Growing Your Grub Podcast

This past week, I missed the normal scheduled show release.  I wasn't sure anyone would miss a single show episode. Boy, was I wrong!  I want to thank everyone who took time to email me expressing concern that something was wrong since there was no show. Actually, I will come clean.  I took some time off from talking about how to garden, while my wife and I traveled to Corpus Christi Texas to celebrate my birthday, and retirement from my day job. While there, I spent nearly a day onboard the USS Lexington, a WW II era Aircraft Carrier, touring several of the decks, including the flight deck and the hanger deck. It was an exciting step back in history for me, seeing how they lived and worked aboard this floating city on the sea of 33,000 Tons!   Same as a 19 Story building 3 football fields on Flight deck 14 Basketball courts 33,000 Ton City at sea with its own post office, hospital, barbershop and dental clinic Overnight campout for Scouts   Back To Gardening For this weeks episode, I decided to talk about my favorite varieties of Heirloom watermelons, and why they are my favorite.  ·         Blacktail Mountain Small, 12-18 lbs, deep scarlet flesh. ·         Golden Midget ·         Moon & Stars – Medium Size Yellow Fleshed. 18-24 lbs ·         Orangegeglo –Large – Orange Flesh 24-32 lbs ·         Petite Yellow-Small Round Icebox sized ~5 lbs ·         Sweet Siberian ·         Georgia Rattlesnake – Large 25-30lbs   As a result of several emails this week, I wanted to talk a little about basic soil improvement and how you can easily improve your soil enough to have a good first year garden and beyond.. Your garden needs three things: Sun, water, and Soil. You can't add sunlight, you can't make it rain, but you can improve your soil. Unlike dirt, soil is full of fungi- mycorrrhizal fungi – several varieties 1.    Structure and texture – physical properties 2.    pH level ( acidic or alkaline 3.    Nutrients 4.    Organic matter If just starting your garden, need to work in one or more of these factors. Goal is a pH just slightly below normal – around 6.5 - 6 Adding compost and well rotted manure yields wholesale improvement to your soil on all 4 points. Turn over the soil, sift out weed roots and rhizomes, add a few inches of manure and/or compost – could have a decent experience in your first year. Add more next year and it will improve even more. Natural Mulch – Mulching with Hay or Straw, and then turning it under  after the garden is done or after each crop is as good as “Green Manure” Turn mulch and all over in either the Spring or Fall.  Green Manure is a crop that grows quickly, usually an annual that adds a lot of nitrogen fixing to the soil.  They are turned under before the crops are planted.  They add beneficial microbes and nutrients to your soil Clover, Hairy vetch, field peas, mustard, many others, mainly legumes.  Mixtures available at Johnnyseeds.com Mail Bag Thomas writes in from Illinois, asking if it's ok to use commercial plant starts instead of seeds.  I respond with my opinion. Alex writes in asking about the best way to prep his soil in his new community garden plot.  I talk a little about methods and recommend using a stirrup hoe since his weeds are still small.  

I recently received a new copy of one of the many Garden Supply Catalogs in the mail.  While looking through it, I saw a couple of innovative Ideas I wanted to try, but was appalled at the price. As I paged through the issue I began to see how so many first time gardeners can get the impression that gardening can be expensive. So this week I will go through a short list of just a few of the items I found and talk about how you can easily create these same items with only a little  “do it yourself” even if not handy with tools. While all these gadgets are nice, there is no need to purchase unless you want to and have the resources.   I would rather put my funds into new seed varieties and garden books. Let me know what you think. Tomato Cages Pea Panels Cucumber trellis Self Watering “Aqua Corner” Raised Beds Raised bed Cover and frame Rasberry Bed Seed Startign Racks Rain Barrel-$100 or $18? http://www.arizonabarrels.com/55_gallon_closed_top_blue_plastic_barrels_drums.html “Critter Guard” Fencing Garden Mailbox –  for Storage Tags: diy,+garden+tools,

