A Walk Through My Edible Garden
Craig Castree takes viewers on a tour of his densely planted garden, pointing out edible crops, fruit trees, flowers, and medicinal plants. Along the way, he explains how flowers support beneficial insects, how he keeps fruit trees manageable, and why he plants food wherever there is room. His central idea is simple: a colorful, full garden can provide food while leaving little space for weeds.
1. The Flower-Filled Front Garden
Craig begins in the front garden, where edible plants grow alongside flowering annuals, perennials, and medicinal herbs. He points out alyssum, calendula, and self-seeded violas, then gives a quick tour of the mixed planting: garlic, ashwagandha, snapdragons, kale, green and red chard, fennel, and several medicinal plants.
Among the herbs and flowers are lion's ear, black mullein, and common mullein, which Craig says he uses to support respiratory health. He also identifies meadowsweet and St. John's wort, as well as motherwort growing near sunflowers. Lettuce, berries, and other plants are tucked in between them, while a flowering rue adds another splash of color.
A small apple tree grows on a very dwarfing rootstock. Craig says he does not need to prune it; he simply covers it with netting each year to protect the fruit. He describes the front as a space where many kinds of plants can grow together.
"There's a mix of edible, perennial, medicinal, and annual plants right here at the front."
2. Making the Most of Paths and Garden Edges
As Craig moves along the front path, he encourages viewers to use more of their gardens to grow food. He suggests keeping the task manageable: plan to plant two or three things each day, or just one if time is limited.
Along the path he shows perennial garlic and spinach, beetroot ready to harvest, kohlrabi, more beetroot, and small self-seeded violas. There are also remnants of Tuscan kale, chard, parsley, and foxgloves that returned from the previous year. He warns viewers not to eat foxgloves, noting that they are not edible.
Nearby, a Mexican marigold grows beside an apple tree that Craig says has not been pruned this year. He uses a method he calls "under-pruning," and points out the tree's fruit, buds, and flowers. His broader approach is to let compatible plants share the same space.
"What goes together on the plate goes together in the ground."
The garden also contains a huge rhubarb plant, phlox, more chard, and hyssop, which Craig often uses for tea and describes as having a flavor reminiscent of anise. He continues past Asian leafy greens, feverfew, penstemon, red clover, and more sunflowers.
Alpine strawberries grow in small birdbaths, with one planted in a sunny spot and another in the shade. Craig also shows a "bee boat"—a container planted with sedges—and points out additional medicinal plants. He labels fruit trees and tomatoes with rings around their bases, writing the plant names on the inside of each ring.
3. Fruit Trees, Berries, and Useful Ground Cover
Craig highlights an apple tree carrying 18 varieties, followed by a lush ground cover of alpine strawberries. The strawberries spread throughout the garden, offering a snack for visiting children and grandchildren.
"The kids—and especially the grandkids—will have a lovely feed."
He says borage is especially useful around fruit trees and points out that it is beginning to flower as the tree starts flowering too. Nearby are chamomile, grevillea, avocado, and more penstemon. The garden also contains Egyptian walking onions, coriander, chives, and sage.
A dwarf apple tree is beginning to leaf out again, and poppies are starting to bloom. Craig then points to a small ground-covering plant called brahmi, which is traditionally said to support memory.
He sums up his planting philosophy with an image of a garden packed with life:
"Happy gardens, guys—full gardens. Don't leave room for weeds."
He pauses to admire an aquilegia, also called granny's bonnet, and says he plans to add a purple variety.
4. The Side Garden and the Shady Side of the House
After initially saying goodbye, Craig remembers to show the side path. Along the front is a lavender hedge, with several salvias, including white sage, pineapple sage, and Mexican sage. He also points out goldenrod, penstemon, and lemon verbena, which is just beginning to grow again. He jokes that it needs to hurry because his supply of lemon-verbena tea is nearly gone.
A feijoa produced heavily the previous year. Craig keeps it low so it can be covered with netting easily. He uses the same approach with a fig tree, keeping it from growing too far above the fence. At this point there are only a few figs, but he expects a much larger crop later in the season.
On the shadier side of the house, a "Million Dollar" peach tree is flowering and preparing to fruit. Azaleas grow in pots, while alpine strawberries and other ground covers cover the soil. Blueberries appear to be doing well, and grapes grow overhead along a long walkway.
The grape-covered walkway has 12 trellises. Craig grows six table-grape varieties and six wine-grape varieties. He nets or bags the hanging bunches to protect them. He also uses the grape leaves to make dolma, as well as harvesting the grapes for eating.
"Alpine strawberries are a wonderful ground cover: they suppress weeds, keep the soil covered, and give us fruit in return."
