Just Grow Something | Evidence-Based Home Gardening

Latest Episodes:

Garlic Planting Tips by Climate - Ep. 221 Oct 22, 2024

Show notes

Last week we talked onions, this week it’s another allium, garlic. The timing on planting onions in the fall is just about the same as when we plant our garlic for overwintering and garlic spends just about as much time in the garden as those fall-planted onions do.

Just like our onions, there are specific considerations for growing garlic – the right variety, the right soil, specific planting depth and spacing, planting time, and nutrients. If this all sounds vaguely familiar, that’s because those are all the same things we said are important for growing onions. Amazing how plants in the same family have some of the same concerns!

Today on Just Grow Something we’re talking tips for planting garlic by climate type. Whether you’re in zone 3 or zone 10 you can grow garlic, but what kind and when and how you plant will be vastly different and will greatly affect your success. Let’s dig in!

References and Resources

My Women in Podcasting Award and Acceptance Speech!

Ep. 40 - Growing Garlic

Ep. 67 - When and How to Plant Your Garlic, Plus Tips for Warmer Climates

Growing Garlic in Warm Climates - Focal Point Friday

Growing Garlic as a Perennial - Ep. 168

How to Choose a Garlic Variety to Grow - Ep. 214

How to Know When Your Garlic is Ready to Harvest

Find Seed Garlic: https://amzn.to/3BOX30U (aff)

New Merch!

Just Grow Something | Patreon

Bonus content for supporters of the Podcast! (buymeacoffee.com)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Planting Onions in Fall for a Summer Harvest - Ep. 220 Oct 15, 2024

Show notes

This is the episode so many of you have asked for and now is the perfect time because, in most locations, this is the time to be planting onion sets or seedlings to overwinter and harvest the next summer. Successfully growing full-sized onions for fresh eating and for storage seems to allude many of us, I had trouble with it the first few tries, for sure, and I think it boils down to a couple of things. First is planting depth and spacing, second is soil texture and nutrients, and third is the timing of the planting. Bonus points if you actually know which type of onions you should be planting in terms of long-day and short-day or day-neutral.

If none of what I just said made any sense to you, you’re not alone. So, today on Just Grow Something we’re going to review the very basics of growing onions but then dig deep into the techniques you can use for getting them planted now to successfully harvest those nice full fat onions in the spring. Let’s dig in!

References and Resources:

Save 20% on a Magic Mind Subscription: https://magicmind.com/GROWSOMETHING20 and use code GROWSOMETHING20

Ep. 133 - Growing Onions

Beginner's Guide to Growing Onions

YouTube video on planting fall onions

Save 20% at https://heirloomroses.com using code JUSTGROW at checkout. Order now, save now, deliver later!

Just Grow Something Merch: https:/justgrowsomething.com/shop

Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group

Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon

Bonus content for supporters of the Podcast! (buymeacoffee.com)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How to Dry and Store Cut Flowers - Ep. 219 Oct 08, 2024

Show notes

The fruits and veggies coming from our gardens are not the only things we can dry and store in the off-season. Think about the vibrant colors from the flowers in our yards and containers. We can absolutely preserve that beauty to use year-round, or at least to display through the dreary winter season, by simply air-drying them.

There are lots of ways we can use those cut flowers, ornamental grasses, and even edible flowers and herbs in our home décor and pantry. Yes, you’ve got the typical dried flower arrangement in the form of a bouquet, but what about centerpieces, wreaths, swags or other purposes like tea blends or simmer pots?

Today on Just Grow Something we’ll talk about the conditions we need to properly dry our florals and other cuttings from the garden, when and how to properly harvest them specifically for this purpose, how to properly store them so they retain their color, and some usage ideas. Why shouldn’t we use all the colors of our summer garden to brighten up our indoor spaces as we move through fall and into winter? Let’s dig in!

Question of the month: What was your biggest failure in the garden this season?

References and Resources

Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group

Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon

Bonus content for supporters of the Podcast! (buymeacoffee.com)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Simple Compost Solutions for Every Garden Space - Ep. 218 Oct 01, 2024

Show notes

As we start to wind down the summer gardening season it’s a great time to be adding compost to your beds to help give the soil a boost. Letting the compost break down over the winter gives it adequate time to become activated with all the little microorganisms that are so important for delivering nutrients to our plants in the soil.

