
The Urban Farm Podcast with Greg Peterson
Welcome to The Urban Farm Podcast, your partner in the Grow Your Own Food revolution! This audio only podcast features special guests like Rosemary Morrow, Zach Loeks, and Andrew Millison as we discuss the art and value of growing food in urban areas. We'll explore topics such as gardening basics, urban beekeeping and chicken farming, permaculture, successful composting, monetizing your farm, and much more! Each episode will bring you tips and tricks on how to overcome common challenges, opportunities to learn from the experience of people just like you, and plenty of resources to ensure you're informed, equipped, and empowered to participate more mindfully in your local food system... and to have a great time doing it!
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Latest episodes

Mar 10, 2023 • 33min
726: Rosemary Morrow on the Earth Restorer's Guide to Permaculture, Part 2
Restoring Planetary Health and Rebuilding After an ImpactIn This Podcast:This is the second part of Greg’s interview with Rosemary Morrow, a member of the first generation of what we now call the Permaculture Movement. We reached out to some of our friends in the permaculture community and asked, “If you could talk to Rowe, what would you ask her?” Learn more about Rosemary’s decades of experience teaching permaculture all over the world as she discusses the answers to these thought-provoking questions. Don’t miss an episode!visit UrbanFarm.Org/blog/podcast Rosemary Morrow is a permaculture teacher, author, speaker, and agricultural scientist. She has spent decades travelling the world designing healthy living systems and applying permaculture as a practice to restore our planetary health. She has worked locally across Australia as well as globally with farmers and villagers in Africa, Central and Southeast Asia; people of war-torn nations such as Vietnam and Afghanistan; and communities experiencing the serious effects of climate change like the Solomon Islands. Rosemary's latest book, Earth Restorer’s Guide to Permaculture, brings together 40 years of evidence-based approaches to guide us towards the regeneration of our Earth. Endorsed by the United Nations as a tool for their Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, this book shares how communities, cities, workplaces, and governments can collectively and positively shape our futures. Visit www.UrbanFarm.org/Podcast-by-episode-titles for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!Rosemary Morrow on the Earth Restorer's Guide to Permaculture, Part 2.urbanfarm.org/Rowe

Mar 7, 2023 • 57min
725: Rosemary Morrow on the Earth Restorer's Guide to Permaculture
Restoring Planetary Health and Rebuilding After an ImpactIn This Podcast:In this very special episode, Greg talks with Rosemary Morrow, a member of the first generation of what we now call the Permaculture Movement. Rosemary has decades of experience teaching permaculture all over the world and she shares how that global perspective influenced her most recent book. Hear about her definition of permaculture, her philosophy on teaching permaculture, and her experiences teaching permaculture to people in many different countries. We are delighted to have Rosemary on our podcast! Don’t miss an episode!visit UrbanFarm.Org/blog/podcast Rosemary Morrow is a permaculture teacher, author, speaker, and agricultural scientist. She has spent decades travelling the world designing healthy living systems and applying permaculture as a practice to restore our planetary health. She has worked locally across Australia as well as globally with farmers and villagers in Africa, Central and Southeast Asia; people of war-torn nations such as Vietnam and Afghanistan; and communities experiencing the serious effects of climate change like the Solomon Islands. Rosemary's latest book, Earth Restorer’s Guide to Permaculture, brings together 40 years of evidence-based approaches to guide us towards the regeneration of our Earth. Endorsed by the United Nations as a tool for their Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, this book shares how communities, cities, workplaces, and governments can collectively and positively shape our futures. Visit www.UrbanFarm.org/Podcast-by-episode-titles for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!Rosemary Morrow on the Earth Restorer's Guide to Permaculture.urbanfarm.org/Rowe

Mar 3, 2023 • 42min
724: Phyllis Stiles on the Bee City USA Program
Appreciating the Variety of Pollinators That Visit Our GardensIn This Podcast:Phyllis Stiles is someone who loves to create a buzz about pollinators. She became fascinated with bees when she started keeping her own, and that led to an appreciation of and sense of responsibility for all pollinators. As she became aware of the problems they face, she decided to do something about it and created the Bee City USA program. The program certifies for cities and universities, but as Phyllis explains, there are also many things that individuals anywhere can do to help our friends the pollinators. Don’t miss an episode!visit UrbanFarm.Org/blog/podcast Phyllis Stiles is founder and director emerita of Bee City USA®, which began in Asheville, NC in 2012. The North American Pollinator Protection Campaign named her “Pollinator Advocate of the Year for the United States” in 2015, the same year the sister program, Bee Campus USA, launched. To date, more than 330 cities and campuses in 46 states have joined the Bee City and Bee Campus USA networks. Phyllis has made well over a hundred presentations and published countless newspaper and magazine articles about pollinator conservation across the nation. She spent her career at universities and non-profit organizations serving communities from West Africa to the Mississippi Delta, in fields ranging from natural resource and farmland protection to fundraising.Visit www.UrbanFarm.org/Podcast-by-episode-titles for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!Phyllis Stiles on the Bee City USA Program.urbanfarm.org/BeeCityUSA

Feb 28, 2023 • 34min
723: Bodacious Garden
723: Bodacious Garden.A Rosie on the House Radio Show.In This Podcast:This is the January 2023 show discussing how to grow your own BODACIOUS edible garden. Greg covers all the bases – sun, water, soil, and garden helpers. Plant your garden where it will get just the right balance of sun and shade by determining your garden’s solar aspect and observing the light as it moves throughout your space each day and each season. Seek out every drop of water available to you. Before you default to the typical drip irrigation system, consider also harvesting grey water, rainwater and air conditioning condensate. The next, and most important component is healthy soil. You’ll want to be sure it contains all five of the following: dirt, airspace, water, organic matter, and living organisms. Greg talks about how to improve soil that is lacking in any of these things. And last but certainly not least, he explains how chickens and weeds make fantastic garden workers. "Rosie on the House is a father and son weekly radio show on home-improvement advice that is found on several key Arizona radio stations. It is a trusted source of home-improvement advice and know-how. Rosie and Romey consider that an honor and a responsibility, a feeling that Greg shares."On the fourth Saturday of each month, Farmer Greg will talkabout all aspects of gardening and urban farming in the Arizona climates… Gardening Tips * Chickens * CompostingSmart Watering Tips * Fruit Trees * Seed SavingSonoran Desert Weather * Permaculture TidbitsCome join us for the next broadcast or catch up on our previous shows through our podcast episodes. Either way you will expand your knowledge about growing food in the local desert and gain new perspectives on your food system.Visit www.urbanfarm.org/Rose23Jan for the show notes on this episode and broadcasting information!

Feb 24, 2023 • 44min
722: Donna Balzer on Growing Lemons for Profit
Making a Little Side Income Growing Citrus in the Pacific NorthwestIn This Podcast:Do you wish you could grow citrus but live outside of California or Florida? Donna Balzer is growing lemons in Canada and she loves to teach others how she does it. She and Greg discuss all the juicy details, covering topics from the roots to the leaves. Donna explains how she cares for her citrus trees in the harsher climate using some unique methods to protect them from frost. In return, they give her a delicious harvest that is not easily found in her area, and even a little bit of income. Don’t miss an episode!visit UrbanFarm.Org/blog/podcast Donna Balzer is the co-host of the internationally aired HGTV show “Bugs & Blooms", a regular guest on CBC radio in Alberta, a very popular and inspirational public speaker around gardening, and the bestselling author of No Guff Vegetable Gardening. She lives with her adoring husband in Qualicum Beach, B.C. with their puppy. She has two greenhouses, twelve grandchildren, three grand-dogs, four grand-cats and two grand-guinea pigs all spread across Alberta and B.C. Visit www.UrbanFarm.org/Podcast-by-episode-titles for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!Donna Balzer on Growing Lemons for Profit.urbanfarm.org/DonnaBalzer

Feb 17, 2023 • 38min
721: Mike Smith on A Demonstration Organic Farm
Teaching people of all backgrounds about sustainably growing food (at the Guelph Centre for Urban Organic Farming)In This Podcast:Mike Smith studied political science with the intention of changing agricultural policy and making a difference from the top down. As important as that s, he eventually discovered that he could make a bigger impact on the ground – literally, with his hands in the earth. Now he works at the Guelph Centre for Urban Organic Farming in Canada, actually growing food and teaching others how to do the same. In this episode, Mike talks about the positive impact this has had on his life and on the local food economy. Don’t miss an episode!visit UrbanFarm.Org/blog/podcast Mike Smith manages day-to-day farm operations, including planning and preparing materials for the cropping season, at the Guelph Centre for Urban Organic Farming, a one-hectare (that is 2.47 acres) learning and research facility within the Department of Agriculture at the University of Guelph. Here he works with stakeholders, recruits staff, supervises interns and volunteers, and plays a key role in enhancing educational and outreach activities. Mike received his B.A. in political science with a focus in agricultural policy from McMaster University and post-graduate certificate in project management from the University of Toronto. His education and experience give him a solid background in organic vegetable production, from planting to post-harvest activities, which he is using to impact the community.Visit www.UrbanFarm.org/Podcast-by-episode-titles for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!Mike Smith on A Demonstration Organic Farm.urbanfarm.org/Guelph

