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Gardening for Wellness & Joy: White Strawberries
Welcome to White Strawberries, where gardening, permaculture, and sustainable living nourish body, and spirit and the planet. I’m Sam—a gardener, mum, educator and podcaster.
This is my passion! So, I'm glad you're here. Each episode explores an aspect of growing and eating nutrient-dense foods and growing flowers for joy.
I cover garden design, soil health, mushrooms, animal integration, and seasonal growing insights along side in-kitchen gardening and cut flowers. Because growing biodiversity means everything grows better.
I am a self confessed lazy gardener, who aims to do things efficiently with max returns.
🌱 Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced gardener, I hope you'll join me each week.
🌱 Let's connect on Instagram: @whitestrawberriespodcast
📘 Join the conversation on Facebook: White Strawberries Podcast
Episodes
45 episodes
Do Fruit Trees Need Pesticides? Rethinking Pest Control Naturally | With Matthew Priestley
Should we be using pesticides on our fruit trees? And if not… what do we do instead?In this episode of White Strawberries, I’m joined by Matthew Priestley, whose work and thinking around ecological systems challenges and ...
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Episode 44
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45:30
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Year-Round Fruit: Building Guilds for Continuous Harvest | Mastering the Garden
Discover how to design a garden that produces fruit all year long using the power of guilds. In this episode of White Strawberries, I dive into the concept of plant guilds—groups of plants, animals, and insects that support one another—and how ...
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Episode 43
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22:17
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Throw Back: Wine Cap Mushrooms in Orchards | With Sarah Williams
I'm uploading this episode for a second time because it is mushroomy gold!!In this earthy and enthusiastic episode, I chat with Sarah Williams—permaculture gardener, mushroom grower, and the green-fingered soul behind Sarah’s Green Acre...
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Episode 5
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28:03
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Autumn Garden Planning: What to Sow and How to Harvest All Winter
Autumn is a busy, beautiful season in the garden, and what you plant now will feed you all winter. In this episode of White Strawberries, I share practical tips for creating a winter garden that thrives in a temperate climate. 🥕🌸
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Episode 42
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15:02
How to Ferment Vegetables at Home (Easy Beginner Guide)
In this episode Maria- kitchen gardening pro- and Sam explore the magic of fermentation and how it can transform your kitchen and your health. From homemade apple cider vinegar to quick kefir ferments, Maria shares her practical tips for beginn...
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Episode 41
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25:32
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Soaking & Sprouting Seeds: Why It Matters (and How to Do It)
Sprouting and soaking might be some of the simplest — and most forgotten — kitchen skills we have 🌱In this conversation, I sit down with my dear friend Maria to chew the fat (and the nut!) on soaking grains, sprouting seeds, act...
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Episode 40
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26:50
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Longevity Foods: Grow What Fuels Brian Johnson | Rooted in Wellness
🌱 In this episode we explore how the diet and wellness practices of Brian Johnson — who aims to optimise health and longevity — intersect with what we can grow in our own gardens. From legumes to berries, brassicas to nuts, Sam brea...
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Episode 39
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35:21
Blue Zones: Can Gardening Help You Live Longer?
💚The waitlist is open: Find Information on the Grounded Course hereA friend once asked me how I could justify spending 10 hours a week in the garden.That qu...
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Episode 38
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30:30
Throw Back: 5 Garden Side Hustles, that isn't selling plants| Sparking Joy
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...
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Episode 17
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21:25
How I Saved My Garden from Summer Storms, Flooding & Wind
This summer has been brutal for gardeners — relentless rain, flooding, fallen trees, fungal disease, and damaging winds arriving right in the middle of the growing season.I want to share with you five practical techniques that genuine...
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Episode 37
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25:22
Why Raised Veggie Beds Burn Out Beginner Gardeners | Mastering the Garden
Annual raised beds often feel productive at first… and then stop thriving. We talk about the hidden workload of annuals, why potting mixes run out of nutrients, add toxicity to our soil and how lack of biodiversity can lead to pests and frustra...
