The Permaculture Podcast

This episode is a look at the large-scale operations at D.C. Water to turn municipal waste into fertilizer and energy at the Blue Plains Waste W10ater Treatment Plant and looks at ways we can take the principles of permaculture and move them from the home to the community scale. The audio of the interview comes from a video which you'll find on the podcast's YouTube Channel at: YouTube.com/thepermaculturepodcast You can view the video directly by visiting: bit.ly/bloomsoil

In this episode Co-host David Bilbrey continues to explore the edge between permaculture, business, and social change by sitting down with Dr. Otto Scharmer. Together they talk about Dr. Scharmer’s work on Presencing and Theory U, the development of effective organizations, and how each of us can become more powerful changemakers. Resources Otto Scharmer Presencing Institute Theory U Books MITx u.Lab Peter Senge The Limits to Growth (Wikipedia) Club of Rome EdX Transforming Capitalism Lab

In her storytelling way, Rosemary Morrow joins me to share why, after all these years, she continues to practice permaculture and finds this design system so important to our present and the future. Her newest book is Earth Restorer’s Guide to Permaculture, which you can find in the store at PermaculturePrinciples.com. Listen to the first conversation with Rosemary: Rosemary Morrow's Journey to Permaculture Visit Our Partners Wild Abundance - Top 10 Vegetables to Grow that Will Really Feed You! Marjory Wildcraft - How to Grow Food! Donate Directly to the Podcast: PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Join Our Patreon Community: Patreon.com/permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show.

My guest for this episode is Brad Lancaster author of the Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond series. In this episode, Brad and I discuss the value of infiltrating water into the soil so that it becomes a resource that we invest during water-rich times and withdraw from that bank only when needed during dry times. As Brad’s work includes more than just drylands the conversation also includes ideas for storing water in rich areas. Along the way we also look at several listener questions including fog harvesting, using living systems to hand wet basements, and observing to find the right match for plants suitable to wet clay soils. What I really enjoyed about this conversation was Brad’s continued reference to creating and using living systems. Visit Our Partners Wild Abundance - Top 10 Vegetables to Grow that Will Really Feed You! Marjory Wildcraft - How to Grow Food! Donate Directly to the Podcast: PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Join Our Patreon Community: Patreon.com/permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show. Other resources of interest Brad's blog post on Fog Harvesting David Eisenberg and the Development Center for Appropriate Technology Zephaniah Phiri Maseko's biography at National Geographic.

Looby Macnamara, with Delvin Solkinson, joins me to discuss Looby's work on Cultural Emergence, her vision for our work as permaculture practitioners, and the tools she's developing to help facilitate this transition. Find out more about Looby and the Cultural Emergence deck at Cultural-Emergence.com. Delvin is at VisionaryPermaculture.com. Cultural Emergence Kickstarter Visit Our Partners Wild Abundance - Top 10 Vegetables to Grow that Will Really Feed You! Marjory Wildcraft - How to Grow Food! Donate Directly to the Podcast: PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Join Our Patreon Community: Patreon.com/permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show.

How do we limit the damage of the greatest terrestrial environmental disaster ever, climate change? By drawing down carbon. How we do that, and the most effective ways possible, form the base of this conversation with Eric Toensmeier, as he shares his ongoing research about the impacts of agriculture and how we can use agroforestry to increase productivity and sequester carbon. Find out more about Eric at perennialsolutions.org, and The Carbon Farming Solution at ChelseaGreen.com. Visit Our Partners Wild Abundance - Top 10 Vegetables to Grow that Will Really Feed You! Marjory Wildcraft - How to Grow Food! Donate Directly to the Podcast: PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Join Our Patreon Community: Patreon.com/permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show. Resources The Carbon Farming Solution Project Drawdown Perennial Solutions The Center for Agroforestry at the University of Missouri Agroforestry at Virginia Tech IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Trees on Farms by RJ Zomer, et al. (PDF) Savanna Institute Steve Solomon - Gardening When It Counts John Jeavons - Grow Biointensive Legal Pathways to Carbon_Neutral Agriculture by Peter Lehner and Nathan Rosenberg (PDF) Diet for a Small Planet Related Interviews Dr. Laura Jackson - Modern Agricultural Systems Keefe Keeley - The Savanna Institute Jean-Martin Fortier - The Market Gardener Dave and Lee O'Neill - Radical Roots Farm Jerome Osentowski - The Forest Garden Greenhouse

My guest today is the adventurer, activist, and humanitarian Rob Greenfield. Rob joins me to talk about the Food Freedom project he launched in Orlando, Florida, where he is growing and foraging for all of his nutritional needs. Find out more about Rob, his work and other projects, including those mentioned during his introduction, at RobGreenfield.TV. Visit Our Partners Wild Abundance - Top 10 Vegetables to Grow that Will Really Feed You! Marjory Wildcraft - How to Grow Food! Donate Directly to the Podcast: PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Join Our Patreon Community: Patreon.com/permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show. Resources National Farmers Market Directory (USA) Trash Me Green Riders Free Ride Orlando Permaculture Meetup Group Shad Qudsi - Atitlan Organics

My guest today is Akiva Silver of Twisted Tree Farm in Spencer, New York. He joins me to talk about his life and the experiences that lead to his book Trees of Power from Chelsea Green Publishing. You can find Akiva, his farm, and work at twisted-tree.net and you can find his book, Trees of Power, at chelseagreen.com. Visit Our Partners Wild Abundance - Top 10 Vegetables to Grow that Will Really Feed You! Marjory Wildcraft - How to Grow Food! Donate Directly to the Podcast: PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Join Our Patreon Community: Patreon.com/permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show. Resources Twisted Tree Farm Trees of Power (Chelsea Green) Tom Brown Jr. Tracking School The Graves Tree - Arthur Graves Chestnuts Empire Chestnut Company (Route 9 Cooperative) Related Interview: Foraging with Sam Thayer

In this guest episode, the final in this series, naturalist and writer Shane Sater, shares his insights and thoughts on kochia as it relates to sparrows; a reflection on how an introduced plant species create novel ecosystems and adaptations. And that was Shane Sater. You can read more of his nature writing and view the photographs from his journey in the natural world at WhatsGoingOnBlog.org.

In this episode, Chris Knapp, one of the founders of Maine Local Living School in Temple, Maine, returns to talk about their immersive educational experience, The Understory. During our conversation, Chris shares how this program came to be, his influences, and the knowledge, skills, and encounters he and his fellow instructors seek to impart to students during the multi-week, onsite program. If you are interested in permaculture and what permaculture education can look like beyond the Permaculture Design Course, or you are an instructor looking to build upon your existing curriculum and offerings, this is an interview to dive into. Find out more about Chris, the school, and The Understory at MaineLocalLiving.org.

Visit Our Partners: Wild Abundance - Top 10 Vegetables to Grow that Will Really Feed You! Marjory Wildcraft - How to Grow Food! Donate Directly to the Podcast: PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Join Our Patreon Community: Patreon.com/permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show. My guest today is Chris Knapp, an instructor and one of the founders of Maine Local Living School, a homestead and education center in Temple, Maine. Resources Learn More

This is the second in a series of three guest episodes from Shane Sater. A naturalist and writer based in Montana, USA, Shane shares his deep passion for nature and community through writing and recordings like this one, bringing together his education in environmental science, botany, and field biology with his experiential work in community, integrating the wonder embodied relationship with nature to the human experience. In addition to this work and with a love for all creatures, Shane feels a special affinity for silk moths, stinging nettles, cottonwoods, and meadowlarks. Read more of Shane's nature writing and view the photographs from his journey in the natural world at WhatsGoingOnBlog.org.

My guest for this episode is Sam Thayer, the expert forager and author. You can find Sam's personal experience working with wild foods in his books, The Forager's Harvest and Nature's Garden. Resources Sam Thayer The Forager's Harvest Nature's Garden Edible Wild Plants: Wild Foods from Dirt to Plate

My guests for this episode are Violet Brill and her father “Wildman” Steve Brill. Violet and Steve are foragers from New York. Violet assists her father on his plant tours, leading groups of people and teaching them about wild edibles. You can find out more about Violet and Steve at wildmanstevebrill.com.

Chef and writer Sara Bir joins me to share her work as a foodie and author of The Fruit Forager’s Companion, from Chelsea Green Publishing. Using her book and those experiences as a place to start, we explore her interest in wild fruit and foods, including first falling in love with the paw paw, and about how shared experiences, in the forest or around the table, bring us together. You can find Sara on her website sausagetarian and her book at Chelsea Green. I also recommend following her on Instagram, if you’re on there, as she posts some really great pictures about food. Just as with her website, you’ll find her there as sausagetarian. Resources Sara Bir (sausagetarian.com) Sara on Instagram The Fruit Foragers Companion (Chelsea Green)

This episode is the first in a series of guest permabytes from Shane Sater. Shane, a naturalist and writer based in Montana, USA, has a deep passion for nature and community which he explores through his writing where he brings together his training in environmental science, botany, and field biology with his lived experiences in his community, speaking to wonder and the embodied relationship with nature that all of us can have. Throughout his journeys, Shane feels a special affinity for silk moths, stinging nettles, cottonwoods, and meadowlarks - among many other of Earth’s creatures. Read more of Shane's nature writing at: https://whatsgoingonblog.org/

My guest for this episode is Katrina Blair, author of the wonderful book The Wild Wisdom of Weeds from Chelsea Green Publishing. Katrina lives in Durango, Colorado at Turtle Lake Refuge, home to the Turtle Lake Community Farm and Wild Food CSA, and Local Wild Life Cafe.

My guest for this episode is Stephen Barstow, author of Around the World in 80 Plants. Together, we talk about his incredibly diverse garden in Norway where he grows over 2,000 edible plants in a rather small space. We begin with his background and how he came to have an interest in edibles, from his beginnings as a foraging vegetarian, to his beginning to eat and collect plants from wherever he traveled. He shares with us his love of edible ornamentals, or what Stephen calls edimentals, and he also recommends some to start with when first beginning to introduce more of these species into your garden. Resources Edimentals.com (Stephen’s Website) Around the World in 80 Plants (Chelsea Green Publishers) Around the World in 80 Plants (Permanent Publications) Sturtevants Edible Plants of the World (PDF. Large File)

My guest today is Nathan Carlos Rupley. A member of my permaculture community, he spends his time as a stay-at-home dad, self employed-artist, and aspiring hunter-gatherer. When not hanging out with his family or walking in the woods, you can find him reading about a wide range of subjects including simple living, foraging, native agriculture, natural building, “primitive” technology, philosophy, applied ecology, theology, and much more. He brings this knowledge to the table today as we discuss what he’s learning from the native plants of his ancestors. The exploration of these plants and the related cultures provide insights into his place in the world and where he comes from. This leads to a conversation that ranges around a variety of thoughts including how we can learn more about plants and their uses by studying folk and Latin binomial names. What understanding ancestral plants can teach us about our identity. The impacts of colonization, on the colonized and colonizer. And being good mentors and ancestors now and for the future. You can email Nate at [email protected], with any comments, or questions, if you want to rewild your yard, or, if you’re ever in Central Pennsylvania, would like to join him for a foraging class or plant walk. Resources Nathan Carlos Rupley (Website) Nathan Carlos Rupley (Patreon) Nathan_Carlos_Rupley (Instagram) Gathering on YouTube Samuel Thayer / The Forager’s Harvest Steve Brill Backyard Medicine by Julie Bruton-Seal and Matthew Seal Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast by Peter Del Tradici Fandabi Dozi (YouTube) Ron Eglash - The fractals at the heart of African designs (TED Talk)

My guest for this episode is Tradd Cotter, a microbiologist, and mycologist who, along with his wife Olga, owns and operates Mushroom Mountain near Greenville, South Carolina. He is also the author of the book Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation from Chelsea Green Publishing. In this interview, we talk about his book, the science of microbiology and mycology, entrepreneurship, and also touch on the power of mushrooms for remediation.

My guest for this episode is Ben Goldfarb who joins me to talk about his book, Eager: the surprising, secret life of beavers and why they matter. Drawing from his work and our experiences in resource management, conservation, and environmental education we talk about the role beavers had in creating and shaping the landscape, history, and people of the United States, and the importance of reintroducing and protecting beavers to return the world to the wetter, boggier place it once was. Resources Ben Goldfarb Eager The Methow Beaver Project Thinking Like a Mountain - Aldo Leopold The Beaver Institute Worth a Dam

My guest for this episode is Sandor Katz, author of Wild Fermentation, The Art of Fermentation, and The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved. If you’ve practiced any kind of fermentation and went looking for a recipe, a reference, or just read about the wee yeasties and bacteria that transform our foods with their microbial magic, then you’ve probably read something by Sandor, and I recommend reading even more. Resources: Wild Fermentation (Sandor's Website) Wild Fermentation (The Book) The Art of Fermentation The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved

This is the second half of the conversation with Shaun Chamberlin, editor of Lean Logic and Surviving the Future, on the work of David Fleming. This time we focus on Shaun including his background, current activities, and what it means to bear David's Legacy. Along the way, the conversation touches on a variety of subjects related to our work in the modern world, including the role of education, the apolitical need for action in the future, and what we can do to live inexpensively and with directed intent. This is candid, on both of our parts, as we share more of our own private stories as much as the public. Find out more about Shaun and his work at DarkOptimism.org. Resources Lean Logic (Chelsea Green Publishing) Surviving the Future (Chelsea Green Publishing) Dark Optimism (Shaun's Site) Schumacher College The Moneyless Manifesto - Mark Boyle The Dark Mountain Project The Transition Timeline The Happy Pig (Permaculture Magazine UK) The Power of Time Off (TED Talk)

Shaun Chamberlin, the editor of Lean Logic: A Dictionary for the Future and How to Survive It and Surviving the Future, joins me to discuss the life, work, and importance of the late David Fleming (1940 - 2010). Resources Lean Logic (Chelsea Green) Surviving the Future (Chelsea Green) David Fleming (Wiki) Shaun Chamberlin The Transition Timeline Rob Hopkins and The Transition Town Movement (Interview) Transition Network Transition US Richard Heinberg Michael Meacher (Former UK Environment Minister) Ron Oxburgh LeanLogic.net (First publication of David’s manuscript) The Dark Mountain Project Jonathon Porritt

Giulianna Maria Lamanna, of The Fifth World, drops a huge two-part question in this episode: Are there people in the permaculture community talking about climate change and the impact of global warming on invasive species? Is it our responsibility as permaculture practitioners to create new ecosystems for the changing climate? This leads to a conversation where we discuss: Preserving native ecosystems The creation of novel ecosystems The role of exotic species The influence of human disturbance The impacts of erosion. We’re also asked to examine our role in tending the wild, and what responsibility, if any, we have to domesticated species such as chickens. In doing so, can we take back the stewardship of our own habitat? (A remastered episode. Original Release: 25 May 2017)

Today's guest, in an interview recorded by co-host David Bilbrey, is the microbiologist and soil researcher Dr. Elaine Ingham. In this episode they look at: The microbiology of soil The impact of this life on the health of our plants and agricultural system How we can be citizen scientists The power of a microscope to bring all these ideas together, right in front of our eyes. All wrapped in a framework so we can understand the importance of healthy, living soil for human well-being, as individuals, participants in a community, and citizens of the world. Find out more about Dr. Ingham's work on soil microbiology at soilfoodweb.com. Her classes and other work with Environment Celebration Institute at environmentcelebration.com. Related Interviews Dan Kittredge - Nutrient Dense Foods Stephen Harrod Buhner - The Citizen Scientist Elizabeth Farnsworth - GoBotany! and Citizen Science Resources Dr. Ingham’s CV Soil Food Web Environment Celebration Institute Dr. Ingham's Online Classes Ecological Monograph (1985 - PDF) EcoThinkIt

Over more than a decade, The Permaculture Podcast has explored the landscape-based practices which lead to permanent agriculture, as well as the invisible structures necessary, as individuals and in our community, to create permanent culture. Today’s episode examines our ability to create culture and continues the 12th-anniversary celebration of The Permaculture Podcast, as Alasdair Stuart joins me to share his insights on how media and culture influence the community and countries we live in, and how those stories shape who we are and our experiences. Through those lenses, Alasdair and I look at representation in media, the importance of inclusion and diversity as creators and consumers of fictional works, the importance of cultivating kindness, and changing outlooks on mental health. We also share how we find hope through storytelling, on the page or through the screen, as we face an uncertain future, and invite you to join us on that journey. If you’re not familiar with Alasdair, he is the co-owner of Escape Artists Incorporated, which produces the wonderful short-fiction podcasts Cast of Wonders, EscapePod, PodCastle, and PseudoPod. Alasdair is also the regular host of the horror podcast PseudoPod, where he not only introduces the author, narrator, and fright to follow but also shares his commentary and critique on the story for each episode and how that unique tale fits into our lives and world. As you might imagine when a pair of media-loving folks who grew up immersed in comic books, TV shows, movies, and games of all kinds come together to talk about how those works create our society and a vision for the future, it leads to nearly continuous references to the personal and pop culture that shaped us and that we see as continuing to mold current generations. If you love anything like Dr. Who, video games, Terry Pratchett, Tik Tok, Henry Rollins, Heavy Metal, or George Carlin, there is each of those and so much more somewhere in today’s interview. You can find Alasdair's at alasdairstuart.com. While you are there, be sure to sign up for his newsletter, The Full Lid. He is also on Twitter @alasdairstuart Escape Artists Incorporated and their amazing slate of podcasts are at EscapeArtists.Net. I’d also like to give a big thank you to the artist SerHawke for allowing me to the drawing of Alasdair in a She-Hulk T-shirt as the cover image for this episode. Their commissions are open and you can find them on Twitter @serhawke. I enjoyed this conversation with Alasdair because of how he points to the ways media, in whatever form it might take from TV shows to spoken word albums to podcasts, can have an impact on us as individuals and help us develop or change our worldviews. How media as a shared experience can create a culture or subculture we feel at home in and want to be an active participant in. Media can create a cultural zeitgeist that changes a country or the world. As we permaculture practitioners share our vision of the future through fiction, such as Utopia by Geoff Christou 470 by Linda Woodrow, it shows others what is possible. As we share the stories of our lives and experiences through podcasts or memoirs, we link the past to the present and share them with others. This work, of telling our stories with voice, body, and bones, is vital to what permaculture has to hold now and for future generations. If you have a story inside of you, find a way to tell it. Your voice matters. Before closing this episode, I’d like to give a hearty thanks to Alasdair for joining me, as this conversation was a special one for me, as it’s been a dream of mine to interview Alasdair after hearing his voice—both his literal, spoken voice and voice as an expression for his point of view and talent as a writer—all those years ago when I downloaded my first episode of PseudoPod. It was a pleasure to have this experience and chat like old friends. I continue to tune in to PseudoPod and remain a dedicated listener because I am inspired by Alasdair’s message that we can shine a light into the darkness and find hope, even when we face real monsters in the world. That hope, along with a story well told, reminds me that we are not alone, that there are others like us in the world, and we can stand together with others, whatever comes in the days, years, and decades to come. Until the next time, listen to an episode of PseudoPod while you spend each day discovering the media that inspires you while creating a culture that takes care of Earth, your self, and each other.

For nearly 40 years, Rosemary’s work as a teacher has brought permaculture directly into the lives of her thousands of students. As an author, she has touched innumerably more. As her students became teachers and other teachers used her works in their classrooms, her ideas and methods continue to ripple through the world and reach even more. With this reach, her work touched has touched my own, first as a student, through her book Earth User’s Guide to Permaculture, and later as an instructor, when I used that book as one of the student texts for the course paired with the companion book to that, Earth User’s Guide to Teaching Permaculture. Now, we celebrate Rowe’s newest book, from Melliodora Publishing, Earth Restorer’s Guide to Permaculture, with a series of conversations covering her thoughts on the breadth of permaculture as a practice, interwoven with stories from throughout her journey. To start things off, I knew a lot about Rowe’s writings, but not about her early life, how she came to permaculture or her career as a teacher and author. So, we begin where so many interviews do on The Permaculture Podcast, with a conversation about her biography and background, which includes some insights into the development and growth of permaculture over the years, the kinds of character and teacher Bill Mollison was, and how Rowe reframes permaculture education into a local, lived experience, whether she’s teaching in Australia, Vietnam, or Cambodia. Support the Podcast Donate Online: Via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast You can find Rosemary's books, including Earth Restorer’s Guide to Permaculture, at the PermaculturePrinciples.com store. As we close this conversation and prepare for the others which will follow, I’d like to re-extend the invitation for you to answer Rowe’s questions: What is your country? Do you speak a language from there? Do you know how the indigenous peoples lived on that land? Visit Our Series Partners Permaculture Principles Melliodora Publishing Abundant Earth Foundation

Donate To The Podcast! Via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Join our Patreon Community! ----- In this episode, an old friend returns. Together, we relax and celebrate the 12th anniversary of The Permaculture Podcast with Scott Mann. Erin Harvey, and I met one another and became friends in 2010 when we took our Permaculture Design Course with Ben Weiss and Dillon Naber Cruz in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. After graduating, Erin returned to Ohio to begin her own farm, The Kale Yard. Erin was one of the first guest on the show, back in early 2013, when we talked about how she started The Kale Yard. If you haven’t heard that, you’ll find a link to that interview in the show notes. Today, we talk about how life has changed over the last decade, including The Kale Yard transitioning from a Market Garden to a nursery business, and Erin’s current role as a farmers market manager and what that means for both her, the farmers, and the community they serve. We also spend some time on her interest in propagating figs and other plants; the role of a hoop house and greenhouse on her farm; and what Erin sees in her future. Related Episode Starting a Small Scale Farm - Erin Harvey Resources The Kale Yard Keller Market House

This month marks the 12th anniversary of The Permaculture Podcast with Scott. To celebrate this latest milestone, I asked my friend Erin Harvey to join me again to discuss how her life and work have changed since we graduated from our Permaculture Design Course on October 10th, 2010, and the show began. In preparation for that new conversation, here is my first interview with Erin, recorded and released in the Winter of 2013. Note: This is from the earliest days of interviews on the podcast and does not benefit from later improvements in microphones or recording tools. Resources: The Kale Yard The Organic Farmer's Business Handbook (Chelsea Green Publishing)

Visit Our Sponsor: Foraged.Market Donate Directly: via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show. Today's guest is Perrine Hervé-Gruyer author, along with her husband Charles, of Miraculous Abundance: One Quarter Acre, Two French Farmers and Enough Food to Feed the World. Learn More

Visit Our Sponsor: Foraged.Market Donate Directly: via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show. My guest for this episode is Sandor Katz, author of Wild Fermentation, The Art of Fermentation, and The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved. If you’ve practiced any kind of fermentation and went looking for a recipe, reference, or just read about the wee yeasties and bacteria that transform our foods with their microbial magic, then you’ve probably read something by Sandor, and I recommend reading even more. Learn More

Visit Our Sponsor: Foraged.Market In this episode, Natalie Bogwalker shares her technique to quickly build soil for growing food in a temperate climate. You can watch the video of Natalie’s work on soil building at Wild Abundance, which is where today’s audio comes from, at: YouTube.com/ThePermaculturePodcast Find out more about Natalie, her work, and Wild Abundance at: WildAbundance.Net

Visit Our Sponsor: Foraged.Market The guest for this episode is John Kotab to discuss his book Bee the Change, a travelogue about his discovery of what we can do to save bees and other pollinators. Find John, his permaculture consulting business, and his books at: cotabconsulting.com

Visit Our Sponsor: Foraged.Market This episode is a remaster of my first interview with Eric Toensmeier, originally recorded in the early days of the show way back in 2012 when I still lived on the land in Pennsylvania. I’m sharing this as a follow-up to the most recent episode before this one where Eric joined me for another interview to talk about his current work on Alley Cropping. Depending on when you are listening to this, if you haven’t heard that show, definitely give it a listen. You’ll find that right before this one in the archives. If you are not familiar with Eric and his work, he is the author of numerous permaculture and permaculture-adjacent books, all of which I highly recommend for your library. Most recently, that includes Carbon Farming: A Global Toolkit of Perennial Crops and Regenerative Agriculture Practices for Climate Change Mitigation and Food Security. Another title where Eric is the sole author is Perennial Vegetables: From Artichoke to Zuiki Taro, a Gardener’s Guide to Over 100 Delicious, Easy-to-grow Edibles. He is the co-author, along with Dave Jacke, of Edible Forest Gardens and also wrote Paradise Lot with Jonathan Bates, the former of which is probably his most popular title in the permie community. Our conversation begins with Eric’s bio. He then answers some listener questions on perennials, then delves into perennial plants, the broad-scale application of permaculture, and removing some of the fear factors of implementing a forest garden. Throughout you will hear both of us touch on plants we would like to see improved and simple ways anyone who is growing a garden can help domesticate and improve edible perennials. - You can find Eric at PerennialSolutions.org - His latest venture, The Perennial Agriculture Institute, is at PerennialAgriculture.Institute. - You can also read Eric’s current writing and support his ongoing efforts at patreon.com/erictoensmeier. Resources Eric Toensmeier Perennial Solutions PerennialAgriculture.Institute Edible Forest Gardens Keyline Design USDA PLANTS Database Books Billy Joe Tatum's Wild Foods Field Guide and Cookbook (Out-of-Print. Bookfinder.com link) Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties by Carol Deppe Creating a Forest Garden by Martin Crawford Edible Water Gardens by Nick Romanowski (Out-of-Print. Bookfinder.com link) The New American Landscape: Leading Voices on the Future of Sustainable Gardening Return to Resistance: Breeding Crops to Reduce Pesticide Dependence by Raoul Robinson Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast - A Field Guide

Visit Our Sponsor: Foraged.Market Donate Directly: via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show. In this episode, Eric Toensmeier returns to share some of his research on alley cropping, from his forthcoming book on this subject which he is writing in cooperation with Interlace Commons, an organization spreading the benefits and evidence of agroforestry, including alley cropping, with farmers. Resources Perennial Solutions Eric's Patreon Interlace Commons Kernza Perennial Grain Agroforesterie (Book) AGROOF (French Agroforestry Organization) Alley Cropping (Univ. of Missouri Center for Agroforestry Training Manual - PDF) Savanna Institute , Related Interviews Stream Restoration and Riparian Corridors - Dr. Bern Sweeney The Savanna Institute - Keefe Keeley Learn More

