Send me a message on social media, email me, use the link below to send me a voice me
Eight Common Tomato Plant Diseases - Focal Point Friday
Since it's peak tomato growing season in most areas of the northern hemisphere, I thought it would be a good time to revisit an old episode about tomato plant diseases! This is not a comprehensive list, but a discussion of eight of the most prevalent diseases. As always, be sure to check with your local university extension to find out which diseases are most prevalent in your area. This will save you some stress. Let's dig in!
Episode Resources:
Ep. 99 - Eight Common Tomato Diseases: Id
Identifying and Controlling Persistent Weeds in the Garden - Ep. 149
I spent the better part of my afternoon on Monday pulling Johnsongrass from my tomato field and in between my pole beans, which is what prompted today’s episode. That Johnsongrass is a perennial weed that reproduces both by seeds and by rhizomes and it’s been an aggressive problem for us in one particular field and I thought it would be helpful to give some tips on controlling all types of weeds in your garden.
Today we’ll talk about knowing the difference between annual weeds and perennial ones
Tomato Varieties for Containers and Small Spaces
Tuesday we talked about tomatoes that perform well in short seasons or challenging conditions. I had several listeners reach out and ask about growing in containers and small spaces. There are lots of options for this! On this Focal Point Friday episode, we talk container growing, the different categories of compact tomatoes, and varieties that perform well in just about any small space.
References:
Tomato Varieties for Short-Season Areas and Challenging Climates - Ep. 148
Tomato Varieties for Short-Season Areas and Challenging Climates - Ep. 148
For many gardeners the ultimate vegetable to grow is the tomato. There really is something special about the flavor of a fully ripe tomato picked from the vine and brought straight to your plate. Unfortunately, growing tomatoes can be a challenge if you live in an area with a short season.
For those of you living in colder regions your growing season for warm-weather crops may be very, very short between frost-free days. Those in very warm climates have the opposite problem; you may need to get
Tomatoes: To Prune or Not to Prune? Keys to Your Biggest Tomato Yield.
Does pruning your tomatoes in a certain way increase the yield? Does it really matter? Are there other more important factors involved? I get asked all the time if we prune our tomatoes, how we prune them, how many tomatoes a gardener should expect to get from one plant, etc. Folks tend to get frustrated when it’s not a straightforward answer.
Your tomato yield is likely to boil down to a number of factors before you even get to the pruning question. Today's episode digs into the three facto
The Great Marigold Debate - Ep. 147
For as long as I can remember I’ve believed that marigolds were the best companion plant for everything. Despite the naysayers touting time and time again that it was all conjecture, I stood by the research I could find that proved otherwise.
If you listened to last week’s Focal Point Friday episode you understand the position I’ve found myself in after all these years of companion planting marigolds in and amongst all of my garden plants. To my way of thinking, as long as there wasn’t a proven
Best Companion Plants for Zucchini and One Potentially Disastrous One - Focal Point Friday
Companion planting is a great way to deter pests in our garden, specifically for summer squashes. Some plants repel pests like aphids, whiteflies, melonworms and pickleworm. Others are better suited as trap crops, attracting aphids, squash vine borerers, squash bugs and cucumber beetles so we can remove them from the garden and destroy them before they get to our zucchini or yellow squash. It's important to know which pests we're dealing with so we know which plants to use and how to use
Ep. 146 - Growing Zucchini and other Summer Squashes
Summer squashes are a staple in most summer gardens. Whether you call them zucchini, courgette, or marrow, they can be easy to grow and very prolific, so they are a great introduction to a successful harvest for new gardeners.
Unless you live in an area where pests and diseases are the name of the game: squash vine borers, squash bugs, cucumber beetles, drought, powdery mildew and bacterial wilt can all destroy a squash plant before we get a single fruit.
Whether you live where squash grow so pr
Focal Point Friday: Choosing Whether to Grow From Seed or Transplant
Whether we grow our garden from seeds directly in the soil or start out with transplants, there are some distinct advantages and disadvantages to both methods. Today let's break down the five main factors to consider when making this decision.
As always, find more gardening information on the Just Grow Something website.
Ep. 145 - Kitchen Waste as Plant Food: Egg Shells, Banana Peels, and Tea Bags, Oh My!
The gardening "advice" we get may not always be accurate. Bury a whole egg under your tomato plants? Make a tea from banana peels? What advice is legit and what is bogus? Let's look at the scientific research behind common kitchen scraps that might also be used as garden amendments: banana peels, eggshells, teas leaves and spent coffee grounds.
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Focal Point Friday: Composting Basics
This is the time of year when we not only start to have a lot of yard waste and garden waste but we generally have food waste coming out of our kitchens year round, so now is the perfect time to put all that waste to good use. The average American produces about 1,600 pounds (726 kg) of garbage a year and approximately 75% of this garbage is organic material. That means 1200 lbs of the 1600 pounds of waste produced could be composted. Per person. We don’t want that organic material going to the
Ep. 144 - Gardening and Gleaning for Charity: After The Harvest
Last summer we talked a little bit about growing extra produce in our gardens specifically for donation. I will leave a link to that episode in this episode description. This week I have the pleasure of interviewing two folks from After The Harvest, an organization here in the Kansas City Metro area that rescues fruits and vegetables from going to waste and donates them to agencies that serve hungry people in the Greater Kansas City area. Their volunteers glean after the harvest, picking what’s
Focal Point Friday: Transitioning Plants into the Garden or Indoor Growing Space
In this timely flashback episode, we go back to episode 91 and talk about hardening off our plants to move them into our garden spaces. Whether we've started them from seed ourselves or we've purchased plants and brought them in, our plants need some time to acclimate. The process is a little different in both cases. And if we're growing plants indoors, we have a different set of circumstances to navigate.
Let's talk about transitioning our plants.
References:
Ep. 91 -Transition
Ep. 143 - Growing Corn: Sweet Corn, Popcorn, Dent Corn and more
One of the best flavors of the summer has to be sweet corn right from the stalk. If it’s picked at the right time and eaten right away, you really don’t need anything on it. It’s just that good. If you’re lucky to find some at the farmers market and can get it home and eat it right away, it’s almost as good.
But we can absolutely grow our own even in smallish spaces. And what about growing our own dried corn varieties? There are so many choices when it comes to dent corn, popcorn, and other drie
Focal Point Friday: Spring Frost Protection Options
It's spring planting time in areas of North America, or getting close to it, and many of us have the danger of a late frost hitting our gardens after we've spent so much time putting tender annuals in the ground. Let's revisit some options for frost protection in the garden, using both purchased items and those we can find around the house.
Ep. 142 - Planting by Soil Temperature vs Air Temperature: When's the best time to plant?
How do we know as gardeners when the appropriate time is to plant those seeds or transplant our seedlings? There are guidelines on the backs of seed packets and tables and charts online and in books that tell us the supposed correct date to plant those seeds. But this generic information is usually based on the average last frost date for our area. If you’re in an area that doesn’t often get a frost or if you live in a frozen tundra that date can be deceiving. Plus, that information doesn’t take
Focal Point Friday: Mushroom Compost
Let's round out our mushroom discussions with some good 'ol compost! What is mushroom compost, is it good for our gardens, and how do we use it? Can we use the substrate from our own homegrown mushrooms and how is that different from the commercially available bags in the store? Spend a few minutes with me today to discover mushroom compost.
Resources:
Mushroom Compost: The Bad, The Good and The Beautiful - Compost Magazine
Analysis of Fresh Mushroom Compost in: HortTechnology Volume 20
Ep. 141 - Talking with Mushroom Growers
Last week we talked all about growing mushrooms but that was all based on research and nothing to do with my own personal experiences. Even though my husband has always wanted to create a “fungus of the month club” to go along with our CSA program, we’ve never quite gotten there. I have worked with multiple mushroom growers over the years as vendors at our local farmer’s markets and have yet to even grow mushrooms from a kit! I just support them at their stands when I get a craving for a cremin
Focal Point Friday: Plant Nutrient Basics
On this week's Focal Point Friday episode, we're revisiting the basics of plant nutrients. Good plant growth is directly correlated to good plant nutrition. The efficiency with which a plant uses the nutrients in the soil varies greatly according to the composition of your soil, water availability, soil temperatures, and so much more. But it’s important to know how the most essential nutrients work so you can choose soil amendments and fertilizers, if necessary, that will most benefit what you’r
Ep. 140 - Growing Mushrooms
This week, we’re digging into a topic I have been asked numerous times to cover and really couldn’t because I’d never grown them! With names like puffball, stinkhorn, enoki, paddy straw, shaggy mane, and more, I didn’t even know where to begin to research how to grow them much less do a deep dive into the ethnobotany of the crop.
I’m talking about mushrooms. This is not going to be my typical crop specific episode because the rabbit hole I went down made me realize the awesome complexity of what
Focal Point Friday: Quick Tips for Weed Management
Welcome back, my gardening friends, to another Focal Point Friday episode. Let’s spend just a few minutes together reviewing a snippet of info from a previous episode, highlighting a new topic, or quickly focusing on a current event in the food and agriculture world.
This week's focus is weed management. The main strategy to keep weeds out of the garden: prevention!
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Ep. 139 - Foliar Feeding: Increasing Plant Nutrition Through Their Leaves
Foliar feeding has been the subject of a little bit of debate over the years, both in the horticultural space and as far as online gardening information goes. The practice of foliar feeding or foliar fertilization essentially involves applying water-based nutrients to the leaves of our plants to enhance their nutrition. In the home garden this can be done with a spray bottle or a pump sprayer or by using an attachment at the end of our hose that feeds the liquid into the water as it passes throu
Focal Point Friday: Understanding Plant Nomenclature - Family, Genus, Species, Variety, and more.
What exactly does that name on the plant tag or seed packet mean? How does that affect what we plant and how or where we plant it? On this Focal Point Friday, let's go way back to Episode 6 to demystify plant nomenclature and the differences between open-pollinated, heirloom, and hybrid.
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Ep. 138 - Gardening for Nutrition
Did you know that poor diet is the leading cause of disease worldwide? Diets low in fruits and vegetables contribute significantly to some of the world’s most widespread and debilitating nutrient-related disorders. Which is why many of us garden. We want to include those fruits and vegetables in our diet.
And, if we have limited space, we need to be particular about what we’re planting. When I help people plan their gardens, I’m always reminding them to go back and review their “why”. If your go
Focal Point Friday: Follow-up to Sunflowers, Compost and Manure
On this week's Focal Point Friday episode, I'm following up with questions and comments I got about some recent episodes about phytoremediation, commercial compost, and using manure in the garden safely.
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Ep. 137 - Growing Celery
Celery is a cool-season crop that can be a bit finicky about its growing conditions. If carrots are divas, then consider celery Goldilocks: not too hot, not too cold, but just right! On today’s episode I give you the lowdown on growing your own celery at home and this includes those of you who live in warmer climates. The main consideration for celery is it takes a really long time to grow from seed and it can be a water hog if you want those big plump stalks. Some varieties need to be tre
Focal Point Friday: Manure in the Garden
What manures are "safe" to use in the garden and which ones need to be composted? The question came from a listener and the answer may surprise you.
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Resources:
Animal-Manure-in-the-Garden.pdf (wsu.edu)
Bunny honey: Using rabbit manure as
Ep. 136 - Filling New Raised Beds
Purchasing compost and potting soil can be expensive and new garden beds can take a lot of soil to fill them. Plus, we’ve talked before that commercial compost often needs a little help getting the microbes up and moving again in order to make it biologically active and not just an inert material that’s not helping our plants at all. So, filling a raised bed with nothing but trucked in compost and bags of potting mix just isn’t the way to go. If you’ve gotten behind on building your beds or you’
Focal Point Friday: More About Intercropping
For this week’s Focal Point Friday, I answer a question asked by a student in my Plan Like a Pro garden planning course last week. She wanted some clarification on what I mean when I’m talking about intercropping. “Does that mean I plant another crop in between the rows of the other or does it mean the second crop is spaced in the same row as the other crop.”
Companion Planting Chart
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Ep. 135 - Growing Potatoes
Potatoes are a staple in many areas of the world, and they can be grown just about anywhere. Your yield definitely improves if you follow a few techniques, but there are so many options: from big long in-ground rows, to raised planters, old bathtubs or wash basins, buckets, grow bags, even pots on your patio. So, even if you don’t have hundreds of row feet of space to grow potatoes for your entire family for a year, most everybody has space to maybe do some fingerling potatoes or some small boil
Focal Point Friday: Are Sunflowers Good or Bad for the Garden?
Jennifer in the Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook group said, “I've seen, several places now, an argument about whether sunflowers are toxic to other plants around them or whether they are soil cleaners. Can you give us the low-down?”
This was a great question and one that was asked again just a few days later in our Kansas City Area gardening group, as well. The quick answer is everything you've heard about sunflowers is true!
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Ep. 134 - Soil Texture and Composition: How it affects water and nutrients in the garden and how to know what type you have
Different types of soil have different water holding capacities and nutrient availability. Much of this is based on the percentage of three soil particles in the soil composition: sand, silt, and clay. Knowing what the texture of our soil is helps us to know what how water and nutrients move through our soil and the best amendments for our particular soil type and the plants we want to grow.
Today we’ll talk about how to test our soil composition and texture by using the jar method or the ribbon
Focal Point Friday: Proper Lighting for Seedlings
Welcome back, my gardening friends, to another Focal Point Friday episode, this time covering proper lighting for your indoor seedlings. It's not as complicated as you may think!
These quickie episodes are either an important highlight from a previous episode or a quick focus on a current event in the food and agriculture world that I think we should be talking about.
Think of these episodes as a way to tickle your brain with one or two ideas to ponder while you’re planning or planting or diggin
Ep. 133 - Growing Onions
Most beginning gardeners struggle with growing full-sized bulb onions for a number of reasons: they don't understand there are different onions for different growing situations and that the nutritional needs for onions at different stages of growth are different from other root vegetables. I struggled with all of this plus not growing the correct type of onion for long-term storage. In this first crop-specific episode of season three, we’re jumping into everything onion, including background inf
Focal Point Friday: Proper Airflow for Seedlings
Welcome back, my gardening friends, to another Focal Point Friday episode all about proper airflow for the seedlings you may be starting indoors. These quickie episodes are either an important highlight from a previous episode or a quick focus on a current event in the food and agriculture world that I think we should be talking about.
Think of these episodes as a way to tickle your brain with one or two ideas to ponder while you’re planning or planting or digging in the garden this weekend. Wit
Ep. 132 - Average Crop Yield and Plants Per Person: How Much Space Do You Need in the Garden?
It’s often difficult to know exactly how much of each crop to plant, even for experienced gardeners. You’ve had to have been pretty meticulous with keeping track of your harvests to have a firm grasp on how much each of the plants you grew last year actually produced. And then need to average that out over a few years, figure out whether that’s enough for your needs, and then decide on how many plants you’ll need this year based on that average.
But how do you figure out how many of something yo
Focal Point Friday: Plan Like A Pro
Welcome back, my gardening friends, to another Focal Point Friday episode. On this week’s quickie episode, I am introducing you to my brand-new garden planning course, Plan Like A Pro. I have been working around the clock for almost two months now on videos and downloads and building an online community and I want to give you all the details before we launch next week.
It's the time of year when we should be planning our gardens and I want you to have the best garden year yet! Listen as I walk y
Ep. 131 - The Basics of Winter Sowing: Seed Starting Outdoors
If you like to start your own seeds for your garden but often struggle with the amount of space it takes up, you’re definitely not alone. Or maybe you’ve wanted to start your own plants but are put off by all the indoor growing requirements? Having the space, the lighting, fans for strengthening the seedlings, keeping a watering schedule, getting them hardened off … starting transplants from seed indoors can feel intimidating or overwhelming. Even for me, someone who has an entire room dedicated
Focal Point Friday: Top Three Reasons to Grow Your Own Food
Welcome to this Focal Point Friday episode featuring the top three reasons why you should be growing your own food in your own garden, even if that "garden" is a pot on a windowsill in your kitchen.
Think of these episodes as a way to tickle your brain with one or two ideas to ponder while you’re planning or planting or digging in the garden this weekend.
Without further ado, let’s get down and dirty. Enjoy!
Related episode: Ep. 3 - Why Grow Your Own and How to Preserve the Nutrients if You Don'
Ep. 130 - Companion Planting and Intercropping: Gaining space in the garden, repelling insects, and other benefits
As we start to plan our gardens for this year, we may realize that we don’t have enough room for everything we want to grow. This is where intercropping and succession planting come in. We’re planting different plants with each other to make the most of our space or we’re planting them one after each other, sometimes with some overlap. And lots of times you will hear these terms used interchangeably or in conjunction with each other. But is intercropping and companion planting the same thing, or
Focal Point Friday: Easiest Crops for Beginning Gardeners
Welcome to the first Focal Point Friday episode of season three.
Think of these episodes as a way to tickle your brain with one or two ideas to ponder while you’re planning or planting or digging in the garden this weekend. This week, it's all about the easiest crops to grow for beginners.
Without further ado, let’s get down and dirty. Enjoy!
Related Episode: Ep. 2 - Garden Talk Tuesday: The Basics
Ep. 129 - Determining New Garden Bed Dimensions
Welcome to season THREE of the Just Grow Something podcast! We’re going to kick off this season with an in-depth look at how to figure out what size garden bed is ideal for you and your gardening space. I have run the gambit of different sizing on beds, both in-ground and raised planters and I’ve finally landed on my preferred sizing and spacing for both. And, guess what? It’s different for both situations! I prefer my in-ground beds to be one size and configuration and I prefer my raised plante
Ep. 128 -The Barnyard Language Podcast with Caite and Arlene
Throughout the month of December, we’ve been doing little something different around here where I’ve been treating you to episodes of other podcasts where I was invited to be a guest. This week is the final week of having some honest conversations about different topics related to farming and gardening with other podcasters within the Positively Farming Media podcast group on their shows.
And you can’t get any more honest than the Barnyard Language podcast. This one will be a little different th
Ep. 127 - We Drink and We Farm Things with Bev Ross
Last week you heard my interview with Ashely Constance of the A Little Self Reliant podcast all about compost. This week, we change it up a little bit. We’re going to hear an episode of the We Drink and We Farm Things podcast, affectionately known as Drink and Farm. This podcast is hosted by Bev Ross and Sam Bolton. Sam is on hiatus and Bev invited me and a few others onto the show to talk about some farming firsts. You’ll recognize Ashley Constance in this episode along with our friend Erica Le
Ep. 126 - A Little Self Reliant Podcast
Throughout the month of December, we are doing little something different around here. I am treating you to several episodes of some other podcasts where I was invited to be a guest. These will be some honest conversations about different topics related to farming and gardening with other podcasters within the Positively Farming Media podcast group on their shows.
