The Urban Farm Podcast with Greg Peterson

Latest Episodes:

182: Matthew Shepherd on Planting to Feed Bees Jan 12, 2017

Show notes

182: Matthew Shepherd on Planting to Feed Bees.

Expanding the habitat of an essential pollinator through our garden choices.

Matthew’s career began in England where he established a successful community-based conservation program in Essex and helped to create Samfire Hoe, an award-winning nature park. He has also worked with local communities and government agencies in Kenya to improve the management of the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, on the coast north of Mombasa. He has created and maintained gardens that provide for insects and other wildlife everywhere he has lived, a passion that began when he learned gardening at his mother’s side.

Matthew’s introduction to pollinator conservation actually came two decades ago, on a sunny hillside in southern England, while working on a project to protect disappearing grasslands. He was manually using an artist’s paintbrush to transfer pollen between endangered orchids and realized there was obviously something missing in that ecosystem. Five years later, after marrying an American and moving to Oregon, Matthew was working for the Xerces Society at the vanguard of a new effort to protect pollinators.

In the past 15 years, he has collaborated with people from all walks of life to promote awareness about, and protection of, pollinator insects, especially native bees. Matthew is author of numerous articles and other publications, including Attracting Native Pollinators and Gardening for Butterflies. He is now the Society’s Communications Director, reducing the amount of time spent with pollinators, but increasing the time supporting the many other aspects of Xerces conservation work.

IN THIS PODCAST: Greg chats with Matthew Shepherd of the Xerces Society to learn more about their latest book titled 100 Plants to Feed the Bees, as well as some of the projects the Society has been working on. Matthew’s story of how he got to work for the Xerces Society is a little world tour and then he helps explain more about different bees and what they need.

Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/12/matthew-shepherd/ for show notes and links.

181: Quita Jackson on Thrifty Self Sufficiency. Jan 10, 2017

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181: Quita Jackson on Thrifty Self Sufficiency.

Taking small steps to being green and making a difference.

Quita is one of the founders of GreenDesert.org. And while some would call her an urban farmer or a gardener, she prefers to consider herself spiritually connected to mother earth and her environment. She loves everything about nature! GreenDesert.org is all about showing people ways to be more self-sufficient, whether you’re gardening, making your own clothes, recycling, or making your own cleaning products… every little bit counts.

Quita is all about living the lifestyle…everything from maintaining a garden rich with herbs, vegetables and fruit, to raising chickens and tilapia, to using a water generator to make water from the humidity in the air, to collecting rainwater and The list goes on. She is quite passionate about this topic because she believes we are all in this together… and must recognize how our actions about the environment affects others. In addition, saving money is a huge priority for her and of course that’s a huge part of being green.

IN THIS PODCAST: Being green is all about having less of a negative impact on the planet and here Greg chats with Quita who has fully adopted a new lifestyle and loves helping others find their way into it as well. Quita tells how she got the courage to start gardening, and how that gave her confidence to try new ways to become self-sufficient even while living in a major city. Her encouraging attitude and caring nature helps as she spreads the word about little steps people can take in their own lives.

Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/10/quita-jackson/ for show notes and links.

180: Brian Smith on Biochar Jan 07, 2017

Show notes

180: Brian Smith on Biochar.

Enhancing your soils through an ancient, carbon-sequestering, process.

Brian is a systems engineer and project manager living in north Phoenix. For the past 30 years, he has worked for GE, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Honeywell on software for flight control systems in commercial and military aircraft. Recently, he became an entrepreneur and started a small software development company. To balance his high-tech career, he has enjoyed more simple hobbies like making beer, woodworking, and organic gardening.

During the Great Recession, he purchased a foreclosed property that had been neglected and abused for many years and he has spent the last 8 years renovating both the indoors and outdoors. After removing 5 layers of different landscaping stone that previous owners had covered the yard with, he spread several inches of arborist wood chips over the dirt to reduce water loss and increase soil fertility. In the backyard he converted a broken-down diving pool into a private aquifer by filling it with rock and gravel, connecting a pump to the drain pipe and covering it with topsoil. He now has several fruit trees and a vegie garden growing on top of 3000 or 4000 gallons of secure rainwater.

IN THIS PODCAST: Greg talks to Brian, a transplant to Arizona who needed to improve his gardening results and found out about biochar. Brian explains the process that was used over 2000 years ago, to transform burned wood into a long lasting organic super buffet with nutrients galore. He tells how he was so interested in the results that he took his research to the point that he can now make his own biochar in his backyard.

Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/07/brian-smith/ for show notes and links.

179: Penn Parmenter on Passive Solar Greenhouses Jan 05, 2017

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179: Penn Parmenter on Passive Solar Greenhouses.

Designing greenhouses using the natural laws of nature as allies and resources.