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Episode 36
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22:17
Throwback: Permaculture: Explained | With Dr. Sez the Vet
Hi everyone! We have flooding and power outages throughout my area this week! So I'm hunkering down with the kids and re-releasing a top hitting podcast of mine. Check it out!!In this episode, we dive into the messy, beautiful r...
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Episode 2
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27:59
Down with AI gardens & Up with Real Life! Why Community Changes Everything | Mastering the Garden
There’s no shortage of gardening advice online — but more information isn’t making us better gardeners. In fact, it’s often doing the opposite.In this Mastering the Garden episode of White Strawberries, Sam explores why o...
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Episode 35
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28:34
Garden Goal Setting like a pro: Less Hustle, more Joy | Mastering the Garden
Creating garden goals that bring you joy, wellness, and sustainability in 2026—without getting caught in the “more, more, more” trap!I guide you through a simple four-question exercise to set achievable garden intentions:Choo...
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Episode 34
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15:58
Annuals Beyond the Supermarket: What to Grow Instead | Sparking Joy
Supermarkets love annual crops — but only a very narrow version of them.In this Sparking Joy episode of White Strawberries, I explore annual vegetables and fruits you’ll almost never see on supermarket shelves — not becau...
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Season 1
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Episode 33
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22:54
More Perennials, Less Hustle: Gardening Beyond the Supermarket | Sparking Joy
Next summer, I’m choosing a quieter, more generous way of gardening — more perennials, less hustle.In this Sparking Joy episode of White Strawberries, I reflect on why perennial plants suit real life so much better...
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Episode 32
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30:46
Poo Power: Gentle Fertilisers for Better Soil | Sparking Joy
Discover the gentle power of manure in your garden! In this episode, Sam dives into ruminant manure, vermicompost tea, and worm juice, showing how these natural fertilizers can improve soil health, boost nutrient uptake, and make your plants th...
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Episode 32
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12:47
What is the Dirty Dozen? Pesticides Uncovered | With Alison White
Guest: Alison White, Co-convenor of the Safe Food CampaignIn this episode, I sit down with Alison White, the woman behind New Zealand’s version of the Dirty Dozen list — a ranking of the most pesticide-contaminated...
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Episode 31
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40:06
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The Secret to Thriving Roses | Spark Joy
🌹 Welcome to White Strawberries, your go-to podcast for effortless, joyful, and sustainable gardening. In this episode, I dive into why my roses are thriving without sprays, how biodiversity supports healthy plants, and how to make your ...
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Episode 30
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25:29
Feed Us with Trees: Nuts and the Future of Food | With Elspeth Hay
Could the future of food be rooted in trees, not annual grains? In this episode of White Strawberries, I’m joined by journalist and NPR reporter Elspeth Hay, author of the hopeful manifesto Feed Us...
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Episode 29
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32:47
Genetic Engineering- What do I need to know? | With GE Honesty
I’m not usually a political person, but sometimes a little adulting is needed. And I think it’s important that everyday Kiwis actually know what’s happening in our food system.In this episode, I sit down with Callum from GE...
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Episode 28
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31:14
Sunflowers: 6 Reasons to Grow them | Sparking Joy
🌻 How cool are sunflowers?In this Sparking Joy episode of White Strawberries, we explore everything there is to love about sunflowers — their ancient history, mythological roots, and the many ways they bring...
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Episode 27
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19:11
Asexual Propagation: Beginner’s Overview of How to Clone a Plant
In this episode we’re diving into asexual propagation: making clones of a plant we want. For beginners! There are more ways, but these are the easiest!! AKA- Why My Baby Strawberries are Yucky. AKA- How to steal plants....
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Episode 26
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19:33
DIY Electrolytes: Turning Garden Surplus into Functional Hydration | Sparking Joy
This week on White Strawberries, we’re talking about DIY electrolytes — making your own hydration mix right from the kitchen (and garden).Whether you’re in autumn apple season in the Northern Hemisphere or heading into long, sun...
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Episode 25
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12:01
Help! My Garden Isn’t Thriving | Mastering the Garden
🌱 In this episode, I’m tackling a problem I hear all the time — what to do when your garden isn’t thriving.Maybe your garden used to be amazing, but now your plants are struggling. Maybe you are hesitant to continue to purchase soil and ...
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Episode 24
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25:48
