Figuring Out How to Bring Back a Lost Giant...the American Chestnut

Blight-Resistant American Chestnut in Canada

In this episode, we dig into some history, a sad story – and hope.

All this from a tree that was known as the redwood of the east. A towering tree prized for its wood. A tree pivotal to the forest ecosystem.

And by the 1950s, it was thought to be extinct in Ontario.

But it wasn’t extinct. And it’s not extinct now.

We head to southwestern Ontario to find out what the Canadian Chestnut Council is doing to bring the American chestnut back to the landscape.

Whether you’re a forager, interested in food forests, or want to grow nuts, this is a fun chat.

Our chestnut guide is Ron Casier, chair of the Canadian Chestnut Council.

We talk about:

• The American chestnut, and the place it held in the ecosystem

• Chestnut blight, and its effect on chestnut populations

• The “Canadian” American chestnut

• Breeding disease-resistance American chestnut varieties

American chestnut trees for trials

Flowering

American chestnut leaves

American Chestnut trials

1912, St. Williams, Ont. Dr.J.H. White with American Chestnut

Afraid of Late Spring Frost? Low-Tech Mini-Tunnels are a Simple Solution

Niki Jabbour on how to Make and Use Mini Tunnels

Less frost damage. Fewer bugs. Better growing conditions.

Mini tunnels have lots of advantages, and they're easy to make and use.

For this episode, we head to Nova Scotia to chat with vegetable gardening expert Niki Jabbour about how to make and use mini tunnels.

She’s the author of Growing Under Cover: Techniques for a More Productive, Weather-Resistant, Pest-Free Vegetable Garden and the creator of the online course How to Build and Use Mini Hoop Tunnels in the Vegetable Garden.

We talk about:

• What mini tunnels are

• Mini tunnels and weather

• Mini tunnels and pests

• Materials to make mini tunnels

• Getting an early start in the spring garden

• Turbo-charging heat loving crops with mini tunnels

How to Homestead and Live Sustainably in Your Community: Small-Scale Homesteading

Small-Scale Homesteading

Homesteading as a State of Mind

We head to Minnesota to chat with small-scale homesteaders Michelle Bruhn and Stephanie Thurow.

Both are urban homesteaders, and they’ve collaborated on a book to help small-scale homesteaders, Small-Scale Homesteading.

We talk about:

• What homesteading means to them

• The idea of small-scale homesteads in urban and suburban areas

• Tips for aspiring homesteaders

• How to get started homesteading

Stephanie’s Rhubarb Shrub

Stephanie talked about her rhubarb shrub in this episode, and said she’d share the recipe. Here it is!

Yield: 2-3 cups finished shrub

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups rhubarb, chopped (fresh or frozen) – discard green leaves, as they are poisonous.

• 1.5 cups white granulated sugar

• Days later: 1.5 cups organic apple cider vinegar (or other drinking vinegar of choice).

Directions

Scrub rhubarb clean, chop and combine with sugar in a clean pint canning jar. Shake jar to mix sugar and rhubarb well. Wipe the rim of the jar with a clean dampened towel and apply the canning jar lid and tightly screw on the ring. Store the jar at room temperature, out of direct sunlight and allow the mixture to macerate over a couple days, until a thick syrup is made. A few times per day, vigorously shake the mixture to speed up the process (or you can use a clean spoon to stir well).

After 2-3 days, once the sugar has dissolved and a syrup is made, use a fine mesh strainer to strain out the solids, reserving the syrup in a measuring cup. Use the back of a spoon to push out any excess syrup. Once strained, measure the amount of syrup that was collected and add that same amount of vinegar to the syrup (it will be 1-1.5 cups of vinegar), stir well to mix. Store in a clean airtight jar and refrigerate. Enjoy within a few months for best flavor.

To serve

Mix about a shot of the shrub mixture with water, or carbonated water. Serve over ice. Shrubs also make delicious and unique cocktail mixers.

Side notes

You can also use brown sugar, coconut sugar, maple syrup or other sugar alternative in place of white granulated sugar.

This method of shrub making can be applied to any fruits and herb combinations. Strawberry shrub is my all-time favorite.

Don’t toss the strained-out fruit solids! They are delicious mixed into plain yogurt or oatmeal or blended into a smoothie.

This recipe was adapted from WECK Small-Batch Preserving (2018) with permission from Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

Michelle Bruhn and Stephanie Thurow

Michelle Bruhn

Stephanie Thurow

Big Harvests from a Small Space with a Vertical Vegetable Garden

Grow a Vertical Vegetable Garden

Space. For many gardeners, there’s never enough of it.

So in small spaces we train crops upwards instead of outwards. The term vertical gardening is often used to talk about adding the dimension of height to a garden.

Today on the podcast we head to Vancouver Island to chat with vegetable gardening expert Donna Balzer about vertical gardening.

Steven and Donna are teaming up to hold a live online event on Vertical Vegetable Gardening on April 4, 2023.

Bay Laurel

Dave Hanson from The Grow Guide Podcast joins us to talk about growing the Mediterranean herb bay laurel.

Steven and Dave are teaming up for a live online event on creating a Mediterranean Kitchen Garden in cold climates on March 14, 2023.

Donna Balzer

Dave Hanson

Outstanding Oregano + What to Produce Besides Crops on a Homestead

Oregano that Tastes Like Oregano!

We find out how to grow great Oregano with Dave Hanson from The Grow Guide Podcast.

(No more bland oregano that tastes like...hay!)

Why Now is a Great Time to Homestead

Homesteader Steve Maxwell talks about his journey from suburban Toronto to a rural homestead on Manitoulin Island.

He tells us why he think there's more opportunity than ever for homesteaders today.

Steve shares his ideas about homesteading opportunities here.

Steve Maxwell

Dave Hanson

5 Small Fruit Crops: Taste Sea Buckthorn (and Smell the Blue Cheese of Fruit)

Talking about how to grow sea buckthorn, highbush cranberry, hardy kiwi, bush cherries, and chokecherry

Specialty Fruit Crops

We continue our chat with agronomist Laurie Brown from Cultur'Innov. She talks about 5 more minor fruit crops, how to grow them, and the opportunities they present for growers.

We talk about:

• Sea buckthorn

• Highbush cranberry

• Hardy kiwi

• Bush cherries

• Chokecherry

• Agroforesty

• Tips for growers who want to grow specialty fruit crops

"It's the blue cheese of fruit: Tastes like a cranberry and smells like an old boot!"

Co-operative Model

Cultur'Innov is a co-op focused on lesser-known fruit, nuts, and forest crops such as ginseng and mushrooms. This Quebec multi-stakeholder co-operative has both farmers and employees as members. 

Agronomist Laurie Brown from Cultur’Innov

The co-op helps its farmer members with different aspects of production:

• Understanding crop opportunities

• Setting up for a crop

• Growing the crop

• Processing opportunities

Want More on Wild Fruit?

Expert Interview

In this episode, we chat with forager Robin Henderson, who forages highbush cranberry, sumac, elderflower, and more!

Berry Supports Theory that the Worse it Tastes, the Healthier it is

Talking about how to grow aronia (chokeberry), elderberry, and haskap (honeyberry)

Aronia, Elderberry, Haskap

One is quite healthy but tastes awful. One is very juicy and suited to processing. And one is suited to eating fresh.

In this episode we look at 3 fruit crops: aronia (a.k.a. chokeberry), elderberry, and haskap (a.k.a. honeyberry).

Agronomist Laurie Brown from Cultur'Innov explains how to grow these minor fruit crops, talks about the opportunities for growers, and tells us where they’re at in terms of commercialization.

Co-operative Model

Cultur'Innov is a co-op focused on lesser-known fruit, nuts, and forest crops such as ginseng and mushrooms. This Quebec multi-stakeholder co-operative has both farmers and employees as members. 

