# 473 - What the Spring Garden Taught Me This Year Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-beginner-s-garden-with-jill-mcsheehy-743200/473-what-the-spring-garden-taught-me-this-year Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-beginner-s-garden-with-jill-mcsheehy-743200/473-what-the-spring-garden-taught-me-this-year.md Podcast: [The Beginner's Garden with Jill McSheehy](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-beginner-s-garden-with-jill-mcsheehy-743200) Published: 2026-05-26T10:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://journeywithjill.libsyn.com/473-what-the-spring-garden-taught-me-this-year Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/journeywithjill/riverside_473_podcast_jill_mcsheehys_stu.mp3?dest-id=459628 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-beginner-s-garden-with-jill-mcsheehy-743200/episodes/473-what-the-spring-garden-taught-me-this-year Duration seconds: 2225 ## Resource Struggling with cabbage worms, bolting brassicas, or disappointing cauliflower heads? In this episode, you'll learn practical spring garden lessons from my own Zone 8a garden experience. I'm sharing what worked with cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, onions, and companion planting so you can grow stronger cool-season crops next spring with more confidence. Free Download: Broccoli, Cauliflower & Cabbage Quick-Start Growing Guide Learn how to grow productive brassicas with better timing, pest protection, and harvest success. http://journeywithjill.net/broccoli-guide Key Takeaways Learn how different cauliflower varieties performed in spring heat Discover which cabbage varieties were most productive and flavorful Hear what helped reduce cabbage worm pressure naturally Learn how crimson clover worked as a companion planting mulch Understand how late freezes affected cool-season crops Chapters 00:00 – Spring garden reflections 02:15 – Why cauliflower intimidated me 06:45 – Choosing better cauliflower varieties 09:05 – How to blanch cauliflower heads 13:20 – Preventing cabbage worm damage 15:10 – Comparing cabbage varieties 20:10 – Testing crimson clover with broccoli 24:40 – Lessons from a late freeze 26:00 – Growing onions through winter Resources Herb Workshop (grab the replay here): http://journeywithjill.net/herb-workshop Broccoli, Cauliflower & Cabbage Quick-Start Growing Guide (free): http://journeywithjill.net/broccoli-guide Companion Planting for Pest Control (free): http://journeywithjill.net/companion-planting-for-pest Good Bug Bad Bug ID Chart (free): https://journeywithjill.net/goodandbadbugs Friday Emails (newsletter): https://journeywithjill.net/gardensignup Recommended Brands & Products: https://journeywithjill.net/recommended-brands-and-products/ Amazon Storefr… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-beginner-s-garden-with-jill-mcsheehy-743200/episodes/473-what-the-spring-garden-taught-me-this-year/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-beginner-s-garden-with-jill-mcsheehy-743200/473-what-the-spring-garden-taught-me-this-year.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.