The Urban Farm Podcast with Greg Peterson

Creating healing tonics from common and locally foraged plants.In This Podcast: Growing up in a plant based family and then struggling with health concerns it felt natural for Devon Young to turn to herbals remedies for wellness and relief. When she started noticing results, she focused on helping others as expanded her knowledge through studies and training. She shares some key details about how to make typical remedies and why her new book is jam packed with details on 50 North American herbs.Devon, founder of the holistic lifestyle blog Nitty Gritty Life, is a trained herbalist and is well practiced in developing and implementing herbal remedies. She has a degree in Complementary and Alternative Medicine from The American College of Healthcare Sciences, and is the author of THE BACKYARD HERBAL APOTHECARY.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/06/22/455-devon-young/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.This contest period has expired.455: Devon Young on Medicinal Remedies

Bonus Episode 28: Seed Saving Class May 2019. In This Bonus Podcast: Once again we join a conversation with Bill McDorman and Greg Peterson to learn about growing from seed, growing for seed, and why our seeds are so important in these changing times. This is the replay of the May 2019 Seed Saving Class - In this class he covers seed school, how to become a teacher, allowing plants to go to seed, and of course a few more things as well.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/06/18/bonus28/ for more information and links on this bonus podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Finding joy and adventure in the backyard with kids and nature.In This Podcast: We welcome back Matt Smith from Smith House Design to hear more about improving family life with a garden. Matt and his wife have created a learning environment in their backyard full of fruit trees and plants. Now, their children prefer nature over screen time. He shares his secrets to gardening with kids and how to make your neighbors never want to leave your backyard. Also, get a sneak peek on Matt's farm to table project and how it will revolutionize their cooking! Matt is the creative force behind Smith House Design, an influential marketing and design agency here in Phoenix. He and his wife Candyce live in South Tempe with their five children and are building a food forest and learning space in their backyard. With such an inviting place, they frequently have much of the neighborhood stopping by.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/06/15/454-matt-smith/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.454: Matt Smith on Improving Family Life with a Garden

Merging two gardening systems into one.In This Podcast: What do you get when a civil engineer loves to garden but doesn’t want to spend two hours a day in the backyard? You get a LEHR garden! Meet Ed Williams, the creator of this regenerative, functioning ecosystem that utilizes aquaponics and mushroom spawn. His garden beds are low maintenance, create soil, self-water, and fertilize using earthworms, fish, and chicken droppings. Listen in to learn about the amazing backyard garden that Ed is creating at his LEHR Urban Homestead. Ed is a civil engineer by profession. In his spare time, he uses engineering principles to design functional ecosystems, which he applies to gardening. This practice led him to develop a new method of gardening he calls a LEHR Garden. He is currently building his second-generation prototype of the LEHR Garden and using it as a centerpiece for his homestead and demonstration garden in Tempe, LEHR Urban Homestead. Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/06/11/453-edmund-williams/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.453: Edmund Williams on Aquaponics with Soil 

Making more than just juice from a popular fruit.In This Podcast: Our apple expert Kanin Routson joins us again to help us understand the process of making delicious apple cider using white wine making techniques. He explains the difference between juice, cider, and hard cider, and how the new modern ciders vary from the heritage ciders. We are introduced to Stoic Cider and we learn more about his dedication to apple tree diversity with the RAD project. Kanin has devoted his life, including two graduate degrees, to exploring and promoting apple tree diversity. His latest work has been co-founding Stoic Cider, a local hard cider company based out of Prescott, Arizona. Through the RAD Project (Restoring Apple Diversity), Stoic Cider works to find, propagate, and promote unique apple varieties and to celebrate this diversity through hard apple cider.Stoic Cider is growing and preserving local heritage apples, wild apples, and European and American cider varieties in several orchards on the family farm. They utilize white wine making techniques to create premium, dry, fruit-forward ciders.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/06/08/452-kanin-routson/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.452: Kanin Rouston on Apple Cider

Having good clean fun on an urban farm.In This Podcast: Awakening to the desire to grow their own fruits, vegetables, and meat, Brittney Schiff and her husband Stephen started with a few garden beds and chickens. Gradually this increased and they moved to a property that allowed them to do more.  Now they raise, chickens, ducks, rabbits and goats and their kids are learning homesteading skills too. She shares what she appreciates most about this journey.Brittney and her husband Stephen moved to a one-acre urban homestead in 2015 with a desire to rely less on the grocery store and our messed-up food system. Taking homesteading from a hobby to a lifestyle, she bakes bread, cans food, makes butter and cheese, line-dries clothes, and even has a small soap-making company. They have 28 fruit bearing trees, several raised gardens and plans to add an in-ground 2500 sq. ft. row garden in the next year.  They had no previous livestock experience, but now raise 90% of their family’s meat, egg, & dairy needs with chickens and ducks for meat and eggs as well as goats for milk.  All this and she loves every bit of it!Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/06/04/451-brittney-schiff/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.451: Brittney Schiff on Growing Food and Raising Animals

Farming with an eye on the future.In This Podcast: The home purchase was going to be a stretch, but she could not escape the pull.  After several visits, Katie Critchley took the leap and this farming community is much more than she expected.  The appeal was so strong that her extended family joined her as well. She found herself becoming more and more involved and eventually became the Farm Director at a truly integrated farming community.   A one sentence description is impossible – you must hear this podcast to understand, and you’ll be wanting to visit Agritopia very soon!Katie is the Farm Director of The Farm at Agritopia and a long time resident of the nationally recognized and award winning  “agrihood” at Agritopia.  She is a founding board member of The Johnston Family Foundation for Urban Agriculture, which is committed to promoting and preserving Urban Agriculture throughout the State of Arizona.She has also been a part of the development team at Johnston Properties maintaining and expanding their commercial holdings.  Her last role at Johnston Properties was co-project manager for the award winning craftsman community, Barnone located in Agritopia.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/06/01/450-katie-crichtley/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.450: Katie Critchley on Building a Farm Community

Focusing on higher yield and better quality in harvests.Earning his degree in agronomy put Marty Campfield on a path that led him eventually to work for AZOMITE selling this unique nutrient dense fertilizer/soil amendment product. He helps explain about the importance of nutrients in the soil, and how different forms can easily break down for quick plant consumption or slowly break down for long term nutrient availability. Marty also shares tips on different methods of application for this mineral rich substance.Marty is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing with AZOMITE Soil Products, LLC, and has served in various positions in the agricultural, turfgrass, landscape, greenhouse, and fertilizer industry segments. He has traveled globally to over 15 countries working with everyone from the growers up to the product formulators. As a former certified professional agronomist (CPAg) and former certified crop advisor (CCA) his experience has included focusing on optimizing soil health and crop production in conventional and organic farming systems. His overarching goal has been to help companies and producers optimize yield, quality, and return on investment in their crops.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/05/28/449-marty-campfield/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.449: Marty Campfield on AZOMITE on the Farm

Stewarding future crops through considerate cultivation and harvesting of seeds.In This Podcast: In the pursuit of resetting his health, Luke Allen took a four-day fasting journey and ended up taking his life in a new direction.  Eventually he resettled, started growing food, and seeds! He helps break down some seed terminology for us and discusses the importance of true breeding in seeds.Luke was raised in a small town, then moved to Seattle where he worked doing computer graphics design. After many years there, he realized something was missing from the daily grind and went on a series of vision quests where realized that he needed to work with the land, the water, the animals and the food. Luke studied permaculture, received his permaculture design certificate and started growing food.Sundial Seed is a small, family run regional seed company located in Willits, California to produce hand-crafted market-ready varieties.  They work with seed growers to co-create delicious market-ready true-breeding varieties.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/05/25/448-luke-allen/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.448: Luke Allen on True Breeding Seeds

Bonus Episode 27: Seed Saving Class April 2019. In This Bonus Podcast: Once again we join a conversation with Bill McDorman and Greg Peterson to learn about growing from seed, growing for seed, and why our seeds are so important in these changing times. This is the replay of the April 2019 Seed Saving Class - In this class he covers grains, disease resistance, and packaging seeds safely, and of course a few more things as well.Bill McDorman is Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, in Ketchum, Idaho. He got his start in the bio-regional seed movement while in college in 1979 when he helped start Garden City Seeds. In 1984, Bill started Seeds Trust/High Altitude Gardens, a mail order seed company he ran successfully until it sold in 2013.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/05/21/bonus27/ for more information and links on this bonus podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Building up property value with beautiful food growing spaces.In This Podcast: Knowing that curb appeal is important, Matt Smith has applied this concept to his backyard to improve the value of his home. He shares how growing food and appreciating nature has become so important to him, and which historical figures influence his goals for his green space. Matt also explains why home improvement shows can diminish home values and what to focus on to prevent that from happening in your space. Matt was a part of MTV at its prime and starred on influential reality TV shows that helped reshape the entertainment industry. He lived a charmed life in his 20’s, but if you ask him about being a celebrity, he’d tell you that it was a waste of time.Today, Matt is the creative force behind Smith House Design, an influential marketing and design agency in Phoenix. He and his wife live in South Tempe with their five children and are focused on creating a vibrant food garden and learning space for their family. They are in year three of a massive backyard upgrade that is inspiring self-motivated creativity and exploration of the natural world by their entire clan. The Smiths are building an ideal urban farm space while adding value to their home.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/05/18/447-matt-smith/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.447: Matt Smith on Urban Farming and Home Values.

Grinding out award winning chocolateIn This Podcast: Early influences helped Kasey McCaslin develop a love for food and making things, and that eventually led her to try making small batch chocolate to sell at the farmers market.  From there she has gone on to develop recipes that have earned her several awards and she shares about the steps and care she takes to make her internationally inspired flavors. Kasey is one of the creators of Stone Grindz Chocolate, a small-batch company driven by quality and craft. She is a self-taught chocolate maker, with a background in nutrition. Her free time is spent playing in her garden, painting, and hanging out with her adorable pup, Finnley.Stone Grindz specializes in small batch, single origin craft chocolate and sources cacao from all over the world, giving customers a glimpse and taste from the different growing regions.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/05/14/446-kasey-mccaslin/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.446: Kasey McCaslin on Making Craft Chocolate

Homesteading with a passion and a purpose.In This Podcast: For years, Julia Hubler couldn't find a garden planner that had it all. After running her family's homestead of chickens, goats, and gardens, she put together a comprehensive garden planning guide and journal. Here, she paints a picture of life on her homestead. Listen in to learn why she added native trees back into her orchard, what it's like raising chickens for meat, and how you can win a free copy of her e-book so you can start planning your best garden yet!Julia lives in Arizona on two and a half acres, with HOT summers, lots of cacti and amazing sunsets!  She is a homeschool graduate living with her family and every day you’ll find her raising guineas, making dinner, milking goats, and writing about it all. You can find her at ReformStead.com.   Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/05/11/445-julia-hubler/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.This contest period has expired.445: Julia Huber on Gardening with a Plan

Taking fruits and berries to make tasty results.In This Podcast: What do you do with the abundance of fruit from your yard? Making jams and jellies are an easy solution. Sara Wolters from Pomona's Universal Pectin shares how their fruit-based pectin allows you to create delicious preserves with little to no added sugar. She also shares about the pectin industry, the recipe and video resources they have available to the public, methods of making jams with young kids, and additional uses for pectin.Sara and her husband own and operate Pomona’s Universal Pectin. Pomona Pectin has been around for 39 years, and they’ve owned the business for just over 2 years now. They have two sons and live right next to Yosemite National Park.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/05/07/444-sara-wolters/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.This contest period is expired.444: Sara Wolters on Healthy, Homemade Jams & Jellies.

Growing delicious produce - in the garden, an allotment, or in the greenhouse!In This Podcast: Jason Johns is the author of 18 books on gardening. Here, he shares everything anybody needs to know about growing tomatoes! From the ideal soil, varieties, conditions, and pruning you'll be ready to plant amazing tomatoes. We also discussed common pests and what to do about them, as well as his first failure with tomatoes and what he learned from the experience. Jason plants something new each year. As a bonus, he also shared some of his other growing experiences!Jason is the author of Growing Tomatoes: Your Guide to Growing Delicious Tomatoes at Home, as well as 17 other self-published gardening books on everything from greenhouse gardening to growing giant pumpkins.  Jason is passionate about gardening, having grown his own produce for over twenty years.  He started with a second-hand greenhouse, an 8’ by 6’ patch of his mother’s garden, and far too many tomato plants.  After turning the greenhouse into a tomato farm, he was hooked at the taste of the first ripe tomato.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/05/04/443-jason-johns/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.This contest period has expired.443: Jason Johns about Growing Tomatoes.

Living the good life while selling from a small farm.In This Podcast: How does one become a farmer when you haven't gone to school for agriculture? Emily Heller did just that using local education programs and opportunities. Here, she discusses successful selling as a small space producer, parameters for success in gardening, and some of her best practices. She also speaks to the emotional journey of farming and how to handle the imperfections and challenges. Emily also shares how to educate customers at Farmers Markets and build repeat clients.Tempe, Arizona grower Emily is a student of Mother Nature’s. Since moving to Arizona in 1998, she’s been growing food and studying the low-desert seasons as a backyard gardener. A former journalist, she shifted gears in 2014 and became a master gardener — then completed beginning farmer programs in Maricopa and Pinal counties. She went on to sell her produce at farmers markets through the local growers’ co-op, Community Exchange. Now she leases farmland in Queen Creek, has scaled up production and has her own booth at Uptown Farmers Market in Phoenix. The name of her farming adventure is Bene Vivendo. That translates from Latin to “the good life.”Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/04/30/442-emily-heller/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.442: Emily Heller on Growing Food for Locals and Small Restaurants.

Finding purpose in educating about indoor farming. In This Podcast: We had the pleasure of talking aquaponics with Jill Shea from Trifecta Ecosystems. Trifecta Ecosystems practices sustainable farming in their aquaponics farm and educates the community to grow their own food as part of the City that Feeds Itself initiative. In addition to the great community programs, we dove into how aquaponics works, is lower cost, uses less land and conserves water. The AgTech field is growing tremendously, with several great opportunities for new farmers. www.urbanfarm.org/jillsheaJill’s farming story started in Orlando, Florida in exchange for free herbalism classes.  Since 2006 she has been fortunate enough to both tend land and teach a variety of growing styles all over the US. She considers it a pleasure to now farm for Trifecta Ecosystems where they help cities feed themselves through aquaponic growing innovation. Trifecta Ecosystems is creating incentives for communities to grow their own food while raising awareness about sustainable farming through education, workshops, and city projects. They do this by empowering farmers in urban environments and educating others on the true potential of aquaponics.  Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/04/27/441-jill-shea/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.441: Jill Shea as a Woman in the World of Aquaponics.

Bonus Episode #26: Seed Saving Class March 2019. In This Bonus Podcast: There are new things to learn in every conversation with Bill McDorman. This is the March 2019 episode of a Seed Saving Class - we go back to the basics on why to save seeds, how to start, how to store seeds, cross-pollination, planting diversity, and so much more.Bill McDorman is Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, Ketchum, Idaho. He got his start in the bio-regional seed movement while in college in 1979 when he helped start Garden City Seeds. In 1984, Bill started Seeds Trust/High Altitude Gardens, a mail-order seed company he ran successfully until it sold in 2013.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/04/23/bonus26/ for more information and links on this bonus podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Having trees as partners in farming projects.In This Podcast: Akiva Silver spent years observing and learning from nature. He discusses how to partner with trees, talks about his new book, and shares some of his favorite trees. Listen in to learn about the different functions of trees, all the amazing ways we can use Hickory trees, and how to use some of the lesser know varieties in really cool ways. He also shares what it looks like to raise 20,000 trees in a year and when he prefers to grow from seed vs cuttings.Akiva owns and operates his 20-acre Twisted Tree Farm, a homestead, nut orchard, and nursery near the Finger Lakes Region of New York.  There he grows around 20,000 trees per year that are raised naturally without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides. Akiva is the author of Trees of Power, Ten Essential Arboreal Allies, released this month in paperback through our friends at Chelsea Green Publishing.  He is dedicated to growing healthy trees, food, and family. Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/04/20/440-akiva-silver/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.This contest period is expired. 440: Akiva Silver on Working with Trees as Allies

Maximizing growing potential by gardening out of the box.In This Podcast: Garrett Hill loved gardening using grow bags so much, he made it into a business. Today we talk about starting a business, the benefits of grow bags, how they work, and some of the cool things Garrett is growing in them. We also dive into the wifi controlled watering system he recommends to all his clients that helps conserve water and integrate technology to improve his farm to table gardening.Garrett and his wife moved back to Gilbert, AZ from Huntington Beach, CA after honorably serving for 10 years of active duty in the United States Coast Guard. As native Arizonians, they both realized that their home state offered the perfect climate for gardening and they began their urban garden using strictly grow bags. Realizing grow bags allowed them to grow vegetables, fruit, herbs, and more far beyond their maximum potential of a standard pot or raised pine box garden, they soon started their business Urban Hills Grow Bag Gardens with the intention of sharing with others this discovery.  Their passion and drive opened doors for a new business concept that revolves around water conservation, farm to table gardening, and integrating technology for 21st-century gardening.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/04/16/439-garrett-hill/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.439: Garrett Hill on Gardening in the 21st Century

Building your food system with backyard poultry.In This Podcast: Who knew when Christine Heinrichs told her daughter they could get chickens that it would shape her life into three popular books and a backyard full of heritage breeds? We sat down with Christine to discuss the re-release of her book, different chicken breeds, their characteristics, and what she learned along the way. We also discuss the mindset of raising meat hens and the importance of predator proofing your coop. We also have a special giveaway opportunity for 3 lucky listeners of the podcast, listen in for instructions on how to win a copy of her updated book!Christine lives on California’s Central Coast, in an unincorporated rural community. She has a small flock of about ten hens, some old friends and some newcomers. She holds a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Oregon and belongs to several professional journalism and poultry organizations. Christine started writing about chickens in the 1980’s when she lived in San Jose and got her first hens. How to Raise Chickens was published through Quarto Publishing in 2007, just as the local food movement was starting to focus attention on our food system and backyard chickens became the symbol of local food. How to Raise Poultry followed in 2009 and her third book The Backyard Field Guide to Chickens was published in 2016.  This year her first book How to Raise Chickens has been updated and re-released.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/04/13/438-christine-heinrichs/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.This contest period has expired.438: Christine Heinrichs on Raising Backyard Chickens.

 Stewarding our seed futures with regional growers working together.In This Podcast: We dove into the world of urban seed saving and starting a seed co-op with Casey O'Leary. She has worn many hats: an environmental activist, farmer, CSA owner, and founder of the Snake River Seed Cooperative. She now supports her bioregion (and the world) with seeds specific to her area and educates on seed saving in her upcoming seed school. Her CSA challenges members to learn how to cook a variety of food, and they educate members on how to prepare and store new items.Casey is a seed freak and urban farmer in Boise, Idaho. On her farm which is called Earthly Delights, she grows oodles of seed crops as well as vegetables, herbs, and flowers for her CSA members. She also co-founded the Snake River Seed Cooperative, which now involves over 30 Intermountain West farmers stewarding nearly 400 varieties of regionally-adapting seeds, which they sell to area farmers and gardeners. Casey loves to talk with others about the wondrous interconnections of the natural world.  Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/04/09/437-casey-oleary/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.437: Casey O'Leary on Seed Cooperatives.

Helping others understand how to plan their environments to work with nature. In This Podcast: Peter Bane is a long time Permaculture advocate. He has served on the board of the Permaculture Institute of North America, ran the Permaculture Activist magazine, and taught permaculture design courses around the world. Today, Peter shares some of the basic principles, how anyone can enter the world of permaculture, and how permaculture is the answer to many social and environmental issues. Listen in for details on his new book and how 3 lucky listeners can win a free copy!Peter has served the Permaculture Institute of North America (PINA) - as a Director, Board Secretary, President, Chair of the Diploma Program Committee, Application Reviewer, and Field Advisor. In October 2018, he stepped off the board to take a part-time staff position as Coordinator for the Board. He holds diplomas in Site Design from PINA, in Media and Communications and in Education from the Permaculture Institute (USA) and from the Permaculture Academy of Britain.  A founder, officer, site planner, and one-time resident of Earthaven Ecovillage in western North Carolina, Peter has consulted for universities, intentional communities, religious orders, businesses, farmers, and residential landowners in much of the USA and Canada. He is an experienced builder of, off-grid and solar energy systems, and has implemented water catchment, cisterns, ponds, and waste treatment systems at a range of scales. Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/04/06/436-peter-bane/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.This contest period has expired.436: Peter Bane on The World of Permaculture.

Starting the spring farming season as much as 6 weeks early.In This Podcast: Joel Karsten revolutionized the gardening world when he introduced the world to Straw Bale Gardening. Now, this best-selling author is back to blow our minds with the 6 Bale Greenhouse. Joel describes for our listeners how we can make a greenhouse for under $100 that can fit 360 vegetable starts. Using this temporary greenhouse allows us to start our garden 6 weeks early and turns into a trellis system for our plants. Listen in for a chance to win his new book! Joel is a farm boy who grew up tending a soil garden, shook up the gardening world with his first book describing his breakthrough Straw Bale Gardening concept. The New York Times called Straw Bale Gardening “a revolutionary gardening method” and his ideas have been enthusiastically embraced globally, making his books best-sellers in many languages. Joel earned a BS in Horticulture from the University of Minnesota and spends his summers tending his vegetable garden, doing research, and experimenting with new ideas and methods he can pass along.  Joel has inspired tens of thousands of first-time gardeners and a legion of “seasoned” growers who have found a new and better way to pursue their passion. His methods have enabled “retired” gardeners to begin gardening again since it eliminates some physical challenges found in traditional soil gardening.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/04/02/strawbale/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.This contest period has expired.435: Joel Karsten on The Six Bale Greenhouse

Encouraging family bonding, healthy habits & creative confidence for young cooks.In This Podcast: Give Garden is a recipe delivery service that teaches kids STEM skills and healthy eating habits. Stephanie Lucas, the program's creator, used her 15 years as a corporate nutritionist to create this Give Garden to encourage family bonding and build confidence in young cooks. Inadvertently, she is helping community members by creating jobs and using local resources in a new, innovative way. Listen in to learn about the monthly box and how to get a discount on your first one! www.urbanfarm.org/givegarden Stephanie grew up as a competitive gymnast where she learned first-hand that the body required the proper fuel to feel good and perform at its peak potential. Luckily, she was blessed with parents that loved to cook and a grandmother who had a passion for gardening. It is no surprise that she dedicated her college years to studying human nutrition and her career of planting the seed of proper nutrition with others. After spending 15 years in the nutrition operations for hospitals and schools and now the mother of 2 young children and the wife of a busy firefighter, she is deeply dedicated to encouraging families to make healthy choices in their own homes. As the Executive Director of Give Garden, a recipe delivery service for kids, she launched that dream into reality. Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/03/30/434-stephanie-lucas/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.434: Stephanie Lucas on Recipe Delivery for Kids 

Bonus Episode #25: Seed Saving Class February 2019. In This Bonus Podcast: There is always a bounty of information available in conversations with Bill McDorman. This is the February 2019 episode of a Seed Saving Class - with Special Guest Belle Starr. Listen and learn about highlights from the epic February 2019 Seed Summit, and so much more.Bill McDorman is Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, Ketchum, Idaho. He got his start in the bio-regional seed movement while in college in 1979 when he helped start Garden City Seeds. In 1984, Bill started Seeds Trust/High Altitude Gardens, a mail-order seed company he ran successfully until it sold in 2013.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/03/26/bonus25/ for more information and links on this bonus podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Improving geographic, economic, and informational access to healthy foods for residents in food deserts.In This Podcast: What is it like growing up without fresh, healthy food available? Rob Horton used his experience living in a food desert as motivation for creating Trap Garden. In this community garden in Nashville, he is teaching kids, community members, and college students not only how to grow their own fresh food, but how to cook healthy meals using their garden. His garden offers innovative solutions to the physical, financial, and educational shortcomings in food-insecure communities.Robert "Rob Veggies" Horton is the Founder and Executive Director of the trap Garden established in Nashville, Tennessee. Rob's motivation as an urban farmer and community health activist stems from his own experiences growing up in a St. Louis, Missouri neighborhood with few fresh, healthy food items. Then, moving to Nashville to attend Tennessee State University, Robert was frustrated with having to drive miles away from home for a grocery store that supplied quality, fresh products. Rob received his Bachelor of Science in Health Care Administration from Tennessee State University in Nashville, TN, and Master of Business Administration from Belmont University in Nashville, TN. Trap Garden is a social enterprise that provides a sustainable source of healthy, high quality foods and offers innovative solutions to the physical, financial, and educational shortcomings in food insecure communities. Their mission is to help build, sustain, and empower low-income communities by assisting in the creation of community gardens and the promotion of healthy eating. Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/03/23/433-rob-horton/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.433: Rob Horton on Food Sensitive Communities

