Roots and All - Gardening Podcast

Sarah speaks to the Earth Friendly Gardener, John Walker about the use of peat in our gardens.   We all know it's bad, but how bad is it and what's being done to prevent the use of peat in horticultural products? Is it realistic to think we can eradicate our use of peat? John is one of the foremost experts on this topic and it's fascinating to hear his thoughts. Sobering stuff indeed... About John...

How many of us haven't dreamt of having an idyllic smallholding that allows us to be financially self-supporting, maybe even one that grows flowers by the barrowload? Well, this week's guest is living the dream! Common Farm Flowers is an artisan floristry and cut flower farm based in Somerset. Founded by Georgie Newbery and her husband Fabrizio in 2010, the ethos of the farm is to produce flowers...

What happens to all the cows if everyone turns vegan?   In Part 2 of Iain's talk, recorded at VegFest 2019, Iain addresses issues surrounding current farming practices. He describes how he believes stock-free is better in terms of carbon emissions and soil health and answers that common question; "what happens to all the cows if we all go vegan?"   If you're interested in gardening, many of Iain's...

Mary Reynolds has a long and successful career in horticulture, which is underpinned by design, but has evolved along the way as she has striven to align her personal beliefs with her work.   Starting out in landscape design, Mary went on to become the youngest gold medal winner at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2002 where she took the show by storm with her naturalistic Celtic Sanctuary Garden. T...

Sarah is interviewed by podcast listener Joanne Richardson After a few prompts from listeners, Sarah takes the plunge and decides to be interviewed for an episode of the Budcast. Listener Jo does a fantastic job of asking the questions that were posed by listeners, so a huge thank you to her for taking over the reins of the show. This is the longest ever episode of the podcast but it's a not to be...

As the RHS Chelsea Flower Show opens its doors to the public today, it's interesting to see many of the gardens focus on the wellbeing and therapeutic benefits of spending time outdoors. Social Therapeutic Horticulture is a horticulture-based therapy that's growing in popularity in the UK as more people become convinced of the mental and physical health benefits of spending time outdoors and with...

Sarah attended a fantastic 2 day weekend course at Homeacres and posed these questions to Charles after the first day of the course was completed, based on what she had learnt up to that point. They talk about what No Dig means, if it works and how to apply the technique in your own garden or allotment. To find out more, check out Charles's informative website www.charlesdowding.co.uk   where you...

This week, I'm speaking to Giles Heap, Managing Director of CED Stone. CED has a long history of supplying natural stone paving and facilitating the use of stone throughout the landscape and construction industries. Giles took over as the Managing Director of CED in 2013. We discuss: - Sourcing stone ethically, including mention of the Ethical Trading Initiative - Using materials appropriate to th...

Sarah chats to organic kitchen gardener James Mellors. They discuss organic, no-kill pest control, companion planting, interesting varieties and bees in your veg plot.   Get in touch; Email  podcast@rootsandall.co.uk   Website www.rootsandall.co.uk   Twitter @rootsandall Instagram rootsandallpod   Patreon Link; Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at...

This episode is produced in association with the Vegan Organic Network. It was recorded at VegFestUK on the 23rd March 2019. Iain Tolhurst is a pioneer of what he terms Stock-free Farming; that is farming which uses no animal inputs. Based in South Oxfordshire, Iain talks about the history of his growing operation plus shares some unique practices he employs to maximise crops whilst making the far...

Following on from my episodes on native vs. non-native plants and gardening for wildlife, who better for me to interview than wildlife gardening guru Kate Bradbury?   We talk about the best ways to garden for wildlife, including what to put in to your wildlife garden and what to leave out. Kate champions some unusual species and our conversation touches upon aspects that may surprise even the most...

This week, I'm honoured to be joined by the Queen of Containers, Harriet Rycroft. Harriet worked for many years at Whichford Pottery in Warwickshire, where she became renowned for producing season after season of the most spectacular planting and colour combinations. Oh, and Harriet had the door open to her garden, so enjoy the birdsong! We talk about: The ideal container Layer planting Planting m...

To be completely contrary after her plea for gardeners to plant more native plants, Sarah interviews Graham Blunt of Plantbase, a nursery specialising in the most fabulous, exotic and downright bizarre plants!   Graham talks about hardy palms, his favourite exotic trees, cacti and succulents that can be grown outdoors and how to overwinter caudex plants and bananas. Graham has also been intensivel...

