The Beet: A Podcast For Plant Lovers

  I've always been a fan of the weird and unusual in the garden. Here are a few of my favorites, most of which you can plant this Fall! Keep Growing, Kevin Support Epic Gardening Support Epic Gardening on Patreon Follow Epic Gardening YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Buy the Epic Soil Starter Organic Fertilizer! How do you super-charge your soil with good, inexpensive organic ma...

Setting up a hot compost pile can be a bit of a nuisance if you don't understand a few key concepts about the carbon:nitrogen ratio. Browns and greens are one thing, but what matters is the eventual average ratio of what you throw into your pile! Keep Growing, Kevin Support Epic Gardening Support Epic Gardening on Patreon Follow Epic Gardening YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Bu...

 If Frankenstein’s monster were to take up gardening, he might find coral cactus to be his favorite plant. This melding of two succulent varieties into one unusual cactus-like plant is striking to see. Depending on the top crest, it may have a fan of white, red, green, yellow, or purple ruffled succulent growth on top of what looks like a medium-green “stem”. But this cactus isn’t actually a cactu...

Are there suddenly holes in the leaves of your favorite plants? A common culprit is the Japanese beetle. Although the insect is only ½ inch in length, it can do a lot of damage to flowers and vegetables since it usually feeds in groups. It doesn’t help that these beetles aren’t picky eaters – they can and will invade and consume more than 300 species of plants. Learn More: How to Get Rid of Japane...

August is typically associated with the end of summer and the upcoming harvest season. But we firmly believe that August is actually the perfect month to sneak in one last round of planting before first frost sets in and the cold weather arrives for good. Learn More: https://www.epicgardening.com/what-to-plant-in-august/ Keep Growing, Kevin Support Epic Gardening Support Epic Gardening on Patreon...

 The balloon flower is a popular plant. Lushly green foliage sets off massive five-pointed flowers that open up like stars from a puffy, balloon-like bud, and they make the perfect edging plant or container garden. Learn More: Balloon Flower: Growing The Chinese Bellflower In Your Garden Keep Growing, Kevin Support Epic Gardening Support Epic Gardening on Patreon Follow Epic Gardening YouTube Inst...

  Heat got you and your garden down? Don't worry, mine's suffering too. Here are 5 different ideas for how to keep your garden cool and your plants happy in this INSANE heat wave. Keep Growing, Kevin Support Epic Gardening Support Epic Gardening on Patreon Follow Epic Gardening YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Buy the Epic Soil Starter Organic Fertilizer! How do you super-charge...

  If you're trying to squeeze out some more summer or late fall harvests, here are 7 crops that'll do you really well! Keep Growing, Kevin Podcast Sponsor: Four Sigmatic I've been a fan of Four Sigmatic for a while, so when they decided to send out some product and sponsor the cast, I was overjoyed. They make "drinking mushrooms." Delicious and easy to mix mushroom coffees, mochas, hot cacaos, and...

  A quick list of some tasks you may want to take care of as we move slowly into fall :) Keep Growing, Kevin Support Epic Gardening Support Epic Gardening on Patreon Follow Epic Gardening YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Buy the Epic Soil Starter Organic Fertilizer! How do you super-charge your soil with good, inexpensive organic matter? That was the question I sought to answer...

Today's episode is a little different...I answer 5-6 questions sent in by readers / followers on Instagram! Was fun, and if you like this format I can do more of it in the future! Keep Growing, Kevin Support Epic Gardening Support Epic Gardening on Patreon Follow Epic Gardening YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Buy the Epic Soil Starter Organic Fertilizer! How do you super-charge...

 If you’re like me, storing seeds is a necessity. You may have particular flowers that you grow every year like geraniums, or a favorite kind of kale or watermelon that you love the taste of. But knowing how to store seeds is incredibly important, as poorly-stored seeds won’t germinate. No matter if the seeds are large or small, there is a proper way to store them for long periods of time. Even if...

I recently saw a lot of negativity online directed towards gardeners that grow with seed starts instead of starting their own seeds. I decided to call out this nonsense once and for all on the podcast. Keep Growing, Kevin Podcast Sponsor: Four Sigmatic I've been a fan of Four Sigmatic for a while, so when they decided to send out some product and sponsor the cast, I was overjoyed. They make "drink...

Liquid kelp, or seaweed fertilizer, is an ancient fertility technique. Learn how to use it in the garden and the best ways to apply in in today's show. Keep Growing, Kevin Podcast Sponsor: Four Sigmatic I've been a fan of Four Sigmatic for a while, so when they decided to send out some product and sponsor the cast, I was overjoyed. They make "drinking mushrooms." Delicious and easy to mix mushroom...