Cultivating a community with a non-profit urban farming project.In This Podcast: John Wann-Ángeles is building the south Phoenix farming community in a big way! He shares with us how a school project turned into a community farming effort that now involves a 19-acre piece of land and a local farmers market. Listen in to learn about community farming opportunities and programs available to support small farmers in south Phoenix. John also shares tips for selling at a farmers market, creating healthy soil, and a local weed that is actually an edible crop.John Wann-Ángeles is the Director of the Orchard Community Learning Center and Incubator Farm Coordinator at Spaces of Opportunity. The Orchard also manages the Spaces Farmers Market. They are a non-profit in south Phoenix founded in 2011. Their work centers on urban food systems, organic farming, STEA3M programs for youth, and economic justice in the local economy. John is an educator by profession, serving 22 years as principal of Valley View Elementary School in the Roosevelt School District. The dual language, K-8 school specializes in a project-based and multi-aged learning opportunities which included gardens and adventures in the creation of an edible landscape on the campus where some of the trees were donated by The Urban Farm.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/03/19/432-john-wann-angeles/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.432: John Wann-Ángeles on Place Making on an Urban Farm.

Educating kids and parents on the role food plays in their health.In This Podcast: Laurie Ouding is working to revolutionize the food system on the south side of Chicago. Through her work as a nurse, she identified the need for healthy, affordable, and available food in local neighborhoods. Now, Laurie is working with local educators to teach kids and their families healthy food habits through gardening and cooking at home. Listen in to hear about her amazing plans to build a year-round farmers market and empower her community to grow nutritious food near home! Laurie Ouding is an RN currently working at Rush University Medical center as a pediatric nurse. She was raised in rural Michigan where she spent much of her like working in cultivation of gardens, raising her three daughters and active volunteer organizations and nursing.Working with local community organizations, she is moving toward opening an indoor, year-round farmers market, greenhouse with vertical hydroponics, and a spirulina farm. Her south side Chicago project will employ commercial kitchen facilities to provide inner-city communities a path to prosperity through self-enabled, local food industries. Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/03/16/431-laurie-ouding/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.431: Laurie Ouding on Food Inequity and Kids' Health

Helping urban farmers grow food in other people's yards.In This Podcast: Lee Perry passionately shares the progress of the Fleet Farming movement and how it is strengthening Florida communities. This collective farming movement is an awesome way for gardening novices and interns to get hands-on gardening education while helping the community. Listen in to learn more about this fun, positive community experience, how it converts lawns to edible landscapes, and how you can get involved! Lee Perry is currently the Fleet Farming Director, which is her passion occupation. She has her bachelor's degree in Environmental Science from the University of Central Florida. Seasonally, she teaches children at an ecology camp at the Ed Yarborough Geneva Wilderness Area and was on the board of the Cuplet Fern Native Plant Society. Fleet Farming has a mission to empower all generations to grow food to increase local food accessibility. Their program minimizes the ecological footprint of agriculture by converting lawns into micro-farms and increasing fresh produce accessibility while training the next generation of American farmers. To Lee, Fleet Farming is a true solution to shift our culture and change the cycle of food. Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/03/12/430-lee-perry/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.430: Lee Perry on Fleet Farming

Minimizing food waste and improving soils by growing fungi.In This Podcast: We learn the ins and outs of growing mushrooms at home with Thomas Tuoti. Listen in for the difference between mushrooms and mycelium as well as how to use them to build your soil. Mushrooms are the composting tool we never knew we needed, and Tom shares how to harness the biological efficiency of mushrooms, use them to enrich your landscape, and how to start growing them at home. Thomas Tuoti practices permaculture at his home, or as he calls it "The Homestead," in Mesa, Arizona. He has been doing urban agriculture for 8 years; but before he ever stuck a shovel in the ground, he became interested in mushrooms and how they can be used to mitigate food waste and improve soils. He now manages edible landscape projects in the greater Phoenix area and is developing an at home mushroom kit so people can grow their own. Go to www.urbanfarm.org/mushroomtom for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.429: Thomas Tuoti on Growing Mushrooms at Home

Building an urban farm dream.In This Podcast: We are joined by Chad Chase, co-owner of Arrandale Farm and Urban Grounds Coffee Company. Chad has built his 2.5-acre farm from scratch, and now farms fruit trees, field crops, alpacas, and chickens. Listen in to hear how he's building his urban farm dream and how he hopes to impact his community in the future!Chad Chase is the co-owner of Urban Grounds Coffee Company, a full-service coffee shop on wheels sourcing ethical, natural, local and wholesome products and ingredients. He is also a co-owner operator of Arrandale Farms, a two-acre farm in NW Phoenix that focuses on various fruit trees, field crops and chicken eggs. They currently sell farm fresh eggs at the Phoenix Public Market and the Ahwatukee Farmers Market, and in the coming months will be adding fresh fruit and vegetables as well.Chad has a Certificate of Entrepreneurship from Kirkwood Community College in Iowa, an Advanced Diploma in Mortuary Science from Des Moines Community College, and a bachelor's degree in Public Administration from Northern Arizona University. Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/03/05/428_chad_chase/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.428: Chad Chase on Urban Farming as a Business 

 Savoring the delicious tastes of thorny cacti.In This Podcast: Zachery Berry from the Homestead Cactus Sanctuary teaches us about the edible cacti that grow naturally in Arizona. Listen in to learn about growing cacti at home and when and how to harvest them. Zach also shares tips on pollinating cacti, edible varieties of cactus, and glochids! Zachary Berry is a graduate student at Arizona State University studying urban ecology, botany, and animal behavior. He serves on the board of Homestead Cactus Sanctuary, a local nonprofit that teaches people how to grow and use cacti as food.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/03/02/427_zachery_berry/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.427: Zach Berry on Edible Cacti

