Have you tried direct sowing but didn’t get good results? Wondering how to direct sow seeds? Direct sowing—a.k.a. direct seeding or direct planting—is when we sow seeds straight into the garden. We skip starting transplants indoors. It gives better results for some crops—because there’s no transplanting shock. And that’s great, because it saves you the hassle of growing transplants. But some crops need extra growing time…and that’s where transplants make sense. Or sometimes, hot summer...

Want to harvest more veg from the same amount of space? You can get lots more from a small space by growing in containers. (If you get it right…but that’s not difficult!) If you get these 4 things right, you’re on the road to container gardening success:  The right containerGood soilA suitable locationProper care In this episode, Donna and Steven share top tips for container gardening success, including choosing pots, selecting soil, finding a suitable spot, and caring for your container...

Don’t miss out on fresh figs just because you’re gardening in a cold climate. There are many cold-climate fig growers who defy zone boundaries with creative overwintering techniques. Figs can take quite a bit of cold. Not the extreme cold. A creative gardener gets figs through the winter by moderating the extremes. In this episode, Donna and Steven talk about fig-growing tactics for cold climates so that you can harvest figs—even if you have zone envy! If you’re looking for more cold-climate...

Can’t get enough pawpaw fruit? Want to grow a pawpaw tree? If you haven’t tried pawpaw fruit, many people describe the flavour of its silky, yellow flesh as tropical. While it’s the largest fruit native to North America, it’s difficult to find the fruit for sale.   Yet it’s easy to grow. That’s why many gardeners and small farmers plant pawpaw trees. In this episode, Donna and Steven talk with pawpaw expert Adam D’Angelo to get tips on growing pawpaw trees.  We talk about: Where to grow...

When you make only withdrawals—no deposits—you eventually end up in overdraft. It works that way at the bank, with friendships—and with soil. And growing crop after crop in a garden is like making withdrawal after withdrawal. The crops use nutrients. Working the soil affects its structure. Amending soil is like putting money back into the bank. Soil amendments can improve soil structure, soil chemistry, and return nutrients to the soil. In this episode, Donna and Steven talk about practical...

Looking for herb garden layout ideas? If you’re planning a herb garden, there are many ways to add herbs to the landscape. You can have a stand-alone herb garden, a herb lawn, herbs mixed with paving, use herbs as bedding plants, weave them into a perennial border, or make a herb container garden on a patio, deck, or paved space. In this episode, Donna and Steven talk about ideas for using herbs in home garden landscapes and share their favourite perennial herbs, annual herbs, and exotic...

Leafy greens fizzle out in the summer? Does your lettuce bolt too soon? Find out how to grow more leafy greens in your garden and how to extend your harvest so you can pick fresh salad greens as long as possible. In this episode, Donna and Steven talk about crops ideas for leafy greens, how to plant leafy greens in a home garden or edible landscape, choosing greens crops for ongoing harvest, how to hurry up your spring harvest, and how to slow down bolting—even in hot weather.  If you’re...

Figs + Container Veg. Live events in April 2024. Find out more about these new live virtual events. ----  Tried growing a potted lemon tree but it didn’t thrive? Citrus expert Byron Martin has the solution. And it’s not difficult. AND he also has recommendations for other unusual potted citrus trees.  We talk about finger limes, blood limes, pomelo, sweet lemon, sunquat, kumquat, citron, and more. For all of these citrus trees in pots, proper watering is the key to success. We hear how to...

Figs + Container Veg. Live events in April 2024. Find out more about these new live virtual events. ----  Don’t have time to spend on fussy fruit crops? Then growing raspberries is something to think about.  You can prune raspberries and manage the crop to maximize production. But this is one of those bulletproof crops that can do quite nicely without your help. In this episode, Donna and Steven talk about planting raspberries, how raspberries grow, how to prune raspberries, and how to care...

Figs. Lemons. Container Veg. New live events in March and April, 2024. Find out more about these new live virtual events.----  Wondering which flowers you can eat? There’s a wide variety of edible flowers that are easy to grow. You might already have some and just aren’t using them. Edible flowers often come from well-known vegetable, herb, and fruit crops. But there are many that come from ornamental plants too. Even some shrubs and trees. Find out which flowers are edible—and how you can...

Figs. Lemons. Container Veg. New live events in March and April, 2024. Find out more about these new live virtual events.----  Wondering which vegetables to grow? Or how to pick suitable varieties for your vegetable garden? If you put some thought into your choices, you can avoid harvest-time disappointments. In this episode, Donna and Steven talk about crops they find worthwhile, along with some favourite varieties. The choices for Donna’s cold prairie garden aren’t always the same as for...