Last week you heard my interview on the Rural Woman Podcast with Katelyn Duban and if you missed it, I highly encourage you to go bac
Ep. 125 - The Rural Woman Podcast with Katelyn Duban
Throughout the month of December we’re going to do something a little different around here. I am going to treat you to several episodes of some other podcasts where I was invited to be a guest. I hope you’ll enjoying hearing some honest conversations about different topics related to farming and gardening as I speak with other podcasters within the Positively Farming Media podcast group on their shows, some of whom you’ve heard interviewed on this podcast.
So, without further ado let’s jump int
Ep. 124 - Q & A: Is market gardening worth it? Is it too late to plant garlic? How do I know if my strawberries are dormant?
Let's do a Q & A! We’ll talk about whether or not market gardening is worth it, both from a personal satisfaction standpoint and from a monetary one, explore whether or not it’s too late in some areas to plant garlic, find out how to tell when your strawberries have gone dormant, and talk about a very interesting tip I learned about growing fruit trees in colder climates. You bet I’m going to be taking advantage of this little tidbit of information!
Let’s dig in.
Grow Guide Podcast E146: Ins
Ep. 123 - 2022 Gardener's Gift Guide
‘Tis the season! We’re moving into the time of the year when gift giving is on everybody’s mind. Whether you’re looking for gift ideas for the gardeners in your life or if your loved ones are asking for gift ideas for YOU, I’ve got a bunch of ideas in a variety of price ranges. Some of these are things that are on my own wish list and some of them are things I already own that I swear by or I upgraded to this year. This is a fun episode and hopefully you’ll come away with some great gift ideas f
Ep. 122 - Planning a Drought-Resistant Garden: Tips, Tricks, and Techniques
This week we’re talking about how to use less water in the garden. We are still in drought conditions here in west central Missouri, it was a hard gardening year for sure, but I also know when I lived in northern California that water conservation was always a topic of discussion and that was 30 years ago. Many of you live in areas where water is just naturally scarce, and restrictions are always in place. So how do we, as gardeners, balance a need to grow our own food and in some instances food
Ep. 121 - Transitioning from Military to Farming, with Arcenio Velez
There’s something to be said for military life. It’s regimented. There’s a strict hierarchy, there’s a chain of command, there are orders to follow, and you know day in and day out what your duties are. And if you’re someone who fits well into that sort of lifestyle and the mindset that’s necessary to take on the demands of being in that lifestyle, it can often be very, very difficult to transition back to civilian life where those things don’t always hold true.
There are a lot of military servi
Ep. 120 - Growing for Farmers Market, Part Two: Planning, Planting and Pricing
This episode is the second of two parts talking about growing for farmer’s market. This week we’re digging into changes to your garden plan and other considerations around planning, planting, and pricing the produce you want to take to market. When I first started, I really thought it was just a matter of increasing the volume of what I grew, but it turned out to be a little bit more complicated than that. It’s not hard, but the amount of space you have to work with is going to dictate what you
Ep. 119 - Growing for Farmers Market, Part One
This episode we’re going to get started with selling at farmer’s markets. This subject will be a two-parter. Planning a garden with the intention of selling some of it is different than just selling the extra you happen to grow, and we’ll talk all about all those details in part two. Today we’re going to walk through all the things I didn’t take into consideration before I started selling our produce in our CSA program and at multiple market stands. This is quite literally a “I did it all wrong
Ep. 118 - Cover Crops in the Home Garden
This episode we’re digging into how to use cover crops in our home gardens. I kept saying I needed to do a full episode on this and we’re doing it today. This is not reserved for just big farms with thousands of acres of land. Using a cover crop in the home garden is beneficial in all kinds of ways and can be tailored to what you need: improving soil structure, preventing erosion, as a living mulch, to add nutrients back into your soil, or all of the above. This is effective for both in-ground b
Ep. 117 - Growing Cut Flowers in the Home Garden with Kathy Gormandy
This episode we are digging into growing cut flowers in our garden. I am not a flower farmer, I’m a mediocre flower grower at best, but I love having cut flowers in my house and I’m determined to grow my own at some point. And since right now is the time we should be preparing our beds for the spring, and flower beds would be no exception, I thought it was the perfect time to talk to an expert.
Kathy Gormandy is a cut flower farmer and the owner of P and K Farms, a 3-acre farmstead in southern A
Ep. 116 - Asparagus: Prepare in Fall, Plant in Spring
Asparagus is a fantastic perennial, with healthy beds lasting as long as 30 years. Asparagus crowns are planted in spring, but the fall is when you want to prepare the bed. So, today we’ll go over everything you need to know about planting and growing asparagus so you can get your beds prepped in time and place those orders for spring crowns.
In the question of the week, we’re talking another favorite perennial – strawberries! Lots of questions around winter requirements these juicy beauties, so
Ep. 115 - Preparing the Garden for Winter (and Spring!)
Depending on where you garden you may have just had your first frost or even a hard freeze. If you are one of my warm-climate gardeners, you’re steadily marching toward the time of year when plants begin to go dormant or, if you don’t have a Persephone Period, the time of year when growth slows dramatically. Now is the time to take advantage of that period of time to either put the garden to bed for the winter or to get it ready for spring, or both!
Today we’re talking about what to do to get yo
Ep. 114 - Planting Onions to Overwinter
This episode we’re going to tackle one way to grow onions for spring, depending on our location. We haven’t done a full onion episode yet and I promise we will because there’s a lot to unpack there, but since now is the time to get some types of onions in the ground depending on your goals, we’ll cover some of the basics and the how and why for overwintering.
We’ll also review the Question of the Week, which is actually more of a discussion than a question surrounding the difference between hard
Ep. 113 – Dehydrating, Cold Storage, and Fermenting: More Ways to Store Your Harvest
This week we’re back to preserving our harvest! This episode we’ll talk about ways to dehydrate your fruits and veggies and how to use them when you’re ready, the basics of cold storage including temperature, light, and humidity requirements, and look a little bit at fermenting your garden goodness and whether or not that’s a viable way to actually store produce or just good for our gut health.
I respond to a comment I got on TikTok about pressure canning: spoiler alert, opinions are not backed
Ep. 112 - Modifying Fruit Recipes for Canning and Topping Tomato Plants
Karin's voice is shot! So, instead of talking about preserving our harvest through cold storage, dehydrating and fermenting like promised, this episode will be focusing on something shorter and sweeter: can you safely modify a recipe for preserving fruit in a water-bath canner by using less sugar? We'll also talk about why and how to prune or "top" your tomato and pepper plants as we get closer to first frost or the Persephone period. The goal is to save some energy for those developing fruit to
Ep. 111 - Preserving Basics, Part Three: Pressure Canning
Okay, here we go. The big beast: pressure canning. I know it can seem scary to have a giant pot on your stove that you think could explode at any moment and that fear probably stems from pictures you’ve seen of pressure canners doing just that: lids embedded into ceilings and exploded contents all over the walls.
I’m here to tell you pressure canning is perfectly safe if you follow the instructions. And modern pressure canners have all kinds of safety features designed to keep you from destroyin
Ep. 110 - Preserving Basics, Part Two: Water-Bath Canning
Last week we talked about the basics of freezing your garden harvest or your extra haul from the farmer’s market and that’s definitely an easy way to get started. But, if you’re really serious about preserving your food and hedging your bets against power outages or you just enjoy the texture of canned foods over frozen, the entry-level process for canning is the boiling water bath. This type of canning only requires a few special pieces of equipment that are readily available and relatively ine
Ep. 109 - Preserving, Part One: Freezing
This time of the gardening season is likely the time you’re seeing a bounty of goodness coming from your garden, especially if you’re in a climate where the summer heat is starting to wane just a little bit. This usually signals to my garden that it’s time to make one last hard push to reproduce, so the tomatoes and peppers and other summer plants start to push out all kinds of fruit. This is also the time when later planted warm-weather crops start to put on their fruit. I planted my Amish Past
Ep. 108 - Basics of Saving Seeds
This is the time of year when most gardeners in the Northern Hemisphere begin preserving their harvest. Summer's bounty is giving one last push and the cooling temperatures mean the fall garden is ramping up. Over the next few weeks, we'll talk about preserving that harvest, and this week is no different. But, instead of talking fruits and veggies for eating we're talking seeds for growing.
Saving seeds from our own gardens can have many benefits. Not only are we ensuring we have enough seeds fo
Ep. 107 - Worm Farming with Lauren Cain of Elm Dirt
On Tuesday we talked all about the benefits of composting with worms and the basics of how to get started. Today, we talk to an expert. Lauren Cain is the founder and owner of Elm Dirt, a local Kansas City area company specializing in worm castings and products derived from those worm castings. Lauren’s company got its start in an unexpected way and, like all things at the beginning of 2020, took a turn she did not expect. From vermicomposting in her home to worm farming in a warehouse, her comp
Ep. 106 - Introduction to Vermicomposting (Worm Farming!)
One thing I’ve been interested in starting for quite some time is vermicomposting, or worm farming, or composting with worms. Whatever you want to call it, composting with worms is a fantastic way to get rid of any food scraps out of your kitchen while creating a beautiful soil amendment for your garden.
