Episodes

  • S5 Ep3: March - Do we really have a problem with food waste? with Tristram Stuart

    S5 Ep3: March - Do we really have a problem with food waste? with Tristram Stuart
    Mar 4 2025
    This month, Fiona speaks with Tristram Stuart, award-winning author and campaigner, about the positive trends in reducing food waste and his unique approach to sustainable farming. Hear how his cattle are "enhancing the wilderness," and discover his perspective on the global food system. Tristram also inspires us to connect with nature, whether through small garden projects or community initiatives.

    Also in this episode...

    Spring is here, and Fiona and Chris are excited to get seed sowing. Chris, Fiona, and new guest Jules answer your questions in the Postbag, discussing healthy houseplants, comfrey, and how to grow successfully in a bed affected by raspberry blight.
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • S5 Ep2: February - What is going on underneath our soil? With Eddie Bailey from Rhizophyllia

    S5 Ep2: February - What is going on underneath our soil? With Eddie Bailey from Rhizophyllia
    Feb 1 2025
    In this month's episode, Fiona and Anton spoke with Eddie Bailey. Eddie has spent years studying the soil during his career as a geologist and now shares what he's learnt with gardeners and growers through his company, Rhizophyllia.

    "In my garden, the effect I had when I stopped digging was instantaneous, the following season, germination rates just dramatically improved and got better and better within three years. It was a completely different landscape. The soil is absolutely critical to our health on this planet."

    Also in this episode...

    Fiona and Chris are "chomping at the bit" to get sowing and growing, and in the postbag, the team tackle questions on organic topsoil, rats, and plants that grow well on damp ground.
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    52 mins
  • S5 Ep1: January - From suspicious strawberry piles to soil health, we look back on the postbag in 2024!

    S5 Ep1: January - From suspicious strawberry piles to soil health, we look back on the postbag in 2024!
    Jan 1 2025
    Join us as we recap an interesting year in organic gardening. From persistent rainfall and slug battles to delightfully late harvests, we've faced it all with a dose of humour and a lot of resilience. In this month's episode, we're looking back on your most intriguing questions from 2024, exploring everything from suspicious strawberry piles to the secrets of healthy soil. You may even hear questions you haven't heard before!
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    43 mins
  • S4 Ep12: December - Winter Wellness with Rachel Dethample

    S4 Ep12: December - Winter Wellness with Rachel Dethample
    Dec 5 2024
    This month, Fiona visited River Cottage, to chat with Author, Chef and Fermentation Expert Rachel DeThample. Rachel breaks down how eating organically grown vegetables can have a positive impact on the gut microbiome, and dives in to how fermenting the produce from your garden can lead to better nutrition and a stronger connection to nature.

    “We’re a no dig garden, all organic” says Rachel, “so we’re constantly feeding the soil with healthy ingredients to help with it’s diversity, and that’s a really lovely way of reflecting that you can do the same thing with your own microbiome, feed it lots of diversity which helps create a healthier balance”

    Also in this episode…

    Fiona and Chris chat about how gardening and being outdoors in winter improve your wellbeing. In the Postbag, the team answer your questions on the use of Bacillus thuringiensis, a broccoli that’s struggling to sprout, and whether frozen beans will germinate!

    Listen now here or via your podcast provider. Thanks again to our sponsors, Viridian Nutrition. Visit their website at www.viridian-nutrition.com.
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    1 hr
  • S4 Ep11: November: How Beth Chatto's Plants and Gardens continues a legacy - with Åsa Gregers-Warg

    S4 Ep11: November: How Beth Chatto's Plants and Gardens continues a legacy - with Åsa Gregers-Warg
    Nov 1 2024
    This month, Fiona meets Åsa Gregers-Warg, head gardener at Beth Chatto Plants and Gardens. They tour the gardens, and reflect on Beth Chatto’s legacy, discussing how we can adapt our gardens to promote resilience and withstand changing environmental conditions.

