Rockin’ Libsyn Podcasts: Plantrama

This series is all about showcasing Libsyn podcasters. Its sole purpose is to introduce these awesome podcasts to the world as well as share their podcasting insight to empower the community!


Q & A with C.L. and Ellen from Plantrama


When did you start podcasting?

Plantrama was launched in May of 2017.

Why did you start podcasting?

For several years we (Ellen and C.L.) worked for an app that identified plants and answered questions about gardens.

The users were predominantly, although not exclusively, between the ages of 25 and 45…they weren’t gardeners, but they were curious about the plants they saw in the wild, wanted advice about what was growing in their yards, and needed guidance about indoor plants.

So we knew that there was a need for plant advice and thought that a podcast would be the perfect way to connect with this audience.

Ellen and I already write and speak about plants and gardening, and I do a weekly live radio show on WXTK, so we decided that a podcast was the logical additional means of communication.

What’s your show about?

Plantrama is (no surprise here) about plants. Our listeners want to know what plants are in their yard and how to take care of them.

They ask about plants that are edible, be they wild or cultivated vegetables. They’re interested in raising indoor plants successfully and knowing how to cope with pests and problems.

We know that they are gathering around their firepits or working in outdoor offices, so they appreciate suggestions for plants that enhance these locations and experiences.

From raising flowers and tending a landscape to learning about how nature works…from growing vegetables and fruit to foraging for edibles in the wild…we talk about the astonishing and useful world of plants.

Our goal is to give our listeners insider information about their yards and wild spaces. We provide information about edible plants in our regular “What’s For Dinner?” segment and usually include something for the plant noob.

Every episode also includes a main segment that has in depth information on a particular plant or topic. And we always end with answers to a listener’s question.

What’s your podcasting set-up? Hardware, software, CMS, etc.

Ellen and I are both Mac users and at the moment have limited budgets, so we’ve gone with what we already have.

We each record our tracks on Garage Band, while seeing and hearing each other via Skype.

This allows us to have clean recordings on both ends without being subject to the delays and idiosyncrasies of Skype connections and recordings.

But since we can see each other, we get the immediate feedback of a visual.

We use identical Audio-Technica microphones to keep our sound consistent.

After we’ve got the tracks laid down, I upload to Dropbox and Ellen edits to make each episode tighter, and adds our music into the final file.

She sends me the finished mp3, and I write up the show notes for our website, add the iTunes information and upload to Libsyn for scheduling.

Then I find appropriate photos for our website and post it all there.

How have you promoted your podcast?

How have we not promoted our podcast?  We blog, post on all social media, and interact with fellow podcast geeks via Libsyn of course… but we also woo listeners in cocktail hour events, when podcasting live, and by networking with other plant people and podcasters.

See you at Podcast Movement 2018?

What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?

We started by having our files on the place where our website was hosted. We love how our website looks visually, but for a number of reasons it would have been far simpler to have started with a podcast host such as Libsyn and then added their link to our site as it is now.

We did it ass backwards, but live and learn.

Beyond that, we feel fortunate that we’re both willing to say, “yes” to opportunities and then dive into learning how to make it all happen.

We appreciate contributions from Phil Galdston and Rebecca Jordan who allow us to use the music from their song “Record Player” from the album “Asphalt Heart.” And we’re grateful for the expert help we got from Terry Gavin, our web guru, and the Libsyn team as we’ve gone on to explore strange new landscapes, to seek out new plants and new cultivations, and to go boldly where no plant podcast has gone before…with a nod to Star Trek, and a lot of help from our friends.


What a fantastic podcast! All you people that wanna know more about plants, there you have it! Have you ever wondered if that weed in your garden is edible? Now you will know the answer. Subscribe to Plantrama!

In case you are interested, you can follow Plantrama on Facebook or Twitter.

You can also check out Ellen’s book The Wild Crafted Cocktail or C.L.’s book The Cocktail Hour Garden right here!


If you have some serious expertise on something and are looking for another opportunity to share your knowledge, how about starting a podcast? Every month we have a FREE Podcasting QuickStart Webinar where we give you everything you need to get started! And afterwards, we would love if you hosted your media with us

Extraordinary Podcasting For All

Use code “creator” for up to 2 months free when you start podcasting or move to Libsyn.

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