Agronomist Laurie Brown from Cultur’Innov

The co-op helps its farmer members with different aspects of production:

• Understanding crop opportunities

• Setting up for a crop

• Growing the crop

• Processing opportunities

Want More on Small Fruit?

Expert Interview

In this episode, we chat with apple expert Bob Bors about haskaps and cherries.

Graft Apple Trees at Home: Easily Make the Cut

How to Graft an Apple Tree

Steven Edholm is a California homesteader who teaches a wide variety of self-reliance skills.

He is passionate about grafting fruit trees. He's created trees that have over 100 varieties.

In this episode, he explains how to graft apple trees at home.

We talk about:

• Reasons to graft apple trees

• Apple trees with lots of grafts (Frankentrees!)

• Cutting and storing apple scion wood

• Apple rootstock

• Supplies for apple tree grafting (spoiler alert: what you DON’T need to buy)

• Best grafts for beginners

• Solving common apple-grafting problems

Steven Edholm showing a red-fleshed apple.

Steven Edholm’s 11-Part Grafting YouTube Video Series

Connect

Website: skillcult.com

YouTube: @SkillCult

Want More on Growing Apples?

Expert Interview

In this episode, we chat with apple expert Bob Osborne about hardy apples.

Edible Garden Artistry with Potager Gardens + School Gardens that Survive Summer

Potager Gardens bring Together Elegant & Edible

Oklahoma garden designer Linda Vater loves to create elegant edible gardens. Her work is inspired by the tradition of the potager garden.

We talk about:

• Potager gardens

• Making ornamental and elegant edible gardens

• Design elements such as enclosure, colour, and texture

• How to design your own potager-style garden

Linda's new book is The Elegant & Edible Garden.

School Gardens That Thrive over Summer

In the second part of the show we catch up with Sunday Harrison from Green Thumbs Growing Kids in Toronto. We're big fans of this non-profit that brings gardening to school kids and communities in downtown neighbourhoods.

We find out more about their model, which solves a common challenge of school gardens: Summer.   

We talk about: 

• Why working with a cluster of schools helps with summer care 

• Summer community involvement

• A project that gets kids growing trees from seed

Sunday Harrison from Green Thumbs Growing Kids.

Want More on Landscape Design with Edibles?

Here’s an article to get you started with edible perennials, a great way to start your ornamental edible garden.

Here are a couple of interviews to give you ideas for landscape design using edible plants.

Don't Feel Bitter about these Cold-Hardy Citrus

Cold-Hardy Citrus with Fragrant Rind and Juicy Flesh

We chat with cold-hardy citrus expert Sam Hubert from One Green World Nursery.

Sam's interest in citrus began when he realized he could grow trifoliate orange in New England.

If you've tried trifoliate orange, you'll know it has true pucker power.

But don't worry!

Sam has lined up a mix of cold-hardy citrus: Along with fragrant and bitter citrus that add complexity to all sorts of recipes, he tells us about some eat-straight-from-the-tree cold-hardy citrus.

We talk about:

• Trifoliate orange

• Yuzu

• Sudachi

• Kumquat, and other citrus with kumquat lineage

• Ichang lemon

• Citrumello

• Mandarins

• Australian finger limes

Sam also shares tips about different ways to grow and protect citrus in cold climates.

Want More on Citrus?

Here’s an article to get you started with lemons:

Here are a couple of interviews with cold-climate citrus growers:

Grow Lemons Where You Think You Can't

Covering everything from lemon varieties, to location and watering, to pruning and shaping, to overwintering, dealing with pests, and more—and including insights from fellow citrus enthusiasts—this book will give you the confidence you need to grow and harvest fresh lemons in cold climates.

It's Rhubarb...but It's not Rhubarb

Forced Winter Rhubarb

Forced rhubarb is a winter specialty that's quite different from rhubarb grown outdoors: It's milder, more tender, and brightly coloured. 

Brian French and his wife Jeannette run Lennox Farm in Dufferin County, in Ontario. Along with field-grown rhubarb, they force rhubarb indoors during the winter. 

