You're listening to the Joe Gardner Show, the podcast all about gardening, where we cover

everything you need to know to grow like a pro, no experience required.

And now here's your guide, National Gardening Television Host, and the Joe Behind Joe Gardner,

Joe Lample.

Hi everybody, this is Joe Lample, the Joe Behind Joe Gardner, and welcome to the Joe Gardner

Show.

Today may be the most unique episode you've ever heard on this show.

Now to be clear, there is definitely a gardening theme woven through this entire episode.

But today it's about a story.

You won't learn anything about how to improve your gardening or soil building skills, and

we're not talking about mulch or beneficial insects or tomatoes or putting your garden

to bed for the winter.

But you will hear a conversation with someone who has become a very dear friend to me over

the past few years, and he's someone who has become an important role model in my life

as well as the lives of thousands of children and adults from his hometown of the Bronx,

New York, and to literally countless students, teachers, parents, and influential leaders

and followers around the world, all because of the power of a plant.

I'm talking about Stephen Ritz, a high energy, gravely speaking teacher born and raised

in the Bronx, who has a heart for kids like no one I've ever met before.

A teacher who put in so many extra hours at school because of his passion and determination

to make a tangible difference in the lives of his students, that he literally was asked

to back off on the amount of time he was putting in because it was so disproportionate to

...