5. The Backyard: Bonsai, Seedlings, and Dense Planting
In the backyard, Craig introduces bonsai as a recently revived hobby. He enjoys spending his limited free time working on it, even though bonsai is not edible; he simply likes the way it looks in the garden. Nearby are a Washington navel orange tree, a vigorously growing pepino, sage, and pineapple sage.
Craig mentions that Kari has planted a few sunflowers, which they need to protect from snails. He also refers viewers to the events page for information about an upcoming Geelong show and a busy week of workshops.
A nursery bed is full of seedlings waiting to be planted out, many of them started by Kari. Craig points to strawberries growing in tiers along the fence. Watering from above lets water run down from one level to the next. They have sprinklers at both ends of the backyard, and have stopped using drip irrigation there.
He uses the densely planted garden to explain why he likes full beds:
"When I step back, you can see what I mean: full gardens don't grow weeds."
The abundance does create a practical challenge, though: Craig is struggling to find room for tomatoes. He shows a large patch of ground cherries, or physalis, and says they will provide plenty for pies. An espaliered, multi-grafted apple tree is flowering again, though later than usual. Craig attributes the delay to a mild winter: the trees may not have received enough chill hours, the period of cold conditions some fruit trees need for normal seasonal growth.
The beds also contain lettuce, garlic, beans, large chard, black kale, and celery. Another bed holds broad beans and kale, with a tomato planted that day. He shows more garlic, spring onions, celery, cauliflower, and dill, while waiting for grape leaves to grow large enough to harvest for dolma.
6. Planting in Groups and Feeding the Soil
Craig points out an apricot tree that has flowered and begun setting fruit. He expects to thin the developing fruit later, removing some so the remaining apricots have more room to grow. He says the garden is planted wherever there is soil, with the aim of growing food that can be used in meals—and, ideally, is beneficial.
He notes that the dill is more than two metres tall and says his broad beans are growing well. He recommends planting beans in groups of three, rather than in large blocks.
"I encourage you to do the same in your gardens—just in groups of three."
Craig explains that large blocks of plants can compete for the same nutrients, water, and light, and may contribute to soil depletion. The next bed is also packed, but he plans to remove sprawling plants and favor clumping varieties that are less likely to take over.
When the broad beans are finished, he will remove them and put tomatoes on their support frame. He has already planted another tomato variety, Granny's Throwing. The broad beans have nitrogen-fixing nodules on their roots. Rather than pulling out the roots, Craig plans to cut the plants off at soil level and leave the roots in the ground, allowing their nitrogen to return to the topsoil as they break down.
He also describes planting garlic in March and April. Around a ring of garlic, he adds crops that work well together in the kitchen, including lettuce-leaf basil, and plans to add other varieties as they grow.
7. Flowers, Pollinators, and the Rest of the Orchard
Craig returns to the garden's many flowers, emphasizing that they make the space colorful while attracting beneficial insects. He notes a reported 25% decline in flying insects and says it is important to help restore their numbers by making gardens welcoming to them.
"It's really important to attract those beneficial insects again."
A dwarf pear tree is just starting to flower, while a dwarf nectarine and peach nearby have begun setting fruit. Another bed combines many plants with Kari's zucchini frame. A second multi-grafted apple tree is flowering heavily, and Craig expects to thin its fruit as well. He says his pruning approach has consistently produced a much larger crop. Nearby is an Angelina plum, with the tops of the fences used to help cover fruit trees with netting.
Craig points out the berry bed and a weather station that helps monitor the program controlling the sprinkler system. At the back is another peach tree and a lemon tree loaded with fruit.
"We have more lemons than I think we know what to do with."
Craig jokes that Kari will soon be making lemon tart. Another apricot has flowered and set fruit. The perennial bed contains comfrey, planted near the chickens and compost area, along with a cover crop that helps add nitrogen to the soil.
The tour continues past an artichoke and a small pond that needs work. Craig says he will get to it when he can, acknowledging that it is impossible to do everything at once. Nearby are a bay tree in a pot, a babaco tree that loses its leaves during frequent frosts but grows back strongly each year, and a curry-leaf tree. A mandarin grows near the chicken area.
8. Compost, the Greenhouse, and a Final Encouragement
Craig explains that the compost area is placed beside the chicken run so chicken manure and straw can be added directly. The arrangement saves time, and he mentions that they plan to make a cart for moving the material. In the background, an avocado has grown from seed, and he is curious to see how it develops.
Kari's greenhouse is where the seedlings are raised. Craig says he has not bought any seedlings that year because Kari has become so good at growing them. The greenhouse contains sunflowers, tomatoes in pots, and many blueberries.
He ends by returning to the tour's main message: the garden is full, productive, and enjoyable, and he hopes it encourages viewers to grow more food in their own gardens.
"I hope this inspires you to use more of your garden to grow food. It's really enjoyable—and definitely a very different way of life."
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