Having a worm bin in the basement where it can be easily accessed is a great way to give those scraps from the kitchen a purpose much more quickly than if we were adding them to a big compost pi
Ep. 105 - How to Care for and Maintain Your Fruit Tree
The last couple weeks we’ve focused on selecting your fruit tree, preparing the soil and, finally, planting. Now it’s time to talk about maintaining that tree. Just like anything else in the garden, your fruit tree is going to give you a much greater harvest if you give it some attention. I will be the first to admit I am lousy at this. It’s not that I don’t know what to do and how to do it, it’s just that I don’t get around to doing it at the appropriate time. Some of my trees haven’t minded th
Ep. 104 - How to Properly Plant a Fruit Tree
Last week, we talked all about how to choose the right fruit tree for your garden. We covered things like climate, available space, and the time it takes to maintain a tree. This week, we’ll dig into how to actually plant that tree. This is going to change, of course, based on what you’re planting and where you’re planting it, but the basics of it are pretty similar no matter the tree or the gardening space. Planting your tree the right way and avoiding some common mistakes will put you well on
Ep. 103 - How to Choose the Right Fruit Tree for Your Garden
If you’ve ever dreamed of walking out into your yard and picking fresh, ripe fruit whenever you wanted, you’re not alone. Many of us are fruit lovers and wish we could have even just one tree that would produce our favorites. But the thought of whether or not a fruit tree would even fit in your yard, the care involved, whether or not you’d need a pollinator, how long it would take to get your first harvest and all those other questions may have stopped you in your tracks in the past.
Let’s demys
Ep. 102 - Perennial Fruits and Vegetables for Your Hardiness Zone
What’s better than putting a plant out in the garden, tending to it lovingly, and then reaping the reward of a harvest at the end of the season? Planting that plant one time and reaping the rewards year after year after year, of course! That’s the beauty of a perennial fruit, vegetable, or herb. Plop that puppy into the ground one year and give it a little attention each season and it can continue to provide for years or even decades.
Today we’re going to talk about the difference between an ann
Ep. 101 - How to Prepare and What to Grow in Your Fall Garden
It may be blistering hot where you are, I know it is here, but now’s the time to plan that fall garden. The biggest mistake I see with most fall gardens is they get planted too late. I did that many years in a row when I first started gardening. It just doesn’t seem like a good idea to be planting cool season crops in the heat of the summer and I would wait until September to get them in the ground. But, our first frost here is mid-October, so an early September planting date only gives me 6 wee
Ep. 100 - What's the One Thing You Wish You'd Known When You Started Gardening? Celebrating 100 Episodes!
This is it. 100 episodes! When I first started this podcast back in February of 2021, I did it because I wanted to share the knowledge I had gained while studying for my horticulture degree. Other than helping our farm business, I didn’t really have any plans for utilizing my degree after graduation. And, honestly, using it to help the farm would absolutely have been enough. There were things I learned in school that I hadn’t learned through experience in my own gardens yet, so gaining that know
Ep. 99 - Eight Common Tomato Diseases: Identification, Prevention, and Treatment
If you grow tomatoes, it’s very likely you’ve had some sort of disease attack your plants. In our area of west Central Missouri, it’s usually some early blight followed by Septoria leaf spot with maybe some powdery mildew thrown in just for fun. We may even experience tomato leaf curl if it’s a bad year for whiteflies. Every area has their own tomato diseases to contend with. On today’s episode we talk about the eight most prevalent tomato plant diseases, how to prevent them, how to spot them, a
Ep. 98 - Becoming A Little More Self Reliant with Ashley Constance
Just because you live in town or don’t actually want to do all the things doesn’t mean you can’t learn to do just a little bit more for yourself and your family in this modern globally connected world. It doesn’t matter where you live or where you are in life, you can be a little more reliant on yourself and your local community to make yourself a bit more secure in a very uncertain world.
My guest today is the perfect example of that. Ashley Constance is a first-generation homesteader who
Ep. 97 - Modern Homesteading: It's Not What You Think
When you think of homesteading, what comes to mind? Ma and Pa Ingles out on the prairie trying to build a home and raise a family with their own resources on a large plot of dusty land? Maybe you think of the early pictures of covered wagons crossing dangerous territories on their way to stake a claim out west. Yeah, me too! But, in reality, modern homesteading is nothing like that.
Today, homesteading can happen just about anywhere. Because modern homesteading isn’t about relying only on yourse
Ep. 96 - Growing Green Beans
I have a confession. When I was a teenager and young adult, I hated fresh green beans. I was used to eating them out of a can and, to me, fresh green beans were “fuzzy”. I definitely was tuned to the smooth, soft, already cooked texture of a canned green bean. I maintained that I didn’t like fresh green beans even after I started growing my own garden as an adult. It wasn’t until my third year of gardening that I gave it a try and learned to love the flavor and texture and freshness of fresh gre
Ep. 95 - Grow a Row to Donate
In most places in the U.S. there are multiple agencies that work with other agencies to get excess food into the hands of those who can best use it. Whether they work directly with food banks, social service organizations, shelters, and churches or if they have their own collection and distribution system, these agencies often run into a similar problem. They have a ton in the way of non-perishable, boxed or canned goods and less in the way fresh fruits and vegetables. Sometimes this is because
Ep. 94 - Growing Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite things to eat and, subsequently, to grow. I can eat sweet potatoes baked, fried, mashed, chipped, like tater tots, as a pie, you name it, I’ll eat them. And it only takes a few plants to give you a really good harvest, so they’re perfectly suited for smaller garden spaces. Despite the name, they actually aren’t potatoes and what we eat isn’t a tuber, it’s a root. They are a tropical crop that needs at least four months of warm weather and warm soil, but ther
Ep. 93 - The Stories Behind Plants with Marion Whitehead
On Tuesday, we talked all about preserving our culture and our heritage through our food, which includes the plants we grow. Today, I’m joined by Marion Whitehead who is just as passionate about plants and their stories as a I am, maybe even more. I mean, I’ve not been known to write poetry about my plants, but Marion has! And she is uniquely qualified to do so, since she is immersed in plants, both native and exotic, in her work at the Blue Mountain Botanic Garden in New South Wales, Australia.
Ep. 92 - Preserving Our Culture Through Food
Do you have a favorite food from childhood? Do you have a favorite recipe your grandmother passed down to you from her grandmother? The history of our food is important to preserving our cultures and our heritage. Many times, the ingredients that go into those foods are very regional. But, what if the knowledge of those ingredients was lost somewhere along the way? What if nobody remembered how to grow or forage for the main parts of some of our traditional family and cultural dishes?
Today we’r
Ep. 91 -Transitioning Your Plants into Your Garden
I know many of you have already been planting your gardens and many more have transitioned from spring plants into warmer weather summer crops. But I also know there are plenty of you that haven’t started planting yet at all, whether your climate conditions aren’t right, or your garden space isn’t ready or whatever. And, honestly, planting is a season-long activity. We start with cold crops in spring, move into summer crops, then right back to cold crops and the stuff we want to overwinter. And
Ep. 90 - Indoor Gardening
The whole idea behind starting this podcast was to give you the information you need to grow your own food, no matter how much space you have. Most of what I’ve covered on this show has been toward in-ground gardens and containers, only briefly touching on growing indoors. That’s about to change. Whether you have no access to an outdoor growing space, you want to expand on what space you do have by growing more inside, or you want to extend your season by using your indoor space for gardening, I
Ep. 89 - Growing Peppers
One of the crops I really thought would be easy to grow that turned out not to be for me was peppers, specifically bell peppers. Turns out not only do peppers really prefer a lot of heat, they also prefer more water than I typically use in my gardens and in my fields. And peppers are one of those plants that I get asked about all the time in messages and at the farm stand. Because once you get the hang of it, you can grow boatloads and we bring lots of beautiful peppers to market and it gets peo
Ep. 88 - Expanding the Garden as a Beginner with Katelyn Duban
On Tuesday we talked about expanding your gardens and today I’m talking with my new friend, Katelyn Duban from the Rural Woman Podcast. Katelyn had never gardened before moving to her husband’s family farm in rural Alberta and she had never intended to garden even after moving. But after embracing the rural lifestyle, Katelyn dove into growing her own food beginning with a few pots of lettuce on her front steps and ending with a spaghetti squash monster and a new love for gardening. Katelyn expa
Ep. 87 - Expanding Your Garden
If your garden went really well last season, then you might be thinking of expanding your space this season. Even if you didn’t have a fantastic yield last year you may still be thinking of increasing your gardening area because you’ve seen food prices going up in the store recently, or you want certain heirloom varieties, or you just like a challenge! I am the first one to support relying more on yourself for your food needs and less on the grocery store. So, let’s talk a little bit today about
Ep. 86 - How Many Seeds or Plants Do You Need?
When you’re planning your garden, do you have trouble determining how many plants you should grow? It’s very easy to overdo it, especially in the first few years because you don’t know how many plants you need in order to get the volume you want your garden to produce. I was guilty of not planting enough greens the first few years but way overplanting the cucumbers. So we ended up with too few salads and way too many cucumbers. I was giving them away weekly and we canned enough pickles to provid
Ep. 85 - Molasses in the Garden: Yay or Nay?