Figs. Lemons. Container Veg. New live events in March and April, 2024. Find out more about these new live virtual events.----  Growing tomatoes from seed? Get the right combination of timing, soil, light, and containers, and you can grow great tomato seedlings at home. There’s more than one way to raise tomato plants from seed. And that means you can do it in a way that fits your growing space. AND make sure to pick a variety you’ll love—because that’s a big reason for growing tomato...

Figs. Lemons. Easy to Grow Fruit. Container Veg. Vertical Gardening.  New live events in Feb., March and April, 2024. Find out more about these new live virtual events.----  Do you shut down your garden for the winter? Wondering what vegetables to plant in the winter?  If you’re in a northern climate, to grow vegetables in winter you need to give them heat and light…and that usually means high-input greenhouse growing. But there’s another way to approach winter vegetable gardening.  And it’s...

Figs. Lemons. Easy to Grow Fruit. Container Veg. Vertical Gardening.  New live events in Feb., March and April, 2024. Find out more about these new live virtual events.----  Wondering when to plant your seeds indoors? Started too early and grown in pots too long before moving to the garden, your seedlings might run out of gas. They stall. But started too late, your seedlings might be midgets when it’s time to plant them in the garden. The right time to start seeds indoors—and have plants that...

Figs in Cold Climates. Lemons in Cold Climates. Easy to Grow Fruit. Container Vegetables. Vertical Vegetable Gardening.  New live events in Feb., March and April, 2024. Find out more about these new live virtual events.----  Got seedlings that look like stilt-walkers? Are your seedlings leggy? Leggy seedlings don’t have as much chance of success once you transplant them into the garden…if they even make it that far. The best way to solve the problem of spindly seedlings is to prevent them...

 ----Figs in Cold Climates…..Lemons in Cold Climates…..Easy to Grow Fruit...Container Vegetables...Vertical Vegetable Gardening.  New live events in Feb., March and April, 2024. Find out more about these new live virtual events.----   Seed catalogues are arriving already! Find out what you need to know to make good seed-shopping choices.  In this episode, Steven and Donna share seed-shopping tips and talk about common seed-related terms. Not sure if untreated seed is organic? Wondering what...

 ----Figs in Cold Climates…..Lemons in Cold Climates…..Easy to Grow Fruit...Container Vegetables...Vertical Vegetable Gardening.  New live events in Feb., March and April, 2024. Find out more about these new live virtual events.----  Damson plums: Sometimes they're simply called damsons. Their rich flavour makes them a culinary gem. Even though they're not difficult to grow, the fruit is rarely available commercially. Find out how to grow damsons. Sarah Conrad Gothie, Author of Damsons: An...

We head to the UK to chat with homesteader Kim Stoddart about how to grow a resilient vegetable garden. We talk about: Top tips for growing vegetables when conditions are not predictable Choosing crops for a climate-change vegetable garden Perennial vegetables Tips for veggie gardening in hot summers Kim is an award-winning writer, journalist, and educator. Her new book is The Climate Change Garden: Down to Earth Advice for Growing a Resilient Garden. 

Brad Lancaster is a permaculture and regenerative design consultant and educator. His specialty is sustainable landscapes.  We chat with Brad about using the landscape to harvest rainwater. And about using the landscape as a living air conditioner.  Brad also talks about a very inspiring project that he helped spearhead, a community food forest. We talk about:  Using permaculture principles in landscaping How to harvest rainwater in the landscape The connection between landscapes and...

Vertical vegetable gardening squeezes more plants into a limited space by making use of space above the ground. In today’s episode, Steve digs into vertical gardening. We talk about: Top crops for vertical gardening The benefits of vertical gardening Support structures in a vertical garden Materials to make your own trellises and support structures.

Wally Satzewich joins us from Saskatchewan to tell us about Small-Plot Intensive Farming (SPIN Farming.)  Having studied psychology and ran a taxi franchise, Wally became interested in market gardening.  So he bought a farm.  But a conventional market garden wasn’t the right fit for him. That’s because a big operation requires hired help and capital outlay for equipment.  So Wally and his wife Gail sold the farm—and moved back to the city. To farm—to farm other people’s yards. And in the...

Andrew Huxsel joins us from St Placide, Quebec to tell us about worm composting. Also known as vermicomposting.  Andrew runs Vermicbec, a company that sells worms and worm compost. We talk about: How vermicomposting works Using vermicompost (a.k.a. worm castings or worm wompost) Large scale vs. home-scale vermicomposting Top tips for home gardeners wanting to try worm composting (If you’ve tried it and had bug problems, Andrew tells you how to solve the problem) 

It’s planting season here..and the gardening questions are pouring in.  Here’s the Q + A from our latest live show. We talk about: Favourite tomato varieties Support for tomato plants Mulch Asparagus Microgreens Lemons Artichoke Squirrels What to do about bolting lettuce