The Urban Farm Podcast with Greg Peterson

Starting an urban farm to keep young the later years.In This Podcast: Have you ever wished for more gardening space? So did Ray Speakman when he took early retirement. But instead of just wishing, he recruited neighbors for their land and made his farming dreams a reality! Listen in to learn how he went from 1 garden bed to a half-acre of productive land and started a neighborhood CSA and weekend produce stand. Ray shares what it was like becoming a farmer in retirement, abundant food production in smaller spaces, and making it happen. Ray has always been an entrepreneur at heart with a drive to affect the lives of others for the better. He grew up on a chicken farm in Cottonwood, Arizona with 5000 chickens, as well as cows, horses, and large gardens. After moving to Mesa with his parents in the mid 1960’s, he married his wonderful wife. After a series of different businesses and 8 children, he ended up working for an international plant nutrition manufacturing company as their VP of Marketing. It was there that he fell in love with agriculture and the effect it has on individual lives and mother earth. In June of 2017, with a neighbor and prolific gardener, Ray started an urban farm in the middle of Mesa. His family, friends and area neighborhoods are enjoying the farm as they have watched it grow and enjoy the benefits of eating the delightfully delicious and healthy food.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2020/03/10/527-ray-speakman/ for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!527: Ray Speakman about Farming Instead of Retiring

Moving mountains by changing one mind and one attitude at a time.In This Podcast: Sustaining a community garden that is successful for over 10 years is not an easy endeavor. In this update from repeat podcast guest, Darren Chapman, we gain insight into the organizational growth of a community garden, how they stay relevant, and continue to serve the needs of the community. Listen in for some of the challenges in the neighborhoods surrounding the community garden and how TigerMountain addresses and heals some of those disparities. Darren is a community pro-activist who has committed his life to helping people. He is Founder and CEO of TigerMountain Foundation, which has implemented Empowerment Initiatives to uplift communities and eliminate blight. TigerMountain’s initiatives include community gardens; edible landscape development; audio, visual and performance art; plus community service and volunteerism. The gardens promote healthy living and active lifestyles by feeding, engaging and enfranchising the community. TigerMountain’s Asset Based Community Development model was developed with the thought that everyone can and should be connected and feel a part of society. The endgame strategy is urban renewal and community restoration via participants who are encouraged to stay engaged and motivated to keep positive and develop their individual very important assets.Their motto is to change one mind and attitude at a time, encouraging all who have been touched to pay it forward, which will undoubtedly make the immediate and surrounding community and world a better place to live. He is from South Central Los Angeles and grew up in L.A. and Phoenix. He currently resides and works in South Phoenix and the Phoenix Metropolitan area.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2020/03/07/526-darren-chapman/ for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!526: Darren Chapman on Inner City Urban Farming.

Seeking climate change solutions through sustainable farming investments.In This Podcast: Want a way to combat climate change and make a good financial investment? David Chan explains the social and financial benefits of agricultural real estate investing. The FarmTogether system brings farm families together with investors for a stronger countrywide self-sufficient food system. He also explains the organic agriculture value chain, how regenerative agriculture processes builds soil health, the Patagonia competition, and the TerraTone Challenge. David is the Co-Founder and COO of FarmTogether, and he has spent several years working in the organic agriculture value chain. Before forming FarmTogether, David was a senior private equity associate at AMERRA Capital Management, where he worked closely with one of the fund's portfolio companies having a focus on supply chains in sustainable agriculture and serving the US organic grains market. David also worked with SLM Partners, PGIM Ag Equity Investments, and was a finalist in Patagonia's first graduate case competition on scaling regenerative agriculture.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2020/03/03/525-david-chan/ for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!525: David Chan on Regenerative Agriculture.

Breaking the mold on traditional canine snacks.In This Podcast: As gardeners, we think of our health and the food we put in our bodies but have you thought much about what you feed your pets? Treats should benefit your dog's health as well as taste good. We talked canine healthy treats with Neil Werde and got the inside scoop on the best ingredients and processing method for a quality dog treat.  Neil dove into some of the findings around Raw and Mediterranean diets for your furry friends as well as pet toys that keep your children safe too. Neil has over 40 years of experience creating and marketing consumer products including children’s toys at Tyco and Mattel, pop culture & music at Rhino Records, and for the past 18 years durable toy products in the pet industry. He has delighted parents, children, and our four-legged friends with thoughtful and innovative products and solutions. Neil co-founded the Quaker Pet Group, and in 2015 they merged into pet industry innovator Worldwise, Inc, where his product development team has been focused on bringing healthy treats to our canine friends.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2020/02/29/524-neil-werde/ for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!524: Neil Werde on Recognizing Quality Dog Treats.

Maximizing farm production with a little help from some four-legged friends.In This Podcast: Even if you live in a city, this podcast with DaNelle Wolford will have you checking your zoning regulations on backyard goats and pigs! Listen in to learn why she loves raising Nigerian Dwarf goats, all about their milk, and why it digests better than cow's milk. She shares all about animal care, breeding goats, milk production, and how they maximize all the functions of their farm animals. You'll be searching her videos for more about her cool setup before the podcast is over!DaNelle is an urban farmer & goat enthusiast located in Phoenix, Arizona. She runs a popular blog & YouTube channel called Weed 'em & Reap that boasts over 100 million views. She started to take an interest in a healthier lifestyle after being diagnosed with two debilitating chronic diseases. On a mission to create a farm of her own, she & her husband purchased an acre of land in the city and transformed it into their very own urban farm. Together with their two children, they milk goats, gather eggs from their chickens, tend to a large garden, and raise fish in Arizona's first naturally filtered swimming pond. They share their hilarious farm adventures on their YouTube channel with over 400,000 subscribers and are passionate about inspiring others to grow food and raise animals, no matter the size of their yard.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2020/02/25/523-danelle-wolford/ for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!523: DaNelle Wolford on Making More with Goats.

Agriculturally inspired fiction with the power of a plant’s fragrance is steeped in mystery and danger.In This Podcast: Plants inspire most of our listeners, but Karen Hugg used her horticultural inspiration to create mystery novels that capture the magic and possibilities of new plant varieties. Exciting storylines entwine with Karen's passion for plants as she talks about getting published and why she left the tech world to start a gardening business. Listen in to learn about her gardening experience, what she loves to grow, and how she uses that to inspire her characters. Karen is the author of The Forgetting Flower, a literary thriller about a dangerous plant in Paris. Most of Karen’s stories are set in worlds where plants, real or imagined, affect people in strange new ways. Born and raised in Chicago, she later moved to Seattle and worked as an editor before becoming a certified ornamental horticulturalist and master pruner. She earned her MFA from Goddard College and has been published in the Rooted anthology, Minerva Rising, Garden Rant, and other publications.  When not writing, she digs in the dirt. When not digging in the dirt, she hangs out with her husband, three children, and four pets. When not doing any of those things, she sits outside and stares at the sky.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2020/02/22/522-karen-hugg/ for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!522: Karen Hugg on The Forgetting Flower.

521: Seed Saving Class January 2020. This is the January 2020 episode of a live Seed Saving Class discussing seed catalogs, sourcing local seeds, building community, seed diversity, and so much more.There is always a bounty of information available in conversations with Bill McDorman.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.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2020/02/18/521-seedchat/ for the show notes on this bonus episode, and access to our full podcast library!

Encouraging youth to bloom through off-grid farming on vacant lots.In This Podcast: We usually speak with food farmers, however, Quilen Blackwell is doing something so amazing with flower farming we needed to get him on the show! Learn why he chose to farm flowers over food, got community buy-in, and how he eliminated much of the overhead cost of a farm by working with nature (even in the middle of a big city). The flowers are a product of his true passion, which is teaching skills to at-risk youth and giving them job skills to better their future.Quilen’s background in renewable energy and community organizing is well suited in his role as president of Southside Blooms where they serve over 70 youth a week at four sites in Chicago and one site in Detroit. Southside Blooms has the mission of using sustainability to alleviate inner-city poverty through a scalable social enterprise program that converts vacant city lots into off-grid flower farms.Quilen’s organizing credentials include work abroad as a volunteer in the Peace Corp organizing rural farmers in Thailand all the way to helping working-class residents of suburban Milwaukee attain affordable housing. He later worked in the biofuels industry where he procured feedstock such as used cooking oil and soybean oil for biodiesel production. Quilen holds a bachelor’s degree with comprehensive honors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s degree in environmental policy from the University of Denver.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2020/02/15/520-quilen-blackwell/ for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!520: Quilen Blackwell on Urban Flower Farms.

Growing enough food to provide for a family of four all year.In This Podcast: If you had to exist just from the food in your yard, what would you be eating? Melissa Norris would have very few lifestyle changes. She is a professional homesteader who grows and preserves enough fruits, vegetables, and meat on her property to feed her family all year long. Here, she discusses what's growing in her garden, season extending for longer harvests, planning for a year's worth of food, the amount of space it takes to feed a family of four, and her new book.Melissa is a 5th generation homesteader and believes everyone can and should grow some of their own food. She’s the host of the Pioneering Today Podcast and founder of the Pioneering Today Academy where she teaches people how to live a homegrown and homemade life in a modern world.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2020/02/11/519-melissa-norris/ for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!519: Melissa Norris on Feeding A Family.

Balancing the larger world context with local, practical, and creative solutions.In This Podcast: In the final part of our interview with David Holmgren, the co-founder of permaculture talks soil, owning your mistakes, and balancing food production in limited spaces. He also shares what it’s like to live a voluntarily simplistic life, and how children absorb knowledge just by being around parents in agriculture. Listen in for some of his failures and successes, as well as what drives him and his advice for others. We are very excited to have the co-founder of permaculture on the show today. When I got David on the call I just let him talk and it turned into a 90-minute chat, so we decided to split it into three shows. This is part 3 and if you enjoy our content please consider supporting the podcast at UrbanFarmPodcast.org Since developing permaculture with Bill Mollison in the mid-1970s, David’s local and global influence has gone beyond permaculture networks. He is a public intellectual working outside of academia, government or corporate support. His depth of thinking, design practice and teaching has been continually informed by practical experience through a lifetime of household self-reliance, voluntary simplicity, and innovative action. He has received many awards including an honorary Ph.D. from Central Queensland University. He has written 8 books about permaculture & related topics, been a part of at least 5 other books, written multiple articles, given numerous presentations, has over 40 years of practical experience, he is an authority on the permaculture concept and how to make it work and basically – he is the guy who penned it!Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2020/02/08/518-david-holmgren/ for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!518: David Holmgren on Downshifting to a Resilient Future. Part 3