Can I Dig It? - Food Growing for Busy People

This past summer was alarmingly dry and our growing spaces really suffered. In this episode, we look into what we can put in place before next summer to conserve water, and how we can use it more wisely. Plus, we discover that Zoe is an early adopter of a rare and terrifying-sounding plant pest…

Image by Filip Urban via Unsplash

Check out the Can I Dig It Podcast's Patreon page!

Can I Dig It? is made by:

• Pippa Chapman,@pippachapman_thoseplantpeople on Instagram, andPippa Chapman Permaculture on YouTube.
• Zoe Edwards,@sozoblog and@checkyourthread on Instagram, and visit theCheck Your Thread website andfind the podcast in your favourite app.

Previous episodes mentioned:

• Ep. 22: What the hell is wrong with my plant
• Ep. 6: Seed Saving Dos & Don’ts
• Ep. 11: Annuals Vs Perennials
• Ep. 3: Mulching: How, Why and When?
• Ep. 18: What Even is a Food Forest?

Pest issue, fungal disease, bacterial disease, too wet, too dry, too sunny, too shady: why won’t our sad-looking plants just tell us what’s wrong?! Pippa gives us tips on how to diagnose their issues, and when action is necessary. Plus, the recent long, hot summer means water saving is top of mind for our listeners.

Check out the Can I Dig It Podcast's Patreon page!

Can I Dig It? is made by:

• Pippa Chapman,@pippachapman_thoseplantpeople on Instagram, andPippa Chapman Permaculture on YouTube.
• Zoe Edwards,@sozoblog and@checkyourthread on Instagram, and visit theCheck Your Thread website andfind the podcast in your favourite app.

Zoe fulfills a long-held dream to go mushroom foraging. Luckily, she has a good friend called Kerry who made sure she did so safely! Plus, Listener Heather commiserates and one-ups Zoe when it comes to weeds!

Check out the Can I Dig It Podcast's Patreon page!

Can I Dig It? is made by:

• Pippa Chapman,@pippachapman_thoseplantpeople on Instagram, andPippa Chapman Permaculture on YouTube.
• Zoe Edwards,@sozoblog and@checkyourthread on Instagram, and visit theCheck Your Thread website andfind the podcast in your favourite app.

Kerry mentioned the Facebook Group Mushroom Spotters UK.

Can I Dig It? is made by:

• Pippa Chapman,@pippachapman_thoseplantpeople on Instagram, andPippa Chapman Permaculture on YouTube.
• Zoe Edwards,@sozoblog and@checkyourthread on Instagram, and visit theCheck Your Thread website andfind the podcast in your favourite app.

Watch Huw Richards’s video, 12 Crops to Sow NOW to BEAT Rising Food Prices

Pippa recommends following Jamie Walton of @nettlesandpetals.

Bolt resistant varieties include

• Lettuces: Salad Bowl Red and Salad Bowl Green from Premier Seeds Direct
• Spinach: Mikado

‘Magentaspreen’ is the crazy-sounding disco tree spinach.

Read more about Stephen Barstow, the extreme salad man.

Varieties that can keep you in lettuce all year long:

• All Year Round
• Marvel of Four Seasons
• Arctic King

‘How to Grow Food’ by Huw Richards and Sam Cooper includes some interesting ‘alternative’ salad recipes.

When funds are low, it’s time to get resourceful. Pippa shares her hot tips for food growing on a budget. Plus, Zoe receives a shocking letter and defense against rabbits gets real.

Check out the Can I Dig It Podcast's Patreon page!

Text:

Can I Dig It? is made by:

• Pippa Chapman,@pippachapman_thoseplantpeople on Instagram, andPippa Chapman Permaculture on YouTube.
• Zoe Edwards,@sozoblog and@checkyourthread on Instagram, and visit theCheck Your Thread website andfind the podcast in your favourite app.

Listen to the related episode of Zoe’s other podcast:

• Ep. #224: Sewing When You’re Skint

Pippa recommends the coriander varieties ‘Calypso’ and ‘Leisure’ which are slower to bolt.

How to analyse and copy nature’s growing patterns to get every inch of use from your growing space. Plus, Pippa manages listener Kristin’s heartache AND Zoe enters her witch era during the recording!
Check out the Can I Dig It Podcast's Patreon page!
Can I Dig It? is made by:

• Pippa Chapman,@pippachapman_thoseplantpeople on Instagram, andPippa Chapman Permaculture on YouTube.
• Zoe Edwards,@sozoblog and@checkyourthread on Instagram, and visit theCheck Your Thread website andfind the podcast in your favourite app.

