Growing Up Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Grab yourself a drink and join us as we evaluate the 2024 growing season.  This year was challenging in the allotment and beyond, and in this episode, we talk honestly about the challenges, opportunities, highs and lows of the 2024 growing season. It's so important to look back at this time of year in order to look forwards with excitement and plan. The Growing Up Podcast is...

Send us Fan Mail Andy and Kate sit down with hot chocolates and chat about the storm that's just affected the UK, the importance of community, growing luxury value crops and why it's so important to get outside when you can do so..... The Growing Up Podcast is proudly sponsored by the amazing First Tunnels.  We are big believers in the benefits of growing in a polytunnel and genuinely be...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Andy talks to Dan, Head Gardener of Winterbourne House and Gardens about the idea of gardening FOR the month of December, practical jobs to complete during December and how this seems increasingly tricky in a changing climate. There is so much that you can do to bring seasonality into your December garden and it was so much fun to chat to Dan about the options we a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we talk about our specialist subject - growing herbs!  Andy and Kater discuss how you can get the most out of your herb garden during the coldest months of the year.  Do herbs need protection from the cold?  Do they need any special care?  Listen to this episode and find out. The Growing Up Podcast is proudly sponsored by the amazing First Tunnels.  We are big bel...

Send us Fan Mail In this really special episode, we travelled down to the beautiful Homeacres to meet with Charles Dowding to talk all things No Dig.  When most people think about No Dig Gardening Charles Dowding is often the first name that comes to mind.  His books and the videos that he produces are inspirational to ourselves and many others so it was a huge privilege to spend the afternoon wit...

Send us Fan Mail Kate is embarking on her first season of growing bulbs and shares everything she has learned about bulb growing so far with Andy and any other first-time bulb planters out there!   The Growing Up Podcast is proudly sponsored by the amazing First Tunnels.  We are big believers in the benefits of growing in a polytunnel and genuinely believe in the quality of the products that First...

Send us Fan Mail This week Andy and Kate chat about gardening jobs that you will have so much fun completing during the month of November.  November is a deceptive month in which you can sow a surprising range of crops but also take steps to boost your productivity for the months ahead.  The Growing Up Podcast is proudly sponsored by the amazing First Tunnels.  We are big believers in the benefits...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Andy and Kate discuss why there seems to be such a tension within horticulture and the gardening industry as a whole about  making profit from growing.  So many of us grow as a hobby that delights, excites and recarges, but we absolutely need profit making businesses within horticulture if our industry has a future. Equally in the current economic climate in which...

Send us Fan Mail This week we chat with friend of the show Becky Searle on Instagram as @ sow_much_more to talk all things composting.  We talk about why composting is so important, how you can increase your composting results and why male urine might be a secret weapon in your journey to creat the perfect compost. Enjoy this one guys. The Growing Up Podcast is proudly sponsored by the amazing Fir...

Send us Fan Mail We chat to friend of the podcast Adele Nozedar about all things mushrooms.  Adele has recently published Mushroom Miscellany and her passion for the world of mushrooms and discovering their beauty is quite simply infectious.  Please sit back, and enjoy this chat with Adele as much as we enjoyed recording it. The Growing Up Podcast is proudly sponsored by the amazing First Tunnels....

Send us Fan Mail October is a very, very important month in the garden, a month of transitions.  And this week we talk you through varieties that you can sow this month in October and vital jobs that we would suggest that you start to complete ahead of the colder weather arriving.   The Growing Up Podcast is proudly sponsored by the amazing First Tunnels.  We are big believers in the benefits of g...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we travel back in time to the 19th century, to the birth of the Arts and Crafts Movement and talk about how this led to the development of the phenomenon known as Arts and Crafts Gardens.  We talk about why this philosophy of garden design came to be, why it really matters and how you can spot its influences today. The Growing Up Podcast is proudly sponsored by th...