I’ve done plenty of garden myth episodes before on this podcast so when the subject of molasses in the garden was brought to my attention, it piqued my interest. I do know that molasses as a food has a good amount of nutritional value for us as humans and it stands to reason that those same nutrients would be good for the soil microbes and for our plants. But does it make sense to use molasses as a treatment for your garden soil or for your compost pile or are there better alternatives out there
Ep. 84 - Grow Your Own Tea Garden
A few years back I began to pay more attention to the ingredients in my tea. And I discovered that many of the tea blends I was using contained artificial flavorings. Even the organic teas used so-called “natural flavorings” without indicating the source of that ingredient. So, I started making my own tea blends from herbs I grow in my own garden. I sell many of these herbs as plants at our farm stand and help folks put together their own tea gardens every season. So, this episode we’re going to
Ep. 83 - Growing Luffa
Back in 2020, otherwise known as “the year that shall not be named” growing luffa became this sort of garden craze. I have no idea how it got started, but it seemed like everywhere I looked on social media gardening accounts they were talking about growing luffa. Now, if you didn’t jump onto the luffa bandwagon back then or if you’ve not been successful yet in your luffa growing adventures, you are certainly not alone. Luffa needs a really long growing season and it seems that where you are gard
Ep. 82 - Compost Systems for Home Gardeners
Last week we talked all about what goes into creating and managing your compost pile and then we talked with Stan Slaughter who gave us even more info and talked a little about how beginners can get started composting. Now that we know what the essential components are for an effective compost pile, let’s talk about the different types of compost systems that are out there. Whether you opt for a pile in the corner of the yard (which is still a totally viable option!), or a fancy tumbler, or a ve
Ep. 81 - Talking Compost with Stan "The Compost Man"Slaughter
Kansas City based artist and educator Stan Slaughter has been traveling the country singing songs and sharing stories with kids and adults since 1987. Stan helped create the very first Earth Day celebration in Kansas City and has made “Every Day is Earth Day” his motto ever since. Speaking at Master Gardeners’ groups, teaching adults in compost workshops, singing at water festivals and zoos, and doing thousands of assemblies for more than 400,000 students, Stan takes his mes
Ep. 80 - Creating and Managing a Compost Pile
Right now, many of us are getting our garden beds ready for the gardening season or if you’re in a warmer climate, your beds may need a refresh before moving on to your next round of planting. In either case, you know I’m going to recommend the use of compost. Not only is compost great at adding nutrients and increasing the soil organic matter, but it’s also a great way to feed the microbiota in the soil that make those nutrients available to your plants and it can act as a fabulous mulch for ke
Ep. 79 - Planning a Children's Garden
I started gardening when some of my kids were fairly young. The youngest was in kindergarten, but the oldest was already a freshman in high school. But, my mom had my brother and I in the garden when we were still in preschool. In fact, that cover photo for this episode is my brother and I in our backyard garden in Colorado. I don’t remember a whole lot of specific things about being in the garden, but I do remember snippets. The joy of pulling something whole and edible from the dirt, the fun o
Ep. 78 - Seed Starting Mix vs Potting Soil, plus How to Make Your Own
When you walk into the garden center, that potting soil aisle can be absolutely overwhelming. Potting mix, potting soil, seed starter, soilless medium; the variety and possibilities are endless. Which do you choose? And does it really make a difference when you’re starting your seeds indoors? The answer, like most everything in gardening, is … maybe. Today I’m going to talk about the difference between soilless seed starting mixes and regular potting soil and give you the information you need to
Ep. 77 - Five Tips to Successful Seed Starting
It is time, my gardening friends! Many of us are getting our spring seedlings going as we speak. Now whether you’ve been starting your own seeds indoors for years or you are new to getting a jump on the gardening season in this way, it can sometimes be a challenge. One year you may have beautiful, strong plants that take off the moment you put them outside in the garden and the next year you may have spindly weaklings that seem to struggle from the get-go. What gives? There are a lot of factors
Ep. 76 - Managing Soil pH in Your Garden
I talk all the time about the importance of soil testing and usually we’re chatting about the nutrient deficiencies that can be discovered and amended through those test results. But what we don’t talk about as frequently is one other result you get from a soil test and that’s your soil’s pH. Most garden vegetables do best in a soil pH that’s slightly acidic, generally between 5.8 and 7.0, with a few notable exceptions. But what does that mean? What is soil pH? How does it affect plant growth? A
Ep. 75 - Timing Your Warm-Weather Seed Starting
Last week we talked about timing your seed starts for your cool weather crops and that was based mainly on the last average frost date in spring for your area or your average daily temperatures, for you warmer climate folks.
But, what about the warm-weather plants? If you determined to save some money in the garden this year by starting your own summer crops from seed instead of buying starts from the local nursery then that is fantastic! Keep in mind a lot of those summer plants take longer to
Ep. 74 - How to Time Your Spring Seed Starting
The start of the new year in the northern hemisphere often turns us toward thoughts of our garden already. Those seed catalogs start rolling in, the days slowly start to get a little bit longer, we start to get a little restless, but it really isn’t time to start those seeds just yet in most areas. This will depend on your growing zone, of course, and when your last spring frost date is, but it will also depend on what you’re planning to grow. So, this first episode of the new year I’m going to
All About Broccoli (Replay of Episode 12)
Hello my gardening friends. I hope you are having a wonderful start to the new year thus far. Right now, I am working on all kinds of new things for the second season of the Just Grow Something podcast along with some other projects all designed to help you get the most out of your garden in 2022. Because of this, I will be taking a few weeks off from recording new episodes and, instead, will be replaying a few of the most downloaded episodes from season one. Hopefully, these episodes will get y
Seed and Plant Selection (Episode 6 replay)
Hello my gardening friends. I hope you are having a wonderful start to the new year thus far. Right now, I am working on all kinds of new things for the second season of the Just Grow Something podcast along with some other projects all designed to help you get the most out of your garden in 2022. Because of this, I will be taking a few weeks off from recording new episodes and, instead, will be replaying a few of the most downloaded episodes from season one. Hopefully, these episodes will get y
Ep. 73 – Soil Amendments to Add in Fall and Winter
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: testing your soil is the best way to find out what is lacking in your garden as far as nutrients are concerned and the earlier you test it, the better. Testing your soil in the off-season before spring rolls around gives you an earlier start toward correcting any deficiencies. Fall and winter are the best times to amend your soil with organic components because they will have a chance to break down into the soil and incorporate themselves so they are re
Ep. 72 - Garden Wins and Lessons
This episode let’s reflect a little bit on our gardens this past year. What went well? What didn’t? I refer to these as wins and lessons, not losses, because every activity in the garden is a learning experience. Some are just a little bit less pleasant than others. Even though they may not have been productive in the sense of producing a harvest, they will always be productive in the sense of bettering our future gardens and gardening experiences. Today I will happily review with you what went
Ep. 71 - Modern-day Slavery on South Georgia Farms
You’ll notice my tone is slightly different today and that’s due to the nature and seriousness of the topic I want to explore with you. Specifically, regarding the recently unsealed 54-count indictment against an organized crime syndicate in the southern U.S. relating to the horrible treatment of people they brought across the border to work on farms and who, subsequently were treated as slaves. If you saw my stories on Instagram this week you got to see my rant on this topic and, honestly, this
Ep. 70 - Getting Started with Microgreens
One of the problems of being a home gardener in many climates is that the season for salad greens can be short. Either you’re in a climate that gets way too hot in the summer to grow decent greens or you’re in a climate that has a very short growing season and it gets too cold too quickly. And, even if you’re in a climate where you can grow through the winter, you may not have enough space outside to get those greens to full size before your Persephone period hits and they stop growing. The answ
Ep. 69 - What is a CSA? And how is it different from a subscription service?
Way back in episode one, the introduction episode, I briefly mentioned that my love of gardening, and my naivety of how easy it was, was partly responsible for the beginnings of our farming adventures. During that episode I mentioned we started selling to the public through a CSA or Community Supported Agriculture program. I also mentioned I would eventually do an entire episode on what that is and, well, here we are 68 episodes later and I’m finally getting there!
So, what is a CSA? How is it d
Ep. 68 - Invasive Plant Species in the Garden, Plus Five Plants to Avoid in Your Landscape
As we start thinking about our gardens for next season, we may not just be looking at fruits and veggies and herbs. Many of us like to plant our landscape and the areas surrounding our vegetable gardens with plants that are beautiful to look at. Maybe they’re for cutting flowers and bringing into the house or maybe they’re just for some added color and beauty while we spend our time outside. It may also be for curb appeal.
Unfortunately, there are many species that get planted that are considere
Ep. 67 - When and How to Plant Your Garlic, Plus Tips for Warmer Climates
It’s that time of year! This evening I will be binge watching whatever show the Mean Farmer and I decide upon while maniacally separating clove after clove of garlic. We’re planting close to 15 pounds of garlic this year, a combination of both hard neck and soft neck varieties. Depending on the variety, that’s anywhere from 25 to 40 cloves per pound. Which all need to be separated from their heads to get ready to plant. So, we will be enjoying the smell of the stinking rose this evening while we
Ep. 66 - Three Tasks You Should Not Skip to End the Gardening Season, plus one bonus task
The past few weeks we've talked about the fall garden and overwintering in the garden. Some of our gardens have already seen a hard freeze or snow, some a killing freeze but still have plants going strong, and some don't see a freeze at all but simply go dormant.
This week we’re going to talk about the three things to do at the end of your garden season to get you off to the best start NEXT year. These things are going to help you better prevent and manage pests and disease in the garden as well
Ep. 65 - Overwintering Plants Indoors: Production or Dormancy?
We’ve talked about cloning plants by taking cuttings to save our favorite garden specimens over the winter while taking very little space. But, what about bringing plants in to overwinter in a dormant state or even keeping them productive?
If you’ve got the space, there are several techniques for overwintering your most productive garden plants to either continue the bounty all winter long or to keep them alive and ready to go back outside in the spring to get a jump on the season and start prod
Ep. 64 - Cloning Your Most Productive Garden Plants
So, we talked last week all about saving seeds from your best garden specimens to use in your garden next season. But, what about that big, beautiful, healthy plant that's just produced loads of veggies for you all season long? Don't you wish you could bring it inside and then bring it back out next year? Well, you can! And you can do it without taking up the entirety of your window space indoors and without having a greenhouse.
The process of taking cuttings from a healthy, productive plant and
Ep. 63 - Proper Seed Storage: Moisture levels, storage conditions, containers, and more
This Focal Point Friday episode is the second in our two-parter on saving seeds. Tuesday’s episode focused on which plants you should be saving seeds from, how to properly collect and clean those seeds and how to hedge your bets against carrying over diseases on or in your seeds.
This episode focuses on seed storage, whether it's seed saved from your own garden or over purchased from a supplier. Leftovers from spring? No problem. We’ll talk about proper moisture level for saved seeds and how to
Ep. 62 - Properly Saving Seeds in Your Garden
Have you decided this is the year you’ll start saving seeds from your garden? Or, maybe you’ve saved seeds in the past and have had some problem with viability or germination the next season.
I mean, it doesn’t sound like it should be a difficult task. Just collect the seeds from whatever you want to keep, rinse them, dry them, and pack them away for next year, right? Well, sure! And while following this simple method can absolutely mean you’ll have beautifully preserved seeds that have fantasti
Ep. 61 - Can You Dig It? Lilies and Saving Seeds
It's October! And October 1st is the first Friday of the month which means another Can You Dig It? episode. This month we talk unknown plants in the garden that turn out to be lilies (and edible) and when to start saving seeds. This is also a precursor to next week's double episodes on seed saving. Great information here and more to come. So, let's dig in!
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Ep. 40 - Growing Garlic
Ep. 60 - Fall Planted Strawberries
Traditionally, home gardeners have planted bare-root strawberry plants in the garden and had to wait an excruciating year to pick their first ripe berry. But, most commercial farms plant exclusively in the fall and harvest their first berries in the spring. On this episode, Karin talks about how the home gardener can use this technique to get a perennial strawberry bed producing earlier, the difference between the strawberry plant types, and more. Check the links below for sourcing rooted strawb
Ep. 59 - Garden Notes to Make Now for a Successful Season Later
Have you been keeping notes all season long in a garden journal? Have you kept track of your varieties, harvests, weed pressure, insect pests, weather conditions, etc? No? No worries! Right now is the time to make some annotations about your gardening season to help put you on the right track for next year's garden. Doesn't need to be fancy, but the more you write down now the less you'll have to rely on hindsight to give you an accurate portrayal of what happened this year so you can make corre
Ep. 58 - Mum's the Word: Growing mums in the garden.
This Garden Talk Tuesday we’re digging into growing a favorite fall decoration of many people – mums or, more accurately, chrysanthemums. Now you absolutely can grow these fall flowers in your garden year-round but you need to know what you’re planting. Is it possible to plant the mums you get from your garden center and have them come back each year? The answer is: it depends. Knowing the difference between a garden or hardy mum and a nursery or florist mum is going to make all the difference h
Ep. 57 - When to Pick Your Pumpkins and other winter squashes (and how to make them last!)
Did you plant pumpkins this year? What about winter squashes? One of the questions I usually get around this time of year about pumpkins and other winter squash is, “how do I know when it’s ready to pick?” There’s nothing worse than waiting all season long for that huge vine to flower and produce these beautiful fruit, only to harvest it way too early because it looked ready or leave it out there too long and the bugs or ground rot gets to it. So, today we’re going to talk really quickly about t
Ep. 56 - Row Covers, Frost Covers, Insect Cover and Shade Cloth
I've talked about using these before, but what's the difference between a row cover, a frost cover, and insect cover? What about shade cloth? This episode we'll dig into the different materials available commercially to purchase for each of these tasks in your gardens, which ones are multi-purpose and which ones aren't, the accessories that go along with them and what alternatives you may have just laying around your home.
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Ep. 55 - Identifying Insects in the Garden
What is this?? It's a common question in the garden when we come across an insect, or any other arthropod, that we don't recognize. This Focal Point Friday we'll talk about the key items to take note of when trying to identify any one of the hundreds of thousands (literally!) of insects we may encounter in our day-to-day lives and then what to do with that info. Let's dig in to identifying insects in the garden.
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Ep. 54 - Arugula
This Garden Talk Tuesday we’re going to talk about a leafy green that people either really love or really do not care for – arugula. And though we refer to it as a green culinarily, like lettuce or kale, botanically it’s actually an herb and it definitely has a peppery or mustardy bite. It’s in the same family as the brassicas we’ve talked about in previous episodes, but the growth habit is completely different so I thought it deserved its own episode. Now, I’ll admit, I wasn’t a huge fan of aru
Ep. 53 - Persephone and Pruning: Can You Dig It?
It's the first Friday of the month and time for another Can You Dig It episode. To be honest, this one snuck up on me! And, it must have snuck up on all of you, too, because I don’t have any listener questions for this month. But, I do have an interesting question that was posed to me by a customer at the farmer’s market stand and a couple quick tips on how to finish the season strongly with some of your summer garden plants.
So, let’s dig in, shall we?
Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Face
Ep. 52 - Cabbage
This Garden Talk Tuesday we’re going to look at another crop that’s great in the fall garden - cabbage! This is another one that works well in the cooler shoulder seasons of spring and fall and does exceptionally well in fall weather. Plus, it’s another bonus crop that can survive a light frost with no damage if it’s covered and can withstand longer periods of cold weather if properly protected.
The biggest problems people face when growing cabbage are twofold. Number one is the garden pests, an
Ep. 51 - Garden Myths, Part Two
We’ve talked quite a bit this season about things that can and do go wrong in the garden and some ways to prevent them. In our first Garden Myths episode, we talked about things like coffee grounds, banana peels and eggshells in the garden, whether watering during the heat of the day can burn your plant leaves, marigolds, adding sand to your soil, talking to your plants, and more. If you missed that episode, I’ll put a link to it in the show notes.
On this Focal Point Friday episode, we’re going
Ep. 50 - The Dirt on Fall Garden Preparation
Right now many of you are getting ready to transition from your summer garden to your fall crops and that’s pretty much what’s going on around here. And many of you are likely going to be using spaces that were previously used for a spring or summer crop or both. Whether you are interplanting your fall stuff under the canopy of your summer plants or planning to pull those plants to make way for the fall garden, there are few things you need to take into consideration prior to planting especially
Ep. 49 - There is No Garden Perfection: Total Transparency and an Origin Story
I hope this week has been treating you well, especially in the garden. This Focal Point Friday I want to talk about something I think is pretty prevalent, especially on social media, but in any sort of promotional or educational space, like YouTube or podcasting, when it comes to teaching people how to garden. There is this tendency, I think, to only show the beautiful parts. I mean, it makes sense, right? As someone who wants to help people learn all about gardening, I want you to see all the g
Ep. 48 - We Got the Beet!
It is super-hot again here today and I can’t help but continue to look forward to my fall gardens. Another great fall crop is beets and you can bet we’ve got a ton of them planted already with plans for another succession planting this coming week. So, let’s dig in to how to grow beets!
Beets are grown for both its root and its tops. In the U.S. and Canada, we simply refer to the root as a beet. But elsewhere the root is usually referred to as beetroot, table beet, or dinner beet and the t
Ep. 47 - Can You Dig It? Vol. 5: Mobile Farmers' Markets, Pollination Problems and Cabbage Loopers
This is the August edition of our Can You Dig It episode! We have a couple food-related articles and a couple gardening questions from listeners and folks in the Facebook group. If you haven’t joined the Just Grow Something Gardening Friends group on Facebook yet, jump in there. Answer a couple of questions so we can make sure you’re not a bot of some sort, and you’ll be joining like-minded gardeners from all over to share ideas and ask questions. You can also share interesting food stories like
Ep. 46 - Growing Spinach
This Garden Talk Tuesday we’re going to talk about another great fall crop: spinach. Spinach is another fairly easy crop to grow that's only slightly fussy about its growing conditions. It’s no diva, like carrots, but it can be a little finicky when it comes to temperatures and water. So, it really is best grown in the cooler shoulder seasons of spring and fall. And, what makes it a great fall crop is that it can not only stand up to a heavy frost, you can overwinter it with row covers and harve
Ep. 45 - The Epidemic of Farmer Burnout
Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed by your summer garden? The overwhelm you may be feeling in the garden is a good indication that you’ve pushed yourself pretty far in terms of your commitment to your garden, the hard work you’ve put in, and you may be having difficulty managing the stress that hits in the middle of the heaviest part of the harvest when it seems like everything needs to be done at once and NOTHING is cooperating.
Unless you are relying on your garden for all of your family’s sust
Ep. 44 - Caring for Your Garden in Extreme Heat
We covered ways to help you continue to work in your garden during the heat of the summer in episode 41, but what about your garden? Many of you have already been facing extreme heat this year, so let’s talk about what to do to help care for your garden when you experience extreme summer heat conditions.
