show episodes
 
Grow a better vegetable garden, whether you're a seasoned gardener or have never grown a thing in your life. Karin helps home gardeners learn to grow their own food using evidence-based techniques and research. She talks all about specific plants, pests, diseases, soil and plant health, mulch, garden planning, and more. It's not just the "how" but also the "why" that makes us better. The goal? For everyone to know how to grow their own food no matter what sized space they have or their exper ...
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Grounded in Maine Podcast is an open conversation about being mindful of how we show up for the world. We discuss the role we play in sustainability including gardening and preserving, recycling and composting and even household DIY. It's a podcast about our commitment to ecological responsibility, and learning different ways to be part of the solution.
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In our busy modern world, many people are interested in becoming more self-reliant, but have no idea where to start. Join first-generation homesteader and passionate gardener Ashley Constance for soul-centred and attainable conversations around growing your own food, sustainability, self-sufficiency, and everything in between. Whether you're on a farm in the country or in a house in the city, there is something for everyone in the world of self-reliance.
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I've been listening to Karin Velez's podcast Just Grow Something for quite a while, because I love how she offers helpful, bite sized truth bombs about growing produce every episode - and she also has this voice that is so easy for me to listen to... Karin's story about where her podcast came from is fascinating, and she is offering super helpful i…
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It’s the middle of July and it’s the time of year when heat stress in plants can be a significant challenge for gardeners. If you’re gardening in the peak of summer or in a region with consistently high temperatures, heat stress can lead to wilting, reduced yields, poor fruit quality, and even cause plants to just up and die. But, we can do somethi…
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If you are in any gardening group, whether an in-person club or online, you likely see countless home remedies for everything that ails our plants. Gardeners tout everything as a miracle cure for something in the garden, from putting tums in the soil to burying fish, making weed killer out of vinegar and salt (please don’t) to using dawn dish soap …
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Man, I loved this conversation with Carrie Hoffman of Bigger Life Adventures! I was sold with sustainable travel, but this conversation is SO much more- Carrie lives the sustainable lifestyle - She lives on 10 acres in the mountains of Arizona! You can probably hear (and hopefully can tune out) the crackly sound, but she lives out in the open and t…
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Last week on the podcast we talked about your summer succession plantings, things you can plant in the summer and harvest in the summer on repeat. This week, it’s all about fall, baby. I know it may seem like the summer growing season just started, especially if you have very few frost-free days, but this really is the time to be planning for a fal…
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For the 100th episode of Grounded in Maine, I'm celebrating with this PANEL of women to talk about menopause! We discuss the highs and lows, what we expected about menopause, the reality, and our hopes. Whether you are in your 20s, 40s, 60s, female or male, menopause effects us all. Andrea Canny has a dream of creating an educational and peaceful o…
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We are officially in summer in the northern hemisphere and, for many of us, she came in with a bang. It will hit 100 F here today with a heat index of 112 F and it feels like walking in front of a blast furnace stepping out into the sun. This may make you think the summer growing season is a one-and-done situation, especially if you live somewhere …
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I have a big request, you guys - I need some MALE people to give their perspective on menopause - I'm really doing it - I've been talking about the Menopause Panel since November/December, and it's finally happening. I'm so excited for these conversations, and to help people feel empowered and not feel broken when their body is changing in ways we …
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I posted a video last week on TikTok and Reels about how to tell if your onions are ready to harvest and there was a lot of feedback. Onions are one of those crops that can take a long time to master and, even then, getting a good harvest can be hit or miss. Which is probably why that video got the response it did. Today on Just Grow Something we’l…
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Oh man, I learned SO much about energy audits from Colin McCullough! He's been doing audits for a long time, and is passionate about it. He is one of the very few people I've talked to who said he would do his job for free if he didn't need money to survive - that says so much to me about him. Energy Audits help you to see how to make your home mor…
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Well, I dropped the ball! This is a follow up to Tuesdays episode about problems in cucumbers. I failed to mention two pests that plague many gardeners - squash vine borers and squash bugs. So, let's remedy this situation! Spend a quick 15 minutes with me while we talk about these pests and how to prevent them.…
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The summer gardening season is just about in full swing here in the northern hemisphere and cucumbers are definitely a crowd favorite. Whether you’re growing the for slicing, snacking, or pickling, a properly managed cucumber vine can be very productive. But it seems like when things go wrong with cucumbers, they go really wrong. Whether it’s dying…
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Oh my gosh, our friend Ande Lyons introduced us, and I was thrilled to get to talk to Cathy Nesbitt of Cathy's Composters about worm composting; I was told she also taught "Laughter Yoga," which I guess made sense, and was very curious about, but when I met Cathy on Zoom, I was instantly sold. Cathy has been teaching worm composting for over 2 deca…
