If you aren’t listening to gardening podcasts because you don’t know how to find and listen to podcasts in general, you’ve come to the right place!
Here in one place is everything you need to know.
Podcast basics
A podcast episode in its simplest form is a recording of one or more people talking about their favorite subject that is then stored on the web for everyone to listen to. There are literally millions of podcasts to choose from, just like there are millions of blog posts to read.
While many people listen to podcasts via apps on their phone or tablet, you don’t need those to listen to podcasts. Most podcasts have a website where all their recordings are available. If you have a PC or laptop with speakers, you can listen from the podcast website.
The above is a screenshot of The Gardenangelists podcast website. (If you are new here, that’s the podcast I record and publish each week with Dee Nash.) To listen from there, you just click on the little arrow next to the episode you want to hear. If you click on the episode title, it will show what we refer to as show notes.
That’s where most podcasters put a brief description of the show, plus links to some of the products, websites, etc. that they talk about in that episode.
Podcasts on the go
The wonderfulness of podcasts is if you have a smartphone or tablet, you can listen to podcasts while you do other things, like weed or garden or sit in a garden or whatever.
Generally, this is done by using one of the many podcast apps available. Which one you use will depend on your device and other preferences.
By far, the most popular platforms are Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. You can find the apps for these on your smartphone. Once you’ve opened up the app, hit that search bar and look for the podcasts of your choice, like The Gardenangelists. Then start listening!
How do you subscribe to a podcast?
At the end of every podcast episode, Dee and I always remind listeners to hit the subscribe button so they don’t miss any new episodes.
If you do that, then when you open up your app for podcast listening, it will tell you if there are one or more new episodes of the podcasts you’ve subscribed to.
Where is that subscribe button?
Well, it depends on which app you are using. For Apple Podcasts, which I’m most familiar with, it’s a + in the upper right-hand corner. Click on it to subscribe and then it becomes a check-mark.
You can see that I’m already subscribed to The Gardenangelists so I have a checkmark in that upper right corner.
How do you show appreciation for a podcast?
The best way to show appreciation for a podcast is to tell your friends to also listen to it!
Other options include leaving reviews. I made a little video to show how to do that on an iPhone.
It’s not the best video, but you get the idea! (Bonus for me, I learned how to record a video of my iPhone screen when I made that!)
Some podcasters also put affiliate links in their show notes. If you click through on one of those links and buy something, like books or seeds, then the podcasters will get a tiny commission from that company. It won’t change the price you pay at all!
Other podcasters set up subscription options, like Patreon, where you pay a little monthly fee and in exchange, you get access to exclusive episodes. Dee and I haven’t done that yet.
And some podcasts will start out with a few ads from sponsors who’ve paid for a few minutes of time to promote their products or services. Dee and I haven’t done that yet, either.
How to find gardening podcasts
Once you get the hang of listening to gardening podcasts, you are going to want to listen to them all the time. How do you find them? Well, you can just do a search for gardening podcasts on your favorite podcast app or hit up a website like National Garden Bureau to see which ones they list.
Other questions?
For some readers, I realize this was pretty basic info, but I know a lot of people are just starting to listen to podcasts. For them, I hope it was helpful. If you have other questions about listening to podcasts or the best podcast for gardeners let me know. I’m happy to help!
Kathy Jentz says
Thanks for writing this, Carol. I hope it helps more gardeners find the great world of garden podcasts that is out there!