Seed-starting success begins long before the first tray is filled with soil. In this encore episode, I take you behind the scenes of my own preparation process, sharing how thoughtful planning and a smarter seed organization system help to eliminate stress and prevent costly mistakes while setting the stage for a smoother season from the very start. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving g...
Jan 22, 2026•1 hr 1 min
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. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I still do today, without exception to get incredible results, even in the most challenging conditions. Subscribe to the joegardener® email list to receive ...
Jan 15, 2026•1 hr 2 min
After 14 years using the same cedar raised beds in my vegetable garden, the time finally came for a garden makeover. In this week's podcast, I'm sharing how I applied the experience I have gained in this garden to decide what to change during my garden rebuild and what to do exactly the same. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I still do today, without ex...
Jan 08, 2026•1 hr 7 min
Anyone who gardens for long enough or likes to spend a lot of time in the great outdoors will encounter plants that can cause itchiness or even pain, but there are certain plants that they should be especially wary of — wicked plants. In this week's encore, New York Times bestselling author Amy Stewart joins me to discuss the stories surrounding the world's most notorious plants. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps any...
Jan 01, 2026•1 hr 1 min
Buying ladybugs for biological control of pests can contribute to depleting the ladybug population in the wild and raises other concerns as well. Meanwhile, non-native ladybugs do the same valuable work — eating aphids and other pests that harm crops — but are often cast in a bad light anyway. My guest in this week's encore, Dr. Kaitlin Stack Whitney, an environmental studies scholar as well as a home gardener, explains that non-native insects don't always deserve their bad rap. Podcast Links fo...
Dec 25, 2025•1 hr 1 min
What if the most fertile, resilient garden is one that feeds itself? Legendary organic grower Eliot Coleman returns to the podcast this week to challenge the idea that gardeners need to buy fertility in a bag. Drawing on decades of experience at Four Season Farm, Eliot explains how green manure and living soil can provide everything your garden needs — without importing soil inputs that could be inferior or, worse, contaminated. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your...
Dec 18, 2025•46 min
If you've ever wished for a gardening guide who cuts through the noise and tells it like it is, you're going to love this week's guest. Dr. Allan M. Armitage — plantsman, prolific author, world-traveled teacher, and all-around straight shooter — joins me to share his signature mix of wisdom, humor and no-nonsense advice. Allan is the down to earth gardener next door and has spent decades helping gardeners feel more confident and less intimidated. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBo...
Dec 11, 2025•1 hr 11 min
Even small, everyday interactions with nature — from a single houseplant to a 20-minute walk through the woods or a garden — can measurably improve our mental and physical health. Biologist Kathy Willis, the author of the new book "Good Nature," joins me to explore the groundbreaking research revealing how touching, smelling and even just seeing plants benefits our well-being. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone...
Dec 04, 2025•55 min
Becoming a successful flower farmer and seed breeder takes not only a keen business sense but also creativity and resourcefulness, two traits that my guest this week has in spades. Erin Benzakein of Floret Flower Farm and the Magnolia Network series "Growing Floret" joins me to share how she cultivates her creative streak to get more flowers out into the world. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have ...
Nov 27, 2025•53 min
Practicing permaculture doesn't require a sprawling property of several acres. As my guest this week, Brandy Hall of Shades of Green Permaculture, explains, the benefits of permaculture can fit in urban and suburban settings. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I still do today, without exception to get incredible results, even in the most challenging cond...
Nov 20, 2025•49 min
Getting a greenhouse opened up so many opportunities for me to advance my gardening goals. In this week's encore, I'm sharing what there is to know before getting a greenhouse and my top tips for taking full advantage of it once you have one. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I still do today, without exception to get incredible results, even in the most...
Nov 13, 2025•1 hr 3 min
Whether planting just a few trees or embarking on a large-scale ecological restoration project, you will have the greatest chance of success if you choose to use saplings over containerized or balled-and-burlapped trees. To explain the many reasons why saplings are the best option, tree care expert Basil Camu returns to the podcast this week. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden o...
Nov 06, 2025•41 min
Plants that live indoors with us over the winter — both houseplants and those that are only stored inside the house seasonally — need a few things from us to get through the darker, colder months. At the same time, too much coddling during this period of semi-dormancy can doom plants. This week, I am sharing how to prepare plants for the transition and how to strike the right balance to keep them happy and healthy. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden E...
Oct 30, 2025•36 min
As the days grow shorter and the evenings cooler, fall is the perfect time to settle in with a good book — especially one that deepens your connection to the natural world. Whether you're looking for inspiration, practical guidance or just the joy of a beautifully written story, here are my nature, ecology and gardening book recommendations will have something for you. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do ...
Oct 23, 2025•58 min
Fall may feel like the end of the gardening year, but in reality, it's one of the most important times to be outside. What we do now not only prepares our gardens for winter but also sets the stage for success next spring. In this episode, I'm sharing things to do in the fall gardening season and how I stay on task — from managing weeds and saving seeds to dividing perennials and protecting young trees — without getting overwhelmed by the endless to-do list. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download...
Oct 16, 2025•42 min
As the growing season winds down, it's time to think ahead to the cold-weather tasks before us, and that includes winter pruning to ensure the health of trees and the safety of the people who live with them. In this encore episode, master arborist and tree preservationist Basil Camu joins me to share the winter tree care tips you need to know. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden ...
Oct 09, 2025•42 min
Encouraging more people to take part in healing the ecosystem begins with raising awareness of both the challenges and the remedies. Basil Camu, shares exactly that in his book, "From Wasteland to Wonder: Easy Ways We Can Help Heal Earth in the Sub/Urban Landscape." Basil is my guest in this week's encore episode. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I stil...
Oct 02, 2025•59 min
I recently visited Westport, Connecticut, to deliver a talk hosted by Sustainable Westport , a nonprofit whose mission is to encourage and support "small changes and big commitments toward a healthier, more sustainable future." Because their mission is so well aligned with the values I promote on "The joe gardener Show," I asked Sustainable Westport Co-Directors Johanna Martel and Gately Ross to join me for a conversation to talk about the ripple effects of local action, how to foster change at ...
Sep 25, 2025•54 min
No matter how big or small, every garden, whether ornamental or edible, starts with soil. My guest this week, British garden designer and Royal Horticultural Society gold medalist Juliet Sargeant, reveals the hidden power of soil in her new book and shares how gardeners can identify good soil. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I still do today, without e...
Sep 18, 2025•59 min
The 2026 edition of the annual Old Farmer's Almanac — published continuously since 1792 — recently hit the shelves. Joining me to discuss the latest Almanac and its guiding philosophy is Carol Connare, the 14th editor of the Almanac in its 234-year history. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I still do today, without exception to get incredible results, e...
Sep 11, 2025•36 min
My returning guest this week, Adam Alexander, believes that food should be nutritious and delicious while also combating climate change and returning fertility to soils and biodiversity to the land. He joins me to talk about his inspiring and enlightening upcoming book, " The Accidental Seed Heroes: Growing a Delicious Food Future for All of Us ." Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving gar...
Sep 04, 2025•1 hr 14 min
Later summer is a test for any gardener. Heat, humidity and relentless pests push both plants and gardeners to their limits. In my garden, some crops flourish despite the challenges, while others demand constant attention — from cherry tomatoes still producing in late August to squash battling bugs on vertical trellises. In this week's encore presentation, I am resharing my August 2024 audio journal, which I recorded in my garden so I could walk you through everything happening with my plants in...
Aug 28, 2025•36 min
Flowers can bring beauty, healing and economic opportunity. But what does it take to build a livelihood around flowers? In this episode, I'm joined by Debra Prinzing, the founder of the Slow Flowers Society and co-author of " The Flower Farmers ," and Xenia D'Ambrosi, a flower farmer and the founder of Sweet Earth Co. Together, they share their personal journeys into flower farming and their insights and observations on the changing landscape of floriculture. Podcast Links for Show Notes Downloa...
Aug 21, 2025•52 min
Landscape designer Darrel Morrison is a vanguard of the land ethic promoted by early conservation hero Aldo Leopold. He joins me on the podcast this week with Curt Meine, a senior fellow of the Aldo Leopold Foundation, to share how a landscape can be both aesthetically pleasing and ecologically restorative. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I still do to...
Aug 14, 2025•1 hr 19 min
A garden is a powerful thing. My guest this week, Kate Bradbury, the author of " One Garden Against the World: In Search of Hope in a Changing Climate ," is here to share how small actions can make a difference to conserve wildlife. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I still do today, without exception to get incredible results, even in the most challengi...
Aug 07, 2025•59 min
Peatlands sequester twice as much carbon as all the world's forests and are vital ecosystems with essential roles in water management and biodiversity support — but they are under threat. Most have been damaged due to peat extraction and other human activity, contributing to climate change. British horticulturist, journalist and author Alys Fowler joins me on the podcast this week to share why peatlands are indispensable and why gardeners should reconsider their use of peat moss. Podcast Links f...
Jul 31, 2025•1 hr 7 min
Summer is in full swing, and it's been anything but predictable in the garden. With wild changes in weather, persistent pests and a to-do list that never quits, I know I'm not the only one combating garden overwhelm this season. In this week's podcast, I'm sharing what's been happening in my own garden — from seedling successes and native plant rescues to deer drama, disease challenges, and a few game-changing tools and strategies that are helping me stay on track. Whether you're thriving, survi...
Jul 24, 2025•44 min
Permaculture, implemented on a grand scale, restores degraded land and transforms countless lives, as my guest this week, permaculture educator and designer Andrew Millison, knows all too well. Andrew joins me to share his experience visiting permaculture projects all over the globe, like Africa's Great Green Wall. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I sti...
Jul 17, 2025•52 min
Two years ago, for only the second time in the history of "The joegardener Show," I recorded the podcast on location in my garden here in the Atlanta area, sharing my garden reflections and observations as I moved among my 16 raised beds. It was a favorite episode of mine, so I am sharing it again this week for those who missed it or would enjoy hearing it again. Podcast Links for Show Notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to hav...
Jul 10, 2025•55 min
Learning fruit tree grafting opens up so many possibilities for people who love to grow their own food. It just takes know-how and practice. Susan Poizner of Orchard People returns to the podcast to explain along with her co-author Steph Muma. Podcast Links for Show notes Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I still do today, without exception to get incredible results, even in the mos...
Jul 03, 2025•1 hr 5 min
