The Messed Up Gardener

Hi and Welcome to another episode of The Messed Up Gardener.  Gone are the days where creating compost was a big garden chore requiring a lot of work and a lot of space with the process taking ages for it to decompose to a state that it was ready for use around the gardens.  This episode looks at the methodology of compost making with several tips on how to cheat and still achieve beautiful, rich...

Hi and welcome back to The Messed Up Gardener  My name is Esther Aitken and I am your host for todays 10 min or less quick & messy garden chat. I keep getting questions from my amazing listeners that do not fill my traditional weekly podcast, and as the last 10min or less quick & messy garden chats have been so successful I figured I'd keep recording them. Please keep sending me any g...

Hi and Welcome to another episode of The Messed Up Gardener.  Biodiversity is the diversity of life forms on Earth, including plants, animals, and microorganisms. It is essential to maintain a healthy and functioning ecosystem. By adding biodiversity to your garden, you can create a habitat that supports a wide range of species and promotes a healthy ecosystem. So here are a number of things you c...

Hi and Welcome Back to The Messed Up Gardener   My name is Esther Aitken and I am your host for todays 10 min or less quick & messy garden chat. I keep getting questions from my amazing listeners that do not fill my traditional weekly podcast, and as the last 10min or less quick & messy garden chats have been so successful I figured I'd repeat it. Please keep sending me any gardening...

Hi and Welcome to another episode of The Messed Up Gardener.  We all know that maintaining a garden can be a rewarding experience, but it can be challenging when there's a drought and you almost feel like you're working doubly as hard just to get some produce out of your garden. And if there's a drought the harvested produce just does not taste as fresh or as crisp as what they woul...

Hi and welcome back to The Messed Up Gardener. my name is Esther Aitken and I am your host for todays 10 min or less quick & messy garden chat. As I previously mentioned I wanted to try something a little different. I keep getting questions that do not fill my traditional weekly podcast, and as the last 10min or less quick & messy garden chat was so successful I figured I'd repeat it....

Hi and Welcome to another episode of The Messed Up Gardener.  Garden locations for events are often thought to be a cheaper and easier alternative to the traditional hire an event location. Sadly, this isn't always the case. The financial cost can often escalate because the gardens need to be updated, made safe and the decorations for the event can often blow the budget out of proportion. Thi...

Hi and welcome to back The Messed-Up Gardener and this 10 min or less quick & messy garden chat. As I previously mentioned I wanted to try something a little different. I keep getting questions that do not fill my traditional weekly podcast, and as the last 10min or less quick & messy garden chat was so successful I figured I'd repeat it. Please keep sending me any gardening questions...

Hello and Welcome to another episode of The Messed Up Gardener.  Weeding your garden is an essential task that helps to keep it healthy and thriving. Weeds are unwanted plants that grow alongside the desired plants in your garden and compete with them for resources such as water, nutrients, and sunlight. If left unchecked, weeds can quickly overtake your garden and cause your plants to struggle or...

Hi and welcome to back The Messed-Up Gardener and this 10 min or less quick & messy garden chat. I wanted to try something a little different. I keep getting questions that do not fill my traditional weekly podcast, so I figured why not do them as a 10min or less quick & messy garden chat. Please send me any gardening questions and I’ll see if I can accommodate them as either a quick &...

Hi and Welcome to another episode of The Messed Up Gardener.  Planning and designing a new garden is so special because it allows you to create a unique space that reflects your personal style and preferences. It allows you to choose plants, colors, and textures that bring you joy and enhance your outdoor living experience. Additionally, a well-designed garden can add value to your property and cr...

Hi and Welcome to another episode of The Messed Up Gardener.  Growing mushrooms at home can be a great idea for several reasons. Firstly, it is a fun and rewarding hobby that can bring a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. Secondly, it allows you to have fresh and organic mushrooms at your fingertips, which can save you money in the long run. Additionally, growing mushrooms at home can reduc...

