The Beet: A Podcast For Plant Lovers

This week’s episode of The Beet mixes things up. Jacques sits down with author and historian Dr. Kate Brown to discuss her book, “Tiny Gardens Everywhere: The Past, Present, and Future of the Self-Provisioning City,” and the surprising origins of gardens back in feudal times. They explore how wage labor replaced self-sufficient life on the land, and how today’s gardeners are flipping the script. Even in cities, people are reclaiming that grounded, grow-your-own way of living. Connect with Dr. Kate Brown: Dr. Kate Brown is a historian who started out tackling manmade disasters—and then pivoted to exploring people who see plants as allies. She’s the author of five historical books, with a degree from the University of Wisconsin and a PhD from the University of Washington. Her work blends archival research, oral history, sensory observation, reflective autobiography, and inventive literary style, bringing a fresh, immersive edge to how history gets written. Find more from Dr. Kate Brown on her website: https://www.katebrownhistorian.org/ Support The Beet: → Shop: https://growepic.co/shop → Seeds: https://growepic.co/botanicalinterests Learn More: → All Our Channels: https://growepic.co/youtube → Blog: https://growepic.co/blog → Podcast: https://growepic.co/podcasts → Discord: https://growepic.co/discord → Instagram: https://growepic.co/insta → TikTok: https://growepic.co/tiktok → Pinterest: https://growepic.co/pinterest → Twitter: https://growepic.co/twitter → Facebook: https://growepic.co/facebook → Facebook Group: https://growepic.co/fbgroup → Love our products? Become an Epic affiliate! https://growepic.co/3FjQXqV Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode of The Beet, Jacques chats with Kodiak, Alaska gardener Marion Owen, aka “The UpBeet Gardener,” about the thrill of growing in what she calls “zone zero.” She shares how she stretches her season by adapting raised beds with protective coverage for the coldest months. In summer, the sun can linger until midnight, giving her plants a surprising boost, but making hardening off even more important. Marion also reveals her secret sauce: blending volcanic-ash-rich native soil with homemade compost to make her garden pop. Connect with Marion Owen: Marion Owen is a gardener and co-author of Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul, growing against the odds in Kodiak, Alaska. While the climate keeps things interesting, she credits her success more to building healthy soil than battling the weather. Guided by the idea that we all share one beautiful blue planet, Marion documents her garden through blogs and videos. Her message is simple: stay curious, stay hopeful, and keep growing. Find more from Marion at her blog: https://theupbeetgardener.com/ Find more from Marion on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyXH694HaYuwwUCFkAhrsbg Support The Beet: → Shop: https://growepic.co/shop → Seeds: https://growepic.co/botanicalinterests Learn More: → All Our Channels: https://growepic.co/youtube → Blog: https://growepic.co/blog → Podcast: https://growepic.co/podcasts → Discord: https://growepic.co/discord → Instagram: https://growepic.co/insta → TikTok: https://growepic.co/tiktok → Pinterest: https://growepic.co/pinterest → Twitter: https://growepic.co/twitter → Facebook: https://growepic.co/facebook → Facebook Group: https://growepic.co/fbgroup → Love our products? Become an Epic affiliate! https://growepic.co/3FjQXqV Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Beet, Jacques sits down with Tanner Mitchell, aka “Tannner the Planter”: author, houseplant expert, and TikTok gardening celebrity from the nursery and gardening store Famous In Oregon. They discuss his move from Oregon to Texas and why the “trap of intuition” can sometimes lead growers astray. The conversation goes beyond the basics, unpacking why successful plant care is more about direct observation than subjective perceptions of growing conditions. Connect with Tanner Mitchell: Tanner Mitchell co-founded Famous In Oregon, a thriving online houseplant business, with his wife, Erika. Better known as @TannerthePlanter, he’s built a massive, highly engaged online community centered around plant care and education. He calls Prosper, Texas, home, where life with his family is, unsurprisingly, still pretty plant-filled. Find more from Tanner on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tannertheplanter/ Find more from Tanner on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tannertheplanter Support The Beet: → Shop: https://growepic.co/shop → Seeds: https://growepic.co/botanicalinterests Learn More: → All Our Channels: https://growepic.co/youtube → Blog: https://growepic.co/blog → Podcast: https://growepic.co/podcasts → Discord: https://growepic.co/discord → Instagram: https://growepic.co/insta → TikTok: https://growepic.co/tiktok → Pinterest: https://growepic.co/pinterest → Twitter: https://growepic.co/twitter → Facebook: https://growepic.co/facebook → Facebook Group: https://growepic.co/fbgroup → Love our products? Become an Epic affiliate! https://growepic.co/3FjQXqV Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Looking to save money in the garden? This episode is for you! In this week’s episode of The Beet, Jacques chats with Stephanie Rose, Canadian master gardener, permaculturist, and herbalist. Together, they dig into what it really means to garden with nature, let go of perfection, and grow a thriving, beautifully wild space over time. They also discuss how gardening doesn’t have to be expensive at