I don’t know about you, but by about January 20th, my green fingers are itching to get into some soil! And by about Valentine’s Day, I cannot wait any longer—full seed sowing mode ensues! What’s funny about this, is that we reside in USDA Hardiness Zone 4 actually Zone 5, as of Fall 2019, and our average frost dates are as follows:
Average Last Frost: May 22
Average First Frost: September 19
Most seeds really only require 8-12 weeks before being transplanted, so as you can imagine, we get a tremendously early start! It works for us, quite well, and it keeps the cabin fever at bay. Many a cold winter’s night has been occupied by sowing seeds in my basement, watering seedlings, bumping them up to larger containers, and rotating flats of plants to optimize light usage.
ALL WHILE LISTENING TO GARDEN PODCASTS.
Yup, I am a Garden Podcast junkie! Nothing makes for a better night of indoor gardening, and garden dreaming and scheming, than listening to garden podcasts.
If you don’t know what a podcast is, it is essentially a pre-recorded internet radio program about a niche topic. In this case, I am going to be talking about my favorite gardening podcasts. Podcasts vary in duration, with some being really short and others being longer than an hour. I like the slightly longer format podcasts that can occupy me for a half an hour or longer. Sometimes the podcast host will talk throughout the whole episode, and other times they will interview a guest. You can access podcasts online or through a number of apps on your smart phone. I have lousy network coverage on my cell phone because we live so rural, so a lot of the time, when I am connected to our wifi, I will download podcast episodes, and then listen to them as I have time in the car, when I’m walking, when I’m outside in the garden—no streaming/data usage necessary.
With that said, these are my current garden podcast faves. Check them out, to get great gardening advice and endless garden inspiration! I’ve linked directly to each podcast. And if you have a garden podcast that you love, that is not on this list, please tell me about it by leaving a comment below.
Top Podcasts for Gardeners (2020)
The Joe Gardener Show…with Joe Lamp’l
Hands down, this is one of the most comprehensive, well-produced, and wonderful gardening podcasts there is, especially if you are interested in growing food, gardening for wildlife, and organic gardening practices. Joe has had some fascinating guests on his show. Most episodes are around an hour long, and he releases a new episode each week I’ve linked through to some of my favorite episodes below:
088-The New Organic Grower: 50-Years in the Making, with Eliot Coleman
045-Succession Planting: Practical Tips For Growing More Food [with Meg Cowden from Seed to Fork]
003-Growing Epic Tomatoes with Craig LeHoullier
The Gardenangelists…with Dee Nash and Carol Michel
Dee & Carol are a hoot! I constantly find myself smiling or laughing, when listening to these two ladies, “chatting over the garden gate”. In each episode, which is just under 30 minutes, they talk about a flower, a vegetable, and then some other current topic related to gardening. They give great garden book recommendations and definitely preach the wonders of gardening. Thus, the name—they are the evangelists of gardening! Oh, and if you’re a sucker for a good quote, they’ve got plenty! New episodes released every Wednesday.
A Way to Garden…with Margaret Roach
Margaret Roach worked, first as the garden editor, and then as the editorial director for Martha Stewart Living for several years. When she retired from the magazine, she moved to a 2.3 acre “fixer upper” property in upstate New York, where she began transforming the property into a sanctuary, for herself and all the little critters. She also wrote some books, created AWayToGarden.com, and started recording this podcast. Each episode is about 25 minutes and jam-packed with outstanding garden ideas, interviews with interesting guests, and special reverence for the natural world. There’s a new episode each week. Here are some of my favorites:
when ornamental and edible merge: foodscaping, with brie arthur
‘saving jemima: life and love with a hard-luck jay,’ with julie zickefoose
best tomatoes: craig lehoullier’s heirloom picks, plus the dwarf tomato project
The Beginner’s Garden Podcast…with Jill McSheehy
Even if you are not a beginning gardener, check out Jill’s podcast. She explores many topics related to growing your own food, starting with the basics. Many of her episodes discuss valuable resources you can be utilizing in your garden and what you can do to troubleshoot specific issues you may be having. Plus, she started this podcast as a way to help “Beginners” so she is constantly providing very good definitions and explanations. And, if you like interviews, she has several! She releases a new episode each week, normally running from 30-60 minutes.
Down The Garden Path Podcast…with Joanne Shaw and Matthew Dressing
This is actually a radio show in Ontario, Canada that is converted to podcast after it airs. The hosts are landscape designers and they discuss a number of topics specific to gardening & landscaping. They have many guests on their show, who offer great tips and insights about everything from designing a cohesive landscape, to growing food, to caring for your perennials, to planting trees, and so forth. Episodes are an hour long and released weekly.
Living Homegrown Podcast…with Theresa Loe (*host is currently on hiatus)
While the host of this podcast is currently on hiatus, there are tons of incredible episodes archived. This podcast is one of my favorites, and it’ll be perfect for you, too, if you love all that homegrown and homemade. Not only does the Theresa explore gardening, but she also talks about chicken keeping, sustainable living, canning, and other crafts such as making your own bread or soap. And she has interviews with several fascinating guests. Episodes are 30-40 minutes. Linking through to some of my personal favorites below:
LH 141: Companion Planting Veggies & Flowers [with Lisa Ziegler]
LH 133: Growing Fun & Unusual Vegetables [with Niki Jabbour]
LH 42 – Creating A Bold & Beautiful Edible Garden
EPIC Gardening Podcast…with Kevin Espiritu
This is a shorter format gardening podcast, with each daily episode being less than 10 minutes. Kevin talks about every gardening topic under the sun! If there is something you are interested in, from grow lights to vermicomposting to growing XYZ, check it out. The short and sweet episodes are interesting and engaging, packed with tips and advice, and Kevin is always a great host.
Plantrama…with Ellen Zachos & C.L. Fornari
This is a weekly podcast about plants—all plants—hosted by two true plant aficionados. Each episode is about 30 minutes and focuses on growing plants, troubleshooting plant problems, and creative ways of using plants. Ellen is a big time forager, so she is often sharing ways to utilize common “weeds” and wild plants in recipes. They also answer listener questions at the conclusion of each episode.
The Garden Path Podcast…with Misti Little (no longer being produced)
Misti has decided to stop producing The Garden Path Podcast for now, but she has years worth of awesome episodes archived. She explored many topics pertaining to gardening and being out in nature, in general. I really appreciated the authenticity depicted by Misti in her podcast episodes and her reverence for our planet. Two of my favorite episodes were:
Ep. 4-12: Edible Abundance in the North Country | Meg Cowden
Ep. 5-7: Phoebes Birding – Birds, Nature, and Native Plants | Eliana Ardila Ardila
Cultivating Place…with Jennifer Jewell
Each Thursday, Jennifer releases a new episode of Cultivating Place. It is a longer format podcast, with each episode being just under an hour—perfect for listening to on your lunch hour. She conducts meaningful interviews with many gardeners. She explores the human component of gardening, rather than just plants and how to care for plants. Here are a couple of the interviews I particularly enjoyed:
THE HUMMINGBIRD MONITORING NETWORK, with DR. SUSAN WETHINGTON
LAURA INGALLS WILDER & THE LANDSCAPES THAT INSPIRED HER, with MARTA MCDOWELL
SEED LIFE, with JERE GETTLE, BAKER CREEK SEEDS
The Still Growing Gardening Podcast…with Jennifer Ebeling (No longer being produced)
This is the podcast that got me hooked on gardening podcasts. The host produced an episode every week or two for a few years. The episodes were longer format, each being about 2 hours, and had such awesome gardening-related news stories, ideas, and interviews. I was really sad when it abruptly ended in early 2018. I kept thinking she might eventually pick back up, until I found that she started a newer, shorter format, daily podcast called The Daily Gardener. I’m still getting a feel for The Daily Gardener, but I don’t like it nearly as much as I liked Still Growing. While Still Growing is no longer being produced, there are hours of archived episodes for your listening pleasure. Here a a few episodes I loved:
How to Make Your NEW Garden Feel OLDER
How to Save the Monarch with Kylee Baumle
Twenty Reasons NOT to Garden and WHY I IGNORE THEM ALL with Garden Humorist Luke Ruggenberg
Free the Seed! Podcast (O.S.S.I.)…with Rachel Hultengren
This is a fascinating, relatively newer, podcast released by the Open Source Seed Initiative. In each episode, the host, Rachel Hultengren, interviews a plant breeder to learn the story behind the varieties they are breeding. All of the seeds discussed are Open Source. In other words, the breeders have not placed any restrictions on seed use. There are no patents preventing the user from saving seed, using seed to breed hybrids, etc. One episode I really liked was Rachel’s interview with Craig LeHoullier and Petrina Nuske Small of The Dwarf Tomato Project.