‘With the BC Home + Garden Show returning to BC Place Stadium from March 13-16, 2025, it’s time to dig into the art of growing food with purpose. Enter Carissa Kasper, the Vancouver-based gardener, writer, and entrepreneur behind Seed & Nourish, whose mission is to help people design gardens that feed both body and soul.
At the show, Carissa will team up with Chef Adam Middleton of ARC at Fairmont Waterfront for a special garden-to-table presentation, showing how to transform your home garden into a chef-worthy source of fresh ingredients. From top crops to plant to rooftop growing tips, Carissa is making homegrown food more accessible, flavorful, and inspiring than ever.
We caught up with Carissa ahead of the show to talk about urban gardening, top culinary crops, and how to throw the ultimate garden party. —Noa Nichol
What inspired you to start Seed & Nourish, and how has your journey as a gardener and entrepreneur evolved over the years?
I had spent a decade backpacking solo across the world. After a bad breakup, I ended up back in my hometown in Saskatchewan where I got a job working at a Cree community garden. There, I witnessed the power of a seed to empower and transform. All of the wonder and beauty I had sought outside, I found within the garden. But in the garden, I was part of the growth and experience, rather than just as a tourist. In the stillness, I found a path within myself for growth.
When I moved back to Vancouver, I wanted to create spaces for others to grow because I believe the garden is the perfect medium. Seed & Nourish is a way of bringing cities to life, and creating gardens that bring our wildest dreams into focus.
Working with gardens across the city from rooftops to backyards to the pollinator potager at Fairmont Waterfront has helped me become rooted in place. Seed & Nourish has evolved beyond food to create landscapes that are beautiful, beneficial, resilient, and part of an ecosystem.
One of the most fulfilling experiences as an entrepreneur has been working hand-in-hand with the team at Fairmont Waterfront to grow food and pollinator flowers on their rooftop garden, which Executive Chef Adam Middleton and Director of Culinary & Beverage, Chef Michael Pagnacco transform into their hyper-local Province to Plate menu at ARC Restaurant and their wildly popular Rooftop Garden Dinner series.
For those new to gardening, what are some easy, beginner-friendly crops that can bring fresh, chef-worthy flavors to home-cooked meals?
One of the most accessible things to grow that will make a world of difference in home-cooked meals is herbs. It’s also a great way to save money and eliminate food waste – no more rotting packages of sage in your fridge. Plus they can be grown in containers or can be integrated into the home landscape alongside ornamental plants.
Mediterranean herbs like rosemary, lavender, oregano, tarragon and thyme are drought-tolerant and low-maintenance. They prefer full-sun locations and well-drained soil and if given these conditions, are as easy as it gets. The key is to harvest often from the tips, cutting the soft, pliable new growth to keep the plant’s shape and never cutting into the hard wood which can damage the plant.
Green annual herbs like cilantro and parsley are cool-weather crops that do best in spring and fall temperatures, and can bolt in periods of high heat. These are good candidates for part-sun locations, along with chives, which are versatile in both sun and part-shade.
Basil is the star of the summer garden and marries beautifully with tomatoes, both in the kitchen and in the garden as a companion plant. When grown beside each other, both crops increase in essential oils, making for more flavourful food. The trick in growing strong basil is to cut the stem above two leaves, rather than harvesting leaf by leaf. This will force the plant to branch out, growing stockier rather than tall, and it will produce continuous leaves.
I can’t wait to demo these tips live on stage and put Chef Adam to the test as he harvests straight from the plant to the pan!
Your upcoming BC Home + Garden Show presentation focuses on “Growing Like a Chef” with Chef Adam Middleton. What are some key tips for growing ingredients that elevate home cooking?
Once you start growing your own herbs, you will quickly run into the happy problem of having more than you can use in your day to day dishes. Chef Adam has taught me how to solve this problem in the kitchen with the three essential green sauces: pesto, salsa verde and chimichurri. Learning to make these three sauces will instantly elevate your meals. They can also be frozen to carry the beauty of summer through the cold season.
Chef Middleton taught me that making pesto with a mortar and pestle is the best way to extract essential oil from basil for aroma, flavour and texture, and paired with a Northern Italian olive oil, parmesan, pine nuts, garlic, and salt will create a beautiful nutty texture that goes wonderfully with a range of dishes including pastas and white fish.
