It's our 3rd annual Halloween Harvest episode! Today we'll learn how popcorn goes from soil to snack as Miss Danielle welcomes Annette Hill from Brown Bag Popcorn! Announcer Guy takes on a tour of...turnip carving?? Plus, a visit from Gro-Town's favorite grocery store worker, Mr. Bruce, on the only gardening podcast that's just for kids, Gro-Town!   #Halloween #HalloweenHarvest #KidsGardening #Grotown #BrownBagPopcorn #GardeningPodcast #Turnips   https://www.gro-town.com/    

What exactly are CSAs and what do they have to do with gardening? We’ll find outabout these important resources from Andy Chae, Vice Chair of the MichiganDepartment of Agriculture and Rural Development Commission and owner of Fisheye Farms in Detroit, MI! We’ll also celebrate two fun things that grow great together –Potatoes and Tomatoes! We’ll also find out what “Cookie South America” is…huh??Music, growing tips, music, and more on the only gardening podcast that’s just for kids: Gro-Town! Gro-Town For more about Fisheye farms, visit https://fisheyefarms.com/  

This episode is for the birds! How exactly do these winged wonders help us out in the garden? We’ll talk to Gretchen Abrams from the Detroit Bird Alliance to find out! We’ll also hear our favorite birdsong “Birdies” from our very first album. Did you know Announcer Guy is bird-sitting Gertrude the Talking Parrot? We can’t wait for you to meet her on the only gardening podcast that’s just for kids: Gro-Town! Gro-Town   Executive Director, Gretchen Abrams, brings more than 20 years of leadership experience inenvironmental education and 15 years of management experience at local, national, and internationalnon-profits to Detroit Audubon. Gretchen has a proven record of creating and growing programs that arenot only beneficial for physical and mental well-being, but essential to nurturing future advocates,conservationists, and stewards of birds and the environment we share. Detroit Audubon | Birding | Conservation | Environment        

Flowers are fantastic and veggies are vital, but what about growing grains? Packed with power and tastefully tiny, grains can be a wonderful adventure in the garden! Today, we’re welcoming Claire Smith from Tenera Grains to tell us more! We’ll also tickle your ears with our original song “Quinoa”! It’s a great grain Gro-Town celebration!   Gro-Town   Claire grew up on a farm in Addison, Michigan (an hour south of Lansing) where shewatched her grandparents run a 2,000-acre farm. When her parents decided to grow theancient grains teff and buckwheat, Claire started a granola and snacks company called Tenera Grains using the teff and buckwheat that are now regeneratively grown. They're all about sustainable snacking that's good for you and good for the planet! https://eatteffola.com/    

Gardening can be part of a heathy lifestyle for everyone! Magnificent minerals, vibrantvitamins! To tell us more is Jacalenne Christian from the Michigan State University Extension’s Health and Nutrition Institute. We’ll also pay homage to one of our favoritehealthy garden goodies with a song from our latest album: Fava Beans! All this plusAnnouncer Guy on the only gardening podcast that’s just for kids, Gro-Town! For morefrom the MSU Extension, visit: https://www.canr.msu.edu/outreach/about/impacts_and_programming_in_michigan/health-nutrition/index Gro-Town      

It’s a very, merry Gro-Town Christmas! Today we celebrate the ultimate holiday plant: the Christmas tree! Where did this festive tradition begin? What would it take to grow one of our very own? We’ll talk to Christmas Tree Educator Bill Lindberg from the MSU Extension to find out! Stick around to hear Announcer Guy’s seasonal music composition - it’s really….something. For free videos, music, coloring pages and more, visit Gro-Town Music. Garden. Community. Gro-Town!

It’s all treats and no tricks on this very special Halloween episode of the Gro-Town gardening podcast for kids! Today we’re talking to Tim from the Cranbrook Institute of Science about all things spiders! They’re creepy, they’re crawly, they’re…good for our gardens? We’ll also celebrate a delicious, harvest-season favorite: corn! Plus, find out what Mr. Announcer Guy has up his sleeve to surprise Miss Danielle this Halloween! Gardening tips, laughs, music and more - welcome to Gro-Town!   www.gro-town.com FB @grotown Insta @grotownofficial   Cranbrook Institute of Science | #Halloween #Gro-town #Spiders #GardeningPodcast #KidsGardening

It’s a bounty of besties on this super-sized episode of Gro-Town! Sometimes working together in the garden is just as important as soil and seeds. Today, we’ll meet Jon Kent and Parker Jean from Sanctuary Farms to learn about their commitment to community and compost! Then, when Mr. Announcer Guy suffers an unfortunate gardening mishap, Miss Danielle knows exactly who to call - her physical therapist friend, Christa, with tips on how to keep our muscles healthy when we’re digging in the dirt! All this plus the podcast debut of ‘Peaches & Apples’ from our latest record, Green Album!   Happy growing!   Gro-Town   #GroTown #GrowingFriendship #MissDanielle #Farming #DiggingInTheDirt #PeachesAndApples #GreenAlbum #PrivateHealthTherapy #ChristaCarlomusto #SanctuaryFarms #Detroit #KidsGardening   Christa Carlomusto, PT, MPT, CLT, founder/owner of Private Health Physical Therapy and Wellness in Wixom, MI https://www.privatehealththerapy.com/   Learn more about Jon and Parker’s mission at https://www.sanctuaryfarming.com/    

Today’s episode is a real page turning, library loving, garden growing adventure! We’ll take a field trip to the Detroit Public Library to explore a bounty of beautiful gardening books! We also meet Rae Chesny, author of Zora’s Garden (learn more about this amazing children’s book below)! Delight your ears with the podcast debut of Avocado from our latest record Green Album…and what surprises does Announcer Guy have up his sleeve this time? It’s the only gardening podcast that’s just for kids: Gro-Town!   For videos, music, free coloring pages, and more, visit www.gro-town.com FB @grotown Instagram @grotownofficial   #GroTown #GardeningBooks #DetroitPublicLibrary #Gardening #KidsGardening #RaeChesny #ZorasGarden #ZoraNealeHurston #GreenAlbum #GroTownAvocado    - Grow it Again (Kids Can Do It) - Elizabeth MacCleod  - Growing Things - DK Publishing   Zora’s Garden:   In the Florida town of Eatonville, Zora experiences magic…  With the loving wisdom of her mother, Lucy, Zora learns the perfect recipe for creating stories and growing gardens. Join in the fun as Zora learns about the power of storytelling and the delight of gardening.  This heartfelt adventure honors the real Zora Neale Hurston with the perfect mix of fact and fiction crafted by Zora Neale Hurston Scholar Rae Chesny.  Each copy of Zora’s Garden comes with flower or vegetable seeds from Farmstead Seed Supply. www.raechesny.com        

We’re bound to run into a few creepy crawlies while digging in the dirt, but are some better for the garden than others? We’ll hear from Tim Urban from the Cranbrook Institute of Science to tell us more! Plus, from our latest record, Green Album, we’ll catch the podcast debut of Ladybug! Which pests are best? Let’s find out!   For videos, music, free coloring pages, and more, visit www.gro-town.com FB @grotown Instagram @grotownofficial Cranbrook Institute of Science |   #LadyBugs #Gro-Town #Bugs #GreenAlbum #DanielleCarlomusto #TimUrban #BugExpert  

Super tasty and super fun to say, the Saskatoon is the teeny tiny berry with big, delicious flavor! Just what makes this “super berry” so super, anyway? Miss Danielle welcomes Carole the Saskatoon farmer to tell us! Also, we’ll find out what Mr. Announcer Guy has been up to all winter (spoiler alert: it’s…a lot)! Plus, you’ll hear the big debut of “Saskatoon Berry” from our latest record, Green Album! Celebrate growing season with the only gardening podcast that’s just for kids! Growing tips, music, and plenty of laughs - it’s Gro-Town’s season two premiere!   For videos, music, free coloring pages, and more, visit www.gro-town.com FB @grotown Instagram @grotownofficial Follow Christofferson’s Farms on Facebook    

It’s a Halloween harvest of fun! Join Miss Danielle as she gets the dirt on pumpkins and why they’re the superstars of the garden this time of year! Plus, a beautifully bewitching introduction to our favorite nighttime garden pollinators: bats! Music, laughs, gardening tips and more on the only gardening podcast that’s just for kids! It’s sure to be a spooooky good time - boo! www.gro-town.com Insta @grotownofficial FB @grotown   Our bat expert: Sara Pavliscak Our pumpkin expert: Darby Anderson works as the Sustainable Agriculture Instructor at Michigan State University Tollgate Farm and Education Center in Novi, Michigan. Tollgate provides the unique opportunity to experience agriculture hands-on in an urban environment through classes, workshops, field trips, camps, and events. It is also home to the Sustainable Agriculture Program, a 5-acre vegetable production distributed through a 250-member CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). As the Sustainable Agriculture Instructor, Darby oversees the day-to-day operation from planting to harvesting to weeding and hosts a 6-month Beginner Farmer Training Program each season.

Let’s discover all the bee-autiful basics our gardens need to grow & flourish! In this episode, we’re joined by Momcat Kelly, founder of the Detroit Butterfly Nursery! She’s got the sweet skinny on pollinators - who they are, why we need them, and how to attract them to our gardens! Plus, Miss Danielle finds a musical way to celebrate Gardening 101! Music, laughs, and more on the only gardening podcast that's just for kids! www.gro-town.com   The Detroit Butterfly Nursery is a Mother-Daughter project promoting community science and pollinator conservation. They're passionate about educating others about the importance of planting native plants and milkweed for Monarchs. Detroit Butterfly Nursery is on IG.   EPISODE TRANSCRIPT introducing a celebration of growing stuff.Welcome to Gro-Town where we celebrate the love of gardening together.I'm Miss Danielle and today I've brought my trusty guitar to celebrate with us and just as we're coming together today as gardening partners are plants and seeds need reliable partners to growing is serious business and our gardening goodies simply can't do it alone here instead of talking about it.Let's try singing about it.Well you know that reminds me this show is serious business and and I can't do it alone.Maybe I should call another friend to help me out today.Yeah I'll think about it.Okay.Okay back to the song.Well well you know it really is amazing how working together with a dedicated team can really help you achieve your goals.Oh and that teamwork really does make the dream work.Okay.Okay.Okay here we go.Well I've got me a packet of seeds.A packet of vegetable seeds.Indeed.Well I got me a packet of seeds and to grow they'll need some what do they need?They need water but that's not all they need.Well I got me a packet of seeds,a packet of vegetable seeds.Indeed.Well I got me a packet of seeds and to grow they'll also need what else do they need Sunshine?That's right.Light and sunshine but that's not all.Well I got me a packet of seeds a packet of vegetable seeds.Indeed.Well I got me a packet of seeds and to grow they'll also need or what else we said?Water,Sunshine,soil.That's right but there's one other thing that our seeds need to grow in the garden?Well I got me a packet of seeds.A packet of vegetable seeds.Indeed.Well I got me a packet of seeds and to grow they'll also need love and water and sunshine and soil.But most importantly love.There are even more gardening team V.I.P.S.In addition to water soil.Sun and love.And they are pollinators.And I've called on my very good friend and founder of the Detroit Butterfly nursery to tell us a bit more about pollinators and why they're so important in the garden.MomCat Kellythank you for being here today.Thank you so much for having me.Now could you please tell us what is a pollinator?So I like to describe pollinators as flower visitors.So basically they go from one flower to another eating nectar and distributing pollen all around the garden.They can be anyone from bees to butterflies,even birds,beetles and ants,ants can be pollinators.Yes they can.Well mom Cat kelly,why are they so important to our gardens?Well we need pollinators first of all because they help our plants flower grow and thrive.We wouldn't have all those beautiful flowers or yummy veggies if it wasn't for them.There are also a super important part of the food chain,butterflies and moths.That is because their food for birds,bats and other animals.Well if they're so important to our gardens,well,how can I help attract pollinators to my garden?Well,first of all you'll need a sunny spot.Most insects can't generate heat from their bodies.They're cold blooded.So they use the sun to warm up.They need that warrant to be able to fly.And most of our pollinator friendly plants,they need sun as well to grow.So we want to make sure you have a nice sunny spot.It doesn't matter if you have a backyard,a patio or even apartment balcony,big or small,you can make a huge,so onc

