Growing a Greener World

Jack Chambers traded one career in the clouds for a new one in the dirt. This former airline pilot became hooked on the power of worms after watching them work their magic in his own yard. Now he runs an entire operation centered around these multitasking garden helpers. From worm castings to vermicompost tea, we’ll see what Jack and his wigglers have been up to.

Growing a greener world isn’t something that happens in the garden alone. Living more in concert with our environment has to extend to the places we call home, too. We’ll go off the grid to take a tour inside one next-gen home that was constructed almost entirely out of repurposed materials, and then visit a unique suburban subdivision that puts nature first.

This is the inspiring story of a growing legion of farmers who are putting down roots and feeding their country… after defending it in uniform. These second-career farmers routinely find renewed purpose in continuing to serve their communities even after their military duty ends. But it also takes a tireless corps of passionate individuals to support these dedicated veterans.

"Four-season growing” is the ultimate goal for many gardeners. Eliot Coleman has mastered it, and he’s doing it in one of the farthest corners of the country, in weather that often makes gardening in even one season a challenge. The methods Eliot and his wife use to grow year-round in Zone 5 are ones you can use to extend your season, too, no matter where you live.

How do you get the most out of your garden? In this episode, we share tips for achieving a truly abundant harvest and answer some of the tough harvesting and preserving questions that every gardener faces. Along the way, we’ll meet a gardener whose picture-perfect homegrown fruits and vegetables actually live forever- on film- in the pages of Cooking Light magazine!

Eating local and seasonal is more than just a foodie trend. While some people have the time or the land to grow their own food, and some have the expertise, few people have it all. That’s given birth to a cottage industry that creates win-win partnerships and reaches far beyond in-town garden plots. Meet the young urbanites who are changing the way we grow and eat.

No space is too small or too oddly shaped for a thriving garden! Whether you have a zero-radius lot, an intimate patio, or just a balcony several stories off the ground, you might be surprised at some of the clever design tricks you can use to create growing space almost anywhere. From cramped and narrow side yards to growing vertically along flat walls, nothing is off-limits.

Sprucing up a corner of your yard is one thing. It’s quite another, though, to totally transform a property and compensate for years of neglect. “Redeeming the ground” is what one amazing family set out to do when they moved into a home no one wanted. They changed their landscape into something truly special. And in the process, they changed their whole life.

Gardeners tend to go with what’s tried and true. A growing season is too precious to roll the dice on some wacky experimental technique that may or may not work. In this episode, foodscape correspondent Brie Arthur- basically a rocket scientist when it comes to growing things- thinks outside the pot to show unorthodox methods that can produce big results in the home garden.

The decisions you’re making in the garden as this growing season winds down are already affecting next season’s success! Joe invites viewers to tag along as he puts the Garden Farm to bed in the fall and demonstrates the simple steps you can take now that will pay off with bigger, better results when next spring’s planting season rolls around!

This tiny Georgia town was one of many that never fully recovered after the boll weevil decimated the cotton industry in the South. But the future is looking brighter after one couple provided an unlikely spark, and accidentally started an urban farming revolution smack in the middle of downtown… from front yard gardens to a mushroom-growing warehouse.

Come along with bestselling author and master tomato grower Craig LeHoullier for innovative techniques that you can also use to grow tomatoes that are truly epic. We’re talking the biggest, prettiest, tastiest heirloom tomatoes in varieties that you simply won’t find at the big box store.