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The Urban Farm Podcast with Greg Peterson

Welcome to The Urban Farm Podcast, your partner in the Grow Your Own Food revolution! This audio only podcast features special guests like Jason Mraz, Lisa Steele, and Kari Spencer as we discuss the art and value of growing food in urban areas. We'll explore topics such as urban beekeeping and chicken farming, permaculture, successful composting, monetizing your farm, and much more! Each episode will bring you tips and tricks on how to overcome common challenges, opportunities to learn from the experience of people just like you, and plenty of resources to ensure you're informed, equipped, and empowered to participate more mindfully in your local food system... and to have a great time doing it!
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The Urban Farm Podcast with Greg Peterson
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Now displaying: 2018

Visit our podcast page here to find photos, links and more information on this podcast as well as each of our other guest interviews.

Dec 29, 2018

Embarking on extreme tasks to bring attention to important issues.

In This Podcast:

Rob Greenfield lived a fairly normal American life until 2011 when he began reading and watching documentaries that helped him realize he was contributing to the destruction of our planet. That was enough to set him on a course of performing extreme actions in order to motivate others to change as well. Having already taken three separate bicycle rides across America doing good deeds and showing ways to make less of an impact on the planet, he’s embarking on his biggest adventure yet—going an entire year eating only what he produces or forages himself.

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Rob Greenfield is an adventurer, environmental activist, humanitarian, and dude making a difference. He is dedicated to leading the way to a more sustainable and just world.

Rob has visited 6 continents and 40 countries, lived off-grid in a tiny house, wore a trash-suit for a month, dove in more than two thousand dumpsters, cycled across the U.S. twice on a bamboo bicycle, traveled over 7000 miles from Brazil to Panama relying on the goodness of humanity, participated in a cross-country good deeds bike trek, and shared all this to inspire change in others.

His next project is going an entire year without eating food from grocery stores, restaurants, or even eating or drinking at a party.  He will be growing and foraging 100% of his food for an entire year.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/foodfreedom for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

411: Rob Greenfield on Food Freedom Project.

Dec 25, 2018

Building up a better buzz on bees.

In This Podcast:

Walking by Lloyds of London with his wife Ashley, Lloyd Hardrick was intrigued by the beehives in the windows of the famous bank that shared his name. Curiosity led to research and research led to the career path that Lloyd and Ashley ventured on—raising bees. Making an impact on their community is the primary goal for Lloyd as he works to educate people on bees and their importance in our lives. As Lloyd says, “We all depend on bees. It’s everybody’s business to want to save the bees.”  

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Lloyd served in the U.S. Army for 10 years. After the army, he became a certified beekeeper and in 2015 he and his wife Ashley founded their beekeeping company. Honey Bee Goode Apiaries, is not just about bees and honey, they specialize in developing relationships with urban farmers and teaching in the local communities about the relationship between bees, flowers, and food.

Honey Bee Goode Apiaries was one of the Farmer Veteran Coalition’s 2018 Fellowship Fund Grant recipients. Honey Bee Good plants their hives on urban farms throughout their community.

Lloyd was the recipient of a $1000 Tractor Supply donation, through the Veteran Coalition’s program that offers assistance to veterans in the early stages of their farming operations.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/honeybeegoode for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

410: Lloyd Hardrick on Keeping Urban Bees

Dec 22, 2018

Creating healthy, nutritious snacks.

In This Podcast:

Tanya Batche loved to bake but didn’t necessarily think of it as a career. Looking at the frightening trend of obesity and diabetes, she knew there must be a way to still enjoy, and allow others to enjoy her delicious endeavors. Tanya turned her love of baking into her life’s work, teaching us how to enjoy our treats but making them much healthier.  Now you can enjoy her Hunger Bomb cookies too. As well as making these healthy treats Tanya also helps private clients learn to become healthier too. 

