Food Garden Life Media

Who We Are

We’re Emma and Steven Biggs, the daughter-father duo bringing you this website, The Food Garden Life Show, gardening books, a newsletter, courses, and live events.

What We’re About

Our mission is to help people spend time outdoors, growing great food and connecting with nature.

We do this by sharing inspiring stories about growing food and the people growing it. We also love to share how-to information, taking ideas that might be new to people, and explaining them in a way that doesn’t scare new gardeners.

Where to Find Us

We’re in Toronto, Canada.

But we travel (virtually!) with our podcast, and have a community around the world.

Here’s more about us

When it Began

Our Food Garden Life brand came about when everything shut down during the COVID pandemic. We were stuck at home and missed seeing our gardening community at shows and events. So we reached out to the world through podcasting.

But here’s the quick back-story:

Steven is a horticulturist by training, and has worked in the industry for more than 25 years. He got into farm and garden communications as a way to spend more time raising kids.

And because of that…

Steven just took his kids on the road with him while he worked. The kids got to visit farms he was writing about. And they got to hang out at gardening events he was speaking at. Emma helped him carry boxes of books, set up displays, and distribute handouts.

We began presenting together when Emma was 10 years old, and have written two books together.

How We Connect

We love to entertain and educate.

Here’s how we share our passion for gardening, food, the outdoors, and self-reliance:

Broadcast: With over 150 episodes under our belt, we speak to gardeners and food enthusiasts around the on The Food Garden Life Show.
Print: We love books! We write them too. Steven is the author of 6 books; Emma of 2 books. It’s fun to see where our books end up: During one interview, a Mississippi podcaster told Emma, “Your book is at the local Tractor Supply!”
Social: Emma also hangs out on Instagram as @emmabiggs_grows
Digital: Along with this website, we send an e-mail newsletter to our community. Emma also hangs out on her own website, EmmaBiggs.ca.
Public Speaking: Steven’s been on the speaking circuit since 2010, with over 130 talks under his belt. Emma already has over 30 talks under her belt. We love them all – but heading to Texas to speak at Mother Earth News Fair was a highlight.
Teaching: Steven teaches continuing-education courses at George Brown College, as well as his own virtual classes on the Food Garden Life platform. Emma’s had fun sharing her passion for tomatoes by teaching her tomato class at Toronto Botanical Garden.

Bios

Steven Biggs

Steven’s a University of Guelph trained horticulturist. His work as a horticultural communicator and educator includes writing articles and books, public speaking, and teaching at botanical gardens and colleges. His passion is growing food, and in urban gardens growing food often means weaving edible crops into the landscape. His projects at home (collaborations with Emma!) include a driveway straw-bale garden, rooftop kitchen garden, and an edible-themed front yard.

Here’s More about Steven

“I just wanted to say how inspiring and amusing your talk was last night. I enjoyed it a lot. I went home wanting to turn my front yard flowers into vegetables.”

— Liz Primeau, author, TV host, founding editor of Canadian Gardening magazine

Emma Biggs

Emma is a Gen-Z gardener and garden communicator. She’s raised over 100 tomato varieties in her Toronto garden for a number of years, growing in containers, the straw bales on the driveway, and the rooftop. She is an engaging public speaker and a published author. She has spent three summers working at Zawadi Farm, an urban farm in Toronto. Outside of gardening, Emma loves photography (check out her Instagram feed). She’s also a teen entrepreneur, with her own home-based seed company.

Here’s More about Emma

“We had the pleasure of hearing Emma Biggs talk to our club recently. Not only is she personable and a very engaging speaker, she has the technical side of a zoom presentation down to an art.
Her information was up to date and very detailed, yet held our attention throughout. To have a room full of seasoned gardeners be so engaged and appreciative, is no mean feat, yet she accomplished this easily.
”

— Paula Bond, President, Etobicoke Horticultural Society

Need an Expert Source?

If you need a gardening expert for a piece you’re working on, we’re glad to chat by phone, Zoom, or e-mail.

E-mail Steven to make arrangements.

Need Engaging Guests?

If you need engaging guests to talk about gardening, we’d love to help.

Here are sample questions:

How can urban gardeners fit edibles into a yard, balcony, or rooftop?
Is it possible to grow fruit and vegetables in containers?
What if I don’t have full sunlight?
Can you really grow vegetables in straw bales?
What’s the best way to grow vegetables in containers?
How do you grow figs in cold climates?
Do you really grow over 100 tomato varieties in an urban backyard?
Can you really grow figs and lemons in cold climates?

Past Interviews

We enjoy inspiring people to try something new in the garden.

Here are some of our past radio, television, print, podcast, and online interviews:

chard tv.png — Cooking Swiss chard on television

Things to Know TO, CTV
Fresh Air, CBC Radio One
The Weekend Gardener Radio Show
The Grow Guide Podcast
The Survival Podcast
Breakfast TV
Roger’s TV
Garden America Radio Show
The Garden Show, Zoomer Radio
The Toronto Star
Garden Making magazine

Want to Hear What We Sound Like?

Hear us on The Food Garden Life Show

Recognition

Awards

We love what we do. It’s an honour when our work is recognized.

2022: Landscape Ontario Garden Communicator’s Award of Excellence for The Food Garden Life Show
2020: GardenComm Gold Media Award for Steven’s book Grow Lemons Where You Think You Can’t
2020: GardenComm Gold Media Award for The Garage Gardeners Radio Show (which we’ve since renamed The Food Garden Life Show)
2020: GardenComm Emergent Communicator Award for Emma’s work in garden communications (this award recognizes a member under the age of 40 who demonstrates exceptionally high degrees of skill and professional ethics)
2020: Taste Canada Awards Shortlist for our book Gardening with Emma
2017: Garden Making magazine recognized us both as part of the “green gang” of Canadians making a difference in horticulture
2012: Garden Writer’s Association Silver Award for Steven’s book Grow Figs Where You Think You Can’t
And Steven got a few awards working as a farm journalist: Monthly Press Reporting Award from Canadian Farm Writers' Federation (2012), Outstanding Article Award, American Society of Journalists and Authors (2011), and Best Press Feature Bronze Award, Canadian Farm Writers' Federation (2010)

Community Feedback

“I love this podcast! This father/daughter combo combines interesting guests along with a passion for all things gardening. Definitely one of my favourite ways to spend some quality time.”

A listener on Apple podcast

“Thanks for the awesome podcasts…you guys are getting me through my day!”

Instagram follower

“A BIG thanks to you and Emma! Our guests were delighted by your presentations. Hope you can join us next year!”

Stratford Garden Festival

“I just want to say how inspiring and amusing your talk was last night. I—and I’m sure the whole audience—enjoyed it a lot. I went home wanting to turn my front yard flowers into vegetables.”

Attendee of one of Steven’s talks