Steven Biggs: Horticulturist and edible landscaping expert.
270 episodes listed below
Practical food gardening for real spaces.
Food Garden Life Show treats food gardening as something adaptable, local, and doable. Stephen Biggs talks with gardeners and authors about perennial vegetables, cold-climate fruit, tomatoes, figs, edible landscapes, and ways to harvest more without making the garden harder to manage.
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Food Garden Life Show is an edible gardening series with a strong bias toward what can actually be grown at home. Stephen Biggs hosts with a conversational, teaching-minded style, keeping the focus on useful choices rather than garden perfection. The show is especially good at making ambitious crops feel approachable. Figs in cold climates get serious attention. So do potted olives, yuzu citrus, perennial vegetables, tomatoes, fruit trees, and home-scale edible landscapes. The conversations often start with a real constraint: a small yard, a balcony, a cold winter, shade, limited time, or the rising cost of food. Then they look for workable answers. A hedge might become a fruiting hedge. A vegetable bed might become more self-sustaining. A tomato patch might need less work and better disease prevention. The show has room for familiar crops, but it does not stay there. Skirret, perennial kale, Delft leek, cold-hardy fruit, and zone-pushing fig culture give it a curious, experiment-friendly edge. Guests add the texture. Donna Balzer brings long gardening experience and favorite vegetable varieties. Stephanie Rose talks about creativity, sustainability, shared resources, and community-minded outdoor spaces. Véronique Alexandre connects fruit growing with harsh northern winters and smaller home gardens. Charlie Nardozzi brings succession planting, perennial crops, shade gardening, vertical gardening, and no-dig ideas into one practical frame. Frank Hyman focuses on healthier, more productive tomatoes with less wasted effort. Food Garden Life Show suits gardeners who want encouragement, but it earns that encouragement with details. It is warm, specific, and quietly ambitious: a show about making food gardens more productive, more resilient, and more personal.
Made for: For home gardeners, balcony growers, cold-climate experimenters, and edible-landscape planners who want more harvest without overcomplicating the garden.
What sets it apart: The show pairs everyday food-garden advice with zone-pushing crops and small-space problem solving, moving comfortably from tomatoes and kale to figs, skirret, yuzu, olives, and fruiting hedges.
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 maga...
Skirret gets a dinner invitation, and your half-empty garlic bed gets a second shift.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A calm, practical case for making room in the garden for crops that return.
Perennial vegetables get a steady, grounded treatment here, with the focus on crops that return year after year. Mikalina Hunter, founder of Cicada Seeds on Vancouver Island, brings in a mix of familiar greens and lesser-known edible perennials, and the conversation stays on…
Cut flowers, real fields, honest growing.
Practical permaculture from the soil up.
Harry Holding recommends auditing existing garden plants before redesigning borders for edible use.
Stephen Biggs interviews Michael Ableman about Soul Food Street Farms, which produces 25 tons of food annually on just under four acres of Vancouver pavement.
Stephen Biggs explains how to choose succession crops after garlic, peas, lettuce, fava beans, spinach, or radishes have finished.
Host Stephen Biggs interviews Michalina Hunter, founder of Cicada Seeds on Vancouver Island, about perennial vegetables — edible crops that return year after year without replanting.
The host announces free online gardening talks for Earth Month focused on practical tips for growing more food at home efficiently.
Host Stephen Biggs interviews horticulturist Donna Balzer about her favourite tried-and-true and new vegetable varieties for garden planning in Canada.
This episode introduces the new Fig Culture podcast and features an interview with fig expert Bob Duncan about growing figs in cold climates like Vancouver Island.
Host Stephen Biggs interviews gardening expert Stephanie Rose about her new book 'The Wild and Free Garden,' exploring a creative, sustainable approach to gardening that emphasizes community connection and repurposing materials.
Host Steve interviews a nursery owner about growing fruit trees in cold climates, with tips on fruiting hedges and container gardening.
Host Steve Biggs and guest Charlie Nardozzi discuss designing a self-sustaining food garden with perennial crops, succession planting, and no-dig techniques.
Host Steve Biggs interviews tomato expert Frank Hyman about practical tips for growing healthy tomatoes with less work.
Host Steve Biggs announces upcoming classes on growing olive trees in pots and landscaping with fruit, then interviews Manitoba gardener Brent Poole about his 45 years of backyard vegetable gardening and variety experimentation.
Host Steve Biggs announces upcoming classes on growing olive trees in pots and landscaping with fruit, then interviews Candice Benson of City Street Farms about transforming lawns into vegetable and cut flower gardens in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Host Steve announces upcoming online classes on growing olive trees in pots and landscaping with fruit, then introduces a segment on the legacy of gardener Margaret Bennett Alder.
Host Steve Biggs announces upcoming classes on growing olive trees in pots and landscaping with fruit, then interviews author Nikki Jabbour about food gardening in Nova Scotia.
This episode features an interview with Dave Hanson, a gardening expert, discussing plant choices and varieties suitable for prairie climates, including insights on lavender and seeds for food gardening.
Host Steve announces upcoming classes on growing olive trees in pots and landscaping with fruit, then introduces the season's focus on Canadian gardeners and a guest expert in biological control.
The episode offers creative ideas for growing food in narrow spaces like driveways, with a focus on edible landscaping and container gardening.
This episode focuses on transforming a neglected yard space with poor soil and limited sunlight into a productive and attractive food garden.
Hosts Steve and Donna discuss creative ways to find space for edible plants, including growing olive trees in pots and landscaping with fruit, with a personal story about acquiring 19 types of mint.
Stephen Biggs and Donna Balzer explain how to transplant, protect, train, feed, and troubleshoot tomatoes in home gardens, greenhouses, containers, and cold climates.
This episode discusses tips for hardening off plants and creative ways to grow food in small spaces, including growing olive trees in pots and landscaping with fruit.
This episode discusses direct seeding techniques and upcoming classes on growing olive trees in pots and landscaping with fruit.
This episode provides expert advice on successfully growing vegetables in containers, focusing on maximizing space, proper soil mixes, and water management techniques.
Hosts Steve and Donna discuss growing olive trees in pots and share tips on pawpaw seed propagation.
Hosts discuss soil amendments and announce upcoming classes on growing olive trees in pots and landscaping with fruit.
Hosts Steve and Donna discuss growing raspberries and announce upcoming classes on olive trees and fruit landscaping.
This episode covers growing olive trees in pots and edible flowers, with a personal anecdote about aphids in nasturtium flowers.
Hosts discuss growing olive trees in pots and share favorite cherry tomato varieties, with an upcoming interview on tomatoes.
This episode covers growing olive trees in pots and extending the growing season for greens using greenhouses and mini tunnels.
This episode provides tips on transplanting lettuce to prevent bolting and discusses when to start seeds indoors.
This episode explores how to create a resilient vegetable garden by embracing less control and experimenting with climate-change adaptation techniques, featuring an interview with UK gardener Kim Stoddart.
This episode provides practical tips and techniques for vertical gardening to maximize crop yields in small spaces, focusing on tomatoes and DIY trellises.
A gardening show that teaches creative ways to grow food in small spaces, featuring a class announcement and a discussion on vermicompost benefits.