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This summer has been brutal for gardeners — relentless rain, flooding, fallen trees, fungal disease, and damaging winds arriving right in the middle of the growing season.

I want to share with you five practical techniques that genuinely saved my garden during extreme summer weather. These aren’t idealised systems or expensive upgrades — they’re real-world responses to waterlogged soil, wind stress, and disease pressure in a changing climate.

This is about observing your space honestly, responding early, and growing with the climate you have — not the one you planned for.

🌱 What You’ll Discover

• The five simple changes that helped my garden survive summer storms
• Why dead mulch and living ground cover work better together
• How swales protect roots by controlling water movement
• The correct way to stake trees so wind strengthens instead of kills them
• How fungal disease, wind, and waterlogging are connected
• Why plant diversity is your best insurance policy

🛠️ The Five Garden-Saving Techniques

1. Mulching deeply with dead organic matter
2. Mulching with living ground covers
3. Digging swales and paths to direct excess water
4. Tying trees correctly for high-wind conditions
5. Creating raised growing areas through soil and path design

🎧 Previous White Strawberries Episodes Mentioned

Mulch, Wanted, Dead or Alive | Mastering the Garden

Why Raised Veggie Beds Burn Out Beginner Gardeners | Mastering the Garden 

📚 Books & Resources Referenced

The Permaculture Home Garden — Linda Woodrow
 

🌿 Join the new Waitlist!! 

Grounded — a live, four-week online workshop for intermediate gardeners reimagining their space for joy, wellness, and resilience

 👉 https://whitestrawberriespodcast.com/grounded

101 Gardening — a beginner-friendly introduction to growing for joy and wellness
👉 https://whitestrawberries.com/101gardening

🌦️ Final Thought

Climate-resilient gardening isn’t about doing more — it’s about doing things differently. Observe closely, respond early, and let the land show you what it needs.

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Annual raised beds often feel productive at first… and then stop thriving. We talk about the hidden workload of annuals, why potting mixes run out of nutrients, add toxicity to our soil and how lack of biodiversity can lead to pests and frustration.

This isn’t an anti–raised bed rant. There are things they do well. But if you’ve ever felt like you’re doing “everything right” and your garden still isn’t feeding you — this episode will help you understand why, and what small shifts actually make gardening easier.

🌱 In this episode, we explore:

• Annuals vs perennials (and why annuals are more work)
• Why raised beds look great… then struggle
• Potting mixes, wetting agents, and soil life
• Biodiversity, predators, and pest pressure
• Simple ways to build healthier, lower-stress garden beds

If you’d like a visual of how I build a sandwich bed, DM me “Sandwich Bed” on Instagram or Facebook and I’ll send it through.

🔗 Previous White Strawberries Episodes Mentioned

Help! My Garden Isn’t Thriving | Mastering the Garden

The Secret to Thriving Roses | Sparking Joy
 

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There’s no shortage of gardening advice online — but more information isn’t making us better gardeners. In fact, it’s often doing the opposite.

In this Mastering the Garden episode of White Strawberries, Sam explores why overwhelm, comparison, and perfectly curated (often fake AI rubbish) can quietly drain our confidence and joy. If you’ve ever felt like you’re “doing it wrong” despite knowing so much, this episode is for you.

This is a conversation about community over content — and why real transformation on our land doesn’t come from another tip, trick, or algorithm-fed reel. It comes from proximity. From being around people who observe carefully, ask better questions, and live intentionally with their land — not perfectly, but honestly.

Drawing on permaculture thinking, lived experience, and the idea of “spirals” of achievement versus apathy, Sam unpacks how peer groups quietly shape our standards, energy, and outcomes in the garden (and beyond). She also shares practical ways to find — or create — the kind of gardening community that actually supports growth, alignment, and joy.

This episode also gently introduces Grounded, an upcoming course designed to bring real people together in real time — not for more information, but for shared momentum and discernment.

🌱 If you’re ready to step off the information treadmill and into something more grounded, this one’s for you.

🌱 What You’ll Discover

• Why gardening overwhelm isn’t an information problem
• How peer groups influence confidence, standards, and joy
• The difference between spirals of apathy and achievement
• Why AI garden imagery is damaging our garden
• Real-world ways to find or create aligned gardening communities
• How intentional proximity accelerates learning and clarity

🎧 Previous White Strawberries Episodes You Might Enjoy

• Help! My Garden Isn’t Thriving | Mastering the Garden
• 3 Reasons Not to Garden | Sparking Joy
• Permaculture: Explained | With Dr. Sez the Vet

 🌱 Join the Grounded waitlist:
👉 LINK COMING SOON- Come back soon🤗
(Details shared with the waitlist first. No commitment.)

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Creating garden goals that bring you joy, wellness, and sustainability in 2026—without getting caught in the “more, more, more” trap!

