Advertisement

315-Succession Planting with Flowers

| Plant, Podcast

Whether you want to grow a cut flower garden for your own enjoyment or to start a business, you will find Lisa Mason Ziegler’s advice on succession planting with flowers very useful. Lisa, a cut flower growing expert and author, returns to the podcast this week to share her tips. Lisa is the founder of […]

Read More

293-Winter Sowing Native Seeds-Encore Presentation

| Plant, Podcast

Winter sowing native seeds is an easy process that requires no special equipment, and the best part of propagating native plants from seeds is that it promotes genetic diversity for a more resilient ecosystem. To share her methods for simple winter sowing, my guest for this encore presentation is Heather McCargo, the executive director of […]

Read More

286-Naturalizing Bulb Lawns 

| Plant, Podcast

It’s easy to naturalize flower bulbs under turf to create a bulb lawn that will put on a spectacular display each spring indefinitely with no further bulb plantings necessary. To share the history and methods behind bulb lawns, joining me this week is horticulturist Peggy Anne Montgomery. Peggy Anne is from Minnesota and later lived […]

Read More

274-Growing Cool-Season Annuals for Earlier Color and Hardier Plants

| Plant, Podcast

For earlier pops of color, a buffet for pollinators, and overall hardier plants, gardeners should be growing cool-season annuals — flowers that are started in fall or very early spring and bloom weeks or months earlier than heat-loving plants. To offer a primer on successfully planting and growing these flowers, my guest this week is […]

Read More

269-The Ultimate Guide to Flower Growing, With Jenny Rose Carey

| Plant, Podcast

The hardest part of growing a gorgeous flower garden that provides interest in all seasons is getting started. Until you’ve done it, you don’t know where to begin. Lucky for us, my guest this week, gardener, writer and educator Jenny Rose Carey, has a new book, The Ultimate Guide to Flower Growing, that walks readers […]

Read More

250-Mastering the Art of Succession Planting, with Meg Cowden

| Plant, Podcast

Succession planting is a gardening method that extends the growing season and yields a greater harvest, no matter how much or how little space you have to garden in. To discuss how to get the most out of your garden, my returning guest this week is Seed to Fork founder Meg Cowden, a succession planting […]

Read More

248-Dahlia Growing & Breeding, with Kristine Albrecht

| Plant, Podcast

Dahlias are tuberous tender perennials that are not only some of the most beautiful flowers on the planet, they’re also a blast to grow once you get the hang of it. My guest this week, Kristine Albrecht, is a dahlia expert who is here to share dahlia basics as well as the advanced techniques for […]

Read More

229-Food Forest Basics: Creating Abundance Even in Small Spaces

| Plant, Podcast

Starting a food forest may sound like it requires more space than many of us have to work with, but the reality is even gardeners with small yards can implement this permaculture growing method. To share food forest methods and principles, my guest this week is Darrell Frey, a sustainable design expert. Darrell lives in […]

Read More

How Do I Grow Peas?

| Plant

Peas, as one of the first crops that can be sown outdoors in spring, are a harbinger of the growing season. There are climbing-type and bush-type peas, peas with colorful and interesting flowers, shelling peas and peas with edible pods. If you want to grow peas in your garden, here’s everything you need to know. […]

Read More

197-The Many Benefits of Building a Naturalistic Garden, with Kelly Norris

| Plant, Podcast

When planting a naturalistic garden, is having more plants always better? If you ask Kelly Norris, my podcast guest this week and the author of “New Naturalism: Designing and Planting a Resilient, Ecologically Vibrant Home Garden,” the answer is, unequivocally, “yes.” He is an advocate for biodiverse, abundant landscapes that use every square foot to […]

Read More

193-Digging Deeper into Seed Starting with Garden Professor John Porter-Encore Presentation

| Plant, Podcast

Many factors affect whether seeds started indoors will grow to become seedlings that are strong and healthy enough to transition into the garden, survive and prosper. On this week’s encore episode, John Porter of The Garden Professors shares his non-negotiables for success when seed starting.  John is currently the urban agriculture program coordinator for the […]

Read More

192-Start Seeds Indoors Successfully-Encore Presentation

| Plant, Podcast

Indoor seed starting time is nearly upon us, and whether you are starting seeds yourself for the first time in 2021 or you have prior experience, I’m certain you’ll find my discussion with tomato growing expert Craig LeHoullier enlightening. In this encore presentation, Craig and I share tips and tricks to successfully start seeds indoors. […]

