Join Mary Jo and Anne as they explore the most popular reason students grow in school gardens—to taste! Listen along as they share tried-and-true strategies, practical techniques, and favorite recipes for trying produce in the school garden space. Perfect for empowering even the most cautious educators to host tasting sessions all year long. 

Podcast Outline:

00:41 - 'Tis The Season for Tasting

01:07 - How was your week? Mary Jo has been thinning and tasting and Anne has been working on her indoor hydroponic garden

03:40 - Episode Intro: Tis' The Season for Tasting

07:38 - Benefits of Tasting in the School Garden.

10:22 - Tx Sprouts School Garden Program - Health Data Outcomes. Research Link here. 

11:38 - Safety First

13:24 - Preparation Next

14:55 - Cleaning Produce

17:32 - Easy Tasting Ideas. Link to info about Sunbutter here.

26:24 - Recording Taste Testings

30:39 - Encouragement, Praise and Experimentation

33:56 - Involving other District Departments and Local Organisations

38:09 - School Garden to Cafeteria and Food Pantries

39:33 - Resources - see links below

40:38 - Outro 

We love Life Lab. Check out their resources here.

We love The Edible School Yard Project. Check out their resources here.

Resources from North Texas School Garden Network (NTxSGN) here.

Stay in touch with us!

Email us: [email protected]

Find us on Instagram and Facebook at MadeGreene

www.madegreene.com

We love children's literature—and we know you do too! That’s why we couldn’t imagine a better first-ever podcast guest than Mary Frances Baker, author and illustrator of The Garden Friend. Join Mary Jo and Anne as they chat with Mary Frances and discover how your students can create their own garden friends and imagine new adventures in your school garden space. 

00:42: Intro

O1:24: We are guests on The Farm to School Podcast! Listen to the episode: When The School Garden Podcast meets The Farm to School Podcast episode. The Farm to School Podcast website. 

02:37: The School Garden Podcast’s first guest! Mary Frances Baker and her book, The Garden Friend.

05:10: Texas Children in Nature Network

08:11: The Garden Friend bookThe Garden Friend WebsiteThe Garden Friend Instagram Page @the_gardenfriendThe Garden Friend - Teachers Pay Teachers

13:44: The Welman Project

13:50: Pegasus Creative Reuse (Pegasus Reuse)

24:20: The Garden Friend Activity and Song (YouTube)

25:45: Folklore Grove Bookstore, Arlington, Texas

28:01: Outro 

Stay in touch with us!

Email us: [email protected]

Find us on Instagram and Facebook at MadeGreene

www.madegreene.com

Join Mary Jo and Anne's new broadcasting voice as they share an engaging baker's dozen of tried and tested activities that will get you and your early years learners outside-just perfect for pre-school, pre-kindergarten, kindergarten classes and even nursery school settings.

Plus Mary Jo has beef with Fort Worth's new Trick or Treating signal, and Anne has been harvesting pomegranates!

Podcast Outline

04:42: Intro: 0:42

01:53: Recap: Gardening with Early Learners - https://open.spotify.com/episode/2vkLB8U8PDPRAmpQW5dxNR?si=zvTtiCP_Q3y5Shk033v_1Q

04:48: How was your week? 

07:35: Sprouts Foundation Growing School Garden Summit: Link and Info here.

School Garden Support Organization (SGSO) Network : Link and Info here.

09:46: Nature Sink or Float

12:28: Acorns: Viable or Non-Viable

14:37: Water Painting

16:11: Mud Painting

18:53: Ice Observations

19:52: Nature Treasure Tins

24:16: Life in a Rotting Log

26:17: Class Mystery Nature Box

27:29: Adopt a Tree

30:07: Beanie Babies

33:00: Wishing Tree 

35:10: Natural Fabric Dyes

39:32: Buzzing Bees

41:10: Outro

Stay in touch with us!

Email us: [email protected]

Find us on Instagram and Facebook at MadeGreene

www.madegreene.com
 

Join Mary Jo and Anne as they discuss strategies, benefits and pointers to help ease our early years learners into the garden and outdoors. Plus, it’s finally fall! This episode is packed with final fall planting advice, and lots of conversation to help garden educators get our most curious gardeners out into the garden space and beyond. 

