White Strawberries: Gardening for Wellness & Joy

Samantha Penman
  • 5.0 (1)
  • HOME & GARDEN

Welcome to White Strawberries, where gardening, permaculture, and sustainable living nourish body, and spirit and the planet. I’m Sam—a gardener, mum and podcaster. Each episode explores how growing and eating nutrient-dense,  foods—from polyphenol-rich plants to adaptogenic herbs like ashwagandha—supports vitality and a joyful, vibrant life. I cover garden design, soil health, mushrooms, animal integration, and seasonal growing insights. I am a self confessed lazy gardener, who aims to do things efficently with max returns.  🌱 Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced gardener, I hope you'll join me each week.  🌱 Let's connect on Instagram: @whitestrawberriespodcast 📘 Join the conversation on Facebook: White Strawberries Podcast

  1. 5 DAYS AGO

    Blue Zones: Can Gardening Help You Live Longer?

    Leave a comment! 💚The waitlist is open: Find Information on the Grounded Course here A friend once asked me how I could justify spending 10 hours a week in the garden. That question stuck with me. In this episode of White Strawberries, I explore the research behind the Blue Zones — the regions identified by Dan Buettner where people live the longest, healthiest lives — and filter those findings through the lens of gardening. This isn’t a double-blind clinical trial. But it is a fascinating look at lifestyle patterns that consistently show up in long-lived communities: natural movement, plant-based eating, nervous system regulation, strong social ties, and purpose. And when you look closely… gardening sits right in the middle of it all. 🌱 What You’ll Discover What the original Blue Zones are and why they matterWhy “move naturally” may be more powerful than gym workoutsHow gardening supports longevity through functional movementThe role of beans, sourdough, fermented foods, and modest animal proteinWhy daily stress reduction rituals matter for brain healthHow purpose (ikigai) and family connection impact lifespanWhether wine at five is really about wine — or community📚 Referenced Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest by Dan Buettner Official website: https://www.bluezones.com 🎧 Previous White Strawberries Episodes Mentioned Mediterranean Guild Gardening: Figs, Grapes, Olives & Companions | Mastering the Garden Dirty Dozen Guide: Nutrition, Pesticides & Biodiversity | Mastering the Garden Chickens in the Garden | With Dr. Sez the Vet Nitrogen 101: Transforms Your Garden | Mastering the Garden 🎧 Connect with me.

    31 min

  2. 12 FEB

    Throw Back: 5 Garden Side Hustles, that isn't selling plants| Sparking Joy

    Leave a comment! Looking to make the most of your garden or property without selling your harvest?  In this episode of White Strawberries, I share five creative side hustles you can start right at home. From hosting garden tours and beehives to earning carbon credits, leasing land, or renting out a minor dwelling, these ideas can help offset costs, invest in your property, and even bring in a little extra cash. I cover practical tips, real-life examples from New Zealand, and legal considerations so you can get started with confidence. Perfect for gardeners, landowners, and anyone curious about turning their property into a rewarding side hustle. 🎧 Connect with me.

    21 min

  3. 4 FEB

    How I Saved My Garden from Summer Storms, Flooding & Wind

    Leave a comment! This summer has been brutal for gardeners — relentless rain, flooding, fallen trees, fungal disease, and damaging winds arriving right in the middle of the growing season. I want to share with you five practical techniques that genuinely saved my garden during extreme summer weather. These aren’t idealised systems or expensive upgrades — they’re real-world responses to waterlogged soil, wind stress, and disease pressure in a changing climate. This is about observing your space honestly, responding early, and growing with the climate you have — not the one you planned for. 🌱 What You’ll Discover The five simple changes that helped my garden survive summer stormsWhy dead mulch and living ground cover work better togetherHow swales protect roots by controlling water movementThe correct way to stake trees so wind strengthens instead of kills themHow fungal disease, wind, and waterlogging are connectedWhy plant diversity is your best insurance policy🛠️ The Five Garden-Saving Techniques Mulching deeply with dead organic matterMulching with living ground coversDigging swales and paths to direct excess waterTying trees correctly for high-wind conditionsCreating raised growing areas through soil and path design🎧 Previous White Strawberries Episodes Mentioned Mulch, Wanted, Dead or Alive | Mastering the Garden Why Raised Veggie Beds Burn Out Beginner Gardeners | Mastering the Garden  📚 Books & Resources Referenced The Permaculture Home Garden — Linda Woodrow   🌿 Join the new Waitlist!!  Grounded — a live, four-week online workshop for intermediate gardeners reimagining their space for joy, wellness, and resilience  👉 https://whitestrawberriespodcast.com/grounded 101 Gardening — a beginner-friendly introduction to growing for joy and wellness 👉 https://whitestrawberries.com/101gardening 🌦️ Final Thought Climate-resilient gardening isn’t about doing more — it’s about doing things differently. Observe closely, respond early, and let the land show you what it needs. 🎧 Connect with me.

    26 min

  4. 29 JAN

    Why Raised Veggie Beds Burn Out Beginner Gardeners | Mastering the Garden

    Leave a comment! Annual raised beds often feel productive at first… and then stop thriving. We talk about the hidden workload of annuals, why potting mixes run out of nutrients, add toxicity to our soil and how lack of biodiversity can lead to pests and frustration. This isn’t an anti–raised bed rant. There are things they do well. But if you’ve ever felt like you’re doing “everything right” and your garden still isn’t feeding you — this episode will help you understand why, and what small shifts actually make gardening easier. 🌱 In this episode, we explore: Annuals vs perennials (and why annuals are more work)Why raised beds look great… then strugglePotting mixes, wetting agents, and soil lifeBiodiversity, predators, and pest pressureSimple ways to build healthier, lower-stress garden bedsIf you’d like a visual of how I build a sandwich bed, DM me “Sandwich Bed” on Instagram or Facebook and I’ll send it through. 🔗 Previous White Strawberries Episodes Mentioned Help! My Garden Isn’t Thriving | Mastering the Garden The Secret to Thriving Roses | Sparking Joy   🎧 Connect with me.

    22 min
  5. Throwback: Permaculture: Explained | With Dr. Sez the Vet

    22 JAN

    Throwback: Permaculture: Explained | With Dr. Sez the Vet

    Leave a comment! Hi everyone! We have flooding and power outages throughout my area this week! So I'm hunkering down with the kids and re-releasing a top hitting podcast of mine. Check it out!! In this episode, we dive into the messy, beautiful reality of applying permaculture principles in your own life with Sez the Vet! Sam and Sez explore the highs and lows of designing gardens, observing your land, and working with nature (even when it feels like society is pushing against it). 💚 From sun mapping and creating guilds and chickens doing their part, this episode is packed with real-life examples of how Sam and others have implemented permaculture practices—while acknowledging the challenges that come with them. Join us for an honest conversation about gardening in today’s world and how small, thoughtful steps can lead to big, sustainable changes. It’s not about doing it perfectly; it’s about doing what works for you, your family, and your land. 🎧 Listen now and subscribe to White Strawberries for more adventures in sustainable living! 📸 Let’s connect: @whitestrawberriespodcast  📘 Join the convo on Facebook: White Strawberries Podcast 🎧 Connect with me.

    29 min

  6. 15 JAN

    Down with AI gardens & Up with Real Life! Why Community Changes Everything | Mastering the Garden

    Leave a comment! There’s no shortage of gardening advice online — but more information isn’t making us better gardeners. In fact, it’s often doing the opposite. In this Mastering the Garden episode of White Strawberries, Sam explores why overwhelm, comparison, and perfectly curated (often fake AI rubbish) can quietly drain our confidence and joy. If you’ve ever felt like you’re “doing it wrong” despite knowing so much, this episode is for you. This is a conversation about community over content — and why real transformation on our land doesn’t come from another tip, trick, or algorithm-fed reel. It comes from proximity. From being around people who observe carefully, ask better questions, and live intentionally with their land — not perfectly, but honestly. Drawing on permaculture thinking, lived experience, and the idea of “spirals” of achievement versus apathy, Sam unpacks how peer groups quietly shape our standards, energy, and outcomes in the garden (and beyond). She also shares practical ways to find — or create — the kind of gardening community that actually supports growth, alignment, and joy. This episode also gently introduces Grounded, an upcoming course designed to bring real people together in real time — not for more information, but for shared momentum and discernment. 🌱 If you’re ready to step off the information treadmill and into something more grounded, this one’s for you. 🌱 What You’ll Discover Why gardening overwhelm isn’t an information problemHow peer groups influence confidence, standards, and joyThe difference between spirals of apathy and achievementWhy AI garden imagery is damaging our gardenReal-world ways to find or create aligned gardening communitiesHow intentional proximity accelerates learning and clarity🎧 Previous White Strawberries Episodes You Might Enjoy Help! My Garden Isn’t Thriving | Mastering the Garden3 Reasons Not to Garden | Sparking JoyPermaculture: Explained | With Dr. Sez the Vet  🌱 Join the Grounded waitlist: 👉 LINK COMING SOON- Come back soon🤗 (Details shared with the waitlist first. No commitment.) 🎧 Connect with me.

    29 min

  7. 6 JAN

    Garden Goal Setting like a pro: Less Hustle, more Joy | Mastering the Garden

    Leave a comment! Creating garden goals that bring you joy, wellness, and sustainability in 2026—without getting caught in the “more, more, more” trap! I guide you through a simple four-question exercise to set achievable garden intentions: Choosing two new plants to try this yearMaking your garden easier and more sustainableShifting your mindset to let go of what doesn’t serve youTackling that one task you’ve been putting off, in a way that’s funLet's do it together! I'll share my goals and lots of examples of what you might like. References & Resources Koanga Institute (Heirloom & Heritage Seeds – NZ) – sourcing broad beans and other seeds https://koanga.org.nz/ Ashwagandha: a medicinal herb that comes with a bunch of hype around it at the moment... So of course I want to grow it 😉Previous White Strawberries Episodes Mentioned: What to Grow When: Timing Your Veges Right | Mastering the Garden Nitrogen 101: Transforms Your Garden | Mastering the Garden Wine Cap Mushrooms in Orchards | With Sarah Williams 🎧 Connect with me.

    16 min

  8. 2 JAN

    Annuals Beyond the Supermarket: What to Grow Instead | Sparking Joy

    Leave a comment! Supermarkets love annual crops — but only a very narrow version of them. In this Sparking Joy episode of White Strawberries, I explore annual vegetables and fruits you’ll almost never see on supermarket shelves — not because they’re inferior!! We talk about why supermarket produce is bred for transport, uniformity, and shelf life — and what gets lost along the way: flavour, phytonutrients, biodiversity, and joy. From purple tomatoes and unusual potatoes to heirloom beans, peas, and self-seeding “weeds,” this episode celebrates annual plants that thrive in real gardens, not industrial systems. 🌱 What You’ll Discover Why supermarkets sell such limited annual varietiesAnnual plants that thrive outside industrial systemsNitrogen-fixing crops that feed both you and the soilCommunity-loved annuals you won’t find on shelvesHow joy, flavour, and wellness are deeply connected🔗 References & Resources Mentioned Koanga Institute (Heirloom & Heritage Seeds – NZ) Cooking Beans — Susan Young 🎧 Previous White Strawberries Episodes You Might Enjoy: What to Grow When: Timing Your Veges Right | Mastering the Garden   Nitrogen 101: Transforms Your Garden | Mastering the Garden   Wine Cap Mushrooms in Orchards | With Sarah Williams   🎧 Connect with me.

    23 min
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About

Welcome to White Strawberries, where gardening, permaculture, and sustainable living nourish body, and spirit and the planet. I’m Sam—a gardener, mum and podcaster. Each episode explores how growing and eating nutrient-dense,  foods—from polyphenol-rich plants to adaptogenic herbs like ashwagandha—supports vitality and a joyful, vibrant life. I cover garden design, soil health, mushrooms, animal integration, and seasonal growing insights. I am a self confessed lazy gardener, who aims to do things efficently with max returns.  🌱 Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced gardener, I hope you'll join me each week.  🌱 Let's connect on Instagram: @whitestrawberriespodcast 📘 Join the conversation on Facebook: White Strawberries Podcast

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