all. Connect with Stephanie Rose: Stephanie Rose is the creator of Garden Therapy – a go-to hub for creative garden projects, crafts, and plant-powered living. She is passionate about helping gardeners tap into the instant joy of digging in the dirt and reconnecting with nature. A trained Master Gardener and lifelong learner, she blends expertise in herbalism, permaculture, and natural skincare into her work. She’s an award-winning author and speaker, spreading the good word of plants far beyond her Pacific Northwest garden. Find more from Stephanie at her website: https://gardentherapy.ca/ Find more from Stephanie on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFwFC2Ym1do9MVRq8srTyFg Support The Beet: → Shop: https://growepic.co/shop → Seeds: https://growepic.co/botanicalinterests Learn More: → All Our Channels: https://growepic.co/youtube → Blog: https://growepic.co/blog → Podcast: https://growepic.co/podcasts → Discord: https://growepic.co/discord → Instagram: https://growepic.co/insta → TikTok: https://growepic.co/tiktok → Pinterest: https://growepic.co/pinterest → Twitter: https://growepic.co/twitter → Facebook: https://growepic.co/facebook → Facebook Group: https://growepic.co/fbgroup → Love our products? Become an Epic affiliate! https://growepic.co/3FjQXqV Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Beet, Jacques chats with Missouri farmers and food preservers Staci and Jeremy Hill of Gooseberry Bridge Farm. With wild swings in weather, they’ve learned that fast, smart food preservation is essential. They dig into the how and why behind preserving the harvest, covering practical methods from their new book, The Preserver’s Garden. If you’ve ever wondered how to make your garden last beyond the season, this conversation makes a strong (and tasty) case. Connect with Jeremy & Staci Hill: In 2016, Staci and Jeremy traded suburban life for 11.6 acres and a fixer-upper farmhouse in southern Missouri. What started as a dream quickly turned into a full-blown homestead, called Gooseberry Bridge Farm, complete with gardens, orchards, and a growing crew of goats, sheep, cows, pigs, and plenty of feathered friends. Now in year eight, they run a lively You-Pick flower farm and farm store, sharing products and know-how with visitors year-round. Find more from Jeremy & Staci on their website: https://www.gooseberrybridge.com/about.html Find more from Jeremy & Staci on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gooseberrybridgefarm/ Support The Beet: → Shop: https://growepic.co/shop → Seeds: https://growepic.co/botanicalinterests Learn More: → All Our Channels: https://growepic.co/youtube → Blog: https://growepic.co/blog → Podcast: https://growepic.co/podcasts → Discord: https://growepic.co/discord → Instagram: https://growepic.co/insta → TikTok: https://growepic.co/tiktok → Pinterest: https://growepic.co/pinterest → Twitter: https://growepic.co/twitter → Facebook: https://growepic.co/facebook → Facebook Group: https://growepic.co/fbgroup → Love our products? Become an Epic affiliate! https://growepic.co/3FjQXqV Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Kevin is back to catch up with his friend and cut flower grower Milli Proust. They dive into her new book, How Does Your Garden Grow, and what it really takes to grow 70% of the seed you sell. They explore floral garden design, the quirks of saving flower seeds, plus how to clean, isolate, and store them like a pro. And yes, there’s a passionate detour into the prettiest veg around, radicchio, and why it deserves a spot in every garden lineup. Connect with Milli Proust: Milli Proust is one half of ALMA | PROUST, a flower farm and design studio. Milli is a flower-obsessed creative who moved from London to West Sussex nearly a decade ago. Working from a kitchen table HQ, she and her partner, Ted, grow flowers, seeds, and ideas alongside their son, Rex, and two very elegant farm dogs. Forever chasing romance in her work, Milli dreams of fields of roses while happily foraging hedgerows and ditches for overlooked botanical treasures. Find more from Milli at her website: https://www.almaproust.com/ Buy Milli’s book: https://www.amazon.com/How-Does-Your-Garden-Grow/dp/1837832250/ Find more from Milli on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milliproust/ Support The Beet: → Shop: https://growepic.co/shop → Seeds: https://growepic.co/botanicalinterests Learn More: → All Our Channels: https://growepic.co/youtube → Blog: https://growepic.co/blog → Podcast: https://growepic.co/podcasts → Discord: https://growepic.co/discord → Instagram: https://growepic.co/insta → TikTok: https://growepic.co/tiktok → Pinterest: https://growepic.co/pinterest → Twitter: https://growepic.co/twitter → Facebook: https://growepic.co/facebook → Facebook Group: https://growepic.co/fbgroup → Love our products? Become an Epic affiliate! https://growepic.co/3FjQXqV Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Beet, Jacques chats with Elise Howard, author of Plant This, Not That, about why native plants truly matter. They dig into how invasive species disrupt ecosystems, and how to phase them out of your garden gradually. Along the way, they outline how to grow a thriving, abundant native garden at home, and make the case for letting the bugs snack on your plants for maximum ecosystem support. Connect with Elise Howard: Elise has been digging in the dirt since childhood, growing gardens everywhere from Virginia to Maine, from window boxes to coastal landscapes. Her passion for native plants took root more than fifteen years ago while volunteering in New York City’s Riverside Park. She’s now a literary agent after a long career in children’s publishing. Elise lives and gardens with her family in New York City and Western Massachusetts, where she continues to cultivate both plants and ideas. Find more from Elise at her publisher’s site: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/contributor/elise-howard/ Find Elise on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/elisehoward.bsky.social Support The Beet: → Shop: https://growepic.co/shop → Seeds: https://growepic.co/botanicalinterests Learn More: → All Our Channels: https://growepic.co/youtube → Blog: https://growepic.co/blog → Podcast: https://growepic.co/podcasts → Discord: https://growepic.co/discord → Instagram: https://growepic.co/insta → TikTok: https://growepic.co/tiktok → Pinterest: https://growepic.co/pinterest → Twitter: https://growepic.co/twitter → Facebook: https://growepic.co/facebook → Facebook Group: https://growepic.co/fbgroup → Love our products? Become an Epic affiliate! https://growepic.co/3FjQXqV Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Beet, the boys are back! Kevin is rethinking the harvest, focusing on using what he grows instead of chasing maximum yields. Jacques is expanding his container garden, and both are deep in garlic mode, proving you can build a thriving setup (and community) one bulb at a time. Along the way, they dig into potatoes once reserved for royalty, why raised beds might be the best way to grow them, and how to trellis grow bags like a pro. Support The Beet: → Shop: https://growepic.co/shop → Seeds: https://growepic.co/botanicalinterests Learn More: → All Our Channels: https://growepic.co/youtube → Blog: https://growepic.co/blog → Podcast: https://growepic.co/podcasts → Discord: https://growepic.co/discord → Instagram: https://growepic.co/insta → TikTok: https://growepic.co/tiktok → Pinterest: https://growepic.co/pinterest → Twitter: https://growepic.co/twitter → Facebook: https://growepic.co/facebook → Facebook Group: https://growepic.co/fbgroup → Love our products? Become an Epic affiliate! https://growepic.co/3FjQXqV Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Jacques chats with gardener, author, and tomato guru Frank Hyman. They dig into Frank’s roots in the gardening world, and how many people fall into gardening through a simple first infatuation with plants. Frank shares how he turned his nine callings into a career and explains why tomatoes have captured his heart for decades. Along the way, the conversation wanders into some thoughtful (and fun) philosophy about why so many gardeners end up being polymaths. Connect with Frank Hyman: The only thing Frank Hyman likes more than gardening is talking about gardening! Frank is a gardener, DIYer, and former tomato farmer who’s spent decades helping people grow more food with less fuss. His newest book release, Ripe Tomato Revolution, has recently hit stores. He’s also the author of Hentopia and How to Forage Mushrooms Without Dying. Frank specializes in practical, low-cost gardening tricks that actually work in the real world. Find more from Frank on his Substack: https://frankhyman.substack.com/ Find more from Frank on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frankhiman/ Support The Beet: → Shop: https://growepic.co/shop → Seeds: https://growepic.co/botanicalinterests Learn More: → All Our Channels: https://growepic.co/youtube → Blog: https://growepic.co/blog → Podcast: https://growepic.co/podcasts → Discord: https://growepic.co/discord → Instagram: https://growepic.co/insta → TikTok: https://growepic.co/tiktok → Pinterest: https://growepic.co/pinterest → Twitter: https://growepic.co/twitter → Facebook: https://growepic.co/facebook → Facebook Group: https://growepic.co/fbgroup → Love our products? Become an Epic affiliate! https://growepic.co/3FjQXqV Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of The Beet, Jacques chats with Erin Schanen of The Impatient Gardener about how she got her start in her mom’s garden, what she’s growing now, and what projects she and Jacques happily put off. They dig into the lessons gardeners everywhere can learn from her over two decades of hands-in-the-dirt experience – wins, flops, and all. It’s all about trying things and seeing what works! Connect with Erin Schanen: Erin Schanen is the gardener, writer, and video creator behind The Impatient Gardener, a trusted source of inspiration and straight talk for gardeners all over. With more than two decades of experience in her southeastern Wisconsin Zone 6a garden, she shares real-life wins and flops with practical advice and a sharp sense of humor. A Master Gardener and multiple gold medal winner from GardenComm, her garden was also featured in the best-selling book American Roots. Find more from Erin at her website: https://www.theimpatientgardener.com/ Find more from Erin on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheImpatientGardener Support The Beet: → Shop: https://growepic.co/shop → Seeds: https://growepic.co/botanicalinterests Learn More: → All Our Channels: https://growepic.co/youtube → Blog: https://growepic.co/blog → Podcast: https://growepic.co/podcasts → Discord: https://growepic.co/discord → Instagram: https://growepic.co/insta → TikTok: https://growepic.co/tiktok → Pinterest: https://growepic.co/pinterest → Twitter: https://growepic.co/twitter → Facebook: https://growepic.co/facebook → Facebook Group: https://growepic.co/fbgroup → Love our products? Become an Epic affiliate! https://growepic.co/3FjQXqV Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices