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Welcome to White Strawberries, the podcast where gardening meets health and adventure, and sustainability feels joyful—not stressful.
I’m Sam, a permaculture gardener, educator, explorer on a mission to share the joy of growing and living well with the land. In each episode, we explore how to garden with purpose and laziness (I mean efficiency), curiosity, and fun. Eating a diversity of life giving foods in order to live our best in our current seasons. I get to have conversations with experts in their fields around all things nature. I know you'll learn something, and I will too!
May your strawberries be white and your curiosity never ending.
🌱 Let's connect on Instagram: @whitestrawberriespodcast
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21 Episodes
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🐓 In this episode, I share my lived experience with chicken tractors and the mandala garden system — the joys, the frustrations, and the lessons five years in. We explore: 🪴 How chickens save you work with composting, weeding, and pest control 🛠️ Design considerations: circular vs. rectangular tractors, PVC vs. wood, mites and materials 👩🌾 What it’s really like moving a dome once your Zone One (Garden Bed) fills with fruit trees and hedges 🌬️ Why wind (and tarps!) ca...
We’re talking chickens—those fluffy butt, soil-turning, pest eating wonders that can be put to work in your garden. 🐔 Whether you're dreaming of adding chickens to your permaculture setup or wondering if they're right for your orchard, this episode is packed with practical, real-world insight. I'm joined by Sez the Vet, an experienced life-style vet and educator. This is a conversation I was looking for 10 years ago! I get to have it now and share it with you. Are we OK to feed ou...
🌱 In this episode, I sit down with Steve Fawcett to explore Troppo — an urban tropical food forest in Te Puke. Yes, tropical plants… outdoors… in a place that gets frost and hail! We dive into: 🍌 Bananas as mineral accumulators (and why banana lollies taste the way they do) 🌴 Air layering and how it can trigger early flowering in plants ❄️ Frost protection strategies and mulching like crazy 🌳 Why food forests build deeper community resilience than veggie beds alone Ste...
🌱 In this episode, I dive into The Home-Scale Forest Garden by Dani Baker (2022), How to Plan, Plant and Tend a Resilient Edible Landscape. I share why this book captured my attention, what makes it such a treasure for anyone wanting to create a forest garden, and how I’ve been inspired to rethink my own food forest. From mapping your space with to-scale circles to understanding the roles of nitrogen fixers, mineral accumulators, and even fungi, Dani’s approach is full of practical, joyful id...
Looking to make the most of your garden or property without selling your harvest? In this episode of White Strawberries, I share five creative side hustles you can start right at home. From hosting garden tours and beehives to earning carbon credits, leasing land, or renting out a minor dwelling, these ideas can help offset costs, invest in your property, and even bring in a little extra cash. I cover practical tips, real-life examples from New Zealand, and legal considerations so you c...
Some fruits and vegetables are heavily sprayed with pesticides—and it’s not just a chemical issue. These plants may also produce fewer natural compounds that make them nutritious, and conventional growing methods can harm the environment. 🌱 Welcome to White Strawberries, In this episode, we unpack the Dirty Dozen—the 12 fruits and vegetables with the highest pesticide residues—and explore the Clean 15, foods that are generally safer. I’ll share advice on which ones to grow at home, whic...
In this episode, Sam puts on her educator’s hat, drawing from over 20 years of experience working in schools across New Zealand, Hong Kong, China, and the USA — including roles as Dean, Head of Business Department, sustainable living and outdoor education specialist, and working with at-risk youth. Sam sits down with Robin Mann, founder of Grow Wild Education, an inspiring nature-based learning initiative. Grow Wild Education runs weekly nature school programs and summer holiday sessions that...
In this episode of White Strawberries, I dig into the unsung heroes of the vegetable garden: perennials! You’ll learn about my three favourite edible roots — yacón, Jerusalem artichokes, and oca (NZ yams) — and the leafy perennials I would grow even if I only had 1m2 of garden bed: Sorrel, perpetual spinach, Welsh onions, and chives. These plants are weedy in the best way, nutrient-dense, and perfect for gardeners who want to reduce the time and effort they spend in their garden, ...
🌱 What is nitrogen actually and when we know what it is why does it matter? In this solo episode of White Strawberries, I ditch the edits (full disclosure I took the "um's" out) and go full conversation mode to unpack something that is made overly complicated sometimes: nitrogen. 🧪 We explore: • What nitrogen really is • How to tell if a plant is nitrogen-rich—or ready to mulch • Composting ratios made simple • "Humanure" • Why fresh arborist mulch is awesome for p...
