Best Karin Velez Podcasts (2024)

1
When Are Onions Ready to Harvest? - Ep. 203 25:45

2d ago25:45

25:45

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…

1
Squash Vine Borers and Squash Bugs in Cucumber Plants - Focal Point Friday Ep. 202 14:49

6d ago14:49

14:49

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. --- Send in a voice message: https://…

1
Problems with Cucumbers - Ep. 201 33:52

9d ago33:52

33:52

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…

1
Celebrating 200 Episodes: Ask Me Anything! - Ep. 200 1:05:20

16d ago1:05:20

1:05:20

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…

1
Trellising Techniques for Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Beans and Peas - Ep. 199 37:48

23d ago37:48

37:48

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…

1
Cloning Plants for Succession and Expansion -Ep. 198 36:29

1M ago36:29

36:29

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…

1
Problems with Peppers - Ep. 197 32:02

1M ago32:02

32:02

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…

1
Gardening in Shade and Solving Your Garden Maintenance Problems - Ep. 196 35:24

1M ago35:24

35:24

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 …

1
Preventing and Controlling Foliar Disease in the Garden - Ep. 195 31:22

2M ago31:22

31:22

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…

1
Growing Strawberries - Ep. 194 34:06

2M ago34:06

34:06

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…

1
Proper Soil Temperatures for Transplanting - Ep. 193 24:52

2M ago24:52

24:52

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…

1
Amendments to Add in Spring for the Summer Garden - Ep. 192 30:23

2M ago30:23

30:23

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 …

1
Your Biggest Pests in the Garden - Ep. 191 28:54

3M ago28:54

28:54

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 …

1
Hardening Off Seedlings Before Transplant - Ep. 190 23:52

3M ago23:52

23:52

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…

1
Straw Bale Gardening - Ep. 189 26:11

3M ago26:11

26:11

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…

1
Donations and Dollar Stands with Meg Lea - Ep. 188 48:47

3M ago48:47

48:47

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…

1
Maintaining Fruit Trees, Bushes, and Canes 28:48

4M ago28:48

28:48

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…

1
Different Ways to Grow Potatoes - Ep. 186 25:57

4M ago25:57

25:57

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…

1
Heat Mats and Grow Lights - Ep. 185 20:01

4M ago20:01

20:01

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…

1
Seed Starting Soils and Containers - Ep. 184 19:50

4M ago19:50

19:50

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…

1
Starting Flower Seedlings Indoors - Ep. 183 25:33

5M ago25:33

25:33

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 …

1
Soil Blocks and Flower Bars with Kathy Gormandy - Ep. 182 36:01

5M ago36:01

36:01

Soil blocking is a seed starting technique that uses small blocks of soil or seed starting mix. There are no containers, no small plastic cells, just the soil itself. The benefit of soil blocking is, of course, you’re not keeping a bunch of plastic containers around to start your seeds in, but also there is no chance for the roots of the seedlings …

1
Succession Planting to Extend the Harvest - Ep. 181 19:07

5M ago19:07

19:07

As we start to get our garden plans in order for this year, succession planting is something that absolutely should be included in our calendars and our garden maps. It’s really the best way to ensure not only to do you have more to harvest throughout the season but that you take advantage of open spaces in the garden when one crop ends or the seas…

1
Interplanting to Maximize Your Harvest - Ep. 180 23:52

5M ago23:52

23:52

There is a fine line in gardening between overcrowding the plants and making efficient use of space. If we do it right, the plants benefit from each other and we can get way more out of our garden than we ever dreamed. But if we step over that line, we end up with plants competing with each other for space, water, sunlight, and nutrients and our yi…

1
How to Choose a Plant Variety - Ep. 179 22:42

5M ago22:42

22:42

You may have an idea of what you want to grow in terms of vegetables in your garden – say zucchini and tomatoes, for example. If you open the seed catalog or website to the page for zucchini you may find as many 18 to 25 different varieties to choose from, each with their own unique set of attributes in terms of shape, size, color, growing conditio…

1
Choosing a Seed Supplier - Ep. 178 30:27

6M ago30:27

30:27

It used to be easy to just choose a catalog and order seeds because there were only a handful of choices and, generally speaking, unless you were going to the nursery or garden center to buy seed packets from a kiosk, you were ordering from a physical catalog that you actually got in the mail. But, nowadays, a simple internet search will yield thou…

1
Top Episode 1: Growing Peppers - Ep. 177 33:14

6M ago33:14

33:14

Let's revisit the most downloaded episode of this podcast the past three season: growing peppers! Peppers are one of those plants that I get asked about all the time; it’s also one of those vegetables that is a mainstay in many people’s kitchens, and they can be expensive at the grocery store, so knowing how to grow your own is high up on the garde…

1
Top Episode 2: Growing Potatoes - Ep. 176 36:19

6M ago36:19

36:19

Potatoes are a staple in many households. The wonderful thing about Irish potatoes is that they can be grown just about anywhere, in ground or in planters or buckets. They can be a quick shoulder-season crop or they can spend 120 days in the ground, making way for fall-planted crops when they’re done. You can pick them early for baby potatoes, leav…

1
Top Episode 3: Growing Onions - Ep. 175 49:42

6M ago49:42

49:42

Welcome back, my gardening friends, to another episode of Just Grow Something as we count down the top four episodes of all time throughout the month of December. This week we revisit the #3 most listened to episode of this show: Growing Onions. Onions are such a staple in most kitchens, it's no surprise many gardeners want to grow their own. The p…

1
Top Episode 4: Growing Zucchini - Ep. 174 32:44

7M ago32:44

32:44

Over the past season we have welcomed a lot of new listeners from all over the world, so I thought for the month of December it’d be fun to revisit the top four episodes of the past three seasons of this podcast. We’ll start with your #4 favorite episode of all time: Growing Zucchini and other summer squashes. This is actually an episode from this …

1
Climbing Seed Prices and Proper Seed Storage - Ep. 173 20:08

7M ago20:08

20:08

The seed catalogs for the 2024 gardening season here in North America have begun rolling in and it always makes me excited. One of my favorite things to do on a chilly night is set myself up in my chair by the fire with a hot cup of something tasty, snuggle under a blanket with a stack of seed catalogs and a highlighter, and just peruse the newest …

1
Updated USDA Hardiness Zone Map - Ep. 172 21:41

7M ago21:41

21:41

On November 17th the USDA updated the Hardiness Zone Map based on data from the past 30 years and many of us are now in new zones. So, what does that mean? Today on Just Grow Something we’re going to deep dive into the USDA Hardiness Zone Map; what the zone numbers and colors mean, how to use the map, what’s new and different with this version, wha…

1
Starting Your Own Sweet Potato Slips - Ep. 171 18:48

7M ago18:48

18:48

Many home gardeners and market growers alike rely on seed companies and other suppliers for not just our seeds, but also our started plants, roots, or bulbs. Things like garlic, onions, and seed potatoes are often purchased rather than saved from the previous harvest or started at home and sweet potatoes also fall into this category. For years I pu…

1
Fall Amendments for the Spring Garden - Ep. 170 26:58

8M ago26:58

26:58

Fall is officially here, and I don’t know about you, but my garden is ready for a bit of a break. But that doesn’t mean the garden soil shouldn’t be doing something in the meantime. We all know testing our soil is the only real way to find out what is lacking in our gardens as far as nutrients are concerned and what the pH level is of that soil. Te…

1
Microgreen Basics - Ep. 169 14:02

8M ago14:02

14:02

Microgreens can be grown at any time of the year with very little in the way of equipment and it is super easy to get started. For many of us home gardeners, the season for salad greens can be short. And I don’t know about you, but I still crave fresh greens in the wintertime. The easiest answer to supplementing our greens is to grow microgreens in…

1
Growing Garlic as a Perennial - Ep. 168 13:17

8M ago13:17

13:17

Right about now is the time that some of us are looking at getting our garlic cloves into the ground for next summer’s harvest. It really is a pretty simple crop to grow but it seems like seed garlic is getting more and more expensive to purchase. I generally save the best specimens from this year’s harvest and plant it in the fall, but our bulbs t…

1
Frost Protection Measures in the Garden - Ep. 167 25:27

9M ago25:27

25:27

It’s been an unusually warm start to fall in many areas of North America, my home in west central Missouri is no exception where we’re still seeing temperatures up into the 90s F the past few days. But I know we’re inching closer to our usual first frost date and I’m most certainly going to be prepared because our weather is notorious for changing …

1
When to Plant Your Cover Crops - Focal Point Friday 5:11

9M ago5:11

5:11

We talked all about cover crops in the last episode: why we should use them and which crops perform what job. Let's chat today about when each of those crops should go into the ground for best results. Don't forget you can get a garden cover crop mix from True Leaf Market here: Check out True Leaf Market’s Cover Crop Mix --- Send in a voice message…

1
Getting Started with Cover Crops - Ep. 166 26:54

9M ago26:54

26:54

As the growing season is winding down in many areas, we may be looking at some bare empty spaces in our gardens and wondering what to do with them. Should you just mulch it over? Add fresh compost and let it sit? How about a cover crop? Using a cover crop gives back a ton of benefits: improving soil structure, preventing erosion, acting as a living…

1
Overlooked Edibles: Parts of Our Garden We Didn't Know We Can Eat - Ep. 165 22:41

9M ago22:41

22:41

Obviously, we grow our vegetable gardens so we can harvest most of the plants to eat. Yes, some of them are pretty flowers and foliage that are a feast for the eyes, but mainly we just want to eat, right? I generally subscribe to the idea that no parts of the plants we grow should be wasted. If it’s not something we’re going to eat, that green matt…

1
Growing Garlic in Warm Climates - Focal Point Friday 5:09

9M ago5:09

5:09

Garlic needs specific conditions to grow and, often times, gardeners in warmer climates have a hard time meeting those conditions. Let's talk about some tips and tricks to making sure the conditions are right for growing garlic in your garden and one way to cheat the system! Reference episode:Ep. 67 - When and How to Plant Your Garlic, Plus Tips fo…

1
Crops to Plant in Fall and Harvest in Spring - Ep. 164 24:36

9M ago24:36

24:36

This week, let’s take a different approach and talk about things to plant now and through the late fall to get a jump on the spring harvest or even harvest in the summer. The timing of these plantings is going to vary by the region you garden in but the concepts are the same. Plant something now and let it get well-rooted, allow it to go dormant, t…

1
Five Crops to Plant in Fall for Winter Harvest, Zone by Zone - Ep. 163 21:50

10M ago21:50

21:50

If you live in an area that sees hard freezes in winter and sometimes extremely low temperatures, then you might think there isn’t anything you can grow for harvest in the winter. Not so! Even if you live in areas where the ground is routinely frozen solid for months on end, you can keep some crops in the ground and, with some effort, harvest some …

1
Direct Sowing Seeds in Late Summer Heat - Focal Point Friday 8:51

10M ago8:51

8:51

We've talked about transplanting fall crops in the late summer heat, but what about sowing those seeds directly into the garden? Soil temperature is a real concern here, so today we'll spend a few minutes reviewing the optimal germination temperature for direct-sown fall garden crops and a few tricks for reducing the soil temperature more quickly. …

1
Storing the Most Popular Types of Fall Garden Crops: No Freezing, No Canning, No Dehydrating Required - Ep. 162 36:59

10M ago36:59

36:59

Late summer and all through fall are the times many gardeners are harvesting crops they want to keep for the long-term to use throughout the winter. How do we harvest and store these vegetables to be sure they retain their flavor, texture, and nutrient value? Today we'll discuss basic cold storage of the most popular types of fall garden crop: no r…

1
Shade Options for Late Summer Transplants - Focal Point Friday 5:03

10M ago5:03

5:03

When talking about protecting our summer transplants from excessive heat to get them through to a fall harvest, we can't overlook the possibilities of shade. Temporary shade structures in the late summer garden can help protect our transplants, but it doesn't always require us to purchase or create something! On this Focal Point Friday episode, we …

1
Fall Garden Transplants: Tips for Success in the Heat - Ep. 161 21:21

10M ago21:21

21:21

If you’re somewhere where Mother Nature is currently trying to cook you, what do you do to prepare and transplant crops that prefer cooler weather than what you've got? Do you wait? Do you forge ahead and just keep your fingers crossed? Today we’ll talk about how to mitigate the heat when trying to transplant fall crops including the reason why I a…

1
More Fermenting Basics - Focal Point Friday 6:30

10M ago6:30

6:30

Let's throwback to my first episode on fermenting and talk a little bit more about the basics. What are those bacteria doing? How safe is fermentation? Let's talk pickling versus fermenting, veggies versus fruits, and cold storage. Episode Resources: Ep. 113 – Dehydrating, Cold Storage, and Fermenting: More Ways to Store Your Harvest Just Grow Some…

1
Getting Started in Fermenting - Ep. 160 39:06

11M ago39:06

39:06

Fermenting foods can be a fun and rewarding way to both preserve the harvest and enhance the flavors of our garden bounty. If you're a beginner looking to get started with fermenting your own foods, I’ve discovered it’s not hard, but there are some essential things to know. Today on Just Grow Something we’ll look at the key tenants behind fermentin…

1
Avoiding Disease in Saved Seeds - Focal Point Friday 6:33

11M ago6:33

6:33

It's always best to start with saving seeds from your healthiest plants. But what if disease is unavoidable? In this throwback to episode 62, we talk about the two best treatments for saving seeds from plants infected with disease. Episode Resources: Hot Water Treatment for Seeds – Louisiana State UniversityEp. 62 - Properly Saving Seeds in Your Ga…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Karin Velez Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide