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

In this episode, I continue my cross-Canada tour to hear about top veggie varieties.
I’m joined by my former co-host, horticulturist, author, and longtime gardening educator Donna Balzer to talk all about her favourite vegetable varieties. 
Donna shares her long-time favourite varieties—the ones she grows year after year—as well as varieties that have recently impressed her. 
Donna and I wrote No Guff Vegetable Gardening together in 2011, and I’m a big fan of her approach to gardening. (If you’re looking for a copy of this Canadian classic, drop by Donna’s website.)
Whether you're planning your garden or interested in hearing about interesting varieties, this conversation will give you ideas for your 2026 garden.

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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.

This is a preview of a new show from Food Garden Life Media.
Hosted by Steven Biggs, Fig Culture explores the world of growing figs in places where they’re not supposed to thrive.
You’ll hear from fig experts in cold climates about the best varieties, learn how growers protect their trees through winter, meet passionate fig enthusiasts, and discover creative ways to use figs in the kitchen.
In this first episode, we visit Vancouver Island—where figs are fully hardy, but a cool coastal climate makes ripening a challenge. Master fig grower Bob Duncan has trialled hundreds of varieties to find the ones that perform best in his conditions—and he’s found some outstanding picks.
To hear more, search “Fig Culture” in your podcast app and follow the show. Episode 2 is waiting for you.

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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.

In this episode, I sit down with gardening expert and author Stephanie Rose to explore her new book, The Wild & Free Garden.
Need inspiration for your next gardening task or project? Need to reconnect with nature? Have a listen. Yes, this chat is rooted in gardening. But it’s also a thoughtful look at human nature, current culture, and psychology. 
Stephanie shares a refreshing approach to gardening—one rooted in creativity, sustainability, and community connection. Instead of clicking “buy” for a next-day delivery, she encourages gardeners to tap into the sharing economy, repurpose materials, and collaborate with others to create beautiful, meaningful outdoor spaces. 
This episode is perfect for gardeners, sustainability enthusiasts, and anyone looking to reconnect with nature—and with others—through their outdoor space.

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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.

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 zones
Growing a flowering and fruiting plum hedge
How to fit fruit trees into small gardens and suburban yards
What you need to know about ordering and planting bare-root fruit treesA tough-as-nails apple that grows in zone 2 and even colder
A 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. 

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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.

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.

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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.