The Grow Guide

Unpredictable spring weather in Zone 3 has Maggie & Dave reminding listeners about the importance of protecting plants when temperatures drop over night. Be mindful, growers! Dave shares a variegated milkweed as his favourite plant of the week while Maggie shares an interesting concept to support local farmers in your community. A listener question around harvesting asparagus sparks a discussion a...

This week we have the pleasure of chatting with Emma Biggs, a 14 year old gardening guru who just published her first book with the famous Storey publishing company. Emma brings her kid's-eye-view to help kids and adults better understand each other when it comes to enjoying gardening, but absolutely inspires gardeners of all ages with her extensive urban gardening knowledge (she is Toronto based)...

Maggie and Dave kick off today's episode by sharing a fun article ( read it here! ) that ran on the podcast over the weekend. Dave shares about his fav plant of the week, a gorgeous blue perennial flower, and Maggie talks about a tropical-looking variety of tomato for hers. A listeners' question on transplanting leggy kohlrabi brings up some great tips on how to harden off transplants and keep see...

As spring arrives slowly but surely, Dave and Maggie each have some plant experiments to share for their favourite gardening item of the week, and this sets the stage for a discussion focused on growing perennials in short season climates. Dave reveals some surprising fruit growing plans, while Maggie goes deeper with her passion for growing medicinal plants. Meanwhile, the simple little marigold...

Maggie & Dave reflect on Earth Day this week and the changes they've made/challenges they've come across as gardeners trying to live more sustainably. Dave's favourite thing this week is an interesting garden product made of recycled sheep wool, while Maggie shares about her recent purchase of a few hens and how they fit into her plant-based lifestyle. Then it's all about the talented and wide-rea...

Dave and Maggie weave through a variety of seasonal topics as they share their excitement for spring, while a listener question about grass seeding generates several helpful options. The focus of today's episode is on three ways to create unique garden spaces: go vertical, plant in straw bales and discover the advantages of a keyhole garden. 

We're all eager to get out in the garden and the theme of this week's episode may just be the tool you need to keep those seeds warm and protected in early Spring. Tara Nolan — co-creator of  https://savvygardening.com/  and author of Raised Bed Revolution  — joins Maggie and Dave to chat all about the topic of her book and this recent garden craze. Tara defines what exactly a raised bed is, share...

This week Maggie & Dave embrace what is finally starting to feel like Spring in the prairies and dig into the seed starting topic with the podcast's first ever international guest, Lucy Start — better known as @shegrowsveg on Instagram. All the way from the UK, Lucy brings her laid-back style as a gardener to the podcast, sharing her rookie and expert level advice. She shares a bit about what it's...

It's BACK! Season 2 is here with new episodes on organic gardening practices coming out every single Tuesday. Maggie & Dave kick-off the new season with a little catch-up on their gardens and surviving the brutal Canadian winter of 2019 (we made it, folks!). Then it's back to usual business with the Favourite Plant Segment where Maggie gives away of copy of her favourite gardening publication this...

Happy Holidays! Maggie & Dave are back in studio for a bonus episode to kick off the New Year. The duo catch up on what's going on in their own gardening lives and Maggie shares some exciting news. Then it's all about answering some of your questions about growing Christmas trees, saving houseplants in the winter and the top gardening books to read over the holidays. To win this week's giveaway, l...

That's a wrap on Season 1 of The Grow Guide and what a wild ride it's been! For Episode 52, Maggie and Dave take a walk down memory lane. The duo recap their favourite moments of the season. From trendy houseplants to urban beekeeping, chatting native prairie plants and heirloom tomatoes — it's a diverse episode with a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Here's the episodes we cover today...

With unexpected September snow falling across parts of western Canada it would be easy to say outdoor gardening season is a wrap… but then we would miss out on delicious garlic. The Grow Guide crew get giddy as the garlic chat revs up, but first Dave and Maggie share stories from recent weekend getaways (1:10) and announce details of this week's garlic give away (4:19), which of course includes a...

Fall is in full swing and with only a few more farmer's markets left, The Grow Guide heads to Winnipeg's St. Norbert Farmers Market for this week's "studio." Maggie starts by sharing her harvest of the week — sungold cherry tomatoes — and Dave chats about the trendy, monstera plant. An interesting listener question about composting is timely for anyone cleaning up their fallen leaves. Then it's al...

