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How to Grow Anything: Food Gardening for Everyone

Season 1
Growing your own food is one of the most rewarding things you can do. Whether you live on rural acreage or a city lot, anyone can grow a simple garden—regardless of your skill level and busy schedule. These 12 lessons are full of tips and tricks for novice gardeners and green thumbs alike. Learn to grow fresh food right outside—or inside—your home.
202312 episodesTV-PG
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Episodes

  1. S1 E1 - Jump-Start Your Edible Garden
    October 31, 2023
    31min
    TV-PG
    Get started right away! From sprouts and micro-greens to windowsill herb gardens and other edible container gardens, you can begin growing your own delicious foods any time of year. Discover the many benefits of growing your own fresh food, and learn what supplies you’ll need and how to arrange your plants.
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  2. S1 E2 - Planning for Gardening Success
    October 31, 2023
    31min
    TV-PG
    Scope out your growing space. In this lesson, a wealth of inspiring ideas will show you what’s possible, whether you have a spacious suburban backyard or a city apartment. A few basic tips on spacing and designing your edible landscape will set you up for a successful growing season.
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  3. S1 E3 - Building Your Garden Foundation
    October 31, 2023
    31min
    TV-PG
    Every successful garden begins with a good foundation. Here, you’ll find out what makes an ideal soil composition, and you’ll learn several techniques for quickly repairing your soil and preparing your garden bed. The instructor’s own garden provides a case study you will follow throughout the course.
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  4. S1 E4 - Starting Plants from Seeds
    October 31, 2023
    33min
    TV-PG
    One of the best ways to extend your growing season is to start plants from seed indoors. Explore the materials and techniques for starting such common plants as tomatoes, peppers, melons, cabbage, and more from seeds. Tips for watering, lighting, and transplanting will ensure a successful migration to your outdoor garden.
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  5. S1 E5 - Planting Vegetables and Herbs
    October 31, 2023
    27min
    TV-PG
    Whether you start from seeds or buy young plants from your local nursery, vegetables and herbs are easy projects the whole family will love. See how to prep the soil and plant seeds for onions, corn, carrots, potatoes, and more. Then turn to transplanting and growing different types of tomatoes, peppers, and squash.
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  6. S1 E6 - Low-Maintenance Garden Tips
    October 31, 2023
    32min
    TV-PG
    Consider ways to reduce your maintenance time and increase the success of your garden, no matter how busy your life may be. This lesson offers a blueprint for “low input” gardening, revealing time-saving strategies like proper weeding techniques, mulching for weed control and water conservation, and more.
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  7. S1 E7 - Small Fruit Cultivation and Care
    October 31, 2023
    27min
    TV-PG
    For some gardeners, the shift from growing vegetables and herbs to growing fruits may be overwhelming, but in fact, the same basic maintenance and care principles apply: plant selection, soil prep, and pruning. To boost your confidence, this lesson provides some easy guidelines for growing small fruits, including strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, grapes, and more.
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  8. S1 E8 - Growing Fruit Trees
    October 31, 2023
    29min
    TV-PG
    Once you’ve tackled vegetables and small fruits, moving to large fruit trees can be an exciting step. Because there are so many varieties available, from apples and peaches to pears and plums, Ms. Myers gives you some general guidelines for selecting and planting trees, as well as invaluable guidance on training and pruning your plants for greatest productivity.
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  9. S1 E9 - Eco-Friendly Pest Management
    October 31, 2023
    30min
    TV-PG
    When you grow your own food, you’ll likely tolerate a few more imperfections than you would with food from the grocery store. But you’ll still want to mitigate the harm from pests and diseases. Here, you’ll look at many of the most common pests and how to manage them in order to maximize your garden’s productivity.
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  10. S1 E10 - Food Harvesting Tips and Tricks
    October 31, 2023
    30min
    TV-PG
    All parts of gardening can be fun, but nothing beats harvesting the fruits of your labor. To boost your garden’s output, there are a few harvesting tricks you may want to consider. After reflecting on some differences between fruits and vegetables, learn about when to harvest many of the most common plants in the garden.
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  11. S1 E11 - Composting and Vermicomposting
    October 31, 2023
    32min
    TV-PG
    Plants come with a good bit of debris, including weeds and leaves and overripe fruit. Composting is a great way to turn those scraps back into organic matter for your garden. After going over the basic process—which is much easier than you might think—Ms. Myers builds a worm composter right in the studio.
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  12. S1 E12 - Extending the Growing Season
    October 31, 2023
    29min
    TV-PG
    No matter what part of the country you live in, the growing season inevitably will come to an end. To squeeze out a bit more yield from your garden, delve into several ways to protect your plants from frost. Explore cold frames, hot beds, greenhouses, and more, and then shift your attention to preserving your herbs over the winter.
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Subtitles
None available
Producers
The Great Courses
Cast
Melinda Myers
Studio
The Great Courses
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