Epic Gardening: Daily Growing Tips And Advice

The squash vine borer is not common along the west coast, but for the majority of the United States it’s a common pest. The larvae burrow deep into the soft vines of zucchini or summer squash and kill off the plant. Today I’ll tell you everything you need to know about the lifecycle of these red and black moths and their offspring, and how to get rid of them when they appear! Learn More: Squash Vine Borer: Protecting Your Food Crops From These Pests Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's question comes in from a reader, who wonders if you can still use the Square Foot Gardening method if you're not growing in a raised bed! Learn More: Square Foot Gardens: Where Efficiency Meets Beauty Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's question comes from Dan. He wonders how, when, and what to fertilize his container citrus and fig trees with! Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's question is more of a story from Farmer Phyl on how she drastically improved her heavy clay soil in just three short years. Learn More: Clay Soil Got You Down? Top Tips For Amending Clay Soil Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's show, I talk with Sam and Mark of Vinder, a cool app that allows gardeners to connect with their neighbors to buy and sell produce. Learn More: Check Out the Vinder App Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you've been convinced of the power of soil algae like me, you might want to know how to cultivate it at home. Well...that's what this episode will walk you through ;) Learn More: Soil Algae on Kickstarter Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This whole week has been singing the praises of algae...so let's look at the opposite side of the coin. When is it bad to have algae in the garden, and what can you do about it? Learn More: Soil Algae on Kickstarter Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's episode is a quick refresher course on basic soil microbiology :) Learn More: Soil Algae on Kickstarter Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The benefits of cultivating a strong soil food web are unparalleled, but many of us don't realize that algae plays a crucial part! Find out what it does for your soil in today's show. Learn More: Soil Algae on Kickstarter Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Now that we know the difference between algae and plants, what types of algae will we find in our soil...and what effects do they have on our plants? Learn More: Soil Algae on Kickstarter Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In today's algae episode, Matt and I look at the difference between algae and plants, and what it means for the garden. Learn More: Soil Algae on Kickstarter Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today we kick off ALGAE WEEK on the podcast with my friend Matt Huber of Soil Algae. Matt's an oceanographer and algae researcher who's got a TON to say about algae's relationship to soil and our gardens. In this episode, we talk about the different types of plant pigments and their effect on photosynthesis. It's a must-listen. Learn More: Soil Algae on Kickstarter Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's question comes from Phil Koster, a long-time listener of the podcast. He wants to know if it's truth or myth that floating seeds won't germinate. As with most things...the answer depends on a few factors! Find out which in today's show :) Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Insecticidal soaps are a great 'all purpose' pest destroyer, and for good reason: they make short work of soft-bodied insects. Things like aphids, thrips, whiteflies, and so on. Here's how to make it at home. Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hummingbirds are wonderful garden-dwellers. Not only are they adorably cute with their super-fast blur of wings and tiny bodies, but they can be great pollinators. Often, we want to encourage them to stay by buying the best hummingbird feeder we can find and providing extra food. But what really works to draw hummingbirds? Do you know where to place a hummingbird feeder for the best chance of drawing birds? How to clean a hummingbird feeder? What should you put in it to keep your birds healthy and safe? I’ll discuss what works and what doesn’t work, and whether glass hummingbird feeders are better than plastic ones. But more than that, I’ll help you learn how to care for your hummingbird feeder, how to maintain it and clean it, and how to encourage these cute little birds to visit. Learn More: Best Hummingbird Feeder: Enticing Hummingbirds To Stay In Your Garden Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad

Toads are some of the most powerful pest preventing creatures in a garden. Unless you're in an area where they're invasive, you should be thinking about how to attract them to your garden. And what better way than a little toad house! Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s never too early to think about upcoming needs, and for many of us, a heated bird bath is on that list. Some are stylish and have tons of visual appeal. Others are a bit more sedate and merely do exactly as advertised: they keep the water from freezing. Let’s explore all of the important details of bird bath heaters, and go over everything you could ever need to know before buying one. I’ll make suggestions for some of the best that are out there, and you can prepare in advance for the fall and winter months! Unlike other devices, there is not a best heated bird bath. It really depends on your personal needs and your available space and preferences. But there are a lot of high-quality options available, and I’ll talk a little about each. Learn More: Heated Bird Bath: Give Wildlife Access To Water All Winter Long Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you ever wanted to grow fruit, but didn’t want to give up space in the yard for one of those heirloom apple trees? Even a crab apple might be too large? Then you will want to know about espalier fruit trees and how they’re grown! This old technique has been used on grape vines, fruit and flowering trees, and even large shrubs. Pronounced “ess-PAUL-yay”, the term originates with the French word “aspau”, meaning “a prop”, referencing the trellis that supports branches. It may also have been partially derived from the Italian term “spalliera”, which means “something to lean the shoulder against”. Espalier has been used to create low walls, lattice-pattern foliage, and best of all, flat-growing fruit trees that can live along a fenceline. It can take many years of training a tree or shrub to create the effect that you’re aiming for, but it’s so rewarding once it takes shape. Learn More: Espalier Fruit Trees: Ideas To Pack Big Fruit Harvests Into Small Spaces Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhe

Welcome back to reality my gardening friends! Hope you had an awesome weekend. Today's episode is a riff on permaculture wine and beer techniques from the head farmer at Jester King brewery in Austin, Texas.  Learn More: Jester King Brewery Keep Growing, Kevin Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Most gardeners get around 10lb of tomatoes off of a single plant. And that's great! But what if you want MORE? Here are some tips to maximize yield on your tomatoes this season. Keep Growing, Kevin Epic Soil Starter I've partnered with Garden Maker Naturals to formulate a custom organic fertilizer designed to take standard raised bed soil to the next level. I use it in all of my beds and containers. Order your Epic Soil Starter now. Follow Epic Gardening Everywhere: YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Facebook Group Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices