The Urban Farm Podcast With Greg Peterson

Weathering the challenges of growing food in South Florida.In This Podcast: Growing up and becoming a ward of the state, then becoming emancipated at 17 left a lifelong mark on Karin Fields, so when she started learning how to grow food in one of the most challenging and unique areas of the country, she wanted to help other young girls like her gain those skills too. For twenty years she has been the Edible Gardening Gal and a valuable resource for education about growing food in South Florida.Karin has over 20 years of vegetable gardening experience in South Florida where she installs backyard edible gardens, gives informative talks on vegetable gardening, and educates people on how to grow their own food. Locally known as the Edible Gardening Gal, she loves giving her gardening talks at libraries all over South Florida.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/10/30/395-karin-fields/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.395: Karin Fields on Growing Food in

Harvesting native foods in the Sonoran Desert.In This Podcast: The desert is full of amazing native plants that provide a rich, delicious bounty of food, IF you know what to look for and how to harvest it, and Brad Lancaster wants you know these secrets.  He is excited about a new cookbook that shares delicious and tested recipes for native trees and plants. And these plants are suited to thrive in the hot and dry climates, so they tolerate drought conditions better, while giving other great benefits to all desert residents.Brad runs a successful permaculture consulting, design, and education business. He is focused on integrated and sustainable approaches to landscape design, planning, and living. Growing up in a dryland environment, water harvesting has long been one of his specialties and a true passion.He is the author of a permaculture bible for water harvesting:  Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond Volumes I & II and is a contributor to Desert Harvesters’ Eat Mesqui

Knowing the secret to building healthy soil.In This Podcast:Joining farming through his wife’s family, Gabe Brown learned the standard, commercialized, industrialized way of farming. Then when disaster struck four times in a row, he reached out to the past for some inspiration. He learned the value of a healthy soil ecosystem, how it affects many of the issues we are facing today, and the best ways to rebuild the soil. Now he shares what he learned in 5 principles that work anywhere in the world.Gabe is one of the pioneers of the current soil health movement which focuses on the regeneration of our resources.  Along with his wife Shelly, and son Paul, he owns and operates a diversified 5,000-acre farm and ranch near Bismarck, ND.  Their ranch focuses on farming and ranching in nature’s image.The Browns holistically integrate their grazing and no-till cropping systems, which include a wide variety of cash crops, multi-species cover crops along with all-natural grass finished beef and lamb.  They

Propelling organic produce from fringe to mainstream.In This Podcast: The story of how organic produce and food became mainstream in our grocery stores is shared by Tonya Antle who was actively driving this change before most of us even knew we needed it.  She found her passion in the early stages of the organic movement and helped propel it across the nation.  Now there is a new focus with the Organic Grower Summit happening in December, and she shares some very useful tips as a highlight of what will be available then.Tonya grew up on her family’s table grape and citrus farm in Delano, California. From being a vice president of organic sales to consulting about organic ag investments, she has been a driving force in organic farming for more than 30 years, and has received several awards recognizing her work in the ag industry.Currently, she is an adjunct professor of Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Marketing at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, a guest lecturer at both Hartnell Junior College and Californ

Bonus Episode #21: Seed Saving Class September 2018.A chat with an expert on Seeds. In This Bonus Podcast: We are harvesting even more seed information in this chat with Bill McDorman. This is the September 2018 episode of a Seed Saving Class - seed names, medicinal plants, plant knowledge, landrace, 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/2018/10/16/bonus21/ for more information and links on this bonus podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Building urban food resiliency with more that just vegetables.In This Podcast:A fascination with jungles and forests began at an early age for Catherine Bukowski, and she has studied these ecosystems throughout her education.  Then narrowing her focus just on the food forest aspect, she found similar regenerative patterns that work. She brought this to her new book and shares some of what she discovered with us.Catherine is a researcher, author, educator and consultant. She’s worked internationally and domestically in sustainable land use and natural resource management, agroforestry, permaculture, and project planning to strengthen communities. She pursued her passion for tropical ecosystems by earning a Master of Science in Natural Resource Management. Then she returned to school and earned a PhD in the Human Dimensions of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech.At Tech she was introduced to the topic of community food forests, which ultimately became her dissertation research

Bringing together nature and theology.In This Podcast:Her background is in studying the connections of religion to many aspects of daily life and Professor Lena Roos is now focused on how religion and gardening are interwoven in our past and what that looks like in our present. She discusses several key religions of the world, the garden connections, and even how some myths built upon gardening and creation themes.  She is asking for input on her current research and wants to know of active faith-based community gardens.Lena is a Full Professor, teaching History of Religions in Stockholm Sweden. She is also an avid allotment grower of vegetables who last year harvested (literally) a ton of vegetables from her 120 square meters in two allotments in urban Uppsala.Originally a medievalist, she specializes in inter-religious relations between Jews, Christians and Muslims during the Middle Ages. Her other research includes topics like religion and volunteering, religion and sexuality, religion and food,

Healing forgotten children through gardening opportunities.In This Podcast: The forgotten children who grow up in the foster care system often become young adults on the street with no help, no resources, and forced to make desperate choices to survive. Dawn Folsom was caught stealing food when she was hungry; now she is a major force behind several urban farming projects that teach, empower, and build up the community of aged-out foster kids that have gotten dumped into the world.  She is offering models of village farms and supportive housing projects to help communities do better with their forgotten children.Dawn is a former foster kid who chose to be a catalyst of change for young people aging out of the foster care system. She became an advocate and mentor 13 years ago and has a passion to help people heal through village farming. having studied horticulture for 19 years she has become an advocate for local food access.She is cofounder of Heartvines Educational Farm - an extension of the non-p

Reinforcing local food and ag in the heartland of America. IN THIS PODCAST: There can be no doubt that Jess Mazour is dedicated to building a better food system – and she is doing it for those that grow food, those that eat it, and to protect the communities and environment that surround farms.  Her passion is strong and is a resource for families and farmers in Iowa as she helps educate and empower the “little guys” to work together to benefit the whole community.  388: Jess Mazour on Building a Resilient Food SystemJess is a Farm & Environment Organizer for Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, a 5,000-member non-profit. She organizes with local communities to develops statewide strategies to stop corporate factory farms from building.  In 2013-2015 Jess worked with a 10-state coalition of farm and ranch groups to develop a new narrative around Food and Ag Justice. Jess also built a citizen lobby team at the Iowa Statehouse to lobby for policies that build a food and ag syste

Empowering the community by growing food together.In This Podcast: It was his father’s inspiration and legacy that prompted Daniel Oladokun-Dybowski to start a community garden from scratch in a suburb of Phoenix.  The work on the soil has already started after several huge donated loads of wood chips. And with the help of others in the community, he’s going to build a food forest that truly will benefit all that participate.  It is not a simple task, but he’s up to the task of building a solution. Daniel is an urban gardener with big hopes of solving major world problems by focusing on his local community. He is an anthropologist and social worker aiming to lift marginalized people up and establish a source of free, healthy food alternatives through the community garden being built in Casa Grande, Arizona.Daniel seeks to effectively empower disenfranchised and marginalized people in the community, by teaching those who come to the garden to grow their own food and use the resources around

Appreciating the histories of flowers.In This Podcast: A delightful interview with a Chris McLaughlin as she helps us understand more about flowers and what they offer to us as gardeners and more.  She even shares some tips on some of her favorites to grow.Chris is a Northern California writer and author who has had her hands in the soil for nearly 40 years. She's the author of seven books including, Growing Heirloom Flowers from our friends at Cool Springs Press,  A Garden to Dye For and Vertical Vegetable Gardening.Chris' work can also be found in several magazines including Urban Farm Magazine, and The Heirloom Gardener Magazine. Online, she's written for a variety of gardening sites including Vegetable Gardener.com, Fine Gardening.com, and About.com. Chris and her family live on a flower and fiber farm in the Northern California foothills, where they grow flowers, fruit, vegetables and Angora goats.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/09/22/385-chris-mclaughlin/ for more information and lin

Bonus Episode 20: Seed Saving Class August 2018. A chat with a seed expert about Sourcing SeedsIn This Bonus Podcast: Finding good sources for seeds can be challenging especially if you are particular about their story or their genetics. This is the August 2018 episode of a Seed Saving Class - Bill McDorman discusses the process of sourcing seeds and selecting seeds that can help you feel confident in your selections, 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/2018/09/18/bonus20/ for show notes and links on this bonus podcast, and to find our other gre

Assisting our food-growing veterans who feed their communities.In This Podcast:Rachel Petitt is part of a group that has the mission to help veterans who want to be farmers. This has translated into several grant and resource projects that are empowering veterans to build their farms. She tells about how she started and what the organization is offering veterans all across the country. Rachel worked on small-scale farms for six years after earning a degree from UC Santa Cruz in community studies with a focus on food systems. During her time in the field, she learned the intricacies of harvesting okra without getting itchy, collecting 600 eggs without cracking any, and bunching kale with one hand. Rachel currently manages the Fellowship Program at the Farmer Veteran Coalition.The Fellowship Program enables veterans to invest in the infrastructure and tools they need to feed their community. Here, Rachel administers grants that support veteran farmers in their new careers.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/20