💧 🌦️ If you’ve ever looked at a garden hose like it was made of gold—this one’s for you. In this episode of White Strawberries, I have a conversation with Sophie, a Zero Waste Educator, about the messy magic of water in the garden. From buckets of bathwater to rainwater you wish you could store, we share what it’s really like managing water—whether you live in a tiny house on a large amount of land, or a suburban backyard, this ones for you. 🚿 We explore: • Why water is your biggest lim...
In this Spark Joy episode, we dive into the wonderful world of hydrangeas — one of New Zealand’s most beloved perennial shrubs, known for their stunning blooms and versatility. As I recorded this in the height of summer, hydrangeas were truly sparking joy in my garden. Now, as winter sets in, it’s the perfect time to prune your hydrangeas, take cuttings to propagate, plant new hydrangeas, and feed your existing plants. Plus, if you’re looking to adjust your soil’s pH for the best color and he...
In today’s Q&A-style episode, I chat with Becks, who’s growing food on a small urban section packed with subtropical and Mediterranean microclimates. We talk through her real-life garden dilemmas—from a wayward apple tree branch and overachieving feijoas, to pruning grapevines and getting citrus trees back on track. We cover: 🍏 How to prune an espaliered apple tree 🍇 When and how to cut back grapevines 🌱 How to take a cutting and get it growing 🍋 What to do when yo...
♻️ Ever wondered if your compost pile is killing weed seeds—or just giving them a warm nap? In this episode of White Strawberries, I dive into my very first proper hot composting adventure. Spoiler: it involves bamboo stakes, cow poo tea, temperature obsessions, and a whole lot of bindweed I didn’t trust in a cold pile. 🌱 We’ll explore: • Why not all weed seeds die in regular compost • How to build a hot compost heap step by step—no fancy bins required • What materials (and simple ame...
Elderberry: Grow it because it’s delicious, beautiful — and scientifically proven to shorten the duration of the flu. This episode dives into the magic, science, and mischief of elderberries — a plant that blurs the line between medicine and myth. Learn why it’s a favourite of permaculturists, herbalists, and birds alike — and why it might just belong in your garden too. We explore: – How and why to grow elderberry (even if it's a bit "weedy") – What science says about its immune-...
We’re talking pigs—those chubby, soil-turning wonders that can transform your paddock and garden into a thriving ecosystem. 🐖 Whether you're dreaming of adding pigs to your permaculture setup or wondering if they're right for your orchard, this episode is packed with practical, real-world insight. I'm joined by Sez the Vet, an experienced life-style vet and educator, who breaks down the real benefits of pigs—from tilling the soil and fertilizing as they go, to controlling pests like guava mot...
What do olives, grapes, figs, and lavender all have in common? They're part of the sun-loving, drought-tolerant crew that thrive in Mediterranean climates—and today we’re designing a whole guild around them. In this episode, I explore what it means to plant perennials where they want to grow and why matching plants to their ancestral homes creates a thriving, low-input ecosystem. From nitrogen-fixers like tagasaste and Spanish broom to groundcovers like clover and nasturtium, we’ll break down...
In this earthy and enthusiastic episode, I chat with Sarah Williams—permaculture gardener, mushroom grower, and the green-fingered soul behind Sarah’s Green Acres—about growing wine cap mushrooms, also known as burgundy mushrooms or garden giants. We explore: How to grow them in a food forest or permaculture orchardWhy yours might not be fruiting yet (ahem, speaking from experience!)Cooking, freezing, and eating them—especially if you're cutting back on meatWhy they’re hard to find in shops, ...
🎙️ Why White Strawberries? 🍓 Welcome to White Strawberries, the podcast where we explore the lost art of living with nature—from a tiny house tucked into New Zealand bushland, surrounded by chickens, weeds, and yes... white strawberries. In this episode, I (Sam!) unpack the five quirky, nerdy, and joy-filled reasons behind the name White Strawberries. We dive into: ✨ What white strawberries actually are (spoiler: not unripe fruit) 🌿 Why growing a variety of plants matters—for your gut, ...
New to gardening and wondering when to plant things like tomatoes, spinach, or broccoli? This episode is for you! We’re diving into the basics of plant life cycles and how to know what to grow and when—without having to constantly check a list. By understanding what part of a plant you’re eating (leaf, flower, fruit, or seed), and how plants behave through the seasons, you’ll be able to plan your garden with more confidence and without the need of a generic plant list. Whether you...
In this episode, we dive into the messy, beautiful reality of applying permaculture principles in your own life with Sez the Vet! Sam and Sez explore the highs and lows of designing gardens, observing your land, and working with nature (even when it feels like society is pushing against it). 💚 From sun mapping and creating guilds and chickens doing their part, this episode is packed with real-life examples of how Sam and others have implemented permaculture practices—while acknowledging the ...
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