For one of his side projects, Chris Thile knew he wanted to form a string quintet composed of mandolin, violin, banjo, guitar, and bass with childhood friend and fiddler Gabe Witcher,[3] but didn’t know which direction he wanted to take the band.

The guitar position was filled by Chris Eldridge, from the bluegrass band the Infamous Stringdusters.

A few nights later, the group met again “just to drop a ton of money, drink too much wine, eat steaks, and commiserate about our failed relationships”.

In an interview with the United States magazine Guitar Player, Chris Thile explained the old fashioned style in which the album was recorded: It was recorded at Sear Sound in New York using two vintage Telefunken ELA M 251 E mics into a Forsell Technologies FetCode preamp.

[8] In regard to the album’s style, Thile said that “All in all, How to Grow a Woman from the Ground is a bluegrass record.

"[9] How to Grow a Woman from the Ground received positive reviews from country and bluegrass music critics.

AllMusic called it "fantastic",[1] and JamBase described it to be "a tasteful string dinner" and stated that "this is only the beginning of great things to come".

The Arizona Republic stated that the album was "amazing", except for "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" because "Thile [couldn't] quite match Jack White's musical hysteria".

[7] Bullz-Eye criticized Thile's vocal quality, saying that "his voice often lacks the strength and/or character to carry the song".