Farm Small Farm Smart Daily

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support It seems like a lot of people that get into farming and starting their own business are busy, all the time. Is that a good thing? Is busy a sign of success or is busy a sign of planning? I think it's more the later, than the form. "To me, 'busy' implies that the person is out of control of their life." - Derek Sivers Some of you might here that and think, what, that's crazy. I am in control and I am busy. Are you really? After all, what is busy in the first place. Is busy really a think or is busy a state of mind or is as Derek Sivers says the inevitable result of losing control and poor planning? If you consider yourself someone who's busy a lot think about that. Are you busy because you actually have a huge list of urgent and important things to do, or are you busy because you are just doing a lot of stuff. Outside of the Emergency Room most of us are more likely are the latter. Not many of us have a lot of urgent and important things to do each day. We might have a couple things that fall into that category and then we have a lot of other stuff that we do because we need to, because we think we need to, because we've never really thought about it, and because we don't have a plan in place. Busy might actually be in your control. As Henry David Thoreau said, it's not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about? If you find yourself constantly busy. Ask yourself why. And ask yourself what are you busy about? Remember, it's your life, and being busy all the time might not be optimum. Is that you really signed up for - being busy all the time? If not, then this episode may help you reframe what you are actually being so busy about. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer John Suscovich of Camps Road Farm and FarmMarketingSolutions.com answers the question - How do you know how much to feed your broilers? To learn more about John and see all of the ASK John episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/john.

Learn more about this episode at permaculturevoices.com/cd11 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support This is Part 2 of the Ben Hewitt series and it is inspired by Part 1, the interview with Ben about his book Home Grown. If you missed that one and want listen to it, you can listen to it here. For today's episode, I want to expand upon some of my thoughts form the interview and the book. My goal for this episode was to make it a though provoking one. It's me dancing between idealistic life and reality. Let's call it realistic idealism. How can we realistically create a system that is close to ideal as possible? A lot of this is me thinking a loud and hopefully getting you to really think about you life and how things are. There are a few central issues to this episode - time meaning how precious it is and us as adults dealing with raising the next generation of kids; maybe through the K-12 public school system, but maybe not after hearing this one. Learn more about this episode at permaculturevoices.com/cd11 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com talks what to do when you spouse isn't into the idea of being a homesteader. To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Most people don't get into farming to get rich. Does that mean that you can't get rich farming, no it doesn't. But if you only motivation to farm is to get rich, then you better buckle up because you have rocky road ahead. Because when it comes to amassing monetary riches the road hasn't historically been paved by good soil and a tractor. That's not to say that there aren't rich farmers, because there are, but it's not the norm. If are getting into farming only for the money, to get rich, then you better think about how you are going to do that, and why you are going to do that. If money isn't your only motivator for getting into farming, then you better think about why you are getting into it, and how you are going to do it. Either way it won't be easy. But either way can make you rich, it all comes down to, how you define rich. Today's episode is a look beyond the bank account. It's a look at all of the other benefits and reasons to be an entrepreneur and to be farmer. This episode is us kicking around ideas and brainstorming to broaden the idea of what being rich, truly means. It's a definition that's different for everyone. And it's one that you need to define when you get into this. Because if you define it, it makes it a lot easier to become rich, and if you don't then it makes it a lot easier to stay poor. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer John Suscovich of Camps Road Farm and FarmMarketingSolutions.com gives his thoughts on growing hops (for beer) commercially. To learn more about John and see all of the ASK John episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/john.