Living off grid on a remote section of a Pacific island.In This Podcast: Join us for our conversation with Camille James and learn how she went from working in the tech industry, to owning a juice bar, to living off the grid in Hawaii. Camille shared what it’s like living communally on an off-the-grid farm and all the different foods they grow. Tune in to hear what her day to day life looks like, why she loves it, and how her successes and failures brought her to Hawaii.Camille is a certified Clinical Nutritionist & public speaker living in Kauai, Hawaii.  She has sixteen years’ experience in web design, e-commerce development, and social media marketing. And prior to moving to the island, she was the owner of a juice bar and Volunteer Coordinator for a CSA in Bellevue, Nebraska.She currently lives off-grid on a 35-acre organic farm in Kauai, where her duties include design/planning, planting, harvesting, composting, grounds maintenance, landscaping, working in the nursery, and being a chicken whisperer.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/02/26/426-camille-james/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.426: Camille James on Organic Farming in Hawaii

Building a living green mulch.In This Podcast: After a long career in retail, Katie Fiore knew it was time for a change. Part of her future vision was a backyard full of fruits and vegetables. The other part was a flexible, fulfilling lifestyle educating others. Katie discusses changing her life direction at 37 years old, how and why she is growing sweet potatoes, how her travels inspire her garden, and her advice to other novice gardeners wanting to start their own.Don’t miss an episode! Click here to sign up for podcast updatesor visit www.urbanfarm.org/podcastKatie is an Arizona native who spent most of her life thinking she had a brown thumb. Five years ago, her first successful attempt at growing food was herbs grown in wine barrels. Since then she has become an Urban Farm junkie. In Spring 2018 she planted 15 fruit trees and bushes in the backyard and has started adding a few raised beds to her garden. A career change this past year has given her the time to pursue a healthier, lower stress life with her new husband Mark, follow her dreams of blogging about all her adventures, and nurturing her backyard food forest. After the Great American Seed Up, she is not only growing squash, herbs, and peas from seed, but she’s also harvesting seeds and building her personal seed library.Go to www.urbanfarm.org/sweetpotatoes for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.425: Katie Fiore on Sweet Potatoes and Fruit Trees

Empowering people globally to build food security while using very little land.In This Podcast: Today on the podcast, we continue our visit with John Jeavons. Part one of this two-part podcast discussed John’s journey into Biologically Intensive Gardening, crop planning strategies, and watering strategies. Today in Part Two we delve into his successes, failures, advice for future farmers, plant personalities, and some of the crops he believes everyone should grow for a nutritionally balanced diet.John has been the Director of the Ecology Action Mini-Farming Program since 1972 and is the author of How to Grow More Vegetables a book on BIOINTENSIVE Sustainable Mini-Farming in use in over 150 countries in virtually all climates and soils. John advises on projects in countries such as Mexico, Kenya, Russia and India, as well as all corners of the United States.Ecology Action has been a non-profit since 1971 and currently has two research and demonstration sites in California. Their mission to teach people worldwide to better feed themselves while building and preserving the soil and conserving resources through the GROW BIOINTENSIVE closed-loop small scale agricultural system.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/02/19/424-john-jeavons/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.423: John Jeavons on Biologically Intensive Gardening & Farming (Part 2)

Empowering people globally to build food security while using very little land.In This Podcast: Biologically Intensive Gardening allows farmers to grow more food, with less water, in a sustainable way. In this podcast, we speak with John Jeavons who has been a Bio Intensive pioneer for over 50 years. An Arizona native, his books have made an impact on our own Greg Peterson. He enthusiastically shares his journey, discoveries, and tools to create your own Bio Intensive Garden.John has been the Director of the Ecology Action Mini-Farming Program since 1972 and is the author of How to Grow More Vegetables a book on BIOINTENSIVE Sustainable Mini-Farming in use in over 150 countries in virtually all climates and soils. John advises on projects in countries such as Mexico, Kenya, Russia and India, as well as all corners of the United States.Ecology Action has been a non-profit since 1971 and currently has two research and demonstration sites in California. Their mission to teach people worldwide to better feed themselves while building and preserving the soil and conserving resources through the GROW BIOINTENSIVE closed-loop small scale agricultural system.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/02/16/423-john-jeavons/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.423: John Jeavons on Biologically Intensive Gardening & Farming (Part 1)

Gathering gurus to help gardens grow.In This Podcast: Growing up gardening side-by-side with her parents helped Stacey Murphy have a solid connection with food. She lost this connection when she went to college and began working as an engineer and architect. Whe she was living in a studio apartment in Brooklyn this disconnection was healed as she realized how little fresh food was in her diet and neighborhood so she started growing food in her tiny apartment and began working with a network of urban farmers. Fast forward to now as Stacey works online with gardeners in her Garden Freedom series and with people from 169 countries who all share the same concerns about their food.Stacey is a garden geek, growing food since 1979, and her superpower is packing, literally, tons of food into tight spaces. She has helped thousands of new gardeners from six continents grow vegetables and herbs in small spaces, enjoy fresh, affordable vegetables, and live a healthy, happy life.She does this by walking eager growers through her holistic garden system, showing what to grow, when and where Stacey offers an online education series with experts talking about different elements of growing food. This year she has organized the Garden Freedom Series with 13 days of jam-packed gardening know-how to help get herb and vegetable gardens started.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/02/12/422_stacey_murphy/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.422: Stacey Murphy on Setting Goals for Growing

Making good use of rain water in the community.In This Podcast: As Ricardo Aguirre was about to become a father, he took stock of his life. Would he continue to work as a civil engineer as he had for 15 years or would he do something that would have a positive effect on the earth? Which one would he be proud to tell his son about? The answer was to bring about more creative and natural approaches to improve conventional engineering. He tells us more about water management and holistic planned grazing to help avoid negative land management issues.Ricardo is the founding member of Holistic Engineering and Land Management, Inc. (HELM) and is focused on creating innovative approaches to improve conventional engineering. He works to integrate natural processes into large scale engineering projects with his primary professional focus to implement functional design strategies to achieve multiple synergistic objectives. Ricardo has a profound interest in reversing desertification through water harvesting and increasing soil organic matter. This can have a measurable benefit to reduce flooding, improve both storm-water and soil quality, conserve water, provide passive irrigation for vegetation, and reduce the heat island effect. Ricardo’s project experience includes infrastructure improvements for communities that have been adversely impacted by storm-water.  Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/02/09/421_ricardo_aguirre/ for show notes and links.Ricardo Aguirre on Water Harvesting & Land Management

