The Beet: A Podcast For Plant Lovers

Kevin and Rebecca riff on some of their favorite tomato varieties both for taste as well as appearance. Connect With Rebecca Sears: Rebecca Sears is the Chief Gardening Guru at Ferry-Morse, where she’s responsible for making sure Ferry-Morse gardeners are more successful. Ferry-Morse Shop the Store As an exclusive for listeners, use code EPICPODCAST for 5% off your entire first order on our store,...

It’s hard to get gifts for a gardener, but there are a few awesome things almost every grower would appreciate, which Kevin and Rebecca share in today’s show. Connect With Rebecca Sears: Rebecca Sears is the Chief Gardening Guru at Ferry-Morse, where she’s responsible for making sure Ferry-Morse gardeners are more successful. Ferry-Morse Shop the Store As an exclusive for listeners, use code EPICP...

With the world in a precarious state, being budget-conscious in the garden is ever important. Rebecca and Kevin share some of their best money-saving tips in today’s episode. Connect With Rebecca Sears: Rebecca Sears is the Chief Gardening Guru at Ferry-Morse, where she’s responsible for making sure Ferry-Morse gardeners are more successful. Ferry-Morse Shop the Store As an exclusive for listeners...

When you first move into a property, assessing the soil is crucial to success. Rebecca Sears is on the show discussing testing and amending soil. Connect With Rebecca Sears: Rebecca Sears is the Chief Gardening Guru at Ferry-Morse, where she’s responsible for making sure Ferry-Morse gardeners are more successful. Ferry-Morse Shop the Store As an exclusive for listeners, use code EPICPODCAST for 5%...

  Connect With Alyssa Brodsky: I am the web builder, creating a compost network at Food2Soil. Our farm Ranchito Milkyway is in Bonita, California. We are no-till, organic veggie farming and dabble in Korean natural farming, vermicomposting, etc. We also have a DIY nursery set up! Our CSA box is sold weekly with farm pick up and we included gleaned fruit from the area. Food2Soil Instagram Website S...

  Connect With Alyssa Brodsky: I am the web builder, creating a compost network at Food2Soil. Our farm Ranchito Milkyway is in Bonita, California. We are no-till, organic veggie farming and dabble in Korean natural farming, vermicomposting, etc. We also have a DIY nursery set up! Our CSA box is sold weekly with farm pick up and we included gleaned fruit from the area. Food2Soil Instagram Website S...

  Connect With Alyssa Brodsky: I am the web builder, creating a compost network at Food2Soil. Our farm Ranchito Milkyway is in Bonita, California. We are no-till, organic veggie farming and dabble in Korean natural farming, vermicomposting, etc. We also have a DIY nursery set up! Our CSA box is sold weekly with farm pick up and we included gleaned fruit from the area. Food2Soil Instagram Website S...

What are the essential things you should do, and what mistakes should you avoid at all costs when composting? Connect With Alyssa Brodsky: I am the web builder, creating a compost network at Food2Soil. Our farm Ranchito Milkyway is in Bonita, California. We are no-till, organic veggie farming and dabble in Korean natural farming, vermicomposting, etc. We also have a DIY nursery set up! Our CSA box...

The formula and ingredients for composting can be confusing, but Alyssa has a simple way to break down the ingredients to add for successful compost. Connect With Alyssa Brodsky: I am the web builder, creating a compost network at Food2Soil. Our farm Ranchito Milkyway is in Bonita, California. We are no-till, organic veggie farming and dabble in Korean natural farming, vermicomposting, etc. We als...

If you’re in a small space, suburban home, rural acreage…what method of composting should you choose? Alyssa Brodsky shares her thoughts. Connect With Alyssa Brodsky: I am the web builder, creating a compost network at Food2Soil. Our farm Ranchito Milkyway is in Bonita, California. We are no-till, organic veggie farming and dabble in Korean natural farming, vermicomposting, etc. We also have a DIY...

Alyssa Brodsky from Food2Soil is here this week to talk about compost, including how you could even make some money composting for other people. Connect With Alyssa Brodsky: I am the web builder, creating a compost network at Food2Soil. Our farm Ranchito Milkyway is in Bonita, California. We are no-till, organic veggie farming and dabble in Korean natural farming, vermicomposting, etc. We also hav...

Ever wonder how pothos got its name? Marion Whitehead tells all in this exciting episode on Latin plant names. Connect With Marion Whitehead: Marion Whitehead is the Supervisor of Ornamental Gardens at the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden in Mount Tomah, Australia. She has an extensive background in cool climate plant species, with a specific interest in ephemeral and heathland plants.  Blue Mountain...

There's a type of orchid you may have never heard of - terrestrial orchids. They're one of Marion's absolute favorite plants to spot in the wild - learn all about them in today's show. Connect With Marion Whitehead: Marion Whitehead is the Supervisor of Ornamental Gardens at the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden in Mount Tomah, Australia. She has an extensive background in cool climate plant species,...

Where Marion lives in Australia is one of the few places you get a true cool climate in the country - the Blue Mountains. Learn how she adapts and grows cooler climate gardens year-round. Connect With Marion Whitehead: Marion Whitehead is the Supervisor of Ornamental Gardens at the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden in Mount Tomah, Australia. She has an extensive background in cool climate plant specie...

Marion Whitehead joins us to share how to grow her favorite plant, sweet peas. Connect With Marion Whitehead: Marion Whitehead is the Supervisor of Ornamental Gardens at the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden in Mount Tomah, Australia. She has an extensive background in cool climate plant species, with a specific interest in ephemeral and heathland plants.  Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Shop the Store...

Native gardens are lower maintenance because you don’t have to do a ton of enhancement to your soil as most natives thrive and adapt really well. Native plantings will spread and provide their own mulch and green cover as they age. Native plants are often tall and different than a more structured ornamental garden, so artwork or structure in the space helps people understand it is a purposefully d...

Right now as we move into our 50th year of garden for wildlife, we have a goal to move into a million new gardens that we can track through our DIY combinations of plants that perform really well with really high numbers for wildlife. We have tracked pollinator garden hotspots that create stepping stones of habitat across urban and suburban areas. Two of the areas that we saw where bee species num...

We have two ways of looking at the most popular plants. The native plant finder is at nwf.org/nativeplantfinder is visited by hundreds of thousands of people a year. Then at gardenforwildlife.com we provide native plants for people to start DIY gardens with. Right now our top four flowers are sunflowers, milkweed, asters, and wild geranium. Connect with Mary Phillips: Mary Phillips is the head of...

One out of three people purchasing plants last year actually purchased native plants. We can be empowered and make a difference by what we choose to plant by impacting the climate and ecosystem. Native plants can generate oxygen, sequester carbon, filter pollutants from water, and improve the soil. The California Native Plant Society is a great resource for California plant lists which you can fin...

You can actually increase the number and diversity of wildlife in your garden by planting specific plants that provide food and shelter. Connect with Mary Phillips: Mary Phillips is the head of Garden for Wildlife™ at National Wildlife Federation. Mary will share about why it’s vital to grow native species, reveal the perfect plants for every region, and provide tips on how to cultivate the optima...

June 20th - 26th is Pollinator Week. So many groups have come together to make this a federally legislated week! One way you can celebrate is growing a native/pollinator garden and becoming a Certified Wildlife Habitat at nwf.org/certify. It comes with a very fancy plaque. Connect with Mary Phillips: Mary Phillips is the head of Garden for Wildlife™ at National Wildlife Federation. Mary will share...

There are lots of native plants and they all have attributes that have coevolved with wildlife. Powerful native plants are the 14% that actually support 90% of butterflies and moths in a given area. Specific powerful plants that we recommend are anything in the aster family, sunflowers, and goldenrod. What is wonderful is that they bloom at different times providing nectar and foraging opportuniti...

Science and flowers are two of my favorite things. Hydrangeas make fun experiments because the color of the flower depends on aluminum uptake which is greatly influenced by the PH of the soil. Blue flowers are formed with high aluminum uptake, where an absence produces pink flowers. My favorite color is periwinkle, so I try to find the middle ground. Connect With Natalie Renee: Natalie is the Epic...

Bell peppers, banana peppers, shishito peppers, pepperoncini and poblano peppers are my favorites. All have unique flavor without the burn! Connect With Natalie Renee: Natalie is the Epic Executive Assistant here at Epic Gardening. She is a life-long gardener and urban homesteader. We toured Natalie’s yard back in May, take a peep at where she grows about 30% the food she eats: https://www.youtube...

Sash bags are somewhat inexpensive - you can get a pack of 100 for between $5.00 - $10.00 and are perfect for small-scale gardeners who want to maximize their production organically. You can use bags around fruit like berries, tomatoes, and citrus to keep pests away from the goods. For seed collectors, you can affix the bags around flowers to allow the seeds to fully develop without being eaten or...