This day has been a long time coming. About eight years actually.
You see, Growing a Greener World® is mainly a gardening show. Yet for the past seven years, each season premier has happened in the dead of summer—typically the Fourth of July weekend of all things. Not the best time to roll out a new season of let’s all get outside and garden shows.
Behind the scenes at the #GGWTV #GardenFarm. Host Joe Lamp’l providing an update to his iPhone.
That said, you’ve loved our shows despite that. We continue to get daily communication from you saying so. Thank you!
But here’s the truth. Since the beginning, we’ve wanted to premier our season in spring, when we’re all more than ready to get outside and get our hands in the dirt, along with some timely TV gardening inspiration and wisdom. But for too many reasons too complicated to explain here, it never happened—until now. Finally.
It took a big commitment, intense focus and a lot of extra work here at GGWTV behind the scenes to finally pull it off. Continuing our work to get season 7 shows out the door—while finally working a year ahead to produce season 8 shows in time to have them all ready by spring—was critical. It was now or never.
And we did it!
Now and for evermore, we’ll be working a year ahead to bring you better stories, deeper coverage, and even better video in every episode.
We haven’t been able to slow down long enough yet to celebrate. But today, 4/15/17, we are definitely doing virtual high fives to all our team members scattered across the country. So here’s to us, and you. You’ve given us more moral support than you’ll ever know. We so appreciate that.
About This Episode 801 – A Year in the Life of the Garden Farm
This was an idea conceived mostly by you, our viewers. In a survey we did over a year ago through our newsletter, we asked our subscribers to help us shape future episodes of Growing a Greener World.
More than a few responded that they’d love to see more shows of gardeners in their gardens. And they specifically mentioned they’d like to see more from me in my garden. Hmm. No travel, hotels, car rentals, nasty chain restaurant food, or hauling bulky equipment TV production equipment around. Why didn’t I think of that?
So with that idea quickly approved, we began mapping out the show. Well actually, no we didn’t. Because this was simply going to be a “real” reality kind of gardening episode. Whatever happened through the year would be what you were going to see. No holding back. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
The only challenge was my camera crew doesn’t live with me (although sometimes my family thinks they do.) How to get those spontaneous moments when no one else is around? Hello iPhone video. There’s a fair amount of that in this episode.
And the next one. You see, you can’t really tell the story of a year in the life of this #GardenFarm in 22 minutes of television time.
We started production with cameras rolling early last March, prepping the beds and getting ready for spring planting. But by early July we had more than enough for one show. I had just picked our first tomatoes for the season.
Since this is a year-round garden, we had to keep going with the story. So as you can imagine, episode 802 is part II and the rest of the year in the life at the Garden Farm.
What’s new this year with Growing a Greener World?
Everything!
- We have a new look with our new cameras that offer a much more cinematic look.
- We have original music created exclusively for our show. I think you’ll notice quite a difference. (No more distracting drum beats to bang your heads to. Sorry, I know you’re going to miss that.)
- We have new writers.
- We have new editors.
- We even have a new format.
We’re calling it GGW 2.0. It’s hopefully everything you loved about GGW over the past 7 years, but now with more of the story of the gardener or hero. In fact, this year, it’s more about the story than ever.
I hope you like what we’ve created. And let us hear from you. Tell us what you think. Be honest. I know you will and we appreciate that. Remember, you are the inspiration for some of our best episodes!
Lastly, keep in mind each public television station can run their own schedule. Which, more often than not, differs from ours. So if that’s the case for you, and our season premier is not “premiering” on your station on April 15, fear not. All our episodes are available on our website as they release for broadcast. So you can watch them as soon as they are available on-air. No need to wait.
Links to more information on features in this episode:
How to make the Ultimate Tomato Cage
List of favorite heirloom tomato varieties and where to get them from Craig LeHoullier, author or Epic Tomatoes and our featured expert in upcoming episode 803 and two (upcoming) podcast episodes of The joe gardener®Show.
I’ll leave you with this. It’s one of my favorite quotes of all times and it comes from Margaret Atwood: “In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”
Here’s to you. May we all smell like dirt at the end of this day, and every day we can, this spring and always.
Thanks for being here.
Joe Lamp’l
Creator, Host, and Executive Producer
About GGWTV
Growing A Greener World is a national gardening series on Public Television that features organic gardening, green living and farm to table cooking. Each episode focuses on compelling and inspirational people making a difference through gardening. This gardening series covers everything from edible gardening and sustainable agriculture to seasonal cooking and preserving the harvest.
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I enjoy your show so very much! I wish you would give credit for some of the things you use. I saw show 801 today on Create TV and noticed the screens for sifting soil or compost, and the measuring tool for plant spacing. I have used both of those since I saw Jim Crocket’s Victory Garden. I enjoy your show because it reminds me of Victory Garden, it would be really nice to give the occasional nod to him.
Kim. Thanks for the kind words about the show. I always give credit for any idea I get from other sources when I am aware of them. I have never seen Jim Crocket use of this, hence I would have no way of knowing that.
THE MULCH YOU PUT AROUND YOUR TOMATOES WHAT IS THE NAME ON IT , ONLY MULCh I CAN GET IS THE RED , And BLACK WE PUT AROUND OUR FLOWER BED
CAN I USED THAT AROUND MY TOMATOES?
YOURS LOOK LIKE CHIPS FROM THE WOODS
WHAT BRAND IS IT ?
THANK YOU
ELSIE REID
I LIVE IN CANADA .
Elsie, It is best to avoid mulches that have been dyed different colors. If you have a source for wood chips (generated when trees are taken down and chipped up) these arborist wood chips make great mulch. There are bagged mulches that are natural. Just be sure to read the label carefully. I hope this helps. Happy gardening!
Thank for your TV program.I live in tropical climate.Some are for us.Hope you talk about tropical plants.
Orlando. Thanks for watching. We go where we find the stories. We may cover tropicals in a future episode. In the past we have featured gardens and farms in Florida. You may want to check our episodes from seasons 1-8 on our website. Have a great year in the garden.
I do not really watch your show , but episode 801 spoke to me about tomato plants , you aired a short clip , with bird song , with morning dew on the garden , maybe early morning ? , you spoke about introducing some new plants , to me it sounded biblical , almost like gods thoughts on the garden of Eden many years ago , trying to grow something that would be perfected in itself , adding things in their due time , I think it was cool and moving , if more people were focused on a garden and growing the perfect one , rather than hate and violence and sharing their harvest ? what a world it would be , blessings to you .
Thanks for doing episode 801- ‘The basics’. I’ve been gardening for 50 years and it was great to see that what i do, is very close to what you produced. The basics are what my father taught me and what i learned from James Underwood Crockett back in the 70’s. The one thing that i also do is altinate what i grow in each bed, so that the bed gets the same veggie only once every 3 yrs. Again thanks and keep producing ‘hands on’ info.
We really enjoy your shows on @Create channel! Living in zip code 84037, searched for “cow panel”, “cattle fence”, and “livestock fence”, but found only “OKLAHOMA STEEL AND WIRE FIELD FENCE 47 IN X 330 FT” at the local CAL Ranch store. This looks good for the planting grids, but not rigid enough for any of the verticals you built Do you have any idea where I can find the ” panels” you are using? Thanks also for sharing your designs in your responses to others making comments!
Great show. You gave me a few more uses of our cattle panel. I know some use the full panels to make a hoop style trellis too. One suggestion for all using cattle panels, don’t use zip ties. Go green and use “wire rope clips” as they will outlive most gardeners. Each clip consists of a U-shaped, a forged saddle piece and two nuts. We store ours in a recycled one gallon ice cream pail. Keep up the great shows! We appreciate them.
Thank you Garry for sharing your tip about using the “wire rope clips.” We are currently filming new
shows for season nine which will air in 2018. Stay tuned for more details.
Love your show! Any ideas on how to keep Bermuda grass out of garden and shrub/flower beds. We live in Dallas and I limit my beds because of the invading Bermuda . Any suggestions?
Hi Anjie. Thanks for the kind words. Bermuda grass naturally spreads. So the only way to contain it from creeping into your garden and shrub beds is either s physical barrier, such as steel bed edging (but even then, left unchecked, it will make its way in or periodic mechanical or physical edging. This will be a constant task on your to-do list.
I just saw this episode today on WMHT in upstate NY. We have been making tomato cages and trellises from livestock fencing (which we call cattle fence here) for at least 8 years now. We do it somewhat differently than you do. We take a panel and cut it in half, going down the middle of a “column” so you have wires sticking out on one side of each half when you’re finished. They we use the board technique you showed to bed each cut piece r into a square, then fold over the cut ends when pliers to complete the square. You can put 3 tomato plants in a cage and the holes are big enough to reach in to get the tomatoes. Now I use my old tomato cages for my pepper plants.
We also take an entire cut section to make a trellis with 2 5′ or 6′ fence posts on each end (I use zip ties to hold them up) and I string up my tomatoes as they are growing to reach the sun. You get a lot more tomatoes this way with fewer plants. Be sure to remove the shoots at the bottom of the plants where no tomatoes are growing – they will use energy you need for your tomatoes.
Kim,
Wow! Thanks for your tips and suggestions. I especially like your idea of the trellis for your tomatoes.
I know you must enjoy your tomatoes! Happy gardening.
Joe, I love your show. I have a couple of problems I need help with. The first is with something eating on my cabbage leaves and Brussels. Do you have a remedy for this problem? The second is a lot of gardeners problem, DEER. I have tried the spray deterrents, ground hot pepper and Irish Spring soap flakes to no relieve. Have you tried the electronic type deer deterrents or do you have another solution? Any help would be appreciated.
Ronnie, thanks for the good words about the show. You have cabbage worms. Use B.t to control them. It’s a biological control that is organic and safe for everything but caterpillar larvae.
For your deer, there is nothing that really works to stop them other than a physical barrier. So any remedy or repellant or scare tactic you’ve been told to try, won’t work very long, if at all. The only way to truly stop them is with a fence. Trust me on this. I’m dealing with that on a daily basis.
Try a milorganite perimeter at least 6 feel from your beds. I also tried a mechanical animal deterrent which so far is working, I’ll know for sure when the fall sets in and next spring, but it has kept the groundhogs and deer away from my flowers this summer: REPELL solar powered motion-activated yard and garden protectors. I got 2 of them from heartlandamerica.com for about $33 – I thought it might be hokey, but I tried it. I like the results so far. I occasionally move them out more when my plants start growing and covering the sensor.
I also got a “Hoont Cobra Powerful Outdoor Water Jet Blaster Animal Pest Repeller ” from Amazon. Be sure you get the one with the red “Upgraded version” box in the top right corner. I have a squash bed that is further away from my other beds which the deer and woodchuck were eating the flowers, I ran a hose up to it and it sprays a blaster of water whenever anything or anyone goes by (we’ve been caught by it more than once!) – I put a manifold on a post so I can turn off that hose when we mow the lawn.
Joe-
These 2 episodes are a tremendous help to my wife and I as we begin our retirement dream on our 2.5 acre mini farm! Thank you for all the great information.
We have kept our marriage together for 33 years even though she likes a pretty, tidy, symmetric garden and I lean toward productivity at all costs….damn the aesthetics!!
The images of your garden may just keep our marriage together another 33 years!
Is there a copy of your garden plan that one might print? I have paused the video a million times trying to get the dimensions, but the distances are not clear.
Thanks again….and please keep the great information coming!
Hi David. What a great story! So yes, I am attaching links to the garden plan and to the show notes page. It has links to the garden details as well. If you need anything else, just leave another comment and I’ll get back to you asap. Thanks for the kind words and congrats on a long and happy marriage!
Here’s a link to the garden plan with dimensions: https://www.dropbox.com/s/dwfxxdzc443e9u5/garden%20plan.jpg?dl=0
Here’s the link to the show notes of making the garden. It has details on the beds and more: https://www.growingagreenerworld.com/raised-bed-garden/
Joe: Maryland Public Television aired Season 8, Episode 801 today August 2, 2017. Fine show as always. Just a request that the credits be a larger font as they were for the first seven seasons. The final credit screen with the episode number is too small to read. Appreciate your consideration of this request.
A Loyal Viewer.
Frank Cirincione
Parkton, Maryland
Hi Frank. Thank you for being a loyal viewer and for caring enough to read those credits and write us. I’m making a note to talk to our team about that. Sometimes I know we have to make adjustments to the font size based on how much info we must include based in the time we have for the credit role. So I’m not sure if that was the case here but we always try to use a standard font size. But I’ll check either way.
Joe another fantastic episode. Question for you.How is your water source connected to your garden it looks like it’s a good distance from the barn.. My squash has bloomed and I hand polenated them. A few days later the blooms look as though someone has clipped them off. I put seven dust on them a few days later but it continued to happen. The blooms are no where in site. What caused this ? Also will they rebloom as the foliage is very healthy.
Hi Michelle. My water in the garden is supplied from an in-ground irrigation system I had installed when I built the garden. so it’s not coming from the barn. I also use a hose all the time that’s run from the house, about 100 feet away.
On the squash blooms, is there a chance any person would have access to these flowers? I have no idea what would cause the blooms to be “clipped off” and disappear! While blooms are short-lived, they don’t disappear overnight. But, they are very popular on the culinary scene. So people love clipping squash blooms to use as a prime ingredient in a number of recipes. So I’m just wondering if that is a possibility. Do you have a chef or neighbor who might be helping themselves to them???
Congratulations and thank you so much for this great video – one of the most engaging I’ve seen! But Joe… was that sliced white pan with ?*ellman’s mayo with those fab.ul.ous tomatoes?!
I have recipes Jo…. 🙂
Thanks Izaella. You know sometimes you just have to get that shot finished, in spite of it being less than ideal. Such was the case for this scene. I would have loved to embellish these wonderful tomatoes the right way. Hopefully next time. Thanks for the laugh.
Merci pour ces conseils vraiment utiles
In one of your episodes , you were interviewing a gentlemen growing of tomatoes in his driveway in grow bags. Can you tell me were I can purchase black plastic grow bags so that I can purchase them. Your help will greatly helpful and appreciate. Thank you. Otto
Otto, I believe Craig LeHoullier (the man featured in this show) will see this and reply. If not, check the thread just before yours. There is a way to reach him to ask your question directly.
Great new episode (8.1) .Love the tomato cages. My only complaint is that there is no download or cast function on your videos. Tried mirror cast but the audio and video is out of sync. Just a suggestion to improve the site.
Thanks Michael. Part of the limitations on the video are by design. But perhaps it’s time to rethink that. I do appreciate the feedback!
Hi Joe – love your show and especially your enthusiasm for figuring out unique ways to help your plants grow and thrive better. Question: I was wondering what you planted on the outside of your new split rail fence. Are they blueberries or something deer resistant? Whatever they are – have they survived the deer?
Hi Mary. Those are blueberries! And they are semi-deer resistant. I say that because the deer have pulled a few out of the ground. But for the most part, they remain untouched. And the deer walk by them all the time. I don’t spray them or do anything to deter the deer. So not sure why they are not bothering them. However, I may be changing my tune here in another month or so. The plants are loaded with berries so that will be the real test. (Although last year they did not bother them even when in full production). Go figure!
Love love love your shows!! Even though I have gardened for 50 years I always learn more from you. You make me feel like I’m visiting with my next door neighbor.
Awesome new show, loving it. Keep up the great work. Maybe a show on the plight of bees and other pollinators and which flowers, veggies and ground cover help most.
Thanks Georgia! And always appreciate ideas on new shows and topics! Even with topics we’ve covered, new ideas or spins on certain subjects is always appreciated!
Joe,
just wondering if Nathan is going to be a part of your new GGW 2.0.
Really enjoyed the first epidsode. like the hands on projects.
Planning on making several of your tomato cages this season.
Thanks Joe for a great show looking forward for part 2
Tobey Hook
Thanks Tobey. Nathan is not part of season 8. Contracts and timing, etc. We hope to have him back from time to time. But just to set your expectations, he’s not in this season at all. Thanks for the good words and glad you like. You’ll love the tomato cages BTW!
Thanks for doing this. I live and garden in the “Great Northwet” and I envy your tomatoes in early July. We have raised beds also, and compost as much as we can. I really like the fact that you let your plants go to flower for the bees. I’m also a beekeeper, and have notice that plenty of pollinators love the extra food source in the fall and in the early spring.
There are very few shows that have as many good ideas as you managed to pack in just one episode. I will keep watching, and will pass on the video link to the other master gardeners in our area.
Thank you Billie! Everything you said is appreciated. I think the background is that we (our crew and me come from a background in horticulture and sustainability first. TV came after. Unlike most shows today, they are TV people looking for the next good idea. Wrong direction in my opinion if you’re really trying to create something of “real” value, vs. a “reality” show that we all know is not that at all. Thanks so much for your comments.
Great work! I’ve enjoyed your show for years. It’s near to see how you grow your farm garden. Thank you.
great session. One of the things that works well with brassica is a small flat pan of water (i use old small satellite dishes) near the plants. The water attracts wasps (not aggressive away from the nest) which eat cabbage worms, and help reduce the work to keep the plants clean. I also place a couple half gallon milk jugs at the base in the row with 1 cup each water, sugar and cider vinegar. Then small ant sized holes in the lid too small for bees. This traps ants and reduces the aphid problem considerably.
Love the panels, will expand my use of them after seeing how you use them with tomatoes.
Thanks
Well Joe,
WOW! I’ve watched 801 online twice so far. Can’t wait to see more. We are hungry for gardening content but the networks are just not listening. I hope your sponsors understand just how important this show is to us gardeners. Please keep it coming and leaving us wanting more.
Nelson & Donna Morris
Peace Field Farm
Lacoochee, FL
Thank you Nelson! I’m honored by your comment. We will continue with new episodes as long as we have the funding to do so. Thankfully, we have great viewers like you to keep us inspired!
Joe,
This is absolutely amazing! Thanks for sharing your journey! (I loved the episodes on building your garden and now its nice to see how you pull everything off!)
Me and my wife are just starting to build raised beds (layout similar to yours albeit fewer – eight beds, 4’x12′), and we were wondering if you would be kind enough to share your layout & timing of vegetables? We are in a different zone, but the timing (bed rotation) would be similar but later.
We noticed you really pack it in (excepting the tomatoes) and given we have not used raised beds before, we would appreciate any advice!
Looking forward to any advice!
Thanks so much.
AKJ
Hi Alexander. Glad you liked! Here’s a link to the bed layout. Each bed is 4′ x 12′: https://www.dropbox.com/s/dwfxxdzc443e9u5/garden%20plan.jpg?dl=0. The perimeter is about 42 x 72 I believe. I also have detailed info on the beds and plans on how to make them from the show notes of the episode where we built the garden here: https://www.growingagreenerworld.com/raised-bed-garden/
I plant my summer crops the week of 4/15 (this week) and my fall crops in early September. I made this post last fall to address what I grow in my fall garden. Hope this helps: https://www.growingagreenerworld.com/fall-vegetable-garden/.
Good luck!
Love the first episode of the new season, Joe. I’m sharing this link with my family and friends. Looking forward to the upcoming episodes.
P.S. I hope some of the episodes will include cooking segments as well.
I love this show! And really look forward to the new format.
I’ve been waiting for Today to come for such a long time…I know you all are working so hard to bring us the BEST Gardening show Ever !
And I have No Doubt that it will be.
Thank You Joe for your Total Concern for what we would like to see and learn.
I’m SOOOO Excited for Toady !
Thank You for All of Your Hard Work !
Thanks so much Patti! Your comment is very much appreciated!