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Your Garden Coach NZ

Ali Soper and Maura Wilson
Your Garden Coach NZ
Latest episode

109 episodes

  • Your Garden Coach NZ

    Inside the Victorian Kitchen Garden at Audley End House – with Gemma Sturges

    15/10/2026 | 15 mins.
    This month we head to Essex, England, where I'm joined by Gemma Sturges, Kitchen Garden Supervisor at the magnificent Audley End House and Gardens.
    Gemma has spent 15 years working in this extraordinary walled kitchen garden, where Victorian gardening traditions are very much alive.
    Set within historic brick walls, the garden covers almost three acres and is home to an impressive collection of heritage fruit and vegetables, including more than 120 varieties of apples, 70 varieties of pears, and beautifully trained fruit trees.
    We chat about what it takes to maintain a Victorian kitchen garden today, how traditional gardening methods have been adapted to suit modern organic practices, and what we can learn from the gardeners who worked these productive gardens more than a century ago.
    From four-year crop rotations and soil management to historic glasshouses, heritage varieties and the practicalities of growing food on this scale, Gemma shares her experience of caring for a garden that is both a piece of living history and a working kitchen garden.
    There are plenty of ideas here for those of us gardening on a much smaller scale, too.
    Join us for a fascinating look behind the walls of one of England's remarkable historic kitchen gardens.
    Support the show
    You can contact us at coach@yourgardencoach.nz and follow us on socials @yourgardencoachnz
  • Your Garden Coach NZ

    Mid-Spring - And... GO!!!

    01/10/2026 | 1h 11 mins.
    Season 4 Episode 2. 
    You’ve waited patiently — now it’s time to get going!
    But before you start sowing and planting, take a little time to understand your own microclimate.
    Support the show
    You can contact us at coach@yourgardencoach.nz and follow us on socials @yourgardencoachnz
  • Your Garden Coach NZ

    Early Spring - Is Your Garden Ready - or Are You Rushing It?

    02/09/2026 | 1h 7 mins.
    Season 4 Episode 1
    Know your Microclimate - resist rushing in, tempting as it may be.

    Support the show
    You can contact us at coach@yourgardencoach.nz and follow us on socials @yourgardencoachnz
  • Your Garden Coach NZ

    Late Winter - Wait for it, and Go! S3 Ep 27

    11/08/2026 | 36 mins.
    Maura is heading home! SO, I NEED A LITTLE HELP TO KEEP THE PODCAST GOING

    Recently, we asked you whether you’d like Your Garden Coach NZ to continue.

    The answer was a very definite YES — and I can’t tell you how much that meant.

    But I also need to be open with you.

    Producing the podcast takes a considerable amount of time, research, and work, and I simply can’t keep doing it without more support from our listeners. My lovely WWOOFer, Maura, is heading home in a month - My search for her replacement means I will have to pay for the expertise she has brought to the podcast

    I want to keep bringing you practical, independent New Zealand gardening advice - advice that understands our seasons, our climate and the way we garden here. 

    So, if the podcast has helped you grow better vegetables, understand your soil, garden with the seasons, try something new - or simply kept you company while you’ve been out in the garden - would you consider helping us keep it going?

    Even a small regular contribution from more of our listeners would make an enormous difference.

    There’s absolutely no pressure if supporting us financially isn’t possible. Listening, sharing the podcast, and telling another gardener about us all helps too.

    But if you can support us, now is the time we really need you. Link below

    https://www.buzzsprout.com/2256022/support 

    Thank you for listening — and for helping us work out what the next chapter of Your Garden Coach NZ might look like.

    Support the show
    You can contact us at coach@yourgardencoach.nz and follow us on socials @yourgardencoachnz
  • Your Garden Coach NZ

    Mid-Winter - The Microbes Are Still Working

    03/07/2026 | 52 mins.
    Season 3 Episode 26
    Support the show
    You can contact us at coach@yourgardencoach.nz and follow us on socials @yourgardencoachnz
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About Your Garden Coach NZ
Guiding keen new gardeners to become confident vegetable growers no matter the size of your garden or your skill level.We aim to share tips and tricks to help you grow healthy, nutrient-rich vegetables.Based in the Central Otago region of New Zealand.Happy gardening
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