Recent Organic News: This week I learned that citizens of Vermont are close to getting a Bill passed to require Labeling of GMO products, including those using GMO's in their production. However, even though the large majority of the citizens want it, and most of the committeemen are in favor, it appears to be stalled in committee and will not be brought to the floor for a vote. Why? Monsanto has threatened to sue if the labeling requirement is passed. Read the Details here: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_25180.cfm Tomato Basics Discussed this Week: Hybrids vs Open Pollinated & Heirlooms Determinate Indeterminate Stakes Cages  - Gardeners Supply Tomato Ladders – nice but pricey Trellis Planting My Gardening Library A while back I found a book called "What's Wrong with My Plant?" by David Deardorff & Kathryn Wadsworth.  While it was an excellent book, it covered a lot of ground and I was primarily interested in Vegetable plants. Recently, Timber Press released their new book called "What's Wrong with My Vegetable Garden?" by the same authors. While the first half of the book is mostly tips on how to raise various garden vegetables, the second half alone is well worth the price. In the second half, They discuss symptoms, Diagnosis, and Solutions for most garden vegetable plants, complete with photos.  I wish the photos were larger, but they are big enough to help you identify a particular problem.  The section is divided by plant type, so you can home in on the problems for your particular plant and not spend time hunting for problems with asparagus when what you are looking for is a problem for your Sweet Potatoes.

Wow! What a week this has been. All sorts of problems with my Hosting Provider making it impossible to post the podcast on time. You wouldn't believe the hours working on my "Geekdom" with them to get this resolved. As a result, this weeks podcast is a bit short, and I debated even publishing it.  But I feel I owe it to everyone since I promised to do my best to stick to a weekly schedule. Also, behind the scenes, I have added two new pages of resources for you. First is a list of my favorite Garden Books with links to each one on Amazon. You can find it at http://www.Growingyourgrub.com/books The other is ( or will be) a complete list with links to the entire library of Growing Your Grub Podcasts, along with direct links to download them if you wish.  iTunes only keeps a list of the most recent 35 or so.  This way if you want to see what they are about and catch up, you can access the list here: www.GrowingYourGrub.com/archive But this weeks episode I speak a bit about ways to break new ground for a new garden if you don't want to start a raised bed with formal enclosed sides.   I chose this topic because of several emails I have received recently asking this exact question.  Many, like myself now, face too large an area to consider the costs of lumber or stone to enclose the sides.  I am facing nearly 4.5 acres of garden and that's way too much lumber. First of all, you need to choose the right location first: 6-8 Hours of sunlight Near Water Source As close to house as possible Watch out for windy areas and micro-climates There are a couple of different ways to break ground for an in ground Garden lasagna Garden Compost Sandwich ( thanks to Chris Mclaughlin) Solarization ( Black plastic Covers) Double-Dig method from John Jeavons Garden Fork and Shovel Tiller In this episode, I try and discuss the pros and cons of all methods.  Let me know what you think!  

This week, I thought I would talk about a few ways you can prepare for insect pests and lessen the impact they have on your garden. In Gardening News, the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota has finally loosened up their regulations to allow residents to sell excess produce fro their own property.  Small steps at least. http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/143914706.html We are continuing with coverage of small space gardening, even though it may seem like all I discuss is larger plot gardens.   I am working on Scheduling author Chris mcLaughlin to come on the show and talk about her latest book, "Small Space Gardening" I also ran into a very nice device for growing in small spaces called a "Wooley Pocket" Sm that lets you plant on walls, fences, balcony railings, etc and it does it without leaking.  Take a look at it at http://www.woollypocket.com/ Fern Richardson – Another excellent gardening blog for small space gardening.  fern just released a new book you can read about on her website. http://lifeonthebalcony.com/ This week I wanted to talk about a couple of methods for reducing the insect damage in your garden. Decoy Planting/Trap Crops  (http://www.growveg.com/growblogpost.aspx?id=140) Row Covers Traps & Lures Color attractant or smell.  Generally Yellow or Green Sticky – Yellow Strip or Apple for Apple magot http://www.johnnyseeds.com/c-478-lures-and-traps.aspx   Nolo Bait for Grasshoppers http://www.groworganic.com/nolo-bait-25-lb.html Companion Plantings Marigolds- Tomatoes Carrots Love Tomatoes  by Louise Riotte Good List of Companion Plantings    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companion_plants