Episode 49: Moving plants indoors Maggie and Dave are back at Sage this week to find inspiration for houseplant season. But before they can dig into the topic, Maggie shares her appreciation for the fours seasons (1:49) while Dave wonders what it would be like to live in a "uni-season". As the conversation turns decidedly to fall, several announcements are made including further details on the upc...

With the Harvest Moon right around the corner, Maggie and Dave focus this week's episode on a GIVEAWAY to the annual Harvest Dinner hosted by the South Osborne Community Co-operative (listen all the way to the end of the episode for your chance to win!). But first, they chat about transitioning into fall and answer a listener's question and when/what to plant when it comes to bulbs. Then the duo c...

Maggie and Dave continue their garden touring, and set up the podcast studio under a big shade tree in the beautiful English Garden at Assiniboine Park. Summer is starting to shift into fall and your hosts start this week's episode noticing how much the mood has changed in the garden, even in the last week. This does not stop them from being excited about what's next, teasing garden party plans (3...

Maggie and Dave use the South Osborne Community Gardens as this week's studio space and are blown away by its beauty and sense of community. They start the episode with a few fun announcements coming up soon — a Garden Club Tour (check out sagegarden.ca for more info) and an end of season garden party (date TBD!). Then it's all about their Favourite Varieties, Zephyr summer squash for Maggie (5:30...

Are your plants tired of the heat? Maggie and Dave's certainly are and they're dedicating this week's episode to the 2018 Heat Wave! Before they jump into the good stuff, they announce the winner of the cucamelon giveaway and answer a listener's question about planting crops at this time of year. Turns out, there's tons of great options for you to sow even in the second week of August. The duo bre...

The Grow Guide is back this week with the second part of our cannabis series. Manitoban grower, Mike Mailman shares his wisdom with us again, but this time the conversation is geared toward growing. Mike discusses how he grows cannabis for his patients and the logistics that come with it. Then he gets into how YOU, home gardeners, can grow productive plants come legalization in October. We apologi...

The end of July is bringing us to an awesome 2-parter episode geared toward cannabis — a plant of mystery! Maggie & Dave welcome on fellow Manitoban, Mike Mailman, who shares the successes and struggles that comes with growing marijuana in today's changing climate. This epic conversation discusses everything from the politics of the plant to its many healing properties to Mike's personal connectio...

For the first time ever, Maggie and Dave move their "studio" to a public orchard in the heart of Winnipeg at The Forks. Apple trees, raspberry bushes and hungry squirrels join the duo for this episode all about cucumbers. This week's favourite varieties (3:10) are Aunt Molly's Ground Cherries and Aussie Sweetie Basil. And an awesome listener question about the differences between partial and full...

Dave and Maggie are back this week in their outdoor "studio space" at Sage Garden Greenhouses. The duo start off the episode with a big THANK-YOU to all you listeners from around the world (0:57). Then it's into their Favourite Varieties of the Week (2:10). Dave chats about the vanilla bean plant (did you know it's in the orchid family?!) and Maggie shares one of her recent harvests, the very cool...

For The Grow Guide's 40th episode (how did that happen?!), Maggie and Dave decide to give back to all of YOU who've been with us since the beginning. They dedicate this episode to answering a great variety of listener questions. But before they get into all that, they share a bit about what's going on outside of their gardening lives. Dave fills us in about his weekend road trip to Souris, Manitob...

Happy Canada Day, Grow Guiders! Dave and Maggie spend this hot, long weekend jumping right into the new month and chatting about common problems that happen in the garden during July. They start today off by answering a listener's question about chlorosis on her roses and how to manage it. From there, it's all about common gardening problems, including aphids, blossom end rot and powdery mildew. N...

Anyone else experiencing gardener burnout? It's the time of year where we've gone go, go, go and finally are feeling the effects. Maggie and Dave start today off with sharing their feelings on the subject and encourage listeners to take on a challenge to break the burnout. The duo answer an awesome listener's question about perennial flowers — it's not too late to plant! — and share their favourit...