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Potatoes are a cool season crop, and most varieties need between 60 and 120 days to mature, so that means getting them in the ground as soon as the soil can be worked and giving them the time they need to grow. The great thing about potatoes is they can be harvested at any size, so it’s a crop that can do well in a short-season area and can also be grown in places other than big, long in-ground rows. If you have minimal space or you can only garden in grow bags or buckets, you can still grow potatoes. Today on Just Grow Something we’re talking about just that – what are all the different ways and places we can grow potatoes? They are such a versatile crop it makes sense to tuck some into your garden area no matter what size it is. Let’s dig in! References and Resources: Get my FREE eBook on successful seed starting Ep. 135 - Growing Potatoes Save 10% and get Free Shipping with code JUSTGROW10 at Planter Box Direct Solanum tuberosum (Irish Potato, Irish Potatoes, Pomme de Terre, Potato, Potatoes, White Potato, White Potatoes) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox (ncsu.edu) Soil Temparature Maps | GreenCast | Syngenta (greencastonline.com) Growing potatoes in home gardens | UMN Extension ORGANIC POTATO GROWING GUIDE (woodprairie.com) Just Grow Something Merch Shop Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon Follow me on Instagram --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/justgrowsomething/message

This month we’re talking a lot about seed starting and we can’t talk about starting seeds without talking about heat and light. Seeds sprout more quickly and efficiently when they’ve got the correct soil temperatures and the easiest way to do this is with a seedling heat mat. It’s not a requirement, though, so we’ll also talk about some ways you can up the ante on the soil temperatures during seed starting without a heat mat. Once those seeds do sprout and you're nurturing those little seedlings the correct light can make all the difference, and usually even the sunniest window in your house just isn’t going to cut it. That means we need do a little investing in some lights to help our seedlings along. Today on Just Grow Something we'll explore soil heating options and various types of grow lights, including the most economical and even tabletop solutions. Let’s dig in! *Question of the Month: “What is your most successful crop and why?” This could be a specific variety of something that outproduces all the others, the plant that you love the most, or the crop that grows fantastically well for you without fail every single year. Whatever you consider your most successful crop in whatever way you consider it successful. Send me an email, post it in the Facebook group or send me a DM on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok… you have until February 29th to get me your answer! References and Resources: Full Spectrum LED mini grow light 4 Pack 4FT LED Shop Light 48" x 20" (four tray) Waterproof Durable Seedling Heat Mat 10” x 20.75” (single tray) Waterproof Seedling Heat Mat Best Grow Lights for Growing Vegetables Indoors. Guide to Choosing a Grow Light - Johnny's Selected Seeds. 5 Different Fluorescent Tube Sizes and How to Choose One (thespruce.com) Just Grow Something Merch Shop Order from True Leaf Market and support the show! Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon Follow me on Instagram JustGrowSomethingPodcast.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/justgrowsomething/message

Seed starting does not need to be intimidating but it does come with a special set of requirements for true success. Two components to that success are the soils we use and the containers we choose. Not all soils and containers are created equal. Today we dig into the different types of seed starting mediums and containers available on the market and ones we can dig up in our own home. (Pun intended.) Ssurprise surprise, the potting soil you choose to use may not actually be soil at all. And the containers may be something you already have sitting in your recycling bin. Let’s dig in! *February Question of the Month: What is your most successful crop and why? Episode References and Resources Harvesting peat moss contributes to climate change, Oregon State scientist says | OSU Extension Service Just Grow Something Merch Shop Save 10% and get Free Shipping with code JUSTGROW10 at Planter Box Direct Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/justgrowsomething/message

If you’re planning to grow flowers alongside your vegetables this year, there may be some additional steps you’ll need to take when getting those started. Most annual flowers are started in ways very similar to our annual vegetable plants. But some flowers are trickier to start, especially perennials. And some can’t easily be started from seed and need to be propagated using other methods. Today on Just Grow Something we’re going to talk about the easiest flowers to start from seed and those “special” flower seeds, the ones that need a little more time and attention than our standard annuals. Let’s dig in! February Question of the Month: What’s your most successful garden crop and why? References and Resources: Planter | Garden Planner The Girly Homesteader Planner Vegetable Garden Planner | Garden Planning Apps (almanac.com) Free Garden Journal Printables - Green in Real Life Free Garden Flower Download   Save 10% and get Free Shipping with code JUSTGROW10 at Planter Box Direct Order from True Leaf Market and support the show! Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/justgrowsomething/message