Learn more about this episode at permaculturevoices.com/cd10 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Today's show centers around Ben Hewitt's book Home Grown; a great book that has had a profound effect on my life. It's one of those books that I couldn't put down and at the same point it was hard to read because I got so lost in thought reading it. It's a rare must read category book for me. It should appeal to the homesteader, the wannabe homesteader, the parent, the soon to be parent, and the millions of people who are feel like the system did them wrong by sending them off on the wrong path in life destined to a life of track homes and cubicles. It's a vicarious look into the life that many of wish we could live, but don't... The subtitle of the book is Adventures in Parenting off the beaten path, unschooling and reconnecting with the natural world. Ben describes it as his sharing of stories, "They are not merely stories about all we are learning but also about all we are unlearning and about our imperfect quest to inhabit a balanced place that allows us to remain part of a broader world while also living in a way that is true to our values and vision. In a sense, for us this has been the easy part. I have found that the harder part is determining how to conduct our lives in a manner than honors these values and this vision, even as we are continually confronted with evidence that such a quest is impractical, if not downright naive." The book is deep, and I hope that it gets you thinking. This episode and this book is one that is very important to me because Ben's book had such an impact on me and as the title of this episode says, it got me to stop worrying and to start living. I hope that it has an impact on you, if you are in need of one. Ben Hewitt and I, two father, talking kids and life, here it is. Learn more about this episode at permaculturevoices.com/cd10 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com talks how he prioritizes projects on his homestead. To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support What if you are already selling at farmers markets, but you don't have enough of a diversity of products to design a CSA around? If that's the case one option might be create a collaborative CSA. The collaborative CSA allows you to expand your crop variety with competing with other farms and without diluting down your efforts on your farm. You grow what you grow best in your context, and source everything else from other farmers who are better setup to grow those specific products. It creates a win/win situation for you and the other farmers. Everyone grows what they grow best, and in theory sales go up. It's also a win for the consumer because they now have concentrated access to more local products, without having to sourcing these producing individually from each farmer. Aggregators, collaborative CSA's and food broker models, are these models perfect? No. But if they give you options. And if you are having issues moving product, then more options might be better than less options. You just need to look at everything and figure out which combination is the best fit for you and your market. In today's show we'll look at some alternative market streams for selling your vegetables, so to help you start thinking outside the box, so you can sell more boxes, of vegetables. It's currently May 2016. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer John Suscovich of Camps Road Farm and FarmMarketingSolutions.com talks about the Three Books Every Farmer Should Own live on stage at PV3. The Three Books: The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber - http://amzn.to/20QPuZk Holistic Management by Allan Savory - http://amzn.to/1Vrvg8V The Lean Farm by Ben Hartman - http://amzn.to/20QPd8W To learn more about John and see all of the ASK John episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/john

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/128 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Today I am talking to Dave Sewak about his new book Mycelial Mayhem. Dave has spent his whole life around mushrooms. It all started when he was a young boy and tagged along with his grandfather on his mushroom foraging expeditions. Dave then went on to become a mushroom forage himself and has spent nearly 2 decades cultivating mushrooms as a hobby and as a business. His book helps combine the technical knowledge with the business side of things give you a basic introduction into what the small scale mushroom business is all about. As you will here, it's not a business for everyone, but it is a business that stacks nicely onto na already existing enterprise. And like all businesses it's not always as easy or fun as it sounds on the surface. In today's show we'll will address these points and discuss some of the considerations to take into account if you want to start a mushroom business. We will also talk about integrating mushrooms into a garden setting, or a market garden setting. Could you add integrate mushrooms into that system and actually get productive results? It's an interesting concept that may prove to be a worthwhile experiment for you. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/128 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com talks what he wish knew before becoming a homesteader. To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support To set the stage... Curtis had a next door neighbor. That neighbor used to own Curtis's house, and he rented that house from them and farmed in the back yard. When his neighbor decided to sell the house, Curtis then purchased the house from his neighbor. Subsequently that same neighbor went on to move to another house in the neighborhood, and began renting out the house next door to Curtis. In the process a conversation began about Curtis farming his neighbor's backyard now that it was a rental. The conversation eventual led to an agreement, one where Curtis would take down the fence between his yard and his neighbors, and extend his farm into his neighbor's back yard. It's a process that was built on the back of respect and social capital, and facilitated by old fashioned conversation. Today we'll take an extended look at the transition of that back yard from lawn to production farm, and all of the challenges and successes that went with it.. It's currently May 11, 2016. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer John Suscovich of Camps Road Farm and FarmMarketingSolutions.com answers the question, "How do you structure your pasture poultry CSA?" To learn more about John and see all of the ASK John episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/john. If you like the show, please support the show by making a contribution at permaculturevoices.com/ilikevoices

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/127 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Today, nearly two years after our first episode (permaculturevoices.com/63), I am picking up the conversation with Akiva. We cover a lot of subjects which we didn't cover in the previous episode including: Selling to wholesalers, selling trees online, shipping trees, and dealing with state regulations. In addition to the practical tips and techniques, you'll also get an update on how Akiva evolved as an entrepreneur... Because a lot has changed in the last few years for Akiva. In 2014 nursery sales were 50% Akiva's income, this year in 2016 Akiva expects all of his income to from his on site nursery. He no longer works away from home as a landscape. He's a full time nursery man, and business owner. It's an awesome story of a small business, that just started on the side... Business continues to grow for Akiva and it's still a business that's literally rooted in loose, nutrient rich soil. Akiva's small nursery business grows over 1000 trees on a half an acre. Thousands of trees plant tightly together in loose, friable soil. Very tight spacings that force trees to grow tall and straight in competition with their neighbors resulting in a lot of nursery stock that can be sold in the first year. How many people out there have some extra space where they could grow a few hundred trees? Trees to use in the development of your own property or to sell. If you sold each tree for $5 or $10, then we are talking about some significant money given the amount of space it takes. It is simple, but it does take time, it is hard work. We aren't talking about any sort of gimmicks here. It is about putting time, work, and care in to nurse these trees along to the point where you can sell them. One other point to take note of. When we first talked back in 2014, Akiva was growing around 1000 tree's on half an acre. Things have changed and he's now scaled up to 10,000 trees on an acre. That's a lot of trees, on not a lot of land. But Akiva's making a go of it enjoying every step of the way. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/127 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com talks about what types of chicken breeds are good for eggs and what type of breeds are good for meat on the homestead. To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Most of the tomatoes that Curtis grows fall into the cherry and saladette category - the smaller tomatoes. These types of tomatoes offer several advantages - they are pretty vigorous, they have a relatively short DTM, and because chef's like them. And when much of your sales are for restaurants, you grow what they want to buy. Over the years Curtis has evolved his system for tomato culture. And he now looks at them as a bit of a bonus crop given the way that he grows them. Many home gardeners dedicate full rows to tomatoes and give the plants wide spacing's. Curtis does the opposite. He interplants his tomatoes; dedicating most of his bed space to another crop, while squeezing his tomatoes into the out 2 edges of each bed. This strategy works for several reasons. It takes advantage of more of the soil strata. The tomatoes are planted deep, so their roots occupy the deeper layers of soil. While the main greens crops in the beds have shallow root systems. So while the plants are planted in the same space competition is minimized. Another reason why the competition is minimized is that the tomatoes occupy more of the vertical space. If you time the plants strategically during the year plant growth and sun angles allow you to get more plants in the same space with no shading. Overall, inter-planting has been huge for Curtis's farm. It's what's allowed him to hundreds of pounds of greens and hundreds of pounds of tomato, in same relative space. Not a bad bonus yield in a situation where most farmers would simply leave the tomatoes out. Look around your garden at the extra space and think about that next time you plant your tomatoes. It's currently May 4, 2016. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer John Suscovich of Camps Road Farm and FarmMarketingSolutions.com answers the question, "How long do broiler chickens live?" To learn more about John and see all of the ASK John episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/john. If you like the show, please support the show by making a contribution at permaculturevoices.com/ilikevoices

Resilience comes from connection and interdependence. Frank Golbeck of Golden Coast Mead will talk about how helping Mark Oberle and other mead makers get their start has helped his business grow and helped the category of mead develop, lifting all participants. This talk was presented at PV3 in March 2016 by Frank Golbeck of Golden Coast Mead. Listen to more at permaculturevoices.com/podcast Listen to all of the PV3 audio at permaculturevoices.com/pv3audio

To learn more about the PV3 audio visit: permaculturevoices.com/pv3audio. In this presentation Taylor Walker covers perennial vegetable gardening in the subtropics and tropics. Forget growing most of your traditional "grocery store vegetables" many of these will not tolerate the intense rains, humidity, heat, and pest pressure of the tropics and subtropics. Given that this presentation focus on more resilient perennial vegetables. Taylor will talk about growing, propagating, selling, and using highly nutritious and versatile crops selected from subtropical locations around the world including Cassava, Yams, Moringa, Sweet Potato, Jackfruit, Longevity Spinach, Tumeric, and many more. To see the slides for the presentation and watch this presentation visit, permaculturevoices.com/b36 If you enjoyed this presentation from PV3, and you want more content just like it, you can purchase all of the audio from PV3 for only $99 bucks. To learn more about the PV3 audio visit: permaculturevoices.com/pv3audio.