Check out a food forest near you:

• Volunteering - Edible Landscapes London
• Research Site Tours - The Agroforestry Research Trust
• RHS Garden Bridgewater / RHS
• Developing the Walled Garden at Shugborough | National Trust

Uh oh! We triggered Pippa’s special interest. We go deep into growing herbs for culinary and medicinal use. Plus, pressing rhubarb issues get tackled.

Check out the Can I Dig It Podcast's Patreon page!

Can I Dig It? is made by:

• Pippa Chapman,@pippachapman_thoseplantpeople on Instagram, andPippa Chapman Permaculture on YouTube.
• Zoe Edwards,@sozoblog and@checkyourthread on Instagram, and visit theCheck Your Thread website andfind the podcast in your favourite app.

Pippa recommends the YouTube channel ‘Herbs with Rosalee’ (@HerbsWithRosalee)

PSA: NOT putting in a ton of back-breaking work actually yields better results for your garden, Pippa explains why. Plus, Zoe quizzes Pippa on asparagus and time travel.

Check out the Can I Dig It Podcast's Patreon page!

Can I Dig It? is made by:

• Pippa Chapman,@pippachapman_thoseplantpeople on Instagram, andPippa Chapman Permaculture on YouTube.
• Zoe Edwards,@sozoblog and@checkyourthread on Instagram, and visit theCheck Your Thread website andfind the podcast in your favourite app.

Beauregard is the variety of sweet potato that is believed to be one of the best to grow in cooler climates.

Pippa’s pal, Steph Hafferty, has a YouTube channel (@stephaniehaffertyhomesteading) and has written several books.

Steph’s co-author of ‘No-Dig Organic Home & Garden’, Charles Dowding, also has a YouTube channel (@charlesdowding1nodig) and a number of other books, courses and products under his belt.

Check out the Can I Dig It Podcast's Patreon page!

Can I Dig It? is made by:

• Pippa Chapman,@pippachapman_thoseplantpeople on Instagram, andPippa Chapman Permaculture on YouTube.
• Zoe Edwards,@sozoblog and@checkyourthread on Instagram, and visit theCheck Your Thread website andfind the podcast in your favourite app.

Zoe has sown the following kale varieties:

• Dwarf Kale
• Cavolo Nero
• Perennial Kale
• True Siberian Kale (from Real Seeds)

Zoe explores the roles that seed swaps can play for individuals, communities and our growing spaces. We hear from the Brighton & Hove Food Partnership who organise Seedy Sunday, the largest and longest running seed swap in the UK. AND!!!! Plot neighbour Jane makes an appearance! Plus, Pippa reminds listener Kate why exactly she bothered to put cardboard on her garden.

Check out the Can I Dig It Podcast's Patreon page!

Can I Dig It? is made by:

• Pippa Chapman,@pippachapman_thoseplantpeople on Instagram, andPippa Chapman Permaculture on YouTube.
• Zoe Edwards,@sozoblog and@checkyourthread on Instagram, and visit theCheck Your Thread website andfind the podcast in your favourite app.

Seedy Sunday is organised by the Brighton & Hove Food Partnership.

In winter our gardens seem still and lifeless. But when the weather heats up and the growing gets going, we’re likely to find ourselves struggling to stay on top of all the tasks. So what practical tips and mindset shifts can we deploy to make sure we actually enjoy the forthcoming growing season? Plus, Pippa talks Zoe through what to do with her bounty from her trip to a seed swap.

Check out the Can I Dig It Podcast's Patreon page!

Can I Dig It? is made by:

• Pippa Chapman,@pippachapman_thoseplantpeople on Instagram, andPippa Chapman Permaculture on YouTube.
• Zoe Edwards,@sozoblog and@checkyourthread on Instagram, and visit theCheck Your Thread website andfind the podcast in your favourite app.

Check out Pippa’s recent video that includes her digging up the unwanted raspberries by wielding her mattock.

Register to attend Pippa’s virtual book launch that’s taking place on 18th February at 7pm via Zoom.

Bare soil = no food! We discuss what succession planning is and how to start incorporating it into your garden so you can get more from your space. Plus, Pippa blows Zoe’s mind with her controversial take on crop rotation.