My apologies for the original Show Notes for this episode. It seems like the more you hurry and try to complete something, the more things go wrong. First a couple of announcements, and an interesting Home and Garden Show to attend if you live on the West Coast. While it may be more Landscape and Flower centric than many of us would prefer, the San Francisco Home and Garden Show has some very interesting speakers this year.  My favorites are Joe Lampl and Martin Yan of "Yan Can Cook" fame on PBS. San Francisco Home and Garden Show Sfgardenshow.com March 21st – 25th  @ the San Mateo Event Center Martin Yan Joe Lampl Ahmed Hassan from Yard Crashers Runaway Gardens Today, we’re going to talk about  how to reclaim a garden that has got out of control. Listener email from Stephanie in Orlando Florida where she really had a problem.  Over the winter, the weeds had taken over her garden and she wondered where to start, and how to prevent it from happening again. I thought it might be usefull to discuss what I recommended and how it went. As I discuss on the show, and as you can see in the photos above and below, Stephanie really had her work cut out for her. But what a great job she and her husband did not only in recovering the garden, but improving it so they won't need to repeat the process. Removed Weeds Landscape Fabric Rocks instead of wood Mulch ( allows Flame Weed treatments) Sides on Raised beds Cedar Posts for Wires to act as a Trellis   Congratulations Stephanie! Monsanto News Super Weeds created by Monsanto now a recognized problem for Agriculture http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/19/us-monsanto-superweeds-idUSTRE78I4BA20110919

This week we have another fascinating interview for you.  This time with Annie Haven, maker of Haven Brand Manure Tea. Annie discusses with us the benefits of using Manure Tea in our garden, and dispels many of the myths surrounding it.     Try some Manure Tea from Annie in your Garden this year. Haven Brand Manure Tea  

