Just Grow Something | The "Why" Behind the "How" of Gardening Karin Velez

I hear from a lot of frustrated would-be gardeners at the farmer’s market stand who say they just don’t have enough sun in their yard to be able to grow anything. Of course, they can always go to maximum effort by growing in smaller containers and moving them around the yard as the season progresses to catch the light as the sun shifts, which is a lot of work, but it’s also very possible that many of these potential gardeners have more sun than they think. And this goes for my gardeners who are apartment dwellers or who live in condos with only a patio or balcony space to grow on. You might be able to grow more than you think. And, there actually are a selection of vegetables, fruits, and herbs that will do just fine in part-sun and others that will tolerate it if you have a little patience with them.

Today on Just Grow Something we’re going to define full sun, part sun, part shade, and shade so you have a better idea of what is actually possible in some areas of your yard and then we’ll go over the choices available if you truly do have less than full sun. Plus, we’ll go over your answers to the April question of the month and explore how we can solve some of the most common garden maintenance struggles you and I both have. Let’s dig in!

References and Resources:

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Foliar diseases in both vegetable and fruit plants can significantly impact our yield and the quality of that yield if left unmanaged. If you’ve ever had powdery mildew on your cucumbers or early blight in your tomatoes, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Even though the disease is affecting the leaves, the interruption of photosynthesis by the fungus affects the fruit development, and then the disease will jump from the leaves to the fruit and then we’ve got a real mess on our hands. And sometimes we can get one disease under control only to have another one swoop in and take out our plants before we even get any kind of harvest. This is especially true if you live in an area that is very humid or you have spring weather that bounces from warm and humid during the day to cool overnight with very little air movement and lots of rain. Warm temperatures, high humidity, lots of moisture and prolonged leaf wetness are the ideal conditions for fungal growth.

Today on Just Grow Something we are going to cover the different ways we can prevent fungal diseases from taking hold in our garden plants, what signs and symptoms to watch out for, which plants are most susceptible to fungal diseases, and which ones don’t usually have much of a problem with them. There are lots of things we can do as gardeners to prevent and minimize the occurrence of foliar diseases so we get the best yield possible from our plants. Let’s dig in!



References and Resources:

The effect of milk-based foliar sprays on yield components of field pumpkins with powdery mildew - ScienceDirect

001_22856life1104s14_1_7.pdf (lifesciencesite.com)



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We talk a lot about growing vegetables on this show but, in truth, I am a huge fruit eater. I love fruit, either on it’s own or on a salad, in smoothies, in desserts, love it. Being someone who is a proponent of sustainable agriculture I also prefer to get my fruits locally if I can. That’s not to say I don’t always have bananas in this house and that I don’t love a good Mandarin orange, but if I can grow it myself, I feel much better. Fruit trees can be intimidating, and they can be temperamental if you don’t have the right soil conditions, berry canes and bushes also require a bit more care and maintenance. Which is why strawberries are the sort of gateway fruit for vegetable gardeners. You can plant them in ground or in containers, you can grow them in many different climates, and even minimal effort in maintenance will improve the yield dramatically.

So, today on Just Grow Something we’ll talk about growing strawberries. Whether you’ve got an in-ground bed, a raised planter bed, or just a container on your back deck, we’ll talk about the soil and nutrient requirements, planting in the spring or the fall, maintaining the bed, potential problems, and more. Let’s dig in!

Question of the month for April: What have you struggled with the most in terms of garden maintenance and did you find a solution? Maintaining soil nutrients, reducing weed pressure, proper mulching, proper watering techniques, whatever your garden needs that you struggle with or that you used to struggle with and have found a solution. Answer the question from within Spotify, reply to this week’s email newsletter on Friday with your, answer in the Facebook group or send me a DM on social media. You have until April 30th to give me your answer and share your struggles and solutions with your fellow gardeners.

References and resources:

Visit HeirloomRoses.com and take 20% off your order of roses with code JUSTGROW through October 31, 2024



Strawberry | Description, Cultivation, Nutrition, Uses, Species, & Facts | Britannica

Strawberry: A Brief History // Missouri Environment and Garden News Article // Integrated Pest Management, University of Missouri



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Using the last frost date in spring or our average air temperatures might be a good guideline to start with when figuring out when to plant the garden, but a better method for knowing when it’s actually time to sow those seeds or transplant those plants is the soil temperature. Even though the air temperatures may be warmer than usual, the soil knows the truth. If that soil is cold and wet, or might be that way in the next ten days, your tomatoes, or peppers, or whatever, are not going to be happy sitting in chilled soil, no matter how warm the daytime air temperatures get. But, your sugar snap peas and lettuce might be thrilled.

So, today on Just Grow Something we’ll talk about optimal soil temperatures for both cool season and warm season crops, for both seed germination and transplant growth, how to properly check your soil temperature, and where to find historic soil temperature data for your area so you can more effectively plan your planting dates and not be lulled into that false sense of security. Let’s dig in.

References and Resources:

This week's sponsor:


Visit HeirloomRoses.com and take 20% off your order of roses with code JUSTGROW through October 31, 2024⁠

Taylor Precision Products Standard Grade Thermometer (Amazon affiliate link)


Soil Temparature Maps | GreenCast | Syngenta (greencastonline.com)



Soil Temperature and Seed Germination (psu.edu)

Microsoft Word - Soil Temp Planting V2docx (wisc.edu)

Minera Nutrition of Plants: Principles and Perspectives | SpringerLink

facts you didn’t know about soil temperature (farmprogress.com)

Soil Temperature and Planting Crops (harvesttotable.com)


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Back in November I talked to you about doing a soil test, using slow-release amendments in the garden to do their work gradually over the winter, and then doing another soil test in the spring to see how well it worked. Now’s the time in most areas to be doing that spring soil test before you start planting your spring or summer gardens.

But, what do you do if that spring test shows the amendments you added in the fall just weren’t enough to fix the problem? This time around you’ll need something that works into the soil a little more quickly if you want the garden ready in time to grow a lush crop for spring and summer. And even then you may find the need to add some supplemental plant food to directly feed the plants instead of the soil to be sure you get a good harvest.

So, today on Just Grow Something we’ll go over the organic amendments you can be adding to the garden now that will give the soil a quick boost and the possible ways to feed the plants directly while waiting for the soil to improve. Let’s dig in!

Question of the month for April: What have you struggled with the most in terms of garden maintenance and did you find a solution?

References and Resources:

Visit HeirloomRoses.com and take 20% off your order of roses with code JUSTGROW through October 31, 2024




USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service website: HungryPests.com

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I had such a fantastic response to the March Question of the Month and we had such great conversations on Facebook and Instagram that I made this week’s entire episode all about! You came in clutch with problems and solutions and there was plenty of community discussion, which is what I love. Gardeners helping gardeners.

We all have a lot of pests and some very clever ways to deal with them. And not all of them are insects. So, today on Just Grow Something we are talking all about your biggest pests in the garden. Let’s dig in!

April Question of the Month: What have you struggled with the most in terms of garden maintenance and did you find a solution?

References and Resources:

Visit HeirloomRoses.com and take 20% off your order of roses with code JUSTGROW through October 31, 2024



Just Grow Something Merch Shop

Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group

Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon

Follow me on Instagram

JustGrowSomethingPodcast.com


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