Chef Adam’s favourite way to make Salsa Verde is by using an equal ratio of basil and parsley, along with olive oil, anchovies, capers, and cornichons for a briny sauce that goes great with fish and boiled meats.
One of his favourites sauces of all is Chimichurri, which includes oregano, along with basil and parsley, and adds vinegar, garlic, and chili for a powerful sauce that pairs well with pork or a fatty protein.
Guess which one of these green sauces Chef Adam will be cooking up live onstage? If you’re in the audience, you may be one of the lucky ones selected to taste!
Urban gardening is growing in popularity, especially for those with limited space. What are your best strategies for rooftop or small-space gardening?
One of my favourite ways to garden is in containers. It is Seed & Nourish’s mission to grow wilder cities, and container gardens provide the opportunity to grow on rooftops and balconies and patios and spaces where you wouldn’t otherwise be able to grow. I believe with constraint comes creativity. In my own tiny patio garden, I am growing over 200 plants including fruit trees and tons of vegetables. It provides space for habitat and humans with pollinators, beneficial insects and birds regularly visiting to enjoy the pocket oasis I’ve created.
There are 5 factors that contribute to container garden success:
- Containers
Choose containers that are at least 12” deep. These allow for better water retention and the versatility to grow a wide variety of crops. Make sure you choose containers with drainage holes. If there is nowhere for water to go, your soil will become water-logged and your plant’s roots will not be able to breathe.
- Soil
Store bought potting soil often doesn’t contain soil at all; rather a mixture of peat and vermiculite. This allows for good drainage, but it doesn’t contain nutrients for your growing plants. Adding in compost or worm castings will provide food for your vegetables to grow. It also will provide a rich microbial environment full of beneficial bacteria and insects, instead of the sterile environment of packaged soil
- Water
We’ve already discussed what happens if your plants get too much water. But if a plant doesn’t get enough water, it can struggle too. Figuring out how much to water can feel a bit like Goldilocks trying to find the right bed. I find tactile information is the best way to find balance. Stick your finger into soil up to your second knuckle. When you pull it out, if there is no soil clinging to your finger, it definitely needs water. If there is muddy soil on your finger, wait another day or two. If there is a small amount of soil that can easily be brushed off, it is just right.
- Sun
Many rooftops receive 12 or more hours of sun a day, and often West, East and North-facing balconies receive less than 6 hours. Tracking the sun across your space before you set up your containers can help you determine the best place to create a garden. Ideally, you are looking for a spot that receives 6-8 hours (full sun). 4-6 hours (part-sun) will limit what crops you grow. Under 4 hours (shade) will not have enough sun to grow food, though there are many beautiful shade plants to grow a lush oasis.
- Flowers
When you choose to grow on a rooftop or balcony, you are still growing within an ecosystem. Pests like aphids and spider mites still find their way into your garden. So it is important that you attract beneficial insects too, like parasitoid wasps and ladybugs. The best way to do this is by planting umbelliferous flowers alongside your vegetables, such as yarrow, cilantro that has bolted, or sweet alyssum. Bees and pollinators can be attracted with nectar-rich flowers like zinnia or mini sunflowers.
You believe that gardening nourishes both body and soul. How does the act of growing food contribute to overall well-being?
Homegrown food holds the poetry of place, the sensory surprise of season, and the feeling of being in relationship with it. When you grow a tomato from seed to harvest, you’ve spent 5 months nurturing it along and so, naturally, you will fill your plate with produce at its peak of freshness, filled with nutrients, throughout harvest season.
But it doesn’t stop there. There is a sense of belonging and connection that occurs with the natural world when you spend time in it, and the garden is the most accessible window. You can get lost in the flow of movement and observation as you putter daily, and feel a growing sense of presence and peace through the mindfulness this brings into your life. It can re-connect you with the rhythms of growth, and this is why I believe the garden is a medium for transformation.
Plus, it’s fun to play in the dirt!
With sustainability top of mind, what are some eco-friendly gardening practices that can help minimize waste and maximize yields?
Growing your own food can eliminate much of your food waste. Harvesting leaf lettuce with the cut-and-come-again method can provide continuous harvests through spring – no more throwing away slimy clamshells of salad mix!