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Tanya is a Dietitian, certified in Adult Weight Management with over 25 years of experience helping patients and clients stay healthy.  She has traveled most of the country as a Corporate Dietitian overseeing senior living and wellness programs in healthcare.  She started baking as a little girl in Ohio, where she used to surprise her dad with treats (she hid) after he came from work.

She decided to follow her passion by combining her love of baking and her knowledge of healthy nutritious foods and started her own company! She created Hunger-Bomb Cookies, healthy treats that are delicious and filling while satisfying your sweet tooth, without spiking your blood sugar!  In addition to baking and selling her treats at farmers’ markets and online, Tanya also provides nutrition consultation to clients who want to live delicious and healthy lives.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/hungerbomb for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

409: Tanya Batche on Delicious Low Sugar Treats

Dec 18, 2018

Preferring the taste of fresh pressed over store bought.

In This Podcast:

Curiosity on what to do with the fruit from the three large olive trees in his new yard led Ron Mantini on a quest to make his own olive oil. Over the course of several years, with trial and error and the power of the internet, Ron has discovered how to make an delicious olive oil. He has learned how to turn the olives on his and neighboring trees into a bright green, fresh and addictive pressed oil, a nice pairing for his homemade bread and pasta.

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Ron was born and raised in Lorain Ohio, 30 miles west of Cleveland on the shores of Lake Erie.  He moved to Chandler, Arizona in 2000 after graduating from the Ohio State University to work for Intel Corporation, which he still does until this day.  He is married with 4 children between the ages of 8-13.  With several olive trees at his home, Ron taught himself how to make olive oil from scratch.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/ronsfreshpressedoil  for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

408: Ron Mantini on Homemade Olive Oil

Dec 15, 2018

Becoming a steward of the soil.

In This Podcast: 

As a contour farmer facing the problem of so much soil washing away in the rain, Steve Szudera found his solution when he borrowed a no-till drill in 1981. He never looked back as he learned how completing warm and cool crop cycles and protecting the soil from damage were keys to healthy, productive crops. Steve shares with us ways to rejuvenate our soil, and even shares how he reuses old potting soil, making it healthier than before. 

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Steve is a third-generation farmer from western North Dakota with over 35 years of no-till farming experience building and maintaining soil health. After realizing that the standard farming practices done before he took over were the cause of the wind and water erosion, and that the soil was depleted of moisture and nutrients, he converted to no-till farming.  He learned very quickly that just one simple practice of not disturbing the soil would allow it to rebuild and recover.

He now teaches others how to rebuild and protect the natural commodity of their own soil so that they too can become stewards.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/tabletopfarmer for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

407: Steve Szudera on Nutrient Rich Soil

Dec 11, 2018

Managing an urban farm for families in poverty or homeless.

In This Podcast: Being a single mother trying to provide nutritious options for her children in a food desert gave St. Vincent de Paul’s Urban Farm manager Nika Forte a great understanding and compassion for the people she serves. She shares with her belief that food should nourish the body, mind and spirit with her clientele as she encourages them to reconnect with where their food comes from as they are being helped by the many services of St. Vincent de Paul. 

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Nika is the Urban Farm Manager for St. Vincent de Paul where she creates programming and community engagement events. Her job also includes managing community members who volunteer time at the Urban Farm, growing, processing and distributing freshly grown vegetables to the homeless community and needy families that they provide service for. Her role in the program is to improve food access and food security in under served communities.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/nika for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

406: Nika Forte on Farming for the Under-Served

Dec 8, 2018

Organically recycling through vermicomposting.

In This Podcast: Rhonda Sherman, an extension specialist in the Department of Horticultural Science at NC State University, shares how throwing away our food waste is a major problem in landfills, releasing methane gas which is a contributor to climate change and causing heavy metals to be released into water sources. She spends 90 percent of her work time educating people in what to do with their food waste instead, namely by composting or vermicomposting. Rhonda shares access to many of the publications she’s written which can be found on her website.

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Rhonda is an extension specialist in the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University, providing leadership for university outreach programs on solid waste management issues through the Cooperative Extension Service. She holds degrees in Environmental Studies and Urban/Regional Planning, and Environmental Resources Analysis with an emphasis in solid waste management.

Rhonda’s areas of expertise are vermicomposting, composting, recycling, and waste reduction. She gives about 40 presentations annually and has authored over 65 publications on these topics. Her new book is The Worm Farmer’s Handbook: Mid- to Large-Scale Vermicomposting for Farms, Businesses, Municipalities, Schools, and Institutions published by our friends at Chelsea Green.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/wormfarmershandbook for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

405: Rhonda Sherman on Worm Farming

 

Dec 4, 2018

 Bringing farm products to the local market.

In This Podcast: Lyndsay Ludden and her husband Eric wanted to grow real food. They talked about it all the time.  This led them to take the bold step to sell their home in Phoenix and find their perfect property in Cornville, Arizona. On just over two acres of land Lyndsay and Eric built their farm from scratch, beginning with chickens and goats. Having more eggs than they could use led them to the farmer’s market. They’ve been working and adding new animals and gardens to the Hoppy Goat Farm for two years now and feel they’ve made the right choice.

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Lyndsay and her husband Eric started a farm several years ago to raise and grow their own food.  Originally their intent was health related however, as “super foodies” they began realizing how much better everything tastes when they grow and harvest it themselves.  They now have two large gardens, as well as goats, chickens, ducks, turkeys, pigs, and bees.  They offer many different items from their farm including fresh eggs, cheeses, mud scrubs, soap and a special seasoning blend.  Plus you can find her at the Sedona Farmers Market on Sundays.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/hoppygoat  for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

404: Lyndsay Ludden as a Farmer at the Market

Dec 1, 2018

Training future farmers to shape the future of our food system.

In This Podcast: Wondering where the bananas came from while eating them in his native United Kingdom was just the first step for Tobias Peggs, as he sought to figure out how to grow the food in his own city that previously would have spent weeks being shipped in from different climates. He was sure he could mimic the plants’ normal environments. Peggs has not only built a working modular farm in Brooklyn, New York, but runs a Next-Gen Farmer training program to help ensure that others are working toward his mission of bringing real food to all the cities of the world.

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Tobias is cofounder and CEO of Square Roots – an urban farming company headquartered in Brooklyn, NYC. He has a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from Cardiff University in his native United Kingdom. He is a Techstars mentor, competitive triathlete, snowboarder, and ramen hunter.

Square Roots grows and sells tasty, nutritious food year-round from their Brooklyn campus of indoor, controlled-climate, modular farms. Their mission is to bring local, real food to people in cities, by empowering next-gen leaders in urban farming—because “the more of us working to shape the future of food, the better”.

Founded in 2016 by Tobias and Kimbal Musk, Square Roots is also host to a “Next-Gen Farmer Training Program”—a year-long, hands-on training program that puts participants at the forefront of the indoor urban farming industry.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/squareroots for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

403: Tobias Peggs on Empowering Next-Gen Leaders

Nov 27, 2018

Bonus Episode 22: Seed Saving Class October 2018.

A chat with an expert on Seeds.

In This Bonus Podcast: There is always a bounty of information available in conversations with Bill McDorman. This is the October 2018 episode of a Seed Saving Class - learn about Glass Gem Corn, how to be a seed steward, and why corn diversity is so important.

Join the class! Register anytime for the next event.
Register Here for the Seed Saving Class with Live Q&A
Bill McDorman is Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, Ketchum, Idaho. He got his start in the bio-regional seed movement while in college in 1979 when he helped start Garden City Seeds. In 1984, Bill started Seeds Trust/High Altitude Gardens, a mail order seed company he ran successfully until it sold in 2013.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/bonus22 for more information and links on this bonus podcast, and to find our other great guests.

