The School Garden Podcast

Summer plans? Yes, friends, you made it! Giddy with garden freedom, Anne and Mary Jo talk about their summer plans and reintroduce last year’s Summer Gardening Episode. Whether it’s a needed daily summer garden fix or a hands-off, peace-out-see-you-in-August approach, this episode will help you plan what your school garden will look like this summer. Podcast Outline 00:42: Introduction to summer e...

Yes, you read that right - Sweetpotato all one word - it’s official! Join Anne and Mary Jo as they slip into everything you need to know about making sweetpotatoes a staple in your school garden this summer.  From spellbinding Latin taxonomy to a classic classroom Venn diagram - this episode has it all. Plus, Mary Jo may be packing her bags for North Carolina and discover just how far Anne will go...

Pop the kettle on and join Anne and Mary Jo as they spill the tea! Listen alongside as we show you how to celebrate your garden in a cup. From herbal teas to fresh water infusions, refreshing aguas frescas, and smoothies—garden tastings don’t have to be just about eating… sipping with your students is just as sweet! Plus, Mary Jo creates a manifesto where every household owns a teapot and Anne pon...

Are you and your garden committee in need of some support and mentorship? In this episode Mary Jo talks with Laura Thomas and Peggy Word from The Eden Project UT. Listen along as they discuss their organization and share details about their nationwide school garden coaching program,  SproUTing Teachers . With two pathways to choose from—Individual Teaching Coaching or Group Garden Leadership Coach...

Small crop, big impact! Join Anne and Mary Jo as they dig into the  when, how, and why  of growing microgreens—and why this lightning-fast crop deserves a big place in every school garden program. Along the way, Mary Jo makes a GSA, Anne contemplates the fine art of flushing, and we explore how this tiny crop can inspire  macro-sized entrepreneurial ideas  for older students. Because when it comes...

Educator Bonus Episode Looking for a grant to support your school garden efforts? Then, look no further than the Whole Foods Market Foundation's Garden Grant program. Listen in as Mary Jo talks with Ashley Ellis, the Edible Education Program Lead on the Improving Children Nutrition Pillar of Whole Foods Market Foundation. Listen quickly and act quickly! The deadline for this grant round has be...

Time to peel away the layers and re-know your onions! Join Anne and Mary Jo again as they talk through all things onions and why your students will be crying if you don’t plant this awesome vegetable in your school garden this season.  Podcast outline:   2:50 - Why grow onions?  3:33 - What part of the onion do we eat?   4:24 - Onion Family  4:43 - Planting onions  5:30 - How do onions grow  6:40...

Another helping of potatoes, anyone?  We’re digging back into  The Potato Episode ! Yep, it’s that time of year again—so get ready to plan and plant this student favorite. Your school gardens are about to get spud-tacular! Chapters:  Encore Episode Introduction - 0:50 Why Should We Grow Potatoes in Schools? - 3:14 Connections to Curriculum - 4:38 Potatoes are a Hungry Crop - 6:52 DIfferent Varieti...

Pesto grilled cheese, anyone?   Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Chef Vahista Ussery joins today’s conversation to share her passion for all things food in the world of children’s nutrition education. Grab a plate and a napkin as we dig into the  Shovels and Whisks After School Cooking and Gardening Club , which she runs alongside our very own Anne Santana! Bon Appetit! 00:42 - Intro and Vahi...

Join Mary Jo and Anne as they explore the most popular reason students grow in school gardens—to taste! Listen along as they share tried-and-true strategies, practical techniques, and favorite recipes for trying produce in the school garden space. Perfect for empowering even the most cautious educators to host tasting sessions all year long.  Podcast Outline: 00:41 -  'Tis The Season for Tasti...

We love children's literature—and we know you do too! That’s why we couldn’t imagine a better first-ever podcast guest than Mary Frances Baker, author and illustrator of The Garden Friend . Join Mary Jo and Anne as they chat with Mary Frances and discover how your students can create their own garden friends and imagine new adventures in your school garden space.  00:42: Intro O1:24: We are gu...

Join Mary Jo and Anne's new broadcasting voice as they share an engaging baker's dozen of tried and tested activities that will get you and your early years learners outside-just perfect for pre-school, pre-kindergarten, kindergarten classes and even nursery school settings. Plus Mary Jo has beef with Fort Worth's new Trick or Treating signal, and Anne has been harvesting pomegranates!...

Join Mary Jo and Anne as they discuss strategies, benefits and pointers to help ease our early years learners into the garden and outdoors. Plus, it’s finally fall! This episode is packed with final fall planting advice, and lots of conversation to help garden educators get our most curious gardeners out into the garden space and beyond.  Podcast Outline 00:42 - Intro 01:27 - It’s Finally Fall  03...