But, purchasing compost, especially really good compost, can be pricey and the bigger your garden, the higher the price tag! It’s hard to justify sometimes because some of us are growing our own gardens so we can save money on our food budget, not pay more to amend the soil than it would cost us to just buy our veggies at the grocery store. And if we opt for budget compost we may find not only is the texture and quality definitely fit the price point, but our plants aren’t getting much out of that soil the following season which is a complete waste of money.

I also understand that not everybody has room for a big compost pile in their yard, you may not even have a yard and are gardening in containers on a patio or porch, but you still want the best amendments for your soil and everybody has kitchen waste that can be used to feed our garden soil.

So, today on Just Grow Something we’re going to talk about the absolute easiest and least messy ways to build a small compost pile or composting system for your garden regardless of where you are. It may not be everything you need to add to your garden, depending on the size you’re working with, but it will absolutely reduce the need for having to purchase as much and you’ll be diverting waste from the landfill and helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the process. Let’s dig in.

References and Resources:

Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group

Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon

Bonus content for supporters of the Podcast! (buymeacoffee.com)

Ep. 80 - Creating and Managing a Compost Pile

Ep. 106 - Introduction to Vermicomposting (Worm Farming!)

Ep. 107 - Worm Farming with Lauren Cain of Elm Dirt

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Fall Garden Checklist by Hardiness Zone - Ep. 217 Sep 24, 2024

Show notes

As the fall season is practically upon us and the pumpkin spice gods are already blessing us with their bounty, it’s time to get your garden ready for the changing weather. Fall gardening can look very different depending on your climate, but no matter where you live, the changing season means there are some important tasks to attend to for the success of your garden now and into the spring.

Today on Just Grow Something we’re tackling your fall garden checklist. Whether you’re buttoning up your garden for winter, transitioning into a cool-season planting cycle, or continuing to harvest year-round, today’s episode breaks down fall gardening tasks for three different groups of gardeners: Zones 3 and 4, Zones 5 through 9, and Zones 10 and 11. Let’s dig in!

Question of the Month: What was your biggest success in the garden this season?

References and Resources:

Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group

Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon

Bonus content for supporters of the Just Grow Something Podcast! (buymeacoffee.com)

Heirloom Roses: Use code JUSTGROW for 20% off! Through Oct. 31st, 2024

Getting Started with Cover Crops - Ep. 166

2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map | USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

Frost Dates: First and last frost dates by zipcode - Garden.org

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Proper Seed Drying and Storage - Ep. 216 Sep 17, 2024

Show notes

Last week on the podcast we talked about which seeds we should be saving from the garden, how mature the fruits need to be when we harvest seeds and a bit about how to dry and test them. This week, we’re focusing on storing them properly.

When we get seeds from a catalog or other seed supplier, they’ve often gone through a set of steps that we may not be duplicating at home with our own saved seeds. Seed suppliers are required to test their seeds not just for germination percentage, but also for diseases and moisture content. These tests ensure that we’re not brining outside diseases into our gardens and make sure the seeds we get will maintain their integrity in storage without spoiling.

Today on Just Grow Something we’re going to talk about how we can achieve the same results in our own seed collection. If you garden where certain diseases are prevalent you certainly don’t want to saving that disease to plant again with your seeds the next year. We also want to be sure our seeds remain intact in storage and we don’t open up a fuzzy, moldy mess when it’s time to plant in the spring. Let’s dig in!

Question of the Month: What was your biggest success in the garden this season?

References and Resources: Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group

Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon

Just Grow Something is Bonus content for supporters of the Just Grow Something Podcast! (buymeacoffee.com)

Vegetable: Hot Water Seed Treatment | Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment at UMass Amherst

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Saving Seeds Properly - Ep. 215 Sep 10, 2024

Show notes

Saving seeds from our gardens to use the next spring it is a great way to not only help our budget out a little bit but also to give ourselves some food security and doesn’t sound like it should be a very difficult task. At that point we’re not relying on someone else to grow our seeds for us that we have to buy over and over again. Just collect the seeds from whatever you want to keep, rinse them, dry them, and pack them away for next year, right?

Well, yes, but also, no. The method I just described can absolutely mean you’ll have beautifully preserved seeds that have fantastic germination the next season and yield a bounty of exactly what you thought you were planting. But it’s equally possible that you’ll open the seed packet the next season to find fuzzy gray fungus or black moldy growth on your seeds, or seeds that don’t sprout properly, or maybe they sprout and you get midway through the gardening season and the fruit on the plant look nothing like the ones you saved the seeds from.

