In this episode of The Vegetable Gardening Show In this episode of the Vegetable Gardening show, Mike chats with Monica Pape, the found of The Accidental Agronomist, about how agronomy plays an important role in the home vegetable garden.
Monica is going to teach us what agronomy is and how that can lead to customizing your soil for specific crops and give us an idea of the differences between soil health and soil fertility.
From there Monica will give us her take on soil tests, the results you should be looking for and how to fix your soil so that you can grow a great garden.
This and so much more on this episode of The Vegetable Gardening Show!
Here's what we'll cover in this episode of The Vegetable Gardening Show ? Agronomy? Customizing soil for particular crops? Soil heath .vs. Soil fertility? Soil tests and soil management? Calcium and absorption? Optimizing your soil`s pH level
Mentioned in this episode of The Vegetable Gardening Show ? The Accidental Agronomist? On Facebook? On Instagram? On Twitter
About this episode's guest, Monica Pape I had no intention of ever getting into agriculture.
I grew up in and around it until I sold my cows at the age of 13.
I went to high school in Burlington, NJ where I met my husband.
I decided to go to college and become a dog trainer.
After two years at Delaware Valley University majoring in biology, and working on my dad's farm during the summer, I started to think I needed to focus on more lucrative job options. So, I took classes in agronomy.
My advisor passed away, and no one knew what to do with me. I begged the head of the agronomy department for help, and with his guidance, I got a job doing what I now call- remedial agronomy. I worked as an agronomist for an environmental remediation company cleaning up Superfund sites.
I quit that, found out I was pregnant and spent the next 15 years raising two kids.
An acquaintance told me about an opportunity at a local organic fertilizer company.
A week later I starting working there as a sales agronomist.
I stayed for almost three years, traveling up and down the east coast working with farmers and industry leaders. I loved my job and saw no end in sight.
One day while sitting at my kitchen table, I made the hardest decision of my career. I left my job and went back to raising our kids.
I had come to the conclusion that even though I loved my job, I wanted something different. At that time I wasn't sure what.
Again, I thought I had left agriculture for good. Little did I know my phone was going to keep ringing being asked to work with farmers I got to know over that short amount of time.
One day one of them offered to pay me for my time and expertise. When I told a friend, how crazy I thought it all was, they said, “Why don’t you turn it into a business? Why don’t you take everything you’ve learned and experienced and turn it into something people need and can benefit from?”
And that's how The Accidental Agronomist began...
Now I speak at various conferences throughout the year and work with all types of growers across the country making soil fertility recommendations, product sourcing, and troubleshooting throughout their growing season.
Please share The Vegetable Gardening Show! Let`s get everyone gardening! About the Host Mike Podlesny is the host of The Vegetable Gardening Show where he interviews gardening industry experts, and he is the author of the book Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person. Don`t forget to link up with Mike on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.
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