    “We haven't used any herbicides or pesticides for the last few years. And we all have to be water wise these days as well. It started off with the gravel garden being the only part of the garden that was never irrigated. But since a couple of years ago, we don't water the rest of the gardens either.”

    Also in this episode…

    Fiona and Chris are preparing their gardens for winter, even in the cooler months there’s still plenty to do! In the postbag, the team tackle questions on reusing old compost, dealing with coddling moth, and why it's crucial not to leave soil bare at this time of year.

    Thanks again to our sponsors, Viridian Nutrition. Visit their website at www.viridian-nutrition.com.
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    56 mins
  • S4 Ep10: October: What is a resilient garden? With Sally Morgan

    S4 Ep10: October: What is a resilient garden? With Sally Morgan
    Oct 1 2024
    It's safe to say the weather has been incredibly unusual this year. A wet cold spring was followed by a slug-filled summer. And here in the Midlands, we’ve already experienced our first frosts!

    Sally Morgan, author of the Resilient Garden Handbook, has been tackling these challenges head on. She speaks with Fiona about what makes a resilient garden, and how we can overcome unusual growing conditions.

    “We’re perhaps the first generation of gardeners who can't look back to their grandfathers and ask for advice. I know what my grandfather would tell me and it's totally not applicable to today's style of gardening and conditions. So we’re learning on the job. Everybody will be different because everybody's micro-habitat is different to the next.”

    Also in this episode…

    Fiona and Chris are already planning next year's food growing, and Chris encourages you to keep on sowing - even through the winter months. In the postbag, the team tackle a complicated compost query, and investigate some troublesome tomatoes.

    Thanks again to our sponsors, Viridian Nutrition. Visit their website at www.viridian-nutrition.com
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    59 mins
  • S4 Ep9: September: It’s time to embrace the dark! – with Nick Dunn

    S4 Ep9: September: It’s time to embrace the dark! – with Nick Dunn
    Sep 1 2024
    As the nights draw in, Chris sits down with Nick Dunn, professor of urban design at Lancaster University. Nick is also the founding director of the Dark Design Lab, exploring the impacts of nocturnal activity on nature. Nick enlightens us about the role darkness plays in our gardens and artificial light's impact on the wider environment.

    “What light pollution basically does is it alters the way plants and animals behave. The classic example is of moths being drawn to bright lights. But beyond that it's much more serious because it can interfere with important feeding, mating, navigating and also prey-predator relationships”


    Also in this episode…

    Despite the late start, Fiona and Chris celebrate their growing successes, and tell you why you should try “seed rambling”. From the postbag, the team troubleshoot how to bring life to contaminated clay soil, what you can do with a problematic rosemary bush and how to rescue a diseased rose.

    Thanks again to our sponsors, Viridian Nutrition. Visit their website at www.viridian-nutrition.com
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • S4 Ep8: August - The pesticide problem with Nick Mole, PAN UK

    S4 Ep8: August - The pesticide problem with Nick Mole, PAN UK
    Aug 1 2024
    Fiona chats with Nick Mole, Policy Officer from the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) UK who shares why pesticides should be banned from use in our urban spaces, and how communities can be affected by pesticide use.

    “Knowing that there are alternatives to pesticides that do work, pesticide use in our towns and cities is completely unnecessary. France has banned the use of all non-agricultural pesticides. They have legislation in place and it works. It is often hard, councils are facing all sorts of difficulties. So we do need that support from our legislators.”

    Also in this episode…

    Chris and Fiona discuss why hardy annuals are popping up in Chris’ allotment now, and look forward to September seed sowing. From the postbag, the team troubleshoot a late flowering courgette, and with the help of listeners, find out what animal was causing last month’s strawberry piles!

    Thanks again to our sponsors, Viridian Nutrition. Visit their website at www.viridian-nutrition.com

    Sign the petition to ban the use of pesticides in urban spaces https://pesticidecollaboration.org/go-pesticide-free/
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    56 mins