Food Garden Life: Helping You Harvest More from Your Edible Garden, Vegetable Garden, and Edible Landscaping Steven Biggs & Donna Balzer: Horticulturists and edible landscaping experts.

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 weather causes spotty germination outdoors, meaning transplants are a better option.
To ace your direct seeding, you need to know which crops it works with—and how to do it.
In this episode, Donna and Steven talk about:
Why and when to direct sowWhen it makes sense to grow transplants instead of direct sowingHow to direct sow seedsWhat crops are best for direct sowingIf you’re looking for more ideas for planting your vegetable garden, here’s an article with 7 Vegetable Garden Layout ideas.    
 
-->Join the 5,000+ gardeners in The Food Garden Gang who stay on top of home food-growing ideas with our weekly e-mail. We’re making the world a better place one garden at a time!
-->Grab the free e-books: Small-Space Food-Gardening Hacks and Growing Figs in Cold Climates.
-->And say hi—we love to hear what you think!

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 vegetables.
If you’re looking for more on container gardening, here are top container garden crops. 

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 fig-growing tips, drop by our fig home page.

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 pawpaw treesPawpaw tree hardiness (yes, there are pawpaw growers in Canada!)Grafting pawpaw treesHow to grow pawpaw from seedPawpaw breedingWhat makes pawpaw a great fruit crop for home gardeners and small farmers
D’Angelo is the founder of Project Pawpaw, a crowd-funded pawpaw research and breeding program.
If you’re looking for more on pawpaw, tune into our interview with the Indiana Jones of pawpaw, Neal Peterson, and hear our chat with Toronto pawpaw expert Paul DeCampo. 

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 ways home gardeners can improve soil quality with soil amendments. 
We discuss different types of manures, making compost, using leaves, wood chips, and common products such as bone meal, peat moss, and blood meal.
If you’re looking for more on soil, check out this post about how and when to use wood ash in the garden.

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 herbs.
If you’re looking for more on planning a kitchen garden, check out this post on kitchen garden planning.