PODCAST · leisure
The Messed Up Gardener
by Esther William (Aitken)
Hello and Welcome to The Messed Up Gardener. This podcast covers all areas of gardening from a beginner, intermediate to advanced level. It covers gardening on any budget, any space, any place. There are no rules when it comes to me, and my gardens and I do it messy. There is nothing more fun than getting your hands dirty and creating that space that gives you joy and abundance. This podcast will give tips, tricks, hacks and methodology’s to make any space work from the tiny indoor garden to the rolling meadows with even a dash of bees, mushrooms and hydroponics thrown in. I have been a horticulturist for as long as I can remember and in the industry since I was 15 so that’s nearly 30 years of hands on gardening experience. I am really looking forward to being on this journey & doing it messy with you.
Episodes
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Ep 195: The Art of Growing Crops in Shady Spaces
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes Every garden seems to have that one awkward spot. Beside the house. Behind the shed. Under a tree. Or along a fence where the sunshine barely makes an appearance. You plant something, water it…
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Ep 194: Why Are Your Seedlings Growing Tall, Thin and Weak?
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes Your seedlings germinated beautifully. Everything seemed to be going exactly to plan. Then almost overnight... ...they stretched. The stems became long and thin. They started leaning toward the...
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Ep 193: Is Your Mulch Helping the Garden - or Hiding a Problem?
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes Your garden bed looks beautiful. Fresh mulch covers the soil. The weeds are hidden. Everything looks tidy and protected. But what is actually happening underneath? Is the soil staying too wet? Are...
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Ep 192: Why Flowers Appear but Fruit Never Follows
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes Your plant is covered in flowers. The bees are visiting. Everything looks as though a bumper harvest should be just around the corner. Then the flowers fall off... ...and nothing follows. No...
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Ep 191: Why Your Compost Is Not Breaking Down
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes Your compost pile is full. You’ve added kitchen scraps, grass clippings, dry leaves and cardboard. But weeks later... ...not much seems to be happening. The pile is cold. The cardboard is still...
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Episode 190: What Is Really Happening When a Plant Wilts?
A wilted plant can make us reach for the hose before checking anything else. But wilting does not always mean the soil is dry. A plant can wilt in wet soil, after transplanting, during hot weather, in cold conditions, or when damaged roots cannot move water properly. In this episode of The...
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Ep 189: What Are Yellow Leaves Really Trying to Tell You?
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes Yellow leaves have a remarkable ability to make gardeners panic. One day the plant looks fine. The next, two leaves have turned pale. Before long, you are wondering whether it needs more water…
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Ep 188: What Is Winter Really Doing to Your Garden?
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes Winter damage does not always happen in one obvious moment. More often, it builds slowly through cold soil, wet roots, short days, wind and plants that cannot recover as quickly as they would in...
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Ep 187: Before You Rip Everything Out...
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today's Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes Have you ever stood in your garden and thought... "That's it. I'm ripping everything out." Not because the garden has failed... But because it suddenly feels too messy. Too many weeds. Too many...
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Ep 186: The Crops That Teach You How to Garden
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes Have you ever noticed that some crops seem to teach you far more than they ever produce? Not because they're difficult... But because they're honest. A row of radishes can teach you about timing. A...
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Ep 185: What Your Garden Is Trying to Tell You
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes Have you ever walked into your garden and immediately assumed something had gone wrong? A yellow leaf. A wilted seedling. A plant that suddenly looks unhappy for no obvious reason. It's amazing how...
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Ep 184: Stop Starting Over Every Season
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes Have you ever found yourself standing in the garden thinking… "Right... time to start again." It feels like a new season means beginning from scratch. New crops. New plans. New jobs. But what if...
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Ep 183: The Garden Bottleneck You Don't Know You Have
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes Have you ever felt like your garden is working harder than it should? The plants are growing... You're putting in the effort... But somehow the results never seem to match the work. What if the...
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Ep 182: The Difference Between a Pretty Garden and a Useful Garden
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes What makes a garden successful? Is it the tidy paths? The beautiful flowers? The perfectly mulched beds? Or is it something else entirely? In this episode of The Messed-Up Gardener, Esther Williams...
