Plant diseases pose one of the biggest challenges that gardeners face, and while it can be tempting to reach for a chemical control, managing plant diseases organically is possible. To speak to that fact, I invited Dr. Jeff Gillman on the podcast a couple of years back, and I am revisiting that conversion this week because now is that time of summer when plant diseases show themselves in a garden that otherwise appeared healthy up until this point. Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Gar...
Jul 30, 2020•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Every seed has a story to tell, if someone will listen. This week, I asked Sara Straate, the seed historian for Seed Savers Exchange , to come on the show and explain the work that goes into tracing the history of heirloom seeds that, in many cases, came to the exchange after being saved for generations by home gardeners. Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa, is one of the country’s largest non-governmental seed banks, with more than 20,000 varieties in its ever-growing collection. Download my ...
Jul 23, 2020•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Between keeping up with picking crops and beating back weeds, plant diseases, and pests, it’s common that gardeners feel overwhelmed, especially at the height of summer — or any time of the growing season. But you don’t have to let garden overwhelm get the best of you. This week felt like the right time for an encore presentation of my conversation on reducing garden overwhelm with A Way to Garden’s Margaret Roach, the gardening columnist, author, and podcast host. Download my free eBook 5 Steps...
Jul 16, 2020•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast Between my podcast listeners, social media channels, and members of my Online Gardening Academy™, I receive a lot of gardening questions. This week on the podcast, I am answering some of those questions from members of the joegardener® Facebook group. I’ve invited Erin, my Director of Online Media, to return as co-host for this gardening Q&A episode we're calling Ask Me Anything. In this episode, we're answering your gardening questions. So let’s get started! Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Yo...
Jul 09, 2020•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast One of my favorite gardening activities is plant propagation. In fact, you could say that it’s what first got me interested in gardening as a young child. Plant propagation is one of the best ways to add more plants to your garden and landscape for free, and it’s a fun way to make more of the plants that you already have. But understanding some key plant propagation tips is an easy way to make more plants and the key to getting plant propagation right. Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best...
Jul 02, 2020•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 with all of us some of the essential plant disease fundamentals and management practices. As with all things gardening, understanding the basics and beyond will make us better equipped for success. Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your B...
Jun 25, 2020•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Yet, it's early enough that pest and disease issues haven't left us feeling disheartened. Yet it's what we do now with growing tomatoes, that critical mid-season care, which will keep our plants growing strong through the more challenging times ahead. Download my free guide- Tomato Care Checklist. The key steps every gardener shou...
Jun 18, 2020•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Fair warning: This week, you’re in for a bit of a rant. I’m sharing with you my top 10 gardening pet peeves. No, I don’t mean those things like finding some pest has taken a bite out of an almost perfectly ripe fruit (although, that drives us all crazy too). I mean the human behavior I see far too often that is harmful to the garden, the environment or the gardener. 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 lan...
Jun 11, 2020•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 gives Erin an opportunity to ask me some of the most popular questions that have come in from our community of listeners and viewers over the past few months, around what's going on these days at the GardenFarm™. Downlo...
Jun 04, 2020•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast For this week’s episode, I asked my longtime friend, Daron Joffe, to join me. Since early adulthood, Daron has been driven by the belief that the world is a better place when our everyday lives are enmeshed in the act of interacting with the soil through gardening and farming. Through hard work and fortuitous opportunity, he’s crisscrossed the country building farms and gardens and contributing to the agrihood movement, while cultivating food and community Along the way, he’s stacked up an impre...
May 28, 2020•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, I invited one of my longtime friends - and frequent podcast guests - to join me to share some additional weed management wisdom. Today, we explore how to prevent weed overwhelm with a practical organic approach for real results, with Margaret Roach. Applying her practice of a little good, old fashioned research and new-age-y mindfulness can elevate our skills against this eternal garden problem to a Zen Weed Master level. Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5...
May 21, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast If there's one gardening subject that I mention more than any other, it's probably mulch. Lots of gardeners still think the primary purpose of mulch is as an aesthetic element - to make garden beds look tidier. That couldn't be further from the truth. When the right material is used and when it's applied properly, mulch is one of the single best things you can do for the health of your plants and soil. Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone ca...
May 14, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast One of the inevitabilities of gardening is the presence of weeds. There are lots of poor weed management approaches out there, many of which have been used for decades. So, I thought it was high time to explore the not-so-wonderful world of weeds, and I invited Dr. Andrew Smith to share his expertise on the subject of managing weeds organically, along with Rodale Institute's Latest Research, Prevention, and Control. Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important s...
May 07, 2020•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 hands in the soil too. It’s fair to say that most of us have been or plan to spend time shopping for more plants. But knowing some key garden savvy shopping tips for healthy plants can make...
Apr 30, 2020•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Soil is my favorite topic. I love all things gardening, and I’ve even hurled myself into a large heap of finished compost. Still, soil is king in my book, and the more we learn about the science behind great soil, soil health, and all of the amazing processes going on under the surface, the more enamored I become. My guest today is Dr. Jake Mowrer, and this guy spends much of his day researching and exploring the many aspects of soil we have yet to fully understand. Jake earned a Ph.D. in soil f...
Apr 23, 2020•49 min•Ep 153•Transcript available on Metacast Another spring brings the excitement of a new garden season. For most of us, that means adding more plants to our landscape. Well, today’s episode is a reminder that your plant choices matter, especially when it comes to supporting biodiversity and wildlife. Guest Uli Lorimer is the Director of Horticulture at the Native Plant Trust. He shared with me his insights and actionable steps any gardener can put into practice. Download my free guide- Growing & Using Ornamental Grasses in the Home Lands...
Apr 16, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Preservation, Phil Kauth for more of what goes on at Seed Savers Exchange behind the scenes. Download my free chart- Seed Starting Soil Temperature Chart - Get Optimal Soil Temp...
Apr 09, 2020•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 co-founder of the Seed Savers Exchange, and her passion has helped to preserve hundreds of varieties that might have otherwise been lost to extinction. Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Ga...
Apr 02, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 the East Coast, but this was the first time she had joined me for the podcast. Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a th...
Mar 26, 2020•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 an easy way to get growing - using the straw bale gardening method. Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriv...
Mar 19, 2020•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Suffice it to say monarchs have a precarious relationship with milkweed that is literally a matter of life and death. In this episode, we'll talk about monarchs, milkweed, and the remarkable story of their coevolution with Dr. Anurag Agrawal, author of Monarchs and Milkweed. It's an engrossing look at the intricacies of the monarch life cycle and the role a single genus of plant plays in their migration and survival. Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important ...
Mar 12, 2020•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 to since the last podcast episode nearly one year ago. We had much to catch up on and talk about, so today we're learning a lot about what's been going on in this epic tomato growers life, especially in the las...
Mar 05, 2020•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast It never hurts to go back to the basics from time to time, and that’s what today’s episode is all about - the importance of the fundamentals of gardening. My guest, Daryl Beyers, is author of the just-released book on gardening basics - The New Gardener’s Handbook. Daryl earned a degree in landscape design, and you could say he learned gardening skills bit by bit “in the trenches” - as head gardener at estate gardens. Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important...
Feb 27, 2020•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast As a gardener, you’ve probably learned that it’s the little things that can sometimes have the greatest impact. Well, this episode focuses on some very little things - nematodes. These microscopic creatures are a part of the soil food web. They play a key role in nutrient cycling, but some of them can also devastate your plants. There’s a lot we still don’t know about these creatures, but I asked expert, Dr. William Crowe, to join me to share the facts on what we do know - the good and the bad. ...
Feb 20, 2020•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 it comes to determining whether or not a product is necessary - or even beneficial - in the garden. Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the...
Feb 13, 2020•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast I am a huge fan of this week’s guest, Doug Tallamy. He’s the author of the blockbuster book Bringing Nature Home . It introduced many horticulturists and backyard warriors to consequences - or benefits - of our plant choices. So, I was really excited to sit down with Doug to talk about his brand new book, Nature’s Best Hope . 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, witho...
Feb 06, 2020•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast One thing that fascinates just about every plant lover is the process of propagation, and finding easy ways to make more houseplants, vegetables, and flowers from those plants you already have and love. If you’ve ever tried to propagate a plant, did you know your success rate was just as dependent on the type of plant as on your abilities? There is much more to plant propagation than most people are aware. Plant Parenting author, Leslie Halleck shares her wisdom on today's episode. Download my f...
Jan 30, 2020•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast 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 - neither he nor his wife, Kate, had any real gardening or farming experience at the time. Download my free guide- How Do I Grow Onions? . The basics of how to grow onions and keep th...
Jan 23, 2020•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Houseplants have been a hugely popular trend the past few years, with some plant-a-holics spending big money on a single showstopper. Unfortunately, those plants don’t always fare so well after we bring them home. It’s not for lack of effort from the “plant parent.” It’s usually the result of following bad advice - care tips which are actually houseplant myths. So, what’s the real story and the science behind what your plants really need? Houseplant myth expert, Robert Pavlis joined me this week...
Jan 16, 2020•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast One of my favorite gardening tasks is pruning. In fact, I love it so much that I don’t really consider it a task at all, and it was the focus of my very first joe gardener Show podcast episode. Unfortunately, it’s a subject that tends to confound or intimidate many gardeners. Today’s guest, Steve Bradley, was determined to break the sometimes confusing principles of pruning down to the basics, and his book, The Pruner's Bible, does just that. Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ev...
Jan 09, 2020•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