Feb 10, 2023 • 33min
720: Chris Sabbarese on Tools and Farming
Having the right tools in the right condition for our farming jobIn This Podcast:Gardening can be hard work, but it doesn’t have to be. Chris Sabbarese explains how the right tool not only makes the job easier, but it also makes it safer for you and your plants. He describes the difference between a bypass pruner and an anvil pruner, what to look for when choosing tools, and some easy things you can do to keep your tools in tip top shape. Chris also shares his gift for storytelling, taking this inspiring episode much deeper than the humble gardening tool. Don’t miss an episode!visit UrbanFarm.Org/blog/podcast Chris Sabbarese is the marketing, communications and social media director for Corona Tools, a leading global brand and manufacturer of quality garden and landscape tools since 1928. He joined the organization in 2010, and manages the brand experience with end-users across all forms of digital & print media. Chris also serves as the executive director of GardenComm, a non-profit membership organization made up of green industry communications professionals. Visit www.UrbanFarm.org/Podcast-by-episode-titles for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!Chris Sabbarese on Tools and Farming.urbanfarm.org/CoronaTools

Feb 3, 2023 • 25min
719: Phil Howard on Who Controls What We Eat?
Researching the Changes Occurring in Our Food SystemsIn This Podcast:The grocery aisle appears to provide a whole buffet of choices, but who are the companies behind those choices? Phil Howard has studied our current food system and discovered that there are a surprisingly small number of companies who are in control. Who are these companies? How much power do they have and what are they doing to keep it? More importantly, what can be done about it? Phil lifts the lid on the industry to reveal the fragility of our modern food system. Don’t miss an episode!visit UrbanFarm.Org/blog/podcast Phil Howard is a member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems and a professor at Michigan State University. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Community, Food and Agriculture, and a graduate course in The Political Ecology of Food. Phil’s research focuses on the “food system” which involves all of the steps required to produce food and get it to our plates–from farming and processing to distribution and consumption. He is the author of Who Controls What We Eat? (2021) published by Bloomsbury Academic.Visit www.UrbanFarm.org/Podcast-by-episode-titles for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!Phil Howard on Who Controls What We Eat?UrbanFarm.org/PhilHoward

Jan 27, 2023 • 32min
718: Angelo Kelvakis on Indoor Garden Systems
Picking the best indoor garden for your needsIn This Podcast:Angelo Kelvakis demystifies the hydroponic garden. The right garden can be a great investment in your health and wellbeing. Angelo helps take the guesswork out of choosing the garden that best fits your lifestyle. He’ll teach you how to ask the right questions, identify the most important components, and research a system before you make a purchase, so you will continue to enjoy your garden and reap many benefits from it for years to come. Don’t miss an episode!visit UrbanFarm.Org/blog/podcast Angelo Kelvakis is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago where he studied environmental science and published research on nutrient uptake for plants. During this time, he also managed the Eco-Dome lab where he ran the aquaponics system which supplied fresh produce and fish to the Loyola Farmers Market. After graduating, he worked for several indoor farm companies helping them get start up, and finally was an early employee of Rise Gardens where he works today. At Rise, Angelo is both the Director of Research and Development, and a Horticulturalist where he is in charge of the Rise Lab focusing on nutrient design, plant growth research, and algorithm development.Visit www.UrbanFarm.org/Podcast-by-episode-titles for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!Angelo Kelvakis on Indoor Garden Systems.urbanfarm.org/RiseGardens

Jan 20, 2023 • 29min
717: Hassena Kassim on Seed Saving
Growing and Saving SeedsIn This Podcast:Hassena Kassim returns to talk about the recent growth she is experiencing since moving from Arizona to North Carolina about 5 years ago. She explains how growing and saving seeds for Sow True Seeds led her to the Organic Seed Alliance seed school and what she learned from completing the program. Hassena admits to a newfound appreciation for beans as she shares interesting facts from their long and colorful history. Don’t miss the fantastic seed resources mentioned in this episode!Don’t miss an episode!visit UrbanFarm.Org/blog/podcast Hassena Kassim is a mother and a newish farmer in Hot Springs NC. She works the land with honeybees, chickens, dairy goats, gardens and several composting methods. Hassena is a grower of seeds for Sow True Seed in Asheville, North Carolina and has recently completed the Organic Seed Alliance seed school. Visit www.UrbanFarm.org/Podcast-by-episode-titles for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!Hassena Kassim on Saving Seeds.urbanfarm.org/hassena