In this episode, I sit down with Steve Fawcett to explore Troppo — an urban tropical food forest in Te Puke. Yes, tropical plants… outdoors… in a place that gets frost and hail!

We dive into:
Bananas as mineral accumulators (and why banana lollies taste the way they do)
Air layering and how it can trigger early flowering in plants
❄️ Frost protection strategies and mulching like crazy
Why food forests build deeper community resilience than veggie beds alone

Steve’s casual style hides just how much knowledge he’s built through hands-on experimenting. From Papua New Guinea childhood memories of climbing fruit trees, to creating a lush, diverse, small-space forest garden in New Zealand, this conversation is a reminder of how much joy and abundance plants bring.

Recommended for: food forest dreamers, experimental gardeners, permaculture enthusiasts, anyone curious about growing the “impossible” plants in their climate.