Food Garden Life Show: Helping You Harvest More from Your Edible Garden, Vegetable Garden, and Edible Landscaping

Steven Biggs: Horticulturist and edible landscaping expert.
  • 4.4 (18)
  • HOME & GARDEN
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

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. Host Steven Biggs was recognized by Garden Making magazine as one of the “green gang” making a difference in Canadian horticulture. His home-garden experiments span driveway straw-bale gardens, a rooftop kitchen garden, fruit plantings, and an edible-themed front yard. He's a horticulturist, award-winning broadcaster and author, and former horticulture instructor with George Brown and Durham Colleges in Ontario, Canada. Get started with one of our fan favourites. Season 6, Episode 10: Big Harvests from a Small Space with a Vertical Vegetable Garden.

  1. 6D AGO

    Growing Fruit in Cold Climates: Hardy Trees, Fruiting Hedges & Home Orchards with Véronique Alexandre

    Growing fruit in cold climates might seem daunting, especially if you have a small home garden. But with the right trees and a creative mindset, it’s surprisingly achievable. In this episode, we chat with Véronique Alexandre from Hardy Fruit Tree Nursery, a Canadian nursery specializing in fruit trees adapted to harsh northern winters. Want a hedge on your property? Forget the cedar hedge, Veronique will tell you about a flowering, fruiting hedge. She has many tips to help home gardeners succeed with fruit. We explore: Fruit trees, bushes, and cultivars for cold zonesGrowing a flowering and fruiting plum hedgeHow to fit fruit trees into small gardens and suburban yardsWhat you need to know about ordering and planting bare-root fruit treesA tough-as-nails apple that grows in zone 2 and even colderA new cold-hardy, tasty, and bred-in-Quebec cold-hardy apple that stores very well Whether you want a single apple tree, a productive backyard orchard, edible landscape, or a hedge that feeds your family, this episode will inspire you to start planting fruit—even in the coldest regions.   If you’re looking for more on edible hedges, check out this edible hedge guide.  --- 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-book: Small-Space Food-Gardening Hacks.Find out more about the Canada Gardener’s Journal: It’s a gardening journal, gardening log, and garden planner—with an all-Canadian sources list.

    35 min

  2. MAR 3

    Creating a Perpetual Food Garden That Sows & Grows Itself

    What if some of your vegetable garden crops came back year after year — with less digging, less fuss, and a continuous harvest? In this episode, I’m joined by gardening expert Charlie Nardozzi, author of The Continuous Vegetable Garden, to explore how to design a self-sustaining food garden that produces continuously through the seasons. Charlie shares practical strategies for succession planting, perennial crops, fruit, gardening in shade, and no-dig gardening. We also talk about vertical gardening and how to keep tomato and pepper plants from one year to the next—so you can have an extra-early tomato and pepper harvest.  If you’d like less maintenance and more of an ongoing harvest, this episode will inspire you to plant smarter — not harder. If you’re looking for more on crops you can grow in the shade, check out this guide to fruits and vegetables for shade. --- 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-book: Small-Space Food-Gardening Hacks.Find out more about the Canada Gardener’s Journal: It’s a gardening journal, gardening log, and garden planner—with an all-Canadian sources list.

    40 min

  3. FEB 26

    Growing Tomatoes Like a Pro with Frank Hyman (Insights from Ripe Tomato Revolution)

    Ever get to the end of the growing season and realize your tomato patch didn’t live up to the expectations you had when you planted it in the spring? In this episode we chat with tomato expert Frank Hyman, author of the brand-new book Ripe Tomato Revolution. He shares his top tips to get lots of healthy, homegrown tomatoes—with less work. Frank has over four decades of hands-on experience, as both a farmer and a gardener. He shares a super practical way for home gardeners to prevent disease, along with his easy-to-make, easy-to-use homemade tomato cages. Whether you’re a first-time tomato grower or a seasoned gardener, get ideas to improve your tomato harvest from Frank’s down-to-earth tips and techniques. Hear about:  Simple DIYs: tomato cages, and Frank’s “tomato house” concept to prevent diseaseCreating conditions for tomatoes to thrive Mulching like a proWays to support tomato plantsDifferent types of tomato plantsFrank’s personal stories from years on an organic tomato farm  Perfect for: urban gardeners, backyard growers, sustainable farmers, and tomato lovers of all levels. Listen now and let’s grow the best tomatoes you’ve ever tasted! If you’re looking for more on staking and supporting tomatoes, check out this great post.  --- 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-book: Small-Space Food-Gardening Hacks.Find out more about the Canada Gardener’s Journal: It’s a gardening journal, gardening log, and garden planner—with an all-Canadian sources list.

