GARDEN & GREEN MEDIA: joe gardener

The joe gardener media offering is tended with the care of a Master Gardener. Joe Lamp'l is tireless and stunning in his presentation of the most notable horticulture. His team really is best of class and makes it all look so easy. It's an honor to have an interview with him. Joe was really a pleasure to communicate with. Metropolitan Gardening is happy to be able to share his story.

“MG: What gave you the idea to combine media and gardening? What's your special vision? 

Joe Lamp'l and Crew

Joe: I live a couple of lives; one has been as a gardener and always has been; it's a lifetime passion. The media aspect came into the picture in early 2000. I was tapped to host DIY Network's new series; Fresh from the Garden. At the time I knew nothing about media and had never been on television before. But apparently I had enough something to be the one they selected after an extensive national search. Go figure. Anyway, although not knowing anything about television production at the time, it was fascinating to be immersed in it almost every day of the year for the next three years and ever sense really. Because being on television came pretty easy to me and seeing a need for more education style garden related television and media for that matter, I started absorbing everything I could about how it all worked.

The big ah-ha came after a few years hosting a PBS show prior to my new show. In that former, "talking head" role, I knew it was time for something more meaningful and impactful to a larger audience. And that audience was the generation that gardening was passing by. 

So using traditional television for continuity and to retain an established national audience, I decided to take the message cross platform from on-air to online, every way possible. There's a geek that lives inside of me so I love computers and technology and online editing video and audio etc. And although I wasn't doing all this myself, I knew enough to know what I wanted and how to communicate to others what I couldn't do myself. From that, today we have a pretty robust website that really serves as the hub for all of our outreach, from the television shows that are available online in HD, to podcasts that I write and edit to articles from my syndicated column and lots of help from our GGW team. Combine that with an active presence on Facebook and Twitter from the whole team and we're covering a lot of bases.

LA Shoot

MG: How did you get started? 

Joe: In television as a gardener I assume you are asking. I've always been a gardener. I love it so much I'd spend all my free time doing it and at night I'd study it. I got my Master Gardener designation and some other credentials along the way just to soak up all the information I could on the subject. Word got out that I knew my stuff and a magazine asked me to be their feature columnist on a few subjects. Right after that, the editor of that magazine got an email blast from the production company that was hired to produce the new show for DIY Network. Everything was in place except for the host and now they were on a national search for that role. When she (the editor) read the email the person they were describing as their ideal host made her think of me. She forwarded me the email and suggested I contact the producer.

I did. I left a message and he called me back about an hour later. He grilled me for a while, I assume to see if he really wanted to take his valuable time to meet me. I guess I was convincing enough and a few days later we had a meeting over lunch. It was the strangest meeting I've ever had. This was the most poker faced guy I'd ever met. I'm a pretty good judge of people but this guy had me stumped. At the end of the lunch he said he they were interested he'd be in touch; basically the "don't call us, we'll call you" thing. I didn't hear anything for a week. But then he called. He said they were very interested and could I be available the next day for an on-cameara audition. Of course I could be there.

The next day I arrived and with very little small talk, the production crew hooked up my mike and pointed a few cameras in my face and said go. They had sent me a script the day before. But with no coaching and no comments afterwards, an hour later it was over. I had NO idea what they thought. 

The next week they had their meeting with the execs at HGTV / DIY and a few days later they called and said they were going back to the drawing board to search for one more candidate. This time they wanted to look at a female to make sure they had covered all their options. In the meantime I waited 6 weeks for all of that to happen with no word while all that was going on. Finally they called and said they had narrowed it down to two candidates. If they picked a male, it would be me. But if they went for the female, it would be the other person. They promised to call in a week or less with the final decision either way. Exactly a week later they called. They picked me.

Less than a week later, I was hosting a national television show that lasted 3 years and 52 episodes and launched a pretty good run that is still going strong.

MG: What was your best experience on television? 

Joe: I still love doing live TV on the big morning shows, like Good Morning America and the Today Show. I've done it a number of times now and it's still a rush. The very first time, I had no idea if I'd be nervous or not but I wasn't. Something takes over and you just go. It's a lot of fun; the whole experience of rushing to NYC and the big crews and the crowds, etc. And everyone that you see on TV along with the crews and producers are very, very nice. 

MG: Have you ever gotten any hate mail? 

 Joe: No hate mail. I get the occasional kook that seems to have an agenda but I try to ignore them. But honestly, I take everything to heart so it's still hard to get those emails and comments. A lot of times I want to fire off a nasty reply and sometimes I do type it out. But then my more rational side kicks in and I save the email to draft and eventually never reply, at least as I wanted to. If I do reply to those I do so with kindness, they usually reply with an apologetic tone. I've been told if you're in the public eye, sooner or later they come out of the woodwork and to not take it personally. So I try not to, but it's easier said than done. 

MG: What really gets your viewers going? Have you ever broad-casted on a specific topic because you knew it would create better ratings? 

Joe: No, I know controversy sells and I'm sure I could get a lot more attention if I stirred the pot. But that's not my thing. What I want to do it bring awareness to people of the importance of environmental stewardship and the benefits of eco-friendly gardening and living. Being on public television, I've learned that I have to remain rather neutral and balanced. Which is hard for me to do. I'm passionate about organic gardening and sustainable practices and I hate the idea of using chemicals. I can't stand what's going on with GMO seeds and how big business is really what's behind agriculture today. It's not good for the future of gardening and our heritage. So naturally, I favor the guest interviews that share my view. Maria Rodale is an example of that. When we taped her interview for the show on organic gardening, we were told by the execs that approve our show for broadcast that we had to tone down some of the interview and actually remove some of it because it came across as opinionated and unbalanced. Unfortunately, I don't have the final say on what makes it on air so we had to comply. But not before a fight and a reasonable compromise.

MG: Who was your favorite person ever to interview and why are they a supreme gardener?  

Joe: Whew. I've had the privilege of interviewing some real powerhouses, but personally, I'd have to say Maria Rodale. The family has been heros of mine for a long time. Having the chance to meet Maria and her daughter Maya and spend a good bit of time getting to know them was great. And because we are on the same page with so many issues, we really had a naturally good start. Since then, we're in touch a lot and expect to be working with them and Rodale Inc. more as we share our passion for healthy living and organic gardening.

Another memorable moment was the pilot we shot before Growing a Greener World even existed as a series. We had become aware of an urban farm just three miles north of downtown Philadelphia. As we dove into the story of Greensgrow Farm and its head farmer, Mary Seaton Corboy, we were hooked! Ten years ago, Mary took a one acre industrial brownfield that required an EPA superfund cleanup and converted it to a highly productive urban agricultural model for the possibilities. From an abandoned lot with little money but plenty of guts, she grew veggies hydroponically and built lots of raised beds. Later she imported tons of soil and built greenhouses. The outcome was a source of fresh produce growing in a neighborhood that had nothing even close before she arrived. Today, Mary is considered one of the foremost authorities on urban farming and her thriving farm serves a community that now finds far more than just fresh vegetables at Greensgrow. After 26 episodes, this is still one of most memorable stories and one of our favorite shows. And I'm sure it has a lot to do with why we feel such an attraction to featuring the stories behind the urban gardener.

Joe Lamp'l and Growing Power's Will Allen

MG: Whats the coolest urban gardening tip you can give us? 

Joe: Don't let the lack of space or money keep you from getting started gardening. I set out to show people that with a little determination, you can feed your family of four all the veggies they need, for the entire summer for $25 or less. I did it with $10 bucks still in my pocket and in a small garden space of 240 square feet. And it was 100% organic too. If you want to see the video series I did to document the entire process from seed to harvest, it's here: www.youtube.com/joegardenerTV.

MG: Do you have any out of the way places to recommend in North Carolina for awesome examples of urban gardening? 

Joe: I wish I did but I don't. I travel so much I don't know enough about my own state that I've now lived in for over four years. But ask me this next year and I'll have some great places for you. I'm committed to staying closer to home for season 2 of Growing a Greener World and I know North Carolina has some fantastic gardens and gardeners. I can't wait to discover them.