The Great British Garden Visit Download episode. From The Garden Museum, to press visitors at the RHS Wentworth show, to peeking at the world of UK allotments and Mary Jo's meeting with BBC Gardeners World Adam Frost. Join us as we share details from our most wonderful week of all things English gardening! 00:42- Introduction - Our English Garden Adventures and RHS Garden Show Download 02:15 - The...

It’s time to celebrate and showcase your garden during school events. Join Anne and Mary Jo as they share ways to incorporate school gardens into carnivals, school open houses, Literacy Nights and the like, allowing your garden program to shine and become a true part of the school day and culture. Let your garden steal the show at every school event! Podcast Outline   00:42  - Introduction  02:41...

From bed prep, to seed saving, and from what to plant now to a fun seed packet game, join Anne and Mary Jo as they talk all things fall to help you back into your school garden spaces. Warning! A dreadful amount of puns were used in the recording of this episode.  Podcast outline 00:45: Intro  03:48: What is left and what is going to come back in the garden 08:38: Gone to Seed and Saving Seed 11:4...

Getting back at it! Are you back on campus and raring to go? Overwhelmed at the thought of getting back into the garden? Join Anne and Mary Jo as they share suggestions and tips to help you get your garden and garden program back on track. With a little help from 1880s homesteading life, this episode will get you organized and back in the perfect frame of mind to ensure a successful growing year a...

Garden Book fans ... It's The Sequel! It's our much anticipated Garden Book Read Aloud sequel episode. Join Anne and Mary Jo as they share another eight of their favorite and much loved garden read aloud books. From the tale of a tortured avocado to the heart warming account of gardening during the Great Depression, these books have something for every grade level and subject. Plus, listen to the...

Join Anne and Mary Jo as they discuss tasks, jobs and things to keep in mind when visiting or working in your school garden during the summer break. Everything from watering, harvesting, creating shade and obsessively referencing home-grown produce during every mealtime!  Podcast Outline 00:42: Intro 01:28: Watering 02:53: Weeding 03:28: Solarizing 05:50: Humidity 06:00: Harvesting 07:13: Putting...

Join Anne and Mary Jo as they take time to reflect on this past school year in the garden. Listen as they discuss what went well, what didn’t, plans for the summer and goals for next year. Plus, throwing some controversial shade at pickleball! 00:42 Introduction - Our Year End Reflections 03:02: What Went Well This Year 12:04: What Didn’t Go So Well 18:00: Our Plans for the Summer Break 22:00: Goa...

Join Anne and Mary Jo as they share rainy day indoor gardening ideas and activities for those occasions when you have to pivot and move gardening indoors … plus a generous helping of strawberry talk..  00:47 - Hello 01:27 - How Has Your Week Been?  04:53 - Gardening Indoors - Introduction 07:03 - Fruit and Flower Dissection 11:45 - Indoor Seed Activities  14:25 - Kitchen Scrap Science  19:54 - Rai...

Join Mary Jo and Anne for this quick dig episode as they share insight, tips and techniques to grow your very own sponges from a plant!  A trip to the bottom of the ocean is not necessary as we learn how you can grow, peel and scrub your way to growing loofah sponges in your school garden. Plus, great ideas for use in and out of the classroom.  Podcast Outline 01:02 - How Was your Week?  01:30 - I...

Calling all our Watering Winners! It's warming up so join Mary Jo and Anne as they discuss all things water and become the H2HerO of your school garden space. Plus, Anne’s mom has the last word! Podcast Outline 00:50: Intro and How Was Your Week? 02:30: How to be a Watering Winner: Overview 05:10: When Should We Water? 08:06: Rain Gauges 09:37: Who is Going to Water? 10:41: Rain v Tap Water 13:29:...

Quick growing spring crops, making firm summer plans, sleepy lettuce, James Bond and rhubarb, Texas style! Join Mary Jo and Anne as they guide you through the last few months of the school year in your school garden space. Podcast Outline: 0:48 - Intro and How Was Your Week?  03:25 - Summer Planning and Spring Planting Overview 08:04 - Spring Planting: Quick Cropping Vegetables and Plants 11:17 -...

Join us for another 10 minute Quick Dig episode: Thinning for the Win!  Listen along as we discuss the importance of thinning seedlings in your school garden space. Anne and Mary Jo share methods, tips and tricks to help you thin plants, creating room for a perfectly spaced school garden harvest.   Podcast Outline: 0:48 - Introduction 1:13 - Thinning for the Win! 1:33 - The importance of thinning ...