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. Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group Check out how you can become a ...
Sep 10, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 55
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...
Sep 07, 2021•21 min•Season 1Ep. 54
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...
Sep 03, 2021•20 min•Season 1Ep. 53
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...
Aug 31, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 52
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...
Aug 20, 2021•24 min•Season 1Ep. 51
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...
Aug 17, 2021•12 min•Season 1Ep. 50
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...
Aug 13, 2021•24 min•Season 1Ep. 49
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 tops ar...
Aug 10, 2021•22 min•Season 1Ep. 48
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...
Aug 06, 2021•20 min•Season 1Ep. 47
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...
Aug 03, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 46
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...
Jul 30, 2021•20 min•Season 1Ep. 45
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 Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon...
Jul 28, 2021•25 min•Season 1Ep. 44
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...
Jul 23, 2021•18 min•Season 1Ep. 43
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...
Jul 20, 2021•31 min•Season 1Ep. 42
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. Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon Send in those gardening questions to grow@justgrowsomethingpodcast...
Jul 16, 2021•19 min•Season 1Ep. 41
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 . Enjoying this podcast? Support us on Patreon!...
Jul 13, 2021•25 min•Season 1Ep. 40
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...
Jul 09, 2021•20 min•Season 1Ep. 39
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...
Jul 06, 2021•21 min•Season 1Ep. 38
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...
Jul 02, 2021•24 min•Season 1Ep. 37
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...
Jun 29, 2021•24 min•Season 1Ep. 36
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 help give...
Jun 25, 2021•23 min•Season 1Ep. 35
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...
Jun 22, 2021•33 min•Season 1Ep. 34
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 ...
Jun 18, 2021•15 min•Season 1Ep. 33
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...
Jun 15, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 32
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...
Jun 11, 2021•46 min•Season 1Ep. 31
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...
Jun 08, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 30
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-...
Jun 04, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 29
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-esc...
Jun 01, 2021•42 min•Season 1Ep. 28
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...
May 28, 2021•40 min•Season 1Ep. 27
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...
May 25, 2021•22 min•Season 1Ep. 26