Reducing food waste and feeding plants at the same time.In This Podcast: He grew up on a farm, and as a teenager he thought he needed to do something more than just take care of the cows. Josh Krenz went to college, found his way into marketing, and was learning the business end of farming and multi-national distribution. Eventually he decided to refocus his priorities a little closer to home that also made a difference. He tells us about creating an organic fertilizer using grocery store waste and optimized with a specialized metrics system.Josh is the CEO and founder of Vivid Life Sciences, a plant physiology company offering LIFEFORCE as one of their brand products.  He knows the business of farming from both sides — from large-scale sophistication and multi-national distribution with companies like Land O’ Lakes, to boot-strapping startups.Farmer Josh follows his heart when tending to his Highland cattle, organizing trips to the farm for local schools and charity events, or helping with his

Building history with six generations on the same homestead.In This Podcast:She and her husband bought his parents’ home and she thought it was just going to be temporary until she could get a place out in the country. Now Lynn McMahon is able to share her gratitude to her grandchildren and with us for the special connection to family and history on this homestead. Even the plants and trees help connect multiple generations together in this EPIC story of multiple generations on the same homestead.Lynn lives with her husband Mike and their Walker Coonhound on their family's 128-year-old urban farm homestead bought by her husband’s great grandfather in 1890 on the outskirts of town. They are the 4th generation living in the house and growing food on a small city lot. They’ve raised 4 children there and now with 8 grandchildren visiting, the 6th generation is connected to the very same land.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/09/08/382-lynn-mcmahon/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find ou

Witnessing the power of growing food for a community.In This Podcast:It was both a desire to share the gardening experience his grandfather gave him, and the lack of space in his home for anything that could produce enough food for his family that prompted Elias Martinez to start dreaming of a way to provide fresh greens to those who did not have easy access to garden space. His natural inclination to innovate solutions has helped him create a plan for an EPIC style of community garden – indoors! He shares that and more with us.Elias grew up around urban farming & gardening in a rough part Miami called Opa-Lock-a. He is the son of immigrant parents who left Cuba & the Dominican Republic for political and opportunity reasons. As a child and teenager, he was introduced to urban farming and gardening by his grandfather, who fled Cuba during the Castro regime.Elias witnessed the power that growing food for the community can have after his mother presented neighbors with fresh fruits and vegetables grown i

Studying microbiology in soil and its relationship to plant life.In This Podcast:There was no one person who set Derex Zellars on a path towards being a microbiologist, but through observing his environment that he developed his enthusiasm. He shares why soil microbiology is so fascinating to him, and why the expectations we have about using fertilizers are leading us away from the truth. Derex holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences from The University of Texas at San Antonio. He has over 13 years of combined experience in the fields of Environmental Microbiology, chemistry and bioremediation. He holds two patents related to these fields and one of his published a journal articles is on the studies of microalgae after herbicide treatments.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/09/01/380-derex-zellars/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Stirring up a custom batch of planting mix.In This Podcast: When asked what makes a healthy planting soil for trees and gardens in Arizona, Emily Rockey gets excited because this is truly a passion of hers.  As her nickname implies, she loves getting her hands in the dirt and making a medium that others can rely on. She explains how she and Farmer Greg developed their soil mix, why building a healthy planting mix is different for the southwest desert, and why local mixes make a difference. Emily is currently the Director of Sales and Marketing for Tank’s Green Stuff in Tucson, which specializes in “green” landscape debris recycling, construction debris recycling, and more.  She brings her passion for both plants and recycling to the company’s composting operation where they convert landscape debris into organic compost which is then made available for gardens and green spaces. Tank’s offers an entire line of organic garden and landscape materials which are “Good for People, Plants, an

Following rabbit holes to new adventures and new veggies.In This Podcast: Sometimes it takes a person to reach a really low point in their life before they make the choice to change the way they think. Lee Rhodey had that realization and decided it was time to be look at life differently in order to find her life’s purpose. On that journey she found Market on the Move and discovered that it brings adventure to her life with every new box. Her goal to be an example and share the mindset changing journey is documented in her I'm So Her project.Lee is not our typical guest, but her story is something that I can relate to.  Lee reached a place in her life where things were at a turning point.  She was unhappy and the grass looked greener in everyone else’s story. She realized she needed to change her outlook and she started the I’m so Her project to help her appreciate what she had.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/08/25/378-lee-rhodey/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find

Bonus Episode 19: Seed Saving Class June 2018. A chat with a seed expert about where our seeds come fromIn This Bonus Podcast: Seeds are grown all over the world and we don't always know where our seeds come from when we buy. This is the June 2018 episode of a Seed Saving Class - Bill McDorman discusses seed origination, land race seeds, finding unique seed varieties, 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/2018/08/21/bonus19/ for show notes and links on this bonus podcast, and to find our other great guests.