The Beginner's Garden with Jill McSheehy

Once gardeners get an idea what crops they want to plant, beginning gardeners ask, "Where should I buy seeds?" With a plethora of sources -- local options, online seed companies, and seed catalogs -- it's hard to know the best places to buy your garden seeds. One thing is for sure: quality matters. Here you'll find the benefits and drawbacks of local seed sources and online seed catalogs, along wi...

Sometimes we jump into choosing our crops and designing the layout of the garden way too fast. But if we take step backward and work through these three overlooked but crucial steps in garden planning, we'll find not only will the rest of the planning go more smoothly, but we'll end up with a more successful garden overall. Let's start our 2019 garden season off right! Resources mentioned: Complet...

Whether you're looking for gift ideas or just hoping to expand your garden resources, here are my top eight favorite tools and books I've used in and for my garden.  Links to all the books and resources are found here:  https://journeywithjill.net/gardening/2018/11/06/my-8-favorite-garden-tools-and-gardening-books

Even beginning gardeners understand how critical healthy soil is to the life of their plants. But how do you know what's going on underneath your mulch? Without a soil test, you're just guessing, and you might even attempt to fix problems without knowing the root cause. A soil test is a critical but overlooked component to understanding the home in which your plants live. In this episode, I'll go...

If you're on your second year of gardening or beyond, this action plan will help you get started on your garden planning so you can have your best season yet! BONUS LIVE TRAINING! Details at http://journeywithjill.net/headstart  -- Don't miss it! Full blog post: https://journeywithjill.net/gardening/2018/10/08/how-to-get-a-head-start-on-your-garden-planning/

This time of year many of us are gearing up for a big garden clean-up. We want to put our gardens to bed for the winter, preparing for a fresh, blank slate in the spring. But is a fall garden clean-up really best? Today I share why you might want to skip some of those clean-up tasks, what happened in my garden when I did, and how you can decide what should stay and what should go.  Click here for...

Gardeners are learners, and each year we are given the opportunity to learn new lessons. Here are five lessons I learned from my summer garden this year, where you'll learn the results of some neat experiments I got to perform in my garden this season. Show Notes and Blog post: https://journeywithjill.net/gardening/2018/09/11/5-lessons-from-my-summer-garden/

Garlic isn't one of the most-talked-about crops for beginners to grow. Why is that? There are so many reasons for beginners particularly to include garlic in their garden plans, and in this episode you'll hear three of them. BUT, growing garlic isn't for everyone, and there is one reason it might not be the best fit in your garden. This episode will help you decide if planting garlic this year is...

What is a Garden Zone and what purpose does it serve in the home garden? Unfortunately, garden zones are frequently misunderstood. In this episode you'll learn what a garden zone is, what it tells you, and more importantly, what it doesn't. For show notes, the US plant hardiness map, and links to find your average last and first frost, click here. 

Planting and growing a fall garden can be just as rewarding as a summer garden. You just need a bit of preparation. Here I share easy ideas and tips on how to get started, when to plant, and how to grow vegetables in the fall. Read full blog post here. 

Most of us, even if we have a small garden, will harvest more than we can consume fresh. Unless you want to give it all away, you will have to decide whether to let it go bad or preserve it. In this episode, Pioneering Today's Melissa K. Norris gives us the basics on how to get started in home canning. Get the show notes, resources and blog post here. 

We all learn our best lessons from the hits and misses from our own gardens. In this episode of the Beginner's Garden Podcast, I share 9 lessons I've learned in my spring 2018 garden -- including the successes and disappointments.  Click here to read the show notes/blog post including resources mentioned in this episode.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) expert Patrick Byers of the University of Missouri Extension  shares what the home gardener should do before you spray anything on an insect. Plus, he gives practical suggestions for how to manage aphids, squash bugs, squash vine borers, cabbage worms, slugs, and Japanese beetles -- all organically and with minimal spraying!  View full blog post with show notes her...

You want to incorporate vertical gardening into your garden plans, but the disconnect lies between all the options and what you can actually accomplish. Here are 6 easy steps to go from dreams to reality and grow "up" in your garden. Full blog post & show notes here. Register for the Modern Homesteading Summit here. 

If you are looking for creative ways to get your kids involved in the garden, these 15 age-based ideas will help you get started. From toddlers to teenagers, there are ideas here for your kids! Full show notes and blog post, along with resources mentioned in the podcast here . 

When your tomato leaves start turning yellow, it's natural to become alarmed. While there could be a myriad of causes, here are five possible culprits behind yellow leaves on tomato plants.  Full blog post & show notes here.

In today's episode, Misti Little of the Garden Path Podcast and I talk about many subjects that both southern US and organic gardeners will find interesting: Misti's journey from conventional to a more-than-organic approach to her home garden How she attracts beneficial insects and pollinators to her edible garden Her favorite tomato varieties for her Zone 9a garden Her advice to first-time garden...

I asked a question in my Facebook group, the Beginner's Garden Shortcut, "What ONE piece of advice would you give to first-time gardeners?" The answers the more veteran members of the group gave were just too good to keep to myself! That's why, on this very special 50th episode of the Beginner's Garden Podcast, I share 15 tips that these gardeners shared with the group, along with my thoughts on e...

We all want to make the most of our garden space, and one of the best ways is to strategically use succession planting and relay planting to our advantage and for a more productive harvest.  These 10 ideas will get you started on using succession and relay planting in your garden, and as you consider your growing season, crops, and climate, you can adapt using these principles to fit your unique g...

Maintaining a 3,000-square foot garden and enjoying a summer vacation -- at first thought, these two may seem like opposing activities, as if you have to choose one or the other. But as one who values getaways almost as much as I value my garden, I can assure you, it is possible. To get the most out of both your rest time and your harvest, though, there are some steps you can take to make it all r...

While beginning gardeners may be most concerned with what crops to plant when to plant them, building a base of healthy soil should be top of mind as well. If you want to build your soil naturally and organically, Jackie Beyer of the Organic Gardener Podcast shares today her thoughts on doing just that.   Full show notes: https://journeywithjill.net/gardening/2018/04/17/building-healthy-soil-inter...

How does a beginning gardener you sift through the endless ideas available for staking tomatoes? Do you even need to stake tomatoes? If so, what will work best for your garden? Even though I had all the trellis ideas and resources at my disposal, I still didn't figure it all out, and it took learning by experience and making mistakes to start to make progress in this area. In this podcast episode...

In today's episode of the Beginner's Garden Podcast, I talk about six vegetables and fruit I believe beginners should almost always grow from seed directly in the garden. No indoor seed starting. No buying transplants. With these crops, it's my experience in opinion that the seeds should go directly in the ground. Show notes and free Seed Starting Guide:  http://journeywithjill.net/2018/04/03/6-cr...

It's one of the most confusing topics for beginning gardeners. "When should I plant?"  I go over the basics -- what you need to know to help you plant the most common crops in the home garden at the right time. Not only do I give you general guidelines, but we also talk about something I have never heard anyone suggest when it comes to warm season crops. Show notes:  http://journeywithjill.net/201...

Container gardening isn't as easy as it seems. In this episode, Randy from FarmDaddy shares his top tips to growing in containers, including 3 big mistakes he sees people make, the ideal growing medium, how close plants should be together, and fertilization and watering tips. Show notes at http://journeywithjill.net/2018/03/avoiding-beginner-mistakes-in-container-gardening-interview-with-randy-fro...