 

Nov 24, 2018

Creating a line of homemade nutritious and delicious snacks.

In This Podcast:As a young mother of two, and having just left corporate America, Ciara Bennett wanted something that was going to be helpful and healthful for her young children.  An inspiration to start making high-quality snacking granola also moved her build a business around this product while allowing her to keep her own identity.  Now she makes Vintage Oats, a line of premium granola with unique & tasty flavors her kids love and so do her customers.

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Ciara is the founder of VintageOats, a Phoenix based, premium granola company.  Originally from Joliet Illinois she has been a resident of Arizona for over 20 years. As a proud mother of a 2 and 7-year-old she was looking for better choices to feed them and her journey was the inspiration to launch her company.

She is the creative mind behind all her premium flavors of granola, which focus on healthy, non-GMO ingredients and no artificial flavors, preservatives or colors.  Primarily selling at farmers markets and other local events, she is expanding to offer her homemade premium granola products online.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/vintageoats for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

402: Ciara Bennett on Premium Homemade Granola

Nov 20, 2018

Homesteading in the Suburbs.

In This Podcast: 

They planted their first fruit tree on a 1/10th-acre urban home. Prompted to look for something healthier, Duane Hebert moved to property just outside of Phoenix, or as he calls it – The Edge of Nowhere. On a semi-urban farm, they focused on growing healthy food and sharing with family, friends and a few customers. With a holistic mindset focused on healthy growing in all areas of the farm, even the chickens get the healthiest diet.  And he shares what he has learned.

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Born and raised in Gardena, CA in the heart of South-Central Los Angeles, Duane grew up a typical urban kid. However, at 19 he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease and underwent 6 months of chemotherapy to save his life. Now a 25-year cancer survivor, he strives to live a life grounded in the reality that what we eat and what we keep OUT of our body is critical to healthy living.

In 2004 he and his wife Lori planted their first lemon tree on their typical 1/10th of an acre suburban lot in Northern Phoenix, and 5 years later they had more fruit than they could use or even give away. Then in 2010, a gift of locally-grown apples sparked an interest in seeing just what could be grown in this harsh desert environment. Fast forward 8 more years and the Heberts now run Edge of Nowhere Farm which is home to over 100 fruit trees, as well as laying hens, broiler chickens and pigs.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/edgeofnowhere for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

401: Duane Hebert on Growing a Healthy Diet

Nov 17, 2018

Being a resource for organic growers for over three decades.

In This Podcast: In 1988, Eliot Coleman literally wrote the book on being an organic grower and has been an invaluable resource for organic gardeners and farmers for three decades. He only started growing food because it sounded like an adventure; and he learned how through books and making friends with farmers around the world. We learn who inspired and taught him, how he uses livestock on his farm, how he virtually moved his farm 500 miles to the south for the winter, and more.

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Eliot has over fifty years’ experience in all aspects of organic farming, including field vegetables, greenhouse vegetables, rotational grazing of cattle and sheep, and range poultry. He is the author of The New Organic GrowerFour-Season Harvest,The Winter Harvest Handbook and an instructional workshop DVD called Year-Round Vegetable Production with Eliot Coleman - all published through our friends at Chelsea Green.

Eliot and his wife, Barbara Damrosch, operate a commercial year-round market garden, and run horticultural research projects, at their farm called Four Season Farm in Harborside, Maine.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/eliotcoleman  for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

400: Eliot Coleman on 30th Anniversary of 'The New Organic Grower'

Nov 13, 2018

Changing the role of chemicals in our homes.

In This Podcast: It was not your typical birthday gift but a small collection of home cleaning products, and they changed Diann Peart’s direction in life.  She found a path that filled her passion and allowed her to truly make a difference. When she realized the products were chemical free, her passion for the environment and her desire to help others took over and she knew these products needed to be brought to market.  She has a special offer for listeners today.

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Diann has a PhD in Botany-Ecology from Arizona State University.  She lives with her husband, 4 dogs and 8 chickens at their urban farm is nestled in one of the oldest neighborhoods in Tempe, AZ, 4 blocks west of ASU. She is also Principal and Visionary at Truce LLC, a Tempe-based company that manufactures and distributes non-toxic household cleaning, pet, and personal products.

Truce’s entire product line uses only 14 simple, safe and effective ingredients.  Truce products offer the ability to clean homes, bodies, and pets while avoiding nasty chemicals.

In her spare time, Diann co-founded the community garden across the street from her home where most of the produce harvested is donated to local food banks.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/truceclean for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

399: Diann Peart on Living in a Chemically Saturated World

Nov 10, 2018

Cooking with 8 ingredients or less.

In This Podcast: After several years of contradictory and confusing medical advice, Brandi Doming was worn out trying to help her husband escape the pain of gout. As a new mom and a concerned wife, she sought out the next possible answer and found information on a plant-based vegan diet. This was the first one to give her husband some relief.  She started blogging recipes and recently authored a cookbook designed to make vegan meals easy and delicious! 

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Brandi is the creator of the popular blog The Vegan 8. She is also a mom, wife, and designer. Her blog was voted a Top 21 Vegan Blog of 2016 by the hugely popular vegan magazine, VegNews. She’s appeared regularly in Forks Over Knives magazine and was featured in the documentary Eating You Alive. She lives with her husband and daughter in Houston, Texas. Her new cookbook is The Vegan 8: 100 Simple, Delicious Recipes Made with 8 Ingredients or Less.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/vegan8 for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

This contest period has expired.

398: Brandi Doming on Delicious Vegan Meals

Nov 6, 2018

Being bit by the urban farming bug and loving it.

In This Podcast: He was starting off on a vacant property with lots of Johnson Grass, almost no money, and no way to cut it down and remove it, yet this was not going to stop Michael Bell from building his urban farm. He got creative and found a resource to not only help remove the grass but turn it into an asset and deep rich soil in one season. Relying on his creativity, he now has a half-acre farm and more customers than produce. All this and he only farms part-time!  

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Michael is a Physical Education teacher and father of four who in April of 2016, bought a half-acre of nonresidential zoned land a mere 6 miles from downtown Dallas.  He started clearing small 1000-foot sections using a weed eater and billboard signs.  That Fall he planted his first 30-inch bed with Sala nova and a few cherry tomatoes and became hooked.

He now has 67 twenty-five-foot beds focusing on greens, carrots, beets and a couple of other veggies.  He hopes to transition from full time teacher to full time farmer in a couple of years.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/dallashalfacrefarms for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

397: Michael Bell on Part Time Urban Farming

Nov 3, 2018

Incorporating wild ingredients into every day and special occasion fare.

In This Podcast:  Her curiosity, her love of gardening, and her creativity in the kitchen, come together beautifully and for our benefit when Marie Viljoen compiled recipes for her new cookbook.  She shares how she moved from gardening in 66 square feet to foraging all over New York City.  If you are ever in her city, you will want to take a foraging walk with her!

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Marie is a celebrated New York City forager, gardener, cook and author who has loved edible plants since her childhood in South Africa.  She lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and leads acclaimed seasonal wild plant walks through NYC.

In Marie’s new book Forage, Harvest, Feast, there is a groundbreaking collection of nearly 500 wild food recipes and features hundreds of color photographs as well as cultivation tips for plants easily grown at home. This cookbook is destined to become a standard reference for any cook wanting to transform wildcrafted and homegrown ingredients into exceptional dishes, spices, and drinks.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/66squarefeet for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

396: Marie Viljoen on Wild Inspired Cuisine

Oct 30, 2018

Weathering the challenges of growing food in
South Florida.

