At the heart of ecological gardening is learning to work in concert with nature, not against it. That's how gardeners come to understand how they can create beauty while fostering biodiversity and healthy soil. To explain some of the many ways anyone can practice ecological gardening, joining me this week is Matt Mattus, the senior director of horticulture for the American Horticultural Society.

Podcast Links for Show Notes

Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I still do today, without exception to get incredible results, even in the most challenging conditions.

Subscribe to the joegardener® email list to receive weekly updates about new podcast episodes, seasonal gardening tips, and online gardening course announcements.

Check out The joegardener® Online Gardening Academy for our growing library of organic gardening courses.

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Making the switch from conventional gardening to gardening with native plants can feel intimidating — especially when you're staring at a landscape filled with familiar favorites and wondering what belongs in their place. This week, Elise Howard, the author of "Plant This, Not That," offers a practical way forward, showing how simple swaps can transform a traditional garden into a thriving, ecologically beneficial space.

Podcast Links for Show Notes

Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I still do today, without exception to get incredible results, even in the most challenging conditions.

Subscribe to the joegardener® email list to receive weekly updates about new podcast episodes, seasonal gardening tips, and online gardening course announcements.

Check out The joegardener® Online Gardening Academy for our growing library of organic gardening courses.

Follow joegardener® on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, and subscribe to The joegardenerTV YouTube channel.

Tiny gardens in urban settings are far from a novelty — they have an important and influential place in history. There was a time when urban gardens were essential for food security, and they anchored communities. To discuss what we can learn from the history of urban gardens and how these lessons apply to gardeners today, environmental historian Kate Brown joins me this week.

Podcast Links for Show Notes

Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I still do today, without exception to get incredible results, even in the most challenging conditions.

Subscribe to the joegardener® email list to receive weekly updates about new podcast episodes, seasonal gardening tips, and online gardening course announcements.

Check out The joegardener® Online Gardening Academy for our growing library of organic gardening courses.

Follow joegardener® on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, and subscribe to The joegardenerTV YouTube channel.

Growing better tomatoes doesn't have to mean more work. Horticulturist, designer and author Frank Hyman says many common tomato-growing practices — like heavy pruning, frequent spraying and constant tinkering — may actually be unnecessary. Frank joins me this week to share practical ideas and inventive solutions that make growing healthy, productive tomato plants simpler and more successful.

Podcast Links for Show Notes

Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I still do today, without exception to get incredible results, even in the most challenging conditions.

Subscribe to the joegardener® email list to receive weekly updates about new podcast episodes, seasonal gardening tips, and online gardening course announcements.

Check out The joegardener® Online Gardening Academy for our growing library of organic gardening courses.

Follow joegardener® on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, and subscribe to The joegardenerTV YouTube channel.

Gardening doesn't have to slow down as we get older — but it does need to evolve. In this episode, award-winning garden writer and author Rhonda Fleming Hayes shares practical, empowering strategies from her new book, "Garden for Life: Strategies for Easier, Greener, More Joyful Gardening as We Age," showing how we can right-size our gardens, protect our bodies and continue growing with purpose and joy for decades to come.

Podcast Links for Show Notes

Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I still do today, without exception to get incredible results, even in the most challenging conditions.

Subscribe to the joegardener® email list to receive weekly updates about new podcast episodes, seasonal gardening tips, and online gardening course announcements.

Check out The joegardener® Online Gardening Academy for our growing library of organic gardening courses.

Follow joegardener® on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, and subscribe to The joegardenerTV YouTube channel.

Microgreens are incredibly healthy edible greens that are also unbelievably easy to grow with a little training. My returning guest this week, Jonah Krochmalnek, the owner and founder of Microgreens Consulting, explains what turned him on to microgreens and how he scaled from a few racks in his parents' spare room to a thriving business.

Podcast Links for Show Notes

Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I still do today, without exception to get incredible results, even in the most challenging conditions.

Subscribe to the joegardener® email list to receive weekly updates about new podcast episodes, seasonal gardening tips, and online gardening course announcements.

Check out The joegardener® Online Gardening Academy for our growing library of organic gardening courses.

Follow joegardener® on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, and subscribe to The joegardenerTV YouTube channel.

For numerous reasons, I've completely switched over from using plastic cell trays for seed starting to using soil blocks. Soil blocks are the best fit for me. To help you determine whether plastic trays or soil blocks are the best fit for your seed starting plans, this week I am breaking down the pros and cons of both methods.

Podcast Links for Show Notes

Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I still do today, without exception to get incredible results, even in the most challenging conditions.

Subscribe to the joegardener® email list to receive weekly updates about new podcast episodes, seasonal gardening tips, and online gardening course announcements.

Check out The joegardener® Online Gardening Academy for our growing library of organic gardening courses.

Follow joegardener® on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, and subscribe to The joegardenerTV YouTube channel.

This week's episode is one every gardener will appreciate, especially anyone who's ever stood in the kitchen staring at an avalanche of peak-season produce. Growing the food is only half the story. To help with the other half — food preservation — I'm joined by Staci and Jeremy Hill, the husband and wife team behind the new book "The Preserver's Garden."

Podcast Links for Show Notes

Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I still do today, without exception to get incredible results, even in the most challenging conditions.

Subscribe to the joegardener® email list to receive weekly updates about new podcast episodes, seasonal gardening tips, and online gardening course announcements.

Check out The joegardener® Online Gardening Academy for our growing library of organic gardening courses.

Follow joegardener® on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, and subscribe to The joegardenerTV YouTube channel.

Seed starting is a welcome way to get our hands dirty during winter and early spring, but a few common missteps can quickly turn excitement into frustration. In this encore episode, I'm revisiting the five most common seed-starting mistakes gardeners make — and sharing practical ways to fix them or avoid them altogether for better results.

Podcast Links for Show Notes

Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I still do today, without exception to get incredible results, even in the most challenging conditions.

Subscribe to the joegardener® email list to receive weekly updates about new podcast episodes, seasonal gardening tips, and online gardening course announcements.

Check out The joegardener® Online Gardening Academy for our growing library of organic gardening courses.

Follow joegardener® on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, and subscribe to The joegardenerTV YouTube channel.

I returned from a trip abroad last week and checked on the seeds I had started before I went away. Some seedlings struggled in my absence more than others, and it gave me a few ideas for seed starting tips that I wanted to share with you. On this episode, I'll be supplementing last week's encore on preparing for seed starting season with more important things to know.

Podcast Links for Show Notes

Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I still do today, without exception to get incredible results, even in the most challenging conditions.

Subscribe to the joegardener® email list to receive weekly updates about new podcast episodes, seasonal gardening tips, and online gardening course announcements.

Check out The joegardener® Online Gardening Academy for our growing library of organic gardening courses.

Follow joegardener® on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, and subscribe to The joegardenerTV YouTube channel.

Seed-starting success begins long before the first tray is filled with soil. In this encore episode, I take you behind the scenes of my own preparation process, sharing how thoughtful planning and a smarter seed organization system help to eliminate stress and prevent costly mistakes while setting the stage for a smoother season from the very start.

Podcast Links for Show Notes

Download my free eBook 5 Steps to Your Best Garden Ever - the 5 most important steps anyone can do to have a thriving garden or landscape. It's what I still do today, without exception to get incredible results, even in the most challenging conditions.

Subscribe to the joegardener® email list to receive weekly updates about new podcast episodes, seasonal gardening tips, and online gardening course announcements.

Check out The joegardener® Online Gardening Academy for our growing library of organic gardening courses.

Follow joegardener® on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, and subscribe to The joegardenerTV YouTube channel.