Grow Your Self

If you think your space is too small to grow your own herbs and veggies, then you're going to love this episode. Some of the most beautiful, delicious, and nutrient-dense plants grow really well in container gardens. That includes herbs, tender leafy greens, roots, and flowers.

In today's episode, I'll tell you my top 20 container-friendly plants. I rank each one on a scale of 1 to 10 based on their ease of growing. By the end of this episode, you'll know exactly how to plant up a container to be successful, healthy, and so beautiful.

And stick around till the end—I'll give you 3 easy plant combinations for your container garden. I

N THIS EPISODE:

🪴 Shop the container I designed for growing herbs and leafy greens: https://shop.gardenary.com/products/container-garden

🪴 Learn more about growing these plants with my book, Leaves, Roots & Fruit: https://gardenary.samcart.com/products/leaves-roots-and-fruit

🪴 Shop the obelisk trellises that are perfect for large containers: https://shop.gardenary.com/products/wide-pillar-obelisk-trellis-kit

🪴 Learn how to plant up a container or raised bed the Gardenary Way: https://gardenary.samcart.com/products/gardenary-planting-method-youtube

🪴 Shop our herb seed collection: https://shop.gardenary.com/collections/2025-seed-collection-grow-more-save-more/products/herb-seed-collection

🪴 Shop our flower seed collection: https://shop.gardenary.com/collections/2025-seed-collection-grow-more-save-more/products/gardenary-pollinator-seed-system

👩‍🌾 Download my free soil recipe here: https://www.gardenary.com/my-secret-soil-recipe

Does your garden soil feel heavy, soggy, or just plain lifeless? Well, in this episode, I'll tell you why sand might just be the missing ingredient your garden is begging for. I talk about how sand helps with drainage, how it stacks up against peat moss, and why it's actually more in line with how soil works in nature. Stick around till the end to learn how to create your own organic soil mix that's light, fluffy, and everything your garden needs to grow like mine—no highly processed or synthetic materials required!

IN THIS EPISODE:

👩‍🌾 Why I Stopped Using Peat: https://www.gardenary.com/blog/using-peat-in-organic-garden

👩‍🌾 Kitchen Garden Revival: https://gardenary.samcart.com/products/kitchen-garden-revival

👩‍🌾 Free Soil Recipe Download: https://www.gardenary.com/my-secret-soil-recipe

👩‍🌾 Why I Add Worm Castings to Soil: https://www.gardenary.com/blog/earthworm-castings

👩‍🌾 How to Quickly Test Your Garden Soil: https://www.gardenary.com/blog/how-to-test-soil

👩‍🌾 Learn everything you need to know about how to create, maintain, and amend your garden soil: https://gardenary.samcart.com/products/gardenary-soil-school

RELATED:

https://youtu.be/Y4pxtaFV3FA

​​https://youtu.be/WDIuDM_s7sw

https://youtu.be/qG5m__uoFGg

If you've ever killed a potted plant (and honestly, who hasn't?), this episode is for you. I'm breaking down the 20 most common container gardening mistakes that I've made and seen my clients make. Whether you're growing in a few pots on an apartment balcony or planning on starting small with your garden, listen to this podcast before you plant one more thing.

This episode is NOT meant to discourage you from growing in containers. Container gardening is a fast and easy way to start growing. But I do hope to save you some of the frustration (and the fails) that I've experienced over the years.

🌼 Download the free list of my top 10 favorite native plants: https://www.gardenary.com/list-of-favorite-native-plants

Rabbits and squirrels and deer, oh my! Does it seem like every critter around wants to take a bite out of your vegetable garden? Well, what if I told you the problem isn't really the pests? It's your garden setup. You've basically placed an all-you-can-eat buffet for hungry wildlife in the middle of a bunch of grass.

In today's episode, I'll show you how something called a living fence can solve about 90% of your pest problems.

IN THIS EPISODE:

🌼 Download my quick guide to easy native plants for pollinators and pest-control: https://www.gardenary.com/list-of-favorite-native-plants

🌼 Learn more about ways to organically protect your garden from pests: https://youtu.be/9OTyGddYYD8

How do you bring all the ladybugs to the garden? Well, I'll tell you one thing: the solution is NOT to buy them. (No judgement if you have.) I used to buy ladybugs and release them with my kids, and in less than an hour, every single little pollinator would have disappeared. So trust me when I say this is a waste of time and money.

Instead of introducing ladybugs that come from afar, you can attract tons of ladybugs that live nearby, so they come and live in your garden. In this episod, I'll tell you how to attract lots of ladybugs and how to ensure they stick around for the long haul.

Learn more about our organic pest control system: https://gardenary.samcart.com/products/organic-pest-control-formula-special

Wondering what to plant in June? You're not too late to plant for summer. In this episode, I'll tell you 5 seeds you can plant this month whether you're in a hot climate, a colder climate, or somewhere in between.