GoFundMe: Support for Dan Palmer’s Family CW: Death, Grief, and Loss It is with a heavy heart that I share the tragic news that Dan Palmer, of Making Permaculture Stronger, passed away suddenly in the first week of August, 2022. Dan was an activist, designer, permaculture practitioner, and teacher. He was also the driving force behind numerous events and organizations including permablitz, Very Edible Gardens, Holistic Decision Making, the still-in-progress film Reading the Landscape, and his blog and podcast. I knew Dan half as well as I would have liked, but am thankful for the many long hours we spent in conversation over the years, separated by half the world, asking what we could do to make one another, and by extension permaculture, stronger. My thoughts are with his partner, children, and other loved ones. If you are someone who prays, I ask you to offer words into the universe for those who are hurting. You can also use the link above to donate to a GoFundMe for his family during this time of transition.

Visit Our Sponsor: Foraged.Market Donate Directly: via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show. This episode begins with a history lesson on Natural Farming and the work of Masanobu Fukuoka and leads into a conversation comparing and contrasting that method and his ideas to Permaculture, delivered in the voice and words of someone who was present in both movements from their earliest days, the late Larry Korn. Resources The One-Straw Revolutionary Learn More

Visit Our Sponsor: Foraged.Market Donate Directly: via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show. The guest for this episode is Mark Ervin of GreenGro Biologicals. He joins me to share his passion for terra preta soil and biochar and how he turned that love into an entrepreneurial business bringing a regenerative product to market. Along the way, he shares the difference between simply burning something and calling biochar versus creating a carbon-rich, mineralized biochar, the importance of nutrient ratios for sustainable growing, and much more. More Information on Terra Preta and Biochar Terra Preta (Wikipedia) Biochar (Wikipedia) The Biochar Solution by Albert Bates Burn by Albert Bates and Kathleen Draper Related Interviews Dr. Elaine Ingham - The Soil Food Web Eric Toensmeier - Drawing Down Carbon: Agroforestry and Climate Change Permabyte: Biochar, Gasification, and Woodlot Management Mary Johnson - An Introduction to Nutrient Dense Farming Connor Stedman - Carbon Farming - Soil Learn More

Visit Our Sponsor: Foraged.Market Donate Directly: via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show. This episode on Urban Homesteading with Rachel Kaplan is the conversation that started me down the road of what the show has become known for: long-format, interview-driven, guest-focused conversations you won’t hear anywhere else. It is also the first interview I ever recorded for The Permaculture Podcast so, unless you were here in the early days of the show or took a deep dive into the archives at thepermaculturepodcast.com in later years, it’s one you’ll hear for the first time, today. Resources Urban Homesteading Rachel Kaplan - EcoSomatic Action K.Ruby Blume - Rogue Ruby The Institute of Urban Homesteading Daily Acts North Bay Institute of Green Technology Grey Water Action Learn More

Visit Our Sponsor: Foraged.Market Donate Directly: via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show. Our guest for this episode is Chris Salisbury, author of Wild Nights Out. He joins us to share his work acclimating people of all ages to nature through experiences and encounters in a world shrouded by the dark, so we may do the same for others in our lives, whether as professional educators, parents, or community members. Throughout the interview, Chris shares ways to find nature all around us and extends an invitation so that we can discover, or rediscover, the joy, majesty, and mystery of night. Resources Wild Wise Wild Nights Out Wilderness Awareness School 8 Shields Institute The Art of Mentoring Sharing Nature Institute for Earth Education Learn More

Visit Our Sponsor: Foraged.Market Donate Directly: via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show. This episode is a guest interview from my friend Drew Grim of Schoolhouse Life, as he sits down with Andrew Magazine to discuss the art and craft of whole animal butchery, as it applies to the homestead. Throughout, Andrew shares tips from his professional experience as a craft butcher on setting up one’s workspace, how to select the right tools and equipment for this work, and how raising and butchering our own animals is an act of care, compassion, and an ethical way to include meat in our diet. Resources Applied Anatomist (Website) Applied Anatomist (Instagram) Wonderland Hollow (Andrew's Farm with Christina Chumbley) The Schoolhouse Life Podcast Learn More