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Welcome to the 200th episode of the Just Grow Something podcast, my gardening friends! I launched this podcast back in February of 2021 as a way to pass on the gardening knowledge I had gained from my experiences on our own homestead and farm and what I had learned as I worked my way through my horticulture degree at Oregon State University. I’ve c…
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Mary Lewis has her own podcast called A Tiny Homestead, where she talks with other homesteaders and people doing "homestead-y" things... She's had some pretty impressive guests, like Joel Salatin and me... It makes me think of my plan before this podcast, so I'm loving following Mary to see how that goes! Mary's message that she's hoping you take a…
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One of the most labor-intensive parts of growing some of our garden crops, like tomatoes, can be trellising them. Other plants naturally just climb whatever we place next to them without much intervention from us, but they do sometimes need some initial guidance. Cucumbers and peas are two good examples of this. Often times this depends on the type…
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Y'all, if this conversation with Shelly Cunningham doesn't make you want to shop at Consignment stores over cheaply made box store clothes, I don't know what will change your mind- I didn't know what I've been missing! Shelly bought ReStyle, a consignment boutique, 12 years ago, and moved it a couple of times, but is now settled on Rte 1 in Freepor…
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One of the strategies I use and encourage other gardeners to use for getting the most out of their gardens each year is succession planting. This is the process of planting a new crop of something after the first one has a little bit of growth on it so that we can harvest pretty continuously or planting a second crop after a first one has given its…
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Have you guys seen Monti Carlo on Instagram? How about the Food Network or other Food TV shows? I feel so out of the loop; I've watched so little TV the last bunch of years that I didn't know she was on TV... BUT I found her on Instagram, and watched her great food saving tip reels. And then one day I saw her back story, and I had to learn more abo…
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Growing peppers is one of the most asked about topics at the farm stand and the most played episodes of this podcast. Most of the time the frustration comes with either not getting bell peppers to grow large enough or other problems for peppers, in general, including sunscald, lack of ripening, and just generally poor plant growth and low productio…
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Grounded in Maine is thrilled to be partnering with Connor Tyson to support listeners with financial coaching. Connect with Coach Connor Tyson of Progress Solutions LLC here: https://bit.ly/48eM9Mc Debbi Mack gives a different angle on sustainability: on being an Author- we talk about the pros and cons of selling through an online mega site, what s…
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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 …
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Grounded in Maine is thrilled to be partnering with Connor Tyson to support listeners with financial coaching. Connect with Coach Connor Tyson of Progress Solutions LLC here: https://bit.ly/48eM9Mc I had such a great time talking with Lisa Zawrotny - she is a wealth of knowledge about productivity and more! I love her gentle way of encouraging Lisa…
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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 t…
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Grounded in Maine is thrilled to be partnering with Connor Tyson to support listeners with financial coaching. Connect with Coach Connor Tyson of Progress Solutions LLC here: https://bit.ly/48eM9Mc Therese (Tee) Forton Barnes also goes by The Green living Guru, because she is firm about not bringing toxins into our homes. She has been researching f…
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This is Maine Community Solar's 2nd appearance on Grounded in Maine, and I couldn't be more thrilled! We met Tony Napolitano in the fall when he told us about Maine Community Solar and why it's a great opportunity for Mainers, and other states where there's a Community Solar farm available to utilize - this time Tony's bringing his Business Partner…
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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 t…
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Grounded in Maine is thrilled to be partnering with Connor Tyson to support listeners with financial coaching. Connect with Coach Connor Tyson of Progress Solutions LLC here: https://bit.ly/48eM9Mc I stole this from Amy Dolan's Wider Tables website: "Amy Dolan is the host of The Feeding People Podcast, Founder of Sunday Supper Church, Strategic Con…
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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 kno…
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Grounded in Maine is thrilled to be partnering with Connor Tyson to support listeners with financial coaching. Connect with Coach Connor Tyson of Progress Solutions LLC here: https://bit.ly/48eM9Mc Megan Gaul is the Owner of Partake Meal Planning and Wellness, and also is a weight loss coach with heart, because she doesn't say food are off limits; …
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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 …
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Grounded in Maine is thrilled to be partnering with Connor Tyson to support listeners with financial coaching. Connect with Coach Connor Tyson of Progress Solutions LLC here: https://bit.ly/48eM9Mc Nicholas Wasierski reached out when I sent out an SOS after my "tech" issues (cat) and had to schedule re-dos for 3 conversations, and it took me a bit …
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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 …
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Grounded in Maine is thrilled to be partnering with Connor Tyson to support listeners with financial coaching. Connect with Coach Connor Tyson of Progress Solutions LLC here: https://bit.ly/48eM9Mc Kadin stepped in after I had a rough week technology-wise, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to see what he's up to! Kadin is a Sophomore at Kent …
