The Beet: A Podcast For Plant Lovers · Epic Gardening

Step Into Spring with Kevin and Jacques

·25 min·1 clip

The Ruth Stout method was twice as big as the next potato method by weight.

1. The Beet: A Podcast For Plant Lovers episode centers on Kevin and Jacques talking through spring gardening plans in San Diego. 2. Kevin and Jacques are the hosts, and they matter here because they compare their own beds, containers, and experiments as working gardeners. 3. The episode asks what a home garden should prioritize in 2026: yield, resilience, or food that actually gets used. 4. Kevin says chamomile is “popping up everywhere,” nasturtiums are being ripped out at the homestead, and sunflowers are already at half height. 5. Jacques says he started tomatoes in the first week of February, while Kevin admits he had not started his tomatoes yet when he first called spring. 6. The rain gets specific attention, with Kevin noting “a little over half an inch” and saying more could fall that night. 7. Kevin says he is sick of root-knot nematodes, so he plans to move tomatoes into about eight 15- or 20-gallon grow bags on the driveway. 8. He also says he is growing a lot of garlic, including a 10-by-10 bed of grow bags and another 3-by-8 bed, plus onions and wheat. 9. Jacques says his brassicas are already winding down, with bolted broccoli, most cauliflower harvested, and mostly cabbage left in the garden. 10. The potato section turns into a method comparison, because Kevin and Jacques revisit eight different potato-growing approaches from the previous year. 11. They say the Ruth Stout method, using straw cover, produced an “insane amount” and was about twice the next method by weight. 12. Kevin mentions Wood Prairie Farm as their potato supplier and says Sarpo Mira had led him to other Sarpo varieties like Sarpo Shona and Sarpo Una. 13. The pair frame potatoes as a calorie crop, alongside beans, sweet potatoes, and squashes, rather than as a specialty plant. 14. They contrast raised beds with grow bags, saying the beds outperformed the bags because containers punish uneven watering. 15. Kevin says grow bags still make sense for soil-borne pests and bad ground soil, especially when fresh soil gives a clean start. 16. They also discuss trellising tomatoes, including pressure-treated four-by-fours, two-by-fours sandwiched vertically, and a system that has lasted three years. 17. The tone stays practical and conversational, with the two hosts troubleshooting methods, correcting each other, and talking through mistakes like bowing trellis boards. 18. The format feels like a garden walk-and-talk, with short corrections, shared memory, and specific plans for the next season. 19. Listeners who grow tomatoes, potatoes, or garlic will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners wanting a tightly edited story or a non-gardening topic may skip it.

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