The revised fig book is now on Kickstarter The special hardcover edition of
Grow Figs Where You Think You Can’t and registration for the October 15 and 22 Fig Camp are available now. A lower-priced softcover will follow this fall.
See the book and Fig Camp options.---
In this episode, Steven revisits a 2020 conversation with farmer, author, photographer, and urban agriculture pioneer Michael Ableman.
Ableman is the co-founder of Vancouver’s Sole Food Street Farms, an urban farming project that turns city land into productive growing space while creating meaningful work and community connection. His book Farm the City: A Toolkit for Setting Up a Successful Urban Farm shares practical lessons from that work, including how to find land, choose crops, build markets, navigate regulations, raise funds, and engage the community.
This is not just a conversation about growing vegetables in unlikely places. It’s about what happens when food growing becomes a way to rethink land, work, dignity, neighbourhoods, and the purpose of a farm.
For home gardeners, there’s a useful reminder here: gardens are never only about yield. They can feed people, yes. But they can also create beauty, connection, routine, and purpose.
In this episode:
- Why urban farming is more than putting raised beds on pavement
- How Sole Food Street Farms uses farming to create jobs and community
- What urban farmers need to think about beyond growing crops
- Lessons from Farm the City
- Why food gardens can be practical, social, and quietly radical
- What home gardeners can learn from urban farms, even on a much smaller scale
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.