    47 min

  4. FEB 19

    Prairie Plot & Lots of Tomatoes: A Manitoba Gardener’s Top Varieties and Growing Tips

    Today we continue our cross-Canada tour, chatting with food gardeners, and sharing crop and variety ideas to help you as you plan your 2026 garden. We head to Manitoba, just outside of Winnipeg, to chat with Brent Poole, an avid backyard veggie gardener who has been at it for over 45 years. Along with his own big suburban yard, Brent has a big garden across the street. He loves to experiment with new techniques and new varieties, something he attributes to his background in biology. Brent writes for and is on the board of The Prairie Garden, an annual publication that’s all about gardening on the Canadian prairies.  If you garden in a cold climate—or want to make the most of a short growing season—this episode is packed with practical 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-book: Small-Space Food-Gardening Hacks.Find out more about the Canada Gardener’s Journal: It’s a gardening journal, gardening log, and garden planner—with an all-Canadian sources list.

    46 min

  5. FEB 11

    Lawns into Lunch: Growing in Front Yards with City Street Farms (and top crops!)

    We continue our cross-Canada tour, chatting with inspiring gardeners to hear about favourite varieties and top crops. Today we head to Regina, Saskatchewan, to chat with Candace Benson, who runs City Street Farms. Candace tells us about how she turns grass into gardens in a city that has a lot of single-family homes—and a lot of front lawns. She shares the story of her business, talks about her process to transform a lawn into a garden, and then talks about favourite veg and flower varieties. You can find Candace online, at citystreetfarms.ca --- 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-book: Small-Space Food-Gardening Hacks.Find out more about the Canada Gardener’s Journal: It’s a gardening journal, gardening log, and garden planner—with an all-Canadian sources list.

    32 min

  6. FEB 4

    A Journal, a Garden, and a Mother’s Love

    Today we’re joined by Helen Battersby, who talks about a gardening book that began as a coping tool. Helen tells us about Margaret Bennet-Alder, who turned to gardening during a difficult family chapter. Inspired by the homemade booklets her son used to manage appointments and medication while rebuilding his life, Margaret began tracking her garden the same way—seasonal tasks, plant sources, and hard-earned gardening lessons. The book, the Toronto Gardener’s Journal, was a shared project with her son. They started with 50 copies. Margaret and her son, and, later, sisters Helen and Sarah Battersby, grew the book into a nationally loved resource, with over 20,000 journals sold across Canada. This is a story about gardens—but also about resilience, care, and the healing power of gardening. --- 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-book: Small-Space Food-Gardening Hacks.Find out more about the Canada Gardener’s Journal: It’s a gardening journal, gardening log, and garden planner—with an all-Canadian sources list.

    19 min

  7. JAN 29

    Can’t Choose What to Grow? Favourite Veg Varieties with Niki Jabbour

    We continue our cross-Canada tour, chatting with inspiring gardeners to find out favourite varieties and top crops.   Today we chat with Niki Jabbour, a CBC radio gardening expert, one of the creators behind the gardening website savvygardening.com, and the award-winning author of The Year Round Vegetable Gardener, Groundbreaking Food Gardens: 73 Plans That Will Change the Way You Grow Your Garden, Veggie Garden Remix: 224 New Plants to Shake Up Your Garden and Add Variety, Flavor, and Fun, and Growing Under Cover: Techniques for a More Productive, Weather-Resistant, Pest-Free Vegetable Garden. Niki shares some of her long-time favourite veg varieties, more recent additions to her favourites list, and some varieties with a Canadian pedigree. (Spoiler alert: including one that’s listed in the Slow Fook Ark of Taste.)  --- 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-book: Small-Space Food-Gardening Hacks.Find out more about the Canada Gardener’s Journal: It’s a gardening journal, gardening log, and garden planner—with an all-Canadian sources list.

    16 min

  8. JAN 21

    Lavender got Smoked by Cold? Plant Choices for the Prairies with Dave Hanson

    We continue our cross-Canada tour of inspiring gardeners to find out favourite varieties and top crops. Today we chat with Dave Hanson, co-host of The Grow Guide podcast, and owner of Sage Garden Greenhouses in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Dave shares some of his favourite veg varieties. He also talks about top herbs, one of his specialties. Lavender get smoked in a harsh winter? Dave has a suggestion. And if you just can’t get enough cucs, hear what he does. --- 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-book: Small-Space Food-Gardening Hacks.Find out more about the Canada Gardener’s Journal: It’s a gardening journal, gardening log, and garden planner—with an all-Canadian sources list.

    35 min
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4.4
out of 5
18 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. Host Steven Biggs was recognized by Garden Making magazine as one of the “green gang” making a difference in Canadian horticulture. His home-garden experiments span driveway straw-bale gardens, a rooftop kitchen garden, fruit plantings, and an edible-themed front yard. He's a horticulturist, award-winning broadcaster and author, and former horticulture instructor with George Brown and Durham Colleges in Ontario, Canada. Get started with one of our fan favourites. Season 6, Episode 10: Big Harvests from a Small Space with a Vertical Vegetable Garden.

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