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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 overwhelm, comparison, and perfectly curated (often fake AI rubbish) can quietly drain our confidence and joy. If you’ve ever felt like you’re “doing it wrong” despite knowing so much, this episode is for you.

This is a conversation about community over content — and why real transformation on our land doesn’t come from another tip, trick, or algorithm-fed reel. It comes from proximity. From being around people who observe carefully, ask better questions, and live intentionally with their land — not perfectly, but honestly.

Drawing on permaculture thinking, lived experience, and the idea of “spirals” of achievement versus apathy, Sam unpacks how peer groups quietly shape our standards, energy, and outcomes in the garden (and beyond). She also shares practical ways to find — or create — the kind of gardening community that actually supports growth, alignment, and joy.

This episode also gently introduces Grounded, an upcoming course designed to bring real people together in real time — not for more information, but for shared momentum and discernment.

🌱 If you’re ready to step off the information treadmill and into something more grounded, this one’s for you.

🌱 What You’ll Discover

• Why gardening overwhelm isn’t an information problem
• How peer groups influence confidence, standards, and joy
• The difference between spirals of apathy and achievement
• Why AI garden imagery is damaging our garden
• Real-world ways to find or create aligned gardening communities
• How intentional proximity accelerates learning and clarity

🎧 Previous White Strawberries Episodes You Might Enjoy

• Help! My Garden Isn’t Thriving | Mastering the Garden
• 3 Reasons Not to Garden | Sparking Joy
• Permaculture: Explained | With Dr. Sez the Vet

🌱 Join the Grounded waitlist:
👉 LINK COMING SOON- Come back soon🤗
(Details shared with the waitlist first. No commitment.)

🎧 Connect with me.

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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:

1. Choosing two new plants to try this year
2. Making your garden easier and more sustainable
3. Shifting your mindset to let go of what doesn’t serve you
4. Tackling that one task you’ve been putting off, in a way that’s fun

Let's do it together! I'll share my goals and lots of examples of what you might like.

References & Resources

• Koanga Institute (Heirloom & Heritage Seeds – NZ) – sourcing broad beans and other seeds
  https://koanga.org.nz/
  
  
• Ashwagandha: a medicinal herb that comes with a bunch of hype around it at the moment... So of course I want to grow it 😉

Previous White Strawberries Episodes Mentioned:

• What to Grow When: Timing Your Veges Right | Mastering the Garden
  
  
• Nitrogen 101: Transforms Your Garden | Mastering the Garden
  
  
• Wine Cap Mushrooms in Orchards | With Sarah Williams
  
  

🎧 Connect with me.

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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 because they’re inferior!!

We talk about why supermarket produce is bred for transport, uniformity, and shelf life — and what gets lost along the way: flavour, phytonutrients, biodiversity, and joy. From purple tomatoes and unusual potatoes to heirloom beans, peas, and self-seeding “weeds,” this episode celebrates annual plants that thrive in real gardens, not industrial systems.

🌱 What You’ll Discover

• Why supermarkets sell such limited annual varieties
• Annual plants that thrive outside industrial systems
• Nitrogen-fixing crops that feed both you and the soil
• Community-loved annuals you won’t find on shelves
• How joy, flavour, and wellness are deeply connected

🔗 References & Resources Mentioned

Koanga Institute (Heirloom & Heritage Seeds – NZ)

Cooking Beans — Susan Young

🎧 Previous White Strawberries Episodes You Might Enjoy:

What to Grow When: Timing Your Veges Right | Mastering the Garden

Nitrogen 101: Transforms Your Garden | Mastering the Garden

Wine Cap Mushrooms in Orchards | With Sarah Williams

🎧 Connect with me.