Compost and gardens go hand-in-hand, so if any produce gets away from you in the fridge, you can still close the cycle of food waste. Even if you’re in an apartment, you can make your own worm compost in a tote bin – City Farmer can set you up – and it’s absolute gold for your plants and soil.
Growing by seed can eliminate single-use plastics and transportation miles. Even if you’re a beginner, there are lots of crops that can be directly sown into the garden: radish, carrots, beets, leaf lettuce, cucumbers, cilantro, zucchini.
Try growing organically without sprays – even organic ones. Much of these are broad-spectrum and impact the health of all insects. Instead include umbelliferous flowers when you’re growing food – not only will your crops benefit, but so will the insects.
What are some unique or unexpected ingredients that people can grow at home to create gourmet meals?
Some of Chef Adam’s favourite ingredients are what he calls ‘ugly food;’ those vegetables that you don’t expect to be good, and so bring an element of surprise that delights the guest.
Cabbage is one of his favourites because it is so versatile. Varieties like January King have an amazing purple colour that holds raw or cooked, and a sweet, buttery flavour when cooked longer or a textural contrast at a shorter cooking time. It can be prepared raw, sauteed, or grilled and served alongside fish, meat, steak, pork, fish or as a vegetarian dish. He also loves pointed or Hispi varieties because they become paper-thin like butter when cooked down or are even tasty raw as a snack. One of his favourite ways to prepare it is stuffed with orange zest and raisins and braised in vegetable stock.
Another weird and wonderful favourite of Chef Middleton’s is sunchokes. They are in the sunflower family so can grow quite tall. They are a perennial crop that spreads easily, so are a great addition to the permaculture garden, with portions of the roots harvested annually, and some left to grow for the following season. They have a unique flavour, with a chestnut, earthy depth that can be prepared in a multitude of ways, such as fried, pureed, grilled, or deep-fried as potato chips, which pairs beautifully with a bison carpaccio.
Throwing the ultimate garden party sounds like a dream! What are your top tips for hosting a beautiful and delicious garden-to-table gathering?
After hosting two seasons of the Rooftop Garden Dinner series, some of Chef Adam’s top tips for hosting your own garden-to-table gathering are:
- Beyond Garden-to-Table, Think Garden-to-Glass
Garden herbs can be infused into simple syrups, shrubs and bitters to bring herbal elements to balance cocktails. Providing a signature cocktail upon arrival will help relax guests and provide a conversation starter. Sending them home with a nightcap like whiskey, port, grappa, or aquavit will close out the night with warmth and community. For ideas on botanical cocktails, I have a free Garden-to-Glass Guide available on my website.
- Seasonality
A garden party is at its essence a celebration of season. Dining al fresco where you can
see and smell the plants that you are tasting can be a sensory experience. Produce at
its peak can be prepared simply to highlight the essence of its flavour.
3. Comfort
As host, putting guests at ease can set the stage for a wonderful experience. Start by
taking their coat and welcoming them in with a signature cocktail. Make sure you have provided comfortable seating and if it’s a cool night, blankets go a long way. Let your guests know their presence is valued and appreciated with personalization. Try place cards or personalized menus. Make sure to take into account individual dining preferences.
4. Hosting
Remember your guests are there to see you. Prepping your menu beforehand ensures
you will be a part of the party, rather than tied to the kitchen. Don’t worry about dishes;
no one will remember the mess, but they will remember your presence. Have a co-host
and assign roles, so you can relax too.
5. Interactive
Community is best formed over a meal, so designing elements for interaction can create
a communal experience. Plan for a sharing plate in your menu to start conversation. End your meal with a dessert like Eton Mess or Creme Caramel that you have to crack to bring playfulness to the table.
What’s one gardening myth you often hear that you’d love to debunk?
Feeding your plants coffee grounds to give them a nitrogen boost. The high organic matter can attract pests and tie up nitrogen from your soil rather than provide it as it breaks down. Instead, do your composting outside of the garden in a worm compost bin or hot compost pile, and then add it to your garden once it’s finished for more balanced results.
If someone only has time to grow one plant this season, what would you recommend for maximum impact in the kitchen?
Nothing tastes like summer more than homegrown tomatoes. Choose a cherry tomato plant over a beefsteak which will provide continuous harvests. Both Chef Adam and I love Sungold tomatoes as they are sugary sweet, great for fresh snacking or cooking into tomato confit, blistered tomatoes, or sauces.
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