The Beginner's Garden Podcast

How does a beginning gardener you sift through the endless ideas available for staking tomatoes? Do you even need to stake tomatoes? If so, what will work best for your garden? Even though I had all the trellis ideas and resources at my disposal, I still didn't figure it all out, and it took learning by experience and making mistakes to start to make progress in this area. In this podcast episode I'm talking to you -- the beginning gardener -- in hopes of helping you skip the mistakes I...

In today's episode of the Beginner's Garden Podcast, I talk about six vegetables and fruit I believe beginners should almost always grow from seed directly in the garden. No indoor seed starting. No buying transplants. With these crops, it's my experience in opinion that the seeds should go directly in the ground.

It's one of the most confusing topics for beginning gardeners. "When should I plant?" I go over the basics -- what you need to know to help you plant the most common crops in the home garden at the right time. Not only do I give you general guidelines, but we also talk about something I have never heard anyone suggest when it comes to warm season crops. Show notes at journeywithjill.net/podcast

Container gardening isn't as easy as it seems. In this episode, Randy from FarmDaddy shares his top tips to growing in containers, including 3 big mistakes he sees people make, the ideal growing medium, how close plants should be together, and fertilization and watering tips. Show notes at http://journeywithjill.net/podcast Visit Randy's web site and explore his self-watering container system at https://www.farmdaddy.com/

Most home gardeners who want to include fruit in their edible gardens want to make room for strawberries. Though they seem easy enough to grow, it's helpful to understand a few things before you get started. Show notes at http://journeywithjill.net/podcast Beginner's Garden Shortcut Online Course: http://journeywithjill.net/gardenshortcut

Whether you buy all of your garden crops at the nursery or garden center, or if you purchase a few to supplement your seeds, choosing the right transplant can make a great difference in your harvest. Show notes at http://journeywithjill.net/podcast

Though easy to plant, it's not always a sure bet that you'll get huge onion bulbs each season. In fact, onions can be a bit finicky. In this episode of the Beginner's Garden Podcast, I go over the "long and short" (pun intended -- you'll understand after you listen to the episode) of growing onions. I talk about: Show notes at journeywithjill.net/podcast

If you want to plant blueberries for the first time, or if you've had struggles with growing blueberry bushes in the past, horticulturist Lee Reich answers the most common questions people have when it comes to growing blueberries. We talk about: Grab the show notes and free Blueberry Planting Notebook at journeywithjill.net/podcast

Those of us who have been raised bed gardening for years testify to how much we enjoy it! Better harvests, less weeding, sharp aesthetics -- what's not to love? But as in any venture, there are mistakes to be made. The problem with mistakes with raised bed gardening is many times they aren't easily corrected. I know this from experience! From my own experience and from the experiences of others, I've compiled a list of 7 common mistakes in raised bed gardening. If you're planning a...

You'd think after five gardening seasons, I'd have it all figured, right? Well, that's the beauty about gardening. Each year we get to adjust. We scrap what didn't work; we try new things. The dreaming and the planning -- those are some of the most exciting parts of gardening! This year as I've begun my garden planning, I decided to make ten specific adjustments in my gardening. Whether I am making these adjustments due to learning more or by past failure, my hope is that some of these...

In growing tomatoes, it's always good to have an expert's advice on-hand. That's why when I talked with Mike at the White Harvest Seed Company, I picked his brain on everything tomatoes -- from which varieties to choose to how to deal with mid-season pests and diseases. In this episode of the Beginner's Garden Podcast, Mike and I talk about: Grab all the show notes at http://journeywithjill.net/podcast. Enrollment is now open for the Beginner's Garden Shortcut. Details at...

Who better to ask about growing seeds than the owner of a reputable seed company? I met Mike a few years ago and even from our first conversation I could tell he knew his stuff. In this episode he and I talk all about seeds: >How to choose the right seed varieties when there are so many choices >How to start seeds indoors >Which seeds to start indoors vs. which ones to wait and plant in the garden >The answer to his most asked garden question >The biggest key to seed...

Growing healthy, uncontaminated produce may be one of your top reasons for gardening. In today's episode, we'll talk about five crops listed on the Environmental Working Group's 2017 Dirty Dozen list and how you can grow them at home. Get your free "Dirty Dozen Alternative" download plus today's show notes at http://journeywithjill.net/dirtydozen.

My #1 goal for beginning a garden was to save money on groceries. I had just quit my job to become a stay-at-home mom, and our new one-income family needed to cut costs. That’s when I set out to grow a garden. I learned the hard way, however, gardening isn’t always as cheap as it seems. […] The post 4 Crops You Can Grow that Will Cut Your Grocery Bill appeared first on Journey with Jill.

Planting garlic is the final garden task of my season. I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s one of the easiest crops I grow, and it is one of the most rewarding. But many gardeners don’t tackle garlic because they don’t know how to get started. The good news is, once they do, they’ll see […] The post How to Plant Garlic – 3 Most Frequently Asked Questions {Beginner’s Garden Podcast} appeared first on Journey with Jill.

Even if we have planted a fall garden, we find ourselves with garden clean-up tasks from our summer crops. For the first couple of years I simply cleared my land with no thought of how I would prepare the soil — yes, even in the fall — for the next season. What I learned was, […] The post End of season garden clean-up that will help get next year’s garden started out right {The Beginner’s Garden Podcast} appeared first on Journey with Jill.

You’ve made it through the season, almost, and you actually had a decent harvest. You weren’t sure exactly how this whole gardening venture would work out for you, but you realize you enjoyed it. Sure, you had your failures and frustrations, as all of us do, but you’re already catching yourself dreaming of next season. […] The post Free Produce! Seed Saving for the Hobby Gardener {The Beginner’s Garden Podcast} appeared first on Journey with Jill.

One of my most popular blog posts this time last year was 6 Garden Failures and What I’ll Change Next Year. I suppose I’m not the only one with garden failures! We all have idealistic visions of how our garden will grow and develop, and we don’t prepare for the challenges and subsequent failures that […] The post 6 Garden Failures Last Season and How I Overcame Them This Year appeared first on Journey with Jill.

Some years the thought of a fall garden makes me want collapse in an exhausted heap. It’s hard to think about planting more when you’re overwhelmed and discouraged with the busyness or failures of the season. Other years I approach my fall garden with anticipation and excitement akin to a spring garden. I never know […] The post Top 5 Crops for a Fall Garden {Beginner’s Garden Podcast} appeared first on Journey with Jill.

Despite the odds, you’ve managed to get a pretty good tomato harvest. Now what? Even if you enjoy fresh tomatoes, you might find yourself with more than you can eat. While you may make someone else’s day by sharing your harvest, you may want consider preserving some for the off-season. Though today’s episode of the […] The post Preserving Tomatoes – Making the Most of Your Harvest {Beginner’s Garden Podcast} appeared first on Journey with Jill.