The Urban Farm Podcast with Greg Peterson

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Bonus Episode #26: Seed Saving Class March 2019. (440.5) Apr 23, 2019

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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.

440: Akiva Silver on Working with Trees as Allies Apr 20, 2019

Show notes

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.

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440: Akiva Silver on Working with Trees as Allies

439: Garrett Hill on Gardening in the 21st Century Apr 16, 2019

Show notes

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

438: Christine Heinrichs on Raising Backyard Chickens. Apr 13, 2019

Show notes

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.

437: Casey O'Leary on Seed Cooperatives. Apr 09, 2019

Show notes

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.

436: Peter Bane on Permaculture Apr 06, 2019

Show notes

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.

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436: Peter Bane on The World of Permaculture.

435: Joel Karsten on The Six Bale Greenhouse Apr 02, 2019

Show notes

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

434: Stephanie Lucas on Recipe Delivery for Kids Mar 30, 2019

Show notes

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 (433.5) Mar 26, 2019

Show notes

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.

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.

433: Rob Horton on Food Sensitive Communities Mar 23, 2019

Show notes

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

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