The Horticulturati

John Dromgoole wears a lot of hats. Sun hats mostly, but also figurative ones: founder of the Natural Gardener, former host of the long-running garden call-in radio show Gardening Naturally on Newsradio KLBJ, regular TV presenter on PBS’ Central Texas Gardener and KXAN’s The Weekend Gardener; the list goes on. On this episode, your hosts (both former employees of the Natural Gardener), sit down with John to hear his story, from his early adventures in Laredo (exporting bell bottoms into Mexico and booking one of ZZ Top’s first shows) to his long career in Austin as a media personality and nurseryman. An early proponent of organic gardening, John discusses butting heads with conventional horticulturists, proving his point with demonstration gardens, and learning from his mentor, Malcolm Beck. We chat about designing with native plants, “the art of watering,” and the influence of the Natural Gardener as a training ground for countless plant people in Austin. 

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In this episode, we talk about seed sharing and food justice with Hayden Kesterson and DJ Needelman from the Cooperative Gardens Commission. The CGC is an international grassroots collective of volunteers working to increase community food production, resource-sharing, and food sovereignty. Founded in 2020 in response to the Covid pandemic, one of the CGC’s main projects is seed distribution: sourcing commercial seed companies’ surplus inventory and distributing shipments of seeds to a network of hundreds of “seed hubs'' around the US and Canada, which in turn share the seeds with local communities. One of these hubs is Central Texas Seed Savers, founded by Horticulturati co-host, Colleen Dieter.

Hayden and DJ run the CGC’s Seed Distribution initiative from the organization’s home base in Philadelphia. We discuss food apartheid and mutual aid; the challenges of organizing in the wake of the pandemic’s (ongoing) economic catastrophe; and why Hayden and DJ are motivated by the mighty power of seeds.

Find the Cooperative Gardens Commission at https://www.coopgardens.org and support their 2024 Seed Distribution Fundraiser!

This interview is part of Colleen’s research for her upcoming book for A&M Press about seed saving and seed libraries. 

Editor Leah's note: We talk about Covid in the past-tense here. Ironically, Colleen had Covid at the time we recorded this episode, testing positive a few days later. She's recovered, but this little piece of context stands out as a reminder of how the pandemic continues to intervene into our lives, even as we imagine ourselves in a "post-Covid" world. 

New developments are afoot here at Horticulturati HQ! More episodes of this podcast are on the way. In the meantime, you will find Colleen's radio show, Horticulture Hangover, on a separate podcast feed. Please subscribe to Hangover to get your weekly dose gardening advice: 

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Leah will also be releasing Season 2 of her other podcast, Hothouse. It's all about climate change and climate anxiety! Please subscribe to Hothouse: 

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As always, if you want to support us (and get every podcast we release on a single feed), join our Patreon! 

Colleen Dieter, co-host of the Horticulturati podcast also hosts the Horticulture Hangover Radio Show, a call-in (or text-in) show for gardening questions. Tune in to Horticulture Hangover live on Saturdays at 8-9 am CST: 99.7 AM and 590 FM. ATXgardens.com

Colleen Dieter, co-host of the Horticulturati podcast also hosts the Horticulture Hangover Radio Show, a call-in (or text-in) show for gardening questions. Tune in to Horticulture Hangover live on Saturdays at 8-9 am CST: 99.7 AM and 590 FM. ATXgardens.com

Colleen Dieter, co-host of the Horticulturati podcast also hosts the Horticulture Hangover Radio Show, a call-in (or text-in) show for gardening questions. Tune in to Horticulture Hangover live on Saturdays at 8-9 am CST: 99.7 AM and 590 FM. ATXgardens.com

Colleen Dieter, co-host of the Horticulturati podcast also hosts the Horticulture Hangover Radio Show, a call-in (or text-in) show for gardening questions. Tune in to Horticulture Hangover live on Saturdays at 8-9 am CST: 99.7 AM and 590 FM. ATXgardens.com

Colleen Dieter, co-host of the Horticulturati podcast also hosts the Horticulture Hangover Radio Show, a call-in (or text-in) show for gardening questions. Tune in to Horticulture Hangover live on Saturdays at 8-9 am CST: 99.7 AM and 590 FM. ATXgardens.com

Colleen Dieter, co-host of the Horticulturati podcast, also hosts the Horticulture Hangover Radio Show, a call-in (or text-in) show for gardening questions. Tune in to Horticulture Hangover live on Saturdays at 8-9 am CST: 99.7 AM and 590 FM. ATXgardens.com

What can we plant in the vegetable garden now? How should I fertilize my fruit trees? Get the answers for Central Texas now! 

Colleen Dieter, co-host of the Horticulturati podcast also hosts the Horticulture Hangover Radio Show, a call-in (or text-in) show for gardening questions. Tune in to Horticulture Hangover live on Saturdays at 8-9 am CST: 99.7 AM and 590 FM. ATXgardens.com