everything to know for growing an edible organic garden from seedling to harvest
Organic Vegetable Gardening is everything I’ve ever wanted to teach about growing your own food, exactly the way I’ve always wanted to teach it. The course is designed to be a comprehensive guide to starting, growing, nurturing, and harvesting your favorite vegetables: no matter what you love to eat, no matter where you live, no matter your level of gardening experience.
Let’s make you a better, smarter, more confident gardener. Here’s how.
Pre-recorded video modules
Shot like mini-episodes of my award-winning TV series, each video lesson was created just for this course. Watch at your own pace, skip around by topic, rewind and repeat as needed when you need a refresher.
Regular live
Q&A
You’re never on your own in this course. I’ll host frequent online sessions where I’ll share updates from my own garden and help you deal with whatever challenges you might be facing in real time.
Guest expert lecturers
They’re the best in the business when it comes to organic vegetable gardening, and they’ll be here for you. From soil scientists to world-class growers, I’ll bring you a lineup of masters to help you do it at home
Exclusive online community
Join over 2,000 of your classmates in a virtual community designed specifically for this course, with none of the nonsense that comes on traditional social media. This platform is just for us, just for gardening together.
DIY
Projects
We’ll tap into your inner do-it-yourselfer by constructing some of my favorite tools and accessories that will make your garden more productive… for mere pennies. These step-by-step lessons grow success.
Bonus supplemental
materials
Handy downloadable charts, convenient reference guides, foolproof cheat sheets you’ll refer to over and over again. I’ll arm you with reliable resources to take your learning from the classroom to the garden.
Organic Vegetable Gardening
2023 Beta Launch:
Here is what you get!
RECORDED VIDEO LESSONS
Watch vegetable growing lessons at your own pace released throughout the year.
GUEST SPEAKERS
Learn additional gardening topics from the best in the industry.
COMMUNITY
Complementary access to the Online Gardening Academy™ private student community.
LIVE Q&A
Present your questions and challenges for Joe to answer live.
BONUSES
Additional bonus lessons and tutorials added throughout the year.
DOWNLOADS
Downloadable materials to supplement your learning.
Online Gardening Academy™
Student Testimonials...
"Joe is my one stop resource for all aspects of veggie gardening. His courses are excellent at covering the topics, but it doesn't stop there. The training material is well organized. The modules are timed (progress is measured) and the topics are easily searchable.Joe adds new resource materials as his team develops them. He also augments older modules to keep them fresh and incorporates the latest research as it becomes known. I recommend repeating his courses again each winter to prepare for the coming season."
-Mark G.
"I hardly know where to begin. Joe Lamp'l's classes have changed my gardening practices and took my love of gardening to new heights. I learned so much that I had the best garden that I've had in 50 years.It's amazing what you don't know until you take a great class and learn so much more. One of my favorite parts of the Online Gardening Academy classes is the support. Answers are quick and the community family is so supportive. It's important that I get answers and solutions that I trust. It's also great fun to follow fellow gardeners experiences and pictures and watch other gardens grow."
-Devyn S.
Enrollment Closed Until 2024
We Cover Everything You Need to Grow Like a Pro
Growing Vegetables: Seed to Harvest
Crop Rotation, Cover Crops, & Green Manures
The Science Behind Great Soil
The Common Denominator for Plant Success
Creative Alternatives for Where to Grow Food
Getting the Timing Right
Why Mulch Matters
Feeding Your Plants
Insect Management
Disease Management
Getting the Watering Right
Scheduled Guest Expert Lecturers
I've invited the best in the business to help me out on a variety of topics. From soil scientists to world-class growers, I’ll bring you a lineup of mastersfor live presentations taught all season long. And if you miss one, we will provide you with the recording so you can go back and watch.
Craig LeHoullier: Straw Bale Gardening
Craig LeHoullier, author of Epic Tomatoes and collaborator with Joe on his course Growing Epic Tomatoes, has experienced most things "tomato" over his 40 years of gardening. With a focus on heirloom varieties, as well as plant breeding, Craig now gardens exclusively in containers and straw bales.
Margaret Roach: Ethical Seed Sourcing
For over thirty years, Margaret Roach has been a beloved figure in the world of garden journalism, sharing her wisdom in well-known publications like Martha Stewart Living, Newsday, and The New York Times. Margaret also shares her passion for nature and gardening on her public-radio podcast and by opening her 2.3-acre garden in Hudson Valley, NY for tours and talks. Her landscape is a testament to her commitment to chemical-free gardening and her knack for picking the perfect plants.
Jeff Gillman: The Truth About Organic
Jeff Gillman presides over the University of North Carolina Charlotte Botanical Gardens as its director. Holding a master’s degree in entomology and a Ph.D. in horticulture from the University of Georgia, Jeff brings over three decades of expertise in the study of plant protection against weeds, diseases, and pests, underscoring his deep understanding of gardening. Jeff has penned five books focused on gardening and environmental topics, earning him recognition as a knowledgeable and sought-after speaker nationwide.
Robert Pavlis: Microbe Science for Gardeners
Robert Pavlis is a well-known speaker, and educator with over 40 years of gardening experience. He is the author of several books, Building Natural Ponds, Soil Science for Gardeners and Garden Myths and publishes the popular gardening blogs; GardenMyths.com and GardenFundamentals.com. As the owner and head gardener of Aspen Grove Gardens, a six-acre botanical garden, he grows 3,000 varieties of plants.
Learn on Any Device
I wanted to make sure that my students would be able to get all the help they needed, wherever and whenever they wanted it. That’s why I’ve tailored all the content of this course to be available on any device you own: on your home office desktop, while traveling on a laptop computer, while on the go on your tablet, or even out in the garden on your smartphone. However you choose to learn, every lesson and module is literally right at your fingertips.
Course Curriculum
Module 1: Welcome and Introduction to the OVG Gardening Experience (20:09)
Available indays
daysafter you enroll
- Lesson 2: You Don't Have to Grow it All; Just Grow What You Love (2:45)
- SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: Plant Profile Sheet
- SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: Supplemental Fertilizer Chart
- SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: Garden Log Sheet
- SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: Garden Plot Sheet
Housekeeping & Resources
Available indays
daysafter you enroll
- Student Referral Reward Program | Give 10%, Get 20%
Module 2: Digging Deeper - The Science Behind Great Soil (33:03)
Available indays
daysafter you enroll
- Lesson 2: Understanding What Makes Great Garden Soil and How to Get it in Your Garden (4:17)
- Lesson 3: Assessing Your Current Soil (8:53)
- Lesson 4: Testing Your Soil (4:35)
- Lesson 5: Understanding Soil pH and Why it Matters (3:09)
- Lesson 6: Compost - The Key to Making Any Soil Better (2:44)
- Lesson 7: Organic Matter - Everything in Moderation (2:35)
- Lesson 8: Amendment Options for Organic Material (2:40)
- Lesson 9: Summary (1:56)
- SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: Soil Test Tracker
Module 3: Getting the Timing Right (19:16)
Available indays
daysafter you enroll
- Lesson 1: Welcome and Introduction (2:01)
- Lesson 2: Warm vs Cool Season Crops (4:44)
- Lesson 3: The Three Most Important Dates to Know (7:45)
- Lesson 4: Succession Planting to Hedge Your Bets (1:40)
- Lesson 5: Air and Soil Temperature Also Matter (2:01)
- Lesson 6: Summary (1:05)
Module 4: Why Mulch Matters (27:20)
Available indays
daysafter you enroll
- Lesson 1: Welcome and Introduction (2:06)
- Lesson 2: The 10 Wonders of Mulch (10:28)
- Lesson 3: Mulch Options: Pros and Cons (11:06)
- Lesson 4: Sourcing Mulch: Buyer Beware (2:21)
- Lesson 5: Summary (1:19)
Module 5: Understanding Organic Nutrients and How Plants Use Them (16:37)
Available indays
daysafter you enroll
- Lesson 1: Welcome and Introduction (2:17)
- Lesson 2: Macro and Micronutrients Plant Need (5:16)
- Lesson 3: Types of Fertilizer-Organic vs. Synthetic Fertilizer (2:35)
- Lesson 4: How Organic Nutrients Are Made Available to Plants (3:08)
- Lesson 5: Foliar Feeding (1:29)
- Lesson 6: Summary (1:52)
Module 6: A Deep Dive Into Watering (27:55)
Available indays
daysafter you enroll
- Lesson 1: Welcome and Introduction (1:37)
- Lesson 2: How Water Moves Into Plants and How It's Utilized (2:40)
- Lesson 3: How Transpiration Works (1:36)
- Lesson 4: Understanding The Watering Needs Of Your Plants (1:58)
- Lesson 5: Proper Timing and Amount- Less Is More (8:25)
- Lesson 6: All Water Is Not Created Equal For Your Plants (6:20)
- Lesson 7: Watering Methods and Accessories for Your Garden (3:57)
- Lesson 8: Summary (1:22)
- SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: Weekly Watering Tracker
Module 7: Understanding Cover Crops: When, How, and Why (17:57)
Available indays
daysafter you enroll
- Lesson 2: The What, Why and How of Cover Cropping (5:25)
- Lesson 3: The Three Basic Families of Cover Crops (2:56)
- Lesson 4: The Practicality of Cover Crops in the Home Garden (5:31)
- Lesson 5: Summary (1:46)
Module 8: Understanding Crop Rotation: When, How & Why (15:43)
Available indays
daysafter you enroll
- Lesson 2: The What, Why and How of Crop Rotation (2:31)
- Lesson 3: Crop Rotation by Plant Family (4:47)
- Lesson 4: The Practicality of Crop Rotation in the Home Garden (3:36)
- Lesson 5: Summary (1:33)
- SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: Plant Family Chart for Crop Rotation
- SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: Crop Rotation Chart
Module 9: Managing Insect Pests (54:30)
Available indays
daysafter you enroll
- Lesson 2: What's In A Name-Insects vs. Bugs (2:49)
- Lesson 3: Friend or Foe: Innocent Until Proven Guilty (3:52)
- Lesson 4: Top Beneficial Insects For Your Garden (4:52)
- Lesson 5: Top Insect Pests of Vegetable Gardens (11:28)
- Lesson 6: Design Strategies for Effective Pest Management (8:04)
- Lesson 7: Attracting More Beneficial Insects (4:30)
- Lesson 8: Integrated Pest Management (5:31)
- Lesson 9: Top Biological Pest Control Options (6:56)
- Lesson 10: Summary (2:45)
- SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: Beneficial Insect Guide
- SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: The Dirty Dozen Insect Pest Guide
- SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: Pest and Disease Log
Module 10: Plant Diseases: Organic Management & Strategies (38:50)
Available indays
daysafter you enroll
- Lesson 2: The Disease Triangle (2:02)
- Lesson 3: How Diseases Get Into Your Garden (2:15)
- Lesson 4: The Three Types of Diseases That Infect Plants (8:42)
- Lesson 5: Prevention and Management (8:33)
- Lesson 6: Treatment for Diseases of Vegetable Plants (10:09)
- Lesson 7: Summary (4:52)
Cool Season Edible Crops (6:43:16)
Available indays
daysafter you enroll
- Arugula (17:34)
- Beets (33:35)
- Bok Choy (10:06)
- Broccoli (25:25)
- Brussel's Sprouts (22:45)
- Cabbage (28:58)
- Carrots (43:06)
- Cauliflower (23:06)
- Collards (7:53)
- Garlic (31:19)
- Kale (15:05)
- Kohlrabi (9:50)
- Lettuce (15:52)
- Onions (27:18)
- Peas (19:30)
- Radishes (22:58)
- Spinach (26:20)
- Swiss Chard (10:02)
- Turnips (12:34)
Warm Season Edible Crops (05:27:53)
Available indays
daysafter you enroll
- Cucumbers (25:43)
- Edamame (15:57)
- Eggplant (22:33)
- Melons (23:00)
- Okra (21:49)
- Peppers (20:50)
- Potatoes (25:53)
- Squash (30:46)
- Sweet Potatoes (45:25)
- Tomatoes (64:00)
2023 Live Virtual Events - Links & Recordings
Available indays
daysafter you enroll
- April 14th at 3pm ET - Brie Arthur: Managing 4-Legged Pests in Your Garden
- April 20th at 3pm ET - Robert Pavlis: Organic Fertilizer Options
- April 28th at 3pm ET - Meg Cowden: Succession Planting
- May 5th at 3pm ET- Jack Algiere: Crop Rotation
- June 2nd at 3pm ET- Tom Dykstra: Understanding Brix
- June 9th at 3pm ET- Inga Meadows: Plant Disease Management
- June 16th at 3pm ET- Craig LeHoullier: Tomato Management
- July 7th at 4pm ET- Nan Sterman: Waterwise Gardening in Hot Dry Climates
- August 4th at 3pm ET- Jack Algiere: Cover Cropping
- September 1st at 3pm ET- Robert Pavlis: Plant Botany
- September 8th at 3pm ET- Lisa Mason Ziegler: Growing Flowers
- October 5th at 3pm ET- Lee Reich: Growing Berries
Course Feedback
Available indays
daysafter you enroll
- Course Survey
Meet Your Instructor
Joe Lamp’l (aka joe gardener® and founder of joegardener.com and the Online Gardening Academy) is one of the country’s most recognized and trusted personalities in gardening and green-living. That passion for living a greener life is evident to a nationwide audience who watches Joe in his current role as Creator, Executive Producer, and Host of the Emmy Award-winning PBS series, Growing a Greener World® and previously as host of Fresh from the Garden on DIY Network. Joe also shares his know-how through his popular books (including his new Vegetable Gardening Book), top-ranked podcast (The joe gardener® Show), the joegardenerTV YouTube channel, the joegardener® blog, and The Online Gardening Academy™.
Satisfaction Guarantee
If you are unsatisfied with the Organic Vegetable Gardening Program, contact us within 15 days of enrolling. Provide a brief reason to help us learn why you don't feel like this program works for you. We will give you a full refund with no questions asked. Refund requests must be sent within 15 days of enrollment.
Frequently Asked Questions
This program begins as soon as you enroll. Pre-recorded lessons are ready for you and live trainings and Q&As with me begin in April. I will be joined by expert guest speakers throughout the season.
You will have lifetime access to the Organic Vegetable Gardening lessons and recorded live trainings.
There is a 15-day money-back guarantee on all my courses. So if you decide within 15 days of enrolling that you don't want to continue, just send me an email with a brief explanation why, and I will refund you the amount you have paid and unenroll you from the program.
I know you will have questions and challenges along the way. No course can cover everything, but that's where the Online Gardening Academy™ Student Community comes in. Drop your questions in the Organic Vegetable Gardening private community spaces for me and other students to help you with. Additionally, there will be comment sections in the course under each lesson where you can add your questions for me to answer.
Organic Vegetable Gardening is unlike any online gardening course I have ever built or taken myself. Think of it as my books, my podcast, and my television shows all in one packaged together as an online learning program. There will be recorded lessons to watch, live sessions to attend with me and experts I have had on my TV show and podcast, and an online community where you can tap into the knowledge and camaraderie of thousands of other students at different stages of their gardening journey.
Every time we have a live session, it will be recorded and become part of the course as well as shared in the community. So even if you can't show up live, you can go back and watch at your own pace. Pre-submit a question for a live Q&A and I'll answer it for you. Then my team will share cliff notes that will show you where in the recording your question was answered.
No. In fact, I have moved away from hosting all of my online student communities on Facebook and rebuilt one community on a platform called Circle with private spaces for each of my biggest courses. Circle was created just for online communities as an alternative to social media. Now, all students of Organic Vegetable Gardening, Master Seed Starting, Growing Epic Tomatoes, and Beginning Gardener Fundamentals can participate in the community together even if they're not on social media. Once you join that community, you'll have access to me and to a large group of gardeners who have mastered different gardening skills.
Absolutely! In fact, Organic Vegetable Gardening is designed to go above and beyond the basics and essentials that I teach in Beginning Gardener Fundamentals.
Student Testimonials
Preaching to the choir...
Ok so I know you all know this but these classes are great. Joe Lamp'l all I can say about the new organics class is wow!There are videos for plants showing him planting and taking care of all the way to harvesting including how to know when to pick. I am growing cauliflower for the first time. That video was wonderful. The best thing as I can go back to the video during growing and again at harvesting. Thanks for doing the class with watching them growing for a season.
~Carole G.
Thank you so much for your encouragement!
I'm so very, very grateful for the personalized help you have given me and setting me up for success. You are a Fabulous teacher... the BEST I have ever experienced. I am so happy to be here... it's the best decision and best investment I've ever made in a course (and for my garden). ROI=100-fold and we're not even a month into the program. :-)
~Pam T.
My garden is a much better place
There isn’t enough space to recount what I’ve learned in the last year since I learned about Joe Lamp’l & the OGA.Suffice it to say that my garden is a much better place now than it was in January 2022, especially re soil quality - and I’m starting to experience success!The courses, community & communication have been essential for me to learn what works & provides much-needed encouragement with the failures.
~Christine S.
I was a bit skeptical...
I will admit that I was a bit skeptical about the OGA classes when they first started.I really didn't know what Joe and his team could bring to the topics of seed starting, organic gardening fundamentals, etc. and I wasn't sure about paying a fee for it, without knowing how much of the content was practical and not just academic.I was thrilled to see how misplaced that skepticism was!Joe has a no-nonsense approach and really distills the information down to practical application for people who are not professional gardeners or horticulturists.I would highly recommend the OGA to anyone who wants to really deep-dive into understanding soil health, plant health, seed starting and whatever other amazing things the team comes up with, and want reliable information.
~Julie F.
Growing a Greener World together...
I signed up for the Online Gardening Academy to better understand how to garden and help keep our spaces, our planet and ourselves healthy. The more I learned, the more my passion for gardening with intention grew. Knowledge is power. Armed with a solid understanding of what goes on below and above the soil's surface, my appreciation for all things that grow, no matter what season, is now a constant in my life. Today, I enjoy to sharing that passion with anyone who's interested in learning or sharing their knowledge about their own garden experiences. My all-out passion for gardening, is a blessing in my life that sustains me and grounds me, like nothing else.
~Mary Jeanne R.
Yet another testimonial...
I have taken all of Joe's classes. I have taken Cornell University's classes. I have taken New York Botanical Garden classes. Which are my favorites... well, of course, Joe's. I tell all my fellow gardeners about Joe and his classes. This is not an exaggeration. Thank you Joe and your whole team!
~Judy B.
