Canada's Local Gardener Podcast Canada's Local Gardener

Faced with the very arduous task of building a new gardening bed, Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, turns to veteran gardener Ian Leatt to hear about his experiences. In addition to being a long-time grower of vegetables and flowers, Ian is the president of Pegasus Publications, the company that publishes Canada’s Local Gardener.
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It is seed starting time across Canada. From March through June, depending on where your garden is, you may be starting seeds indoors and out. Kevin Twomey, former owner of T and T Seeds in Winnipeg, has grown vegetables and flowers from seeds throughout his life. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener print magazine, is preparing to put in her first full-sized vegetable garden this year, and she talked to Kevin about what she’s done right, what she’s done wrong, and what she should do next year.
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For many gardeners, power tools sound like something their partner or friend would be more interested in. But at some point, even the luddite might be interested in getting jobs done faster and with less pain, if a little more noise. Kris Kiser is the president and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) in the United States. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener print magazine, talked to Kris about lawn mowers and leaf blowers, what’s out there and what she needs to tend to a medium-sized urban garden.
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Did you know that you can give too much compost to your garden? Also, there isn’t a “best” fertilizer for tomatoes or roses or trees. Robert Pavlis is a garden writer, speaker and educator with a background in science. He lives in Guelph, Ontario and gardens at his six-acre home called Aspen Grove Gardens. He has published a handful of books and maintains two websites, gardenmyths.com and gardenfundamentals.com. He speaks with Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, about the nutrients that plants need, dispelling myths along the way.
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Every year, growers, distributors and hybridizers of plants work on new species, and every year some of those new species make it to the market. New shrubs, flowers and vegetables come out with slight improvements and other distinguishing characteristics over the ones that have come before. 
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Since 2002, Canada has been watching the emerald ash borer kill our native ash trees, starting in Ontario and moving east and west from there. Ryan Statham, the District Manager for Davey Tree in Strathroy, Ontario, is on the front lines of the battle against this beetle. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, talks to Ryan about the fight and about how we can deal with emerald ash borer.
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