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.
  • 4.7 (21)
  • HOME & GARDEN
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Food Garden Life: Helping You Harvest More from Your Edible Garden, Vegetable Garden, and Edible Landscaping

Want to grow your own food but need creative ideas so you can get the most from your space and your growing zone? Our passion is the edible garden. We help people grow food on balconies, in backyards, and beyond—whether it’s edible landscaping, a vegetable garden, container gardens, or a home orchard. There are many ways to approach edible landscaping. Find out how to harvest enough fruit, vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers. Get top tips for exotic crops. And learn how to garden in a way that suits any situation. Since they collaborated to write their 2011 book No Guff Vegetable Gardening, hosts Donna Balzer and Steven Biggs have put a practical and fun spin on food gardening and edible landscaping. Donna is a horticulturist, educator, former CBC Radio host, and award-winning TV host. Her passion is growing and cooking food. Steven was recognized by Garden Making magazine as one of the “green gang” making a difference in horticulture. His home-garden experiments span driveway straw-bale gardens, a rooftop kitchen garden, fruit plantings, and an edible-themed front yard. Get started with one of our fan favourites. Season 6, Episode 10: Big Harvests from a Small Space with a Vertical Vegetable Garden.

  1. JUN 6

    Too Cold for Tender Fruit? Hear What this Prairie Grower Does

    Think your climate is too cold to grow tender fruit? Find out how this grower harvests peaches, plums, cherries, apricots, and more…despite winter temperatures that can dip to -38°C (-36°F) and a short summer. In this episode, Donna and Steven chat with Saskatchewan fruit grower Dean Kreutzer.   We talk about: Fruit adapted to cold climatesUsing unheated greenhouses to grow tender fruit, grapes…and figsHeat sinks and insulated tarpsCapturing heat from the ground—without an elaborate geothermal heating system Kreutzer and his wife run Over the Hill Orchards in Saskatchewan. If you’re looking for more on cold-hardy fruit, check out this post on Saskatoon Berries.  *** -->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!

    32 min

  2. MAY 30

    Not Enough Space? Fit in More Crops With These Ideas

    Do you have more seeds and plants than you can fit into your garden? It’s a common problem for the enthusiastic food gardener! In this episode, Donna and Steven talk about finding more growing space so that you can fit more crops into the same space. Get ideas for: Growing in ungardenable spaces…like the root-infested space next to hedgesReducing space used by pathwaysTiering crops in a gardenUsing paved areas, decks—and stairs! If you’re looking for more on garden planning, check out these 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!

    21 min

  3. MAY 23

    Tips for Growing Great Tomatoes

    Want to grow great tomatoes? With the right transplanting and care, your tomatoes will be off to a great start. In this episode, Donna and Steven talk about: Transplanting tomato seedlingsProtecting transplants from cold spring weatherHow to stake, train, and support tomato plantsPruning tomato suckersWatering and feedingTomato challenges, including pests, diseases, and blossom end rot.If you’re looking for more on how to support tomato plants, check out this article.  -->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!

    31 min

  4. MAY 16

    It’s the May 24…Wondering What Veg to Plant?

    Wondering when to plant vegetables? Not sure what to plant first? You don’t need to plant everything at once. In this episode, Donna and Steven talk about when to plant vegetables, and the Canadian tradition of planting the garden over the Victoria Day (May 24) weekend. (Sometimes it makes sense…though not for all crops in all zones.) If you’re looking for more on planting vegetables, check out this article on direct seeding.  *** -->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!

    16 min

  5. MAY 9

    How to Harden Off Seedlings: Simple Steps So Your Seedlings Survive Transplanting

    Your vegetable seedlings can look great indoors. Then fall like dominoes in the garden. If they’re not hardened off. But if you harden off seedlings, they stand a much better chance once you plant them in the garden. In this episode, Donna and Steven talk about: What hardening off meansWhy harden off seedlingsHow to harden off seedlingsWhen to harden off seedlingsHarden off seedlings in a greenhouseIf you’re looking for more on growing vegetables from seed, check out post on how to direct seed vegetables.  -->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!

    24 min

  6. MAY 2

    Saskatoon Berries: Tough as Nails (as this Zone 2 Grower Explains)

    Wondering about fruit to grow in a cold climate? Today we head to Alberta, to find out how to grow saskatoon bushes. Arden Delidais grows in Zone 2—and doesn’t get any winter dieback on her saskatoon berries. Delidais’ orchard and winery, DNA Gardens, has a number of cold hardy crops including saskatoon berries, apples, plums, rhubarb, currants, and haskaps. Saskatoon bushes (Amelanchier alnifolia) are native to North America. (South of the border you might hear them referred to as juneberry or shadbush.) Delidais tells Steve and Donna about: How to prune saskatoon bushesSaskatoon varietiesSaskatoon pests and diseasesHow to propagate saskatoon berriesHow to use saskatoon fruitIf you’re looking for more on saskatoons, here’s a guide to growing them.  -->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!

    38 min

  7. APR 25

    Skip the Transplants? How to Direct Sow Seeds

    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!

    34 min

  8. APR 18

    Vegetables in Pots: How to Ace Your Container Garden

    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.

    36 min
See All (240)

4.7
out of 5
21 Ratings

About

Want to grow your own food but need creative ideas so you can get the most from your space and your growing zone? Our passion is the edible garden. We help people grow food on balconies, in backyards, and beyond—whether it’s edible landscaping, a vegetable garden, container gardens, or a home orchard. There are many ways to approach edible landscaping. Find out how to harvest enough fruit, vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers. Get top tips for exotic crops. And learn how to garden in a way that suits any situation. Since they collaborated to write their 2011 book No Guff Vegetable Gardening, hosts Donna Balzer and Steven Biggs have put a practical and fun spin on food gardening and edible landscaping. Donna is a horticulturist, educator, former CBC Radio host, and award-winning TV host. Her passion is growing and cooking food. Steven was recognized by Garden Making magazine as one of the “green gang” making a difference in horticulture. His home-garden experiments span driveway straw-bale gardens, a rooftop kitchen garden, fruit plantings, and an edible-themed front yard. Get started with one of our fan favourites. Season 6, Episode 10: Big Harvests from a Small Space with a Vertical Vegetable Garden.

Information

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada