Digging In The Dirt with Kevin Gallagher

My guest on this epiisode of "Digging in the Dirt" is Michael Astera, author of “The Ideal Soil: and small businessman in the business of providing Agricola 4-8-4, a top quality Mineralized organic fertilizer with an array of minerals, minerals and more minerals. Listen in to really tweak the quality of your soil and grow quality vegetables. www.soilminerals.com/

My guest on this segment of DITD is Victor DeMasi. Victor is a self described citizen scientist. Victor was a wetland conservation officer in his hometown of Redding CT for 20 years and is presently a curatorial affiliate at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven. He busies himself with preserving open space in town and preserving butterflies in the museum. His field work with butterflies contributed almost a thousand citations to the recently published Connecticut Butterfly Atlas. He has contributed articles to scientific publications and his mark-recapture studies with Swallowtail butterflies was recently cited in the book Swallowtails of the Americas.

My guest on Digging in the Dirt is Filmmaker and passionate naturalist John Feldman. John has a wonderful documentary entitled Symbiotic Earth, "How Lynn Margulis rocked the boat and started a scientific revolution." Symbiotic Earth is about the maverick scientist Lynn Margulis, where John combines his lifelong passions for film making and the natural sciences. This is a deep film, touching on a lot of subjects that our species and planet is dealing with today. Lot's of food for thought.

Kevin's guest this episode is Ray Archuleta, a retired Soil Health Specialist and Conservation Agronomist with the USDA. He has recently co-founded "The Soil Academy" to teach Biomimicry strategies and Agroecology principles for improving soil function on a national scale.

My guest on this program is Dr. Sande Beddoe A leading authority on Dr. Carey A. Reams' Biological Theory of Ionization and how it applies to soil, plant, animal and human nutrition. Whether you grow veggies for fun or are a corporate agricultural operation covering thousands of acres, you can have a part in changing the health of the world, if you understand how to grow the highest quality (brix content) food possible. And whether you are a mother feeding a family or a health professional analyzing the lifestyle and wellness of thousands of clients or patients, the Reams' Biological Theory of Ionization provides the only way to truly understand the cause and effect behind those illusive health challenges we refer to as dis-ease.

My next guest has been here many times before. He is Dan Kittredge. Dan is a Farmer, founder and Executive Director of the Bionutrient Food . Dan is here to talk about what's going with on with the BFA's "Real Food Campaign" and the their upcoming annual Soil and Nutrition conference in November.

My next guest on Digging in the Dirt has been here before. Bryan is a master vegetable Farmer. Bryan and I cross paths at various conferences now and then and I have gotten to know what high regard Bryans knowledge of growing is held in. .Bryan O’Hara has been growing vegetables on his Connecticut farm, Tobacco Road for over 25 years. He speaks throughout the Northeast on vegetable production techniques and is known for providing “mountains of details in a concise, practical, and cohesive manner.” His farm produces high quality, nutrient-dense food using no pesticides and working with nature as much as possible in a close relationship. With an intensive focus on building the health of the soil, he employs no-till natural farming methods and now he's written it all down for you in his new book/manual entitled. No-till intensive vegetable Culture... Pesticide-Free methods for restoring soil and growing Nutrient-Rich High yielding Crops. His book is an exhaustively comprehensive manual on how to grow vegetables.

Kevin is joined by Jon Betz of Collective Mind Films, to talk about his gorgeous, maddening new film Seed: The Untold Story. Here is what the directors, Taggert Siegel and Jon have to say about their new effort."For years, we have passionately made films that reveal our deep connection to nature and our food. The Real Dirt on Farmer John (2005), tells the story of a maverick farmer who saves his family farm against all odds. Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us? (2010) investigates the mysterious colony collapse disorder ravaging honeybees around the world. Our latest film, SEED: The Untold Story began with an article in National Geographic reported that up to 96% of the vegetable seeds available in 1903 have disappeared. Within moments we knew that was our next film. The speed and scope of this loss is staggering, and its implications for our future are stark.... As we filmed seed savers, farmers, scientists and indigenous communities for SEED, we were struck by how little their voices are heard. SEED presents audiences with a hidden fabric of our food, the people that painstakingly and meticulously curate the diversity of our food. The film charts a David and Goliath battle as these marginalized people fight the large corporate power of chemical companies that now control the majority of our food.

I was very pleased to have Craig LeHoullier as my guest here on "Digging in the Dirt". Craig is one of the best tomato growers and seed savers in the country, having gone so far as to give the heirloom tomato, Cherokee Purple it's name and write a couple of books, one of which is the fabulous “Epic Tomatoes” It's a great resource book for any level grower. Join two tomato fanatics as we talk about summers culinary delight, HOME GROWN, Tomatoes.

Diggng in the Dirt" Monday Feb 10th at 5 pm, My In studio guest on Digging in the Dirt will be Dan Martens Vice President of Novamont North America. He is a Board Member on the Council of Canadian Composters, Board Member Biodegradable Products institute, Advisory Board Member 5-year USDA SCRI Compostable Product in Soil Study, Winner Innovation of Bioplastics Award 2019 and something he is most proud of, he holds a UConn Master Composter Certificate. Novamont is a maker of bulk compostable Bio Plastics among other products. These materials are turned into all kinds of eco-friendly products such as compostable produce bags for your veggies.

Aubree Keurajian Aubree is an ecologist from central Connecticut, and the founder of Ungardening Native Plants, a small scale nursery and yard consultation service working to make the tools and ideas of ecological restoration accessible to all. She has a bachelor's degree in Systems Ecology from Cornell University, and worked in the public, private, and academic sectors doing ecological research and environmental restoration before founding "Ungardening".

My guest on this DITD is author Robin l. Avant a local lady who lives here in Bridgeport and is Academic Dean at Housatonic Community College. Robin is an enthusiastic gardener. So much so, she has written a lovely, personal book called “The spirit of Gardening” Gardening for new Bees, the life revealed through gardening.

My guest on this segment of Digging in the Dirt is Kami McBride. Kami is a clinical herbalist and the author of The Herbal Kitchen detailing uses for 50 Easy-To-Find Common Herbs and with over 250 Recipes. For at least 25 years she has been teaching people to grow and use herbs in their daily lives for every day common ailments.

My guest today is Harry Hansen. Mr. Hansen is Director of Winemaking for Gloria Ferrer Winery. He has worked 30 plus years in the California wine industry, making many fine sparkling and still wines. Gloria Ferrer was the first Sparkling Winery in Carneros, Sonoma. We talk about organic and regenerative wine making practices amongst other subjects.

My guest today is Louise Washer returning to Digging in the Dirt because she is doing great work for us here in the state of CT. and for our planet. Louise Washer serves on the board of the Pollinator Pathway, a grassroots movement she helped create in 2017, in Wilton, CT and which has since spread to over 325 communities across 11 states. The PP helps give pollinators of all kinds habitats to thrive in. She also serves as president of the Norwalk River Watershed Association, as a member of the Norwalk Mayor’s Water Quality Committee, and on the steering committee of the Hudson-to-Housatonic Regional Conservation Partnership known as (H2H).

My guests this show are two local Bridgeport residents doing good things on their Urban farm called Park City Harvest. Richard Myers & Shawn Joseph just self published a new book entitled "Grow to Eat" - A vegetable Growing Guide and Cookbook.

This episode of "Digging in the Dirt". my guests will be Mark Haubner the President of the North Fork Environmental Council on Long Island who is working closely now with Biodiversity for a Livable Climate. Mark talks to me about several projects and events coming up on the North Fork of Long Island. Then, I speak with Kris Liem, master gardener who works with the Eastern Long Island Surfriders, Ocean Friendly Gardens Committee. We will discuss Bio swales. Then my monthly contributor from Rewild Long Island Gloria Frazee joins me to talk composting your pumpkins after Halloween and finally E. Hardy Kern lll, The Director of Government relations, pesticides and Birds Campaign for the American Bird Conservancy explains the new 10 million acreage campaign to help protect our birds…

My guest Woody Tasch makes his 2nd visit . I recommend going to the WPKN archives to hear our 1st conversation to get a more detailed look at what Woody is up to. Today he is here to talk about The Slow money Institute and Beetcoin's upcoming Zoom roundtable about their project .. Entitled “Call to farms” . Woody will be joined by a group of leading farmers and financiers for a roundtable discussion celebrating the print release of a Call To Farms: sub titled Some Thoughts on Food, Money and Nonviolence in Honor of Wendell Berry, in tandem with the launch of the Beetcoin 2.0 website.

My guest today on DITD is the author of the new book entitledThe Home-Scale Forest Garden - How to Plan, Plant, and Tend a Resilient Edible Landscape"Working with the natural world in our gardens has never been more important with the challenges we now face through climate change. Forest gardening offers hope, inspiration, and solutions for the future, and Dani Baker shows gardeners how to embrace this important method on a smaller scale to build resilience and create a low maintenance edible haven with this accessible guide." That was written by Kim Stoddart, editor of The Organic Way magazine