The joe gardener Show - Organic Gardening - Vegetable Gardening - Expert Garden Advice From Joe Lamp'l

The growing season is quickly approaching, and there are a number of things to take care of now to get the best results during the rest of the year. This week, I present a timely encore of my list of the Top 10 Things to Do Now to Prepare the Garden for Spring. Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape....

Regenerative agriculture, permaculture and soil health have come to the forefront of gardening conversations in recent years, but for the layperson, useful definitions for these terms can be elusive. Fortunately, to explain this soil and agriculture terminology in an approachable way, my guest this week is Dr. Jake Mowrer, an expert on all things soil. Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best G...

Monty Don is the biggest name in gardening in the United Kingdom, and this week he's my guest for the very special 200th episode of "The joe gardener Show." In our conversation, he shares his behind-the-scenes experience as Lead Presenter of the No. 1 British gardening show, Gardeners' World during a pandemic and discusses the takeaways from his tour of the United States to film "Monty Don's Ameri...

For the very first episode of The joe gardener Show that's dedicated solely to growing potatoes, I couldn't have asked for a better guest than Jim Gerritsen, the founder of Wood Prairie Family Farm in Bridgewater, Maine, where he has grown potatoes organically for 45 years. Jim generously shares everything to know about growing epic potatoes, from before you plant to storing the harvest.   Downloa...

Hydrangeas are beautiful flowering plants with dramatic blooms that provide color and drama in the summer garden, but they can be fussy if they don't get the proper care and attention. Proper hydrangea care for late winter is key. Improper pruning and other common mistakes, compounded with difficult weather, can lead to disappointment. Luckily, my podcast guest this week, Lorraine Ballato, is a hy...

When planting a naturalistic garden, is having more plants always better? If you ask Kelly Norris, my podcast guest this week and the author of " New Naturalism: Designing and Planting a Resilient, Ecologically Vibrant Home Garden ," the answer is, unequivocally, "yes." He is an advocate for biodiverse, abundant landscapes that use every square foot to its maximum potential. Download my free eBook...

The science behind the relationship between plants and light is complicated, but my guest on this week's encore episode explains it in an accessible, easy-to-understand way. Her name is Leslie Halleck, and she is an expert on lighting for indoor growing. In our conversation, Leslie explains what gardeners need to know about light to raise houseplants as well as herbs and vegetables indoors. Downlo...

Before attempting a pest control method that may prove to be unnecessary, ineffective or complete overkill, the first step a gardener should take is to correctly identify the problem. Positive identification of garden pests paired with the appropriate intervention will yield the best results while minimizing or eliminating negative impacts. My guest this week, Susan Mulvihill, has penned a new boo...

No-dig gardening is a simple gardening method that many gardeners — who were taught for years that they had to till or turn their gardens annually — still have many questions about. To demystify no-dig gardening and explain its benefits, my guest this week is my longtime friend Charlie Nardozzi, a nationally recognized garden writer, speaker, and radio and television personality. Download my free...

Many factors affect whether seeds started indoors will grow to become seedlings that are strong and healthy enough to transition into the garden, survive and prosper. On this week's encore episode, John Porter of The Garden Professors shares his non-negotiables for success when seed starting.  Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to hav...

Indoor seed starting time is nearly upon us, and whether you are starting seeds yourself for the first time in 2021 or you have prior experience, I'm certain you'll find my discussion with tomato growing expert Craig LeHoullier enlightening. In this encore presentation, Craig and I share tips and tricks to successfully start seeds indoors. Download my free chart- Seed Starting Soil Temperature Cha...

Winter sowing is an easy and fun way to scratch the gardening itch in the coldest months while also getting a head start on growing flowers and cool-season crops that will then take off in spring. In this week's encore episode, I explain how winter sowing works and identify the types of seeds that are the best candidates to successfully employ this easy seed-starting method. Download my free eBook...