Changing the way we eat one month at a time.In This Podcast: Food revolutionary and visionary Ocean Robbins shares a healthy eating program that can work for anyone in just 31 days.  Breaking down his plan into four sections, he helps simplify the process.  He also discusses some of the major factors that lead to unhealthy eating, and offers some ideas on how to get people you care about engaged in a healthy eating discussion.Ocean is the CEO, Co-founder and Co-host of the Food Revolution Network, and the co-host of the annual Food Revolution Summit.  He has facilitated more than 50 week-long gatherings and 100 day-long workshops for leaders worldwide on a variety of health related topics, Plus he is already prepping for the next Food Revolution Summit taking place in April 2019.Ocean is the co-author of Choices for Our Future and Voices of the Food Revolution, and the author of The Power of Partnership. His next book coming out this month is titled 31-Day Food Revolution: Heal Your Body, Feel Great, and Transform Your World.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/02/05/420-ocean-robbins/ for show notes and links.This contest period has expired.Ocean Robbins on The 31 Day Food Revolution

Bonus Episode 24: Seed Saving Class January, 2019. A chat with a seed expert on wild crop relatives, biodiversity and moreIn This Bonus Podcast:  There is always a bounty of information available in conversations with Bill McDorman. This is the January 2019 episode of a Seed Saving Class - Listen and learn about the importance of wild crop relatives and biodiversity, the February 2019 Seed Summit, and so much more. Join the class! Register anytime for the next event. Register Here for the Seed Saving Class with Live Q&ABill McDorman is Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, Ketchum, Idaho. He got his start in the bio-regional seed movement while in college in 1979 when he helped start Garden City Seeds. In 1984, Bill started Seeds Trust/High Altitude Gardens, a mail order seed company he ran successfully until it sold in 2013.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/02/02/bonus24/ for more information and links on this bonus podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Teaching how to garden with limited space.In This Podcast: Struggling with their children’s multiple food allergies convinced Nicky Schauder and her husband Dave to go organic. Dealing with the expense of all this organic food impelled them to start growing it themselves. Thus began their adventure with permaculture and gardening in small spaces. They’ve incorporated many techniques, which they call multipliers, to increase their yield, from 3-dimensional gardening to low tunnel gardening. Among the many bonuses of this lifestyle is the improved health of their children. Nicky and Dave now offer classes to help families just like theirs reap the same benefits. Nicky and her husband Dave are passionate about helping suburban families grow their own food.  Together, they run Permaculture Gardens a web portal to help you grow abundantly!In 2017, Permaculture Gardens won the grand prize at the Green Festivals in Washington DC for “Most Innovative Sustainable Brand.” Their work has been featured in the Huffington Post, Permaculture Research Institute - Australia and Green America.org.  They also volunteer at their local Title 1 school and started a permaculture garden after-school program for the elementary kids there.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/01/29/419_nicky-schauder/ for show notes and links.Nicky Schauder on Growing Food in Small Spaces

Promoting ecological diversity and preserving the health of our planet.In This Podcast: With a passion for growing in her genes, Kat Granger joined a horticulture group, became a Master Gardener, and went to seed school to learn all she could about her subject. Speaking to groups about her vegetables led to selling those vegetable seeds to her interested audience members. This eventually led to her seed business, Seeds of IMBOLC. Kat sees how a disconnection with the earth has led to so many problems with people’s health and well-being and works tirelessly to help reconnect people with nature with her authentically organic seeds. Kat is a Master Gardener and creator of Seeds of IMBOLC, in Fergus, Ontario, Canada where she grows heirloom organic seeds and plants and is a grower for a larger organic seed group. She has been featured on the TV show “Let’s Get Growing”, and in OMAFRA produce videos, spoken at Canada Blooms, the Pollination Guelph Symposium, and at Seedy Saturdays. She is an instructor with the Upper Grand District School District, hosts a monthly newsletter “Home on the Grange”, and enjoys sparking gardening addictions. Kat is a member of Seeds of Diversity, Seed Savers Exchange, and the Ontario Biodynamic Society – plus a graduate of Seed School Online.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/01/26/418-kat-granger/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.Kat Granger on Starting a Small Seed Business.

 Farming with an eye on the future.In This Podcast:  As a child Michael Foley visited a Montana ranch and dreamed of being a gentleman farmer one day.  His path however, took him into academia. After being estranged from the land for several years he eventually found his way back to farming. Today Michael, along with his wife and daughter, farm on their micro-farm, often trading goods with neighbors. He believes that farmers need to think of more than profitability when analyzing the bottom line.  Providing for themselves and their neighbors and building networks among themselves in order to help one another should also be priorities. Michael is very proud of his work with the School of Adaptive Agriculture and delights in helping to populate the farm scene in his area with young people from this farm training program. After twenty years in academia, Michael became a farmer. He started in southern Maryland, then moved to Willits, California, where he, his wife, and oldest daughter operate Green Uprising Farm.  He is a co-founder, board member, and teacher at the School of Adaptive Agriculture (formerly known as the Grange Farm School), a farmer training and education program.  Michael has helped create and manage a community kitchen and small farmers group, manage the local farmers market, and has served as both vice president of the Mendocino County Farmers Market Association & president of Little Lake Grange.  And with all that, he found time to write Farming for the Long Haul Published by our friends at Chelsea Green.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/01/22/417-michael-foley/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.The contest period of this episode has expired. Michael Foley on Building a Viable Small Farm Economy