I guide you through a simple four-question exercise to set achievable garden intentions:

1. Choosing two new plants to try this year
2. Making your garden easier and more sustainable
3. Shifting your mindset to let go of what doesn’t serve you
4. Tackling that one task you’ve been putting off, in a way that’s fun

Let's do it together! I'll share my goals and lots of examples of what you might like.

References & Resources

• Koanga Institute (Heirloom & Heritage Seeds – NZ) – sourcing broad beans and other seeds
  https://koanga.org.nz/
  
  
• Ashwagandha: a medicinal herb that comes with a bunch of hype around it at the moment... So of course I want to grow it 😉

Previous White Strawberries Episodes Mentioned:

• What to Grow When: Timing Your Veges Right | Mastering the Garden
  
  
• Nitrogen 101: Transforms Your Garden | Mastering the Garden
  
  
• Wine Cap Mushrooms in Orchards | With Sarah Williams
  
  

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Supermarkets love annual crops — but only a very narrow version of them.

In this Sparking Joy episode of White Strawberries, I explore annual vegetables and fruits you’ll almost never see on supermarket shelves — not because they’re inferior!!

We talk about why supermarket produce is bred for transport, uniformity, and shelf life — and what gets lost along the way: flavour, phytonutrients, biodiversity, and joy. From purple tomatoes and unusual potatoes to heirloom beans, peas, and self-seeding “weeds,” this episode celebrates annual plants that thrive in real gardens, not industrial systems.

🌱 What You’ll Discover

• Why supermarkets sell such limited annual varieties
• Annual plants that thrive outside industrial systems
• Nitrogen-fixing crops that feed both you and the soil
• Community-loved annuals you won’t find on shelves
• How joy, flavour, and wellness are deeply connected

🔗 References & Resources Mentioned

Koanga Institute (Heirloom & Heritage Seeds – NZ)

Cooking Beans — Susan Young

🎧 Previous White Strawberries Episodes You Might Enjoy:

What to Grow When: Timing Your Veges Right | Mastering the Garden
 

Nitrogen 101: Transforms Your Garden | Mastering the Garden
 

Wine Cap Mushrooms in Orchards | With Sarah Williams
 

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Next summer, I’m choosing a quieter, more generous way of gardening — more perennials, less hustle.

In this Sparking Joy episode of White Strawberries, I reflect on why perennial plants suit real life so much better than annual-heavy gardens, especially when you’re a parent, a busy human, or simply someone who wants joy without burnout.

We explore what makes a plant perennial, why supermarkets shape such a narrow food system, and how home gardeners have the freedom to grow softer, stranger, more seasonal, and more nutritious plants. From globe artichokes and asparagus to berries, figs, kawakawa, and heritage fruit, this episode celebrates the plants that keep giving — even when we step away.

I also share how I’m planning my own perennial spaces using soil clues, microclimates, wind, drainage, and community wisdom, plus a community-sourced list of favourite edible perennials that rarely appear in supermarkets — and why that’s exactly the point.

🌱 Gardening for wellness, curiosity, and joy — not perfection.

🌿 What You’ll Discover

• Why perennials thrive when life gets busy
• The hidden ways supermarkets shape what we eat
• Why flavour, diversity, and resilience matter more than shelf life
• How to plan perennial placement using soil, wind, shade, and drainage
• Why heirloom and heritage plants outperform supermarket varieties
• Favourite edible perennials shared by the community
• How perennials can support and protect annual garden beds

🔗 References & Resources Mentioned

Koanga Institute (Heirloom Seeds – NZ)

• Koanga Institute – Living Seed Bank
  
  

Previous White Strawberries Episodes that may be your next step:

• Perennial Vegetables for Harvesting Over Winter | Sparking Joy
   
• Mediterranean Guild Gardening: Figs, Grapes, Olives & Companions | Mastering the Garden
• Elderberries: Grow & Use Them Year-Round | Sparking Joy
  
  
• Growing Tropicals in a Cold Climate | With Steve Fawcett
  
  

🪴 Community-Favourite Edible Perennials List:

Apricot, banana passionfruit, blackberries, blackcurrants, blueberries, boysenberries, cape gooseberries, cherries, currants (red/white/black), elderberries, feijoas, figs (fruit + leaves), grapes (fruit + leaves), guava berries, huckleberries, josta berries, lemons and citrus varieties, loquats*, sorrel, mango, medlar, mulberries, paw paw (mountain & American), passionfruit (yellow, banana, vanilla), pepino, plumcot, peachcot, quince, raspberries, tamarillo, watercress, alpine strawberries (red & white), yacón, Jerusalem artichoke.

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Discover the gentle power of manure in your garden! In this episode, Sam dives into ruminant manure, vermicompost tea, and worm juice, showing how these natural fertilizers can improve soil health, boost nutrient uptake, and make your plants thrive. Learn practical tips for safe application, the science behind soil-building benefits, and how to make the most of your compost and worm farm.

