Gardener Interview #7 (Healthy Fresh Homegrown by Tranquil Urban Homestead)


Hello gardeners – I’m back with the 7th in this series of interview posts. I set out to talk to gardeners who have blogs or YouTube channels.

I wanted to learn more about them, their interests, what kind of content they create, how they got started with gardening, and more.

Below, you can read our 7th interview with Marc Thoma, who runs the blog Healthy Fresh Homegrown by Tranquil Urban Homestead.

Enjoy!


1. What is your name and location?

My name is Marc Thoma from Victoria, BC, Canada.

Tranquil Urban Homestead 3 - Trellis
Image courtesy of Healthy Fresh Homegrown by Tranquil Urban Homestead. Photography by Marc Thoma.

2. What is the name of your website, and what topics does it focus on?

Healthy Fresh Homegrown by Tranquil Urban Homestead, https://tranquilurbanhomestead.com, teaching families how to grow their own vegetables, fruit and herbs at home, even with limited time and space.

3. What is an interesting fact about you?

I was born in Germany but came to Canada at a very young age.

Tranquil Urban Homestead 1 - Raised Beds
Image courtesy of Healthy Fresh Homegrown by Tranquil Urban Homestead. Photography by Marc Thoma.

4. What is an interesting fact about gardening that not many people know?

Growing your own food shouldn’t take all of your spare time. There are so many time-saving techniques that allows you to grow healthy, fresh homegrown food in just minutes a day.

5. What is your favorite topic in gardening? What got you interested in that topic?

I’m very interested in greenhouse gardening. When we moved into our current property, there was an existing lean-to greenhouse. It wasn’t in great shape, so I rebuilt it a few years ago. Now it’s my main location for starting seeds early, overwintering plants and growing citrus trees.

Tranquil Urban Homestead 4 - Greenhouse
Image courtesy of Healthy Fresh Homegrown by Tranquil Urban Homestead. Photography by Marc Thoma.

6. What is your favorite plant? Why?

My favourite plant are my fruit trees. They require minimal maintenance for maximum harvests. And fruit is so versatile in meals.

7. What is your gardening nemesis?

Bindweed! I have a few spots with a heavy infestation that I’m trying to combat with sheet mulching with cardboard and constant pulling. I’m making some headway.

Tranquil Urban Homestead 2 - Lettuce
Image courtesy of Healthy Fresh Homegrown by Tranquil Urban Homestead. Photography by Marc Thoma.

8. What is the biggest gardening mistake you have made? What did you learn from it?

Not building a large enough greenhouse! I’m limited in space, but still regret not going a bit wider so I can grow more in the greenhouse.

9. What is your favorite gardening gear? Why?

Probably my pruners. Since I have a lot of fruit trees, they do need yearly pruning. But the pruners are also useful to keep all plants in check, especially in a small garden.

Tranquil Urban Homestead 5 - Tomatoes
Image courtesy of Healthy Fresh Homegrown by Tranquil Urban Homestead. Photography by Marc Thoma.

10. What is your favorite gardening article that you have written on your site?

7 Useful Features You Need in a Passive Solar Greenhouse

11. Are there any gardening blogs, apps, YouTube channels, Pinterest pages, etc. that you like?

Charles Dowding’s Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@CharlesDowding1nodig

He exclusively uses the no-dig method to grow an amazing market garden of vegetables and has great tips on making your own compost and starting seeds early in a greenhouse.

Tranquil Urban Homestead 6 - big-kabocha-squash
Image courtesy of Healthy Fresh Homegrown by Tranquil Urban Homestead. Photography by Marc Thoma.

12. How many posts do you have on your website?

122

13. How many posts do you write per week/month?

I used to write at least one post a month at the beginning, but that has dropped to one article every few months. I hope to get back in a groove of posting at least every two weeks this year.

Tranquil Urban Homestead 7 - eggplant
Image courtesy of Healthy Fresh Homegrown by Tranquil Urban Homestead. Photography by Marc Thoma.

14. How long have you been interested in gardening?

Since I was a child growing up on my parent’s property in the 1970’s – my dad had lots of fruit trees and a vegetable garden. My mother enjoyed growing herbs.

15. How many different types of plants do you have?

12 fruit trees (including some kiwi vines and a lemon and mandarin tree), 245 square feet of vegetable beds containing everything from greens (lettuce, chard, spinach, kale) to beans (pole, bush, drying) to squash, beets, onions, etc. Too many individual plants to count!

16. Is there anything else about gardening or your website that you would like to mention?

The key to a successful food garden is to stay on top of things. I recommend spending 10-15 minutes a day (before or after work is a good time) to walk through your garden and check on things.

Don’t leave it until the weekend as a lot can happen in a week (pests, disease, baseball-bat sized zucchini!) and it’s harder to deal with a problem when it gets bigger.


Marc, thank you for taking the time to do this interview!

If you want to check out Marc’s posts, you can find them here.

I hope you enjoyed this gardener interview, and I hope you learned something interesting today. Check back soon for more interviews!

You can find our previous gardener interview here.

You can find our next gardener interview here.


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~Jonathon


Jon M

Hi, I'm Jon. Let's solve your gardening problems, spend more time growing, and get the best harvest every year!

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