Growers Podcast

If you are just following our audio episodes check out the youtube channel! The last few episodes we have been out foraging native plants, and then making ice cream out of them! These didn't really work well as audio only podcast episodes, so we didn't post them here... Check out our videos - www.youtube.com/@growerspodcastshow Today we discuss the Chinese fairy mushroom Lanmaoa asiatica....

Beer used to be a LOT stranger than it is today. In this episode of The Growers Show, we continue our journey through the history of medieval brewing with one of the most influential beer regulations ever written: Bavaria's famous beer law of 1516, later known as the Reinheitsgebot or German Beer Purity Law. The law restricted Bavarian beer to just three ingredients: barley, hops, and water. B...

What did medieval monks actually do all day? Believe it or not, the answer involved a lot more than sitting quietly in a monastery praying. In this episode of the Growers Podcast, we're going back to medieval Europe to explore the fascinating history of monastic brewing, medieval beer, monastery breweries, farming, herb gardens, bread making, and traditional crafts. Monasteries weren't sim...

Lion's mane mushroom (Hericium erinaceus) has become one of the most talked-about medicinal mushrooms in the world—but does it live up to the hype? In this episode of the Growers Podcast, we dive into the fascinating history, health benefits, and culinary uses of lion's mane. We discuss the research surrounding brain health, memory, focus, nerve growth, inflammation, and holistic wellness,...

What if one of the world's most celebrated medicinal herbs was also one of the easiest plants to grow at home? In this episode of the Growers Podcast, we dive into Holy Basil (Tulsi) (Ocimum tenuiflorum), a remarkable herb that has been treasured for thousands of years in traditional medicine, spiritual practice, and everyday cooking. Revered throughout India as the "Queen of Herbs,"...

Have you ever stopped to wonder why we spend billions of dollars trying to destroy one of the most nutritious and useful plants growing right beneath our feet? In this episode of the Growers Podcast, we take a fresh look at the humble dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) and explore why it has been used for centuries as both food and medicine. We discuss its impressive nutritional profile, anti-inflam...

Happy Fourth of July! As America approaches its 250th anniversary, we take a look back at the farming practices that helped build the United States during its earliest years. In this episode we explore colonial agriculture, the farms of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, and the experimental farming techniques that shaped early American agriculture. We discuss how settlers ada...

Can plants predict the weather? In this episode of The Growers Show, we explore some of the fascinating plants that seem to know when rain, frost, or changing weather is on the way. From Texas sage bursting into bloom before a rainfall, to pine cones closing up ahead of wet weather, to dandelions folding their flowers shut before a storm, plants often respond to subtle environmental changes long b...

In this episode, we explore some of the oldest seeds ever successfully germinated—and the results are honestly hard to believe. From ancient lotus seeds hundreds of years old, to 2,000-year-old Judean date palm seeds recovered from archaeological sites, to plants regenerated from 30,000-year-old Siberian genetic material frozen in permafrost… scientists have discovered that some plants can survive...

In this episode, we explore the fascinating history of growing plants in space—from the very first seeds launched into orbit to modern gardens aboard the International Space Station. Long before humans dreamed seriously about living on Mars, scientists were already asking an important question:👉 Can plants survive in space? We trace the history of space botany through:Early satellite experimentsS...

In this episode, we read and discuss some of the most moving and unforgettable ibogaine experience reports we’ve come across. Unlike many psychedelic stories that focus on visuals or chaos, these reports are deeply personal—centered around addiction, trauma, healing, and confronting the past. One story follows a man struggling with a decades-long opiate addiction who says a single ibogaine experie...

Did trees in Australia once eat people… or is this just one of the wildest plant myths ever? In this episode, we dive into a bizarre Reddit thread that compiles historical newspaper clippings and first-hand accounts of so-called man-eating trees. These stories describe massive, tentacle-like plants that could trap and consume animals—and possibly humans. Naturally, we had to investigate. We read t...

Ibogaine is one of the most talked-about plant compounds in the world right now—but what is it, and why is it suddenly back in the spotlight? Unfortunately we also had some other pressing issues to attend to while we recorded the episode... but we still got it done! We just love podcasting so much :)In this episode, we dive into ibogaine, a naturally occurring compound derived from the African pla...

What if a single tree connected every world in existence? In this episode, we dive into Yggdrasil, the legendary world tree from Norse mythology—a massive cosmic tree said to link together all realms, including gods, humans, and the underworld. But this isn’t just some ancient story…We break down:The 9 realms connected by YggdrasilThe strange creatures living inside it (yes… including a dragon and...

In this episode of The Growers Show, we dive into some of the strangest and most mysterious plants ever described—plants that sound completely made up… but might have some truth behind them. From a so-called magnetic cactus that pulls people into its spines, to giant carnivorous plants rumored to eat animals, we explore the line between botanical reality and pure myth. We also look at bizarre hist...

In this episode, we explore some of the most fascinating extinct plants in history, including one of the most legendary of them all: silphium. Silphium was a plant so valuable in the ancient world that it was said to be worth its weight in gold. Used in Roman cuisine, medicine, and trade, it became one of the most sought-after plants in history, until it disappeared completely. We discuss:What sil...

In this episode, we’re talking about one of the most beautiful and underrated trees of early spring: the redbud. If you’ve ever noticed bright pink flowers popping up on trees before anything else has even started to leaf out, chances are you were looking at a redbud. These trees are often one of the very first signs that winter is ending and spring is finally arriving. We break down:Why redbud tr...

In Part 3 of our trumpet flower series, we focus entirely on Datura and some of the most bizarre, chaotic, and unintentionally hilarious trip reports ever posted online. Drawing from public archives like Erowid, we read real user-submitted experiences and try to understand why this plant consistently produces ABSOLUTELY INSANE stories Datura has a long and complicated history in folklore, traditio...

In Part 2 of our trumpet flower deep dive, we read some of the wildest, strangest, and unexpectedly funniest trip reports involving Datura and Brugmansia. These plants have a long history in ritual, folklore, and traditional medicine — but they also have a reputation for producing some of the most chaotic and confusing experiences ever written down on the internet. In this episode, we:Read real us...

In this episode of The Growers Show Podcast, we explore the fascinating and controversial history of the trumpet flowers: Datura and Brugmansia. These striking plants have been used for centuries in spiritual, ceremonial, and medicinal contexts across cultures. We discuss:The historical use of datura and brugmansia in traditional medicineTheir powerful psychoactive properties and risksHow these pl...

In this episode of The Growers Show Podcast, we’re talking about one of the most underrated native trees in the American South: the mayhaw tree. The fruit of the mayhaw has been used for generations to make mayhaw jelly, a regional staple with a long history of medicinal use, including traditional support for healthy blood pressure and overall cardiovascular health. We discuss:What the mayhaw tree...

In this episode of The Growers Show Podcast, we get into a heated debate over the value of old-growth forests. Are old-growth forests an irreplaceable ecological treasure—critical for biodiversity, carbon storage, and climate stability? Or are they sometimes romanticized, misunderstood, or poorly managed in modern forestry conversations? We break down:What actually defines an old-growth forestThei...

More plant history today as the botany dawgs get into the history of the oldest surviving tree species - the ginkgo biloba tree! What a beautiful and historic plant OMG! We dig deep into the mysterious origins and past of this incredible tree, and what we find out may shock you!

Is there any stranger flower on earth than the ghost flower, the Indian Pipe flower, the Indian ghost plant? Monotropa uniflora… It goes by many names but its mystery remains. This plant has NO CHLOROPHYLL! It doesn’t get any weirder than that in the plant world. It doesn’t use photosynthesis to grow! Instead of getting its energy from the sun, it has a mycoheterotrophic, parasitic relationship wi...

Does there exist a single plant on this beautiful earth worse than poison ivy?? I can’t think of any!! We break down how poison ivy effects our skin, what it looks like, how to avoid it, and how to treat it. We go deep into this terrible terrible plant in our discussion today. If you never want to get poison ivy ever again, take a listen! Find the missing Ep 4 on YouTube or Rumble!