🌱 What You’ll Discover:

• Why ruminant manure (cow, sheep, alpaca) is safe and weed-free
• How mixed manures and vermicompost improve soil and fruit quality
• Practical tips for liquid feeds, soil drenching, and foliar sprays
• The difference between vermicompost tea and worm juice
• Tools and tricks to track plant health and nutrient density

📚 References & Episodes:

• Help! My Garden Isn’t Thriving – Episode 24
  
  
• Composting! Hot or Not? – Episode 9
  
  
• 2022 Plants journal study on kiwi fruit and manure

⏱ Chapters:
00:00 Introduction & Welcome
01:15 Listener Feedback & Corrections
03:10 Understanding Ruminant Manure
07:25 Research on Manure & Soil Health
13:50 Practical Tips for Using Manure
18:45 Vermicompost Tea vs Worm Juice
23:30 Applying Manure Safely
28:15 Final Thoughts & Listener Engagement

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Guest: Alison White, Co-convenor of the Safe Food Campaign

In this episode, I sit down with Alison White, the woman behind New Zealand’s version of the Dirty Dozen list — a ranking of the most pesticide-contaminated foods available on our shelves. Alison has a Master’s in Public Health, is a lifetime member of the Soil & Health Association, and co-convenes the Safe Food Campaign.

Together, we unpack:

• How the Dirty Dozen is created and what makes NZ’s version unique
• Why grapes, celery, and strawberries consistently top the list
• The worrying truth about glyphosate (RoundUp) and how little NZ actually tests for it
• How pesticide regulation gets tangled in industry influence
• Practical ways to reduce your exposure — from vinegar rinses to growing your own produce

This conversation will leave you thinking differently about what’s on your plate — and why home-grown food might just be one of the most powerful forms of resistance.

Link for Further Reading:

• The Dirty Dozen – latest update via Soil & Health
• OOOOBY (organic box service)
• Harraway’s Organic Oats collection
• Pesticides in New Zealand Children
• Safe Food Campaign NZ – Facebook
• Safe Food Campaign Chlorpyrifos Petition Summary
• Dr. Libby Blog

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🌹 Welcome to White Strawberries, your go-to podcast for effortless, joyful, and sustainable gardening. In this episode, I dive into why my roses are thriving without sprays, how biodiversity supports healthy plants, and how to make your own rosewater and tea from fragrant blooms.

What you’ll discover in this episode:

• Common rose pests and how nature balances them.
• How planting a diverse garden supports predatory insects like ladybugs and praying mantises.
• Companion plants that naturally protect and enhance roses.
• Choosing the right rose variety: Wild, Heirloom, and Modern Roses.
• How to make rosewater and a simple rose tea at home.
• The nutritional and skin benefits of roses grown in organic, biodiverse gardens.

Research & References:

1. Flower diversity increases aphid predation on tomatoes
2. Effect of companion planting on pest suppression
3. A 2018 study:  extracts from Rosa damascena  
4. Rose‑petal extracts have antioxidant and anti‑hyaluronidase activity — meaning they can neutralise free radicals  
   
   

📸 Follow me for images, videos, and behind-the-scenes gardening tips:

• Instagram: @whitestrawberriespodcast
• Facebook: White Strawberries Podcast

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Could the future of food be rooted in trees, not annual grains?

 In this episode of White Strawberries, I’m joined by journalist and NPR reporter Elspeth Hay, author of the  hopeful manifesto Feed Us with Trees: Nuts and Future of Food. Her work uncovers a surprising truth: for thousands of years, humans relied on perennial nut trees—oaks, chestnuts, hazelnuts—as our main sources of flour, oils, and everyday staple foods. 

At a time when the majority of the world’s calories come from monocropped annual grains, Elspeth invites us to imagine a different path: one where our landscapes are abundant, resilient, biodiverse, and shaped by the long memory of trees.

We explore:
 🌰 The ancient human relationship with nut trees
 🌰 Why forest gardens and perennial food systems nourished entire cultures
 🌰 The industrial narratives that pushed us into annual agriculture
 🌰 Insights from Indigenous knowledge-keepers, agroforestry, and nut growers
 🌰 The approachable, personal journey behind writing Feed Us with Trees

Whether you’re a gardener, permaculture practitioner, homesteader, or someone rethinking how we grow food, this conversation will expand your imagination and reconnect you with the ancient wisdom of tree-based agriculture.

If you’ve ever dreamed of growing food forests, diversifying your diet, or stepping away from nutrient-poor annual beds — this episode is for you.

💚🌿Sam

✨ Let’s connect:
Instagram: @whitestrawberriespodcast
FB Community: White Strawberries Podcast

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