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

We chat with Nathan Larson, Director of the Cultivate Health Initiative in Madison, Wisconsin.When we visited Madison in summer 2019 to attend the National Children and Youth Gardening Symposium, Larson gave us a tour of a wonderful community garden—the Troy Community Garden.There are currently about 100 families growing food there…although at one point it looked as if the land on which the garden stands would be sold off for a housing development. Larson talks about how people and groups pulled together to find a way to save the space.The plot of land was reimagined to include community garden plots, an urban farm with a CSA, a kids garden, some housing, a tall-grass prairie restoration project, and a food forest.When we visited the Troy Community Garden, we were struck by signs for a “worm city” and the “mud pie kitchen.” Larson is passionate about garden-based education.The garden now includes a pizza oven that is used for weekly nights, along with music.

Show Notes

Online classes happening soon: Grow a Potted Yuzu Citrus, Grow Angel's Trumpet (brugmansia) on Your Patio.
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We chat with Nathan Larson, Director of the Cultivate Health Initiative in Madison, Wisconsin.

When we visited Madison in summer 2019 to attend the National Children and Youth Gardening Symposium, Larson gave us a tour of a wonderful community garden—the Troy Community Garden.

There are currently about 100 families growing food there…although at one point it looked as if the land on which the garden stands would be sold off for a housing development. Larson talks about how people and groups pulled together to find a way to save the space.

The plot of land was reimagined to include community garden plots, an urban farm with a CSA, a kids garden, some housing, a tall-grass prairie restoration project, and a food forest.

When we visited the Troy Community Garden, we were struck by signs for a “worm city” and the “mud pie kitchen.” Larson is passionate about garden-based education.

The garden now includes a pizza oven that is used for weekly nights, along with music.


 
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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.