Learn more in the show notes at permaculturevoices.com/126. What do you do as a farmer, when you are trapped in an agricultural system that values quantity not quality? A system where you literally get paid for now much you produce, irrespective of how nutrient dense it is or how sustainable it is. And how do you as a farmer work within that system if you don't agree with it. It's not easy, and there's going to be a lot of give and take. At the end of the day as a farmer you need to make money, and that may mean putting some of your ideology behind you to make that money. As we have heard on this show many times before chasing perfection may chase you right out of the farming business. There needs to be a balance there between your vision of the agricultural future, and what the market will bear. But balancing those out isn't always easy and it can be challenge. In today's episode we'll find out how Chris Kerston balanced those sides out. Chris is now and employee of the Savory Institute, but before that he was a full time farmer. For 6 years Chris co-managed a 2,000 acre diversified farm based on holistic grazing and permaculture in the Sacramento Valley. The farm is comprised of old growth olive orchards, heirloom stonefruits and citrus groves, and also raises grassfed cattle, sheep, goats, and pasture-raised chickens for both meat and eggs. Chris knows his stuff on the land and he knows what goes into being a farmer and producing food. But he also knows a lot about the current state of the agriculture movement. Through his role as the Savory Institutes Marketing and Communication Director he travels the world with Allan Savory in addition to visiting tons of farms. This has given him a wide ranging perspective on the agriculture space; something that we'll play off in today's episode. We'll talk about the differences between farming and ranching and why if you are worried about the big oil, you should really be worried about big grain. We'll discuss the validity of organics, and is it economic. And since Chris was a farmer we'll talk some farming.. This isn't just all macro ideas about the food space and the agriculture space. Chris talks a lot farming nuts and bolts - pastured poultry in orchards, selling meat, advantages for selling wholes and halves versus cuts, and a whole lot more. There is a lot in this one, enjoy it. Learn more in the show notes at permaculturevoices.com/126 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com talks about what you should feed your new baby chicks. To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin.

Greens are big business for Curtis' farm. Both in terms of volume of product, and dollars generated for that product. His customer base, which is mainly made of restaurants, buys a lot of greens. And they pay good money for them. But like many things on the farm there is a seasonality that goes along with restaurants and the products that Curtis sells to restaurants. Typically spring is a slower time of year for restaurant sales, and thereby farm sales. Things just aren't as busy. But this year is a bit of an anomaly, because Curtis's revenue is way up for the season. That increase in revenue can be attributed to a couple things. First, he has picked up a few new wholesale customers outside of restaurants, and second, he is selling all of his customers more high value product, specifically greens. More demand, means more production, so Curtis' production of greens on the farm is way up this year. But it's not just as simple as planting more beds of greens. There's a lot of nuance involved... When the beds were planted, how far apart the successions are, when do you harvest whole beds versus halves. Logical considerations, but not always the simplest to wrap your head around. That's what we will be focusing on in today's episode. It's currently April 26, 2016. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer John Suscovich of Camps Road Farm and FarmMarketingSolutions.com answers the question, "How do you manage your chicken brooder?" To learn more about John and see all of the ASK John episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/john. If you like the show, please support the show by making a contribution at permaculturevoices.com/ilikevoices

Liberation Permaculture by Toby Hemenway. This episode is the rebroadcast of Toby talk from PV2 in March 2015. Permaculture offers more than a path to a sustainable and just food system. It can move entire segments of our society off the radar screens of state oppressors and help return equality, abundance, and justice to people while restoring healthy ecosystems. This talk will tell you how. Here's a hint on how that's possible. If you can't measure it, you can't tax it. Enjoy it, I hope it gets you thinking. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/125 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com talks about what you should feed your new baby chicks. To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

What would the 2000 sq.ft. farm, let's call it a micro-farm, look like? How could you best utilize that space and take many of the techniques that Curtis uses on his current 1/2 acre urban farm, to make the micro-farm generate some decent cash flow. How much could you make on a micro-farm of just 2000 square feet? Really it depends on what you are growing and who you are selling it to. But grossing 20,000 on that 2000 square feet isn't crazy talk. And even half that, $10,000, is a realistic target to shoot for. When you think about that, that's a pretty lucrative given the space involved. I think most people can get access to 2000 sq.ft. That's essentially fits well within your average American lawn. The 2000 square foot micro-farm has a lot of things going for it. It's manageable, yet scaleable. It's big enough to matter to start you thinking and implementing a lot of these systems, yet it's not over whelming. It makes a great transition plot for someone looking to transition into farming or just get their feed wet. Given that today will be a case study looking at the 2000 sw ft micro farm. We'll break down what this farm might look like. How you would want to manage it. What types of crops you would want to focus on, and put some a basic framework in place that you can build off of. As, you see, you can do a lot with 2000 square feet, and it might not be that small after all. It's currently April 19, 2016. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer John Suscovich of Camps Road Farm andFarmMarketingSolutions.com answers the question, "How quicklyshould you scale up a pastured poultry operation?"To learn more about John and see all of the ASK John episodes visitpermaculturevoices.com/john.

As you will hear from my guest today Paul Greive of Primal Pastures "One of the most important things about marketing is not convincing people your product is X, it's about finding people who actually want X." That's the route that Primal Pastures has gone. They don't sell a cheap product. They have positioned themselves as the premium product. And that means they don't try to compete in on price. And they don't worry about the non-believers or the price discriminant buyers. Because no amount of convincing is going to make that buyer pay up. They already have a price point set in their mind, and the mind is a very hard thing to change as a marketing. Therefore Primal Pasture's sole job as marketers is to try to find and sell to the believers. The customers who value their product for what it is and are willing to pay for it. Over time they have learned that "It's a really sustainable model when you can start focusing on the customer and then you can figure out what products meet their needs and what your skills are to make those products." It's a key distinction that they have made for their brand, Primal Pastures and one that they have stuck too. Branding and marketing are just one of the topics that Paul Greive of Primal Pastures and I talk about today. In addition to that you will also learn about how to prepare for a transition from full time job to full time farmer, how to overcome early obstacles in farm startup and Paul tackles the question - is pastured poultry a good business? View the show notes at permaculturevoices.com/124. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com talks about what type of electric fence and charger he uses on his homestead. To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

It's currently April 12, 2016. We start off today talking about whether you should start farming with a greenhouse or not. The conversation quickly turns into reasons why people succeed and don't succeed. Hopefully this episode is a welcome kick in the ass for those who need it. And motivation to keep kicking ass for everyone else. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer John Suscovich of Camps Road Farm and FarmMarketingSolutions.com answers the question, "Where do you process your chickens - on farm or off?" To learn more about John and see all of the ASK John episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/john. If you like the show, please support the show by making a contribution at permaculturevoices.com/ilikevoices

In honor of Earth Day, today's show is a replay of the interview with the original Earth Day lead organizer Denis Hayes. Denis Hayes talks about a lifetime of work in environmentalism - the challenges, successes, the changing environmental problems since the 60's, and how he has endured numerous political changes in Washington. Denis was the organizer of the first Earth Day in 1970, headed the Solar Energy Research Institute under President Carter, and is now president of the Bullitt Foundation. In 1999 Time Magazine named him Hero of the Planet. In this episode we go through his early life in a polluted Washington paper milling community to how he became an environmental activist. We also discuss the creation and organization of the first Earth Day in 1970 and how the scope of the environmental problems have changed since then. Learn more about Denis at permaculturevoices.com/cd3.

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com goes over ways to protect your chickens from predators.To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin.

It's currently April 5, 2016.Today's episode focuses on starting and transplanting Salanova via micro soil blocks.Curtis will talk about how he starts Salanova lettuce using the blocks and the advantages for doing so.We also run a quick time and cost analysis of starting lettuce in blocks versus cell trays to show the comparison. At the end of the episode I go over a recipe to use for the micro blocker and some basic techniques for using it. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmerSupport the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer John Suscovich of Camps Road Farm and FarmMarketingSolutions.com answers the question, "What do you feed your chickens, and can they get their full diet off pasture?"To learn more about John and see all of the ASK John episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/john. If you like the show, please support the show by making a contribution at permaculturevoices.com/ilikevoices

Learn more in the show notes at permaculturevoices.com/123Permaculture is very difficult to define for most people. How do you define permaculture? I go with Larry Santoyo's definition - “Permaculture is: Design protocols for critical thinking, decision making and problem solving – all based on the patterns of nature.” In today’s show my guest Andrew Millison and I will look at common frustrations with the word "PERMACULTURE". We’ll answer questions such as:Does permaculture need a new name, a consistent definition?Should permaculture reject the mainstream?Should permaculture go the mainstream?Should everyone learn permaculture, why or why not?Support the show at patreon.com/diegofooter

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com goes over 20 reasons why your chickens might not be laying eggs. To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin.

It's currently March 30, 2016. And over the past few months Curtis has literally been all around the world.I today's episode we'll look back at some of the places that he visited and what he took away from those visits.From the high tech innovation being done at Jean-Martin Fortier's Le Ferm de Catra Taaamp in Quebec to the low tech soil building techniques used by Jodi Roebuck to build soil in his bio-ingestive garden in New Zealand.It's not just all fun and stories, there's a lot of good information in this one such as do these techniques scale, how can you build soil, and how can you combine tarps and soil to really build soil. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmerSupport the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer John Suscovich of Camps Road Farm and FarmMarketingSolutions.com answers the question, "What breeds of broilers do you raise?"To learn more about John and see all of the ASK John episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/john. If you like the show, please support the show by making a contribution at permaculturevoices.com/ilikevoices

Not every business will work, but over the course of a career odds are, one idea will work. If you want to be an entrepreneur, then it’s up to you to smartly continue on until you find it. Because you can’t win the race, unless you finish the race. But can you find that right idea? Many of people don’t think that they can. And it’s that defeating self talk that keeps many people from succeeding, and many more of even starting in the first place, thereby having no chance at future success. This episode is geared at the entrepreneurs and the wantrepreneurs who are listening; the ones who think they can and the ones who think they can’t. Because either way, you’re right. In today’s show, I am talking with entrepreneur, and business owner Philippe Choiniere of Oneka. Philippe didn’t have the ideal road to become a business owner (none of us do). He started as as a professional hockey player and now finds himself owning a leading sustainable personal care products line. Likely not the career path that he would have mapped out ahead of time. But that’s the greatness of his path. It wasn’t that ideal path, it was the real path, the actual path, that took place in reality. His journey wasn’t always easy, it was hard, but he pushed through and he now has a growing and profitable business. Along the way he gained the equivalent of three real world MBA’s in the school of hard knocks. And he will share a lot of that with you in this episode. He is going to talk extensively about his entrepreneurial journey. He is going to talk about what it feels like to deal with rejection and failure. And he is going to talk a lot about marketing and branding and some of the expensive lessons that he has learned along the way. Philippe’s clearly learned a lot, and one tell to of that is the calmness and acceptance with which he states that everyone isn’t the right customer, and he is going to charge what his product is worth. Sage advice. Enjoy this one. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/122 Support Permaculture Voices on Patreon.

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com talks about how he feeds his 30 chickens for just $1.25 per day. To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin.

If we go back to where we left of Season One of the show, it was December and there really wasn't any crop production happening on the land itself for Green City Acres. At that time some of the land was sitting fallow waiting for future planting in the spring, and some of the land was occupied by dormant crops that had been planted a few months earlier in the fall. Let's find out how much Curtis' total farm has been quietly in production throughout the winter, with beds holding overwintered crops, and why. This episode also covers overwintering crops, prepping beds with tarps and stale seed bedding, and dealing with the shoulder season day length changes. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer John Suscovtich of Camps Road Farm and FarmMarketingSolutions.com answers the question, "Are pastured broilers profitable?"To learn more about John and see all of the ASK John episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/john.

A new phenomenon being developed by the US university systems is the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). Through his work teaching Permaculture within the Oregon State University Horticulture program, Andrew Millison was given the opportunity to develop an Introduction to Permaculture course in the MOOC format. Freely available to anyone interested, this course is slated to run three times this year with enrollment goals of thousands of students per course. Andrew will explain what a MOOC is and how it can expose and engage thousands of people in the Permaculture concept. Register for the MOOC at open.oregonstate.edu/courses/permaculture/ Learn more at permaculturevoices.com.

