Just Grow Something | The "Why" Behind the "How" of Gardening

As we head toward the end of fall and into winter it’s time to start using some of what we’ve stored from the garden. Bountiful fall harvests of things like onions, potatoes, carrots, and beets, whether we grew them ourselves or managed to snag some from the local farmers market or CSA, can absolutely be stored up for long-term use. In fact, many of us count on these harvests or market scores to feed our families throughout the winter.

But it can be very disheartening to go into your pantry or basement to pull out sweet potatoes for a big family holiday meal, only to find they’ve gone soft or moldy. Today on Just Grow Something we’re going to cover proper winter storage of fall harvested vegetables and we’ll talk about some of the fruits, too. There are plenty of things we can store with no special equipment or storage facility, just a cool dark area may be all you need. But understanding the difference between what your potatoes want, versus what your sweet potatoes want, can make all the difference in the world when it comes to how long you can enjoy those goodies before planting again in the spring. Let’s dig in!

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It is November, which means we are firmly seated in fall and many of us have seen the total demise of our gardens. In fact, some of us have had several weeks since we saw anything green out there and it’s kind of depressing! Have no fear, there is a way to get a fresh green pick-me-up in the kitchen even when the outside seems bleary – three ways, in fact!

Today on Just Grow Something we’re going to cover three ways to grow nutritious greens indoors. This can absolutely be done year-round, but it’s especially poignant in the late fall and through the winter. Especially if you live somewhere like I do where it’s a bit bleak and dreary outside and your body is just craving something fresh. Let’s dig in!

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Microgreen Basics - Ep. 169

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If you’ve been watching my social media accounts you’ve seen me posting about my recent trip to Puerto Rico. I was hoping to see what backyard gardeners were growing in a tropical region and also get an idea of what crops are economically significant to the region and I was actually surprised by what I learned.

Today on Just Grow Something we’re going to talk about what crops are prevalent in Puerto Rico and how we can duplicate some of that in our own homes even if we live somewhere that is decidedly NOT tropical. We’ll also reveal your answers to the October question of the month: what was your biggest failure in the garden this year? Let’s dig in!

References and Resources:

Insect Netting: https://amzn.to/3CeUkOs

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Free Download: Onion Growing Fact Sheet

Beginner's Guide to Growing Onions

All About Puerto Rico Coffee - History and Best Brands | Puerto Rico & Caribbean Travel News

Coffee Obsession: More Than 100 Tools and Techniques with Inspirational ... - DK - Google Books

Most Common Papaya Plant Pests: Identification and Treatment Guide | Live to Plant

Food Security and Debt: Rebooting Puerto Rican Agriculture as a Path Out of Crisis | Journal of Public and International Affairs

Regrowing Puerto Rico's Agriculture - WWF - Environment & Disaster Management

‘A National Call for Food Production:’ Sustainable Farming Seeks Revolution in Puerto Rico | Pulitzer Center

Adding the right soil amendments in the fall is a great way to set up your garden for success in the spring. By incorporating amendments now, you give them time to break down and integrate into the soil, providing nutrients and improving soil texture for the next growing season.

Today on Just Grow Something we’re going to breakdown the best amendments for addressing specific nutrient deficiencies, as well as general-purpose options that we can add to our soil now to benefit our garden in the spring. Let’s dig in!

Question of the Month: What was your biggest failure in the garden this year?

References and Resources:

Get 20% off a Magic Mind subscription with code GROWSOMETHING20

Using Manure in the Garden: What's Safe and What's Not? How and when to use manure as fertilizer.

How and Why to Perform a Soil Test for Nutrients and Texture

High quality single-ingredient (alfalfa meal, cottonseed

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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

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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:

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Ep. 133 - Growing Onions

Beginner's Guide to Growing Onions

YouTube video on planting fall onions

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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?

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Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group

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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.

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

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

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?

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Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group

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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

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?

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