Read More

Important Steps to Plant & Grow Blueberries Successfully

| Plant, Video

Once established, blueberries are easy to grow and require little care, but there are things you need to know at planting time for long-term success. In this video, I share tips for ensuring your blueberry plants will thrive.      Blueberries are one of my favorite plants to grow. In addition to producing amazing […]

Read More

How to Start Beet Seeds in Containers for Better Results

| Plant, Video

Not only is it possible to start beet seeds in containers — it can also lead to better results. In this video, I show you how I do it and explain why it’s the easier way.      Beets are one of those crops that you always hear must be direct-sown into the garden. […]

Read More

How to Plant Seeds for Indoor Seed-Starting

| Plant, Video

Starting seeds indoors is a great way to get a jump on the growing season, save a ton of money, and grow out varieties that you normally can’t find in a nursery. In this video, I share the basics of indoor seed starting to easily and successfully sow seeds.       Seeds can be […]

Read More

How to Know if Seeds Are Still Good

| Plant, Video

There is an easy way to tell if the seeds inside an old seed pack are still good — before going through the time and trouble of planting the seeds in the garden to find out. In this video, I’ll show you how to check seeds for viability and test their germination rate.    […]

Read More

Seed Germination – Easy Tricks for More Success

| Plant, Video

Starting seeds indoors is a fun activity that helps you make the most of a short gardening season, but some seeds are harder to germinate than others. In this video, I share tips and tricks for seed germination success.      Outdoors, Mother Nature does a great job of breaking through the seed coat […]

Read More

How Do I Grow Onions?

| Plant

If you’ve never grown onions, you’ll be pleasantly surprised because they’re super easy to grow, hardy through winter, and ready to harvest anytime you are. Young plants are harvested as green onions or scallions. But the longer you wait, the bigger the bulb — at least until they reach full size at maturity.  Here, I’ll […]

Read More

182-Organic Urban Seed Farming, with San Diego Seed Company

| Plant, Podcast

When you plant vegetable and flower seeds in your garden, do you ever think about where exactly those seeds came from? Could you even imagine certified-organic seeds being collected from a one-acre farm in the middle of the second-largest city in California? That’s exactly where my guest this week, seed grower and farmer Brijette Peña, […]

Read More

180-Growing and Using Ornamental Grasses in the Landscape, with Brie Arthur

| Plant, Podcast

Ornamental grasses are eye-catching, low-maintenance additions to home landscapes that offer color, texture and seasonal interest, but they continue to be underutilized. To share the many benefits of growing and using ornamental grasses, my guest this week is horticulturist, lifelong gardener and author Brie Arthur.   Brie has written two books on gardening, “The Foodscape […]

Read More

177-An Overview of Ornamental Grasses and Grass-like Plants, with John Greenlee

| Plant, Podcast

Ornamental grasses are now common sights at nurseries and garden centers, but that hasn’t always been the case. One of the earliest advocates of incorporating native and ornamental grasses and grass-like plants into American gardens was horticulturist and landscape designer John Greenlee — a well-known and respected expert in grass ecology known as the “Grassman” […]

Read More

Easy Edibles for Every Fall Vegetable Garden

| Plant, Video

To help you get started on a fall vegetable garden, I am sharing my 10 favorite easy-to-grow cool-season crops. Beyond the summer crops that we so often associate with an edible garden — tomatoes, squash, corn, green beans — there’s a whole other world out there that doesn’t get started until things cool down. Plant […]

Read More

170-Succession Planting Tips, with Meg Cowden

| Plant, Podcast

What is succession planting? Succession planting is how gardeners make the most of limited space and extend their growing season beyond what’s considered typical of a region. To speak to this topic, I invited succession planting expert Meg Cowden of the blog Seed to Fork on the podcast for a previous episode, and I am […]

Read More

The Best Soil Temperature for Seed Germination

| Plant

The anticipation and excitement that come from sowing seeds for a favorite flower or vegetable can lead to disappointment weeks later when many, if not all, of those seeds have failed to germinate. While many factors affect germination — from the age and quality of the seed to the depth of planting — the most […]