We're back for another Season of The Urban Farmer with Curtis Stone.Season Two will kick off on Wednesday, April 6.Just like last year, I am going to follow farmer Curtis Stone on a journey through a full farm season, taking you behind the scenes to see what being a small scale farmer is really like. This episode is a preview of what's to come.Stay tuned every Wednesday for a new The Urban Farmer with Curtis Stone at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer.

All of the guests for this episode are listeners of the show. Listeners just like you. A few months ago I asked for feedback on the first season of the show, and I received a ton of it. Today, I will share some of it with you. If you submitted feedback for the show and gave me the OK to read it, thank you, this episode is yours. As humans I think we live in a guru culture. A culture that puts people on a pedestal. And that can be dangerous because it creates limiting beliefs. Beliefs that we could never be like them. Beliefs that we aren't good enough. Beliefs that we have some sort of unfair disadvantage. Beliefs that we can't do what they do. Because they are an expert, and we aren't. A lot of people view Curtis as that expert and put him on that pedestal of knowledge. They create limiting beliefs in their mind and tell themselves, I could never do what Curtis does. I have sat in workshops with Curtis and heard it first hand, time and time again. And if you believe that, that you could never do what Curtis does, then Henry Ford said it best... Whether you think you can, or think you can't - your right. This episode today is for the people who think they can. If you ever feel stuck or stalled or find yourself struggling and wondering if you can actually do it, then here’s an episode for you. An episode full of stories of “ordinary” people doing the hard work to go after what they want in life, and showing that it might not always be easy, but it is possible. Learn more about this episode at permaculturevoices.com/tuf45 If you want to learn more about Curtis Stone and urban farming, then check out Curtis’ book, The Urban Farmer and his course, Profitable Urban Farming.

Paul’s central premise is that habitats have immune systems, just like people, and mushroom forming fungi are the foundation of the foodwebs of land based organisms. Our close evolutionary relationship to fungi can be the basis for novel pairings that lead to greater sustainability and immune enhancement. As w​ e are now fully engaged in the 6th Major Extinction (“6 X”) on planet Earth, our biospheres are quickly changing, eroding the life support systems that have allowed humans to ascend. Unless we put into action policies and technologies that can cause a course correction in the very near future, species diversity will continue to plummet, with humans not only being the primary cause, but one of the victims. What can we do? Fungi, particularly mushrooms, offer some powerful, practical solutions, which can be put into practice now. Paul will discuss his groundbreaking research utilizing their cellular networks to create molecular bridges governing the evolution of sustainable habitats. The implications of his research are far-reaching and could spark a paradigm shift to a better future. This presentation was recorded live at PV2 in March 2015. For all of the audio presentations from PV2 visit: permaculturevoices.com/audio/

Today's episode is actually a rebroadcast of a presentation that Curtis gave in January in San Francisco. The presentation is called Farming in the City. In this presentation, Curtis will take you on a tour of his one third of an acre urban farm, where you will get an inside look at the day to day operations of the farm from vegetable production to sales. Curtis will show how he farms commercially, and profitably, in backyards and on small plots of land in the city, land that he doesn’t own. You’ll learn about the methods and techniques that Curtis has used over the last six years to grow his sales and profits. See video related to this presentation at permaculturevoices.com/tuf44 More on Curtis Stone: The Urban Farmer Book by Curtis Stone Profitable Urban Farming – The Course

If you're a farmer, what are your options for selling product? CSA's, farmers markets, on farm sales, grocery stores, and buying clubs. Buying clubs? It's one of the options that doesn't get talked about a lot. But it's the focus of this episode. In this episode I am talking with Sheri Salatin of Polyface Farms about Polyfaces Metropolitan Buying Clubs. In their words they describe buying clubs as a a local food distribution system that combines the real-time interfaces of online marketing with community-based interaction. These kinds of interfaces, without bricks and mortar, using the internet, create efficiency and economies of scale in local food distribution. Sheri goes into a lot of the specifics about their buying club and talks about how she grew Polyface's buying club from 30 customers to over 6000. 30 to over 600. How they manage their inventory How they started their buying club How their buying club grew How their buying club allowed them to grow the farm If you don't know much about buying clubs now, you will leave this episode knowing a lot about buying clubs. Learn more from this episode at permaculturevoices.com/120 Did you like this episode? If so, help support the show. Permaculture Voices is listener supported by people just like you. Please consider making a one time or reoccurring donation to support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support