Note: You're in a hot climate if your summertime temps will regularly be in the 90s; a mild climate if your temps are mostly in the 70s and 80s; and a colder climate if you're just coming off your last frost date.

IN THIS EPISODE: 🍅 Get 10 packets of seeds for FREE for your summer garden: https://www.gardenary.com/free-gardenary-seeds

If you're still growing all your tomato plants inside those flimsy tomato cages from the hardware store, this is your sign to level up. In this episode, I'm giving you 3 MUCH better options to support your vining tomatoes, including the option I'm convinced is the only way to go if you want to maximize productivity in your garden. Then, I'll show you exactly how to set up your space so that you'll get tons of fruit all season long.

Prepare to be SHOCKED at just how many tomatoes you get off of one trellis when you grow them my way. NOTE: We're talking about indeterminate, aka vining, tomatoes. Tomato cages are fine for determinate, or bush, tomatoes.

IN THIS EPISODE:

🍅 Shop Kitchen Garden Revival: https://shop.gardenary.com/collections/books/products/kitchen-garden-revival

🍅 Explore our collection of Obelisk Trellises: https://shop.gardenary.com/collections/obelisk-trellises

Shop my obelisk: https://shop.gardenary.com/products/wide-pillar-obelisk-trellis-kit

🍅 Explore our collection of Panel Trellises: https://shop.gardenary.com/collections/panel-trellises Shop my panel trellis: https://shop.gardenary.com/products/nicole-panel-trellis-1

🍅 Explore our collection of Arch Trellises: https://shop.gardenary.com/collections/arch-trellises Shop my arch trellis: https://shop.gardenary.com/products/nicole-arch-trellis

LEARN MORE ABOUT GROWING TOMATOES ON YOUTUBE:

🍅 How to Get More Tomatoes from Your Tomato Plants: https://youtu.be/tNp_NSzClt8

🍅 How to Grow Tomatoes Up an Arch Trellis: https://youtu.be/bndLX3QxcTY

🍅 What Does a Tomato Sucker Look Like? https://youtu.be/bcSBK609uY8

🍅 How to Transition a Trellis from Growing Peas to Tomatoes: https://youtu.be/dxWnPN8zGdY

🍅 How to Build a Florida Weave Trellis: https://www.gardenary.com/blog/how-to-build-a-florida-weave-trellis-for-ideal-tomato-support

🍅 The Complete Guide to Growing Organic Tomatoes: https://www.gardenary.com/blog/the-complete-guide-to-growing-organic-tomatoes

Flowers add so many benefits to your vegetable garden. They attract beneficial insects like pest predators and pollinators to keep your garden problems small and your harvests as BIG as possible. They increase plant diversity. They can improve your soil health. Some flowers even repel certain pests. AND they add so much beauty to your space, which makes you want to spend even more time there.

In this episdoe, I'll share with you my favorite must-grow flowers to grow in the vegetable garden.

🌱Shop our favorite flower seeds here: https://shop.gardenary.com/search?q=flower Use code PODCAST for 10% off your purchase in the Gardenary Shop (or follow this link: https://shop.gardenary.com/discount/PODCAST).

Tell me in the comments what flowers you'd like to watch me grow in my own garden and which one you're most excited to grow this season!

Don't spend this summer growing just one type of plant in the garden and working hard for a disappointing harvest. If you haven't already learned the magic of companion planting, then consider this your companion planting guide for vegetables you'll definitely want to grow this summer.

In this episode, I'm sharing 4 of my favorite warm season plant combos. These combinations will triple your harvest and protect your garden from pests. Your garden will practically take care of itself—and it'll look beautiful while it's at it.

🌱 If you want to order any of our Gardenary seeds that you hear about in this episode, use code PODCAST for 10% off your purchase in the Gardenary Shop (or follow this link: https://shop.gardenary.com/discount/PODCAST).

🌱 Learn how to plan out and plant your summer garden: https://www.gardenary.com/workshop

🌼 Learn more about how to plan out and plant your summer garden: https://www.gardenary.com/workshop

🌻 Learn how to plant and grow the Gardenary way: https://gardenary.samcart.com/products/gardenary-planting-method-youtube

You don't need to spray a bunch of pesticides to control pests in your garden. Long before the invention of chemical sprays, nature had a way of protecting itself from predators, and we can take notes!

All you need to do to control pests is plant 3 different types of plants in and around your garden space:

🌱 Bouncers

🌱 Aromatic herbs from the mint family

🌱 Onion family plants

🌱 Marigolds

🌻 Decoys/Trap Crops

🌻 Flowers like nasturtiums, calendula, zinnias, and sunflowers

🌻 Brassicas like radishes, mustard greens and collard greens

🌻 Cilantro, dill, parsley, and fennel

🌼 Enforcers

🌼 Cilantro, parsley, and dill flowers

🌼 Flowers like cosmos, coreopsis, and zinnias

🌼 Native plants like milkweed and goldenrods

🌻 Learn how to plant and grow the Gardenary way: https://gardenary.samcart.com/products/gardenary-planting-method-youtube