Today we’re high-fiving companion planting and community gardening! Not only is gardening with friends fantastic fun, but it’s also good for our plants and neighbors, too! Our very special guest, Bri Andrews, walks us through all the ways planting together can make our communities stronger! Plus, music, laughs, and more on this bountiful episode of the Gro-Town podcast!   For more information on Peace Tree Parks, visit www.peacetreeparks.org   Music. Garden. Community. Gro-Town!   For free coloring sheets, videos, music and more, visit www.gro-town.com     EPISODE TRANSCRIPT introducing a celebration of growing stuff and your host for this Gargantuan gardening gala is Miss DanielleThanks announcer guy.Welcome to grow town where we celebrate the love of gardening together.Did you know we're not the only ones that love to celebrate gardening together some of our plants due to really it's called companion planting.A companion is a friend and a partner and growing some plant friends right next to each other can do all sorts of wonderful things why?Some plant friends can attract good insects together or even fight off the bad ones.Companion plants can help each other grow bigger and even taste better.The most famous companion plants in the garden are known as the three sisters.Three sisters planting isn't about people.The three sisters are plant sisters.According to Native American legend,corn beans and squash are loyal sisters that can only grow and flourish together.These three crops provide a healthy nourishing diet and by planting them together they nourish each other too as the corn grows,it acts as a poll for the beans.To climb.Those bean vines make the corn stalks stronger so they don't blow over.The squash plants have large leaves that shade protect and keep moist the roots of all three sisters by working together as companions.These three sister crops help each other be the best they can be to plant a seed.You need sun and love and dirt.I like gardening with my sister Amelia.When you want to plant a seed,you have to dig a hole,drop a seed in and watch it grow.And sometimes if you garden with other people,maybe water the plants with them or pick vegetables with them.I garden with mama marco and daddy and sometimes maple but maple only eats plants.Maple is my dog.Thanks everyone.As you can see growing together is good for everyone.Plants and people,there are lots of ways gardening together can help an entire community of people.Here are a few notes.I've written about the beautiful benefits of community gardening.Hang on.It's it's around here somewhere.Okay.Okay.Yes.Don't forget to call plumber about leaky toilet.Wait that's not it.It's a different note.Okay,let's see.I got it.Got it.Got it.Okay.Here we go again.Here we go team.Okay.Mhm eggs,butter,prune juice,oat milk,that's not it either.That's my shopping list.You know what I think we should just talk to a good friend of mine who knows a whole lot about community gardening because she started one of her very own from peace Tree parks in Detroit michigan.It's bree Andrews Hi bri Hi,how are you?I'm doing great.So happy to talk to you today.I want to ask what is peace?Tree parks and what do you do?Peace Tree parks is a nonprofit organization that we started to increase the access that Detroit residents have to organic produce.So to carry out that mission we actually started purchasing vacant land across the city of Detroit and converting them into community gardens or community members have access to.And we also have a residential garden program where we go to the homes of people across metro Detroit and we build gardens in their backyard for families to have access to.So you build gardens for your whole community.Yes we do For Children and their parents bri how can gardening help a community gardening can help a community because people can just go outside and they can have access to fresh food growing out of the earth.So instead of having to go to the grocery st

In this episode, we’re getting our hands dirty with SOIL! Join Miss Danielle as we get the bottom of dirt and why it’s the superstar of the garden. Meet worm farmer Tim for the wiggly scoop on how worms can be your garden’s MVPs!   Music. Garden. Community. Gro-Town!   For music, videos, free coloring sheets and more, visit www.gro-town.com   #motownisgrotown #gardening #worms #redwigglers  

We’re planting the seeds of fun with the only gardening podcast that’s just for kids! Welcome to Gro-Town where we celebrate the world outside our windows! Join Miss Danielle for growing tips, music, special guests, and a bounty of laughs along the way. Music. Garden. Community. Gro-Town! Continue the fun at Gro-Town SUBSCRIBE, like and follow!