The Science of Gardening, with EpicGardening

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet. https://T-Mobile.com/HomeInternet Could you grow your own food on the moon? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly sit down with Kevin Espiritu, the gardening YouTuber behind Epic Gardening, to dig into backyard farming, the future of sustainable food, and what it would actually take to feed yourself on Earth or anywhere else. Kevin describes how he got into growing plants and how it doesn’t always require lots of land. Chuck admits to being an avid gardener secretly and fangirls over Kevin’s 30 fruit trees. How self-sufficient can you reasonably be on an urban lot? Do solar and rainwater collection save money? We get into the science of how plants actually grow. What's the difference between hydroponics and aeroponics? Why do hydroponic plants grow faster but taste flatter? Do plants use green light? We explore whether LEDs can really replace sunlight or if plants can tell the difference. We explore vertical farming, how plants evolved for specific light conditions, and why some plants like partial shade. Why does more of a good thing kill them? Then we take it to space. Could we grow food hydroponically in lunar habitats? What about aquaponics with fish? Would space-grown plants even taste good? Kevin recounts the sobering reality of his 30-day experiment feeding himself entirely from his own land. We explore topics around farming practices like topsoil loss, the monoculture trap, travelling bees for almond orchards, and how industrial agriculture keeps solving problems by manually recreating what nature was already doing for free. Thanks to our Patrons Raime Dayton, Giulian Minichiello, Peggy C, Pamela Knab, Randy Gladney, George Lett, Madeline Belton, Lio, Nick White, Michael, Shiwam Bandhoe, Catherine Spale…Raime Dayton, Giulian Minichiello, Peggy C, Pamela Knab, Randy Gladney, George Lett, Madeline Belton, Lio, Nick White, Michael, Shiwam Bandhoe, Catherine Spale, Lori Largent, Newton T, M.K, Louis Stern, Justin Maly, Andrew Kagan, Jeff, Robin Green, Boris Bayerman, Joe Verstraete, Jakob Ludwig, Eric Monley, Paul Kulessa, Rich C, Ben Davenport, User101010111010, Ian C, Dereck Wood Sr, Brittany Cloud, William Santiago, Randall Price, EvieJoy, Aaron Bailey, Shiva Kumar, Kenny Watts, Jayden Sundar, Maggie Ruh, Farruh Mahamadjanov, João Costa, Alex & Alicia Celcis, Prajesh Patel, Armando Luna, Chris Kessinger, Deon Johnson, Father Bills' Glue Gun Baptism, Nic Hoover, Jonny Porto, Noah Race, Nikita Mikhailevich, MichelleEcume, Janet La Valley, Myriam Robichaud, Lilly Carrillo, Matthew Robinson, Mark Fremmerlid, Emilia D., Michael Giacchino, Jose Javier, Wishah, TIM, Alex Frias, DukeOfBees, Cherry Speicher, Joe, Chris Sinn, Michael de la Morena, Gina Rapp, Testcellman, Jay Valiano, Mara Long, Terry Burgess, Matthew Ross, Jacob Keeling, Leah, Alex, Michael Neal, Lauri Boyd, Wes Ward, Antonio Westphalen, Chris Hopper, Malzerath, Anita Bowers, Antonia Staikova, Glenn Thomas Stokdal, Y K, Alexander Simone, Dot, Chris, 𖤐 Emily 𖤐, Thomas V, Ryan Scotto, Suzette Salvati, Mauricio Lago Magro, Joyce Stamper, Linden Wise, and Dr Venkateshwaran S for supporting us this week. Check out our second channel, @StarTalkPlus Get the NEW StarTalk book, 'To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery' on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PL0NFn Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/startalkradio FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to StarTalk: Twitter: http://twitter.com/startalkradio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarTalk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startalk About StarTalk: Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up! #StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson