Last month while I was interviewing Dr. Allan Armitage, the widely respected horticulturist, he said something that really stuck with me: Gardening is never boring. Shortly after college, I worked in the business world in Atlanta, Georgia, wearing a suit and tie. It wasn’t where my heart was, but I found myself in this group […]
To mark the release of my new book, “The Vegetable Gardening Book,” which hit shelves on Tuesday, for the podcast this week we’re going to turn the tables: My friend and frequent podcast guest Meg Cowden of Seed to Fork is going to interview me. When Meg pitched this idea to me, I agreed it […]
A grocery store carrot can never compare to the taste of a fresh-picked carrot from the garden, but growing carrots can be frustrating. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to avoid the obstacles and have a successful carrot crop. If you want to grow carrots in your garden, here’s everything you need to know. […]
There are myriad upsides to growing cool-season vegetables in fall, but too many gardeners miss out on this opportunity. The fact is, the vegetable gardening season is far from over when summer ends. To give you the knowledge and confidence you need to grow a fall vegetable garden successfully, this week I’m sharing an updated […]
Tomatoes enjoy warm weather, but they don’t like it too hot. Extended periods of heat can stress out plants and lead to a number of problems. Joining me on the podcast this week to discuss how to overcome the tomato-growing challenges that arise in high heat is tomato expert Craig LeHoullier. Craig is the author […]
Every week across all of the joegardener and Growing a Greener World social media channels and the Online Gardening Academy courses, I receive scores of questions and requests for advice, and I try to answer as many as possible. For this week’s podcast, I’ve rounded up some of your most frequently asked gardening questions for […]
Tomatoes are by far the most popular home garden crop in America, and it’s clear why. You’ll never eat a tomato that tastes better than one you picked from your own garden. If you want to grow tomatoes for the first time or are looking to up your tomato-growing game, here’s what you need to […]
Spinach is a cool-season plant that’s one of the first crops of spring and a great fall crop as well. You’ll enjoy growing this undemanding plant and will enjoy eating it even more. Harvest spinach any time to enjoy raw in salads or cook it up in seconds for a delicious side dish that’s loaded […]
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. […]
Lettuce is a fast-growing cool-season crop for spring and fall that is attractive in both vegetable and ornamental gardens and is suited to container gardening as well. If you want to grow lettuce in your garden, here’s what you need to know. You can also download my How Do I Grow Lettuce? one-sheet and keep […]
Cabbage is a brassica crop — related to broccoli, cauliflower, kale and Brussels sprouts — that thrives in cold. Because of its frost tolerance, cabbage is perfect for starting your gardening season early in spring or for extending it into the fall. If you want to grow cabbage in your garden, here’s what you need […]
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 […]
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 […]
Of all the gardening seasons, the fall growing season is my favorite. Arugula, beets, broccoli, carrots, lettuce and more — there are so many cool-season vegetables that you can grow in fall and enjoy on your dinner plate. The trick is to know your first frost date and work backward from there to pick the […]
How are the plants in your garden doing so far this season? I don’t know about you, but here in my Atlanta-area GardenFarm™, disease is already rearing its ugly head. I had a conversation with extension plant pathologist, Dr. Janna Beckerman, of Purdue University to explore the world of plant disease, so she could share […]
It’s safe to say that mid-June is sort of the “honeymoon” phase of gardening. The final cold snaps are behind us. The plants in our landscapes are abundant in foliage. Many of us have just begun to harvest the first fruits of warm-season crops or are, at least, watching fruit develop in eager anticipation of […]
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 […]
These past few months have been difficult for many of us, but one bright side has been the re-ignited interest in gardening. I’ve heard from so many people who’ve never planted anything before but are eager to grow their own food. Gardeners of all experience levels have been able to spend more time with their […]
Last week, I spoke with Dianne Ott Whealy, the co-founder of Seed Savers Exchange, to discuss the history of that important organization. SSE is approaching its fiftieth year of operations, so there was much more to the story to be explored. For that, we continued the conversation with this week’s guest – SSE Director of […]
You might be like a lot of gardeners these days who are eager to experiment with different varieties of their favorite crops. Well, the odds are pretty good that the unique variety you’re excited to try this year is available to you thanks, in large part, to this week’s guest. Diane Ott Whealy is the […]
If you’re into organic seeds or growing seeds of varieties that are out of the ordinary, you’ve probably heard of this week’s guest. Ira Wallace of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (SESE) is truly an icon and a powerful force in the seed world. I’m fortunate to catch up with Ira at various garden events along […]
With all that is going on in our world during these recent weeks, more folks than ever are feeling drawn to gardening. The confidence that comes with growing your own source of healthy food is appealing, of course, but the garden also provides a refuge through periods of anxiety. Well, this week’s episode focuses on […]
This week, I’m catching up with Epic Tomatoes author Craig LeHoullier. I’m proud to call him a good friend and happy that he’s a frequent guest on this podcast. But a lot has changed in the Tomato Guy’s world during the past few months, and many of you have wondered what Craig has been up […]
If you are a market or small-scale farmer, this episode is for you, but there’s plenty of inspiration for you home gardeners too. This week’s guest is Conor Crickmore. About 12 years ago, Conor exchanged a lucrative career in technology for a successful journey to the life of a market farmer. Here’s the real kicker […]
Have you ever thought about living exclusively off the land for an entire year? Likely not considering how much of our daily lives revolve around food. For those of us who garden, our passion can also provide food freedom through foraging and harvesting up a healthy bounty for our table. Even so, most of the […]
