The Beet: A Podcast For Plant Lovers

Hummingbirds are wonderful garden-dwellers. Not only are they adorably cute with their super-fast blur of wings and tiny bodies, but they can be great pollinators. Often, we want to encourage them to stay by buying the best hummingbird feeder we can find and providing extra food. But what really works to draw hummingbirds? Do you know where to place a hummingbird feeder for the best chance of draw...

Toads are some of the most powerful pest preventing creatures in a garden. Unless you're in an area where they're invasive, you should be thinking about how to attract them to your garden. And what better way than a little toad house! Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone...

It’s never too early to think about upcoming needs, and for many of us, a heated bird bath is on that list. Some are stylish and have tons of visual appeal. Others are a bit more sedate and merely do exactly as advertised: they keep the water from freezing. Let’s explore all of the important details of bird bath heaters, and go over everything you could ever need to know before buying one. I’ll ma...

Have you ever wanted to grow fruit, but didn’t want to give up space in the yard for one of those heirloom apple trees? Even a crab apple might be too large? Then you will want to know about espalier fruit trees and how they’re grown! This old technique has been used on grape vines, fruit and flowering trees, and even large shrubs. Pronounced “ess-PAUL-yay”, the term originates with the French wor...

Welcome back to reality my gardening friends! Hope you had an awesome weekend. Today's episode is a riff on permaculture wine and beer techniques from the head farmer at Jester King brewery in Austin, Texas.  Learn More: Jester King Brewery Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...

Most gardeners get around 10lb of tomatoes off of a single plant. And that's great! But what if you want MORE? Here are some tips to maximize yield on your tomatoes this season. Keep Growing, Kevin Epic Soil Starter I've partnered with Garden Maker Naturals to formulate a custom organic fertilizer designed to take standard raised bed soil to the next level. I use it in all of my beds and container...

Not all of us have boatloads of cash to throw into the garden. If you're like me, you want creative solutions to make the gardening experience a little easier that don't break the bank. Well, you're in luck - here are 5 you can use today. Keep Growing, Kevin Epic Soil Starter I've partnered with Garden Maker Naturals to formulate a custom organic fertilizer designed to take standard raised bed soi...

Here's an episode for you patio gardeners out there! 12 ornamental plants that you can grow well in containers on patio. Now there are NO excuses to getting something green and colorful on your property :) Keep Growing, Kevin Epic Soil Starter I've partnered with Garden Maker Naturals to formulate a custom organic fertilizer designed to take standard raised bed soil to the next level. I use it in...

Quick one today for you all - common question of what to do with your tomato vines and other garden debris at the end of the season. Can you compost, should you compost? The answer lies within this episode. Keep Growing, Kevin Epic Soil Starter I've partnered with Garden Maker Naturals to formulate a custom organic fertilizer designed to take standard raised bed soil to the next level. I use it in...

If you're like me, you've probably heard of Epsom salts as a "gardening hack." But...why? Why does everyone seem to love using them in the garden? In today's episode we'll go over a few different ways to creatively use Epsom salts and boost the flavor and health of your plants. Keep Growing, Kevin Epic Soil Starter I've partnered with Garden Maker Naturals to formulate a custom organic fertilizer...

When I was growing up my Mom always complained to my Dad about her garden and flower beds. She would say things like “Nothing grows in this red dirt!”, or “I’m not planting anything this year, it never grows!” I always thought Mom just didn’t have a green thumb. Fast forward about twenty years, and now I understand her struggle. Digging in my flower beds and garden used to be like playing in a big...

Have you ever tried growing tomatillos? Often used as part of salsa or Mexican cuisine, this relative of the cape gooseberry is a popular fruit. But what are tomatillos, really? The Mexican husk tomato, sometimes called jamberry but more commonly called tomatillo, is a strange little plant. Its fruit grows within a natural papery lantern-like husk. Once ripe, the husk splits open and the fruit of...

Anyone who’s been gardening for a while is familiar with the dreaded fusarium wilt. Also called damping off, this fungal disease causes newly-sprouted seedling stems to collapse. It’s frustrating, but it’s certainly not unknown. But did you know that fusarium itself is a widespread genus of multiple species which can also cause a number of blights and rots? In fact, fusarium species create a numbe...

We've all heard of the "Topsy Turvy" tomato planters that allow you to grow tomatoes upside down, but what about other plants. Specifically peppers? Would they work? In today's show I outline how to grow these spicy veggies upside down! Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho...

Manure is a great source of organic matter and fertility in the garden...but does it make sense to use it fresh? Find out the pros and cons in today's show. Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever grown a rattlesnake plant? How about a peacock plant? A zebra plant? All of these are forms of calathea! Let’s explore the delightful and fun world of this gorgeous and popular houseplant. With many vivid variations, this leafy plant can be a perfect addition to your living space. In some areas of the world, they’re useful as well as decorative. Calathea leaves are used to wrap a spe...

Downy mildew and powdery mildew are often confused. If you’re looking for how to get rid of powdery mildew, check here. But downy mildew is a completely separate problem, even if it might look similar. Both are common issues in the garden. Today, we’ll go over everything there is to know about downy mildew. I’ll tell you how to treat it, but more importantly, I’ll help you determine how to prevent...

Don't throw your potting soil away once you're done growing with it for a season! It's easy to refresh or completely rejuvenate your soil using the methods in this episode. Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hand pollination is a fantastic way to increase fruit production on plants like cucumbers, zucchinis, etc. Here are two methods for both large and small-flowered plants! Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I've gotten a lot of questions about how to restart a hot compost pile, so I figured I might as well do a FAQ episode about hot composting. Enjoy :) Learn More: Composting on Epic Gardening Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’ve ever checked on your garden and found weird, grey, fuzzy looking spores on your plants, chances are you’ve run into botrytis cinerea. This common fungal pathogen goes by many other names as well. Grey mold, ghost spot, ash mold, or botrytis bunch rot are just a few! But to most of us, it’s that cursed grey-black mold that turns fruit into mush and wreaks havoc on our plants. You don’t ha...

Arbor Day is celebrated nationally in the United States on the last Friday of April each year, although individual states celebrate it at different times. So in honor of National Arbor Day, I figured I’d share some fascinating information about ecotherapy as it relates to trees, and at the same time discuss some important aspects of tree care and stewardship! Ecotherapy is a reasonably new term, a...

In recent years, it’s gotten a reputation as a superfood. Leaf cabbage, also called kale, is a brassica species which really packs a punch. But growing kale isn’t something a lot of people consider doing. They should! Vitamin-packed kale (Brassica oleracea) is considered to be among the world’s healthiest foods. Rich in Vitamins A, C, and K, it’s also mineral-rich, packing a good calcium and potas...

Getting the best pruning shears is a necessity. Your pruning shears are one of your best tools as a gardener. How else do you get rid of excess growth or keep your plants trimmed to an appropriate size? But choosing the best pruning shears for your task can be a matter of personal preference, or it can be job-specific. Most of us have a few different types available depending on what we’re doing....

One of the most frustrating pests in many indoor gardens is the dreaded fungus gnat and its young, the fungus gnat larvae. These little buggers can absolutely destroy your plants if you’re not vigilant — and they can do it quickly. The primary way that fungus gnats affect your plants is through their larvae. They lay eggs in your growing medium. Once they hatch, the larvae will attach to the roots...