Tom has been involved in the nursery business since 1973. At that time, he was a freshman in high school and rode his skateboard to work. Since then he has worked for several different nurseries including Nogales Nursery where he learned landscape design, installation, irrigation and construction. Armstrong Nurseries where he worked with hybridizers, growers and retail on the weekends. La Verne Nursery which specializes in Avocado, Citrus, Sub-Tropical fruit trees and grafted ornamentals, where he was general manager for 20 years. And currently southwestern sales manager for Dave Wilson Nursery.
Dave Wilson Nursery is the largest grower of fruit, nut and shade trees in the USA. They grow 10,500,000 plus trees per year and ships wholesale worldwide. Over the past 20 years Tom has also done television, video, radio, written, conducted workshops and lectured on the concepts of Backyard Orchard Culture and fruit growing in general. Tom's dedication and passion for quality fruit growing has taken him to dozens of states in the USA as well as several countries around the globe to consult and lecture on fruit trees and fruit growing concepts.
IN THIS PODCAST: Greg and Tom share their passion for fruit trees and discuss some tips and suggestions for the backyard, or small orchard, grower. With decades of experience they talk about some important lessons learned about growing fruit trees for personal harvest. They explain the three concepts of backyard orchards and talk about how to help newly planted fruit trees survive the crucial first couple years after planting. Tom also shares some great stories including one about an epic grafting on a sad little lemon tree.
Go to our Podcast page at www.urbanfarm.org/blog/podcast/ to find photos, links, and more information on this podcast, as well as for each of our other great guest interviews. You can also sign up for weekly email summaries of the interviews.
Shelley has distinguished herself by meeting the personal and professional challenges of living and working with progressively disabling multiple sclerosis. An award-winning writer, author of 7 books, and professional motivational speaker, Schwarz uses her experiences to inspire and empower audiences to rise above challenges and teaches them how to bloom where they’re planted.
Her focus is finding solutions to common everyday problems that people diagnosed with chronic illnesses face. From getting yourself dressed and making meals to tending gardens and continuing recreational activities you enjoy, her philosophy is that a problem is only a situation waiting for a solution.
IN THIS PODCAST: Shelley shares an account of life with Greg who recognizes her as having an “epic” story. She has refused to allow her life enjoyment to end with her diagnosis of MS and now works to help others keep living their lives as well. She shares some tips, hacks and encouragement for how to keep doing what you love despite the physical challenges of illness or age.
Go to our Podcast page at www.urbanfarm.org/blog/podcast/ to find photos, links, and more information on this podcast, as well as for each of our other great guest interviews. You can also sign up for weekly email summaries of the interviews.
Loretta lives with her husband and two children in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of north central Texas. Having been gardening most of her adult life, she became intrigued with the urban homestead movement and is now on a mission to transform her little piece of the busy city into a thriving homestead. Her passion was fueled even more when she discovered aquaponics and learned that she could combine her love of gardening with one of her other favorite things, fish! Raising delicious tilapia in her aquaponics system only fed the fire and now their little homestead includes a small flock of laying hens with plans to add meat rabbits this fall.
IN THIS PODCAST: Greg and Loretta have a great time sharing their love and appreciation of truly home prepared meals. Loretta tells Greg all about how she has established her own aquaponics system on her homestead and now enjoys the health benefits of the love and care she has put into her organically based homestead. Together they share some tips and advice on how to have success with aquaponics.
Go to our Podcast page at www.urbanfarm.org/blog/podcast/ to find photos, links, and more information on this podcast, as well as for each of our other great guest interviews. You can also sign up for weekly email summaries of the interviews.
Mary was raised on a Holstein dairy farm in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. In 2008 she founded SEEAG, Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture, which teaches children about the farm origins of their food and connects them to the farmland in their own backyard. After years of teaching thousands of local school children, Mary realized their parents also knew little about local agriculture. So she founded Ventura County Farm Day, a county-wide agricultural education event, which includes over 20 local farms, tours and activities.
In This Podcast: Greg chats with Mary and learns how she recognized the need for agriculture education for both kids and adults in her community and how she started an organization to do something about it. Mary also teaches Greg something he did not realize about agriculture and education. Together they share an appreciation of the Do-er’s in the world. And she explains about the annual event she organized to help farmers in her county connect with the residents through a day-long open house at farms around the county.