Since 1992 Penn and her husband Cord have been growing food just above the 8,000 feet level in the Wet Mountains of South Central Colorado. With many years of research and development, they founded Smart Greenhouses LLC and Miss Penn’s Mountain Seeds in 2013,

Together they build smart greenhouses all over the Rocky Mountain West at even the highest elevations. Their greenhouses are 100% sustainable as they heat, cool and ventilate themselves without the use of fossil fuel. Penn and Cord are also co-instructors at the Denver Botanic Gardens teaching a slew of high-altitude growing classes there and around the region. Their very popular day-long Sustainable Greenhouse Design class is held on their 43-acre property and at the Denver Botanic Gardens.

IN THIS PODCAST: Greg connects again with Penn to talk about the greenhouse designs she and her husband create, sell and teach about. Penn tells how her husband Cord took passive solar concepts and implemented them into the first greenhouse they built from reclaimed and scrap materials, and how they have made many improvements over time. Their greenhouse once kept her precious tomatoes safe and growing during a week of temperatures 10 and 20 degrees below zero. High altitude growing was the impetus for their greenhouse designs, and Cord’s skills and need for perfection have created some results that would make any gardener rethink their calendars.

Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/05/penn-parmenter-2/ for show notes and links.

178: Jayson Matthews on Solutions to Hunger. Jan 03, 2017

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178: Jayson Matthews on Solutions to Hunger.

Discussing food insecurity in urban communities and how to improve resilience against hunger.

Jayson is currently the Director of Ending Hunger for the Valley of the Sun United Way and has been with the organization since September 2014. Before joining the United Way, Jayson served as Executive Assistant to former Tempe Mayor Neil Guiliano, as the Assistant Director and Chief Program Officer of Tempe Community Council, and as the Chief Development Officer for United Food Bank.

Jayson earned a Bachelors of Arts in English Literature and Political Science from the University of Arizona in 1999 and a Masters in Public Administration from Arizona State University in 2003. He is also a graduate of Tempe Leadership, a trained facilitator specializing in nonprofit board development and community development, and recently became a Certified Poverty Coach.

He is a fierce advocate for human services and public service and demonstrates this through his volunteer work on various municipal boards, commissions, and nonprofit boards in Phoenix and Tempe. In his free time, he enjoys going on adventures with his dear wife and partner Emma and their adorable dog, Daisy.

IN THIS PODCAST: The complex and oft misunderstood situation of food insecurity and hunger are the discussion focus in Greg’s interview with Jayson Matthews. Jayson’s personal history growing up as the son of a young single mother gave him the empathy he needed to fill his role at the United Way. Jayson helps to explain many of the distinctions of hunger as well as how prevalent the reality is in the urban communities in America.

Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/03/jayson-matthews/ for show notes and links.

177: Drew Taddia on Reducing Stress and Detoxing Smartly. Dec 31, 2016

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177: Drew Taddia on Reducing Stress and Detoxing Smartly.

Making long lasting changes a little at a time and using a plant-based diet to avoid toxins.

Drew has traveled the world as a professional athlete coming from Canada, working through the US, and overseas into Australia and Germany following his dreams and passion of baseball. He quickly became the ‘go to’ guy regarding fitness and nutrition as he continually experimented on his own body to find out what foods would help him recover quicker or build muscle more efficiently, and how to exercise to help him jump higher, run faster, and help him stand out on the field.

He soon found out stress played a vital role in what he was putting both in and on his body. He learned that by reducing stress through a plant based diet and avoiding toxins both on and off the field, he could improve as an athlete and stand out from the competition.

Using what he learned, Drew wrote the best-selling book Detoxify Yourself, which is a 30-day plant-based meal plan teaching readers how to avoid toxins, chose foods to help heal and recover, and how to prepare the meals with recipes and grocery lists. Concerned about the toxins on the market in conventional protein supplements, he designed his own plant based protein powder made with quinoa and hemp hearts. Drew has also been on air for 5 years as a radio host (96.5 ckfm) where he interviews world renowned experts in health, fitness, nutrition, lifestyle and more.

In this podcast: Greg interviews health and fitness advocate and radio show host Drew Taddia, and they talk about the importance of reducing stress and making sustainable lifestyle changes that work. Drew teaches about using a different mindset when making lifestyle changes, and how that can be the difference in succeeding or failing. He tackles health and fitness in three areas of nutrition, exercise and environment and explains how to keep it from becoming overwhelming. “If you never start, you're never going to get anywhere”

Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/12/31/drew-taddia/ for show notes and links.

176: Cory Williams on Tropical Fruit Trees Dec 29, 2016

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176: Cory Williams on Tropical Fruit Trees.

Growing a tropical fruit forest paradise in spite of a harsh climate.

Cory lives in Chandler, Arizona and owns a video production company called Studio 9 Production. Prior to that, he spent 5 years in radio in Flagstaff, AZ, and 12 years on TV in Phoenix, as a Sports Anchor / Reporter for the local news channels. Cory got into farming and gardening after a trip to Napa Valley in Sonoma, California, about 15 years ago, at which time he was inspired to start growing his own grapes. Following that trip, every time he moved he planted more and more grapevines at each house. Until 4 years ago, when he and his wife purchased a home on an acre and a half.