Brian French explains how to force rhubarb:

The French family at Lennox Farm. Brian French at right.

• The difference between forced and field-grown rhubarb

• Conditions needed to force rhubarb over the winter

• Varieties of rhubarb for forcing

• Growing rhubarb roots for forcing

• Digging rhubarb roots for forcing

• Tips for growing rhubarb at home

(Spoiler alert: Brian tells us whether it's really necessary to harvest by candlelight, as it's traditionally done!)

Pictures of Rhubarb Forcing

Connect

• website: lennoxfarm.ca

Want More on Rhubarb?

Artisan Tomatoes and a Tomato Addiction

Heirloom and Unusual Tomato Varieties

We chat Teresa Zohorsky from Solana Garden in Ontario.

What started as a fascination with unusual tomato varieties grew into an addiction! Teresa specialized in heirloom and unusual tomato varieties, and now sells tomato transplants and fruit.

We talk about:

• Top varieties

• Resources for finding and researching tomato varieties

• Selecting tomato varieties suited to the growing conditions

• Tips for people who want to get started growing heirloom and unusual tomatoes

Connect

• @solana_garden in Instagram and Twitter

Want More on Tomatoes?

Grow Quince + Delectable Root Veg Recipes

Spoiler alert: Scroll down for recipes!

Growing Quince

Quince expert Joseph Postman joins us to talk about quince. This fragrant fruit is unknown to many in North America, and often relegated to use as a rootstock for pear trees.

Postman is a retired plant pathologist and curator of the USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Corvallis, Oregon, where he helped develop a pear collection with cultivars and species from around the world.

We talk about:

• What is quince

• How to use quince fruit

• The use of quince trees as rootstock for pear trees

• Quince varieties

• Quince cold hardiness

• Quince diseases

Delectable Root Vegetable Recipes

Cookbook author and professional home economist Jennifer MacKenzie joins us to talk about cooking root vegetables and shares recipes from her book The Complete Root Cellar Book.

We talk about:

• Shopping for root veg

• What to look for if you're planning to store root veg

• Spiced roasted turnip and beet batons

• Beet and carrot slaw

• Root cellar medley soup

• Parsnip and pear soup

MacKenzie is the author of 9 cookbooks.

• Sous Vide Basics

• 150 Best Waffle Maker Recipes

• The Complete Book of Pickling

• The Dehydrator Bible

• The Complete Trail Food Cookbook

• The Complete Root Cellar Book

• Complete Curry Cookbook

• Best of Bridge Home Preserving

Quince expert Joseph Postman

Jennifer MacKenzie, author of The Complete Root Cellar Book

Recipes from The Complete Root Cellar Book

Parsnip and Pear Soup

From The Complete Root Cellar Book by Steve Maxwell and Jennifer MacKenzie (Robert Rose 2010); used with permission.

The sweet, floral flavor of pears tames the stronger flavor of parsnips in this light and velvety soup.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

• 1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil

• 1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped shallots

• 2 pears, peeled and chopped

• 1 small all-purpose potato, peeled and chopped

• 4 cups (1 L) chopped parsnips (6 to 10)

• 4 cups (1 L) homemade vegetable stock or chicken stock, or reduced-sodium ready-to-use vegetable or chicken broth

• 1 tbsp (15 mL) white wine vinegar

• 1 tsp (5 mL) salt, or to taste

• 1/2  tsp (2 mL) freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

• Chopped fresh parsley

1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté for about 3 minutes or until starting to soften. Add pears, potato and parsnips; sauté for 5 minutes or until parsnips start to soften.

2. Add stock and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are very soft.

3. Using an immersion blender in pot or transferring soup in batches to an upright blender, purée until very smooth. Return to pot, if necessary.

4. Add water or more stock to thin to desired consistency. Reheat over medium heat until steaming, stirring often. Stir in vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Ladle into warmed bowls and serve sprinkled with parsley.

Tips: If your parsnips have tough, woody cores, trim them away when chopping; they’ll cause your soup to be stringy.

To dress up this soup for entertaining, float a spiced pear crisp (see page 138 of the book for the recipe) on each serving.  

Spice-Roasted Turnip and Beet Batons

From The Complete Root Cellar Book by Steve Maxwell and Jennifer MacKenzie (Robert Rose 2010); used with permission.

Change up your traditional vegetable side dishes by adding a dash of spice and roasting them instead of boiling, and you’ll think you’re eating an entirely new food.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

• Preheat oven to 400F (200C)

• Large rimmed baking sheet, lined with foil

Ingredients

• 3 large turnips (about 1 lb/500 g)

• 2 large beets (about 1 lb/500 g)

• 2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil

• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) curry powder

• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground cumin

• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground coriander

• 1/8 tsp (0.5 mL) cayenne pepper

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Peel turnips and rinse. Trim off leaf stalks from beets (reserving for another use if desired) and trim off long roots. Peel beets and rinse. Cut turnips and beets lengthwise into sticks about 1/2-inch (1 cm) square.

2. On prepared baking sheet, toss turnips and beets with oil, curry powder, cumin, coriander and cayenne. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Spread out as much as possible. Bake in preheated oven for about 50 minutes, flipping halfway through, or until vegetables are tender and browned. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Transfer to a warmed serving dish.

Tip: A sharp Y-shaped vegetable peeler is very helpful when you’re peeling hard root vegetables, such as turnips and beets. If your peeler seems to be dragging the skin rather than neatly peeling it off, it’s probably time to invest in a new one.

More on Quince

Here are more interviews about quince.

More on Root Cellars

Here are more interviews about root Cellars.

Move Over Blueberries: A New Fruit for the Northern Gardener

Bob Bors talks about haskap, a.k.a. honeyberry, a very cold-tolerant fruit

Haskap is a Fruit for Northern Gardens

In this replay of a 2019 interview, we chat with Bob Bors, head of the fruit breeding program at the University of Saskatchewan.

We talk about:

• Breeding haskap (a.k.a. honeyberry) fruit

• Cold-tolerance of haskap

• How to care for haskap

• How to prune haskap

• Cold-tolerant cherry varieties from University of Saskatchewan

Growing Fruit in Northern Gardens

Bors is also the co-author of an excellent book: Growing Fruit in Northern Gardens. The book is not currently in print—but it’s well worth hunting for a used copy.

Dwarf and Unusual Tomatoes

Tomato expert Linda Crago talks with Emma about some dwarf and unusual tomato varieties.

A Tomato Variety to Bring Indoors for Winter

Emma chats with tomato expert Linda Crago about the 'House' tomato, a compact tomato plant that some gardeners keep over the winter in the house.

They also talk about a few other unusual tomato varieties, including one of the ugliest tomato plants you'll see: 'Stick.'

More on Tomatoes

Find out how to grow your own tomato plants from seed.

Reviving a Forgotten Fruit...by Planting an Orchard!

How to Grow and Cook Medlar

Author and medlar expert Jane Steward from Eastgate Larder talks about how to grow and cook medlar.

Jane Steward, author of Medlars – Growing & Cooking, talks about how to grow medlar, how to cook medlar, and shares some fascinating medlar facts. (Find out how medlar wood was used in Dutch windmills!)

Steward planted a medlar orchard, holds the UK National Collection of medlars, and runs Eastgate Larder—a food business where she processes medlar.

We talk about:

• How to grow medlar (Mespilus germanica)

• How to cook medlar

• Steward’s journey into planting a medlar orchard and starting a food-processing business

• How to “blet” medlar

• Medlar rootstock

• Medlar fruit in Turkey and around the Caspian Sea

• (Spoiler alert: we also hear about medlar gin and a delicious medlar chutney)

“If you want to have medlars in your life you really need to have a tree!”

Connect

• Eastgate Larder: eastgatelarder.co.uk

Find the book at Prospect Books, or online at Amazon.

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Want More on Medlar?

Interested in Lesser-Known Fruit?

Top Crops and Seed Shopping

Garden Planning and Seed Shopping

Horticulturist and vegetable-garden expert Donna Balzer talks about garden planning and shares her tips for seed shopping.

Horticulturist and vegetable-garden expert Donna Balzer talks about garden planning and shares her tips for seed shopping.

We talk about:

• Favourite early spring greens crops

• Making a vegetable garden plan

• Succession crops

• Storage Crops

• Where to get seeds

• Testing seeds for viability

• Seed Lingo

Connect

• Donna’s website: donnabalzer.com

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Want More Planning Ideas?

Find out about vegetable-crop spacing in this article.

Interested in Heirloom Seed?

Hear Jere Gettle from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds talk about his journey into seeds.

Meet Canada's Grape

Growing Grapes and Making Wine in Niagara

Daniel Speck from Henry of Pelham winery talks about growing grapes, wine, and different types of wine grapes.

Daniel Speck from Henry of Pelham winery talks about growing grapes, wine, and different types of wine grapes.

We talk about:

• What makes Niagara an excellent grape-growing region

• Grape vine care

• Vinifera grapes, labrusca grapes, and hybrid grapes

• The history of the Henry of Pelham

• Baco Noir and Pinot Noir grapes

• Food pairings for Baco Noir wine

“Baco is Canada’s Grape!”

Matthew, Paul, and Daniel Speck

Connect

• Henry of Pelham Winery: henryofpelham.com

• Click here for the Baco Noir Bin 106 Trio

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Want More Interesting Drink Ideas?

If this episode got you thinking about fun drinks to serve over the holidays, tune in to the episode entitled, Garlic-Infused Vodka and a Cricket Rodeo, where Peter McClusky from the Toronto Garlic Festival tells us about garlic-infused vodka.

Interested in Growing Fruit?

Check out these articles about growing fruit in cold climates.

Apricots in Alaska!

Grow Fruit North of 60

Mark Wolbers, president of the Alaska Pioneer Fruit Growers Association, talks about growing fruit north of 60.

Mark Wolbers, president of the Alaska Pioneer Fruit Growers Association, talks about growing fruit north of 60.

We talk about:

• The range of fruit that grows in Alaska

• The growing conditions in different parts of Alaska

• Using greenhouses and high tunnels

• The gardening culture in Alaska

• The advantages of growing in a northern area

• Opportunities for monetization

• A greenhouse-winery!

“Snow is our friend!”

Connect

• Alaska Pioneer Fruit Growers Association: apfga.org

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Want More on Growing Food in the North?

Tune in to hear Suzanne Crocker from Dawson City talk about eating locally for a whole year in the episode No Groceries North of 60.

Great Herbs for Indoor Growing (Ditch the Scorched Rosemary!)

Grow Herbs Indoors

Dave Hanson joins us to talk about growing herbs indoors over the winter. He’s the owner of Sage Garden Greenhouses and co-host of The Grow Guide podcast.

Dave Hanson from Sage Garden Greenhouses in Winnipeg, Manitoba tells us about growing herbs indoors.

Dave has joined us here on the show before to talk about exotic edibles.

Along with Sage Garden Greenhouses, he co-hosts The Grow Guide podcast.

We talk about:

• Herbs that can be moved indoors from the garden

• Seed-growing herbs indoors over winter

• 3 bullet-proof herbs for growing indoors (for people like Steve…who has a habit of killing rosemary plants over the winter)

• Lesser-known herbs that are well suited to indoor conditions

• Indoor herb care and feeding

• Potting soil for growing herbs indoors

• Controlling pests on indoor herb plants

“Even though I’m a greenhouse grower, I like to un-complicate things!”

Top Herbs for Indoors

Cuban Oregano

Cuban Oregano

Frensham Lemon Geranium

Galangal

Galangal

German Myrtle

Connect

• Sage Garden Greenhouses: sagegarden.ca

• The Grow Guide podcast: thegrowguidepodcast.com

Want More on Herbs?

We have more inspiring interviews about growing and using herbs.