Go to our Podcast page at www.urbanfarm.org/blog/podcast/ to find photos, links, and more information on this podcast, as well as for each of our other great guest interviews. You can also sign up for weekly email summaries of the interviews.
Morag loves living a permaculture life. She is a passionate permaculture teacher, an experienced designer, a permaculture blogger and film maker, a regular feature writer for the the Australian Permaculture Magazine and Correspondent for the new ABC Simple Living and Permaculture radio show.
She lives at Crystal Waters a permaculture village in the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast with her husband and young family, who she homeschools. They designed and built their eco-home without going into debt, collect all their own water, deal with their own wastewater and produce their own power. Morag loves teaching from her gardens - in this educational space she leads her Nature Kids programs, Young Ethos Scholar programs, Earth School camps for high school students and the Permaculture Life education series for adults.
IN THIS PODCAST: Greg and Morag cross time to chat about the beauty of living a simple life in conjunction with nature. She tells an inspiring story of how she has implemented her permaculture learnings into her life and how she is now reciprocating by sharing that knowledge in a variety of permaculture education. Listen to learn and be inspired, and perhaps bring a little bit of Crystal Waters into your own world
Go to our Podcast page at www.urbanfarm.org/blog/podcast/ to find photos, links, and more information on this podcast, as well as for each of our other great guest interviews. You can also sign up for weekly email summaries of the interviews.
Author of the recent award-winning book, “Harvest the Rain,” published in 2010 by Sunstone Press, Nate brings an extensive background to his current work and practice as a designer, “landscape-changer,” and forward-looking writer. For over a decade, Nate has spoken, taught, and penned numerous columns, guides, and publications extending permaculture practices in vitally important ways. At home, in our backyards, in the workplace, regionally, nationally, and internationally, Nate’s work addresses what he calls “changescapes,” “permapatterns,” and “permaDesign” — providing practical and visionary ways to be productive and add value to our lives, homes, communities, and environment.
Nate’s PermaDesign firm believes decisions that “green” our daily lives should add beauty, comfort, and value to our most-important investments. While impacting our world at home, we can all positively affect the environment upon which we depend. Each of us can make a difference by the way we see and the way we act.
IN THIS PODCAST: Nate shares his story with Greg and they talk about how a Permaculture Design Course with Bill Mollison changed his life path. Together they consider "permaculture magic" and how that happens a lot in the world of permaculture. And Nate shares a lot of information about water harvesting methods and how they can be of use in a variety of climates.
Go to our Podcast page at www.urbanfarm.org/blog/podcast/ to find photos, links, and more information on this podcast, as well as for each of our other great guest interviews. You can also sign up for weekly email summaries of the interviews.
Laura is a master teacher in numerous fields of the ancient science of life that arises from the Vedas and brings us Yoga, Ayurveda and Jyotish…time-tested and evidence-based pathways to healing, wholeness and higher self-actualization.
Working for years in the fields of health and human potential for decades, Laura is a Vedic Healer, Ayurvedic Consultant, Yoga Teacher, Jyotish Master, Life Coach, and well-followed blogger on Ayurvedic Nutrition. She has studied the world over with some of the greatest luminaries of our time, practicing and sharing what she has learned from ancient, proven wisdom for modern, exciting times.
Offering classes and consultations in Ayurveda, Jyotish, Yoga Therapy, Whole Food Cooking and Nutrition, and life coaching, a session with Laura can address health issues, chronic pain, emotional balance, stress reduction, yogic living, spiritual growth, self-realization. Her blog food-alovestory.com is an inspirational resource for sacred, sumptuous living.
IN THIS PODCAST: Laura and Greg share some mutual respect and appreciation as they discuss how important our place is in the world. Laura shares her appreciation for the food and medicines that we can grow in our own gardens, and helps make the connection of nature and our bodies. We also get an easy to understand explanation of Ayurveda. She closes with food suggestions for different Doshas and how we can plan for our health with the foods that we eat.
Go to our Podcast page at www.urbanfarm.org/blog/podcast/ to find photos, links, and more information on this podcast, as well as for each of our other great guest interviews. You can also sign up for weekly email summaries of the interviews.