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Ep 181: Why Your Garden Should Have Jobs, Not Just Plants
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes What if your garden is full of plants… but still isn’t doing enough for you? What if the problem isn’t how much you’re growing… but whether each part of the garden has a clear job? In this episode…
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EP 180: The Garden Maintenance Trap
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes What if your garden isn't actually too big... But simply asking for too much work? Why do some gardens feel enjoyable and productive... while others slowly become a never-ending list of jobs? And...
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Ep 179: Stop Growing a Garden You Can’t Maintain
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes What if your garden isn’t failing because you’re bad at gardening… but because it’s asking more from you than your real life can realistically give? In this episode of The Messed-Up Gardener…
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Ep 178: Why Some Gardens Feed You Regularly… and Others Don’t
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes What if your garden is growing plenty of food… but still not really feeding you consistently? What if the difference isn’t how much your garden produces… but how often it gives you something…
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Ep 177: Stop Letting Harvests Happen By Accident
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes What if your garden is producing food… but still not really feeding you? What if the problem isn’t how much your garden grows… but whether the harvests arrive in a way you can actually use? In this...
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EP 176: The Hidden Weeks That Make or Break a Garden
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes What if your garden isn’t failing all at once… it’s quietly losing momentum in the weeks you don’t notice? What if the problem isn’t the day you plant… or the day you harvest… but the hidden weeks…
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Ep 175: How to grow more without more space (or effort)
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes Hi, welcome to The Messed-Up Gardener Most gardeners think they need more space to grow more food. A bigger section. More raised beds. More containers. But what if that’s not the real problem? What...
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Ep 174: Stop Growing the Wrong Crops (This Is What Actually Saves Money)
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes What if your garden isn’t failing… it’s just not built to return anything? Why do so many gardens look productive… yet still don’t reduce your grocery bill? And what if the problem isn’t how you’re...
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Ep 173: Why Most Gardens Fail in the First 90 Days (And How to Avoid It)
🎧Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes What if nothing has actually gone wrong with your garden… But it just feels like it has? Why do so many gardens start strong… Only to slow down, stall, and become confusing within the first few…
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Ep 172: What a $100 Garden REALLY Looks Like (And Why Most People Get It Wrong)
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes What does a real $100 garden actually look like? And more importantly… 👉 would it actually save you money? Because a lot of people are starting gardens right now… spending hundreds… sometimes...
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Ep 171: Why Your Garden Isn’t Saving You Money… (And How to Fix It)
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode 👉 Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes Hi Welcome to The Messed Up Gardener Most gardens look productive… But are they actually saving you money? Or just making you feel like they are? In this episode of The Messed-Up Gardener…
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Ep 170: The Hidden Reason Many People Give Up Gardening
🎧 Listen to Today’s Episode Most people don’t give up gardening because they didn’t enjoy it. They give up because the first year feels harder than they expected. Because what most people don’t realise is this: The first year isn’t about success. It’s about learning. And many gardeners stop just...
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Ep 169: Why Knowing How to Grow Food Changes the Way You See the World
🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes What if the way you see food… isn’t the full picture? Most people experience food as something finished. Packaged. Convenient. Ready to cook. But the moment you start growing your own food… that...
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Ep 168: If Supermarkets Closed Tomorrow, Could Your Garden Feed You?
🎧Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes What would actually happen if the supermarkets shut tomorrow? Would your garden feed you? Or would it simply provide a few fresh ingredients for dinner? In this episode of The Messed-Up Gardener,...
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Ep 167: Why Sustainable Gardens Get Easier Every Year (And Why Some Get Harder)
🎧 Listen to Today’s Episode Some gardens quietly become easier every year. Others slowly become harder — and before you realise it, you feel like you’re constantly catching up… watering more, fixing more, rescuing more. But the difference usually isn’t effort. It’s strategy. In this episode of…
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Ep 166: The Hidden Mistake Most Gardeners Don’t Even Realize They’re Making
Why Strategic Gardening Always Beats Reactive Gardening Sometimes the most damaging thing you can do in a garden… is intervene too quickly. In this episode of The Messed-Up Gardener, Esther unpacks the hidden mistake most gardeners don’t even realize they’re making — reacting to symptoms instead…
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Ep 165: Autumn Is Where Smart Gardens Win - What to Do Before It Gets Cold
Autumn isn’t the end of the season — it’s leverage season. In this episode, Esther breaks down how smart gardeners prepare before the cold really hits. You’ll learn the key mindset shift for autumn, the five strategic moves that set your garden up for winter success, and the common mistakes that...
