The Urban Farm Podcast with Greg Peterson

Taking fruits and berries to make tasty results.In This Podcast: What do you do with the abundance of fruit from your yard? Making jams and jellies are an easy solution. Sara Wolters from Pomona's Universal Pectin shares how their fruit-based pectin allows you to create delicious preserves with little to no added sugar. She also shares about the pectin industry, the recipe and video resources they have available to the public, methods of making jams with young kids, and additional uses for pectin.Sara and her husband own and operate Pomona’s Universal Pectin. Pomona Pectin has been around for 39 years, and they’ve owned the business for just over 2 years now. They have two sons and live right next to Yosemite National Park.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/05/07/444-sara-wolters/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.This contest period is expired.444: Sara Wolters on Healthy, Homemade Jams & Jellies.

Growing delicious produce - in the garden, an allotment, or in the greenhouse!In This Podcast: Jason Johns is the author of 18 books on gardening. Here, he shares everything anybody needs to know about growing tomatoes! From the ideal soil, varieties, conditions, and pruning you'll be ready to plant amazing tomatoes. We also discussed common pests and what to do about them, as well as his first failure with tomatoes and what he learned from the experience. Jason plants something new each year. As a bonus, he also shared some of his other growing experiences!Jason is the author of Growing Tomatoes: Your Guide to Growing Delicious Tomatoes at Home, as well as 17 other self-published gardening books on everything from greenhouse gardening to growing giant pumpkins.  Jason is passionate about gardening, having grown his own produce for over twenty years.  He started with a second-hand greenhouse, an 8’ by 6’ patch of his mother’s garden, and far too many tomato plants.  After turning the greenhouse into a tomato farm, he was hooked at the taste of the first ripe tomato.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/05/04/443-jason-johns/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.This contest period has expired.443: Jason Johns about Growing Tomatoes.

Living the good life while selling from a small farm.In This Podcast: How does one become a farmer when you haven't gone to school for agriculture? Emily Heller did just that using local education programs and opportunities. Here, she discusses successful selling as a small space producer, parameters for success in gardening, and some of her best practices. She also speaks to the emotional journey of farming and how to handle the imperfections and challenges. Emily also shares how to educate customers at Farmers Markets and build repeat clients.Tempe, Arizona grower Emily is a student of Mother Nature’s. Since moving to Arizona in 1998, she’s been growing food and studying the low-desert seasons as a backyard gardener. A former journalist, she shifted gears in 2014 and became a master gardener — then completed beginning farmer programs in Maricopa and Pinal counties. She went on to sell her produce at farmers markets through the local growers’ co-op, Community Exchange. Now she leases farmland in Queen Creek, has scaled up production and has her own booth at Uptown Farmers Market in Phoenix. The name of her farming adventure is Bene Vivendo. That translates from Latin to “the good life.”Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/04/30/442-emily-heller/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.442: Emily Heller on Growing Food for Locals and Small Restaurants.

Finding purpose in educating about indoor farming. In This Podcast: We had the pleasure of talking aquaponics with Jill Shea from Trifecta Ecosystems. Trifecta Ecosystems practices sustainable farming in their aquaponics farm and educates the community to grow their own food as part of the City that Feeds Itself initiative. In addition to the great community programs, we dove into how aquaponics works, is lower cost, uses less land and conserves water. The AgTech field is growing tremendously, with several great opportunities for new farmers. www.urbanfarm.org/jillsheaJill’s farming story started in Orlando, Florida in exchange for free herbalism classes.  Since 2006 she has been fortunate enough to both tend land and teach a variety of growing styles all over the US. She considers it a pleasure to now farm for Trifecta Ecosystems where they help cities feed themselves through aquaponic growing innovation. Trifecta Ecosystems is creating incentives for communities to grow their own food while raising awareness about sustainable farming through education, workshops, and city projects. They do this by empowering farmers in urban environments and educating others on the true potential of aquaponics.  Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/04/27/441-jill-shea/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.441: Jill Shea as a Woman in the World of Aquaponics.

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.

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.This contest period is expired. 440: Akiva Silver on Working with Trees as Allies

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

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.

 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.

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.This contest period has expired.436: Peter Bane on The World of Permaculture.