Check out the Can I Dig It Podcast's Patreon page!

Can I Dig It? is made by:

• Pippa Chapman,@pippachapman_thoseplantpeople on Instagram, andPippa Chapman Permaculture on YouTube.
• Zoe Edwards,@sozoblog and@checkyourthread on Instagram, and visit theCheck Your Thread website andfind the podcast in your favourite app.

Find out about the Winter of Care and Repair challenge via Zoe’s other podcast, Check Your Thread:

• Ep. #115: Winter of Care and Repair with Jeanna Wigger

The two types of succession sowing:

1 - Sow the same crop but just one row or a small amount every 2-4 weeks. This will help you get a crop over a long period rather than them all being ready at once.

Crops that work well with this approach include: Lettuce, spring onion, radish, baby carrots

2 - Following one crop with another. For example, a spring sowing of spinach could give crop from April to May, and it always seems to flower in May/June, whatever time you sowed it. Then take out spinach and put in dwarf french beans for a second crop from the same bed.

Some early cropping options:

Early potatoes, peas, broad beans, early carrots, beetroot

Follow those with:

Winter cabbage, leeks, kale, swiss chard, late carrots, courgette

A late summer harvested crop like courgette or french beans can be followed with autumn sown broad beans, turnips, winter salads esp oriental salads, pakchoi or autumn planted garlic.

Huw Richards has created an excellent video on succession planning:

How to Create a Planting Plan for Year-Round Food Abundance | Complete Guide

https://youtu.be/nkjeSJQWhZc?si=9YPqBwV2-PKXOMEO

More food for less work? Yes please! We explore the pros and cons of both exciting annuals and one-and-done perennials. Plus, what are the options for life after astro turf?

Check out the Can I Dig It Podcast's Patreon page!

Text:

Can I Dig It? is made by:

• Pippa Chapman,@pippachapman_thoseplantpeople on Instagram, andPippa Chapman Permaculture on YouTube.
• Zoe Edwards,@sozoblog and@checkyourthread on Instagram, and visit theCheck Your Thread website andfind the podcast in your favourite app.

Watchthe documentary Pippa found about the history of oca and potatoes.

Pippa’s Top 5 Perennials:

• Taunton Deane perennial kale
• Everlasting onion
• Caucasian spinach (climbing)
• Oca
• Allium moly for salads - sweet but hot garlic flavour

Planning for the next growing isn’t all about shopping for seeds, apparently! Pippa talks us through the things to start considering to help you get the most from next year’s efforts. Plus, Zoe wants to know about compost optimisation and the suitability of seaweed as mulch.

Check out the Can I Dig It Podcast's Patreon page!

Can I Dig It? is made by:

• Pippa Chapman,@pippachapman_thoseplantpeople on Instagram, andPippa Chapman Permaculture on YouTube.
• Zoe Edwards,@sozoblog and@checkyourthread on Instagram, and visit theCheck Your Thread website andfind the podcast in your favourite app.

Fruit Works Co-operative is a social enterprise helping people to plant and maintain fruit trees in the Bradford and Leeds area of the UK.

Follow Grace Hills @sparkingcommunity on Instagram

Zoe will be restocking on broad beans from Real Seeds.

If you missed it, we did a deep dive in mulch:

• Ep. #3: Mulching: How, Why & When

Most food growing is done for the year. However, there’s tons we can be doing throughout winter to get our growing spaces in great shape. Plus, a listener goes from NYC guerilla gardening to 1.5 acres dream plot - Pippa advises on how to avoid the overwhelm.

Check out the Can I Dig It Podcast's Patreon page!

Can I Dig It? is made by:

• Pippa Chapman,@pippachapman_thoseplantpeople on Instagram, andPippa Chapman Permaculture on YouTube.
• Zoe Edwards,@sozoblog and@checkyourthread on Instagram, and visit theCheck Your Thread website andfind the podcast in your favourite app.

Pippa has been lifting her Oca and Mashua tubers. Find out more about growing Oca and Mashua.

News flash: not all pumpkins are bland and useful only for carving! We discuss what we might be missing, and how to get the most from the bland ones too. Plus, Zoe sneaks in questions about tired rhubarb crowns, and seeks validation for her lazy approach to weeding.
Check out the Can I Dig It Podcast's Patreon page!
Can I Dig It? is made by:

• Pippa Chapman,@pippachapman_thoseplantpeople on Instagram, andPippa Chapman Permaculture on YouTube.
• Zoe Edwards,@sozoblog and@checkyourthread on Instagram, and visit theCheck Your Thread website andfind the podcast in your favourite app.

