Welcome to the Row by Row Garden Show

On the debut episode of the Row by Row Garden Show, Greg and Travis talk about the origin of the show and how they got the name. Greg and Travis started the show so they could have more of regular interaction with their customers/viewers on what is going on in their gardens and ways to help you improve yours. Before the first airing of the show, they conducted a survey with their customers and newsletter subscribers to get ideas for the show name. After receiving many great ideas, they settled on Row by Row, the Garden Show. It is intended to be a weekly show for gardeners of all ages and all skill levels. Whether you're a beginner, experienced backyard gardener, or small scale market farmer, this show will have great information that you can implement into your vegetable garden. With the addition of their Row by Row Facebook group, they hope to encourage interaction between listeners who post photos of their garden and harvests. This is a great way for everyone in the group to learn from others' experiences and connect with fellow gardeners around the United States.

Top 4 Reasons You Should Grow Your Own Food

The main segment this week includes a discussion of the top 4 reasons that someone should want to grow their own food. The number one reason they believe that growing your own food is important because you know what is being applied in it. Over the years, there has been a recent push for organic food in grocery stores and supermarkets. In the past, organic simply meant all-natural. Now, the government has set rules and standards on what is considered organic and non-organic. The list they have created has some products that are not considering completely natural or organic. By growing it yourself, you know exactly what type of insecticides and what types of fertilizer has been used. For example, neonicotinoids are an insecticide that is used widely in commercially grown vegetables that Greg is personally against using in his garden. Food grown at home also tastes better because it hasn't been over-fertilized with excess nitrogen. The time you spend in the garden to produce fresh natural crops outweighs the commercial growers that are trying to get the most production and maintain that crop to make it to the supermarkets. Finally, growing food is a great skill-set to pass along to the younger generation to ensure they're able to do the same. It is important to embed the value of hard work and receiving those rewards in future generations to come.

Show and Tell Segment

In the show and tell segment, the guys provide a snapshot of what is growing in their gardens currently. They mention the Cubanelle peppers are already producing many peppers per plant each week. They also talk about the onions that are almost ready for harvest, and how to tell when your onions are ready for harvest. For onions, they prefer the Texas Legend and Red Creole varieties from Dixondale Farms. Greg explains that he has found that over the years keeping water applied to them and sprayed with fertilizer will produce bigger onion bulbs. Another thing is you should not cover them up with soil. When cultivating, Greg likes to use his sweeps attachment on his Double Wheel Hoe to add a little soil around his onion plants in the garden. Once the produce a good size and the tops start dying back and folding over that is a tale-tell sign that they ready for harvest.

Tool of the Week

Heirloom Whole Corn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF3w46W7S2U