Are you thinking of growing a potted olive tree? Or maybe you already have one…but you’re still waiting for olives. Olive trees are tough as nails. They can take more cold than many people realize. And they’re really beautiful, too. Put these all together, and you have a great potted plant for a cold-climate garden.
In my new book, Grow Olives Where You Think You Can't, I tell you everything you need to know to successfully grow an olive tree in a pot! 

***

Growing Quince

Quince expert Joseph Postman joins us to talk about quince. This fragrant fruit is unknown to many in North America, and often relegated to use as a rootstock for pear trees.

Postman is a retired plant pathologist and curator of the USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Corvallis, Oregon, where he helped develop a pear collection with cultivars and species from around the world.

We talk about:

• What is quince
• How to use quince fruit
• The use of quince trees as rootstock for pear trees
• Quince varieties
• Quince cold hardiness
• Quince diseases

Delectable Root Vegetable Recipes

Cookbook author and professional home economist Jennifer MacKenzie joins us to talk about cooking root vegetables and shares recipes from her book The Complete Root Cellar Book. 

We talk about:

• Shopping for root veg
• What to look for if you're planning to store root veg
• Spiced roasted turnip and beet batons
• Beet and carrot slaw
• Root cellar medley soup
• Parsnip and pear soup

***

- 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-books: Small-Space Food-Gardening Hacks and Growing Figs in Cold Climates.

- And say hi—we love to hear what you think!

Are you thinking of growing a potted olive tree? Or maybe you already have one…but you’re still waiting for olives. Olive trees are tough as nails. They can take more cold than many people realize. And they’re really beautiful, too. Put these all together, and you have a great potted plant for a cold-climate garden.
In my new book, Grow Olives Where You Think You Can't, I tell you everything you need to know to successfully grow an olive tree in a pot! 

***

In this replay of a 2019 interview, we chat with Bob Bors, head of the fruit breeding program at the University of Saskatchewan.

We talk about:

• Breeding haskap (a.k.a. honeyberry) fruit
• Cold-tolerance of haskap
• How to care for haskap
• How to prune haskap
• Cold-tolerant cherry varieties from University of Saskatchewan

***

- 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-books: Small-Space Food-Gardening Hacks and Growing Figs in Cold Climates.

- And say hi—we love to hear what you think!

Are you thinking of growing a potted olive tree? Or maybe you already have one…but you’re still waiting for olives. Olive trees are tough as nails. They can take more cold than many people realize. And they’re really beautiful, too. Put these all together, and you have a great potted plant for a cold-climate garden.
In my new book, Grow Olives Where You Think You Can't, I tell you everything you need to know to successfully grow an olive tree in a pot! 

***

Emma chats with tomato expert Linda Crago about the 'House' tomato, a compact tomato plant that some gardeners keep over the winter in the house.

They also talk about a few other unusual tomato varieties, including one of the ugliest tomato plants you'll see: 'Stick.'

***

- 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-books: Small-Space Food-Gardening Hacks and Growing Figs in Cold Climates.

- And say hi—we love to hear what you think!

Are you thinking of growing a potted olive tree? Or maybe you already have one…but you’re still waiting for olives. Olive trees are tough as nails. They can take more cold than many people realize. And they’re really beautiful, too. Put these all together, and you have a great potted plant for a cold-climate garden.
In my new book, Grow Olives Where You Think You Can't, I tell you everything you need to know to successfully grow an olive tree in a pot! 

***

How to Grow and Cook Medlar

Jane Steward, author of Medlars – Growing & Cooking, talks about how to grow medlar, how to cook medlar, and shares some fascinating medlar facts. (Find out how medlar wood was used in Dutch windmills!)

Steward planted a medlar orchard, holds the UK National Collection of medlars, and runs Eastgate Larder—a food business where she processes medlar.

We talk about:

• How to grow medlar (Mespilus germanica)
• How to cook medlar
• Steward’s journey into planting a medlar orchard and starting a food-processing business 
• How to “blet” medlar 
• Medlar rootstock
• Medlar fruit in Turkey and around the Caspian Sea
• (Spoiler alert: we also hear about medlar gin and a delicious medlar chutney)

***

- 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-books: Small-Space Food-Gardening Hacks and Growing Figs in Cold Climates.

- And say hi—we love to hear what you think!

Are you thinking of growing a potted olive tree? Or maybe you already have one…but you’re still waiting for olives. Olive trees are tough as nails. They can take more cold than many people realize. And they’re really beautiful, too. Put these all together, and you have a great potted plant for a cold-climate garden.
In my new book, Grow Olives Where You Think You Can't, I tell you everything you need to know to successfully grow an olive tree in a pot! 

***

Garden Planning and Seed Shopping

Horticulturist and vegetable-garden expert Donna Balzer talks about garden planning and shares her tips for seed shopping.

We talk about:

• Favourite early spring greens crops
• Making a vegetable garden plan
• Succession crops
• Storage Crops
• Where to get seeds
• Testing seeds for viability
• Seed Lingo

***

- 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-books: Small-Space Food-Gardening Hacks and Growing Figs in Cold Climates.