Soil blocking is a seed starting technique that uses small blocks of soil or seed starting mix. There are no containers, no small plastic cells, just the soil itself. The benefit of soil blocking is, of course, you’re not keeping a bunch of plastic containers around to start your seeds in, but also there is no chance for the roots of the seedlings to become bound by a container. The plants roots will reach the edge of the soil block and simply stop growing until the block is planted, the roots come into contact with more soil, and can take off growing again. This reduces the transplant shock. Today on Just Grow Something I brought back our flower farmer friend, Kathy Gormandy, to talk about how she uses soil blocking on her farm. We also talk about her new retail space, the importance of locally grown florals, and more. It’s a conversation that has me taking a second look at trying soil blocking again this year. Let’s dig in. References and Resources: Ep. 117 - Growing Cut Flowers in the Home Garden with Kathy Gormandy Save 10% and get Free Shipping with code JUSTGROW10 at Planter Box Direct Order from True Leaf Market and support the show!   https://education.teamflower.org/learn/growing/ssl/what-you-can-do-to-protect-yourself-from-pesticides-in-the-floral-industry What Do Florists Spray on Flowers to Keep Them Fresh? - Floral Fantasy Land Soil-Block Making | A Better Way to Start Seedlings, by Eliot Coleman (johnnyseeds.com) Kathy Gormandy (@pkfarmflowers) • Instagram photos and videos https://www.facebook.com/PKFarmlife Artisanal Blume P&K Farms (pkfarmlife.com)  Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon Follow me on Instagram JustGrowSomethingPodcast.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/justgrowsomething/message

As we start to get our garden plans in order for this year, succession planting is something that absolutely should be included in our calendars and our garden maps. It’s really the best way to ensure not only to do you have more to harvest throughout the season but that you take advantage of open spaces in the garden when one crop ends or the season changes. Today on Just Grow Something we’ll talk about what succession planting is, how it relates to interplanting and relay planting, and how to successfully schedule your successions to reach your gardening goals, whether that’s to feed your family for the entire year or just be sure you’ve got enough salad ingredients to get you through the summer. Let’s dig in! References and Resources: Just Grow Something | creating a podcast and gardening videos | Patreon Plan Like a Pro Garden Planning Course Save 10% and get Free Shipping with code JUSTGROW10 at Planter Box Direct Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon Follow me on Instagram JustGrowSomethingPodcast.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/justgrowsomething/message

There is a fine line in gardening between overcrowding the plants and making efficient use of space. If we do it right, the plants benefit from each other and we can get way more out of our garden than we ever dreamed. But if we step over that line, we end up with plants competing with each other for space, water, sunlight, and nutrients and our yield is dramatically reduced. As we start planning our gardens for the year it’s time to take a look at the space we have to work with and plan out our gardens to effectively use that space to our advantage. Today on Just Grow Something we’re talking interplanting or intercropping. This technique not only allows for you to grow more in the exact same space, but can also reduce weeds and conserve water. Let’s dig in. References and Resources: Courses | Just Grow Something Companion Planting Chart | Just Grow Something Tomato N Uptake (ucdavis.edu) CDFA - FREP - CA Fertilization Guidelines - Lettuce Nitrogen Uptake and Partitioning Nitrogen fixation in peas (Pisum sativum) (lincoln.ac.nz) Some vegetables require less water than others | OSU Extension Service (oregonstate.edu) Cornell Guide to Companion Planting.pdf (unl.edu) Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon JustGrowSomethingPodcast.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/justgrowsomething/message

You may have an idea of what you want to grow in terms of vegetables in your garden – say zucchini and tomatoes, for example. If you open the seed catalog or website to the page for zucchini you may find as many 18 to 25 different varieties to choose from, each with their own unique set of attributes in terms of shape, size, color, growing conditions, disease resistance, pollination type, and more. Move on to tomatoes, well now you’re talking hundreds of varieties in different classes from cherry to beefsteak to sauce types. And that’s just one supplier. It can be overwhelming, and we can fall victim to the dreaded analysis paralysis – spending so much time gathering information while trying to decide that we fail to decide. Let’s take a little bit of the overwhelm out of the equation by defining what exactly it is we are looking for in each of the types of vegetable or fruits we want to grow before we even dive into the catalogs or walk into the garden center. If you’ve got a list of attributes you’re looking for ahead of time it makes it easier to make a decision about what will do well in your garden, meet your goals, and eliminate some of the distractions. Let's dig in. Don't forget to answer the question of the month for January: How do you plan your garden each season? Resources and References: Plan Like a Pro Information Sign Up F1 hybrid - Wikipedia Home | The Buffalo Seed Company All-America Selections | AAS Winners | Best New Plants Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/justgrowsomething/message