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Hardening off is a process that helps plants adjust to the outdoor environment, preventing shock and ensuring they thrive once planted in the garden. Gradual exposure helps the plants acclimate to the conditions they will experience out in the garden or in their containers on your porch before you put them out there. Today on Just Grow Something we…
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Grounded in Maine is thrilled to be partnering with Connor Tyson to support listeners with financial coaching. This is such a great offer; to encourage self confidence and self sufficiency in finances! Connect with Coach Connor Tyson of Progress Solutions LLC here: https://bit.ly/48eM9Mc I have so many things spinning inside my head at any given ti…
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Years ago I had some straw bales I’d used initially as fall décor that ended up in my chicken coop. The bales were used partially as a wind break all winter and partially as a roost. Well, chickens do what chickens do when they roost and by the spring of the following year those straw bales were full of nitrogen-rich chicken poop and starting to fa…
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Grounded in Maine is thrilled to be partnering with Connor Tyson to support listeners with financial coaching. This is such a great offer; to encourage self confidence and self sufficiency in finances! Connect with Coach Connor Tyson of Progress Solutions LLC here: https://bit.ly/48eM9Mc I'm obsessed with Nicla Marinelli's business, The Runaway Ita…
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Today's episode is a special interview with Meg Lea of the Fox and Hound Garden in Wisconsin. Meg harvested an unbelievable amount of food from her Zone 4b gardens last year and donated over two thirds of it. We chat about all things gardening, from planning to production, donations and dollar roadside stands, overambitious plantings and failing fo…
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*Grounded in Maine is thrilled to be partnering with Connor Tyson to support listeners with financial coaching. Connect with Sponsor Coach Connor Tyson of Progress Solutions LLC here: https://bit.ly/48eM9Mc Wade Brill and I met in a podcasting workshop with One Stone Creative once or twice about a year ago, and have been supporting each other on In…
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If you’re planning to put in new fruit trees, bushes, or canes in your garden the best time of year, generally, is spring. We want the soil to warm up enough that the roots of the plants will begin to seek out water and nutrients as soon as placed in the ground with as little transplant shock as possible. But, if we have existing fruit trees, bushe…
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*Grounded in Maine is thrilled to be partnering with Connor Tyson to support listeners with financial coaching. Connect with Sponsor Coach Connor Tyson of Progress Solutions LLC here: https://bit.ly/48eM9Mc I learn so much from Lauren Landers, AKA The Zero Waste Homestead on Instagram, so I thought it would be fun to record some stuff for the rest …
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Potatoes are a cool season crop, and most varieties need between 60 and 120 days to mature, so that means getting them in the ground as soon as the soil can be worked and giving them the time they need to grow. The great thing about potatoes is they can be harvested at any size, so it’s a crop that can do well in a short-season area and can also be…
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*Grounded in Maine is thrilled to be partnering with Connor Tyson to support listeners with financial coaching. Connect with Sponsor Coach Connor Tyson of Progress Solutions LLC here: https://bit.ly/48eM9Mc Hayley Knight and I started our "mutual admiration society" on Instagram and decided to pair up and talk about the cool things that she's up to…
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This month we’re talking a lot about seed starting and we can’t talk about starting seeds without talking about heat and light. Seeds sprout more quickly and efficiently when they’ve got the correct soil temperatures and the easiest way to do this is with a seedling heat mat. It’s not a requirement, though, so we’ll also talk about some ways you ca…
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*Grounded in Maine is thrilled to be partnering with Connor Tyson to support listeners with financial coaching. Connect with Sponsor Coach Connor Tyson of Progress Solutions LLC here: https://bit.ly/48eM9Mc When I say this guest is special, you may be thinking that I keep saying it (it's true, and I feel so lucky to get to talk to all of these incr…
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Seed starting does not need to be intimidating but it does come with a special set of requirements for true success. Two components to that success are the soils we use and the containers we choose. Not all soils and containers are created equal. Today we dig into the different types of seed starting mediums and containers available on the market a…
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I met Ben Whatley officially in 2020, just as the Covid Pandemic was ramping up, and, as a farmer, Ben was reserving time at the commercial kitchen I used for my jam business, and was asked to help rent out, so we talked - and he was SO cool. So much to share, and so much knowledge and passion for caring for the earth he was responsible for. I felt…
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If you’re planning to grow flowers alongside your vegetables this year, there may be some additional steps you’ll need to take when getting those started. Most annual flowers are started in ways very similar to our annual vegetable plants. But some flowers are trickier to start, especially perennials. And some can’t easily be started from seed and …
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Ok, I guess I lied about whittling down this episode; it IS long - in my defense, I tried, but I couldn't bear to take anything out! So this is another 2 part-er... I met Ben Whatley officially in 2020, just as the Covid Pandemic was ramping up, and, as a farmer, Ben was reserving time at the commercial kitchen I used for my jam business, and was a…
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