- And say hi—we love to hear what you think!

Are you thinking of growing a potted olive tree? Or maybe you already have one…but you’re still waiting for olives. Olive trees are tough as nails. They can take more cold than many people realize. And they’re really beautiful, too. Put these all together, and you have a great potted plant for a cold-climate garden.
In my new book, Grow Olives Where You Think You Can't, I tell you everything you need to know to successfully grow an olive tree in a pot! 

***

Daniel Speck from Henry of Pelham winery talks about growing grapes, wine, and different types of wine grapes.

We talk about:

• What makes Niagara an excellent grape-growing region
• Grape vine care
• Vinifera grapes, labrusca grapes, and hybrid grapes
• The history of the Henry of Pelham winery
• The Baco Noir and Pinot Noir grapes
• Food pairings for Baco Noir wine

***

- 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-books: Small-Space Food-Gardening Hacks and Growing Figs in Cold Climates.

- And say hi—we love to hear what you think!

Are you thinking of growing a potted olive tree? Or maybe you already have one…but you’re still waiting for olives. Olive trees are tough as nails. They can take more cold than many people realize. And they’re really beautiful, too. Put these all together, and you have a great potted plant for a cold-climate garden.
In my new book, Grow Olives Where You Think You Can't, I tell you everything you need to know to successfully grow an olive tree in a pot! 

***

Mark Wolbers, president of the Alaska Pioneer Fruit Growers Association, talks about growing fruit north of 60.

We talk about:

• The range of fruit that grows in Alaska
• The growing conditions in different parts of Alaska
• Using greenhouses and high tunnels
• The gardening culture in Alaska
• The advantages of growing in a northern area
• Opportunities for monetization
• A greenhouse-winery!

***

- 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-books: Small-Space Food-Gardening Hacks and Growing Figs in Cold Climates.

- And say hi—we love to hear what you think!

Are you thinking of growing a potted olive tree? Or maybe you already have one…but you’re still waiting for olives. Olive trees are tough as nails. They can take more cold than many people realize. And they’re really beautiful, too. Put these all together, and you have a great potted plant for a cold-climate garden.
In my new book, Grow Olives Where You Think You Can't, I tell you everything you need to know to successfully grow an olive tree in a pot! 

***

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
• 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

***

- 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-books: Small-Space Food-Gardening Hacks and Growing Figs in Cold Climates.

- And say hi—we love to hear what you think!

Are you thinking of growing a potted olive tree? Or maybe you already have one…but you’re still waiting for olives. Olive trees are tough as nails. They can take more cold than many people realize. And they’re really beautiful, too. Put these all together, and you have a great potted plant for a cold-climate garden.
In my new book, Grow Olives Where You Think You Can't, I tell you everything you need to know to successfully grow an olive tree in a pot! 

***

Taking Math to the Garden

It started with a math lesson. A very boring math lesson.

Educator Sonya Harris was trying to get a concept to stick. And the thing that got it to stick was the garden.

A non-gardener, she saw how it could help kids take in ideas. But she wasn’t sure where to start once she got buy-in from the principal to make a garden. 

So she did it with a fun celebrity event. 

We talk about:

• Launching the school garden with a “yard-crashing” event featuring an HGTV star
• Bringing the classroom to the garden — and the garden to the classroom
• Creating The Bullock Garden Project to help other educators start gardens
• Funding the non-profit project with a for-profit seed company, Garden Teachers Yard
• Resources for educators who want to incorporate gardening into the curriculum

***

- 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-books: Small-Space Food-Gardening Hacks and Growing Figs in Cold Climates.

- And say hi—we love to hear what you think!

Are you thinking of growing a potted olive tree? Or maybe you already have one…but you’re still waiting for olives. Olive trees are tough as nails. They can take more cold than many people realize. And they’re really beautiful, too. Put these all together, and you have a great potted plant for a cold-climate garden.
In my new book, Grow Olives Where You Think You Can't, I tell you everything you need to know to successfully grow an olive tree in a pot! 

***

Discover the Next Great Apple

Susan Poizner, founder of Ben Nobleman Community Orchard in Toronto, talks about the upcoming apple-tasting fundraiser event for the orchard. Poizner is a college instructor, author of Grow Fruit Trees Fast and Growing Urban Orchards, and the founder of Orchard People.

At the virtual apple tasting, participants are guided through characteristics such as:

• Smell
• Flavour
• Texture

The apples in the tasting were bred in Ontario — and have not yet been released.

An apple tasting event is something you can do yourself! Poizner shares tips on how to host your own apple-tasting event.

Pruning Fruit Trees

We also talk about how to prune fruit trees:

• Why prune fruit trees
• How to prune fruit trees
• Winter vs. summer pruning
• Water sprouts
• When to cut off healthy branches
• Whip cuts

***

- 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-books: Small-Space Food-Gardening Hacks and Growing Figs in Cold Climates.

- And say hi—we love to hear what you think!