Episode 41: 6 Ways to Beat the Heat in the Garden
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Ep. 43 - Succession Planting, Relay Planting, and Interplanting: Increase your garden yield without increasing your space
We’ve been talking about fall gardening over the past few weeks and some of the techniques I’m going to talk about fall right in line with planting for fall, so now’s a good time to cover some of the terminology and the differences between and benefits of each. These are all techniques we’ve used a lot on our farm and in our gardens and they work well no matter how much garden space you have. In fact, these techniques can actually increase the yield of a small garden space substantially. So, wit
Ep. 42 - Just Grow Carrots
Carrots are divas! Carrots can either be a complete failure or a rousing success and 90% of that depends on your soil composition. One little bump in the road and your carrot will do a quick swerve and you end up with wonky roots. No worries! On today's episode we'll cover how to amend your soil to perfect diva status, how to grow carrots in containers, what diseases and pests to watch out for, harvest tips and more. So come one, let's grow carrots!
The Gardening as Therapy episode has been corr
Ep. 41 - 6 Tips for Beating the Heat in the Garden
Working in the garden in the heat can not only be dangerous if you’re not careful, but it can also make it difficult to stay on track with what you’re doing. It can be a bit of a distraction, we don’t work nearly as efficiently, it can be an actual health risk. So, here are 6 ways you can beat the heat in your garden this summer.
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Ep. 40 - Growing Garlic
Are you having harvest envy over all the photos of gardeners and their beautiful garlic? Have no fear! This Garden Talk Tuesday we're talking all things garlic - hardneck vs. softneck, how to prep the bed, when to harvest, how to store, and more. Let's take the mystery out of planting this wonderful, universally loved crop and Just Grow Garlic!
Check out the Facebook group of fellow gardeners and food lovers at Just Grow Something Gardening Friends.
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Ep. 39 - Gardening As Therapy
This episode is totally unscripted. No notes, no ads, just a conversation between me and you, my gardening friends. And this episode we are talking a little about gardening as therapy. It's been a rough week or so around here and the roller coaster isn't over yet, so we're talking all the ways gardening is good for your mental health. From pulling weeds, to quiet observation, to feeling the ground beneath your bare feet, your garden can and should be a place where you can relieve some stress and
Ep. 38 - Planning the Fall Garden
This Garden Talk Tuesday we’re talking about planning for your fall garden. Now, I know many of you are just now getting your first real harvests of the season and for those of you in much cooler climates your fall garden may mostly be a continuation of whatever you have in the ground right now. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t things you can interplant within those summer items that can survive after you get your first fall frost. For those of you in much warmer or temperate climates, your fa
Ep. 37 - Can You Dig It?, Vol. 4: Brassicas, Tomatoes, TikTok and Plastics!
This Can You Dig It? episode features articles on Arkansas Black apples versus Black Diamond apples, a TikTok video featuring a no-tears way to dice onions, and questions about cabbage, cauliflower, and tomatoes.
Did you know this is the start of Plastic Free July? Karin has taken the pledge for the month (and for life, really) to reduce her plastic use and invites you to do the same. Check out the link below.
We've also got a new Facebook community! The Just Grow Something Gardening Friends gro
Ep. 36 - Keeping a Garden Journal
Whether you call it a garden planner, journal, notebook, or whatever, a garden journal can be as little or as much as you want it to be. There are some key items, though, that I would recommend every gardener keep in their journal to help them be successful in the garden and to reduce some of the frustration that sometimes comes with gardening.
Your journal can be anything you want it to be! It can be both a planner and a log, a place for notes and a place for reflection, or any or none of the a
Ep. 35 - U.S. Farm Subsidies Explained
One of my goals with this podcast is for us all to grow a deeper connection with where our food comes from, and that includes me. In an effort to shed light on some of the most common misconceptions we have about our food systems, I wanted to dig into the subject of agricultural subsidies. This is NOT an easy subject to tackle, even at a high level, because of the myriad of complexities and the different number of programs. But, I’ll do my best here to share what I’ve learned and maybe hel
Ep. 34 - Garden Talk Tuesday: Winter Squash
Growing winter squash can be such fun because there are so many sizes, types, and varieties to choose from! No matter which you choose, Karin talks about how to plant and cultivate them, whether in the ground or in containers, the pests and diseases you might face and how to avoid them, and how to harvest, cure, and store your winter squashes when all is said and done. This episode will inspire you to try a few winter squash of your own this season - it's not too late to plant!
Support this podc
Ep. 33 - Farmers Are Not Getting Paid to Destroy Things
Have you heard the story? The one where the farmer destroys her own crop, just to get a check from some agency? Or the one where the dairy farm dumps all their milk when they should have donated it all? People make a lot of assumptions about what happens with our food and its production and a lot of it is just plain wrong. On this episode, Karin talks a little about what ticked her off with one of her farming friends last week and how we can be a little more responsible about the assumptions we
Ep. 32 - Garden Talk Tuesday: Garden Myths! True, False, or ... Maybe??
Today we’re going to talk about common gardening myths. In some cases we know how these myths got started but, in others, there’s just no telling. In reality, most myths go back to the concept of causation versus correlation we touched on briefly way back in episode seven, “Why Gardening is Good for Your Health.” A correlation means there may be some relationship between two things but does not automatically mean that a change in one is the cause of a change in the other. But, that’s how most ga
Ep. 31 - Preserving the Harvest, Part Two
We've talked about freezing and water-bath canning, now let's cover cold storage, pressure canning, and dehydrating! There are so many ways to preserve the bounty that's coming from your garden, so let's dig in to some more ways to allow you to enjoy that bounty throughout the off-season.
Resources in this episode:
Support this podcast at https://patreon.com/justgrowsomething
https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/uga/using_press_canners.html
https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/dry.html
https://foodal.com/kno
Ep. 30 - Trellising and Pruning Tomatoes
Deciding what method to use to trellis your tomatoes and knowing how to prune them can be confusing! Let's demystify some of this a little bit, shall we? Let's figure out which trellis type you should use and how to trellis those tomatoes once they're growing strong. Or, maybe, we won't trellis them at all!
Post a picture of your tomato set up on Instagram and tag @justgrowsomethingpodcast so we can see what you're up to!
Don’t forget to check out our Patreon to support this podcast! Go to https
Ep. 29 - Can You Dig It? Vol. 3
Beef shortages, sunflower oil factory invaders, pebbles in pots, and growing green onions ... this episode has it all! This Can You Dig It? episode we dig into the latest in food news, answer listener questions (and dispel a gardening myth perpetuated by Karin's mom and many others) and give some guidance on green onions.
Resources in this episode:
Support this podcast: https://www.Patreon.com/justgrowsomething
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/01/big-north-american-meat-plants-halt-operations-after-
Ep. 28 - Garden Talk Tuesday: Tomatoes
This week we're totally talking tomatoes! Learn the basics of growing tomatoes, pests and diseases to watch out for, harvesting tips, storage methods, and ideas on how to preserve a bountiful harvest.
Have you checked out our Patreon page yet? It's the way to support this podcast monetarily each month while getting some cool features in return. Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/JustGrowSomething.
Resources used in this episode:
http://www.naturalmedicinalherbs.net/herbs/l/lycopersicon-escu
Ep. 27 - Preserving the Harvest, Part One
Depending on where you are, you may not even be harvesting anything from your garden or containers yet. But, it's never too early to plan for preserving! This episode, Karin digs into the two easiest methods for preserving most produce: freezing and water-bath canning. We'll cover the basic methods for each, equipment requirements, special considerations, and resources for specific instructions and information. Now's the time to plan for that garden bounty!
Resources:
Our new Patreon page for su
Ep. 26 - Garden Talk Tuesday: Water, Water Everywhere
This Garden Talk Tuesday we talk a little bit about what happens in the garden when it just won’t stop raining and what to do when your soil is just too wet and the weather just won't dry up. Lots of folks are in a super wet, rainy weather cycle right now. Over saturated soils can cause all kinds of problems for your plants, whether it's from too much rain or from overwatering.
This episode we'll look at what problems saturated soils and cooler temperatures can cause, ways to prevent soil satura
Ep. 25 - FAO Food Price Index. Say what?
This Focal Point Friday we’re going to take a high level look at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Food Price Index. What is it, what does it mean, and how does it affect us as consumers and people across the globe in general?
I think it’s important for us when we see prices going up for food and goods that we use on a daily basis, to have an understanding of why that’s happening. We live in a global economy and our individual countries, with very few exceptions, do not
Ep. 24 - Garden Talk Tuesday: Aphids
Karin digs deep into one particular garden pest this week – aphids. We've already seen tons of posts on social media about aphids in the garden this season, cries for help in getting rid of them or help in identifying these garden pests. This episode will help you identify aphids, determine what damage they can do to your plants, whether you need to worry about removing them and, if so, how to go about curbing their enthusiasm for your plants.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Arbico Organics
Ep. 23 - Garden Updates
Keeping it light on this Focal Point Friday. Karin chit-chats about what's going on in her gardens and would love to hear about yours! What's the weather like? What insect pressures are you facing? Are your weeds growing like, well, weeds? Check in by using the link in the notes below to leave a voice message or jump over to our website and use the contact page to let us know how things are going.