This week I waned to talk a little about Season Extenders and how they can also be used in the Spring.  If you want to get an early jump on the Growing Season, Extenders will also help in the Sprintime. But first I want to talk about a post I saw on www.agardenforthehouse.com.  The author is a very active garden writer and has put together a very extensive list of plant varieties coming from Seeds owned by Monsanto.  As you will see from the list, even when they don't grow these plants, Monstanto has boght rights to many different varieties you see commonly for sale in the garden centers and big box stores.  They are not necessarily GMO plants, but I don't believe it will be long before Monsanto copyrights all these and prohibits any of us from saving our seeds, much like they have done and are doing to the commercial agriculture seed market. I don't know about you, but I printed out that list and it's now on my personal Banned List.  Read his article and make your own decision. http://www.agardenforthehouse.com/2012/02/forewarned-is-forearmed-veggie-varieties-owned-by-monsanto/ From Farmer Fred Farmer Fred, a Garden Show host in Sacramento California, describes some tips for getting your garden started, but most importantly he talked about a great place to get your soil tested for a very reasonable price.  Univ of Massachusetts Testing Service.  Check out his Blog article for more details. http://farmerfredrant.blogspot.com/2012/02/tips-for-starting-your-first-backyard.html   Ways to Extend the Season There a re number of ways to extend the season, so we can get started earlier in the Spring.  In this episode Scott and I discuss some of the more popular methods. Row Covers Agribon – 3 different types of protection Plastic - Most heat producing, be sure and get Ag Grade plastic as it lasts longer in the Sun. Low Tunnels Same material as Row Covers Slightly Higher Needs Ribs for support PVC Electrical Conduit Fence Top Rail Tubing High Tunnels Green Houses Cloches – Milk Cartons, Litre Soda Bottles, etc Winter Sowing – New Method -Photos and article at   http://www.agardenforthehouse.com/2010/12/winter-sowing-101/ User Email Scott in the UK mentions the Food Saver is very Pricy in the UK and has found another brand that is much more affordable in the UK.  I also pointed out that you can find better prices on the storage bags online than direct from Manufacturers. The important thing is to realize how great a tool the Vacuum Storage units are.  They work with everything to preserving produce to packing full meals ahead of time to allow for great meals that are simple to prepare for busy families.  Thanks Scott! Aaron and Rachael Johnson ask about plastic in a Raised Bed to help protect the life of the boards.  I am not real comfortable with the plastic breaking down in the soil, and there are other ways to extend the life of Raised bed boxes.  Lumber such as Redwood or Cedar work best, or coating the inside of the boards before filling with Mineral oil. Secondly, even if a board wears out, its a simple matter to replace if you use decking screws rather than nails to hold the bed together. What Do I listen To ? Many times I am asked what I listen to on my mp3 player.  So this month I am providing a list of my favorite gardening podcasts.  Please give them a try if you might be interested.  If you sign up, please let them know you found them through the GrowingYourGrub Podcast.   The Selfsufficient Gardener - http://theselfsufficientgardener.com/ Gardenfork.tv  - Eric Roschow  http:\\www.GardenFork.Tv GreenhornGardening -  http://www.greenhorngardening.com/ Farm-Dreams.com - http://farmdreams.libsyn.com/ Chicken Thistle Farm Coopcast - http://www.chickenthistlefarm.com/coopcasts/    

Before I get started, I need to ask everyone about their thoughts on the numbering of the podcast episodes. Are they of any use to you any more? Or are they just a holdover from the days of the small iPods? Would your rather just see more detail in the title? I started labeling this way to enable some of the mp3 players to sort the episodes in order. But as I am now discovering, many listeners don't care for them, so I am trying to decide if you want me to keep it or toss it? What do you prefer? Wisconsin GardenerYouTube Channel I recently ears from Joey Baird and his wife on Facebook about their youtube channel. I took a look at it and discovered not only did I like what they were doing, but I already subscribed to their channel. I should have mentioned them before. The Wisconsin Vegetable Gardener, from Mequon, WI is with Joey Baird and his Wife where they share gardening tips and tricks like I do both here and on youtube, but also shares a lot of recycle and re-use tips for your garden too. The latest episode really gave me a "Duh" moment. Why didn't I think of that? Joey shows how you can make seed tape from toilet tissue, flour, water, and a small brush. Great tips Joey! In case you don't know what a seed tape is, it's a way you can buy seeds that are all on a strip of paper like tape, generally smaller hard to handle seeds like carrots. Instead of trowing lots more seeds than needed and later thinning them out, with a tape, you only plant what you should. Less thinning. With Joey's tip, you can make your own seed tape. Many other worthwhile tips on his channel too. www.youtube.com/user/WisVeggieGardeners Call from Rob in Missouri Rob called in from Missouri. Rob is not only starting a new garden this year, but also starting his own bee hive. Way to go, Rob! He asks how far away from the Fruit Orchard and Garden he needs to place the hive. I share with everyone my experiences with the suit orchards in California that have to pay to lease Bees every year and place them right in the orchards. Bottom Line: Place as near or as far as you like and the bees will still range outward from the garden or orchard. Of course, I defer this advice to my recommended source, Listener and Chef Mil Apostol at Urban Farm and Bee Hive. mil is a frequent poster on the blog and runs an unbelievable beekeeping resource web site. The W-O-R-D Organic Gardening System One of my favorite and highly recommended Gardening Books is Ed Smith's "The Vegetable Gardening Bible. Large Format, lots of colored photos and terrific advice, Ed has come up with what he called his WORD system of gardening. He tends a 1500 sq ft garden in Northern Vermont, and as he says, if he can garden successfully there, there is no reason you can't do the same. WORD System W-Wide O- Organic R- Raised D- Deep Soil New Garden Book - Disappointment I recently saw an announcement of a new Gardening book from Storey Publishing. The cover showed beautiful red tomatoes, someone staking a plant in the garden, etc, so I thought I would give it a try. I was disappointed. While the book is very simple as it says in the title, It was more of a typical suburban homeowners book, not so much for gardening. Why do I say that? Well, substantial amount of pages are devoted to buying a Chemical Fertilizer spreader, diseases of the laws Choosing Fungicides, Pesticides, and even a recommendation for Roundup. I strongly feel there is enough mis-advice and pressure on new gardeners to take the easy way out and just spray it do we really need another source telling beginners to buy a chemical for their every problem? There was a short section on Vegetable gardening, but thats not what bothered me about the book. I can give them some leeway there. It was the strong recommendation for all the chemicals and growing lawns that sent me over the edge. It's been well established that lawns are wasting water,