Pippa’s new book, ‘Permaculture Planting Designs’ is available for PRE-ORDER!!!!
Varieties of seeds/plants mentioned:

• ‘Jack O Lantern’ for actual carving
• Lady Godiva for naked/hulless seeds from Garden Organic
• Kakai for naked/hulless seeds from Vital Seeds
• Hablitzia / caucasian spinach seeds from Incredible Vegetables, a tastier alternative to Good King Henry

Check out the garden consultation episode (#112) of Zoe’s other podcast, Check Your Thread, with Pippa when they first got to know each other.

Check out the Can I Dig It Podcast's Patreon page!

Can I Dig It? is made by:

• Pippa Chapman, @pippachapman_thoseplantpeople on Instagram, and Pippa Chapman Permaculture on YouTube.
• Zoe Edwards, @sozoblog and @checkyourthread on Instagram, and visit the Check Your Thread website and find the podcast in your favourite app.

Zoe found her secondhand greenhouse via the sharing app, Olio.

Zoe mixed some picante cocktails using homegrown chilis, flex!

Author and guerilla gardening advocate, Ellen Miles, wrote this excellent article on the topic for RHS.

Ellen also wrote the book ‘Get Guerilla Gardening: A Handbook for Planting in Public Places’.

Follow the Phantom Planter on Instagram (@the_phantom_planter) or check out their website for more info.

The Wildlife Trusts have a helpful article about how to make your own seed bombs.

Check out the Can I Dig It Podcast's Patreon page!

Can I Dig It? is made by:

• Pippa Chapman, @pippachapman_thoseplantpeople on Instagram, and Pippa Chapman Permaculture on YouTube.
• Zoe Edwards, @sozoblog and @checkyourthread on Instagram, and visit the Check Your Thread website and find the podcast in your favourite app.

BBC Good Food have a great recipe for pickled pink onions, similar to the ones Pippa made and ate immediately!

The RHS explain F1 hybrid seeds so we don’t have to (again).

Great sources for heritage and open pollinated seeds:

• The Organic Seeds Catalogue
• Real Seeds
• Vital Seeds

Check out the Can I Dig It Podcast's Patreon page!

Can I Dig It? is made by:

• Pippa Chapman, @pippachapman_thoseplantpeople on Instagram, and Pippa Chapman Permaculture on YouTube.
• Zoe Edwards, @sozoblog and @checkyourthread on Instagram, and visit the Check Your Thread website and find the podcast in your favourite app.

Fruit Works Co-operative is a social enterprise helping people to plant and maintain fruit trees in the Bradford and Leeds area of the UK.

Find gardening expert Huw Richards on his YouTube channel and on Instagram (@huwsgarden).

Huw has also written a ton of books, including his latest, The Permaculture Garden.

Try out the BBC Good Food Easy Plum Jam recipe that Zoe recently had great success with.

Pitmaston Pine Apple variety of apples is Pippa’s favourite.

Find your nearest local apple festival. Orchard Network provides another resource for finding your local apple day.

Research Apple blossom and harvest dates by variety and Apple storage times by variety.

The type of apple corer that, in Pippa’s experience, works the best.

Check out the Can I Dig It Podcast's Patreon page!

Can I Dig It? is made by:

• Pippa Chapman, @pippachapman_thoseplantpeople on Instagram, and Pippa Chapman Permaculture on YouTube.
• Zoe Edwards, @sozoblog and @checkyourthread on Instagram, and visit the Check Your Thread website and find the podcast in your favourite app.

If you’re in the UK and have a TV licence, you can see Pippa’s appearance on Gardener’s World via iPlayer.

Pippa uses an Excalibur dehydrator, specifically the Excalibur 9-tray Dehydrator With Timer In Black

Fermentation expert, Sam Cooper, is @chef.sam.black on Instagram. His book, The Fermentation Kitchen, is on Zoe’s Christmas list.

‘Slow Bolt’ AKA ‘Long-Standing’ and ‘Santos’ are coriander (cilantro) varieties that are slower to go to seed.

‘Green Aroma’ is Pippa´s favourite variety of coriander (cilantro).

Great sources for fruit trees are:

• Ashridge
• Blackmoor
• Or, your local trusted garden centre may do bareroot fruit orders.