From time to time on the podcast, we've touched on growing herbs, but this week's episode is the first that is dedicated solely to growing herbs. My guest to help us dive into this topic of these workhorse plants for every garden is horticulturist Sue Goetz, whose new book, "Complete Container Herb Gardening," was published just last month.  Download my free guide- How Do I Grow Herbs . The basics...

From a large back yard to the tiniest balcony, the garden is a place of refuge, and never has that been more true than in 2020. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, gardeners new and old have realized the many ways that gardening enriches their lives, and how that joy and satisfaction is compounded when they share their bounty and their love of gardening with others. On this week's podcast, I'm highligh...

Have you ever compared a packet of conventional seeds and a packet of organic seeds and wondered what the difference truly is? My guest this week — to demystify what it means when seeds are organic — is Tom Stearns, a pioneer of growing and selling organic seeds. Download my free guide- Seed Starting Chart . Before you start flipping through those seed catalogs, don't forget to take an inventory o...

Before placing your order online or filling out a seed catalog order form, be sure you are making the best buying decisions. In this week's episode, I'm sharing tips to help make you a more informed seed shopper. I'll  explain what to do before you start, how to process the plethora of seed catalogs arriving at your home or in your email inbox, and the types of seed to look for to meet your needs....

Buying an artificial Christmas tree and reusing it for years may seem like a more environmentally friendly option than buying a real, cut tree every holiday season, but when you dig a little deeper you'll find that real trees are truly the sustainable choice. In this week's podcast, I'll explain the benefits of real trees as well as how to care for a live tree in your home so it retains needles an...

The American chestnut tree spanned the eastern United States and numbered in the billions before blight wiped out most of the population. In this week's episode, I'm sharing my personal affection for the American chestnut and speaking with an expert from The American Chestnut Foundation about what devastated this tree and what's being done to save it. Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Ga...

While I am a big proponent of learning through experience, I also hone my gardening skills and draw inspiration by regularly dipping into my library of books on horticulture and the natural world. In the nearly two and a half years since I first presented an episode on my favorite books for gardeners, I've added more must-haves to my list, and I am sharing them with you this week. Download my free...

As we approach Thanksgiving, a time for taking stock of all the things we are grateful for, it feels like a good time to reflect on our gardening successes this year. I'll admit I'm guilty of talking about how challenging this summer was in the garden for many of us while failing to highlight the achievements. This week, I am rectifying that at the suggestion of podcast listener Tom Discordia, who...

When you plant vegetable and flower seeds in your garden, do you ever think about where exactly those seeds came from? Could you even imagine certified-organic seeds being collected from a one-acre farm in the middle of the second-largest city in California? That's exactly where my guest this week, seed grower and farmer Brijette Peña, trials, breeds and produces the Certified Organic seeds for he...

Gardeners know that eating food you grew yourself raises your spirits in a way that few things can. My guest this week, educator and author of The Power of a Plant, Stephen Ritz, recognized the benefit of growing edible plants to enrich students' bodies and minds in a variety of ways, and his Green Bronx Machine has now inspired a documentary on the far-reaching benefits of raising and sharing nut...

Ornamental grasses are eye-catching, low-maintenance additions to home landscapes that offer color, texture and seasonal interest, but they continue to be underutilized. To share the many benefits of using ornamental grasses, my guest this week is horticulturist, lifelong gardener and author Brie Arthur. Download my free guide- Growing & Using Ornamental Grasses in the Home Landscape. How to Selec...

Companion planting has been practiced for centuries, but it's not always clear why some plants perform better when paired with others. To separate conjecture from facts, my guest this week, horticulturist and author Jessica Walliser, has penned a new book on companion planting strategies supported by science.  Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps any...

Houseplants bring life to our indoor environment, and caring for them can bring both joy and challenges. To answer how to pick the right houseplants for your home and how to best look after them, joining me this week is Jane Perrone, the host of "On the Ledge," the No. 1 houseplant podcast on Apple Podcasts.  Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyo...