Planthropology

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 What's up, Plant People? Today I had the privilege of chatting with Derek Haynes, known on the interwebs as The Chocolate Botanist, to talk about what it takes to teach real botany and horticulture online while the algorithm rewards hacks and weaponized nonsense. We talked a lot about the weird reality of being a science communicator, from building a voice that actually connects to handling comments that demand impossible answers in 20 seconds. 

We talked too about our (least?) favorite plants hacks, like banana peel “fertilizer” water, coffee grounds as a magic nitrogen fix, gross DIY tricks, and the electroculture. Derek breaks down why these viral plant hacks sound believable, what they do to beginners’ confidence, and how to use simple reasoning to spot red flags before you waste time, money, or a perfectly good pothos. 

Derek also spoke openly and honestly about being Black man in plant science and online education, including bias in workplaces, pay gaps in brand deals, and how much it can suck to go viral. Spoilers: it can really suck a lot. Even with that, he keeps building community and doing the thing because he's committed to good science and helping people grow better plants. This was a great episode, and you should definitely hit Derek up at all the links below!
All the links
Wesbite
Instagram
YouTube
Facebook
TikTok

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As always, thanks so much for listening! Subscribe, rate, and review Planthropology on your favorite podcast app. It helps the show keep growing and reaching more people! As a bonus, if you review Planthropology on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser and send me a screenshot of it, I'll send you an awesome sticker pack!

Planthropology is written, hosted, and produced by Vikram Baliga. Our theme song is "If You Want to Love Me, Babe, by the talented and award-winning composer, Nick Scout. Midroll tunes are by Rooey.
Substack: Office Hours
Website: www.planthropologypodcast.com
Podchaser: www.podchaser.com/Planthropology
Facebook: Planthropology
Facebook group: Planthropology's Cool Plant People
Instagram: @PlanthropologyPod
e-mail: planthropologypod@gmail.com

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Todays' good news:
Scientists left this farm field alone. Thousands of orchids appeared
Support the show
As always, thanks so much for listening! Subscribe, rate, and review Planthropology on your favorite podcast app. It helps the show keep growing and reaching more people! As a bonus, if you review Planthropology on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser and send me a screenshot of it, I'll send you an awesome sticker pack!

Planthropology is written, hosted, and produced by Vikram Baliga. Our theme song is "If You Want to Love Me, Babe, by the talented and award-winning composer, Nick Scout. Midroll tunes are by Rooey.
Substack: Office Hours
Website: www.planthropologypodcast.com
Podchaser: www.podchaser.com/Planthropology
Facebook: Planthropology
Facebook group: Planthropology's Cool Plant People
Instagram: @PlanthropologyPod
e-mail: planthropologypod@gmail.com

Send us Fan Mail
What's up, Plant People?? Ya'll, I'm so excited about today's episode, because I got to chat with me good friend Deserae Lindsley, of GardeningWithDez fame. She's such a bright hopeful spot in a dark world and you're going to love thi. Whether we were chatting about the need for better nature education or garden spiders, I promise Dez's enthusiasm for life and the world her is absoslutely infectious. Check out this convesation for lots of yapping about:

• Dez’s origin story in her grandparents’ garden and the tomato memories that stick 
• A winding career path from cosmetology to horticulture content creation 
• Posting gardening online during the pandemic and growing a community fast 
• Becoming a Texas Master Gardener and enrolling in an online horticulture degree 
• Plant physiology lessons that add nuance to everyday gardening decisions 
• Fighting plant blindness by teaching people to notice what plants do for us 
• Building relationships with “garden critters” like spiders, lizards, frogs, and butterflies 
• Why naming a bug can reduce fear and increase curiosity 
• Insect education, host plants, and choosing learning over pesticides 
• What to grow, especially in hot dry climates, and why “grow what you’ll use” matters 
• Composting choices, mulching strategies, and dense planting for soil health and moisture 

You can find Dez as @GardeningWithDez basically anywhere you like to consume content online!

Support the show
As always, thanks so much for listening! Subscribe, rate, and review Planthropology on your favorite podcast app. It helps the show keep growing and reaching more people! As a bonus, if you review Planthropology on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser and send me a screenshot of it, I'll send you an awesome sticker pack!

Planthropology is written, hosted, and produced by Vikram Baliga. Our theme song is "If You Want to Love Me, Babe, by the talented and award-winning composer, Nick Scout. Midroll tunes are by Rooey.
Substack: Office Hours
Website: www.planthropologypodcast.com
Podchaser: www.podchaser.com/Planthropology
Facebook: Planthropology
Facebook group: Planthropology's Cool Plant People
Instagram: @PlanthropologyPod
e-mail: planthropologypod@gmail.com

Send us Fan Mail
What's up, Plant People? Today's a bonus episode, and I'm coming at you with a special crossover from our new Davis College podcast, Deep Roots, featuring recent Texas Tech graduate Lance Nicholas. Lance and I talked about his undergraduate research on ag teacher turnover, the real-world friction between administrators and educators, and the mindset that pushed him toward grad school. We cover a lot of great topics in this chat, including: 

• Lance’s background in agricultural education and student teaching 
• leadership roles in collegiate FFA and student engagement mentoring 
• what sparked his undergraduate research and how the grant worked 
• qualitative interviews with administrators on chronic ag teacher turnover 
• quantitative research on Texas voucher law and rural education 
• why communication and collaboration matter for retention 
• challenges of recruiting collaborators and finding the right tone 
• grad school plans focused on teacher recruitment, retention and curiosity 
• core takeaway “Be curious, not judgmental” and choosing motivation over fear 

Go subscribe to the TTU Davis College's Deep Roots podcast anywhere you get your shows, and let me know if you have any comments, thoughts, suggestions, or if you'd like to know more about anything we've talked about!

Subscribe to Deep Roots anywhere, or check it out on the website. If you'd like to learn more about the Davis College, visit https://www.depts.ttu.edu/agriculturalsciences/!

Support the show
As always, thanks so much for listening! Subscribe, rate, and review Planthropology on your favorite podcast app. It helps the show keep growing and reaching more people! As a bonus, if you review Planthropology on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser and send me a screenshot of it, I'll send you an awesome sticker pack!

Planthropology is written, hosted, and produced by Vikram Baliga. Our theme song is "If You Want to Love Me, Babe, by the talented and award-winning composer, Nick Scout. Midroll tunes are by Rooey.
Substack: Office Hours
Website: www.planthropologypodcast.com
Podchaser: www.podchaser.com/Planthropology
Facebook: Planthropology
Facebook group: Planthropology's Cool Plant People
Instagram: @PlanthropologyPod
e-mail: planthropologypod@gmail.com

Send us Fan Mail
What's up, Plant People?? It'  time again to answer your burnign plant questions that jump from backyard pruning to big-picture ecology, keeping the science clear and usable. We sort out plant naming, native planting nuance, and a few garden myths, then close with research that changes how we think about trees and carbon storage.

• late winter gooseberry pruning for fruiting wood age and open center structure 
• variety versus cultivar and why common language bends the rules 
• how to attract nighttime pollinators with pale fragrant night-blooming natives 
• when native plant cultivars can help and when true local genetics matter 
• why terracotta pots breathe, why drainage holes matter, and why gravel layers backfire 
• how plants handle waste through leaf drop and guttation 
• feeding carnivorous plants safely with fish food or dried insects 
• invasive species control through prevention, smart plant choices, and local ecosystem fixes 
• tree longevity, clonal forests, and what “immortal” can mean in biology 
• new findings on late-season carbon sequestration and what it implies for watering practices 

If you'd like to support the show, the best thing you can do is to tell a friend about it! Leave us a rating review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or Podchase or anywhere else you can.

Support the show
As always, thanks so much for listening! Subscribe, rate, and review Planthropology on your favorite podcast app. It helps the show keep growing and reaching more people! As a bonus, if you review Planthropology on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser and send me a screenshot of it, I'll send you an awesome sticker pack!

Planthropology is written, hosted, and produced by Vikram Baliga. Our theme song is "If You Want to Love Me, Babe, by the talented and award-winning composer, Nick Scout. Midroll tunes are by Rooey.
Substack: Office Hours
Website: www.planthropologypodcast.com
Podchaser: www.podchaser.com/Planthropology
Facebook: Planthropology
Facebook group: Planthropology's Cool Plant People
Instagram: @PlanthropologyPod
e-mail: planthropologypod@gmail.com