 Are you into purple plants? Do you like the notion of a plant which is low-maintenance, rarely has any pest or disease issues, and which will brighten up a room? In that case, consider Persian shield! This tropical, which originates in southeast Asia, makes a fantastic plant whether indoors or out. The leaves are nearly iridescent or metallic purple when it’s in full color, edged in a deep, dark...

We've talked about molasses as a way to help soil inoculants thrive...but is it good as a straight-up fertilizer? Find out in today's show. Keep Growing, Kevin Podcast Sponsor: Four Sigmatic I've been a fan of Four Sigmatic for a while, so when they decided to send out some product and sponsor the cast, I was overjoyed. They make "drinking mushrooms." Delicious and easy to mix mushroom coffees, mo...

Ahhh! I accidentally burned my worms alive...or did I? Here's how I solved an annoying problem in my worm bin! Keep Growing, Kevin Podcast Sponsor: Four Sigmatic I've been a fan of Four Sigmatic for a while, so when they decided to send out some product and sponsor the cast, I was overjoyed. They make "drinking mushrooms." Delicious and easy to mix mushroom coffees, mochas, hot cacaos, and elixirs...

 I love my soaker hoses! They are a godsend for good watering, enabling me to easily direct the water directly to where it’s needed without any headaches. But you have to know how to use a soaker hose properly to make it an effective option for you. Let’s talk about what’s entailed in setting up your soaker hose, where it should go, and how often you need to run it for best coverage. There’s a lot...

  What to do with all of your worm casting once you've started to produce them...make worm tea, of course! Keep Growing, Kevin Podcast Sponsor: Four Sigmatic I've been a fan of Four Sigmatic for a while, so when they decided to send out some product and sponsor the cast, I was overjoyed. They make "drinking mushrooms." Delicious and easy to mix mushroom coffees, mochas, hot cacaos, and elixirs. I'...

 I've been having some issues with the old worm bin. So here are the most common ones you'll run into...and how to solve them! Learn More: Best Worm Composters: Indoor, Tray, and Flow-Through Keep Growing, Kevin Podcast Sponsor: Four Sigmatic I've been a fan of Four Sigmatic for a while, so when they decided to send out some product and sponsor the cast, I was overjoyed. They make "drinking mushro...

  What is soil solarization...isn't it bad? Or is there a time when it's actually good? It's one of the few ways you can fully kill root knot nematodes ;) Keep Growing, Kevin Podcast Sponsor: Four Sigmatic I've been a fan of Four Sigmatic for a while, so when they decided to send out some product and sponsor the cast, I was overjoyed. They make "drinking mushrooms." Delicious and easy to mix mushr...

It's SO HOT here that I actually had to harvest out most of my beds, so they're all fallow right now. But...here comes SECOND SUMMER! Time for even more good summer crops! Keep Growing, Kevin Podcast Sponsor: Four Sigmatic I've been a fan of Four Sigmatic for a while, so when they decided to send out some product and sponsor the cast, I was overjoyed. They make "drinking mushrooms." Delicious and...

 Have you ever wanted to grow a lucky plant? Aglaonema, also referred to as the Chinese Evergreen, is considered to be a luck-bringer in China. Native to China and the Philippines, these leafy tropicals are extremely popular, easy-care houseplants which are now grown worldwide. NASA has placed aglaonema modestum on its top ten list of clean air plants because of the plant’s natural ability to clea...

 So sorry these episodes are late my friends! The humble marigold is often the favorite flower of vegetable gardeners, and there’s great reason: marigolds help to keep many different pests at bay. They flower near-continually from late spring through the fall as long as you remove spent blooms. And they’re pretty. But how do marigolds create that pest-eliminating environment? Are there plants that...

 Are you finding brown, ring-like spots on your cabbage leaves? Perhaps you’re discovering blotches of brown on your tomatoes, or even on your apple or orange trees? You may have alternaria leaf spot. And I’ll help you figure out what to do. Like other fungal diseases, alternaria can be complex in what it is and how it appears, but there are many treatment options that you can use to eradicate it....

 Have you ever been out working in your garden and suddenly discover you have a tiny bee sitting happily on your arm? These little creatures are sweat bees, and it likely thinks your sweat is delicious. But what exactly are sweat bees? Are they friend or foe? What do they do for us, and how do these wild bees survive without a hive? Are they going to eat your geraniums or your African violets? We’...