Visit Our Sponsor: Foraged.Market Donate Directly: via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show. Caring for Earth includes caring for ourselves. To help us find ways to stay active throughout our lives, I’m joined by Katy Bowman as she shares her work on the importance of incorporating regular, whole-body movement throughout the day, with a focus on stacking activities to make sure we stretch, flex, reach, push, and pull, during our regular routine. In this way, we can express a full range of motion, inhabited in our bodies, without needing to worry about making time to go to the gym, unless we want to. Throughout the conversation, she includes numerous ways to redesign our current habits into ones with more use of our body, while framing the conversation as one not of exercise but with movement as a form of nutrition and how we can look for and address any deficits we may find. Resources Nutritious Movement Grow Wild Learn More

Visit Our Sponsor: Foraged.Market Donate to the Podcast via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Join Our Community of Patrons on Patreon Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show. 40% of all insect species have declined globally in recent decades, and a third of those are considered endangered. The impacts that wild insects have on our lives are incalculable, while the benefit to humanity by domesticated honeybees is measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars. With this decline in insect populations, including the bees that pollinate our food, what can we do? Searching for answers and to understand what was leading to a bee decline, several years ago I reached out to Dr. Dennis vanEngelsdorp, a research scientist and associate professor of entomology at the University of Maryland and the former Chief apiarist for Pennsylvania to find out more. Resources: Dennis vanEnglesdrop, PhD Dennis vanEnglesdorp: A Plea for Bees (TED Talk Video) Bee Informed Partnership Crop Pollination Exposes Honey Bees to Pesticides Which Alters Their Susceptibility to the Gut Pathogen Nosema ceranae Related Interview Owen Wormser - Turning Lawns into Meadows

Visit Our Sponsor: Foraged.Market Donate Directly: via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show. In this episode I sit down with my friends Jill Cloutier, of Sustainable World Radio, and Oliver Goshey, of Regenerative Skills, as we have a round-robin conversation about what brought us to the permaculture community and why we started and continue to produce our respective shows. This is an introduction not only to ourselves but also a collaborative project we’ve been working on for more than a year, the Regenerative Media Alliance. Resources Regenerative Media Alliance Contact Regenerative Media Alliance Learn More

Visit Our Sponsor: Foraged.Market Donate Directly: via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show. This episode shares some of what I learned at the Together We Can Conference from Future Harvest on January 13 and 14, 2022. This includes some reflections (or ramblings if you prefer) as they relate to my own experiences and practices, along with people, organizations, and ideas I recommend you connect with or learn more about to grow, improve, or pivot your permaculture practices. Resources Future Harvest Maryland Food System Resiliency Council Jonathan Bardzik , New Age Agrarianism Renard Turner - New Age Agrarianism (Interview) Booker T. Whatley (Wiki) Booker T Whatley Part 1: The Ten Commandments (Video) Booker T Whatley Part 2: The Clientele Membership Club (Video) Rodale Institute Save Three Lives: A Plan for Famine Prevention by Robert Rodale , Care Farming Care Farming Network Red Wiggler Community Farm Fields 4 Valor Farms Benevolence Farm UNC Farm at Penny Lane Blawesome, LLC , Anne Biklé and David R. Montgomery Dig2Grow Learn More

Visit Our Sponsor: Foraged.Market Donate Directly: via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show. This episode is a guest interview from my friend Karryn Olson, continuing the conversation series on right livelihoods. Learn More

Visit Our Sponsor: Foraged.Market Donate Directly: via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show. This episode is the annual update looking at the year ahead, including some announcements and insights from behind the scenes. Learn More

Visit Our Sponsor: Foraged.Market Donate Directly: via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show. My guest today is Renard Turner, an independent, African-American, sustainable farmer. Along with his wife, he raises gourmet goats and squab at Vanguard Ranch Natural Gourmet in Virginia. He is also the opening keynote speaker at the upcoming conference, Together We Can, from Future Harvest. I wanted to learn more about Renard and how those experiences inform his upcoming keynote speech, New Age Agrarianism: Growing for a Regenerative, Sustainable, and Equitable Planet. Learn More

Visit Our Sponsor: Foraged.Market Donate Directly: via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? Browse the extensive archives of the show. Here we are at Episode Seven, the finale, of the focused exploration of Permaculture, Land, and Land Access, with my final thoughts as a series of ramblings, reflections, and ruminations stemming from the earlier episodes. If you haven’t listened to all of those, or you just found the show and this is your first time tuning in, I recommend going back and checking the preceding six episodes before continuing. You’ll find numbered and ordered links to those in the show notes, along with past episodes of the show related to this series, and a long list of resources. Learn More