Ep. 22 - Garden Talk Tuesday: Plant Nutrient Deficiencies and Toxicity
We talked about the macro, secondary, and micronutrients in a previous episode. But, how do you tell if your plant is deficient or has too much of any one nutrient?
Different nutrient deficiencies or toxicities are expressed in the plant in different ways. And it’s important to rule out other possible reasons for your plants symptoms before you start adding additional nutrients because you may do more harm than good. Too much of a good thing can also cause too little of another in the case of pl
Ep. 21 - Can You Dig It? Vol. 2
A warm welcome to all our new listeners! This is our second monthly Can You Dig It? episode. Karin has a couple interesting garden news stories for you as well as answering some great gardening questions. Find out why the houseplant business is booming, how long to wait before using manure in the garden and why ice can save your plants from freezing!
Don't forget to rate and review this podcast in all the places, subscribe to the podcast, and download and share your favorite episodes to keep spr
Ep. 20 - Garden Talk Tuesday: Cucumbers
Let's dig deep into growing cucumbers! A summertime favorite, cucumbers come in a many shapes, sizes, and growth habits and can be grown in the ground, in raised beds, or in containers. This Garden Talk Tuesday episode we talk about how to cultivate cucumbers, what pests and diseases they are susceptible to and how to harvest and store them.
Don't forget to check out our Instagram page and to rate and review this podcast in all the places. Share with your friends and share your opinion with us a
Ep. 19 - Correction Section, Nutrients in Containers, and Food Waste Follow Up
This Focal Point Friday has some corrections from Tuesday, additional information regarding the Plant Nutrient episode specifically for those who are gardening in containers, and follow up and clarification regarding the Food Waste episode.
Last chance to send your questions in for the next Can You Dig It? episode! Use the link below to leave a voice message or send an email to grow@justgrowsomethingpodcast.com. You'll be in the running for a Clyde's Garden Planner.
Don't forget to rate and revi
Ep. 18 - Garden Talk Tuesday: Plant Nutrients and Why You Need to Know Them
Plant Nutrients – what are they, what do they do, which ones should we be most concerned with?
Good plant growth is directly correlated to good plant nutrition. It’s important to know how the most essential nutrients work so you can choose soil amendments and fertilizers, if necessary, that will most benefit what you’re growing. This Garden Talk Tuesday we dig into the primary and secondary plant nutrients essential to plant growth and crop yield and make sense of those three big numbers on the
Ep. 17 - Ugly Produce and Food Waste: Fact or Fiction?
Food issues are important and there are so many different topics to discuss, whether it’s food deserts or lack of access to nutrient dense foods or the distance our food travels to get to our plate. Today we tackle food waste and the perception that ugly produce somehow gets wasted in this country before it reaches consumers and talk a little about the companies that are taking advantage of that perception to sell you boxes of this ugly produce.
Global hunger isn’t about a lack of food. Accordin
Ep. 16 - Garden Talk Tuesday: Mistakes in the Garden
There is absolutely nothing wrong with making mistakes in the garden! Gardening is going to involve trial and error and that shouldn't discourage you from growing your own. In this episode, Karin shares a few types of mistakes that can be made in the garden and divulges the most recent mistake she made just last week!
Don't forget to send in your gardening questions for the next "Can You Dig It?" episode. Use the link below to send a voice message, send an email to grow@justgrowsomethingpodcast.
Ep. 15 - Sustainable Practices for Gardening and Landscaping, Part Two
This week we finish up the last four tips on practicing sustainability in the garden and landscape. From conserving water to practicing responsible pest management, we dig into how we can lessen our impact on future generations with actions that we take today.
The seven practices covered in this and last week's Focal Point Friday episode are:
1.Landscape for local climate
2.Reduce waste and recycle
3.Nurture the soil
4.Conserve water
5.Plant heirlooms and shop locally
6.Practice responsible pest
Ep. 14 - Garden Talk Tuesday: Lettuce
This Garden Talk Tuesday we're digging deep into lettuce! Not all leafy greens are created equal and each has it's own particular set of preferred growing conditions. We'll talk about the types of lettuce, growth habits, potential pests and diseases, harvest and storage.
Don't forget to send your gardening questions in for our next Can You Dig It? episode for a chance to win a free Clyde's Garden Planner! Leave a voice message at the link below or head to our website and use the contact form.
Re
Ep. 13 - Sustainable Practices for Gardening and Landscaping, Part One
What does "sustainable" mean and what does that mean for your garden or landscape? Karin digs into the definitions and importance of sustainability and covers the first three of seven important practices for home gardeners and landscapers. She also admits she is NOT a landscape designer!
Send us your gardening questions for our next "Can You Dig It?" episode to be entered into the drawing for a free Clyde's Garden Planner. Head to JustGrowSomethingPodcast.com to send a message from the contact f
Ep. 12 - Garden Talk Tuesday: Broccoli
On this Garden Talk Tuesday episode, we are talking all about broccoli. This is the first in many episodes to come where we dig deep into one particular crop and discover its origin, what conditions it grows best in, common pests and diseases, harvest tips, and more. Let's dig in!
Resources used in this episode:
https://www.herbazest.com/herbs/broccoli
http://www.stuartxchange.org/Broccoli
https://www.almanac.com/plant/broccoli#
https://firstsaturdaylime.com/
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/pla
Ep. 11 - Can You Dig It? Vol. 1
It's our first "Can You Dig It" episode! Karin has a couple interesting gardening news stories to share and answers gardening questions from listeners about frost protection, growing tomatoes in containers, and the difference between part sun and part shade.
Ep. 10 - Garden Talk Tuesday: Weed Prevention
This Garden Talk Tuesday we talk strategies for weed prevention, control, and removal. A pound of cure is worth an ounce of prevention is certainly true in the garden. Weeds can take up much of our time and resources if not properly managed. This episode, we'll focus on how to keep those weeds from becoming a problem in your garden.
There's still time to send in your questions for our first "Can You Dig It" episode. Click the link below to leave a voice message, or head to the website, justgrows
Ep. 9 - Eight Garden Trends for 2021
This Focal Point Friday we’re looking at garden trends for this year, both for the veggie gardener and the flower gardener or home landscaper. 2020 and pandemic life saw crazy upticks in the number of people working from home, strong home sales that seem to be continuing, and a renewed interest in gardening, for both food and aesthetics. And as COVID restrictions continue, there are trends popping up for 2021 that are reflecting this continued modified lifestyle. So, whether your goal is to hunk
Ep. 8 - Growing Zones and Frost Protection In The Garden
This Garden Talk Tuesday we define what a growing zone is, according to the USDA Hardiness Zone map, and talk about what items you should keep on hand to help protect your tender garden seedlings from and unexpected frost.
Don’t forget to send me your gardening questions for our first “Can You Dig It?” episode coming up the first Friday of the month. Send me an email, or go to the contact page at justgrowsomethingpodcast.com, or click the link below to send me a voice message with your questions
Ep. 7 - The Science Behind Why Gardening Is Good For Your Health
Let's dig into the science behind why gardening is good for you. There are nutritional benefits, for sure, of growing your own food. But, what about the non-nutritional benefits? Join Karin as she "geeks out" just a little bit about the science behind all the reasons why gardening is good for us, both physically and mentally, through all stages of our life.
And, don't forget to send us your gardening questions for our first "Can You Dig It?" episode to be entered for a chance to win a free Clyde
Ep. 6 - Garden Talk Tuesday: Seed and Plant Selection
This episode we talk about plant nomenclature, define different terms surrounding types of seeds and plants, and dig a little bit into starting your own transplants versus purchasing started plants.
The MU Extension guide mentioned in this episode can be found here: https://extension.missouri.edu/g6201
The discount code for the Black Rifle Coffee Club can be found here:http://www.justgrowsomethingpodcast.com/coffee/
Ep. 5 - Experimenting in the Garden
How can you do things a little differently in your garden? Today we'll talk about the numerous ways you can experiment with planting dates, varieties, and techniques in the garden once you've got a couple of seasons under your belt.
Have a question or some feedback? Send us an email to grow@justgrowsomethingpodcast.com. We may use your question on a future Q&A episode!
Ep. 4 - Garden Talk Tuesday: Traditional and Alternative Gardening Spaces
So, last week our hypothetical gardener figured out what they want to grow in their dream garden. But how much space will they need? What type of garden do they have room for? This episode we'll talk about in-ground gardening versus alternative methods and what things you need to consider for both.
Links to things mentioned in this episode:
Missouri University Extension Planting Calendar, for spacing requirements for each type of veggie - https://extension.missouri.edu/g6201
How to determine you
Ep. 3 - Why Grow Your Own and How to Preserve the Nutrients if You Don't
Why is food that we grow ourselves more nutritious? How can we preserve the nutrients in our food if we can't grow it ourselves? In this Focal Point Friday episode, Karin talks about the importance of eating closer to the source.
Ep. 2 - Garden Talk Tuesday: The Basics
Whether you're just starting in gardening or need a little refresher course, this first Garden Talk Tuesday episode will walk you through how to choose what you want to grow and how much seed to buy.
The Missouri University Extension planting calendar referenced in this episode will give you an idea of how much to plant of each type of veggie. It also gives the planting dates for those vegetables for the state of Missouri. You can find it here: https://extension.missouri.edu/g6201
Ep. 1 - Introduction
Just a quick "hello" and explanation of just what we are doing here on the Just Grow Something Podcast! A little about the host and her husband, our background, why we're making this podcast, and what we hope you'll get from it. Welcome!