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EP 164: Transplant Shock Isn’t About Transplanting — Here’s A low-stress system for seedlings that flop after planting out
Have you ever planted out a seedling, stood back proud… then come out the next morning to find it flopped over like it’s regretting all its life choices? 😅 In this episode of The Messed-Up Gardener, we’re breaking down “transplant shock” in a way that actually makes it feel manageable — because...
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Ep 163: Slugs & Snails Are Back — Here’s the Calm Plan That Actually Works
Ep 163: Slugs & Snails Are Back — Here’s the Calm Plan That Actually Works A targeted, low-tox slug strategy for seedlings and soft growth Slugs are back — and if you’ve walked outside to find seedlings chewed overnight, this episode is for you. In this calm, practical mini-masterclass, Esther...
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Episode 162: Tabletop Veg Is the 2026 Trend — Here’s How to Actually Make It Work - Tiny pots, real harvests, and the few things that matter
Growing food is changing — and this episode explains why tabletop veg is having a real moment, not just a social media one. In Episode 162 of The Messed-Up Gardener, Esther Williams breaks down how growing edible plants at waist height — on tables, benches, decks, balconies, and patios — is...
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Ep 161: Most Gardening Advice Sounds Helpful — Here’s What Actually Is 5 myths, 5 truths, and the things that make a real difference
5 myths, 5 truths, and the things that make a real difference Gardening advice is everywhere — and a lot of it sounds helpful. But for many gardeners, it quietly creates more pressure than progress. In this episode of The Messed-Up Gardener, Esther slows things right down. After a week shaped by...
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Ep 160: What to Plant in January: Back to Basics — The Most Reliable Plants for This Month, Wherever You Live
January gardening can feel deceptively simple… and strangely exhausting. Whether you’re dealing with peak summer heat in the Southern Hemisphere or deep winter planning in the Northern Hemisphere, this episode is a calm, practical reset for tired gardeners who want clarity without pressure. In…
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Ep 159: The 3-List Garden Permission Slip. What you’re allowed to quit, ignore, and do badly
Gardening doesn’t always need motivation — sometimes it needs permission. In this quieter episode of The Messed-Up Gardener, Esther shares a gentle reset for overwhelmed, tired gardeners: three things you’re allowed to quit, three things you’re allowed to ignore, and three things you’re allowed…
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Ep 158: When the Weather Cries Wolf
The forecast has been acting like that dramatic friend who’s “being such a diva” every second day… and if you’ve ever rearranged your whole garden plan for “rain at 3pm” that never arrived, this episode is for you. In this mini masterclass, Esther breaks down a simple, realistic system for...
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Ep 157: The 3-Goal Garden Rule (Because You’re Not a Garden Employee)
It’s Twixmas… that weird in-between week where time doesn’t exist, your diet is 80% snacks, and your garden has decided to grow 9cm overnight just to humble you. In today’s episode, I’m sharing what we’ve been up to on our little modern-homesteading adventure — harvesting elephant garlic, drying…
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Ep 156: Outsource to Nature — Plants That Do the Work While You’re at Work
If your garden currently survives on “thoughts and prayers” because you’re flat out with work, life, Christmas chaos, kiwifruit, H&S… and maybe even relocating a 8m plastic house because it’s basically a solar oven… this one’s for you. 😅 In this episode, we’re talking about how to design a…
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Ep 155: "Batch Gardening — Do the Work Once, Coast All Week”
Batch Gardening — Do the Work Once, Coast All Week - How to garden like meal prep — one big push, lots of lazy wins. If you only have one decent chunk of time each week (or fortnight) to garden, this episode is your permission slip to stop feeling guilty and start gardening smarter. Esther breaks...
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Ep 154: The Bare-Minimum Watering Plan — Keeping Plants Alive When You’re Running on Fumes
The Bare-Minimum Watering Plan — Keeping Plants Alive When You’re Running on Fumes” A realistic survival guide for tired, overcommitted gardeners. You meant to water… and then work, kids, pets, emails, and life happened. By the time you remembered, it was dark and the guilt had already kicked in....