In This Podcast: Growing up and becoming a ward of the state, then becoming emancipated at 17 left a lifelong mark on Karin Fields, so when she started learning how to grow food in one of the most challenging and unique areas of the country, she wanted to help other young girls like her gain those skills too. For twenty years she has been the Edible Gardening Gal and a valuable resource for education about growing food in South Florida.

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Karin has over 20 years of vegetable gardening experience in South Florida where she installs backyard edible gardens, gives informative talks on vegetable gardening, and educates people on how to grow their own food. Locally known as the Edible Gardening Gal, she loves giving her gardening talks at libraries all over South Florida.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/ediblegardeningal for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

395: Karin Fields on Growing Food in the Tropics

Oct 23, 2018

Harvesting native foods in the Sonoran Desert.

In This Podcast: The desert is full of amazing native plants that provide a rich, delicious bounty of food, IF you know what to look for and how to harvest it, and Brad Lancaster wants you know these secrets.  He is excited about a new cookbook that shares delicious and tested recipes for native trees and plants. And these plants are suited to thrive in the hot and dry climates, so they tolerate drought conditions better, while giving other great benefits to all desert residents.

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Brad runs a successful permaculture consulting, design, and education business. He is focused on integrated and sustainable approaches to landscape design, planning, and living. Growing up in a dryland environment, water harvesting has long been one of his specialties and a true passion.

He is the author of a permaculture bible for water harvesting:  Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond Volumes I & II and is a contributor to Desert Harvesters’ Eat Mesquite and More cookbook.  This new release centers on the abundant harvest of mesquite and other Sonoran Desert food plants we can plant, steward, and enjoy where we live, work, and play.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/eatmesquite for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

393: Brad Lancaster on Wild Food Forestry

Oct 20, 2018

Knowing the secret to building healthy soil.

In This Podcast:

Joining farming through his wife’s family, Gabe Brown learned the standard, commercialized, industrialized way of farming. Then when disaster struck four times in a row, he reached out to the past for some inspiration. He learned the value of a healthy soil ecosystem, how it affects many of the issues we are facing today, and the best ways to rebuild the soil. Now he shares what he learned in 5 principles that work anywhere in the world.

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Gabe is one of the pioneers of the current soil health movement which focuses on the regeneration of our resources.  Along with his wife Shelly, and son Paul, he owns and operates a diversified 5,000-acre farm and ranch near Bismarck, ND.  Their ranch focuses on farming and ranching in nature’s image.

The Browns holistically integrate their grazing and no-till cropping systems, which include a wide variety of cash crops, multi-species cover crops along with all-natural grass finished beef and lamb.  They also raise pastured laying hens, broilers and swine.  This diversity and integration have regenerated the natural resources on the ranch without the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or fungicides.  Gabe is the author of Dirt to Soil published by our friends at Chelsea Green.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/brownranch for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

392: Gabe Brown on Beneficial Soil Ecosystems

Oct 17, 2018

Propelling organic produce from fringe to mainstream.

In This Podcast: The story of how organic produce and food became mainstream in our grocery stores is shared by Tonya Antle who was actively driving this change before most of us even knew we needed it.  She found her passion in the early stages of the organic movement and helped propel it across the nation.  Now there is a new focus with the Organic Grower Summit happening in December, and she shares some very useful tips as a highlight of what will be available then.

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Tonya grew up on her family’s table grape and citrus farm in Delano, California. From being a vice president of organic sales to consulting about organic ag investments, she has been a driving force in organic farming for more than 30 years, and has received several awards recognizing her work in the ag industry.

Currently, she is an adjunct professor of Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Marketing at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, a guest lecturer at both Hartnell Junior College and California State University Monterey Bay, and she is the Co-founder and Executive Vice President of the Organic Produce Network (OPN), which launched in January 2017. 

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/opn for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Oct 16, 2018

Bonus Episode #21: Seed Saving Class September 2018.

A chat with an expert on Seeds. 

In This Bonus Podcast: We are harvesting even more seed information in this chat with Bill McDorman. This is the September 2018 episode of a Seed Saving Class - seed names, medicinal plants, plant knowledge, landrace, and so much more.

Join the class! Register anytime for the next event.
Register Here for the Seed Saving Class with Live Q&A

Bill McDorman is Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, Ketchum, Idaho. He got his start in the bio-regional seed movement while in college in 1979 when he helped start Garden City Seeds. In 1984, Bill started Seeds Trust/High Altitude Gardens, a mail order seed company he ran successfully until it sold in 2013.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/bonus21 for more information and links on this bonus podcast, and to find our other great guests.

 

Bonus Episode #21: Seed Saving Class September 2018.

Oct 13, 2018

Building urban food resiliency with more that just vegetables.

In This Podcast:

A fascination with jungles and forests began at an early age for Catherine Bukowski, and she has studied these ecosystems throughout her education.  Then narrowing her focus just on the food forest aspect, she found similar regenerative patterns that work. She brought this to her new book and shares some of what she discovered with us.

Catherine is a researcher, author, educator and consultant. She’s worked internationally and domestically in sustainable land use and natural resource management, agroforestry, permaculture, and project planning to strengthen communities. She pursued her passion for tropical ecosystems by earning a Master of Science in Natural Resource Management. Then she returned to school and earned a PhD in the Human Dimensions of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech.

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At Tech she was introduced to the topic of community food forests, which ultimately became her dissertation research and focus of her new book The Community Food Forest Handbook: How to Plan, Organize and Nurture Edible Gathering Places published by our friends at Chelsea Green. 

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/cffcathie for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

391: Catherine Bukowski on Community Food Forests

Oct 9, 2018

Bringing together nature and theology.

In This Podcast:

Her background is in studying the connections of religion to many aspects of daily life and Professor Lena Roos is now focused on how religion and gardening are interwoven in our past and what that looks like in our present. She discusses several key religions of the world, the garden connections, and even how some myths built upon gardening and creation themes.  She is asking for input on her current research and wants to know of active faith-based community gardens.

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Lena is a Full Professor, teaching History of Religions in Stockholm Sweden. She is also an avid allotment grower of vegetables who last year harvested (literally) a ton of vegetables from her 120 square meters in two allotments in urban Uppsala.

Originally a medievalist, she specializes in inter-religious relations between Jews, Christians and Muslims during the Middle Ages. Her other research includes topics like religion and volunteering, religion and sexuality, religion and food, and more recently religion and gardening.

Lena is about to embark upon a new research project on faith-based community gardens and would like to get in touch with people currently involved in such.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/lena for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

390: Lena Roos on Religion and Gardening

Oct 6, 2018

Healing forgotten children through gardening opportunities.

In This Podcast: The forgotten children who grow up in the foster care system often become young adults on the street with no help, no resources, and forced to make desperate choices to survive. Dawn Folsom was caught stealing food when she was hungry; now she is a major force behind several urban farming projects that teach, empower, and build up the community of aged-out foster kids that have gotten dumped into the world.  She is offering models of village farms and supportive housing projects to help communities do better with their forgotten children.

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Dawn is a former foster kid who chose to be a catalyst of change for young people aging out of the foster care system. She became an advocate and mentor 13 years ago and has a passion to help people heal through village farming. having studied horticulture for 19 years she has become an advocate for local food access.

She is cofounder of Heartvines Educational Farm - an extension of the non-profit The Village, Easing Childhood Poverty. They are a group of people dedicated to creating positive change for young people through village farming. Heartvines promotes that the garden is the best place to talk about life, through intensive agriculture techniques, collaborative partnerships, and adding inspiration to our spaces. They are creating an opportunity for young people to learn about food access, civic engagement, entrepreneurship, and life skills.

Go to www.urbanfarm.org/heartvines for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

389: Dawn Folsom on Village Farming

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