I went back through the episodes for this season and looked at the statistics to find which episodes really stood out for you guys this year and thought I would share those so, if you really need a garden podcast fix this week you could jump back and listen to one of those. There was one surprise on the list that I will cover at the end and one all-time favorite, but first let’s look at the top 5 for 2024.
I will leave links to each of these episodes in the episode notes and it was also in this morning’s email for your convenience!
References and Resources:
Starting Flower Seedlings Indoors - Ep. 183
Maintaining Fruit Trees, Bushes, and Canes
Different Ways to Grow Potatoes - Ep. 186
Ep. 135 - Growing Potatoes Steps for Planning the Fall Garden (and Why You Should Grow One) - Ep. 205
Growing Strawberries - Ep. 194
Ep. 106 - Introduction to Vermicomposting (Worm Farming!)
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Surprise. I know I said we'd skip this
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week, but I wanted to jump on and give you a little something
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for this New Year's Eve. I went back through the episodes
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for this season and looked at the statistics to find which
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episodes really stood out for you guys this year and I thought
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I would share those. So if you really need a garden
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podcast fix this week, you can jump back in and you can listen
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to one of those. There was one surprise on the
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list that I will cover at the end and one all time favorite.
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But first, let's look at the top five for 2024.
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I will leave links to each of these episodes in the episode
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notes, and it was also in this morning's e-mail for your
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convenience #5 on the list of the most listened to episodes
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released in 2024 was Starting Flower Seedlings Indoors episode
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183 that was released back on February 6th.
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This would be a really timely one to listen to as you're
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preparing your garden plan for next season because we talked
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about the easiest flowers to start from seed and those
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special flower seeds, the ones that might need a little more
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time and attention than our standard annuals.
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So if there are specific flowers that you want to grow, but they
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may need some extra steps, this episode clears some of that up.
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We also went over your answers to the January question of the
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month, asking what garden planning tools you all use.
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So again, more timely information as we head into the
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new year. Number four of the most popular
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episodes of 2024 was maintaining fruit trees, bushes and canes.
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That was episode 187, released on March 5th.
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We talked all about the maintenance that needs to be
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done on our fruit trees before they come out of dormancy in the
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spring, and our bushes and arcanes and our brambles, which
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is one of those tasks that can scratch the itch for getting out
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into the garden when maybe it's still too early to really be
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planting much. And they're tasks that are
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important for us to be able to get the best yield possible from
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those plants. And that can happen anytime
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between late fall and early spring.
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So if we get a really nice sunny winter day, we can take
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advantage of that. And those tasks are things that
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we can be doing. This also happened to be the
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episode where we reviewed your answers to the February Question
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of the Month about your most successful crop in the garden. 3
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#3 The third most popular episode released in 2024 was
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Different Ways to Grow Potatoes Episode 186 released on February
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27th. A lot of gardeners don't have a
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large space to dedicated to growing potatoes in ground in
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like big long rows or don't have soil that is conducive to
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growing underground crops that like it loose and loamy.
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So we talked about all the different ways to grow potatoes,
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even if you're in a short season area.
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The wonderful thing about potatoes is you can harvest them
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at just about any size. So we can still grow potatoes
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and get a harvestable crop in really small spaces or in very
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short seasons. And it's probably no coincidence
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that the top episode from 23 was the full episode on growing
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potatoes, which was episode 135. So I will leave a link to that
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one in the show notes as well. 2 The second most popular episode
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from the 2024 season of this podcast was Steps for Planning
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the Fall Garden and Why You Should Grow 1 Episode 205
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released on July 2nd. Yes, the middle of the summer is
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the time to be planning for our fall garden.
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And that's because we have to get seeds started or track down
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starter plants and get the timing just right to get them to
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maturity before our first frost in the fall or before our period
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hits from the daylight hours drop lower than what's conducive
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for plant growth. I will fully admit my fall
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garden was a complete failure this year, and that was mostly
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because the timing was just way off.
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Not that I didn't plan appropriately, but the weather
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just didn't give us any kind of break from the heat until much
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later than usual, and I had no choice but to plant when it was
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deathly hot outside. And most of those plants just
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didn't survive because I couldn't baby them.
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I had too much else going on. The ones that did survive did
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great up until well past the first frost, and if I'd had more
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time to focus on the fall garden, it probably would have
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been fine. But it wasn't as much of A
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priority for me this season as it was in previous ones,
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especially because we were going to be out of town for some of
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that time period. So no love lost on my end for
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the Fall Garden and it was most definitely going to be a
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priority again this year. If that's you, the link to this
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episode will be in the show notes, even if you want to
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bookmark it for later on in the season when it gets closer to
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time for planning that fall garden.
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But don't worry, I'll remind you one and drum roll, please.
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The number one most popular episode from the 2024 season of
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the Just Grow Something podcast was Growing Strawberries,
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episode 194, released on April 23rd.
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Small fruits like strawberries are really popular with home
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gardeners because they're accessible.
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They're much easier to grow and maintain than something like big
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fruit trees or canes that can get out of control.
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They don't take up as much space and strawberries don't have many
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very specific requirements in terms of the soil like say
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something like blueberries do. You can plant them in ground or
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in containers, you can grow them in many different climates and
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even a minimal effort in maintenance will improve the
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yield dramatically. Strawberries are also great for
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gardening with kids, especially teaching them how to wait for
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something to ripen while also giving them some sort of quick
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gratification. This was a full crop specific
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episode with planting, growing and harvesting techniques, pests
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and diseases, maintenance tips, all the things.
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In fact, I was outside last week tending to our strawberry bed,
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which was in desperate need of some cleanup and a little mulch
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refresher. So strawberries are another
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thing that can sort of scratch the gardening itch in the
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offseason if you live somewhere with a cold winter climate.
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So those were the top five episodes of 2024.
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But I mentioned there was one honorable mention and one all
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time favorite. When we look back at the overall
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top episodes, these episodes were very popular and one of
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them is so popular, it's in the top five twice.
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So the honorable mention to the most popular episodes actually
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comes in as number six of the most popular episodes of all
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time. But it was released in season 2
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of this podcast all the way back in 2022.
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So that tells you how interested you all are in this topic.
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If you're going all the way back to season 2.
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And that episode was Introduction to Verma Composting
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or Worm farming, that's episode 106 released in August of 2022.
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If you're not familiar with what Verma compost is, it's the
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product of earthworm digestion and the aerobic decomposition of
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food waste materials by the microorganisms in the worm gut.
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Yes, it is worm poop. OK.
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Unlike a backyard compost pile, this process is all done at room
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temperature, so it produces a very rich organic soil amendment
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that contains plant nutrients and beneficial microorganisms
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and they're called worm castings.
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So episode 106 goes into exactly what happens in this process and
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how we can create our own worm bins to harness the power of
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worms to process our food waste into a fantastic garden
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amendment with very little fuss, no mess, no smell and this can
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all be done indoors. And finally, we have the overall
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stand out episode. This episode actually aired
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twice and both airings of that episode are in the top five of
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all time most popular episodes of this podcast.
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It aired the first time way back towards the beginning of season
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2 in May of 2022. And then I replayed it in
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December of 2023 as I counted down the top five episodes that
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winter and this episode was in the number one spot.
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So the original episode currently ranks as the fourth
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most downloaded episode and the replay ranks as the fifth most
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listened to episode. You all are really interested in
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this topic and that is growing Peppers.
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This was a crop specific episode where we dove deep into the
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basics, the ethnobotany and the nutrition, growing practices,
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pests, diseases, harvesting, storing, and all the things that
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make Peppers so persnickety in the garden, including
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information about how to grow them in short season areas.
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So I will link to the original episode for your listening and
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educational pleasure. So those are the top five
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episodes for the 2024 season, plus a couple that are
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considered all time favorites, specifically Peppers for sure.
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If you have any recommendations for what I should cover next on
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this show, I am actively seeking requests for episode topics.
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I have been talking to you all for Four Seasons now about all
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things gardening and food and farming, and I would love to
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hear what else you would like me to cover or things you'd like me
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to cover again, like in more detail or from a different
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perspective. This is your show and I want to
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give you what you want. Happy New Year's Eve, y'all.
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Keep on cultivating that dream garden and we will talk again in
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the new year. Thanks for listening to another
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episode of the Just Grow Something podcast.
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For more information about today's topic and to find all
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the ways you can get in touch with me or support the show, go
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to justgrowsomethingpodcast.com. Until next time, my gardening
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friends, keep learning and keep growing.