Canada's Local Gardener Podcast

Faced with the very arduous task of building a new gardening bed, Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, turns to veteran gardener Ian Leatt to hear about his experiences. In addition to being a long-time grower of vegetables and flowers, Ian is the president of Pegasus Publications, the company that publishes Canada’s Local Gardener.Support the show

It is seed starting time across Canada. From March through June, depending on where your garden is, you may be starting seeds indoors and out. Kevin Twomey, former owner of T and T Seeds in Winnipeg, has grown vegetables and flowers from seeds throughout his life. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener print magazine, is preparing to put in her first full-sized vegetabl

For many gardeners, power tools sound like something their partner or friend would be more interested in. But at some point, even the luddite might be interested in getting jobs done faster and with less pain, if a little more noise. Kris Kiser is the president and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) in the United States. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Ga

Did you know that you can give too much compost to your garden? Also, there isn’t a “best” fertilizer for tomatoes or roses or trees. Robert Pavlis is a garden writer, speaker and educator with a background in science. He lives in Guelph, Ontario and gardens at his six-acre home called Aspen Grove Gardens. He has published a handful of books and maintains two websites, garden

Every year, growers, distributors and hybridizers of plants work on new species, and every year some of those new species make it to the market. New shrubs, flowers and vegetables come out with slight improvements and other distinguishing characteristics over the ones that have come before. Support the show

Since 2002, Canada has been watching the emerald ash borer kill our native ash trees, starting in Ontario and moving east and west from there. Ryan Statham, the District Manager for Davey Tree in Strathroy, Ontario, is on the front lines of the battle against this beetle. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, talks to Ryan about the fight and about how we can

Strawberries and raspberries have been growing in gardens across Canada since we became a country. Haskaps, sea buckthorn and ground cherries are more recent introductions for many of us. All of them and more are covered in the book Prairie Gardener’s Guide to Growing Fruit by Sheryl Normandeau and Janet Melrose. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, talks

The Edible Flower is a thick book with gorgeous photos. Erin and Jo write about how to grow edible flowers (that’s Jo’s department) and how to use them for cooking (Erin’s). Erin always hoped to write books because she loves them, so when she became a cook (a title she prefers to chef) she knew she wanted to write a cookbook. She uses flower petals in salads, but also in a la

Given that Earth is getting warmer rapidly, what is the consequence for trees? This is a concern for Davey Tree experts Dan Herms, Vice President of Research, and Joe Steinfeld, who works in Urban Forestry and Arboriculture in the Toronto office. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, spoke with both of them about the state of trees today and what is coming in

orget about oceans of calamine lotion, this is the real dirt on poison ivy and all of its kin. Susan Pell, executive director of the United States Botanic Garden. She did her PhD on members of the pistatchio family (Anacardiaceae), which includes the genus Toxicodendron, of which poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac are members. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener