1 00:00:01,400 --> 00:00:09,119 Speaker 1: Yeah. Here, Yeah, he's listening up a little straw. He's 2 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 1: making cocktails. Game, he's making a teeny martini. It's so cute. 3 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:34,880 Speaker 1: If you're anything like my producer Molly, who loves cooking 4 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:38,919 Speaker 1: shows and also loves watching people make miniature versions of 5 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:42,440 Speaker 1: food online, then you might be one of the six 6 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: hundred thousand plus followers of the Tiny Chef on Instagram. 7 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:49,960 Speaker 1: The tiny Chef's account is mostly stop motion style videos 8 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 1: of a tiny, green felt character known as you Guessed 9 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:59,000 Speaker 1: it Tiny Chef, and as he bakes tiny apple pies 10 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:04,440 Speaker 1: and bottle cap miniature artisanal breads, tiny pizzas. He's even 11 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:08,959 Speaker 1: opened up the smallest lemonade stand. Followers just can't get 12 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:13,200 Speaker 1: enough of his small stature and even smaller culinary delights. 13 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 1: The Tiny Chef's growing fandom is just one example of 14 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:20,640 Speaker 1: how much people love little things. We obsess over the 15 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: charm of tiny things and their overall cuteness, and there 16 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: might be a psychological reason for this. The anthropologist cloud 17 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:32,400 Speaker 1: Levi Strauss theorized that because we can see and comprehend 18 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:36,520 Speaker 1: tiny things in their entirety, they don't threaten us, and 19 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:40,440 Speaker 1: that makes us feel powerful. I mean, that's one explanation. 20 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: But I also wonder if our love of all things 21 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:46,400 Speaker 1: small might have to do with our innate nurturing abilities 22 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:54,880 Speaker 1: as humans, and maybe we actually feel protective over tiny things. Oh, 23 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 1: this one's about meditation. This is oh my god. He's 24 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 1: surrounded with like ey, tiny miniature plants look like succulents. 25 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 1: But they're they're his size. They're they're tiny chef's size. 26 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:16,040 Speaker 1: I'm supposed to breathing with him way way. It's so cute. 27 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:21,360 Speaker 1: It would also explain why we love tiny plants. This year, 28 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: The l A Times identified tiny plants as one of 29 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 1: the biggest plant trends for two thousand twenty one. That's right, 30 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:33,079 Speaker 1: there's an entire genre just for petite plants from teensy 31 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:36,839 Speaker 1: weensy cacti, which I don't think are the scientific name 32 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 1: to dwarf fruit trees. But why is this the first 33 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,000 Speaker 1: I've heard of these little bitty topi areas? And why 34 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:47,120 Speaker 1: is everyone catching onto them now? And more importantly, are 35 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:51,079 Speaker 1: tiny plants just a passing fad or a plant movement 36 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:56,560 Speaker 1: with roots? I think it's time we found out. Hey. There, 37 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:59,639 Speaker 1: I'm Mongais Particular, co host of Part Time Genius, one 38 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:02,640 Speaker 1: of the unders of mental flaws. And this is Humans 39 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:05,680 Speaker 1: Growing Stuff, a collaboration from My Heart Radio and your 40 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:08,800 Speaker 1: friends at Miracle Grow. Our goal is to make this 41 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:12,560 Speaker 1: the most human show about plants you'll ever listen to. 42 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:16,239 Speaker 1: Along the way, we'll share inspiring stories, tips and tricks 43 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:19,239 Speaker 1: to nurture your plant addiction, and just enough science to 44 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:22,799 Speaker 1: make you sound like an expert. On this episode, we 45 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 1: are getting small and exploring the tiny plants and miniature 46 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 1: trees that are taking the world by stem. I want 47 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:33,959 Speaker 1: to learn how tiny plants have elbowed their much bigger 48 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:37,760 Speaker 1: brothers out of the way to capture the spotlight, and 49 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 1: also does this tiny plant obsession overlap with our love 50 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 1: of tiny houses. Plus, we'll hear from one of our 51 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:48,640 Speaker 1: favorite Green Thumb comedians, Angela Johnson Reyes, and talk to 52 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:52,360 Speaker 1: her about how Instagram is feeding her plant passion and 53 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:55,000 Speaker 1: I'm going to get her thoughts on the tiny plant movement. 54 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 1: To stick with me, this is going to be fun. 55 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:09,040 Speaker 1: Chapter thirteen, Big Dreams and Tinier Plants. We spent so 56 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:12,200 Speaker 1: much of the last year inside our homes, homes of 57 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 1: all shapes and sizes, and as we saw the resurgence 58 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:18,719 Speaker 1: of victory gardens at the start of the pandemic, house 59 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: plants have also seen this noticeable uptick and popularity. They've 60 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,400 Speaker 1: provided the millions of homebound folks people like me, with 61 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 1: this much needed source of comfort and therapy. And living 62 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:33,160 Speaker 1: in a city surrounded by people who have been stuck 63 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:36,600 Speaker 1: in their apartments, I am acutely aware of the limited 64 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:39,920 Speaker 1: space many of us have for our plants, which might 65 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:43,159 Speaker 1: also be why so many new plant parents have found 66 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:47,200 Speaker 1: themselves attracted to tiny plants. To learn more about this 67 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: growing part of the plant community, I wanted to chat 68 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:54,000 Speaker 1: with Leslie Halleck. In addition to literally writing the book 69 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:57,599 Speaker 1: on tiny plants, Leslie is a self proclaimed plant geek, 70 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:00,680 Speaker 1: and she's dedicated nearly thirty years of her career to 71 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:05,240 Speaker 1: working with various areas of horticulture, from scientific research to 72 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:10,000 Speaker 1: landscaping and green industry marketing. So of course I had 73 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:16,159 Speaker 1: to call her up. Hey, Leslie, are you there? I 74 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:18,520 Speaker 1: am here. Hi. Hi, It's so nice to be chatting 75 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:22,479 Speaker 1: with you. I know, thanks, I'm excited. I'm so enchanted 76 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:24,360 Speaker 1: by your story. I want to hear a little bit 77 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:28,360 Speaker 1: about how you fell in love with tiny plants. You're 78 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:31,440 Speaker 1: speaking to my heart because I'm obsessed with all things tiny, 79 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 1: tiny plants, tiny chihuahua's, tiny everything. I sort of have 80 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:37,719 Speaker 1: a little bit of an obsession with that. And as 81 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: a professional horticulturist, you know, I've gone through many phases 82 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: of plant obsessions, but I always come back to teeny 83 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:48,840 Speaker 1: tiny plants. My tiny plant obsession probably hit me back 84 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:51,799 Speaker 1: in the mid nineties, back in the day when I 85 00:05:51,839 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 1: was doing field research work in Puerto Rico, in the 86 00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:59,640 Speaker 1: National Rainforest in the Kiel region of Puerto Rico. I 87 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 1: was living up that old research station up in the 88 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:05,920 Speaker 1: mountains and going out every day taking data on research 89 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,480 Speaker 1: that had to do with Herricane Hugo that had come 90 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 1: through and completely defoliated the rainforest. So I was there, 91 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:14,640 Speaker 1: you know, geeking out taking plant data, and one day 92 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:17,040 Speaker 1: I just happened out of the corner of my eye 93 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:19,159 Speaker 1: to catch this little tiny blip of sort of a 94 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:21,279 Speaker 1: pinkish red color, And you know, you're always on the 95 00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:24,160 Speaker 1: look for, lookout for orchids in that situation, and sure enough, 96 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:29,000 Speaker 1: I discovered this itty bitty tiny species of le panthes 97 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:32,200 Speaker 1: orchids growing on rocks, and the flowers are only a 98 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:34,920 Speaker 1: couple of millimeters in size, and I just absolutely fell 99 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:39,039 Speaker 1: in love. And after that I began building the variums 100 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:43,000 Speaker 1: and terrariums and keeping poison dark frogs and all sorts 101 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:47,120 Speaker 1: of others that require teeny tiny animals, teeny tiny frogs 102 00:06:47,279 --> 00:06:50,880 Speaker 1: that require you to build the habitats that include species 103 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:54,000 Speaker 1: that are conducive to their their life and they're breeding. 104 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:56,160 Speaker 1: So I just kind of got into all things tiny 105 00:06:56,440 --> 00:07:00,560 Speaker 1: and have sort of obsessively collected and grown teeny tiny 106 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:03,840 Speaker 1: plants ever since. That is so great. So tell me 107 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:06,240 Speaker 1: about your book. Why did you decide to write about 108 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:09,200 Speaker 1: tiny plants? And please say the full title because it 109 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:13,720 Speaker 1: is really charming. Oh yes, Tiny Plants Discover the Joys 110 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:17,360 Speaker 1: of Growing and Collecting Any Bitty house Plants is the 111 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:20,920 Speaker 1: full long name. When publishers come to you and they 112 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:23,160 Speaker 1: want you to write about something, you want to write 113 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:27,200 Speaker 1: about something that you're passionate about that you can inspire 114 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 1: other people to do. And you know, after writing Gardening 115 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:32,920 Speaker 1: under Lights, which was a little more technical, and then 116 00:07:32,920 --> 00:07:35,880 Speaker 1: Plant Parenting, which is very technique based, I wanted to 117 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:40,600 Speaker 1: do something a little more fun, and probably I convinced 118 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 1: them to let me do Tiny Plants because I just thought, 119 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 1: you know, it seemed like the right moment, with indoor 120 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:50,240 Speaker 1: plants becoming so popular. I just wanted to give people 121 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:53,440 Speaker 1: a window into a type of plant collecting they may 122 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:57,160 Speaker 1: not have experienced. Yeah. Completely, And so what are some 123 00:07:57,240 --> 00:07:59,720 Speaker 1: of your favorite types of tiny plants? You know, plants 124 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:02,720 Speaker 1: come go in terms of their popularity, right, and sometimes 125 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:05,440 Speaker 1: they're they're really popular and highly available, and then they 126 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:08,760 Speaker 1: cycle back out. So those types of availabilities come in waves. 127 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:11,720 Speaker 1: But teeny tiny bagonia, so I grow a lot of bogonias. 128 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 1: There are some really cool micro aeroids that related to 129 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:17,880 Speaker 1: a lot of the larger aeroids we grow, like philodendron. 130 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 1: So there's some really tiny philodendrons that are really cool. 131 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:25,559 Speaker 1: I really love little micro sundews, their little, tiny, tiny 132 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:28,480 Speaker 1: carnivorous plants. And you'll find those tiny plants which are 133 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:31,160 Speaker 1: just fascinating. There again, the size of about the tip 134 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:34,520 Speaker 1: of your fingertip. I'm obsessed with many different species of 135 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:39,240 Speaker 1: tiny Have you seen the tiny plant movement grow during 136 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:41,959 Speaker 1: this last period and what do you think the enthusiasm 137 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:44,760 Speaker 1: for it is based in. Yeah, I have seen it grow, 138 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:48,920 Speaker 1: partially because I've just been forcing it on everybody. I 139 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: love it, and I just do you give them? Did 140 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:53,400 Speaker 1: you give tiny plants to people? I do? I do. 141 00:08:53,559 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 1: I do give tiny plants. And that's another great thing 142 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:58,520 Speaker 1: about tiny plants is that they're easy to gift. You know, 143 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:00,640 Speaker 1: they're easy. You know, they don't take a lot of space, 144 00:09:00,679 --> 00:09:03,040 Speaker 1: and you can propagate them and they're easy to give. UM. 145 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:05,760 Speaker 1: But I have seen we'll call it sort of miniature 146 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:08,080 Speaker 1: gardening across the board, and I am not talking about 147 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 1: fairy gardening, so put fairy gardening aside. We're talking about 148 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:14,040 Speaker 1: is scale. So what's been great is that in the 149 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:16,559 Speaker 1: last few years there are a lot of new dwarf 150 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:19,280 Speaker 1: vegetable and fruit varieties that have come out on the market. 151 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:22,520 Speaker 1: Uh and and a lot of smaller plant species for 152 00:09:22,559 --> 00:09:27,199 Speaker 1: houseplant culture. People who live in smaller spaces, smaller apartments, 153 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:31,600 Speaker 1: don't have a yard. Dwarf edibles are fantastic. Also if 154 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:35,480 Speaker 1: you're growing edibles inside, I think tiny plants offer up 155 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:40,000 Speaker 1: a really great solution. So small scale across the board, 156 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:43,920 Speaker 1: miniature gardening, tiny indoor plans, I think is a really 157 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:47,679 Speaker 1: helpful way to keep indulging in your gardening habit without 158 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:50,839 Speaker 1: running out of space and it also takes less resources too. 159 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:53,640 Speaker 1: So how does the care for a tiny plant differ 160 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:56,040 Speaker 1: from that of a regular plant. Some things are going 161 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:58,880 Speaker 1: to be very much the same and other things will 162 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:00,920 Speaker 1: be a little bit different. A lot of teeny tiny 163 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:05,280 Speaker 1: plants maybe hemi epiphytic or semi epiphytic and may require 164 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 1: higher humidity. So growing under glass, you know, maybe something 165 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:11,760 Speaker 1: that you do more often with some of the very 166 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:15,000 Speaker 1: tiny plant species than you would like the bigger aeroids. 167 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:16,719 Speaker 1: But that's easy to do because you don't need much 168 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:19,559 Speaker 1: space and you don't need a big container to do that. Um. 169 00:10:19,559 --> 00:10:21,520 Speaker 1: They can also be a little more sensitive to water 170 00:10:21,640 --> 00:10:24,120 Speaker 1: quality and over fertilizing, so you have to be a 171 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:27,959 Speaker 1: little bit more careful. I tend to use mostly rain 172 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:31,839 Speaker 1: water or ro o water exclusively, like on my micro 173 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:34,600 Speaker 1: orchids and my synergis some of the more sensitive plants. 174 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:37,360 Speaker 1: And you have to be really careful on fertilizers, so 175 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:41,480 Speaker 1: I usually cut fertilizer down to maybe a quarter or 176 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:44,880 Speaker 1: even less of the recommended application, right, because you can 177 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:47,920 Speaker 1: easily burn you know, tiny plants if you're not careful 178 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:52,439 Speaker 1: with your fertilizers. So you know, all things um in scale, right, 179 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:56,120 Speaker 1: so pineer plants, you may go tinier, you know, tinier 180 00:10:56,160 --> 00:10:59,680 Speaker 1: with your containers, tinier with your fertilizers. So there are 181 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:01,080 Speaker 1: some things that you have to be a little bit 182 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:04,920 Speaker 1: more careful with. Conversely, when you're growing tiny plants underglass, 183 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:07,680 Speaker 1: they can become very low maintenance. You hardly ever have 184 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:10,760 Speaker 1: to water them. So you know, there's some things that 185 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:13,280 Speaker 1: are a little trickier and some things that are easier. 186 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:16,560 Speaker 1: That's amazing. So, um, do you think tiny plants are 187 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:18,760 Speaker 1: a trend or do you think this is something that's 188 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:21,760 Speaker 1: here to stay. So you know, things that were popular 189 00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:24,319 Speaker 1: in the sixties and seventies are popular again now and 190 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:26,440 Speaker 1: those will fade away, and right, it's going to happen 191 00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:29,280 Speaker 1: again and again. Right, there are cycles that always happen, 192 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:33,000 Speaker 1: so I expect there to be a cycle to that. However, 193 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:37,720 Speaker 1: I think that the pandemic has really opened up the 194 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:40,880 Speaker 1: world of gardening and plant keeping in sort of an 195 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:45,000 Speaker 1: exponential way for people that I think as a hobby, 196 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:50,199 Speaker 1: it's much more here to stay than a cyclic trend 197 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:52,679 Speaker 1: than just a straight up trend. I think people are 198 00:11:52,679 --> 00:11:55,520 Speaker 1: going to keep gardening and plant keeping embedded in their 199 00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:59,720 Speaker 1: lifestyle much more significantly than than in the past, and 200 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:04,160 Speaker 1: I think in terms of scale, growing small, growing tiny. 201 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:07,760 Speaker 1: I think again part of that is a matter of 202 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 1: people being cooped up inside without necessarily a lot of 203 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:14,280 Speaker 1: outdoor space. So they need to be able to fit 204 00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:18,360 Speaker 1: plants in whatever space they have, and that may not 205 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:21,360 Speaker 1: be a yard, that may be a window sill, that 206 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:25,120 Speaker 1: may be a balcony. My definition of gardening is one 207 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:28,640 Speaker 1: plant in one pot. If you're doing that, you're gardening. 208 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:31,360 Speaker 1: You can be a gardener in lots of different ways, 209 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:34,360 Speaker 1: and I want to make sure that folks that live 210 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:37,240 Speaker 1: in small spaces or you know, just are trying to 211 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:41,040 Speaker 1: bring some nature to their desk. Plants are such an 212 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:44,800 Speaker 1: important part of our health and wellness and you know, 213 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:49,600 Speaker 1: mental happiness exactly. So we asked this question on our 214 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:52,520 Speaker 1: show a Lot. Do you think caring for plants makes 215 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:56,680 Speaker 1: us happier or makes us better people? Plants make me 216 00:12:56,760 --> 00:12:59,679 Speaker 1: really happy, and I think they make everybody happy, and 217 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:03,920 Speaker 1: I think that right now we all really need to 218 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:07,760 Speaker 1: invest in our health and wellness. This past year has 219 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:11,800 Speaker 1: been really stressful for everybody. Gardening and plant keeping it's 220 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:16,280 Speaker 1: an amazing stress reducer. I love observing the plants I 221 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:20,400 Speaker 1: love observing how they change. I completely freak out when 222 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:23,839 Speaker 1: one of my micro orchids blooms. If you hear me 223 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:27,040 Speaker 1: yell from across my house, like it's probably because something 224 00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:31,400 Speaker 1: just flowered. I just get so excited. And you know, 225 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:33,600 Speaker 1: I'm not a newbie. I've been doing this a long time. 226 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:37,120 Speaker 1: That enthusiasm has never waned for me. And there is 227 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:40,800 Speaker 1: always a new plant to discover. Here's the big secret 228 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:45,720 Speaker 1: about horticulture and gardening. Nobody knows everything. Nobody will ever 229 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:49,520 Speaker 1: know everything. We can call ourselves ex experts, but even 230 00:13:49,559 --> 00:13:54,520 Speaker 1: as an expert myself, I learn every day. And that's 231 00:13:54,559 --> 00:13:57,000 Speaker 1: a great way to keep your brain healthy, right, There's 232 00:13:57,040 --> 00:14:02,080 Speaker 1: always something new to learn out the natural world and plants, 233 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:05,840 Speaker 1: And so I hope that my book Tiny Plants can 234 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:10,000 Speaker 1: bring a little joy and happiness into a plant parents 235 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:13,320 Speaker 1: world and expose them to something new that they can 236 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:17,320 Speaker 1: learn today and as they move forward in their new hobby. Yeah, 237 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:19,040 Speaker 1: we're gonna have to get your book and surround it 238 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:24,560 Speaker 1: with lots of tiny plants and squee. Thank you so 239 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:27,400 Speaker 1: much for being here, Leslie. I really really appreciate it absolutely. 240 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:29,040 Speaker 1: Thanks for so so much for having me. It was 241 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:40,720 Speaker 1: a joy. And now for another poetry corner. This poem 242 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:47,040 Speaker 1: is called little Meal for two. I carefully sliced up 243 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:51,040 Speaker 1: my dwarf fig for this tiny fruit plate for two. 244 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:55,840 Speaker 1: I plucked up all my baby corn and made this 245 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:59,720 Speaker 1: tiny stew. I placed it all on tiny plates and 246 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:04,880 Speaker 1: a horrible healthy brunch. But once we've hugged and said goodbyes, 247 00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:16,120 Speaker 1: I'm ordering food for lunch. Thank you. So I'm kind 248 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:19,000 Speaker 1: of getting why people love tiny plants. But I've got 249 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:22,880 Speaker 1: to say my first real fascination with tiny things probably 250 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:26,320 Speaker 1: started with tiny houses. We started writing about them years 251 00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:28,760 Speaker 1: ago on a website I used to run, but it's 252 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:32,200 Speaker 1: incredible to see they are more than just a fad. 253 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:35,920 Speaker 1: According to the New York Times, some tiny house builders 254 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:40,280 Speaker 1: saw a one hundred and seventy seven percent increase in sales. 255 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:43,520 Speaker 1: And it makes a ton of sense when you think 256 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:47,120 Speaker 1: about it. Tiny houses started as people wanting to decrease 257 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:51,040 Speaker 1: their carbon footprint, and now with more city dwellers heading 258 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:54,000 Speaker 1: out of town, trading those concrete buildings for the wide 259 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:57,680 Speaker 1: open spaces of nature, the tiny home movement is alive 260 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:02,040 Speaker 1: and well. And while they unrelated except for their size, 261 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:05,160 Speaker 1: tiny plants and tiny houses have a lot more in 262 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:07,960 Speaker 1: common than meets the eye. I wanted to learn more 263 00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:11,600 Speaker 1: about where that then diagram of tiny homes and plants overlap. 264 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:15,200 Speaker 1: So I called up Ethan and Jesse Waldman. Ethan is 265 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:17,840 Speaker 1: the founder and curator of the site the tiny house 266 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:20,640 Speaker 1: dot Net, and his brother Jesse is the brand developer 267 00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:24,720 Speaker 1: at Pistols Nursery in Portland, Oregon. The two recently collaborated 268 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:26,920 Speaker 1: on a piece for the tiny house dot Net about 269 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:30,960 Speaker 1: the best plants for tiny houses and spoiler, the tiny 270 00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:39,200 Speaker 1: mounted jungle cacti is definitely a favorite. Ethan, Jesse, are 271 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:42,120 Speaker 1: you there? Yeah? Hey, how's it going. Hey, it's so 272 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:44,360 Speaker 1: nice to be chatting with both of you. I am 273 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:47,760 Speaker 1: so excited to talk about tiny homes and tiny plants 274 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:51,880 Speaker 1: and all of the tininess to come. Ethan, tell me, 275 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:55,239 Speaker 1: I know you're an expert on tiny homes, and I'm curious, 276 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:57,880 Speaker 1: what is it about these tiny homes that really makes 277 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:01,360 Speaker 1: a difference for people. I mean, they have gotten so 278 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:04,800 Speaker 1: popular and they've gone from when I was doing it. 279 00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:07,240 Speaker 1: If you said the word tiny house, you know, people 280 00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:09,840 Speaker 1: kind of looked at you with with a blank stare, 281 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:13,399 Speaker 1: and now it's hard to find somebody that doesn't understand 282 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:15,720 Speaker 1: when you say tiny house. They have a very specific 283 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:18,440 Speaker 1: picture in their head of a house on a trailer 284 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:22,080 Speaker 1: because they've seen the various tiny house shows. You know, 285 00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:25,520 Speaker 1: when I did this, I'm a millennial. I was graduating 286 00:17:25,520 --> 00:17:27,879 Speaker 1: from college right around the time that two thousand eight, 287 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:30,320 Speaker 1: two thousand nine the stock market kind of crashed and 288 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:33,119 Speaker 1: people were losing their homes, and so I assumed that 289 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:35,040 Speaker 1: it was going to be a lot of millennials doing it. 290 00:17:35,119 --> 00:17:38,400 Speaker 1: And now I see a huge number of people who 291 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:42,320 Speaker 1: are retiring. Who are you know, building or buying tiny 292 00:17:42,359 --> 00:17:45,200 Speaker 1: houses as a way of actually being able to retire. 293 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:47,959 Speaker 1: That's really interesting. And Jesse, what about you? Do you 294 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,600 Speaker 1: have a tiny house as well? I do not. I 295 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:54,320 Speaker 1: love visiting Ethans though it's it's amazing how well designed 296 00:17:54,359 --> 00:17:57,639 Speaker 1: his is that it doesn't really feel tiny. It's quite comfortable. 297 00:17:57,760 --> 00:17:59,639 Speaker 1: That's what's so appealing about them, right like, is that 298 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:02,639 Speaker 1: they're often so thoughtfully designed. I mean to me, the 299 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:05,360 Speaker 1: other part of it is that it feels like, particularly 300 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:08,880 Speaker 1: after this last year and people being quarantined and people 301 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:12,560 Speaker 1: stuck in their homes, having a small space in somewhere 302 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:15,520 Speaker 1: that's really beautiful really matters. To people. Absolutely, and that's 303 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:18,200 Speaker 1: you know, that's something that because the house is small, 304 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:22,280 Speaker 1: it really turns the outside into your living room. You 305 00:18:22,359 --> 00:18:25,400 Speaker 1: see the outside way more because you're always very close 306 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:27,800 Speaker 1: to a window, and you also are going outside way more. 307 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:29,879 Speaker 1: And so do you see this as kind of a 308 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:32,960 Speaker 1: trend or more of a cultural shift. I think it's 309 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:35,480 Speaker 1: started as a trend and it's becoming a cultural shift. 310 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:39,440 Speaker 1: I think that it fits in really nicely with other 311 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:42,280 Speaker 1: things that you're seeing people really embrace, like Marie Condo 312 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:46,119 Speaker 1: and the idea of minimalism and owning less things. It 313 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:50,200 Speaker 1: fits in with the environmentalism. Living in a smaller house 314 00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:52,639 Speaker 1: and having a smaller footprint is definitely a piece of 315 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:54,800 Speaker 1: that puzzle. So I do think that it's it was 316 00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:57,680 Speaker 1: a trend and now it's becoming part of the culture. Yeah, 317 00:18:57,720 --> 00:18:59,840 Speaker 1: and I do think there is something too when you 318 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:02,479 Speaker 1: hair things down, you really value the things you have 319 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:04,959 Speaker 1: and take advantage of right, and and also how you're 320 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:07,560 Speaker 1: spending your time. So Jesse, before I ask you the same, 321 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:09,840 Speaker 1: let's take a step back. How do you define a 322 00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:13,119 Speaker 1: tiny plant and how are they different from normal plants? 323 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:17,000 Speaker 1: I think that for me, a tiny plant probably would 324 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:19,080 Speaker 1: be one that you're not really going to have to 325 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:22,639 Speaker 1: worry about graduating past like a four inch pot. There 326 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:25,760 Speaker 1: are plants that maybe have shallow roots systems. So you know, 327 00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:28,359 Speaker 1: you might buy a little plant that's in a small 328 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:30,240 Speaker 1: pot that has like little leaves that are like two 329 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:32,879 Speaker 1: inches long. But if you actually give it the growth, 330 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:36,000 Speaker 1: the growth kind of environmental conditions that it it once, 331 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:39,280 Speaker 1: For example, you might have it climb up a they're 332 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:41,560 Speaker 1: called moss poles um They kind of mimic plants that 333 00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:44,640 Speaker 1: climb up trees, and in nature, when they start climbing, 334 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:48,120 Speaker 1: there's actually like a physiological shift that happens when they 335 00:19:48,119 --> 00:19:50,399 Speaker 1: can sense that they're climbing, and if they're getting that 336 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:52,600 Speaker 1: right light and they're getting that support, like boom, that 337 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:54,679 Speaker 1: two inch leaf. Like the next leaf that comes out 338 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,000 Speaker 1: might be six inches and then twelve inches, and then 339 00:19:57,160 --> 00:19:59,240 Speaker 1: like all of a sudden, you have this massive tropical blind. 340 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:01,199 Speaker 1: You know, the plants that we're talking about, like the 341 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:05,760 Speaker 1: pepper roma as the rhizomatos Pagonia is a little alo howorthia, 342 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:10,480 Speaker 1: some some ferns um or chids. These are plants that 343 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:12,479 Speaker 1: are are not going to do that. They're not going 344 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:15,800 Speaker 1: to have any sort of like major physiological change between 345 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:18,960 Speaker 1: their juvenile form, like when their first propagated or they're 346 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:22,439 Speaker 1: first growing from seed and their mature forms. So I 347 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:25,000 Speaker 1: think that that's kind of the The main difference is 348 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:26,880 Speaker 1: just like what does the plant look like when it's 349 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:29,760 Speaker 1: a baby versus when it's an adult. So you two 350 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:33,040 Speaker 1: collaborated on this blog post helping tiny homeowners with the 351 00:20:33,119 --> 00:20:36,360 Speaker 1: ideal tiny plants that can fit within their designs. Can 352 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:39,400 Speaker 1: you talk us through some of those tiny plants? Yeah, 353 00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:42,040 Speaker 1: absolutely so. I think that there are kind of a 354 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:45,119 Speaker 1: couple of different approaches when thinking about fitting plants into, 355 00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:48,680 Speaker 1: you know, a small space. Certainly a very reasonable one 356 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:51,000 Speaker 1: is to look for plants that are just small by nature. 357 00:20:51,359 --> 00:20:53,760 Speaker 1: And another one thing to note is, you know, sometimes 358 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:56,400 Speaker 1: and you probably won't know this when you go into 359 00:20:56,440 --> 00:20:59,359 Speaker 1: the nursery, but some plants are actually sprayed with growth 360 00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:03,280 Speaker 1: inhibitors that that kind of keep them small. That is 361 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:05,159 Speaker 1: something that is not going to you know, say that 362 00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:07,040 Speaker 1: on the label. But if you do your research into 363 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:09,800 Speaker 1: the plant um and you know, look at the what 364 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:12,240 Speaker 1: it looks like when it becomes a mature plant versus 365 00:21:12,280 --> 00:21:13,960 Speaker 1: what you're seeing in the nursery, you might you might 366 00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:16,280 Speaker 1: be able to get a little que as to whether 367 00:21:16,359 --> 00:21:19,320 Speaker 1: or not that's happened. But yeah, so a couple of 368 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:22,400 Speaker 1: great small plants. There's a couple of different genuses that 369 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:24,199 Speaker 1: the plants just kind of stay small by nature. One 370 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:26,840 Speaker 1: is the pepper Roma genus. I really love these plants. 371 00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:31,439 Speaker 1: They kind of have like fleshy, semi succulent sorts of leaves. 372 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:33,679 Speaker 1: A lot of them kind of have a creeping growth habit, 373 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,439 Speaker 1: or if they're growing upright, they're just like form like 374 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:39,920 Speaker 1: a very kind of a small little bush. Almost. One 375 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:42,960 Speaker 1: that I really love is called pepperromea prostrata. It's i 376 00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:45,600 Speaker 1: would say, one of the trendiest plants right now. Sometimes 377 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:48,359 Speaker 1: called string of turtles. Little leaves they look like just 378 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:50,440 Speaker 1: like little tiny little beads, and they kind of have 379 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:52,840 Speaker 1: like a little striping pattern on them, makes them look 380 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:56,000 Speaker 1: like little turtles. There's a lot of string us right 381 00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:58,400 Speaker 1: now in the plants where others string of hearts during bananas, 382 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:01,800 Speaker 1: during a fishhooks during of dolphins, string of pearls. Another 383 00:22:02,119 --> 00:22:06,240 Speaker 1: genus that is really cool is the Tolanzia genus. Tolanxia 384 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:09,280 Speaker 1: are often referred to as air plants. They're called air 385 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:12,280 Speaker 1: plants because they actually don't grow in soil. These plants 386 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:15,280 Speaker 1: are super unique. To water them, you actually soak them 387 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:17,800 Speaker 1: in a bowl of water because their roots system is 388 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:20,760 Speaker 1: literally just exist to hold them onto whatever they're growing on. 389 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:23,800 Speaker 1: In nature, they're just entirely free floating. So you can 390 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:25,639 Speaker 1: just like set them on a shelf, put them in 391 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:28,360 Speaker 1: a bowl, uh, stick them on a window sill. They're 392 00:22:28,359 --> 00:22:30,600 Speaker 1: really unique. They're great in terrariums, and they come in 393 00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:34,000 Speaker 1: all different sizes and colors, and they flower eventually. They're 394 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:37,119 Speaker 1: they're quite cool. I think air plants are so incredible. 395 00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:39,640 Speaker 1: How hard are they to maintain? You know, they kind 396 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:41,840 Speaker 1: of have a reputation for being really easy. You know, 397 00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:43,359 Speaker 1: we hear a lot of people come into the nursery 398 00:22:43,359 --> 00:22:44,879 Speaker 1: and say, oh, those air plants, they just all they 399 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:48,080 Speaker 1: need is air. That is not true. Um, they definitely 400 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:51,360 Speaker 1: need water. I always kill mine, by the way. They're 401 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:54,400 Speaker 1: honestly not. They're not the easiest in order to get 402 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:57,480 Speaker 1: them to to really thrive. The you know, they're getting 403 00:22:57,520 --> 00:22:59,639 Speaker 1: the water for the air, so humidity is great, so 404 00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:02,560 Speaker 1: they and to thrive you know, in a bathroom as 405 00:23:02,600 --> 00:23:04,719 Speaker 1: long as it gets decent natural light. They do need 406 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:07,040 Speaker 1: a fair amount of natural light to to thrive. They 407 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:09,320 Speaker 1: don't want direct light as much as, like, you know, 408 00:23:09,359 --> 00:23:11,560 Speaker 1: they need to be soaked and watered. They also don't 409 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:14,520 Speaker 1: tolerate staying wet for too long. So what we like 410 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:16,440 Speaker 1: to tell people to do is, after they're done soaking 411 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:19,240 Speaker 1: their air plant to you know, literally inverted, put it 412 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:21,959 Speaker 1: upside down on a towel in a window sill, so 413 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:24,320 Speaker 1: it's gonna fully dry out within an hour or two. 414 00:23:24,359 --> 00:23:27,080 Speaker 1: I love that they seem so low maintenance, and then 415 00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:31,240 Speaker 1: they're actually pretty ivan not on like a tiny house. 416 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:36,119 Speaker 1: So in terms of these tiny houses, have you seen 417 00:23:36,359 --> 00:23:39,240 Speaker 1: people grow gardens outside of them? And do you feel 418 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:42,680 Speaker 1: like tiny homes create an opportunity for growing and harvesting 419 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:46,320 Speaker 1: your own food. Yeah? Absolutely. I mean, you know, tiny 420 00:23:46,359 --> 00:23:49,119 Speaker 1: homes fit a little bit into the whole permaculture movement. 421 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:52,439 Speaker 1: I know a few people who really just have designed 422 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:55,119 Speaker 1: an entire system around their tiny house where you know, 423 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:57,800 Speaker 1: they're they're harvesting the rain water off the roof. A 424 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:00,480 Speaker 1: lot of tiny homes have compost toilets, and then they're 425 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:02,879 Speaker 1: using that to grow plants, and it's, you know, just 426 00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:05,920 Speaker 1: this big self sustaining cycle. Not to say, everybody is 427 00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:10,240 Speaker 1: doing that, but that's definitely uh small subset of the movement. 428 00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:12,440 Speaker 1: And can you describe exactly what perman culture is for 429 00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:16,280 Speaker 1: our listeners. I'm no pro. It's a design philosophy where 430 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:19,359 Speaker 1: you are thinking beyond just the needs of the plant, 431 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:21,679 Speaker 1: to the needs of the garden, to the needs of 432 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:24,880 Speaker 1: your entire property, and you you try to design systems 433 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:28,520 Speaker 1: that serve multiple needs. So a classic example of a 434 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:32,160 Speaker 1: perma culture, you know, a fish tank full of telapia 435 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:34,719 Speaker 1: that has you know that you can throw food scraps 436 00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:36,879 Speaker 1: in and the tilapia eat the fish, and then the 437 00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:41,480 Speaker 1: poop from the tilapia fertilizes makes this really great fertilizing 438 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:43,800 Speaker 1: water that you then feed into a garden like that. 439 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:46,600 Speaker 1: That's kind of a perma culture system that's really interesting 440 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:49,119 Speaker 1: to to contemplate. And like, how how many things you 441 00:24:49,119 --> 00:24:52,320 Speaker 1: can build in and see that like sort of feed 442 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:55,359 Speaker 1: all these systems is pretty great. What are some things 443 00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:57,720 Speaker 1: that are easy to grow that can sort of help 444 00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:00,920 Speaker 1: fill your tiny home with delicious, healthy food? It? Yeah, 445 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:04,600 Speaker 1: I mean it's all gonna depend on your environment, right. Um, 446 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:07,840 Speaker 1: If we're talking about growing outdoors, it's possible to grow 447 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:10,720 Speaker 1: certain edible things. Indoors. Herbs for example, on a on 448 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:12,840 Speaker 1: a sunny window sill can do can do pretty well. 449 00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:15,159 Speaker 1: But really, when you're talking about growing yourself food, you're 450 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:17,760 Speaker 1: gonna be you're gonna want to be leveraging your outdoor space. 451 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:20,000 Speaker 1: So if you're in a permanent space, I think that, 452 00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:22,720 Speaker 1: you know, it's incredible what you can grow in a 453 00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:25,159 Speaker 1: small raised bed. I think that if you have the 454 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:28,159 Speaker 1: capacity to build a garden box, the benefit there is 455 00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:30,639 Speaker 1: that you're filling that soil up and it's able to 456 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:33,439 Speaker 1: not get compacted the way it would. You know, just 457 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:34,879 Speaker 1: if you're kind of digging out of bed in the 458 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:37,760 Speaker 1: ground and then you're you know, stepping around that soil 459 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:40,240 Speaker 1: compaction makes it really hard for the roots to grow deep, 460 00:25:40,359 --> 00:25:42,720 Speaker 1: and the deeper the roots and healthier the roots systems. 461 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:44,959 Speaker 1: I think like one of the easiest things that can 462 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:48,520 Speaker 1: be grown in many, many different environments is just sally greens. 463 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:50,960 Speaker 1: Lettuces come up really fast. They don't need a ton 464 00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:53,960 Speaker 1: of sun. In fact, they tend to bolt in the sun. 465 00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:55,920 Speaker 1: Bolting just means they go to seed, and once a 466 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:59,359 Speaker 1: planet goes to seed, you're typically just done. One of 467 00:25:59,359 --> 00:26:02,320 Speaker 1: my favorite things grow as radishes. I think I've acquired 468 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:04,119 Speaker 1: a taste for radishes because of how fun they are 469 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:07,800 Speaker 1: to grow, and then you know, depending on on on 470 00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:11,639 Speaker 1: the light and your level of dedication. Tomatoes are like 471 00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:16,199 Speaker 1: the classic thing to grow because homegrown tomato just tastes 472 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:18,040 Speaker 1: ten thousand times better than what you can get at 473 00:26:18,080 --> 00:26:20,359 Speaker 1: the store, and it's pretty amazing as far as like 474 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:22,040 Speaker 1: space goes. You know, you can grow tomato in a 475 00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:24,880 Speaker 1: five yallon bucket. Um. There are two different main types 476 00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:28,280 Speaker 1: of tomato plants. There's determinate plants and in determinate plants. 477 00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:30,639 Speaker 1: In determinate plants will just keep growing and growing and 478 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:33,560 Speaker 1: growing and growing forever, and they set fruit intermittently throughout 479 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:37,240 Speaker 1: their lives, whereas determinate plants grow to a set size 480 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:38,840 Speaker 1: and then they set all their fruit all at once. 481 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:41,000 Speaker 1: So that's what people with limited space would want to 482 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:45,439 Speaker 1: look for as a determinate variety. How has COVID impacted 483 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:50,240 Speaker 1: the popularity or culture of both tiny homes and tiny plants. 484 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:54,760 Speaker 1: I'll say, from the tiny home perspective, just out of control, 485 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:57,359 Speaker 1: bonkers interest. You know, there are a lot of people 486 00:26:57,400 --> 00:27:01,360 Speaker 1: who are really suffering financially due to the pandemic and 487 00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:05,960 Speaker 1: the appeal of tiny house living as a way of 488 00:27:06,119 --> 00:27:09,960 Speaker 1: saving money and a way of having housing stability. People 489 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:14,520 Speaker 1: see it, and the governments and municipalities and cities are 490 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:18,919 Speaker 1: struggling scrambling to to change laws to make it legal, 491 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:21,720 Speaker 1: because it's not always legal to live in a tiny 492 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:24,960 Speaker 1: house in most places. And I would, uh, I would 493 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:28,879 Speaker 1: concur crazy bonkers over the top interest, you know, not 494 00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:32,040 Speaker 1: specifically in tiny plants, but in plants in general. I 495 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:34,080 Speaker 1: think that you know, with COVID kind of as I 496 00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:36,240 Speaker 1: was alluding to earlier, people are spending more times in 497 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:39,600 Speaker 1: their home. They might be missing that morning commute to work, 498 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:41,960 Speaker 1: that they walk through the park, or just that other 499 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:44,280 Speaker 1: touch points in their lives where they're able to connect 500 00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:46,400 Speaker 1: with nature. And they want their homes to feel good. 501 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:49,200 Speaker 1: And you know, plants. Plants make a space feel good. 502 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:52,520 Speaker 1: You know, having plants around increase your productivity, They stabilize 503 00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:54,960 Speaker 1: your mood. They actually make a space more comfortable by 504 00:27:55,119 --> 00:27:58,439 Speaker 1: putting out humidity, um, they dampen the sound into space. 505 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:00,639 Speaker 1: So there's all sorts of ways because like above and 506 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:03,600 Speaker 1: below the surface, that having plants in your space can 507 00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:05,720 Speaker 1: improve your quality of life. And so I think the 508 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:08,080 Speaker 1: kind of the bar for knowledge has gone way up, 509 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:10,840 Speaker 1: Like people come in and they know so much these days. 510 00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:12,919 Speaker 1: It's just pretty incredible how it's turned into like a 511 00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:15,879 Speaker 1: real community in a movement. Yeah, it is always impressive 512 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:19,120 Speaker 1: to me to see the different communities that have come 513 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:22,840 Speaker 1: up and emerged on Instagram and formed around things like plants, 514 00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:26,600 Speaker 1: and also to see how specific those communities get. Do 515 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:28,439 Speaker 1: you think tiny plants are a part of that, and 516 00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:31,400 Speaker 1: are they on Instagram trend or do you think they're 517 00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:34,120 Speaker 1: here to stay? I think for me, like, I think 518 00:28:34,119 --> 00:28:36,320 Speaker 1: that right now we're in a phase where people are 519 00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:38,520 Speaker 1: discovering plants and they're discovering that they want to have 520 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:41,800 Speaker 1: them in their homes. Right. There are different kind of 521 00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:44,800 Speaker 1: personality types and different things that you know, just naturally 522 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:47,440 Speaker 1: attract you. Some people want to get a toy poodle 523 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:49,560 Speaker 1: and other people want to get a same Bernard, Right. 524 00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:52,400 Speaker 1: I think that the same goes with plants. Like there's 525 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:54,880 Speaker 1: so much information out there these days, and there's people 526 00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:57,320 Speaker 1: are getting really deep. I think that that's kind of 527 00:28:57,320 --> 00:29:00,280 Speaker 1: the what I'm noticing as a trend more than say 528 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:03,200 Speaker 1: like a shift towards tiny plants, but just people getting 529 00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:06,040 Speaker 1: really into their kind of plant, like their pepper roma. 530 00:29:06,120 --> 00:29:09,160 Speaker 1: People who want to have all the pepperonias. People are 531 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:14,360 Speaker 1: just becoming passionate, and the nursery industry is responding by 532 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:17,600 Speaker 1: diversifying and making these plants that were once super duper 533 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:20,800 Speaker 1: rare and hard to find, like putting an energy into 534 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:24,000 Speaker 1: you know, propagating them and having them available in greater quantity. 535 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:26,520 Speaker 1: And then you know, it's kind of a self perpetuating 536 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:29,880 Speaker 1: cycle that there's you know, greater availability, greater knowledge, uh, 537 00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:32,120 Speaker 1: community forming around it. So like people are just kind 538 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:34,280 Speaker 1: of you know, finding what speaks to them, you know, 539 00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:36,600 Speaker 1: for something that will be tiny plants for sure. And 540 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:39,360 Speaker 1: I would say that I think that there's an initial 541 00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:43,680 Speaker 1: attraction that maybe a tiny plant and a tiny house shares, 542 00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:47,240 Speaker 1: which is just there's a cute factor. Tiny houses are 543 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:51,200 Speaker 1: very popular on Instagram and Pinterest because they're just so 544 00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:54,000 Speaker 1: visually appealing. You know, a lot of people might click 545 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:56,120 Speaker 1: on a tiny house. Nine out of ten of them 546 00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:58,760 Speaker 1: may just be clicking on it to to just see it. 547 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:00,880 Speaker 1: And then maybe one of those people will see it 548 00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:03,840 Speaker 1: and say, oh wow, this actually could be something that 549 00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:05,760 Speaker 1: that would be really great for me, and they get 550 00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:07,960 Speaker 1: interested and I think the same is probably true for 551 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,480 Speaker 1: house plants. You know, you see a really beautiful plant 552 00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:12,840 Speaker 1: on Instagram and you click on it, and some people 553 00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:14,920 Speaker 1: just might look, and then other people might say, you know, 554 00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:17,200 Speaker 1: I it's beautiful and I want to put it on 555 00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:20,560 Speaker 1: my coffee table, and so I think there's they share that. 556 00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:23,520 Speaker 1: And another thing I think that's important to mention is, like, 557 00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:26,560 Speaker 1: you know, there there obviously is a natural synchronicity between 558 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:29,560 Speaker 1: tiny home tiny plant. But I also think that like, 559 00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:32,320 Speaker 1: just because you live in a small space doesn't mean 560 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:34,720 Speaker 1: you can't have any plant. Um. I mean, you might 561 00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:37,880 Speaker 1: not physically be able to fit a giant tree in 562 00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:39,880 Speaker 1: your home, but I think that you can really get 563 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:43,120 Speaker 1: creative and just activate different areas of the home if 564 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:46,320 Speaker 1: you're committed to, you know, having having greener in that space. 565 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:49,120 Speaker 1: Plants don't have to be just you know, in that 566 00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:52,040 Speaker 1: big pot on the floor occupying your your living space. 567 00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:55,320 Speaker 1: I like that. Ethan and Jesse, thank you both so 568 00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:57,680 Speaker 1: much for being on this program. I'm I'm fascinated in 569 00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:00,240 Speaker 1: what both of you do, and um throw to have 570 00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:06,120 Speaker 1: you here. Thank you, Thanks so much. Humans Growing Stuff 571 00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:16,719 Speaker 1: will be right back after a short break. Tiny Plants 572 00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:19,560 Speaker 1: are so useful and for a small amount of space, 573 00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:21,880 Speaker 1: they can do a lot of good. But as I've 574 00:31:21,920 --> 00:31:25,200 Speaker 1: been researching some of the popular tiny plants for this episode, 575 00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:27,920 Speaker 1: I couldn't help but think of how funny some of 576 00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:31,840 Speaker 1: them are. The plants themselves are adorable, but also the 577 00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:37,520 Speaker 1: names are hilarious, like et fingers come on. So I 578 00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:41,000 Speaker 1: decided to give comedian Angela Johnson red As a call 579 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:43,840 Speaker 1: and get her take on them. Angela is a former 580 00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:46,800 Speaker 1: cast member on Mad TV and sells out comedy tours 581 00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:49,680 Speaker 1: across the country, and not only does she make me laugh, 582 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:53,320 Speaker 1: she's also an avid gardener. She and I caught up 583 00:31:53,320 --> 00:31:56,400 Speaker 1: about what got her hooked on gardening, how Instagram has 584 00:31:56,440 --> 00:31:59,480 Speaker 1: brought her closer to this new community, and what she 585 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:02,080 Speaker 1: thinks of some of the more comedic tiny plant names 586 00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:09,280 Speaker 1: out there. Handeler, are you there? Yes? Hello, Hey, it's 587 00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:13,800 Speaker 1: so nice to be chatting with you. I am so excited. Well, 588 00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:17,200 Speaker 1: I've been watching some of your Facebook videos and and 589 00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:19,600 Speaker 1: watching your enthusiasm for the garden, and we thought it 590 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:21,440 Speaker 1: would be super fun to have you on the show. 591 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:24,600 Speaker 1: I'm excited to talk about this because this is like 592 00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:27,360 Speaker 1: a whole new world for me. That developed. Yeah, I 593 00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:29,920 Speaker 1: love to share with every I'm like, how is everyone 594 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:33,720 Speaker 1: not gardening? Like everyone? Yeah, that's how I feel too, 595 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:37,480 Speaker 1: But I'm curious. Was gardening something you grew up with? Um? No? 596 00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:42,120 Speaker 1: Actually really all new I full on. I took Ron 597 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:46,520 Speaker 1: Finley's master class and I learned a lot from him. 598 00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:50,920 Speaker 1: And also, my brother got into plants before I did, 599 00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:54,000 Speaker 1: and so he's the one who kind of got me into. 600 00:32:54,080 --> 00:32:58,520 Speaker 1: So one day he came up right before quarantine January. 601 00:32:58,720 --> 00:33:01,360 Speaker 1: I went with him to the plant district downtown l A. 602 00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:05,040 Speaker 1: It was like we walked into this oasis and I 603 00:33:05,080 --> 00:33:08,360 Speaker 1: was like, what, this is a real place with plants 604 00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:11,440 Speaker 1: and flowers, and so I bought so many plants that day, 605 00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:14,640 Speaker 1: and I started becoming a plant mom. And then it 606 00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:17,000 Speaker 1: grew from there to a garden and everything. And then 607 00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:19,400 Speaker 1: what did did you know immediately what to do because 608 00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:21,840 Speaker 1: you've seen these videos? Or how did you get into 609 00:33:21,840 --> 00:33:25,920 Speaker 1: gardening from there? Instagram? So I would watch videos on 610 00:33:26,120 --> 00:33:30,440 Speaker 1: Instagram on YouTube, learning about spider mites, learning about like 611 00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:34,000 Speaker 1: all kinds of things, and then it became personal. These 612 00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:38,960 Speaker 1: plants there on my balcony and my bathroom and my bedroom. 613 00:33:39,040 --> 00:33:42,560 Speaker 1: I remember the day my elephant ear plant. I was 614 00:33:42,640 --> 00:33:44,600 Speaker 1: so proud of. It was like my biggest plant that 615 00:33:44,680 --> 00:33:48,680 Speaker 1: I had ever purchased. And and she's in my my bedroom, 616 00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:50,200 Speaker 1: and every morning I wake up and there she was 617 00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:52,400 Speaker 1: in the corner. And one day I woke up and 618 00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:56,479 Speaker 1: she was just weeping, like limping over. I didn't know 619 00:33:56,520 --> 00:33:59,160 Speaker 1: what happened. When I tell you, I jumped out of 620 00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:01,480 Speaker 1: my bed and rushed to her side like it was 621 00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:05,800 Speaker 1: my child. It really became super personal, like I have 622 00:34:05,840 --> 00:34:09,919 Speaker 1: a relationship with my plants, to the point where when 623 00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:12,839 Speaker 1: I was moving, I had to find a foster home 624 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:15,520 Speaker 1: for my plants because I was like, my husband, he 625 00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:18,239 Speaker 1: doesn't quite get it. And he's like, well, why can't 626 00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:19,600 Speaker 1: she just get rid of him and get new ones 627 00:34:19,640 --> 00:34:21,120 Speaker 1: when we get our new place, And I'm like, how 628 00:34:21,200 --> 00:34:26,680 Speaker 1: dare you you make me? Hear you you walk your 629 00:34:26,719 --> 00:34:30,400 Speaker 1: mouth sir? Yeah. So they became very personal to me, 630 00:34:30,440 --> 00:34:32,160 Speaker 1: and I learned how to take care of them from 631 00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:34,920 Speaker 1: videos online, and then I would share what I was 632 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:37,760 Speaker 1: learning with my fans online, and then people would message 633 00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:41,000 Speaker 1: me and and we're so helpful and being like, hey, 634 00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:43,440 Speaker 1: I think your plant has you know this going on? 635 00:34:43,560 --> 00:34:45,960 Speaker 1: Maybe you put too much water, and it really became 636 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:48,919 Speaker 1: like a community online that we really just kind of 637 00:34:49,120 --> 00:34:51,920 Speaker 1: supported each other and helped each other. Isn't that amazing 638 00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:56,120 Speaker 1: how these groups have formed out of interest during these pandemics, right, 639 00:34:56,160 --> 00:34:59,080 Speaker 1: Like people have actually made friends through Instagram and at 640 00:34:59,120 --> 00:35:01,520 Speaker 1: least feel like they they have these connections, which is 641 00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:04,920 Speaker 1: amazing totally. And then all like I get all the 642 00:35:04,920 --> 00:35:09,319 Speaker 1: funny memes now, like my brother did plant Dad memes 643 00:35:09,360 --> 00:35:12,680 Speaker 1: and gifts, and like you know, everybody's talking about their 644 00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:15,080 Speaker 1: steamy chicks, like what they're going to spend their steamy 645 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:17,480 Speaker 1: check on, and like all the popular ones are like, 646 00:35:17,520 --> 00:35:19,439 Speaker 1: you know, a new pair of shoes or whatever, Let's 647 00:35:19,440 --> 00:35:21,359 Speaker 1: go to Red Lobster. We got that steamy check. And 648 00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:23,520 Speaker 1: then all the plant Dad ones are like, you know, 649 00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:25,320 Speaker 1: just got my steamy check. And then it's a picture 650 00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:28,920 Speaker 1: of like four thousand plants in there. But I am 651 00:35:28,960 --> 00:35:30,799 Speaker 1: surprised to hear you say that you hadn't done this before, 652 00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:33,160 Speaker 1: because I I watched these videos and I see like 653 00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:35,839 Speaker 1: you've got these beautiful beds and and you know, you've 654 00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:39,359 Speaker 1: got everything from like Valencia orange tree to like you know, 655 00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:42,360 Speaker 1: tomato plants to blueberries. I mean, it's it's impressive the 656 00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:45,800 Speaker 1: variety of things you grew. And you know what. I 657 00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:50,040 Speaker 1: my friend Dizzy Perkins, she would post her garden a lot, 658 00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:53,440 Speaker 1: and it was very inspiring to me. It makes it 659 00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:55,640 Speaker 1: feel doable, like, well, if she could do it, I 660 00:35:55,719 --> 00:35:58,120 Speaker 1: can do it, you know. And even though I had 661 00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:00,960 Speaker 1: no knowledge. And then I would message her and you like, hey, so, 662 00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:02,799 Speaker 1: like how did you learn how to do it? She's like, 663 00:36:02,840 --> 00:36:05,560 Speaker 1: I just started. I just gave it a go, and 664 00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:08,680 Speaker 1: you learn as you go. And even and Ron Finling 665 00:36:08,760 --> 00:36:11,759 Speaker 1: his master class too, he teaches that too, like there 666 00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:14,680 Speaker 1: is no really like right or wrong. You just start. 667 00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:18,480 Speaker 1: And he's like, you can plant anything in an old suitcase, 668 00:36:18,640 --> 00:36:20,920 Speaker 1: in an old boot. And he pulls out an old boot, 669 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:24,759 Speaker 1: put some soil in it, but a little seedling in 670 00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:26,839 Speaker 1: it and some water, and he's like, boom, there you go, 671 00:36:27,160 --> 00:36:30,360 Speaker 1: you have your garden. I feel like it's funny because 672 00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:32,880 Speaker 1: after I started gardening, when I'd be driving down the 673 00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:36,480 Speaker 1: street and I would see an empty patch of weed 674 00:36:36,640 --> 00:36:39,399 Speaker 1: growing grass like by the freeway, I'd be like, oh, 675 00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:43,719 Speaker 1: that'd be a good garden. Your eyes start seeing just 676 00:36:43,840 --> 00:36:46,680 Speaker 1: all the possibilities for it, and I hope it just 677 00:36:46,719 --> 00:36:49,200 Speaker 1: grows and grows. Yeah, I mean it is funny, this 678 00:36:49,400 --> 00:36:52,319 Speaker 1: like new awareness you have for things. Right. I feel 679 00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:54,480 Speaker 1: like even in my apartment, I noticed now where the 680 00:36:54,560 --> 00:36:56,960 Speaker 1: light is and which are is a cooler and you 681 00:36:56,960 --> 00:36:59,280 Speaker 1: know you're thinking about it from a plant's perspective instead 682 00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:02,200 Speaker 1: of your own. Something about it from the plant's perspective. 683 00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:07,000 Speaker 1: That's hilarious. But I'm so true. But I really hope 684 00:37:07,040 --> 00:37:08,759 Speaker 1: that my kids don't hear that part about the boot 685 00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:10,239 Speaker 1: because I feel like I'm gonna end up with one 686 00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:12,840 Speaker 1: like one sneaker that's functional and one that has a 687 00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:17,080 Speaker 1: plant in it for all. And even let me tell you, 688 00:37:17,080 --> 00:37:20,160 Speaker 1: when I have to prune, I know it's a part 689 00:37:20,160 --> 00:37:23,440 Speaker 1: of the process, right, I have a hard time almost 690 00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:26,240 Speaker 1: whenever I have to prune. I come and I think, 691 00:37:26,719 --> 00:37:29,320 Speaker 1: I think, my my girl, like thank you so much 692 00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:33,240 Speaker 1: for the life that you've provided. Just let the joy, 693 00:37:33,440 --> 00:37:36,480 Speaker 1: the oxygen, like everything you're you've served your purpose and 694 00:37:36,520 --> 00:37:38,239 Speaker 1: I thank you so much. Like I'm such a weird 695 00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:43,120 Speaker 1: plant lady now like Marie, kind of an emotional moment 696 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:45,719 Speaker 1: with my stems and I'm like, thank you, and then 697 00:37:45,760 --> 00:37:48,040 Speaker 1: I like gear myself up to actually cut it, and 698 00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:49,480 Speaker 1: I thank you for the new life that's going to 699 00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:53,600 Speaker 1: come from you by So, one of the things we're 700 00:37:53,640 --> 00:37:57,560 Speaker 1: talking about is that as people in quarantine have gotten 701 00:37:57,600 --> 00:38:01,120 Speaker 1: super into gardening and been encouraged by Instagram and stuff, 702 00:38:01,320 --> 00:38:04,400 Speaker 1: they've sort of done the base level of gardening, but 703 00:38:04,560 --> 00:38:06,680 Speaker 1: slowly people are figuring out what their niches are in 704 00:38:06,840 --> 00:38:09,080 Speaker 1: terms of like their interests. And so one of the 705 00:38:09,080 --> 00:38:12,720 Speaker 1: things we've seen is that people are really into tiny plants. 706 00:38:12,719 --> 00:38:13,920 Speaker 1: And so I want to ask you a little bit 707 00:38:13,920 --> 00:38:17,239 Speaker 1: about this. But I saw that you had, either on 708 00:38:17,280 --> 00:38:20,680 Speaker 1: purpose or accidentally, grown very tiny potatoes in your garden. 709 00:38:22,600 --> 00:38:26,160 Speaker 1: What do tiny potatoes taste like? Oh my god, they 710 00:38:26,200 --> 00:38:30,239 Speaker 1: tasted amazing because I just washed them, put some olive oil, 711 00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:31,920 Speaker 1: salt and pepper and throw them in the oven. I 712 00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:39,000 Speaker 1: had like these little little potato fries. Well, I was asking, 713 00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:42,120 Speaker 1: have you noticed on your Instagram feed or even with 714 00:38:42,160 --> 00:38:45,319 Speaker 1: your family's interactions that people are starting to play in 715 00:38:45,360 --> 00:38:49,360 Speaker 1: the tiny plant space? Um, for sure, because it's easy 716 00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:53,239 Speaker 1: and it's cute, and especially if you've downsized in the 717 00:38:53,320 --> 00:38:57,080 Speaker 1: quarantine COVID days and you don't have much room, start 718 00:38:57,080 --> 00:39:00,399 Speaker 1: with a little tiny plants and they're super cute. Sure, 719 00:39:00,719 --> 00:39:04,279 Speaker 1: So I have a list of tiny plants and some 720 00:39:04,360 --> 00:39:06,920 Speaker 1: are super weird, some are super fun, and I'm curious, 721 00:39:07,080 --> 00:39:10,080 Speaker 1: just on a gut reaction, do you think these plants 722 00:39:10,080 --> 00:39:11,440 Speaker 1: are good to having at home or do you think 723 00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:13,759 Speaker 1: they have some bad juju? So I'm gonna ask you 724 00:39:13,800 --> 00:39:17,560 Speaker 1: the name and you tell me first reactions. Google weed 725 00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:22,879 Speaker 1: what I mean? I guess that depends on if it's 726 00:39:22,960 --> 00:39:26,000 Speaker 1: legal in your state then that would depend. But I 727 00:39:26,040 --> 00:39:29,320 Speaker 1: would say yes for for the Google weed or Doogle 728 00:39:29,360 --> 00:39:36,560 Speaker 1: eat whateveras it uh Superstar Creeper, Superstar creeper. I mean 729 00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:39,799 Speaker 1: that's like, you're not just a peeping tom, but you're 730 00:39:39,920 --> 00:39:42,040 Speaker 1: like the best of the best peeping Tom's. You're a 731 00:39:42,080 --> 00:39:44,960 Speaker 1: superstar creeper. That's what that says to me. So I 732 00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:47,920 Speaker 1: would say no on the Superstar Creeper. Yeah, I know, 733 00:39:47,960 --> 00:39:50,359 Speaker 1: I wasn't sure. Does the superstar elevate it to like 734 00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:53,640 Speaker 1: a curiosity or is it just so creepy that not 735 00:39:53,760 --> 00:40:01,080 Speaker 1: worth it? The best creeps mini money warts, many money wore. 736 00:40:01,160 --> 00:40:04,479 Speaker 1: Anything with Wart makes me go, So I would say 737 00:40:04,640 --> 00:40:06,600 Speaker 1: pass on that because you don't want warts all over 738 00:40:06,600 --> 00:40:08,840 Speaker 1: your money eating. You're gonna be like, what did I 739 00:40:08,880 --> 00:40:10,680 Speaker 1: spend my money? On this week and be like, I 740 00:40:10,680 --> 00:40:12,680 Speaker 1: don't know you talked to many money war over here, 741 00:40:12,880 --> 00:40:15,040 Speaker 1: you'd go over here making you spend things. I am 742 00:40:15,120 --> 00:40:17,560 Speaker 1: with you this one. I think you might like Tree 743 00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:20,799 Speaker 1: of a thousand Stars, three of a thousand stars. Love 744 00:40:20,880 --> 00:40:25,640 Speaker 1: that that? Yeah, that feels very like universe earthy, like 745 00:40:26,480 --> 00:40:28,440 Speaker 1: very much like I want to go, like meditate next 746 00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:30,319 Speaker 1: to my Tree of a thousand stars. Yeah, it sounds 747 00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:34,319 Speaker 1: like a gorgeous constellation or something. So this is called 748 00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:37,560 Speaker 1: a baby jade, but it's got some nicknames et fingers 749 00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:44,040 Speaker 1: and shreks plant et fingers. It sounds like it's very nubby, 750 00:40:44,200 --> 00:40:46,880 Speaker 1: sounds like it looks like a twitty role but also 751 00:40:46,920 --> 00:40:51,640 Speaker 1: with a little glowy bold at the end. Yes, keep 752 00:40:51,680 --> 00:40:53,520 Speaker 1: that one. How about the energy on this one? A 753 00:40:53,560 --> 00:40:58,200 Speaker 1: weeping fig. Well, I'm gonna say yes on that one, 754 00:40:58,680 --> 00:41:01,080 Speaker 1: because sometimes you just need to let a good cry out, 755 00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:02,920 Speaker 1: you know what I mean, And after you let out 756 00:41:02,920 --> 00:41:04,960 Speaker 1: a good cry you just feel so much better, like 757 00:41:04,960 --> 00:41:07,799 Speaker 1: so much release, And maybe the weeping fig will help 758 00:41:07,800 --> 00:41:09,600 Speaker 1: you and it will help absorb it. So I say 759 00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:14,799 Speaker 1: yes and thank you, Weeping Fig. And one last one, 760 00:41:15,200 --> 00:41:21,000 Speaker 1: fiend finger, Oh oh, a fiend finger that one sounds 761 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:23,640 Speaker 1: a little devious, that one sounds like a rebel, like 762 00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:28,200 Speaker 1: she's a little type away. I feel like she's got 763 00:41:28,239 --> 00:41:31,879 Speaker 1: some sass, and I'm gonna say yes, because we all 764 00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:35,240 Speaker 1: need a little sass in our lives. Yeah, I agree 765 00:41:35,320 --> 00:41:39,440 Speaker 1: with you. So why do you think people love miniature 766 00:41:39,560 --> 00:41:43,000 Speaker 1: so much? In your opinion? Because they're cute. I think 767 00:41:43,040 --> 00:41:45,759 Speaker 1: anytime I love animals, I love dogs. So if I 768 00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:48,600 Speaker 1: see a doodle, I'm like, oh my god, you're so cute. 769 00:41:48,640 --> 00:41:51,160 Speaker 1: I want to cuddle you and like spoon you. But 770 00:41:51,200 --> 00:41:53,719 Speaker 1: then if you see a mini doodle, it's just so 771 00:41:53,800 --> 00:41:56,320 Speaker 1: much cuter. It's like, oh my god, you're a mini 772 00:41:56,440 --> 00:41:59,600 Speaker 1: version of that. And I feel like it's plants like 773 00:42:00,080 --> 00:42:05,759 Speaker 1: anything many and tiny is so keyte. So, I I 774 00:42:05,840 --> 00:42:08,359 Speaker 1: know that you've switched houses, but I love seeing how 775 00:42:08,400 --> 00:42:12,319 Speaker 1: your community came out to name your garden. And can 776 00:42:12,320 --> 00:42:13,960 Speaker 1: you tell us a little bit about how you came 777 00:42:14,040 --> 00:42:15,799 Speaker 1: up with that idea and then and then what the 778 00:42:15,840 --> 00:42:19,000 Speaker 1: process is like. Okay, So I had been talking with 779 00:42:19,040 --> 00:42:22,360 Speaker 1: my my followers on on Instagram and Facebook and everything 780 00:42:22,560 --> 00:42:25,600 Speaker 1: about a garden and getting into plants and everything, and 781 00:42:25,600 --> 00:42:27,439 Speaker 1: I'm gonna build my garden and I put a whole 782 00:42:27,480 --> 00:42:30,359 Speaker 1: video together and like, here's my new garden, and I 783 00:42:30,440 --> 00:42:34,280 Speaker 1: need help picking out names. And so everyone was submitting 784 00:42:34,360 --> 00:42:39,440 Speaker 1: so many cool creative names, things that were like Spanish, 785 00:42:39,640 --> 00:42:43,000 Speaker 1: touching on my culture, things that were spiritual, touching on 786 00:42:43,080 --> 00:42:45,120 Speaker 1: that aspect of my life, and really just showing like 787 00:42:45,120 --> 00:42:47,600 Speaker 1: all the different parts of like who I am. But 788 00:42:47,719 --> 00:42:51,040 Speaker 1: I'm also a comedian. So I had a lot of 789 00:42:51,040 --> 00:42:54,040 Speaker 1: funny names that were submitted, and these were some of 790 00:42:54,080 --> 00:42:59,480 Speaker 1: my favorite funny names. Armor garden, seed you later, garden, 791 00:43:00,560 --> 00:43:04,840 Speaker 1: good vines, only bone thugs and harvestry, nothing but a 792 00:43:04,880 --> 00:43:08,840 Speaker 1: p thing, Notorious, b I Greens, I'm in Love with 793 00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:13,160 Speaker 1: a pepper, and covid teen gardens. Oh there was also 794 00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:16,360 Speaker 1: a garden of eaton. These are these are great names, 795 00:43:16,640 --> 00:43:20,160 Speaker 1: aren't they? The right? I ended up going with Queen's 796 00:43:20,239 --> 00:43:24,600 Speaker 1: Greens because my husband calls me queen, but also I 797 00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:27,200 Speaker 1: am a queen and like I wanted to embrace that. 798 00:43:27,600 --> 00:43:30,920 Speaker 1: And also my friend Penelope was living with me and 799 00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:32,719 Speaker 1: she was helping me with the garden, and she's a 800 00:43:32,800 --> 00:43:37,160 Speaker 1: queen too, So it became like Queen's Greens and the 801 00:43:37,200 --> 00:43:40,480 Speaker 1: other name that I almost picked, but I will definitely 802 00:43:40,520 --> 00:43:43,200 Speaker 1: be using for something else. Was Rays of Sunshine because 803 00:43:43,239 --> 00:43:46,280 Speaker 1: my married last name is Reyes Yea and I love 804 00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:48,200 Speaker 1: that name, so I'm definitely gonna use that for something. 805 00:43:48,239 --> 00:43:52,239 Speaker 1: Nobody's still all punch you, Angela. Thank you so much 806 00:43:52,280 --> 00:43:54,920 Speaker 1: for being here. Is such a delightful conversation and so 807 00:43:54,960 --> 00:43:56,480 Speaker 1: fun to have you on and I can't wait to 808 00:43:56,520 --> 00:44:00,719 Speaker 1: see what the instagram of your new at your next 809 00:44:00,719 --> 00:44:03,200 Speaker 1: house looks like. Thank you so much. This has really 810 00:44:03,200 --> 00:44:05,920 Speaker 1: been fun to talk to you about this because I 811 00:44:06,280 --> 00:44:09,439 Speaker 1: have yet to be able to do a podcast talking 812 00:44:09,440 --> 00:44:13,160 Speaker 1: about just my garden. Very cool and I had so 813 00:44:13,239 --> 00:44:15,440 Speaker 1: much fun. Thank you for letting me share. Thrilled that 814 00:44:15,480 --> 00:44:20,560 Speaker 1: you came on. Thank you. When my kid Ruby was 815 00:44:20,640 --> 00:44:24,000 Speaker 1: four and people used to say they were cute, Ruby's 816 00:44:24,040 --> 00:44:28,480 Speaker 1: response was always the same, with this gravelly voice, Ruby 817 00:44:28,480 --> 00:44:32,240 Speaker 1: would correct them and say, I'm not cute, I'm awesome. 818 00:44:33,160 --> 00:44:36,080 Speaker 1: And every time I hear the word cute, now that's 819 00:44:36,080 --> 00:44:38,200 Speaker 1: what I think of, this little tornado of a child 820 00:44:38,239 --> 00:44:42,520 Speaker 1: insisting I am not cute, I'm awesome. When you're looking 821 00:44:42,560 --> 00:44:45,479 Speaker 1: at photos of tiny plants and tiny homes, the word 822 00:44:45,560 --> 00:44:48,040 Speaker 1: cute pops up a lot. But what's funny is that 823 00:44:48,080 --> 00:44:50,799 Speaker 1: the word cute didn't always mean cute as we know it. 824 00:44:51,360 --> 00:44:54,040 Speaker 1: According to Popular Science, the original meaning of cute was 825 00:44:54,040 --> 00:44:57,600 Speaker 1: actually clever or shrewd, because cute things take a certain 826 00:44:57,680 --> 00:45:01,719 Speaker 1: amount of cleverness. As the magazine and explains, it's more 827 00:45:01,760 --> 00:45:04,120 Speaker 1: difficult to make a burrito the size of a thumb 828 00:45:04,480 --> 00:45:07,200 Speaker 1: than one as big as your forearm. And I kind 829 00:45:07,200 --> 00:45:10,920 Speaker 1: of like that. Reframing tiny things tiny plants is clever 830 00:45:11,440 --> 00:45:14,240 Speaker 1: because they are clever. They've come up with all sorts 831 00:45:14,280 --> 00:45:16,520 Speaker 1: of ways to thrive in a world that's not exactly 832 00:45:16,520 --> 00:45:19,440 Speaker 1: built for them, and they have all sorts of strategies 833 00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:24,160 Speaker 1: for success, including being adorable. According to Metal Flaws, we 834 00:45:24,239 --> 00:45:28,080 Speaker 1: take more care and are more careful with tiny objects 835 00:45:28,120 --> 00:45:31,680 Speaker 1: of affection. So when a two thousand nine study, participants 836 00:45:31,719 --> 00:45:35,439 Speaker 1: that viewed very cute images of puppies and kittens then 837 00:45:35,480 --> 00:45:39,480 Speaker 1: played the game operation actually performed better than participants that 838 00:45:39,520 --> 00:45:43,800 Speaker 1: saw less cute images. Our brains are conditioned to help 839 00:45:43,880 --> 00:45:47,360 Speaker 1: adorable things survive, but for many of us, there seems 840 00:45:47,400 --> 00:45:49,759 Speaker 1: to be something else that draws us into caring for 841 00:45:49,840 --> 00:45:55,200 Speaker 1: tiny plants and tiny homes. And that's the simplicity. I 842 00:45:55,239 --> 00:45:58,360 Speaker 1: have a funny relationship with minimalism. Back in college, I 843 00:45:58,360 --> 00:46:01,279 Speaker 1: started abroad into Pollen Tibet, and on my trip I 844 00:46:01,280 --> 00:46:04,280 Speaker 1: took very few clothes, maybe two or three T shirts, 845 00:46:04,320 --> 00:46:07,440 Speaker 1: a couple of sweatshirts, and two pairs of pants. But 846 00:46:07,520 --> 00:46:10,400 Speaker 1: after my semester abroad, I remember coming back to the 847 00:46:10,440 --> 00:46:14,040 Speaker 1: States and every morning I'd wake up and just stare 848 00:46:14,080 --> 00:46:18,560 Speaker 1: into my closet, perplexed. Why do I have so many clothes? 849 00:46:19,040 --> 00:46:21,920 Speaker 1: Why do I need this many clothes. I've lived so 850 00:46:22,000 --> 00:46:25,280 Speaker 1: simply and so happily for months, and now everything felt 851 00:46:25,360 --> 00:46:30,120 Speaker 1: so daunting. Even looking around my room right now, I 852 00:46:30,160 --> 00:46:34,360 Speaker 1: see things I don't need too many books, clothes, things, 853 00:46:34,480 --> 00:46:38,080 Speaker 1: and that we keep trying to pare down and live simply, 854 00:46:38,719 --> 00:46:41,680 Speaker 1: things just seem to accumulate. And I think my romance 855 00:46:41,719 --> 00:46:44,120 Speaker 1: with tiny homes is just knowing that in a smaller 856 00:46:44,120 --> 00:46:48,759 Speaker 1: home you need to simplify. It's funny because part of 857 00:46:48,760 --> 00:46:51,760 Speaker 1: the reason I started doing humans growing stuff was because 858 00:46:51,800 --> 00:46:54,600 Speaker 1: I was yearning for simplicity. I wanted to put away 859 00:46:54,640 --> 00:46:57,600 Speaker 1: the social media and the technology and things that clutter 860 00:46:57,680 --> 00:47:00,360 Speaker 1: up my mind and just put my hands in dirt 861 00:47:00,480 --> 00:47:04,200 Speaker 1: and spend time watching things grow. And part of what 862 00:47:04,239 --> 00:47:07,719 Speaker 1: I keep hearing in this program is that simplicity of 863 00:47:07,760 --> 00:47:11,959 Speaker 1: plants that they want to grow. They need just light 864 00:47:12,440 --> 00:47:16,680 Speaker 1: and soil and water, and for the tiniest plants to 865 00:47:16,719 --> 00:47:20,960 Speaker 1: live beautifully to thrive, their needs are really just that simple. 866 00:47:23,280 --> 00:47:25,239 Speaker 1: I've come to believe that there's a happiness to be 867 00:47:25,320 --> 00:47:29,040 Speaker 1: found in simplicity. This week, I switched jobs to pare 868 00:47:29,120 --> 00:47:32,160 Speaker 1: down my work and focus on things that feel essential 869 00:47:32,840 --> 00:47:35,880 Speaker 1: and make me happy. And in that process I cleared 870 00:47:36,000 --> 00:47:39,160 Speaker 1: my desk, I organized papers, I got rid of things 871 00:47:39,160 --> 00:47:42,040 Speaker 1: I didn't need, And in that organizing I made just 872 00:47:42,239 --> 00:47:44,960 Speaker 1: enough space for a tiny plant to sit on the 873 00:47:45,000 --> 00:47:49,560 Speaker 1: corner and serve as a reminder to simplify that I 874 00:47:49,600 --> 00:47:53,240 Speaker 1: don't need that much, and a reminder to watch this tiny, 875 00:47:53,480 --> 00:48:02,200 Speaker 1: happy thing thrive because it's not cute, it's awesome. That's 876 00:48:02,200 --> 00:48:05,920 Speaker 1: it for today's episode. Don't forget. No matter what season 877 00:48:05,960 --> 00:48:08,400 Speaker 1: it is or where you're at in your gardening journey, 878 00:48:08,680 --> 00:48:12,000 Speaker 1: there's some incredible resources waiting for you on the Miracle 879 00:48:12,040 --> 00:48:15,040 Speaker 1: Grow website. Join me next time as we explore the 880 00:48:15,080 --> 00:48:19,200 Speaker 1: many ways humans can learn and grow from plants. If 881 00:48:19,200 --> 00:48:21,360 Speaker 1: you like what you heard, don't forget to rate and 882 00:48:21,440 --> 00:48:24,680 Speaker 1: review the show on Apple Podcasts. Also, we want to 883 00:48:24,719 --> 00:48:28,520 Speaker 1: hear from you. What are your inspiring plant stories, relatable 884 00:48:28,560 --> 00:48:32,520 Speaker 1: struggles or growing questions taggers in your post or tweet 885 00:48:32,640 --> 00:48:35,640 Speaker 1: using the hashtag Humans Growing Stuff, and don't be surprised 886 00:48:35,640 --> 00:48:38,480 Speaker 1: if you hear your story featured on an upcoming episode. 887 00:48:38,960 --> 00:48:41,880 Speaker 1: Humans Growing Stuff is a collaboration from My Heart Radio 888 00:48:41,960 --> 00:48:44,360 Speaker 1: and your friends at Miracle Grow. Our show was written 889 00:48:44,360 --> 00:48:47,600 Speaker 1: and produced by Molly Sosha and me Mongay Chatigler in 890 00:48:47,719 --> 00:48:52,400 Speaker 1: partnership with Ryan Ovadia, Daniel Ainsworth, Hayley Ericson, and Garrett 891 00:48:52,400 --> 00:48:56,480 Speaker 1: Shannon of Banter Until next Time, Thanks so much for listening. 892 00:49:00,239 --> 00:49:01,439 Speaker 1: Two