Food Garden Life Show: Helping You Harvest More from Your Edible Garden, Vegetable Garden, and Edible Landscaping

Ever wondered if growing food and and growing native plants are mutually exclusive? Our guest Ryan Godfrey talks about his sixth-floor balcony garden where he weaves together edible and native plants—all in containers.Godfrey’s balcony container garden includes habitat-themed containers:

* Alvar container garden
* Riverside container garden
* Boulder container garden
* Woodland container garden

Edible plants include woodland strawberries, Jerusalem artichoke, sweet grass, and Virginia mountain mint.Godfrey also has an allotment garden plot where he grows both food and native plants. He says that his plot draws a lot of pollinators.In a journey that started with vacuuming acorns as a child, Ryan went on to study biology and evolutionary biology. He says this makes him a “plant nerd,” a gardener who learned about plants outside of a garden context. It colours his approach to gardening.

Show Notes

Online classes happening soon: Grow a Potted Yuzu Citrus, Grow Angel's Trumpet (brugmansia) on Your Patio.
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Ever wondered if growing food and and growing native plants are mutually exclusive? Our guest Ryan Godfrey talks about his sixth-floor balcony garden where he weaves together edible and native plants—all in containers.

Godfrey’s balcony container garden includes habitat-themed containers:

  • Alvar container garden
  • Riverside container garden
  • Boulder container garden
  • Woodland container garden


Edible plants include woodland strawberries, Jerusalem artichoke, sweet grass, and Virginia mountain mint.

Godfrey also has an allotment garden plot where he grows both food and native plants. He says that his plot draws a lot of pollinators.

In a journey that started with vacuuming acorns as a child, Ryan went on to study biology and evolutionary biology. He says this makes him a “plant nerd,” a gardener who learned about plants outside of a garden context. It colours his approach to gardening.


 
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What is Food Garden Life Show: Helping You Harvest More from Your Edible Garden, Vegetable Garden, and Edible Landscaping?

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 magazine as one of the “green gang” making a difference in Canadian horticulture. His home-garden experiments span driveway straw-bale gardens, a rooftop kitchen garden, fruit plantings, and an edible-themed front yard. He's a horticulturist, award-winning broadcaster and author, and former horticulture instructor with George Brown and Durham Colleges in Ontario, Canada.

Get started with one of our fan favourites. Season 6, Episode 10: Big Harvests from a Small Space with a Vertical Vegetable Garden.