Just Grow Something | Evidence-Based Home Gardening

If you want an easier garden season, February is the time to set the foundation. Two steps do most of the heavy lifting: getting a soil test and prepping beds without damaging soil structure. Done well, these tasks reduce fertilizer guesswork and improve root growth.
You can do a lot right now that sets you up for success without rushing into two classic mistakes:
1. throwing amendments at the garden without knowing what the soil actually needs, and
2. working soil while it’s still too wet, which can damage structure for the long haul.
So, today on Just Grow Something, I’m walking you through what a soil test can (and can’t) tell you, exactly how to collect a sample that’s representative of your whole garden, the key parts of a soil report that matter most for vegetables, and bed prep steps you can do now that improve soil instead of compacting it.
Let’s dig in!
Resources:
My Seed to Sprout course is waiting for you here: https://justgrowsomething.com/indoor-seed-starting
My free Seed Starting eBook is here: https://justgrowsomethingpodcast.com/seedbook
Soil amendment episodes and articles: https://justgrowsomethingpodcast.com/search/amendments
How to calculate how much fertilizer to add to the garden: https://justgrowsomethingpodcast.com/blog/how-much-fertilizer-to-add-to-your-garden

References:
How temperature affects the rate of nitrification: https://livetoplant.com/how-temperature-influences-the-rate-of-nitrification/
Guide to Collecting Soil Samples - Oregon State University: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/ec-628-guide-collecting-soil-samples-farms-gardens
Soil Compaction from Wet Soils - Purdue University Extension: https://www.purdue.edu/hla/sites/yardandgarden/resist-the-urge-to-work-wet-soil/
Add Organic Matter to Improve Most Garden Soils - Oregon State University: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/add-organic-matter-improve-most-garden-soils

Just Grow Something: https://justgrowsomething.com
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Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/18YgHveF5P/
Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JustGrowSomething
Bonus content for supporters of the Podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/justgrowsomething
Amazon storefront: https://www.amazon.com/shop/justgrowsomething

Today is a clinic episode, a Seedling Troubleshooting Clinic to be exact, because if you’re starting seeds indoors, something is eventually going to look weird. A tray that was perfect yesterday is suddenly leaning. Something looks fuzzy on the soil surface. Or a seedling that seemed fine just flops over.
The good news is most seedling problems come from a small handful of causes, causes that we can actually control - light, temperature, water, airflow, or sanitation. And once you know what you’re looking at, you can usually fix it quickly or at least stop it from spreading to the rest of your tray.
So, I’m going to give you a simple diagnostic checklist and then we’ll walk through the most common seedling symptoms and what to do about each one.
Let's dig in!
Get my FREE seed starting ebook: https://justgrowsomethingpodcast.com/seedbook
Take my comprehensive course for indoor seed starting, Seed to Sprout: https://justgrowsomething.com/indoor-seed-starting
Just Grow Something episodes, videos and blog posts on seed starting: https://justgrowsomethingpodcast.com/search/seed%20starting

References and resources:
University of Illinois Extension: Troubleshooting seed starting problems: https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/good-growing/2022-02-25-whats-wrong-my-seedlings-troubleshooting-seed-starting-problems
University of Minnesota Extension: How to prevent seedling damping off: https://extension.umn.edu/solve-problem/how-prevent-seedling-damping
Utah State University Extension: Seedling culture, airflow, temps: https://extension.usu.edu/yardandgarden/research/starting-vegetable-seeds-indoors-seeding-culture-and-transplanting.pdf

Just Grow Something: https://justgrowsomething.com
Just Grow Something Merch and Downloads: https://justgrowsomething.com/shop
Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/18YgHveF5P/
Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JustGrowSomething
Bonus content for supporters of the Podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/justgrowsomething
Amazon storefront: https://www.amazon.com/shop/justgrowsomething

Onions and shallots are closely related, they can be used in similar ways, and they look similar at the store, but they behave differently in both the kitchen and the garden.
So, today on Just Grow Something we’re doing a side-by-side comparison of these alliums. We’ll cover how they differ in taste and cooking uses, how they differ in growth habit, how to grow each one, and finally, how to adapt for hot climates and short-season climates, because those two extremes can make or break your allium crop.
Let’s dig in.
References and Resources:
Plan Like a Pro Gardening Planning Course: https://justgrowsomething.thinkific.com/courses/plan-like-a-pro
Growing Onions - Ep. 233: https://justgrowsomethingpodcast.com/episode/ep-133-growing-onions
How to Harvest, Cure, and Store Garlic and Onions - Ep. 256: https://justgrowsomethingpodcast.com/episode/how-to-harvest-cure-and-store-garlic-and-onions-ep-256
University of Minnesota Extension — Growing onions in home gardens: https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-onions
UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions — Onions and shallots: https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/edibles/vegetables/onions-and-shallots/
Oregon State University Extension — Plant onions early for bigger summer bulbs: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/plant-onions-early-bigger-summer-bulbs
Just Grow Something: https://justgrowsomething.com
Just Grow Something Merch and Downloads: https://justgrowsomething.com/shop
Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/18YgHveF5P/
Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JustGrowSomething
Bonus content for supporters of the Podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/justgrowsomething
Amazon storefront: https://www.amazon.com/shop/justgrowsomething

If you’ve ever planted a big patch of arugula at the same time you planted the rest of the spring garden, only to watch it shoot up a flower stalk a few weeks later, you’ve already met this week’s topic: heat-sensitive crops.
Heat-sensitive doesn’t always mean a plant can’t survive warm weather. It usually means warm temperatures and lengthening days change the plant’s priorities. Instead of producing the leaves, heads, or tubers we want to harvest, the plant pivots toward flowering and seed production or it keeps growing, but quality drops.
So, today on Just Grow Something we’re talking about the five crops you should plant earlier than you think to avoid this change. And I’m also including an herb that can bolt as fast as you blink. Let’s dig in.
References and Resources:
Ep. 133 - Growing Onions: https://justgrowsomethingpodcast.com/episode/ep-133-growing-onions
Soil Temperature Maps: https://www.greencastonline.com/tools/soil-temperature

Plan Like a Pro Garden Planning Course: https://justgrowsomething.thinkific.com/courses/plan-like-a-pro

Just Grow Something: https://justgrowsomething.com
Just Grow Something Merch and Downloads: https://justgrowsomething.com/shop
Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/18YgHveF5P/
Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JustGrowSomething
Bonus content for supporters of the Podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/justgrowsomething
Amazon storefront: https://www.amazon.com/shop/justgrowsomething

My Plan Like A Pro Course is Open for Registration: ⁠⁠https://justgrowsomethingpodcast.com/pro⁠⁠

If you’ve ever gone into a Facebook gardening group and asked, “When am I supposed to plant this?” and then gotten ten different answers, you are not alone.
And if you’ve ever started seeds too early, ended up with giant leggy plants taking over your house, and then still got hit with a late cold snap? Also not alone.
Today on Just Grow Something we’re going to make garden timing feel simple, flexible, and predictable.
I’m going to show you how to build a planting calendar using frost dates as your starting point, then layering in:
• cool-season versus warm-season timing,
• how many weeks to start seeds indoors,
• a buffer for weather variability,
• and how to plan your fall garden by counting backward from your first frost.
This is one of those “once you understand it, you can reuse it forever” skills.
Let's dig in.