Jan 12, 2021
One of the biggest questions
I’ve gotten from our community is how to understand humidity and
watering better. As we are in the depths of winter, humidity is a
big topic and focus in our plant care routines, and you are going
to hear a LOT about it today in a nerdy deep dive with two other
plant podcasters, the daddies of the Plant Daddy Podcast Stephen
and Matthew. I knew there couldn’t be a better guests
than these two guys who are total nerds and maybe the only two
other people who get as jazzed as doing weird deep dives into plant
care as I am. This conversation was supposed to be 40 minutes and
ended up being 90 because we just couldn’t stop talking about
plants and winter and humidity and problem solving and
I hope your inner plant nerd
sees the inner plant nerd in us and just smiles and feels
seen.
So kick back, cozy up with your
plants and enjoy episode 112 of the Bloom and Grow Radio
Podcast!
Just wanted to let you plant
friends know during the time of this interview I got REAL curious
and polled you guys about which brands of hygrometers you use
(those are the humidity meters we talked about in the episode) and
I’ve become a bit obsessed at putting them all over my house and
comparing and contrasting the humidity levels in different rooms-
from the bedroom to the bathroom to the living room. Check out this youtube video on my
hygrometer and moisture meter review.
In this episode we learn:
[00:05:32] Matthew and
Stephen share their personal histories with plants, and Matthew’s
previous plant number (it was A LOT)
-
- [00:09:31] Matthew and
Stephen’s gateway plants and how the difference in their plant
interests pave way to a more diverse discussion in their
podcast
- [00:11:03] How the Plant Daddy Podcast came to
be
- [00:14:18] Maria shares the idea behind doing a
deep dive episode on humidity and winter plant care
- [00:15:20] What happens to your plants during
winter, the changes you might see in them as it grows colder, and
figuring out the light your plants need
- [00:18:48] Are you making sure that the heat
and cold in your home are optimal for your plants?
- [00:21:10] Should you really just water your
plants less come winter time? Matthew has a different and smart
answer!
- [00:22:19] A glimpse into Maria’s opera days: a
wet rag on top of the radiator for more humidity
- [00:24:03] Should you leave your plants
touching or close together?
- [00:25:29] Let’s talk about dormancy! Yes, your
plants also take some time to sleep
- [00:26:29] Matthew’s insightful perspective on
plant dormancy and seasonal changes
- [00:28:36] Stephen’s easy and practical tip to
understand plant dormancy
- [00:32:23] Are your plants required to go
through dormancy? Maria, Matthew, and Stephen share their own
experiences with controlled environments
- [00:35:15] Why it is important to know the
genus of your plants and where they originate from
- [00:37:10] Matthew elaborates on bulbs and how
different plants with bulbs behave during different
seasons
- [00:40:45] One of the biggest secret plant
killers during winter: pests!
- [00:41:42] How seasonal affective disorder
(SAD) can also affect your plants
- [00:42:16] How to ‘double-down’ on pest control
management during the winter according to Stephen
- [00:43:28] Matthew’s personal hacks on getting
rid of mealybugs
- [00:46:30] One of the most important things to
know when you have plants according to Matthew: there is no one
answer to everything
- [00:47:01] Where to source the BEST seeds for
your garden (It’s planning time!)
- [00:49:37] Maria’s curated starter plans for
all the different types of plant parents out there
- [00:50:58] Understanding the humidity and the
environment that we, our plants, and even our homes need during
colder months
- [00:56:24] What are Stephen and Matthew’s
approaches to maintaining the right humidity for each of their
plants?
- [01:00:00] Maria shares why she wants to learn
more about humidity despite not needing to really focus on it
before (yes, it’s true)
- [01:01:50] The horrifying experience with a
humidifier that taught Maria a lesson the hard way
- [01:02:56] Matthew and Stephen’s hot takes on
humidifiers and misting
- [01:06:55] Interesting hack on avoiding molds
on dry walls when using a humidifier
- [01:09:11] Why you should check how your
humidifier is working in the environment or room that it is
in
- [01:14:01] Humidity concerns matter, but are
you watering and taking care of your plants’ soil
properly?
- [01:16:11] How to keep tabs on your plants’
humidity with tools
- [01:17:41] Maria’s future plans and experiments
on humidity
- [01:19:32] Appreciating the unique perspectives
and representations that Plant Daddy Podcast brings to plant
parenthood
Mentioned in our conversation:
Thank you to our episode
sponsor:
Territorial Seed Company
Thank you Territorial Seed Co for
sponsoring today's episode! Territorial Seed Co provides high
quality seeds and plants (over 2000 varieties) that are tried and
tested on their 75 acre farm and have a ton of fall varieties for
us to try! It's already time to start planning your 2021 garden!
For seeds, plants, online garden planner, how to videos and more
visit TerritorialSeed.com and use code BLOOM10
for 10% off.
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