In the last episode couple of episodes we spoke quite a bit about Seed Starting, Seed Racks, lighting, etc. I received a couple of requests over the past week or so to discuss starting a new Garden bed; site choice, preparation, etc. So this week I want to talk about the steps that will help improve your chances of a great organic vegetable garden your first time. Later, I also want to discuss a little about two tools that will help make that preparation easier, and save you money and your soil by not needing or using a tiller. GYG is on Stitcher! I'ld like to remind everyone that Growing Hour Grub is now also carried on Stitcher.  A free app for your ipad, smartphone, etc that allows you to listen to your favorite podcasts and many radio stations without synching.  All you need is an internet connection.  We have a link to them on the right side of the page.  I really love this service. GowVeg.Com Garden Planning Also, remember to check out Growveg.com.  A neat site that makes child's play out of planning your new gardens.  It helps plan your shape, what plants can safely fit in the area you have entered, and even prints out planting guides (reports) afterwords to help you know when to get your plants started. Meetup in June? In case anyone is interested, I am planning on a Meetup in the Northern California Area, either somewhere in San Francisco or Sacramento.  If anyone is interested, please let me know as I want to make it as convenient as possible.  I would love to meet everyone I can, face to face, instead of over the microphone for a change. And since I will be living in California at that time, I thought it would be a good kick-off.  Right now I am looking at sometime in Mid to late June  Any Takers?   New Garden Preparation At the request of several new listeners/new gardeners, I wanted to talk this week about preparing a new organic garden and what's the best way to do it. If this were late Fall, I would suggest a Lasagna Gardening Method, but for the sake of discussion, let's say we either forgot, or just now decided we Broadfork from Valley Oak Tool Company wanted to have the garden.  Where do I start?  De discuss these on the podcast in greater detail. Locate the Bed Test Your Soil Double Dig  - (John Jeavons.  BroadForks, etc) Amend Water Plant and Maintain Keep a Log and a good Perspective  

In this weeks episode, I'll discuss the importance of pollinators to your garden. But First I wanted to talk about a couple of important items. I recently read a fascinating book called "Founding Gardeners" by Andrea Wolf The book talks a little of the history of gardening in the early days of the United States and the effect it had on many of our founding fathers.  In addition to gardens here in the US, she even points out how some of the gardens in England affected not only the way they gardened, but many of their opinions.  Very interesting historical book for those who would like a break from the usual gardening book.  You can find a link to the book on the right side of the page if yoou might be interested. I also want to remind everyone that there is now a gardening resource page on the web site at http://borntofarm.com/gardening-resources/ Currently it is mostly Seed suppliers, but I want to expand it to cover all sort of gardening suppliers, recommended by listeners like you. I am especially interested in recommendations for suppliers outside the continental United States.  It has become increasingly difficult to ship seeds and products across countries, so it makes even more sense to support your local suppliers.   If you have a recommendation for a supplier to include, please email me at feedback@growingyourgrub.com  or please feel free to comment below. ATTRACTING POLLINATORS TO THE GARDEN Bee Favorites Alyssum Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) Annual poppies (Papaver) Asters Bee balm (Monarda) Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia) Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) Clover (Trifolium) Coneflower (Echinacea) Cranesbill (Geranium) Herbs Basil Borage English Lavender Fennel Marjoram Mint Oregano Rosemary Sage Some General Tips on Attracting Bees and Other Pollinators Don’t use pesticides. Use local native plants. Chose several colors of flowers. Colors that particularly attract bees are blue, purple, violet, white, and yellow. Plant flowers in clumps. Include flowers of different shapes. Have a diversity of plants flowering all season. Plant where bees will visit. give them a source of water . plant clover, lavender, or any plant with lots of fragrant flowers. Singles are best: . Add variety: Plant wildflowers and native species: Provide habitat: Resources for Attracting Pollinators WildSeed Farms    -  Seed Mix for Pollinator attracting Flower Urban Bee Gardensl      -  Excellent information source for an Urban Bee Garden ( attracting Bees)

This week I'll talk about making your own seed starting rack and some of the accessories like lights you'll need and how to connect them.  I'll also show you where to find some great plans on building your own rack from scratch. Although I am a big fan of Eliott Coleman, the Guru of Year round gardening, I also want to tell you about a new book on the subject I just love.  Color photos, drawing, and lots of good information on how you can grow year around- no matter where you live. The author lives in Nova Scotia and has fresh vegetables year around. Mother Earth News has a new Garden Planning app for the iPad.  I bought a copy and will tell you my experiences. I just received my own Garden Tool Caddy, and will share my thoughts on it. http://www.gardentoolcaddy.com Damon's  over at Greenhorn has a great episode on drip irrigation for Square Foot Gardening.  It's not as easy to get right on a Square Fot Garden, but Damon tells you how.   //www.GreenHornGardening.com Gregor’s  Gravity Irrigation Project in Pennsylvania - Discuss Chris McLaughlin was on Martha Stewart (Sirius/XM Radio) to talk about her new book on Small Space Gardening. USDA New Growing Zone Map – some zones have changed or disappeared- Warmer http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/ Seed Racks – Main Discussion Sams – Stainless Steel Commercial http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod4980150 Wooden ( Fine gardening) http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/nurture-seedlings-tiered-growing-stand.aspx Lights Thermostat Timers Watering Seed Trays Seed pots vs Soil Blocks

Even though many of you are still dealing with the storms of winter, it's still a good time to start planning that Spring Garden.  Ordering seeds is just a small part of it. This week, my son Scott joins me from Northern California as we share some tips on some things you can/should do to plan for your soon to be Spring Garden. Book Give-Away Winner! It is also time to announce the winner of the autographed Book Give-away from Joe Lamp'l The Winner is: Jennifer Capestany http://www.crazyhomestead.com Congratulations, Jennifer!   Planning the Organic Garden Where to Put it Compost Drip Irrigation What to Grow Where to Plant ( Location) Succession planning Companion Planting Planting Dates Sunlight Water Then, We briefly discuss the different ways you can garden, and how you can chose any or all of the garden styles, it's all up to you. Conventional Beds Raised Beds Material Shapes Vertical Garden Straw Bale Garden? Container Garden   Some Great Planning Tools GrowVeg.com  - Online Garden Planner Clyde's Garden Planner   Early Grasshopper Control Tip Did you have Grasshopper issues last  year? Try Nolo Bait - completely organic and safe for other animals and plants. Recommended Book Review: Your Farm in The City - Link is on the right of this page.

This week, thanks to the suggestion of listener Brad Kilpatrick's request, I'll be talking about the basics of starting your plants from seed, Seed starting lights, and some other related seed info. But so many of you have become great friends and email frequently, I wanted to share a few of their names and stories and in a small way, just say thank you for helping make this not just a podcast, not just a blog, but a community of gardeners. Listener Paul Anslow from Facebook recently posted a great poster that said - Organic Farming - What your Grandparents called “Food”! The resource page is now up on the website Currenlty, mostly seed vendors. If you have a favorite seed vendor you do business with and think it should be listed, just email me and I'll add it to the list. These are not necessarily recommendations, but are a list of known suppliers to help you coose where you purchase your gardening seeds and equipment. If you want to have a business added, Please email the info to steve@growingyourgrub.com to be included. Podcast Alert! I recently discovered another great gardening podcast I thought you might want to try a listen to.  Damon publishes his podcast and blog from  Alabama so he's another good ole Southern Boy like me. He has great content, and excellent audio, something many podcasters these days seem to over look. Checkout Damons podcast and leave a comment telling him you heard aboout it on Growing Your Grub.  He can be found at www.GreenhornGardening.com   Growing Your Grub Now on Stitcher Thanks to a listener who reminded me we were not on this new streaming media service, I was able to get Growing Your Grub listed on Stitcher now. Stitcher is a new streaming media app for mobile devices like the iPad, iPhone, Andriod, Kindle Fire, etc.  It streams the content to the device, allowing you to listen anytime without synching or downloading. On the Growing Your Grub Website, right hand side, you will find a logo banner that will take you there if interested.  The app is free and since I have been playing with it, it appears to be very reliable also. Download Stitcher if you would like to listen to many of your favorite podcasts, or live radio shows in some cases - all for Free. What have I been Up To? Over the holidays, I traveled to Northern Calif to be near family and look at some options for our land, as far as building a home on it.  Prices kept going up and up, and to be honest when we got home we weren't sure what we were going to do.   Then My brother in law asked if we had considered used homes with all the features I wanted, 5 acres, buildings, well, fencing, etc and I said no.  he then sent me to a link for a home near them that just went on the market and was just what we wanted. Well, that led to me hopping back on a plane for a second trip to meet the realtor, make and offer, etc. The long and the short of it all is we successfully  offered and won the house with 5 acres, and all the things we were looking for.  Success. As a result, the Growing Your Grub Studios will be moving to the new property by Early May!  Finally!.  This shouldn't make any difference in the publishing schedule, but may be a short disruption here and there as I move. Goals for 2012 One of my plans for 2012 is to bring in more Fruit tree and fruit production as I build my new orchard on the new land. I also plan on working on more Gardening and Cooking videos for Youtube.  Bon Apetit! Remember to Contest for the Free Autographed Copy of Joe Lampl's book is still open.  Check out GYG-061 for more details. Seed Starting Basics This week I get into the inaugural Seed Starting episode for 2012.  It's a simple task, but several of the new listeners have requested it.  This week we'll take about the following: Clyde's Garden Planner Choosing and Buying Seeds and differences between Hybrid and Open-Pollinated Buying or making seed pots.  Using Seed Blocks

This week we are privileged to get some time in the busy schedule of Joe Lamp'l. For those of you who don't know, Joe, he is the host and producer for the TV Show Growing a Greener world on Public Television.  Now entering their 3rd season, Joe and his crew share great tips, locations, and gardening experts with all of us on his popular TV show. For those of you in other countries, or unable to catch his show, the episodes are also available on his website at Growing a Greener World.com. CONTEST! Win a free autographed copy of Joe's book by correctly answering the following question in the comments below or on Facebook: In the Interview, Joe talked about his $25 Victory Garden.    What was the actual cost of his garden materials mentioned in the podcast" For multiple correct answers, I'll draw names and announce the winner on an upcoming podcast.  The cut-off will be January 22,, 2012.