It doesn’t matter how big or how small your growing space is, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or have decades of experience under your belt. Every year brings new lessons, challenges, disappointments, and wins in the garden. With the end of another year just around the corner, I wanted to share with […]
Nearly two years after my initial conversation in podcast episode 022, my Growing a Greener World® TV crew and I were finally standing in the year-round vegetable garden of Niki Jabbour to film an entire episode around her four-season growing success while defying extremely challenging conditions of USDA zone 5b in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In […]
This summer, the crew and I wrapped up filming for the tenth season of our Emmy Award-winning show, Growing a Greener World®. It has been humbling to look back and really let it sink in that we’ve been creating these episodes for an entire decade. Not many shows last so long these days. Along the […]
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 […]
If you’re a gardener of any level looking for something to make gardening easier and save time – while also keeping things looking sharp – this episode is for you. You won’t find today’s featured items at any garden center, but I use them more than any other accessory in the garden – hands down. […]
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’s guest is Kevin Espiritu, author of the new book – Field Guide to Urban Gardening. Kevin is a self-taught garden guy. Like many of you, he’s figuring things out as he goes along and letting his curiosity be his guide. Kevin doesn’t have a background in horticulture. His introduction to the garden world […]
When it comes to growing tomatoes, there’s no shortage of advice, and some of it has been handed down for generations. Fortunately for us, there are researchers who put these time-honored tips to the test. So, which recommendations have been proven as nothing more than garden myth? Let’s take a look at the most common […]
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 […]
As winter slowly yields to spring, the call to get our hands into the soil becomes irresistible. These spring tips for vegetable garden success are a valuable guide to the essential steps everyone can and should take for a bountiful and productive garden. Pick the best location You may have heard the phrase, pick the […]
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 […]
Last year, I shared a podcast series devoted to starting seeds indoors. It has been incredibly popular as more and more gardeners develop an excitement for this aspect of gardening. In fact this year, I’ve been hearing from even more of you who are starting seeds for the first time or who missed this series […]
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 […]
A new year begins, and a new gardening season is on the way. Will you be spending any time this month organizing your closet, your finances or any other aspects of daily life? How would you like to feel a little more organized in the garden too? It can make a big difference in your […]
Have you ever thought about how to grow food without a garden? I’m not talking about tearing out those flowers and shrubs to convert the bed to a vegetable garden. I’m talking about incorporating vegetables in with those aesthetic plants to create an edible landscape. It’s called foodscaping, and my guest this week, Brie Arthur, […]
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, […]
Today’s episode dives into some of the interesting facts of the foods we all eat. My guest, Dr. Jeff Gillman, is Director of the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens, and he recently began his own podcast show “The Plants We Eat” which features the unique aspects and history of common garden edibles. We rarely consider, or […]
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 […]
Do you garden in raised beds? If not, why not? Given the options, I can’t imagine not gardening in raised beds. Raised beds are versatile in shape and structure, and they provide the ideal starting point for gardening success and bountiful crops. Let’s dive in to the Top Five benefits offered by a raised bed garden: […]
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 […]
Craig LeHoullier has been a frequent guest of this podcast series. He joins us again today to follow up on our early 2018 series on seed starting. If you missed that series, I recommend you start there, so you have context for this discussion on tomato seedling. In this podcast, we check in on how […]
There’s nothing like the approach of spring to get you itching to spend time in the garden. If the snow still lies menacingly on the ground where you live, you may feel like there’s not much you can do – yet. But those weeks after winter (or a long, cold spring) wanes and before the […]
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 […]
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 […]
In this podcast, we continue our discussion on raised bed gardening. In case you missed it: I had invited my email group to send me any questions they hoped I would answer on the topic of raised bed gardening. I received a huge response, many from folks who plan to start raised bed gardening for […]
Are you building a raised bed garden, or are you looking to improve your raised bed crops? You have come to the right place. Earlier this year, I invited my email group to send me any questions they would like me to answer on the topic of raised bed gardening. Little did I expect the […]
Susan Morrison is a landscape designer and author of the new book, The Less is More Garden – Big ideas for designing your small yard. She joins us for this podcast to discuss some of her fascinating ideas and philosophies for small space garden design. While her book is tailored to small space gardens, I […]
I am a year-round vegetable gardener. I take pride in that. But it’s no big deal really. I live in Atlanta. Winters rarely get cold enough for snow to even stick around (on those rare times we even get any). And then there’s Niki Jabbour. She’s the real year-round vegetable gardener. She easily earned that […]
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 […]
Growing epic tomatoes likely makes it on to every vegetable gardeners wish list sooner or later. Fortunately, we now have someone who wrote the book on it, literally. Our featured guest for this episode, Craig LeHoullier wrote my new favorite book – a tomato growing guide: Epic Tomatoes; How to Select and Grow the Best Varieties […]
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