As soon as they moved in, they started planting. He began by just focusing on gardening and some vines, and then over the last couple years, he’s jumped head-first into full-fledged tree farming. He now has over 150 trees, vines and fruiting plants, and he is proud to claim that he planted every one himself and maintains them all. Cory is happily married and they have four kids ages 6, 4, 2, and just welcomed a brand-new baby to their family.

IN THIS PODCAST: Greg meets Cory Williams, a man who could not take ‘You can’t do that’ for an answer. Cory has transformed his home just outside of Phoenix to his own tropical fruit forest paradise using microclimates, observation, experimentation, and frankly ignoring naysayers. His interest started with a few wine grapes and he got bit by the growing bug as he now has over 150 trees on his urban property and is not done trying new things. His can-do attitude is infectious and you might have new goals after listening to this podcast.

Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/12/29/cory-williams/ for show notes and links.

175: Kaye Kittrell on Urban Gardening. Dec 27, 2016

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175: Kaye Kittrell on Urban Gardening.

Discovering organic gardening alongside a determined learner.

In the fall of 2011, Kaye converted the front yard and parkway of her home in Pacific Palisades, CA, into an edible garden. She removed all non-edible grass, small trees and bushes that occupied approximately 300 square feet of valuable sunny area, and planted citrus trees and herbs. In April 2012, Kaye began her urban garden blog, “Late Bloomer Show”, sharing her results with other urban gardeners, food bloggers and family farmers. With her photography skills and on-camera likeability from 30 years as a working actor in New York and Hollywood, Kaye created a web show, also titled “Late Bloomer,” chronicling her discovering how to grow food. A year later, her summer garden produced over 150 lbs. of produce, about 40 percent of which was given away. She also wrote her first e-book, “10 Steps to a Great First Garden.”

And, in 2015, Kaye created her first DVD, “Growing Heirloom Tomatoes,” a compilation of her five-part series on YouTube. “Late Bloomer” now has 96 episodes on YouTube and in 2015 won Best Edutainment Series at Miami Web Fest 2015. In 2016, Kaye added a vlog to the channel, which includes 50 videos and offers Kaye an opportunity to visit and share other gardens and urban farms with her audience. Kaye’s goal is to inspire anyone to grow their own food and take charge of their food security.

IN THIS PODCAST: Greg chats with a new friend Kaye, a recent convert to organic gardening who has been chronicling her challenges and amazing successes in her small garden. Living in California on the beach has it benefits, but it also comes with a challenging microclimate due to early morning fogs that limit the sun to her small garden. Kaye shares how she was inspired to start a vlog about her learning curve and has won several accolades for her work. She is still learning, but she is willing to share both the challenges and the answers she is finding on this new journey to food security.

Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/12/27/kaye-kittrell/ for show notes and links.

174: Shaun Keesee on Biointensive Farming. Dec 24, 2016

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174: Shaun Keesee on Biointensive Farming

A beginner's experience converting to larger scale organic farming.

Shaun has an upstart one-acre mini-farm called BioManna Farms in Warrenton, NC. On his farm he grows using a combination of conventional and bio-intensive techniques, slowly moving towards a completely organic set up and is growing in all four seasons, with majority of production coming during the typical growing season.

He is planning to expand to three acres in the future, and into other ventures to diversify, such as beekeeping, vermicomposting, and nursery growing. Shaun is in the process of starting a CSA, has taken agricultural entrepreneurship classes at his local community college, and has secured three local restaurants to buy his produce.

IN THIS PODCAST: In this podcast: Greg talks to a newer farmer in Shaun who is having some success using biointensive farming techniques. Shaun shares how he reclaimed the land his family was leasing out to a hay farmer and starting growing crops to sell to markets and restaurants. He is applying the skills he has learned through his reading, internet and agriculture courses at his local college. His interest in organic farming is taking root in his community and he is gladly sharing a few tips here.

Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/12/24/shaun-keesee/ for show notes and links.

173: Brendan Gaughran on Liver and Gut Health Dec 22, 2016

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173: Brendan Gaughran on Liver and Gut Health

Understanding the sequence of food driven diseases

Brendan holds a degree in Molecular Biology from the University of Connecticut and his MBA from Bentley University. He has spent 15 years in the Healthcare field and was an executive for a major nutraceutical manufacturer before starting multiple companies of his own, the latest being Liver Medic. He conducts health lectures to both physicians and the public. His research focuses primarily on gut health, liver health, endocrine system, adrenal fatigue and optimum diets.

IN THIS PODCAST: Brendan teaches Greg a lot about the functions and dysfunctions of the liver and gut, and how a cascade of medical issues can be traced back to the health of the gut. Brendan explains why he gave up his well-paying career to focus on finding answers on the treatment of metabolic syndrome. He describes what his research has revealed and how our foods we eat are a huge contributor to our health, starting with our gut bacteria.

Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/12/22/brendan-gaughran/ for show notes and links.