For this week’s episode, I invited my Director of Online Media back to join me for another Q&A session. We haven’t done a Q&A episode in awhile. Erin is my co-host when I have one, and when I want to have a conversation with somebody from my team. Our talks are always fun, and it […]
This week, garden myth-busting expert Robert Pavlis joined me to talk about gardening products. Robert has a background in chemistry and biochemistry and is an avid gardener as well. He owns and runs a 6-acre botanical garden packed with over 3,000 different species of plants, trees and shrubs. So, he offers some valuable insights when […]
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 […]
Last week was the first in this two-part conversation with British gardening legend, Charles Dowding. If you missed it, I recommend you start there. That episode focused on Charles’ background and the no-dig garden method for which he is so renowned. Today’s discussion focuses on how Charles is using compost for more than just a […]
Last week, we “dug” in to the subject of the soil food web with guest Dr. Elaine Ingham. I have long followed and admired Elaine’s work in soil science study, and hearing her describe that it’s actually our plants which are in control of the complex cycle of life beneath the soil surface was fascinating. […]
Are you ready to get your garden geek on? In today’s episode we’re diving into the deep end on the subject of soil – specifically, understanding the soil food web. If you’ve ever told anyone that you “like to play in the dirt” to describe your love of gardening, I’m willing to bet that this […]
Water – When it comes to the garden, water can be a blessing and a curse. One year brings heavy rain, while the next might bring severe drought challenges. Mother Nature can definitely wreak havoc on our garden success, but there are steps we can and should take to offset those wild swings in moisture […]
Recently, I was fortunate to have gardening television legend, Paul James, as my guest at the GardenFarm. He joined me for the filming of an upcoming Season 10 episode of my show Growing a Greener World®, and of course, we had a fantastic time. Paul’s humor is just as sharp as during his Gardening by […]
Tomatoes. They just might be the hands-down most popular plant for home gardeners, but they sure aren’t easy. Last year, my friend and tomato-growing expert, Craig LeHoullier, joined me for a podcast about his recommended steps for healthy tomatoes. He called it his tomato-care checklist, and it is so packed with good information, that I […]
Between my podcast listeners and members of my e-newsletter and social media channels, I receive a lot of gardening questions. This week, I’m highlighting questions asked by students of my new Beginning Gardener Fundamentals course. I introduced the course at the beginning of this year to teach the fundamental garden basics I’m asked all the […]
This week, I continue my conversation with Jack Algiere and we shift our focus to cover crops. If you missed last week’s episode on crop rotation, be sure to check that out too. Jack is the Farm Director of Stone Barns Center, a highly-regarded expert on sustainable and regenerative farming, and a wealth of information […]
If you live in or ever travel to the New York City area, one place worth visiting is Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture. This 85-acre farm is just 30 minutes from the heart of the city, which is hard to believe when you tour its spectacular setting and innovative farming practices. In all […]
For this week’s podcast, I polled the joe gardener Facebook Group to ask what garden questions they would like answered. This is a great community of engaged and supportive gardeners. There is never a shortage of questions. Here, I selected the most commonly-asked topics (some of which I’m asked frequently through my other social media […]
Whenever the topic of gardening television shows comes up during conversations on my social media channels and as I travel for speaking engagements or filming for my show, Growing a Greener World®, one name is mentioned often – Paul James. The legendary host of HGTV’s first garden-related show, Gardening by the Yard, Paul is my […]
At the time of this release, I’m in Phoenix, Arizona as a keynote speaker at the annual conference of the U.S. Composting Council. Not only is this a great event, but it’s made even better since the focus is one of my favorite subjects – compost, of course. In honor of the event, I felt […]
This week’s guest is a legend in the world of organic gardening and farming – Eliot Coleman. Eliot has been a market gardener for over 50 years, yet he remains as excited about his work every day as when he first began. He claims the secret of life is to love what you’re doing – […]
My guest this week is Barbara Damrosh. An icon in the world of gardening, Barbara began her horticultural career in the mid-1970’s and has always been driven by the desire to help others get into gardening. To that end, she published her first of many books, The Garden Primer, in 1988; and she’s spent time […]
Cooler fall temperatures are great for growing vegetables like broccoli, kale and carrots, but they are also a signal that the time to put our garden to bed is fast approaching. Not too long ago, it was believed that the best practice was to tidy everything up – clearing away all remaining debris and making […]
Why buy organic seeds? How much do you even think about the seeds you buy? Did you know that most seeds are grown with a lot of chemicals? You may never have considered the differences between non-organic and organic seed, but after this podcast episode, I predict you won’t look at seeds the same way […]
Composting at home leads to many questions from eager gardeners regarding techniques and best practices. Well this week, I wanted to answer some of those very specific – and common – questions posed by members of the joe gardener community. If you’ve been a follower of The joe gardener Show podcast for long, you’ve heard […]
Now that I’ve shared my recommendations for creating an eco-friendly garden and a resilient garden during the past couple of weeks, I want to talk about how to have and care for a healthy lawn. I know, to many organic gardeners, “lawn” is a dirty word. Incorporating lawn space is often viewed as environmentally irresponsible, but […]