Send us Fan Mail A few weeks back we asked you to send in your questions for Andy - and in this episode, he answers as many questions as Kate can ask within 45 minutes.  He didn't know which questions were coming! Really hope that you enjoy this chat. The Growing Up Podcast is proudly sponsored by the amazing First Tunnels.  We are big believers in the benefits of growing in a polytunnel and...

Send us Fan Mail It's the end of our busy season as Andy and Kate sit down in the studio this week. But we wanted to reframe the chat slightly and talk really honestly about the mental health cost of working in horticulture. We really hope that you enjoy this chat. The Growing Up Podcast is proudly sponsored by the amazing First Tunnels.  We are big believers in the benefits of growing in a p...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Kate chats to foraging expert, author and friend of the pod Adele Nozedar, about the ancient art of foraging, how most people do it without even realising and how it can put you back in touch with nature in the most surprising and wonderful ways.  The Growing Up Podcast is proudly sponsored by the amazing First Tunnels.  We are big believers in the benefits of growing i...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we talk about gardening jobs that you can do during the month of September. We are joined by Jess Gough @happy_smallholding who chats with us about the jobs that she will be doing this month. Take a moment out of your busy day and join us for some lighthearted gardening chat. The Growing Up Podcast is proudly sponsored by the amazing First Tunnels.  We are big bel...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Andy and Kate chat with Becky Searle @sow_much_more about the importance of soil health and the role that it plays in boosting productivity.  Join us for a journey into soil health, no-dig gardening and the joy of rescue tortoises.  Hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it.  Leave us a review if you get chance, it would mean a lot to us. The...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Andy and Kate deep dive into varieties that you can sow and plant during the month of August. Taking advantage of the beautiful growing conditions, the warm soil temperatures and daylight to grow gorgeous flavours while also preparing for the colder months ahead. If you would like to hear a more general chat about gardening jobs for August, please listen to the pre...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we talk about jobs that you can complete in the garden during the month of August. This is such an exciting month in which growing conditions are still perfect and productive.  However, its also a month that provides unique challenges to gardeners.   The Growing Up Podcast is proudly sponsored by the amazing First Tunnels.  We are big believers in the benefits of...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Andy, Kate and Sarah of @ thenorthernhome_ chat about the challenges of moving into a new growing space.   Sarah posted recently on Instagram about the challenges of starting again in a new space, being relatively new to gardening so we thought it would be fun to do a recorded "consultation" which turned into a fun chat about starting afresh in an establi...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever thought about embracing the good life and starting your own smallholding? This week we chat to Jess Gough of @ happy_smallholding on Instagram about how she did exactly this. We talk all things growing with Jess Gough who you might know through the Instagram account  happy_smallholding .  We talk all things growing, the reality of starting a homestead, bee keeping al...

Send us Fan Mail Gardening for wellbeing is a commonly used term, isn't it?  Sometimes, perhaps it can sound like a marketing 'buzz phrase' but to us, this is a very real concept and one that has really changed our lives at various points over the last couple of years. We talk honestly about why gardening can boost wellbeing and how we think it can really help you too. The Growing U...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we chat about seeds that you can sow, now in the month of July.  We talk about the importance of looking forward and mention a really special food-growing revolution happening in Inner City Birmingham. The Growing Up Podcast is proudly sponsored by the amazing First Tunnels.  We are big believers in the benefits of growing in a polytunnel and genuinely believe in...

Send us Fan Mail We chat to Melanie Purcell of   @ bishybarnabeescottagegarden about the realities of starting a flower farm during a spring in which the weather doesn't play ball.  We talk about the magic of sowing biennials during summer and the hope that they bring. You really don't want to miss this chat - we felt so inspired after talking to Melanie and Kate has a huge shopping list...

Send us Fan Mail Summer is such an exciting time in the herb garden.  It's a time in which the pace of nature accelerates and there is so much to do among a firework display of colour, flavour and fragrance in the herb garden.   However, this week on the Growing Up Podcast it's all about looking forwards too... to the season that is yet to come.  We are gardening in four dimensions and w...