Bri Books Brionna Jimerson

Welcome to Bri Books! On today’s episode, we’re talking about falling in love with the garden this spring, first-time gardening secrets, and how to get kids excited about gardening. Almost everyday, Carla of @gardenplot.57 treats us to vibrant photos of her cut flower garden, homemade skincare products, and dozens of veggies she’s growing in her backyard garden in Cornwall, England. In this episode, Carla gives tips on how to start (and maintain) a garden in a small space, and shares tips on DIY gardening projects we can do right now to get a jump on the season. Carla and I bonded over the amazing book “Floret Farm's A Year in Flowers: Designing Gorgeous Arrangements for Every Season” by Erin Benzakein, an amazing resource that’ll inspire you to step up your flower arranging (and flower growing) game. Carla also shares the secret to getting kids interested in gardening and how to lure them away from the XBox and towards the garden box. 
 Carla’s guide to gardening in a small space: 
1. Utilize your patio by planting pots with salad greens, herbs, and dwarf tomatoes. 
2. Go high! Make use of vertical space by creating vertical planters. Archways and trellises allow you to grow “up,” and make use of tiny amounts of space for things like beans, peas, cucumbers and tomatoes. 
 More gardening resources recommended by Carla and Brionna:
Huw Richards YouTube channel and book, “Grow Food for Free”
Sandria of A Beautiful Nest
Misilla of Learn to Grow
Adam Yn Yr Ardd, a wildly talented Welsh gardener
 
If you’re new to the show, leave a review of Bri Books on Apple Podcasts, and listen to Bri Books on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud! Please tell me what you're growing by using #bribooks on Instagram, and subscribe to the Bri Books newsletter at bribookspod.com/newsletter.Follow @theBriGarden on Instagram for garden tours, growing hacks, and gardening secrets.

How to Get Started in the Garden Feat. Misilla + How to Engage Kids in Gardening
Welcome back to Bri Books! If you’re new to the show, leave a review of Bri Books on Apple Podcasts, and listen to Bri Books on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud! Please tell me what you're growing by using #bribooks on Instagram, and subscribe to the Bri Books newsletter at bribookspod.com/newsletter.Follow @theBriGarden on Instagram for garden tours, growing hacks, and gardening secrets.
In today's episode, we're talking about all things organic gardening, and how to grow your own food with Misilla of 'Learn to Grow.'
Whether you're starting your own garden or you haven't given it much thought, after this episode you'll be yearning to get your hands on some seeds. Misilla is the host of 'Learn to Grow,' a channel on YouTube with over 114,000 subscribers. She's a crafty mom of 4 living and working in the Pacific Northwest. Her videos and social posts consist of garden how-to's, growing hacks,  healthy living ideas, science experiments, DIY projects, and gardening inspo. Misilla's family has been growing food and farming for generations. She's passionate about inspiring others to grow their own food, and she's passionate about getting kids involved in the garden. 
Follow Misilla on Instagram @learntogrow
 
 

Garden-Fresh Cooking: How Infuse Healthy Harvest Foods Into Your Daily Diet
Welcome back to Bri Books! Today, we’re talking all things garden-fresh cooking with one of my favorite gardening creators, Sandria Kendrick of ‘A Beautiful Nest TV’ on YouTube and Instagram. Sandria’s content is all about growing confidence in the garden, building strong relationships, growing as a family, and teaching people to love the soil. In this episode, we dig into the cookbook ‘Rodale’s Gaden Fresh Cooking’ by Judith Benn Hurley and how to choose the best crops to grow in your garden. Sandria reveals what she’s learned about herself by getting ‘in the weeds,’ and she shares the recipes she finds herself returning to again and again.
1:40 - All about @abeautifulnestTV and how Sandria infuses love, authenticity and beauty into everything she does.
9:18 - Sandria’s soil story and her family's long lineage of farming and gardening, why Sandria decided to set down roots in the Georgia countryside, and Sandria and her husband planned their garden.
13:45 - Brionna’s grandmother story and how Brionna grew to love gardening, and how grandmothers inspire us to pass on traditions for generations.
16:10 - The crops Sandria didn’t expect to love, the easiest for you to grow, and how Sandria’s cooking style has changed since growing her own food.
26:40 - Sandria on Rodale’s 'Garden-Fresh Cooking' book by Judith Benn Hurley: I’ve been reading Rodale’s Organic Life for a long time, and I really enjoy it. I love that they have so many different topics for you to dig into--food, gardening, lifestyle. Everything's right there for you. It’s a great site. If you’re reading the recipe book, I know that’s amazing.”
27:25  - Sandria’s #BriBooks: “  Lemony Snicket” with her sons, “Better Homes and Gardens,” “Georgia Gardens.”
Find Sandria  on YouTube @abeautifulnestTV, on Instagram @abeautifunlest, Facebook @ABeautifulNest, and Twitter @abeautifulnest. Follow theBriGarden on Instagram, listen to Bri Books on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and show me your garden by using #bribooks on Instagram.

Welcome to Bri Books! Getting started in the garden can be tough, but there's one thing that'll make your gardening journey more productive: companion planting!  In this episode, I'm sharing 6 companion planting hacks you need to know if you want to grow strong.
Companion Planting for Beginners
1:11: What is companion planting? Companion planting is when two or more plants are grown near each other to benefit one or both of the plants. It's a tried-and-tested, ancient way to reduce pests, attract pollinators, and boost growth. I'm sharing a few common examples, although there are dozens. 
2:00 - Basil and tomatoes: Basil plants deter moths which lay tomato hornworms, while simultaneously attracting bees (which help improve tomato polination.)
3:00 - Peppers: Peppers are excellent companions to carrots, tomatoes, and onions. 
3:30 - Tomatoes: Tomatoes love peppers, bush beans, and basil
5:15 - Dill and flowers: Dill attracts ladybugs, which eat small garden pests like aphids and spider mites, while flowers attract pollinators to help with the job. 
6:00 - Sunflowers and pole beans, cucumbers: Sunflowers provide support for climbing plants and shade for crops (like beans and cucumbers!), making it the perfect vertical companion planting garden. 
7:00 - Lettuce: Lettuce helps tenderize radishes, and radishes deter cucumber bettles. Grow these two fast-growing crops together for delicious home-grown salads. 
Follow theBriGarden on Instagram, listen to Bri Books on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and show me your garden by using #bribooks on Instagram.
 

Welcome to Bri Books! Embarking on the journey of creating your garden is thrilling, but can also be filled with challenges. In this episode, I'm revealing the 10 most beginner-friendly garden fruits and veggies to grow, along with 3 garden-starting basics you need to know. 
3 Garden-Starting Basics
1:20 - Don’t try to grow the grocery store! It’s easy to overwhelm yourself when you're beginning your garden journey. Instead, focus on growing the herbs, veggies, and fruits that you enjoy. Grow your garden through the lens of the crops you look forward to eating and cooking with. 
2:45 - Keep pollinators top of mind! Growing a mix of flowers, herbs, and veggies helps the overall pollinator ecosystem. When in doubt, throw some flower seeds out! 
3:20 - Get to know your land! Monitor and notice the amount of light your garden gets throughout the day, and keep track of soil conditions--what happens to the area during heavy rains? Intense heat? Does it have any shade. cover? You want your garden to be built in a sunny, well-draining area with nutrient-rich soil. 
10 Beginner-Friendly Crops
4:15 - Salad greens, kale, and spinach: Starting your garden journey with green leafys is rewarding because they grow relatively quickly (seed to salad in 21-30 days). 
5:00 - Cucumbers: Cucumbers can go from seed to salad in about 40-45 days. Cucumbers love cool weather, making them perfect for late spring. Pro tip: Trellis your cucumbers up the stems/ stalks of your sunflower plants! 
5:50 - Zuchinni: Zuchinni thrives in the garden. Zuchinni plants grow wide and large, and the leaves arebeautiful and luscious, providing excellent shade for smaller plants. Zuchinni are tastiest when younger, so picking zucchini after about a week of growth helps to encourage more growth. 
6:50 - Tomatoes: I recommend growing at least two varieites of tomatoes in your garden: one snacking tomato (sun gold, cherry tomatoes, etc), and one recipe tomato (Moneymaker, Beefsteak, Black Krim, etc.)
7:30 - Beans or Peas: Peas and beans are great beginner-friendly and kid-friendly crops in the garden. Kids love to watch the pods form! They thrive during spring and summer, and well into fall.
8:40 - Peppers: For beginners, growing peppers is a great idea. Focus on compact peppers like thai chili peppers, shishito peppers, and gochu peppers. These grow in compact bushes and keep producing until the end of season. 
9:30 - Potatoes: The more you ignore potatoes, the more they love you. Potatoes grow well in solitude--once you plant them, leave them alone until the potato plant dies back, signaling that it’s time to harvest the tubers underground. For first-time gardeners, growing potatoes in a milk crate or felt container is easiest.
10:35 - Herbs: Focus on growing the herbs you like to eat at home (like basil, rosemary, mint, lemon balm). Herbs are a great great starting point if you’re beginning your gardening journey and you're endeavoring to include more flavor in your daily meals.
11:15 - Flowers: Flowers are a necessary (and often overlooked) part of the garden. Flowers like marigonlds, zinnia, calendula, cosmos, and nastirtium are beginner-friendly, thanks to their low-maintenance nature and ability to attract pollinators. 
12:00 - Strawberries: Strawberries grow very well in containers, making them perfect for any and all gardens. Whether it’s in a hanging pot, a raised bed, or a felt container, strawberries are low-maintenance and high-yield. 
12:30 - Radishes: Radishes can be sown as soon as early spring breaks through.  They go from seed to salad in about 21-30 days, a fastgrowing and nutrient-dense crop that helps kick off the season.
Follow theBriGarden on Instagram, listen to Bri Books on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and show me your garden by using #bribooks on Instagram.
 

Welcome to Bri Books, and Happy Earth Week! Today, I'm sharing the tips first-time gardeners need to know: how to start a vegetable garden, raised bed garden, herb garden, or kitchen garden without breaking the bank. These easy gardening tips and gardening hacks that'll make your life easier. Follow theBriGarden on Instagram, listen to Bri Books on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and show me your garden by using #bribooks on Instagram.  
1:30 - #1: Identify your USDA hardiness zone. The Hardiness Zone Map is the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location. It's divided into 10-degree zones based on the average annual minimum winter temperature. According to the stats for Bri Books and the top markets that listen to the podcast, here's a cheat sheet for hardiness zones: NYC is zone 7, Chicago is zones 5 and 6, OKC is zone 7a, Philadelphia is 7a and 7b, LA is zone 9 and zone 10, Detroit is zone 6, and Houston is zone 9.  3:10 - #2: Find your sunspots. Here’s how to identify North, South, East, and West: First, point your left arm towards the sun in the morning. Now, take your right hand and point it toward the west (stretch arms like you’re giving a hug.) You’re now facing south, and your back is facing north. 5:23 - #3: Find out your last frost date. It's important to know is how many weeks you have until your frost date is upon you. Find the frost dates at almanac.com, and then count backward how many weeks you have remaining until that day to calculate the number of weeks you have left in your traditional summer-autumn season. In NYC, our last spring frost was April 4 and our first fall frost is November 13, meaning NYC has 222 growing days in the year. 6:45 - #4: Select good soil, seeds, and supplies. I recommend beginning with a seedling mix like Black Gold from Sun Gro, or Epsoma Seed Starting Potting Mix. My favorite seed company is Botanical Interests, a company I’ve been celebrating for over 5 years now. The second resource I love for seeds is CaliKim Garden and Home. She has a great selection mix. A lof the mixes are good if you want to place one order and get a half dozen crops at your doorstep. Furthermore, Kitazawa Seeds is excellent for Asian heirlooms.  I’d also recommend Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm! They sell all the worms that are great for composting and adding overall health to your garden. 9:15 - #5: Pick the best short-term and long-term containers for your plants. Keep vertical growing in mind when it comes to space. Listen to a recent episode of Bri Books about 8 garden-starting hacks for details on how to begin seeds on your window sill in an egg carton or fruit carton.  

Follow theBriGarden on Instagram, listen to Bri Books on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and show me your garden by using #bribooks on Instagram.