So, today on Just Grow Something we’re going to dig into which plants you should and shouldn’t be saving seeds from, how to properly collect, clean, and dry those seeds in order to best guarantee your success the next season, and how to quickly test them before you store them to know if they’re viable. Let’s dig in!

References and Resources:

Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group

Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon

Buy Me a Coffee!

Hot Water Treatment for Seeds – Louisiana State University

How To Save Vegetable Seeds – Farmers Almanac

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How to Choose a Garlic Variety to Grow - Ep. 214 Sep 03, 2024

Show notes

If you have intentions of growing garlic for next year, now is the time to be ordering your seed garlic. Garlic needs about six months in the ground to get to maturity so, here in the northern hemisphere, we may be planting our garlic as early as mid-September in some areas.

With the plethora of catalogs and websites and garden centers offering garlic to gardeners, how do you know what variety of garlic to choose? And should you be choosing hard neck, or soft neck, or that look-a-like Elephant garlic?

Today on Just Grow Something we’re gonna' figure it out. We’ll talk about the differences between the types of garlic, and what might make you want to choose one variety over another – whether it’s to do with flavor, storage, disease resistance, or something else entirely. Let’s dig in!

References and Resources:

Just Grow Something | creating a podcast and gardening videos | Patreon

Just Grow Something is Bonus content for supporters of the Just Grow Something Podcast! (buymeacoffee.com)

How many types of garlic are there? - Chef's Resource (chefsresource.com)

Explore Cornell - Home Gardening - Vegetable Growing Guides - Growing Guide

Garlic Variety Descriptions | The Dyer Family Organic Farm

Garlic | The Buffalo Seed Company

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How to Grow Beets - Ep. 213 Aug 27, 2024

Show notes

If you didn’t plan for a fall garden and maybe have changed your mind a little bit and want to give it a go, you might be looking for something you can very quickly put into the ground and grow directly from seed. Enter beets. They will happily germinate in almost any temperature of soil and they greatly appreciate the cooler days of fall when they are coming to maturity. They’re not fool-proof, because there is a little effort needed in terms of thinning in most cases and they do need a nice, loose soil to produce those beautiful round roots, but there is nothing that beats the flavor in the fall of a sweet, roasted beet alongside other root vegetables. Or, my go-to snack or addition to my salads, pickled beets, and my new favorite, beets roasted in air fryer. Even my husband admits those are good and he swears beets taste like dirt.

So, today on Just Grow Something we’re talking beets! How to grow them, what type to grow for your area, and why does it seem that even when we carefully space our beet seeds out in the garden that we end up having to thin them anyway? So many seedlings! Let’s dig in!

References and Resources:

Explore Cornell - Home Gardening - Vegetable Growing Guides - Growing Guide

⁠Garden Insect Netting⁠ (affiliate)

⁠Garden Frost Cloth/Row Cover⁠ (affiliate)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Artificial Intelligence and Gardening Advice - Ep. 212 Aug 20, 2024

Show notes

I do searches online for gardening topics all the time. I will search key phrases to see if I can come up with topics that people seem to be searching for or gardening questions that may be trending. I even search specific ideas to see if there is new information or research that I’m not aware of. And more and more frequently I’m noticing a disturbing trend.

As I look at the search results, often times I will see multiple pages in a row, usually sponsored results, that have the exact same key phrases as the meta description, the little blurb you see under the link that tells you what’s on the page before you click it. When I click on one of those pages I find the page to be full of ads, with very little substance in terms of gardening know how. And the verbiage and style of writing is very mechanical, disjointed, and generic. If I click another one, the page layout is exactly the same and so is the wording. These pages are all designed to look like legitimate gardening blogs or how-to sites, but they all have two things in common – they are meant to earn money from the overwhelming number of ads being displayed and they are all written by artificial intelligence.

Today on Just Grow Something we’re diving into AI and gardening advice. Can AI be helpful when asking questions in the garden? Are those answers accurate? And how can we determine whether a source is reliable or not? Let’s dig in.

References and Resources

Vote for me in the Women in Podcasting Awards!

Save on a Magic Mind Subscription with code justgrowsomething20

Just Grow Something Website (justgrowsomethingpodcast.com)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.