Outstanding Oregano + What to Produce Besides Crops on a Homestead
Growing great oregano, and ways to earn income on a homestead beyond crops and livestock.
Oregano that Tastes Like Oregano!
We find out how to grow great Oregano with Dave Hanson from The Grow Guide Podcast.
(No more bland oregano that tastes like...hay!)
Why Now is a Great Time to Homestead
Homesteader Steve Maxwell talks about his journey from suburban Toronto to a rural homestead on Manitoulin Island.
He tells us why he think there's more opportunity than ever for homesteaders today.
Steve shares his ideas about homesteading opportunities here.
Edible Garden Artistry with Potager Gardens + School Gardens that Survive Summer
Garden designer Linda Vater talks about how to make a potager garden. Sunday Harrison from Green Thumbs Growing Kids talks about setting up school gardens for summertime success.
Potager Gardens bring Together Elegant & Edible
Oklahoma garden designer Linda Vater loves to create elegant edible gardens. Her work is inspired by the tradition of the potager garden.
We talk about:
Potager gardens
Making ornamental and elegant edible gardens
Design elements such as enclosure, colour, and texture
How to design your own potager-style garden
Linda's new book is The Elegant & Edible Garden.
School Gardens That Thrive over Summer
In the second part of the show we catch up with Sunday Harrison from Green Thumbs Growing Kids in Toronto. We're big fans of this non-profit that brings gardening to school kids and communities in downtown neighbourhoods.
We find out more about their model, which solves a common challenge of school gardens: Summer.
We talk about:
Why working with a cluster of schools helps with summer care
Summer community involvement
A project that gets kids growing trees from seed
Sunday Harrison from Green Thumbs Growing Kids.
Want More on Landscape Design with Edibles?
Here’s an article to get you started with edible perennials, a great way to start your ornamental edible garden.
Here are a couple of interviews to give you ideas for landscape design using edible plants.
Great Herbs for Indoor Growing (Ditch the Scorched Rosemary!)
Dave Hanson from Sage Garden Greenhouses talks about growing herbs indoors over winter: The easiest herbs to grow indoors, potting, feeding, and care.
Grow Herbs Indoors
Dave Hanson joins us to talk about growing herbs indoors over the winter. He’s the owner of Sage Garden Greenhouses and co-host of The Grow Guide podcast.
Dave Hanson from Sage Garden Greenhouses in Winnipeg, Manitoba tells us about growing herbs indoors.
Dave has joined us here on the show before to talk about exotic edibles.
Along with Sage Garden Greenhouses, he co-hosts The Grow Guide podcast.
We talk about:
Herbs that can be moved indoors from the garden
Seed-growing herbs indoors over winter
3 bullet-proof herbs for growing indoors (for people like Steve…who has a habit of killing rosemary plants over the winter)
Lesser-known herbs that are well suited to indoor conditions
Indoor herb care and feeding
Potting soil for growing herbs indoors
Controlling pests on indoor herb plants
“Even though I’m a greenhouse grower, I like to un-complicate things!”
Top Herbs for Indoors
Connect
Sage Garden Greenhouses: sagegarden.ca
The Grow Guide podcast: thegrowguidepodcast.com
Want More on Herbs?
We have more inspiring interviews about growing and using herbs.
Learning to be a Home Herbalist
Herbalist Bevin Cohen talks about the culinary, medicinal, and cosmetic uses of herbs.
Herbalist Bevin Cohen talks about using, growing, and foraging herbs
In a broadcast that originally aired live on The Food Garden Life Radio Show, we chat with herbalist Bevin Cohen about using, growing, and foraging herbs. He talks about culinary, medicinal, and cosmetic uses.
He also talks about his journey into the business of herbs and building his herb business.
Cohen is also an author and seed saver. His new book is The Artisan Herbalist: Making Teas, Tinctures, and Oils at Home.
He is also the author of Saving Our Seeds, and From Our Seeds & Their Keepers.
In this episode he talks about:
Tips on how to make herbal teas
The difference between an infusion and a decoction
How a tincture is made
The steps in making an infused oil
The difference between a salve, balm, and a lotion
Common foraged herbs
Easy-to-grow herbs for beginners
Emma’s Tomato-Talk Segment
In Emma’s Tomato segment, she describes some of her favourite varieties that she will be growing in 2021.
Biggs-on-Figs Segment
In the Biggs-on-Figs segment we head to Philadelphia to talk with YouTuber and Millenial fig enthusiast Ross Raddi.
He tells us about the method he is using to speed up his fig harvest by a month.
Raspberry-Leaf Tea and other uses of the Genus Rubus
It’s an astringent. And it might already be growing in your yard or nearby. Today we take you beyond eating raspberry fruit to explore the herbal and medicinal properties of the plant itself—along with its relatives in the genus Rubus. Ever heard of raspberry-leaf tea? Tune in, and find out about the many uses of this plant.
Conrad Richter from Richters Herbs talks about the genus Rubus and its medicinal and herbal uses, such as raspberry-leaf tea.
It’s an astringent. And it might already be growing in your yard or nearby. Today we take you beyond eating raspberry fruit to explore the herbal and medicinal properties of the plant itself—along with its relatives in the genus Rubus.
Ever heard of raspberry-leaf tea? Tune in, and find out about the many uses of this plant.
Raspberry Family
Conrad Richter from Richters Herbs joins us to delve into the history, herbal, and medicinal properties of the approximately 700 species of the genus Rubus.
Science meets History
Richter, who trained in botany, also has a keen interest in history. “I do straddle those two worlds very well,” he says.
He says that the earliest recorded use of Rubus dates back 10,000 years. And 2,000 years ago, the ancient Greeks recorded its use for treating diarrhoea. As an “astringent,” a class of herbs that shrinks tissue, it’s medicinal properties were well documented.
Fast forward to the present day, and Richter says that there is interest in using Rubus leaves in creams to “tonify” the skin, and in the health benefits of the anthocyanins in the fruit.
Grow Herbs in Containers
Herbs in Pots
In a broadcast that originally aired live on The Food Garden Life Radio Show, we chat with herb expert Sue Goetz about growing herbs in containers.
Goetz is an award-winning garden designer, writer, and speaker. Her motto is “Inspiring gardeners to create.” She gives us creative ideas for growing herbs in containers and for using herbs.
Goetz also shares ideas from her new book, Container Herb Garden Complete: Design and Grow Beautiful, Bountiful Herb-Filled Pots.
She is also the author of The Herb Lover’s Spa Book and A Taste for Herbs.
Emma’s Tomato-Talk Segment
In Emma’s tomato segment, we talk about some of Emma’s top tomato-variety recommendations for 2021.
Biggs-on-Figs Segment
In the Biggs-on-Figs segment, we head to the Toronto suburb of Vaughan to get the scoop on the fig tree at Angelo’s Garden Centre.
Over the years Steven has had lots of people ask whether he knows of the tree. He sure does—he’s long admired it.
He finds out about the history of the 19-foot-high fig tree from Carlo Amendolia, owner of Angelo’s Garden Centre.
Pictures of Angelo’s Fig Tree
Hi, We’re Steve and Emma!
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.