Eric is the award-winning author of Paradise Lot and Perennial Vegetables, and the co-author of Edible Forest Gardens. He is an appointed lecturer at Yale University, a Senior Biosequestration Fellow with Project Drawdown, and an international trainer. Eric presents in English, Spanish, and botanical Latin throughout the Americas and beyond. He has studied useful perennial plants and their roles in agroforestry systems for over two decades. Eric has owned a seed company, managed an urban farm that leased parcels to Hispanic and refugee growers, and provided planning and business trainings to farmers. He is the author of The Carbon Farming Solution: A Global Toolkit of Perennial Crops and Regenerative Agricultural Practices for Climate Change Mitigation and Food Security.
Greg and Eric have a great conversation talking about carbon, climate change, permaculture and there are a few tidbits in here that even caught Greg by surprise.
Go to our Podcast page at www.urbanfarm.org/blog/podcast/ to find photos, links, and more information on this podcast, as well as for each of our other great guest interviews. You can also sign up for weekly email summaries of the interviews.
John is a husband, father to four, small farmer, author, and speaker. After serving on the board of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, he was asked to serve as interim Executive Director and now full Executive Director. John has participated in the small farming and food freedom movement in many ways over the years, serving as administrator for one of the largest local food buying clubs in the nation (Whole Life Buying Club).
He acted by standing up with the members of that buying club to unjust enforcement actions that denied them access to real food, protesting the FDAs harassment of farmers and consumers seeking real food. John regularly speaks across the nation on matters related to food, health, and farming. He and his family steward the 35 acres that they like to call Some Small Farm.
John and Greg have an eye-opening chat about the rights of farmers and growers in America.
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Hayley joined International Network for Urban Agriculture (INUAg) as the Director of Programming and Operations in March of this year. She develops and leads international and regional programming for the organization. Hayley graduated with a B.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing from Colgate University, and is thrilled to be working with INUAg to help urban farmers cultivate sustainable food systems.
The INUAg advocates for, educates, and provides funding to urban farmers world-wide. They help urban growers connect to each other to share best practices and provide promotional support to their projects. They’ve facilitated exchanges between farmers in the U.S. and farmers in Europe, Canada, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, and the Philippines. They are currently collecting submissions for their Annual International Leaders in Urban Agriculture Awards
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Go to our Podcast page at www.urbanfarm.org/blog/podcast/ to find photos, links, and more information on this podcast, as well as for each of our other great guest interviews. You can also sign up for weekly email summaries of the interviews.
Kelly Houle is a botanical and wildlife artist, calligrapher, and founder of Books of Kell’s Press, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit that works to create handmade books and original art to raise awareness about science and nature, and to raise money for humanitarian causes. Kelly is also creating a handwritten illuminated manuscript based on the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin in addition to a handful of other illustration projects. Kelly’s original paintings, handmade books, and prints are in numerous public and private collections around the world. She is currently developing a pilot art and science program to help create Monarch butterfly habitats as teaching gardens in schools.
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Go to our Podcast page at www.urbanfarm.org/blog/podcast/ to find photos, links, and more information on this podcast, as well as for each of our other great guest interviews. You can also sign up for weekly email summaries of the interviews.
Penny is internationally recognized as a prominent permaculture teacher, designer, and speaker. She holds a MS in Eco-Social Regeneration and a Diploma in Permaculture Design. Penny has been studying the Hermetic Tradition of alchemy and herbal medicine making in Europe and the United States for 4 years.
Penny has been teaching internationally and working professionally in the land management, regenerative design, and permaculture development field for 25 years and has extensive experience in all phases of ecologically sound design and construction as well as the use of natural non-toxic building materials.
She specializes in site planning and the design of resource-rich landscapes integrating - rainwater collection, edible and medicinal planting, spring development, pond and water systems, habitat development and watershed restoration for homes, co-housing communities, businesses, and diverse yield perennial farms.
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Becca lives in Northeastern Pennsylvania with her husband and seven children. She loves to garden, preserve her own food, spend time with her family and she’s an aspiring homesteader. She hopes to own a slew of chickens and maybe even a goat. Becca has started her own homestead and created a blog of her experiences called “Simply Quaint Homestead” to help others who hope to make the journey as well. Her specialty is gardening and home-canning and believes they go hand in hand. She says “If you can grow enough of your own food, you are able to home-can enough to make it through the winter.”
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Go to our podcast page at http://www.urbanfarm.org/blog/podcast/ to find photos, links and more information on this podcast as well as each of our other guest interviews.