The daffodils have been in full swing for a few weeks now and as today's guest, Adrian Scamp of Scamp's Daffodils tells us, we can expect them to carry on gracing us with their cheery blooms into May. Each year, I'm newly amazed by the indomitable daffodil; its ability to cope in all weathers, to grow in seemingly unpromising situations and to flower successively from December to May if you choose...

Join Sarah for a brief recap of why native plants are better than non-native, before a delve into the more positive impact gardeners can have in ensuring wildlife has a future in our landscape.   Part 2 of this exploration of native vs. non-native plants looks at the reality of what happens when natural and human habitats collide. Sarah discusses Darwin Comes to Town, a book by Menno Schilthuizen,...

Rough & Ready Audio Alert! This is a bonus episode recording of the wild food tasting session that took place before the main interview with forager Michael Wachter, which aired in Episode 18. A supporting blog post featuring a photo and names of the plants that were sampled can be found on the Roots and All blog . As with the main episode, this episode and the blog post are not to be used as guid...

In this episode, I'm talking foraging with expert forager Michael Wachter. Michael has masses of experience when it comes to living outdoors sustainably and being self-sufficient, having lived on a remote island off the North Coast of Germany. He also regularly treks across the landscape both in the UK and abroad, with nothing but a sleeping bag and his survival kit, foraging for food along the wa...

Sarah explores the reasons we all need to go native in our gardens. From declining insects and struggling bird populations to invasive species and plants for pollinators, Sarah looks at the impact planting non-native species in our gardens can have. Acknowledgement to Douglas W Tallamy for the excellent research presented in his book Bringing Nature Home .   Get in touch; Email  podcast@rootsandal...

UK HEDGEHOGS NEED YOU! Since 2000, UK populations of hedgehogs have declined 30% in urban areas and 50% in rural areas. Today's guest, Hugh Warwick, estimates hedgehog populations have dropped by 90% or more since the second world war. Based on these horrendous figures, we can deduce if we don't start helping them right away, these beautiful animals could be facing extinction.   That's where we, a...

Back by popular demand, it's Part 2 of taking on and managing an allotment. With Louise Bell. Listen as we talk about what to do with your allotment over winter, which crops you should be growing, when to harvest and if you only have time to do one job, which should it be. The follow up to Allotments Part 1 - Episode 5 of the podcast, published on 7th August 2018.   Get in touch; Email  podcast@ro...

Have you ever wondered which are the most poisonous plants in your house and garden? Do you know how plant toxins work and how to handle poisonous plants safely? What are we, as gardeners, most at risk of when dealing with our beloved plants? And which risks are sometimes blown out of proportion? Join me as I speak to botanist Dr Liz Dauncey about poisonous plant facts, myths and interesting cases...

An episode dedicated to Esiah Levy. A short intro to seed sharing and open pollinated varieities. Sadly, Esiah Levy who you may have heard interviewed in Episode 12 of the Podcast, passed away on the 22nd January. This episode is dedicated to sharing his passion for seed sharing and open pollinated seeds, and will hopefully inspire you to add some of these varieties to your patch this year. Please...

Matthew Appleby is a multi award-winning horticultural journalist who regularly writes for gardening magazines, national newspapers and the industry bible Horticulture Week. Matthew is a long-time vegan and organic gardener and has a wealth of growing experience upon which to base his new book, The Super Organic Gardener. The book is released on the 31st January 2019 and I spoke to Matthew about w...

Why it's good to know what goes in your compost, especially if you want to shop ethically, sustainably and/or vegan.   "Since the 1980's Fertile Fibre have been producing peat free coir based organic composts. Fertile Fibre have also been working closely with the Vegan Society and the Biodynamic Association to develop composts which are specifically tailored to meeting the needs of those growers....

In this episode, I talk with critically acclaimed garden designer Cleve West about his journey to a vegan lifestyle and how this impacts upon his work.   We touch upon vegan gardening, cooking, farming for vegan and meat based diets and why we all need to think about the mark we leave on our gardens and the wider environment.     Further resources; www.clevewest.com Our Plot by Cleve West. Publish...