Podcast Outline

00:42 - Intro

01:27 - It’s Finally Fall 

03:37 - Transplanting Brassicas

05:36 - Anne’s Carrot Seed and Cardboard Trick

06:50 - Garlic and Strawberries are Garden BFFs

08:55 - Radishes and Time Lapse Videos

https://www.youtube.com/Boxlapse

10:24 - Shout Out to Muddy Pandas Garden Club

11:09 - Shout Out to Sarah Houdmont - #1 Podcast Fan 

11:58 - Introduction to Gardening and Outdoor Learning with Early Years Learners-ages 3 through Pre-K

14:30 - Benefits for Gardening and Outdoor Learning with Early Years Learners

17:40 - If it Doesn’t Happen at an Early Age, Let’s Not Assume it Will Happen at All 

19:58 - You Don’t Have to Have a Garden - Just Go Outside

20:19 - Make a Permanent Dig Bed in Your Space

21:20 - Pointers and Strategies to Consider with Early Years Learners and the Outdoors

28:43 - Start Simple …

32:42 - Mary Jo and Anne’s Top Tip - Spray Bottles and Meeting Spots

34:30 - Outro

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The Great British Garden Visit Download episode.

From The Garden Museum, to press visitors at the RHS Wentworth show, to peeking at the world of UK allotments and Mary Jo's meeting with BBC Gardeners World Adam Frost. Join us as we share details from our most wonderful week of all things English gardening!

00:42- Introduction - Our English Garden Adventures and RHS Garden Show Download

02:15 - The Garden Museum, London 

04:11 - The Garden Museum Cafe and Restaurant --- SO good!

04:47 - Kew Gardens (that's K.E.W, y'all)

06:48 - Queen's Garden Kew

09:10 - Garden in the UK11:53 - Intro into Allotment Gardens in the

UK16:23 - RHS Show Wentworth Woodhouse, July 2025Wentworth WoodhouseBBC Gardeners World Adam Frost - such a lovely bloke!Hooton's Walled Nursery - Dean Charlton Garden Whispers Garden designed by Hyeyoung Choi and Yungil ChoiThe RHS Miners Garden designed by Chris Myers

27:35 - Children and Community Growing Spaces at RHS Wentworth Woodhouse RHS Show 2025

32:59 - Interview - Girl Guiding North East - Community Cube at RHS Wentworth Woodhouse RHS Show 2025 82nd Doncaster Rangers

37:13 - Outro

Stay in touch with us!

Email us: [email protected]

Find us on Instagram and Facebook at MadeGreene

www.madegreene.com

It’s time to celebrate and showcase your garden during school events. Join Anne and Mary Jo as they share ways to incorporate school gardens into carnivals, school open houses, Literacy Nights and the like, allowing your garden program to shine and become a true part of the school day and culture. Let your garden steal the show at every school event!

Podcast Outline 

00:42 - Introduction 

02:41 - Episode Introduction: Integrating the Garden into School Life through School Events

04:50 - Carnivals and Festivals: Tips and Considerations for Preparing, Supporting or Hosting an Event

07:46 - Easy Garden Activities for Evening Events - Outside and Inside

11:22 -  Other Activities and Extension Ideas

17:56 - Tastings and Social Media

20:26 - Episode Conclusion

21:45 - Outro

From bed prep, to seed saving, and from what to plant now to a fun seed packet game, join Anne and Mary Jo as they talk all things fall to help you back into your school garden spaces. Warning! A dreadful amount of puns were used in the recording of this episode. 

Podcast outline

00:45: Intro 

03:48: What is left and what is going to come back in the garden

08:38: Gone to Seed and Saving Seed

11:43: Weed, Clear and Tidy

13:54: Bed Prep, Soil and Amendments

Lava Sand info

Greensand info

Azomite info

15:46 Compost: Basics

Highlighted Book: Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell

18:21: What to Plant now 

Soil temperature article 

24:55 : Planting Perennial Herbs and Plants

26:10: Sowing Wildflowers and Other Seeds - Cold Stratification

28:04: Seed Packet Games: Days to Maturity or Days to Harvest. Plus, Planting Calendars

32:30: The Monarch Butterflies are here! Milkweed and Pollinator Plants

35:14: Outro … and, sorry, more dreadful fall puns!