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Ep 153: “The ‘Someday Garden’ Trap — How to Start with the Garden You Actually Have”
Stop waiting for perfect conditions and grow something now. “We’ll really garden when we move.” “Once we build the raised beds.” “When I’ve got more time… next season.” If that sounds like you, this episode is your loving smack on the hand with a trowel. 💚 We’re talking about the gap between the...
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Ep 152: Lazy Mulching — How to Protect Your Soil Even When You’re Too Busy to Garden
Feeling like your garden is either drowning or turning into crunchy toast — sometimes in the same week? 😅 In this episode of The Messed-Up Gardener, I’m talking lazy mulching: the simple, real-world way to protect your soil, keep plants alive, and save your future sanity… even when you’re...
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Ep 151: The 3-Bucket System — Never Waste a Weed, Leaf, or Kitchen Scrap Again
Ever stared at a pile of weeds or kitchen scraps and thought, “Now what?” In this episode, Esther shares the simple 3-Bucket System — a no-stress, no-science-degree method for turning everyday garden mess into free, nutrient-rich compost and fertiliser. From overflowing water tanks to feijoa...
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Ep 150: “The Odd Rule — Why Uneven Planting Looks So Darn Good”
Ever notice how some gardens just feel right? In this short and sunny episode, Esther unpacks one of gardening’s simplest design secrets — the rule of odd numbers. Discover why planting in threes, fives, or sevens creates flow and balance, how our brains naturally prefer a little imperfection…
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Ep 149: “Beehind Closed Doors: What Really Happens When You Grow Under Cover”
Hello and welcome to another episode of The Messed-Up Gardener! Today, we’re pulling back the netting (literally) to talk about the sneaky pollination problems that happen in greenhouses, tunnel houses, and bird-netted spaces — and the easy fixes that bring the buzz (and the fruit set) back.…
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Ep 148: “Chaos Gardening: Why Letting Go Might Grow More Than You Think.”
Hi & Welcome to another episode of The Messed Up Gardener Spring is in full swing here at The Messed-Up Gardener HQ—sunflowers about to pop, kiwifruit vines gearing up to flower, bees on overtime, and the greenhouse going bonkers. All that colourful, buzzy beautiful mess got me thinking about the...
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Ep 147: “Barrel Dreams: The Pros and Cons of Growing Nursery Trees in Big Pots While You Wait for Your Land”
Ever wandered through a nursery, spotted the perfect tree, and thought, “One day… when I have my own land”? In this heartfelt episode, I share how hubby and I are building our future orchard right now — one barrel at a time. With over 100 tubs of citrus, raspberries, blueberries, feijoas, lilies,...
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Ep 146 Hot House Secrets — How to Grow Smarter in Pots & Soil
It’s been one of those weeks washing almost dry… and then it rains. Hubby’s flat-out with the bees, and I’ve been fighting off a chest/sinus bug (would not recommend). The silver lining? My happy place under plastic. Even on the rough days, a quiet potter in the greenhouse resets everything —…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Hello and Welcome to The Messed Up Gardener. This podcast covers all areas of gardening from a beginner, intermediate to advanced level. It covers gardening on any budget, any space, any place. There are no rules when it comes to me, and my gardens and I do it messy. There is nothing more fun than getting your hands dirty and creating that space that gives you joy and abundance. This podcast will give tips, tricks, hacks and methodology’s to make any space work from the tiny indoor garden to the rolling meadows with even a dash of bees, mushrooms and hydroponics thrown in. I have been a horticulturist for as long as I can remember and in the industry since I was 15 so that’s nearly 30 years of hands on gardening experience. I am really looking forward to being on this journey & doing it messy with you.
HOSTED BY
Esther William (Aitken)
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Messed Up Gardener have?
The Messed Up Gardener currently has 210 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Messed Up Gardener about?
Hello and Welcome to The Messed Up Gardener. This podcast covers all areas of gardening from a beginner, intermediate to advanced level. It covers gardening on any budget, any space, any place. There are no rules when it comes to me, and my gardens and I do it messy. There is nothing more fun than...
How often does The Messed Up Gardener release new episodes?
The Messed Up Gardener publishes regularly with 210 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Messed Up Gardener?
You can listen to The Messed Up Gardener on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Messed Up Gardener?
The Messed Up Gardener is created and hosted by Esther William (Aitken).
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