Would you say you had a resilient garden? Did it stand up to the challenges of this past growing season? This year has been especially difficult for many of us, and while we’re in the middle of my favorite garden time – fall – I’m also already in planning mode for next year. Each season, […]
Having seen many gardens over the years, I’ve been on a mission to inspire people to think more towards eco-friendly gardening. My experiences led me to write a book, The Green Gardener’s Guide: Simple, Significant Actions to Protect & Preserve Our Planet focusing on creating an eco-friendly garden and landscape. In the book, I […]
Decoding gardening advice is a never-ending challenge. Some gardening advice you receive is good — some, debatable, and too often, just plain wrong. Unfortunately, even the bad advice is frequently repeated by new and experienced gardeners alike. My guest this week, Dr. Jeff Gillman — Director of the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens, wrote a book […]
Last week, we began a two-part series on garden pest predators with Jessica Walliser and discussed the predator/prey cycle taking place in all our landscapes as well as the cues that signal to good bugs that a meal is available. If you haven’t checked out that episode, I recommend you begin there before diving in this […]
How well do you know the insect world of your garden? Can you tell the good bugs from the bad bugs? Did you know there are prey and predator insects? This week’s guest, Jessica Walliser, used to be a bug hater. As a horticulturist, she was trained that bugs were the enemy, and she spent […]
Plants need nutrients, but how and when you provide those nutrients can make more difference than you might realize. Let’s explore some facts on garden fertilizer which, when put to use in your landscape, can make a significant difference in the color, production and vigor of all your plants. Fertilizer provides nutrients which are key […]
We all know how hectic summer can get, and for me, this summer is certainly no exception. Filming for Season Nine of Growing a Greener World®, keeping up with the many happenings and garden growth at the GardenFarm™, planning upcoming projects for joe gardener – whew! I’ll be the first to admit, I’m long on […]
This week, I spoke with Mark Highland of Organic Mechanics. Mark is passionate about soil and has quite the pedigree, having graduated from the Masters Program at Longwood Gardens. Well-versed in the basics of biochar, he’s also recently written Practical Organic Gardening – The no-nonsense guide to growing naturally. It’s a book packed with insight on […]
Do you ever wonder what happened to the G in HGTV? I used to love weekend binge-watching favorite gardening episodes on HGTV. We, as gardeners, used to have a wide variety of garden TV shows to feed our passion, but that is just no longer the case. Ten years ago as part of my syndicated […]
I have a love/hate relationship with tomatoes. This year, I have 32 tomato plants in spite of knowing that tomatoes are notorious for being a lot of work in the garden. Still, in these early days of summer, everything is growing strong, looking great and setting fruit; so it’s easy to start feeling a little […]
This week, I take a look back at a conversation on conservation – with Nan Sterman, co-author of Water-wise Plants for the Southwest and expert on waterwise gardening. Although she spent some years away, Nan grew up in and returned to southern California and has become known as a water-wise guru. Nan speaks frequently on water […]
In this week’s episode, I revisit a conversation with one of my hero’s – Maria Rodale, on why organic matters. Maria is a lifelong advocate of organic farming and gardening and is third generation in a legacy of commitment to organic agricultural practices. Although her family is now iconic in the world of health and […]
Just about everyone loves blueberries, but this week’s guest – Dr. Lee Reich – might just be blueberry-obsessed. Lee knows how to grow bountiful blueberries and has been perfecting best practice techniques for over 30 years on his small farm in New York state. Beyond bearing delicious fruit, blueberries are also an attractive addition to […]
This week, I continue my conversation with the Bug Lady, Suzanne Wainwright-Evans. Suzanne is an entomologist and industry leader in the movement to utilize biocontrols – putting beneficial insects to work before reaching for pesticides. This is Part Two of our biocontrols discussion, so if you missed Part One, start there. The information in Part […]
In today’s podcast, I’m joined by Lee Reich, and we explore some of the subjects in his new book, The Ever Curious Gardener – Using a Little Natural Science for a Much Better Garden. As curious gardeners, Lee and I are always pursuing the “why” behind the workings of the garden. I believe this drives […]
For everything there is a season, and when it comes to lawn renovation, spring and fall are it for cool season grasses. Organic lawn care steps taken early in the year can save you water, money and time all through the summer and into fall, while attention in fall will give your lawn a jump […]
Spring – it’s what we, as gardeners, eagerly anticipate all winter long. Yet, when it arrives, it can be so overwhelming. The spring season moves quickly, and there are lots to accomplish. No matter how I try to prepare, each year comes with a renewed sense of overwhelm. So, how do you stay organized in […]
Welcome to the last in our series on raised bed gardening. As you probably know by now, we received so many responses from my email group that this raised bed podcast turned into a three-part series. If you would like to join the conversation and contribute to future topics, I invite you to click the red […]
As we close out 2017, it’s time to talk about what’s ahead for the new year. With 52 new weekly episodes, we have a lot of great content planned for you. And it’s not only the podcasts. Some other enhancements are in the works as we plan for the best user experience yet for joe […]
Does your garden or landscape attract pollinators? Attracting – and protecting – pollinators is something many of us have become more concerned about in recent years and for good reason. The combination of wide-scale pesticide use and habitat loss are two of the biggest culprits to the problem. While it’s unfortunate that we are facing […]
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