It used to be easy to just choose a catalog and order seeds because there were only a handful of choices and, generally speaking, unless you were going to the nursery or garden center to buy seed packets from a kiosk, you were ordering from a physical catalog that you actually got in the mail. But, nowadays, a simple internet search will yield thousands of results from companies all over the world and it’s a little bit more difficult to weed out the bad guys. So, today we are going to talk about ways to find a legitimate, established, verified seed company whether it’s online, through a catalog, or local to you. And what to do if you encounter a new small business that seems legit and you’d love to support them, but you also want to make sure you don’t get burned. I will also give you a list and links to my favorite suppliers over the years, including my very first catalog purchase. Let’s dig in! Question of the month: How do you plan your garden each season? Tell me by leaving a voice message, sending an email, responding below (in Spotify), or from the Facebook group! References and Resources: True Leaf Market Gurney's - America's Most Complete Seed and Nursery (gurneys.com) Bring Your Garden to Life with Rare and Heirloom Seeds (rareseeds.com) Home - SeedSavers Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Saving the Past for the Future Urban Farmer | Seeds, Plants and Garden Supplies (ufseeds.com) Johnny’s Selected Seeds | Supporting Farms & Gardens Since 1973 (johnnyseeds.com) Harris Seeds: Vegetable Seeds, Flower Seeds, Plants & Growing Supplies Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon JustGrowSomethingPodcast.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/justgrowsomething/message

Let's revisit the most downloaded episode of this podcast the past three season: growing peppers! Peppers are one of those plants that I get asked about all the time; it’s also one of those vegetables that is a mainstay in many people’s kitchens, and they can be expensive at the grocery store, so knowing how to grow your own is high up on the gardening wish list for a lot of people. So, today we talk all about peppers, both sweet and hot, how to get them to germinate, their feeding requirements, planting, spacing, harvesting and all the usual basics. By the end of this episode, I hope you can fill in the gaps of what’s been going on with your peppers to get you some success or give you the confidence to give them a try if you’re new to the capsicum scene. Let's dig in! References and Resources: Capsicum annuum - Wikipedia Pharmacological importance of an ethnobotanical plant: Capsicum annuum L - PubMed (nih.gov) Bell Peppers 101: Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits (healthline.com) Chili Peppers 101: Nutrition Facts and Health Effects (healthline.com) 6 Ways to Use Epsom Salt in the Garden | Epsom Salt Council Capsicum annuum (Grossum Group) (Bell Pepper, Green Pepper, Red Pepper, Sweet Pepper) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox (ncsu.edu) Midwest Vegetable Production Guide for Commercial Growers. Reader’s Digest Illustrated Guide to Gardening, 1978 Damrosch, Barbara; The Garden Primer. Workman Publishing, New York. 1988 Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon Follow me on Instagram JustGrowSomethingPodcast.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/justgrowsomething/message

Potatoes are a staple in many households. The wonderful thing about Irish potatoes is that they can be grown just about anywhere, in ground or in planters or buckets. They can be a quick shoulder-season crop or they can spend 120 days in the ground, making way for fall-planted crops when they’re done. You can pick them early for baby potatoes, leave them late for storage potatoes, or anything in between, and they are one of the easiest crops for beginners because they are pretty hands off. Which may be why this episode was so popular. So, let’s revisit your second favorite episode of all time. Ready to grow potatoes? Let’s dig in! References and Resources: Hijmans, RJ; Spooner, DM (2001). "Geographic distribution of wild potato species". American Journal of Botany. 88 (11): 2101–12. doi:10.2307/3558435. JSTOR 3558435. PMID 21669641. University of Wisconsin-Madison, Finding rewrites the evolutionary history of the origin of potatoes (2005) Potato Production and Consumption Solanum tuberosum (Irish Potato, Irish Potatoes, Pomme de Terre, Potato, Potatoes, White Potato, White Potatoes) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox (ncsu.edu) Potato: Nutrition facts, recipes, benefits, side effects, and more (msn.com) Soil Temparature Maps | GreenCast | Syngenta (greencastonline.com) Growing potatoes in home gardens | UMN Extension ORGANIC POTATO GROWING GUIDE (woodprairie.com) Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon Follow me on Instagram JustGrowSomethingPodcast.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/justgrowsomething/message

Welcome back, my gardening friends, to another episode of Just Grow Something as we count down the top four episodes of all time throughout the month of December. This week we revisit the #3 most listened to episode of this show: Growing Onions. Onions are such a staple in most kitchens, it's no surprise many gardeners want to grow their own. The problem is they can be a bit tricky if you don't understand the difference in daylength requirements for growing those giant bulbs. Nutrient needs, soil type, water and storage are covered in this episode, all the things I wish I'd known when I made my own feeble attempts at growing onions years ago! Let's dig in. References and Resources: Free Download: Onion Growing Fact Sheet Ep. 114 - Planting Onions to Overwinter (PDF) Traditional and modern uses of onion bulb (Allium cepa L.): A systematic review (researchgate.net) Onion History - National Onion Association (onions-usa.org) Nutrition Information for Raw Vegetables | FDA Explore Cornell - Home Gardening - Vegetable Growing Guides - Growing Guide Growing Onions: Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Onions | The Old Farmer's Almanac Onion Planting Guide - Dixondale Farms Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/justgrowsomething/message