The Maritime Gardening Podcast

In this episode Niki Jabbour tells us everything we need to know about container gardening. Niki Jabbour is the award-winning, best-selling author of four books including The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener and Growing Under Cover. She’s a two-time winner of the prestigious American Horticultural Society Book Award. Niki is also the creator and long-time host of …

I keep a large garden with many beds, and I try hard to rotate what I grow in those beds every year – but there are some gardening gurus who claim that crop rotation is not necessary to have a good garden. In this podcast I lay out all the reasons why I think it …

It’s the beginning of May and everyone is wondering if their soil is good enough for the coming growing season! Thankfully we have author, teacher, master gardener, man of science and myth-buster Robert Pavlis – fresh off writing his new book: “Soil Science for Gardeners” – to help us improve our understanding of how we …

In this episode of the Maritime Gardening Podcast, Stefan Sobkowiak joins us to discuss permaculture, and how he uses it in his orchard. Farmer, permaculturalist, teacher, biologist, designer, author and speaker; Stefan Sobkowiak has presented more than 500 seminars and workshops to a whole range of public audiences. In addition to teaching at McGill University …

Straw bale gardens are all the rage these days. People seem to love this seemingly easy way to grow vegetables in bales of straw – but is it all it’s cracked up to be? Thankfully we we author, teacher, master gardener, man of science and myth-buster Robert Pavlis to help us separate fact from fantasy. …

It’s early February, and this time of year many of us start really thinking about the coming spring, and what form this year’s garden will take. In this episode I talk about some key considerations that are worth thinking through before ordering your seed. These are: 1) Where is the sun, and how much do …

In this episode I talk about why it’s just as important to develop your knowledge and skills in the kitchen as it is in the garden. Every year we gardeners use our knowledge and skill to grow food – and then we have to figure out what to do with it. By improving as cooks, …

In this podcast I bring back Dave Doggett – my original co-host for the podcast – and we talk about how this year has gone for the show, where it’s going next year, and a little bit about the value and savings associated with keeping a garden. If you enjoyed this content, please like, share …

Better soil means better gardens – but did you know that your soil is alive? Did you know that there’s more organisms in a teaspoon of soil than there are people on the earth? Well I didn’t know that – but my guest – soil scientist Keith Reid knows that, and many other things about …

It’s always a shame to see things that you’ve grown go to waste – yet this is an experience of many new gardeners. They plant too much of one thing, and can’t keep up with the production, and can’t give it away fast enough, so it ends up in the compost bin. What a shame! …

There is an estimated 1 quadrillion ants in the world. That’s 1,000,000,000,000,000! So if you have a garden, you probably have ants, and you most likely have more than one kind of ant in that garden, since there is about 12,000 species of ant in the world, with new ones still being discovered. So, suffice …

A big part of gardening is problem solving. The process begins with identifying a problem, and them coming up with a solution. Sounds easy, but sometimes the problem is hard to pin down, and the solution can be even harder to prescribe. None of this is made any easier by bad advice from others, the …

Summer is here, the heat is on, and from this point of the growing season onward, having a good garden is all about maintaining the moisture levels in your soil. Thankfully, in this episode we have the perfect guest to help us improve our understanding of how water behaves in soil systems. Keith Reid is …

The viewers have asked me to do an episode on ornamental plants once and a while – so in this episode I’m going to talk about roses with Bob Osborne. Bob is the author of “HARDY ROSES: THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE FOR HIGH LATITUDES AND ALTITUDES, and president at Corn Hill Nursery Ltd. in New Brunswick, …

Gardening is a learning process, but many of us choose to learn the hard way. Instead of devouring all the information that we can find from experienced gardeners BEFORE trying to garden, we do the opposite, and spend years spinning our wheels with trial and error. Eventually we find our way to studying to try …

In this episode, I talk to Keith Reid, author of the book: “Improving Your Soil”. We talk a little bit about his book, and why he wrote it – and then he answers a good smattering of soil-related viewer questions (as well as a couple of my own). Keith has been fascinated with soil from …

Farmer, permaculturalist, teacher, biologist, designer, author and speaker; Stefan Sobkowiak has presented more than 500 seminars and workshops to a whole range of public audiences. In addition to teaching at McGill University for 8 years, he worked as a biologist and designer in his landscape design practice for 20 years specializing in wildlife habitat designs. …

Canada’s Food Price Report 2020 is released jointly by Dalhousie University and the University of Guelph. The report speaks to predictions that were made using historical data sources, machine learning algorithms, and predictive analytics tools developed over many years (link below). In this episode I talk about rising food prices, and what you can do …

Another season of MPG has come to its end, and like last year, I thought I’d bring Dave Doggett, who was my co-host from seasons 1&2, back on the show for some laughs and to tell us about his plans to make lots of new episodes for his podcast (maritimeoutdoorsman.com) in 2020. I also talk …

There are three key things needed for success in a vegetable garden: sun, water and soil. All three are essential, but the third is arguably where the gardener’s efforts can have the greatest effect. In this podcast I discuss building the soil: how soil is a term that we use to refer to a very …

Jamie Simpson is a forester, lawyer, and writer with a passion for exploring our natural world. He is the author of Restoring the Acadian Forest: A Guide to Forest Stewardship for Woodlot Owners in Eastern Canada, and Journeys through Eastern Old-growth Forests, and his latest book is Eating Wild in Eastern Canada. In this episode …

Ever notice that the birds seem to know more than you when it comes to the natural world? That’s phenonolgy! Don’t worry – If you spend a lifetime learning – you just might know as much as a bird by the time you’re old enough to pass that knowledge on to the next generation! In …

This is not my first rant about the raised bed fad that seems to have made everyone go gaga in recent years, and I doubt it will be the last! If you’re considering building a new garden, or expanding your garden, and think that raised beds will be a panacea for all your gardening cares, …

In this episode we catch up with author, blogger, teacher, YouTuber and Master Gardener Robert Pavlis! We have a great conversation about things you don’t need to buy, and Robert also talks about his next book (coming late December 2019) that’s all about soil science. If you enjoyed this content, please share this content with …

Last week we had a wonderful guest in biologist and educator Stefan Sobkowiak. Stefan’s film, “The Permaculture Orchard: Beyond Organic”, offers an inspiring and informative look at his Permaculture Orchard in South West Quebec. In the film, Stefan shares his experience transforming a conventional apple orchard into an abundance of biodiversity that virtually takes care …

This week we have a wonderful guest in biologist and educator Stefan Sobkowiak. Stefan’s film, “The Permaculture Orchard: Beyond Organic”, offers an inspiring and informative look at his Permaculture Orchard in SW Quebec. In the film, Stefan shares his experience transforming a conventional apple orchard into an abundance of biodiversity that virtually takes care of …

After years of using wood-chips in the pathways between my garden beds, I switched over to sand pathways two months ago (mid-May 2019). In this podcast I try to answer every question that I have been asked since I made my first video about sand pathways. Have a watch, and let me know if you …

The garlic in my garden have sent up their garlic scapes, as I’m sure is the case with many gardens across the country and abroad, so I thought it would be a good idea to do a thorough episode talking about garlic with a garlic expert. Ron Goldy is a Vegetable Production Educator at Michigan …

Worms castings provide many benefits to soil quality, and this is great for your garden. A quick stroll through any garden center will reveal that they can be bought as a soil amendment for a range of prices – and they are all too high because you don’t need to buy them! Have a listen …

Companion planting is a very popular notion among gardeners. It’s exciting to think that the growing of two different plants in close proximity to one another will result in some form of overall net gain; but alas, there’s that sobering voice of science, enlightening us, while simultaneously ruining the party once again. So who better …

The prospect of an ecologically sustainable organic garden that is presented by the “no-till” or “permaculture” approach to gardening is attractive to gardeners for many reasons: there’s the low cost; the minimal work; the high quality produce; and, the peace of mind that you get from knowing that the way you are growing your food …

The increase of tick populations and the risk of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses is a growing concern for many gardeners and lovers of the outdoors. Since knowledge is always the best first step in dealing with any problem, I thought it would make sense to talk to a scientist about ticks, so in …

As an organic gardening enthusiast, I get a lot of questions from viewers and listeners about chemicals, poisons and toxins, so I thought I would do an episode on this topic, and luckily for us, Dr. Joe Schwarcz was kind enough to field all my questions! Have a listen as Dr. Joe educates us about …

The sunchoke (AKA “Jerusalem artichoke”, “sunroot”, “earth apple”, etc.) – despite it’s lack of an etymologically elegant, or even apropos name – is nonetheless a valuable addition to any garden. Easy to grow; tolerates lousy soil; drought resistant; pest resistant; maintenance free; delicious to eat; and economical to grow!!! My goodness what’s the downside? Well, …

Anyone that’s been following my podcast or YouTube videos knows by now that I don’t till my soil, and as a result, I spend very little time weeding & watering, and no time tilling! In this episode I catch up with former guest Lee Reich and discuss his approach to gardening and his book entitled …

However long your growing season is, you’d probably like it to be a little longer. In my garden, where I’m challenged each year to get a yield before the frosts begin in the fall, it’s important to get things started as early as possible, especially since I direct-seed just about everything, and don’t like to …

In this episode we catch up with author, blogger, teacher, YouTuber and Master Gardener Robert Pavlis! We have a great conversation about transplanting methods and techniques and Robert also talks about his new book: “Gardening Myths Book 2”. If you enjoyed this content, please share this content with like-minded individuals and groups! Also, check out …

Hey folks, it’s 2019 and this is the 1st episode of season four of the Maritime Gardening Podcast! In this episode, since it’s the time of year when many of us make our decisions about what seeds we are going to buy and grow in our gardens, I thought it would be fun have a …

This is the last airing of the Maritime Gardening Podcast for 2018. So for this, the end of the third season (but not the last!), I thought it would be fun to bring back Dave Doggett, who was here for the very first episode, and was my co-host for the 1st season! In this episode …

This episode is part two of my interview with author and horticulturalist Dr. Lee Reich, where we discuss his new book, “The Ever Curious Gardener”. In this part of the interview, we focus on Lee’s concept of “sustainability”, and how he puts it into practice, and we also touch on on question that I had …

This episode is part one of a two part interview with author and horticulturalist Dr. Lee Reich, where we discuss his new book, “The Ever Curious Gardener”. In particular, we focus on the topic of soil organic matter, and its relation to tillage, fertilization, composting and mulching. If you want to see Lee Reich on …

This week I have author Robert Pavlis back again to talk about products that are sold in garden centers everywhere, that are utterly useless in the garden and are a total waste of money. Robert Pavlis is the author of the books: “Garden Myths” and “Building Natural Ponds”, and is currently working on his next …

I hear many people say that they don’t have time to garden, but I rarely hear people say that they don’t have time to exercise. Here’s the thing: keeping a garden IS exercise; but of course, you get so much more out of gardening than wasting time on a tread mill. Cancel your over-priced, low …

I sold my pickup truck this past January and I was worried that it might be difficult to maintain my garden without it. Now, at the end of August, I have to say, I don’t miss it at all. You don’t need a truck to maintain a large backyard garden. In this episode I talk …

This week we have another new guest: Dr. Joe Schwarcz.of McGill University’s “Office for Science and Society”, which is dedicated to demystifying science and separating sense from nonsense. In this episode we talk about whether it’s better to cook kale or eat it raw, about the upcoming legalization if marijuana (cannabis) in Canada, the “grow …

A good deal of the gardening content that you see online today speaks to some notion of self-sufficiency, which one might define as being able to live off one’s own land with minimal external inputs. I find this notion quite intriguing to say the least, and I’d be lying if I were to say that …

I’ve talked about mulch, and you know water is important, but in this episode I discuss why a good mulch is so important for taking advantage of a good rain. I also give a brief update on how my garden is doing at this point in mid-July.

In this episode I talk once again with Robert Pavlis about how to build natural ponds; ponds that take care of themselves without any electronic devices, full of happy fish that find their won food. If this is something you’ve always wanted to do, then have a listen. Robert Pavlis is a well-known speaker, and …

We all seek to explain our gardening successes and failures to get better results in the future, but our reasoning is not always sound. In this episode I’m going a little outside the gardening world to talk about logic and reasoning, and how to apply some basic logic and scientific method to solving problems in …

This episode is part 2 of my talk with Robert Pavlis, author of the book “Garden Myths”, a book that pit’s his no-nonsense, scientific approach to gardening against many commonly held myths of gardening. In this part of the conversation we talk about tomato myths, internet sources of information (and how lousy they can be), …