Getting back at it! Are you back on campus and raring to go? Overwhelmed at the thought of getting back into the garden? Join Anne and Mary Jo as they share suggestions and tips to help you get your garden and garden program back on track. With a little help from 1880s homesteading life, this episode will get you organized and back in the perfect frame of mind to ensure a successful growing year ahead!

Podcast Outline

00:42:     Season 2: Getting Back To It!

02:45:     You Can't Do It Alone

04:17:     Tidy Up Time and Garden Prep

07:18:     Homestead Boosting!

09:37:     Make A Plan

12:19:     Community and Organizational Support

13:11:      Make Connections With District Operations / Maintenance Providers

15:54:      Lock In Dates Now

17:30:      Think Funding

19:29:      Think Planting Plans

21:15:      Celebrate The Restart

23:08:      Check Out Episode 5: How To Start A School Garden for more in depth details

23:58:      Season Two: What To Look Forward To From The School Garden Podcast

Mary Jo's TV obsession: Back to the Frontier on HBO Max

 Funding Opportunity and Other Resources: KidsGardening

 Crow Leadership Academy's Garden: Buzzing Blossoms FaceBook Page

Stay in touch with us!

Email us: [email protected]

Find us on Instagram and Facebook at MadeGreene

www.madegreene.com

Garden Book fans ... It's The Sequel!

It's our much anticipated Garden Book Read Aloud sequel episode. Join Anne and Mary Jo as they share another eight of their favorite and much loved garden read aloud books. From the tale of a tortured avocado to the heart warming account of gardening during the Great Depression, these books have something for every grade level and subject. Plus, listen to the end for details about how you can win copies of this episode's featured books - good luck!

00:41:   Episode Introduction

03:06:   Counting Creatures written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Sharon King- Chai

06:10:   A Place to Grow by Stephanie Bloom and illustrated by Kelly Murphy

08:39:   Cuando tu Abuela to Regla un Limonero escrito por Jamie LB Leenihan and illustrator por Lorraine Rocha

11:29:   A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long 

13:29:   Avocado Asks by Momoko Abe 

17:09    The Gardener by Sarah Stewart illustrated by David Small 

20:18:   Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman 

22:47:   Garden Wigglers by Nancy Loewen illustrated by Rick Peterson

23:50:   Enter Our First Ever Book Giveaway! Head over to our Instagram Page at Made Greene and choose your favorite 4 books from today's episode! Good Luck!

Check out Episode 3 for our first Garden Read Aloud book recommendations. 

Stay in touch with us!

Email us: [email protected]

Find us on Instagram and Facebook at MadeGreene

www.madegreene.com

Join Anne and Mary Jo as they discuss tasks, jobs and things to keep in mind when visiting or working in your school garden during the summer break. Everything from watering, harvesting, creating shade and obsessively referencing home-grown produce during every mealtime! 

Podcast Outline

00:42: Intro

01:28: Watering

02:53: Weeding

03:28: Solarizing

05:50: Humidity

06:00: Harvesting

07:13: Putting Beds to Bed!

07:48: Cover Cropping

09:06: What Can We Still Plant in the Summer? 

10:40: Pests in the Garden

13:01: Thinking and Planning for the Fall

15:25: Making Shade

17:48: Produce Slow-Down

20:10: Pickle Update!

22:56: Conclusion and Wishing Everyone a Great Summer Break … in the Garden or out. 

Pickle Recipes: 

Here is the recipe I used for the Dill Pickles. I particularly enjoyed putting in flowering dill heads into my brine as my plant is at this stage - it gave it such a mellow dill flavor. 

Here is the recipe I followed for the Bread and Butter Pickles (minus cloves, as I don’t like cloves and I went 1/3 less on the sugar). 

Stay in touch with us!

Email us: [email protected]

Find us on Instagram and Facebook at MadeGreene

www.madegreene.com