Read More

133-Native Plant Design in a Post-Wild World, With Thomas Rainer

| Plant, Podcast

How do you define a beautiful garden or landscape? Is it a perfectly manicured space, free of weeds with coordinated blocks of color? Perhaps it’s more relaxed and informal. In this episode, we focus our discussion around native plant design in a post-wild world with Thomas Rainer, author, teacher, and landscape architect. Thomas describes his […]

Read More

Top Ten Tips to Repurpose Plastic Pots

| Plant

More often than not, those new plants we pick up at nurseries or home improvement centers are in a plastic pot. As responsible gardeners, we all hate to simply throw those pots away and add them to the landfill. Most of those pots are made of recyclable plastic, but if you’ve watched a related episode […]

Read More

045-Succession Planting: Practical Tips For Growing More Food

| Plant, Podcast

In this podcast, I explore succession planting techniques with my guest, Meg Cowden. Meg and her husband are well-versed in the art of succession planting. Living in southern Minnesota, on the outskirts of Minneapolis, they garden in USDA Hardiness Zone 4B. While many gardeners in a Zone 4 environment see their season as Memorial Day through […]

Read More

039-How-to Start Seeds Indoors: Digging Deeper, Pt. 3

| Plant, Podcast

Welcome to Part Three of Starting Seeds Indoors: The Non-Negotiables for Success series. Hopefully, you have already enjoyed Part One and Part Two , during which we spoke with Craig LeHoullier to learn the seed-starting techniques he has developed during the past 20-plus years. Parts One and Two provided lots of basic (and in-depth) information on seed […]

Read More

038-How to Start Seeds Indoors: The Non-Negotiables for Success, Pt. 2

| Plant, Podcast

In this podcast, we continue our seed starting discussion with guest Craig LeHoullier. In Part One of the Starting Seeds Indoors: The Non-Negotiables for Success series, we brought the seeds from initial planting through germination. We also touched on how to harden off seedlings as well as methods for providing moisture and light. At this point […]

Read More

037-Starting Seeds Indoors: The Non-Negotiables for Success, Pt. 1

| Plant, Podcast

Have you considered starting plants like tomatoes, eggplants, lettuce, and herbs from seed but worried that it was too hard and that you would kill them before they even get started?  According to Craig LeHoullier, a frequent podcast guest, and joe gardener® blog team contributor, you’re not alone; but don’t let this hold you back […]

Read More

Five Key Steps for Planting Trees & Shrubs Like the Pros

| Plant, Video

Even in ideal conditions, I believe there are five key steps when it comes time to plant trees and shrubs. Follow these, and you can virtually ensure that whatever you are putting in the ground will have the best chance for long-term success. While you can plant trees and shrubs any time of year, fall […]

Read More

What to Plant in a Fall Vegetable Garden

| Plant

Knowing what to plant in a fall vegetable garden will open your eyes to a whole new world and extend your edible gardening season for many weeks or longer. Some varieties even get better after exposure to a few frosty nights.     I’ve had great success buying and planting cool-season vegetable seedlings in early […]

Read More

014-Top Tips for Saving Money in the Garden

| Plant, Podcast

Several years ago, I was challenged to offer my top money saving garden tips. At the time, the economy was down and a lot of people started growing their own food to try and save on their grocery bill. Unfortunately, a lot of that was often spent gearing up, negating any savings they could have […]

Read More

012-Beneficial Garden Insects – Bringing Nature Home with Doug Tallamy

| Plant, Podcast

When it comes to bringing nature home, no one understands the critical relationships between native plants and the creatures that depend on them better than expert on garden insects, Doug Tallamy Ph.D. A professor at and chair of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware; Doug is also […]

Read More

011-Plant Propagation Basics – With Brie Arthur

| Plant, Podcast

Understanding plant propagation basics will equip any backyard gardener or a weekend warrior with the skills they need to confidently take on the exciting and rewarding activity of making more plants for free.       The following information has been provided by our podcast guest for this episode, Brie Arthur. Brie’s extensive experience as […]

Read More

Get my (FREE!) eBook
5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever:
Why What You Do Now Matters Most!

By joining my list, you’ll also get weekly access to my gardening resource guides, eBooks, and more!

•Are you a joe gardener?•

Use the hashtag #iamajoegardener to let us know!