Hi and Welcome to another episode of The Messed Up Gardener.  Hydroponic gardening is an interesting topic for several reasons. Firstly, it allows for plants to be grown in a soil-free environment, which can be beneficial in areas where soil quality is poor or limited. Additionally, hydroponic gardening can lead to higher crop yields and faster growth rates compared to traditional soil-based metho...

Hi and Welcome to another episode of The Messed Up Gardener.  I've had a couple of questions lately around potting & repotting of plants and especially with the economy being way more scary lately with things being so expensive that in the old days even I wouldn't even hesitate to throw out old potting mix into the garden simply because I could go out and buy another bag of potting m...

Hi and Welcome to another episode of The Messed Up Gardener.  I'm really excited about this particular episode. I'm going to talk to you about my Kiwifruit journey this past year and some of my packhouse days. Today's topic is going to be including working with customers to pollinate their plants an seeing what orchardists are doing to grow their crops and being part of a harvesting...

Hi and Welcome to another episode of The Messed Up Gardener.  There is so much information out there about cuttings and how to take them and How to effectively propagate that it can be overwhelming. In this episode I have broken it down into simple steps with examples that even the kids can help with. Learning the skill of taking cuttings it's such an amazing rite of passage when it comes to...

Hi and Welcome to another episode of The Messed Up Gardener.  Fertilizing the garden is not something that should be looked at by the gardener as an other garden chore but as an exciting opportunity for a soil refresh and new growth which in turn produces more abundance in the garden and healthy food options in our kids bellies.  Don’t forget to grab one of my gardening freebees.    As always Gard...

Hi and Welcome to another episode of The Messed Up Gardener.  This year it has been one disappointing thing after another in my garden and the increase in insect activity is absolutely doing my head in. In this case I'm referring to slugs and snails chewing through my garden as if it is their own personal buffet. In this episode I go through and give some practical tips on how to deal with so...

Hi and Welcome to another episode of The Messed Up Gardener.  I love this topic, planting hedging and shelterbelts are not just about creating a fencing boundary for your property, but it is an opportunity for so much more!  It creates a feature, a potential option for sustainable gardening, property value increases and it has a list of environmental benefits. But like all things hedging and shelt...

Hi and Welcome to another episode of The Messed Up Gardener.  The weather has been so horrible and as we are only a few days away from winter I felt it was a highly appropriate topic choice. There are so many challenges to overcome in winter gardening that I do not blame you one bit for wanting to wrap yourself in a blanket and sit and read a good book or watch Netflix late into the night, but win...

Hi and Welcome to another episode of The Messed Up Gardener.  The word sustainable is thrown around so much these days that its almost losing its impact and its true meaning is almost lost in all the noise which is why I figured bringing it back to basics would be a fun topic.   As the podcast episode title suggests I promised some sustainable gardening tips and I came up with several tips that I...

Hi and Welcome to another episode of The Messed Up Gardener.  Over the last few months I have been accumulating the questions that listeners of this podcast have sent me for which I’m very grateful and a few have duplicated and were quite seasonal in nature, so I figured it’s a perfect time to chat about them.  I hope that some of the questions I covered today were helpful and if you do have any g...

Hi and Welcome to another episode of The Messed Up Gardener.  The sound of gently moving water in your environment can create a feeling of peace and tranquility but there are also so many positive environmental reasons to have a water feature in your garden. They don’t have to be expensive, and they can be created from simple materials. I discuss my pond feature that I have had with me for the las...

Hi and Welcome to another episode of The Messed Up Gardener.  In today’s episode I work through the benefits of having worms in the garden and the reasons to have a worm farm as well as a basic methodology of how to create your own worm farm for very little cost. I absolutely love having my worm farm and I hope I can inspire you to create one for yourself and if you already have one, I hope there...

Hi and Welcome to another episode of The Messed Up Gardener.  In today’s episode I work through 7 key steps with loads of helpful tips to ensure that growing healthy seedlings becomes a norm. Including a list of a few easy to grow beginner seeds to germinate covering the basic food crop necessities in the garden.   Don’t forget to grab one of my gardening freebees.    As always Gardening can be do...