Bonus Episode 23: Seed Saving Class November 2018. A chat with an expert on Seeds. In This Bonus Podcast:  There is always a bounty of information available in conversations with Bill McDorman. This is the November 2018 episode of a Seed Saving Class - learn about the seed paradigm and  seed history. Listen as the ethics of owning and naming seeds, and other interesting topics are discussed.Join the class! Register anytime for the next class.Register Here for the Seed Saving Class with Live Q&ABill McDorman is Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, Ketchum, Idaho. He got his start in the bio-regional seed movement while in college in 1979 when he helped start Garden City Seeds. In 1984, Bill started Seeds Trust/High Altitude Gardens, a mail order seed company he ran successfully until it sold in 2013. Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/01/19/bonus23/  for more information and links on this bonus podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Transforming waste into soil, jobs, and community.In This Podcast: Sarah Boltwala-Mesina, along with other parents, hoped to start a recycling program at their children’s school. This was the first step on her journey to creating Food2Soil, a business that collects food scraps from people and businesses in San Diego and turns those scraps into rich compost. Her company provides services helping homeowners become successful composting in their own backyard, provides hubs around the city for people to drop scraps off, and offers scrap pickup service to restaurants. There is even a wait-list of businesses and breweries hoping to participate.   Sarah is the executive director of  Inika Small Earth, a nonprofit that started Food2Soil where they train interns in good composting techniques. Food2Soil collects vegetative food scraps from local restaurants then composts the scraps at two urban farms in San Diego, selling the finished product to local gardeners looking for high-nutrient soil. Inika Small Earth is a charitable organization working to enhance the network of community composting hubs across San Diego.  Their aim is to build the collective capacity to transform food scraps into soil and jobs for the community.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/01/15/416-sarah-boltwala-mesina/ for more information and to find our other great guests.Sarah Boltwala-Mesina on Community Composting

From green lawns to green vegetables.In This Podcast: As his wife and youngest daughter began struggling with celiac disease, John Brubaker believed that the pesticides used on vegetables were perhaps weakening their immune systems. This was his entry into organic urban farming. He began small with 20 beds and has been expanding ever since. John is growing numerous crops in his small space, including artichokes and cantaloupe for home, and kale, spinach, beets, radishes and glass gem corn for the Farmers Market. He is finding great success with his natural farming. John has been working on golf courses for over 35 since the age of 16. He planted thousands of trees and just for fun, would typically have an organic vegetable garden on the golf course for the enjoyment of customers and staff.  Along the way he earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Utah State University in Horticulture.   In 2013 his wife and daughters developed digestive issues. Because of this he started growing his own vegetables, built a compost pile, implemented no dig methods, planted for pollinators, introduced beneficial predator insects, and so on. Soon he was giving vegetables to his neighbors and he had become an urban farmer.  In 2018 he named his micro farm ‘Straw Hat’, rented a booth at a Farmers Market and started selling organic produce.  The success was beyond his expectations, incredibly rewarding and now he is planning on retiring from the golf course and going into urban farming full time.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/01/12/415-john-brubaker/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.John Brubaker on Micro Urban Farming.

Challenging the mono-CULTURE of farming. A passion for the soil, the earth and her community started when Leah Penniman began farming at the age of 16. Through the years she has continued to work towards ending racism and injustice in our food system, and also on land reparations for people of color. She and her family have built Soul Fire Farm where they raise culturally important food, delivering it to people in need. They give tours and help train future activists.  Leah channeled her passion into writing a book, Farming While Black. Leah is a Black Creole farmer who has been tending the soil for twenty years and organizing for an anti-racist food system for fifteen years. She currently serves as founding co-executive director of Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, New York—a people-of-color led project that works to dismantle racism in the food system.  Through Soul Fire Farm’s innovative programs such as the Black Latinx Farmers Immersion; a sliding-scale Farm Share CSA; and Youth Food Justice leadership trainings – she is part of a global network of farmers working to increase farmland stewardship by people of color, restore Afro-indigenous farming practices, and promote equity in food access.  Leah has been recognized by – the Soros Equality Fellowship; NYS Health Emerging Innovator Awards; and Fulbright Distinguished. IF that was not enough, she is the author of Farming While Black published by our friends at Chelsea Green Publishing. Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/01/08/414-leah-penniman/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.Leah Penniman on Liberating the Land.

Mixing up a health drink for soil organisms.In This Podcast:When Ben Klempner and his family moved from Jerusalem to the holy city of Tiberias, he researched how to make the soil healthy in order to grow his vegetables. Finding information that was beneficial wasn’t the only hurdle—he was so far away from the products he needed. He kept researching online and seemed to end up with the suggestion of Korean Natural Farming at the end of his searches.  He took it as a sign. As Ben began creating products that utilized the fermenting process he realized that perhaps creating these nutritious, sustainable soil amendments for others was what he should be doing instead of growing his own vegetables. Thus, the Galil Soil Farm was born. Ben lives in the Holy City of Tiberias with his wife and children where he owns and operates Galil Soil Farm. Believing that good soil grows good food, Ben is passionate about growing the best soil and helping others to do the same. When not at the farm he can be found spending time with his children in the woods, paddling a kayak on the Sea of Galilee, or immersed in Bible Studies. Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/01/05/413-ben-klempner/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.Ben Klempner on Fermented Soil Amendments

Growing an herbal antibiotic.In This Podcast:Bill Bruneau suffered from what eventually was diagnosed as a leaky gut caused by using pharmaceutical antibiotics. Knowing that plants had medicinal powers he searched out which ones were natural antibiotics and came upon limited but intriguing information on the genus Sida. He waited for someone to write a book about this super-weed and when no one did, Bill knew he had to do it. Listen as Bill lists just a few of the many illnesses he uses Sida to treat or prevent.  In 1982, Bill and his wife started Bountiful Gardens Seeds, which is part of the small non-profit Ecology Action of the Mid-peninsula. Ecology Action is an organization that has been diligently working to save the world’s soil for the last 45 years, refining and promoting a bio-intensive farming method that actually creates soil while being very productive.  While Bill is an herbal hobbyist, medicinal herbs and preventative medicine have been at the core of his family’s health for at least 50 years and when he discovers one that is as good as Sida appeared to be, he wanted to know everything about it. A scientist at heart, he did intensive research into the known benefits of Sida for over a year, seeking out peer-reviewed research on Sida, and in particular studies on Sida acuta. The results have exceeded his wildest expectations.  Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/01/01/412-william-bruneau/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.William Bruneau on the Genus Sida