The Urban Farm Podcast with Greg Peterson

Putting fresh, organic food within reach of the kitchen counter.In This Podcast: When a millennial has too much time on their hands and is not feeling like they are making a difference, AND they happen to be the kind of person who like to design things, what can possibly happen?  We get to hear why Ryan Agrey is a millennial like that, and how he was motivated to take a game-system-designed farm to the next level and create something that could be used by any novice gardener to bring fresh, organic food within easy reach.Ryan is from a small town in Alberta Canada, just north of Washington.  Along with his father Brad and sister Tessa, he spent the last 2 years developing a simple “plug and play” indoor garden that allows anyone to grow food at home regardless of where they live. It requires no previous knowledge of growing food, and can pay for itself in just a few months.During this journey they developed a unique technology for hydroponics which is currently patent pending. With the use of this technology they then created an affordable and simple kit to provide you with everything you need to grow year-round, indoors from the comfort of your home. Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/02/10/329-ryan-agrey/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Helping small farmers build their brands and grow their business.In This Podcast: A relaxing horseback ride with his wife helped motivate businessman Tim Young into the strange new world of farming. He didn't know much about farming, but he knew a lot about marketing so he used that knowledge to help build their farmstead into a successful one with award-winning products. Not content with being the only one to succeed, he has started a project helping other farmers learn the ways to become successful themselves, and shares some of those concepts here.Tim is a corporate executive turned modern homesteader and founded \ Nature’s Harmony Farm in Georgia, produced award-winning farmstead cheese, grassfed beef & lamb, woodlot pork, and pasture raised chicken. This is where he, his wife Liz and their young daughter, milk their own cow, produced all the cheese, soap, medicine, meat and vegetables - They truly enjoy a simple life.Tim’s also the founder of the Small Farm Nation Academy, an online resource devoted to helping family farmers learn skills to build their farm brands, attract more customers, and grow profitable farm businesses.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/02/06/328-tim-young/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

The September 2017 Q&A session with two experts on Gardening and Fruit TreesJake Mace the Vegan Athlete and Greg Peterson of The Urban Farm are both gardening educators offering classes, podcasts, and videos on a large variety of gardening topics. Every month they get together for a monthly gardening chat to discuss what is going on in their gardens and answer your questions. To dive in, get more information, and send us your questions visit AskJakeandGreg.com - so let's get on with the show... This is the September 2017 Q&A episode with a variety of questions addressed from prepping for fruit trees, raised garden bed soil layers, and much more.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/02/03/bonus-episode-10/ for show notes and links on this bonus podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Paying attention to the pests and diseases that affect crops.In This Podcast: Science and the study of the biology of plants is a true calling for Robert Reeder, as he has been part of different projects at CABI for several decades; and his focus on the Plantwise Programme is something that is making a difference. He shares with us how the Programme is helping farmers in developing countries diagnose and tackle different crop issues, as well as their work to help counter the spread of soil born diseases that are affecting banana crops around the world.Robert is a plant pathologist working with the Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI), based in the United Kingdom. His areas of interests are in international development and the management of pests and diseases of tropical crops. Having worked for CABI for nearly 25 years, he’s gained extensive experience in diagnosing pests and diseases of a diverse range of tropical crops. As part of his work he has traveled to many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.His current focus in the Plantwise Programme which aims to help farmers lose less of what they grow to plant-health problems. Plantwise operates in 34 countries and works closely with national agricultural advisory services to establish and support a sustainable network of plant clinics.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/01/30/327-robert-reeder/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Adding some sweet and spice to life through delicious fruit jams.In This Podcast:A simple request to help fill a charity basket for cancer patients has turned into a small food-craft business for Jan McCarthy. Acting on the request of her son to help out a charity event, Jan made a few jars of jam.  Little did she realize how popular they would become, especially once she put her own special twist of adding hot peppers to some of her recipes. She tells about some of the steps she needed to go through to make her business legit, as well as some tips to making good jams.Jan worked in her parents’ bakery from age 12 until she was 32 when she went back to school to be a para legal which she has done for 30 years. Ready to put some of the high stress of the legal world behind her, she was willing to try something new so as a favor to her son she started making jams for community projects of the Joy Bus Diner. Now her specialty is making hot spicy jams.  Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/01/27/326-jan-mccarthy/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Operating a small-scale diversified farm.In This Podcast:Growing up in an urban community in Chicago would not normally lead a person to choose a farming lifestyle, but during her college years several things led her to the agriculture career she has now. Liz Whitehurst tells us about the nudges that pushed her this direction as well as the amazing opportunity that came her way at the right time.  She also shares some useful tips that can help any new farmer who is working their own CSA program. We also hear about a heartwarming story of her five-year old customer who missed his peashoots!Liz is the owner/operator of Owl’s Nest Farm, small-scale diversified vegetable farm 15 miles outside Washington, DC.  Before starting her farm, she worked on a wide variety of farms and gardens as a grower and educator, including the Arcadia Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Angelic Organics Learning Center.Owl’s Nest Farm grows unique, delicious, nutritious, diverse vegetables, herbs, flowers and fruit on four acres. Liz was recently featured in a Washington Post article about how young farmers are changing the food system.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/01/23/325-liz-whitehurst/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Bonus Episode 9: Seed Chat, September 2017A chat with an expert on Seeds, Bill McDormanIn This Bonus Podcast: There is always a bounty of information available in conversations with Bill McDorman. This is the September 2017 episode with a Seed School Chat Class continuing the conversation on Seed Saving Principles, Intellectual Property rights, Seed Saving policy history, 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/2018/01/20/bonus-episode-9/ for more show notes and links on this bonus podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Making the most of small spaces for gardens.In This Podcast: Returning guest Jessica Walliser opens our eyes and minds to working in small spaces with container gardens.  She worked hard to make a comprehensive book with important steps and key details for those who wish to make a container work for growing their vegetables, fruits and flowers too. And we get a few ideas for containers too.Our Returning guest Horticulturist Jessica co-hosts The Organic Gardeners, an award-winning program on KDKA Radio in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of The American Horticultural Society.In addition. she is also the author of several gardening books including the Amazon best-seller Good Bug, Bad Bug: Who’s Who, What They Do, and How to Manage Them Organically, and her fourth book, Attracting Beneficial Bugs to the Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control, which was awarded the American Horticultural Society's 2014 Book Award.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/01/16/324-jessica-walliser/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Growing crops and raising livestock in urban spaces.In This Podcast: Returning guest Kari Spencer talks about her first book City Farming, and shares about some of the key aspects of farming in a city space.  She visited several farms to research other perspectives and methods and gathered all the data into this book. She also tells about how it is so jam packed with information that part of the book had to go digital.  There are several great ideas to help urban farmers gain confidence and overcome some challenges.Kari is a popular local gardening & homesteading speaker. As a Master Gardener and a Master Farmer, she enjoys sharing her passion for growing and raising food with others. In addition to teaching classes all over the city of Phoenix, she is the creator of Urban Farm U’s Growing Food the Basics & Backyard Livestock courses.She and her family operate The Micro Farm Project, a small farm in North Phoenix, where gardens and livestock animals provide her family with fun and food. Her new book City Farming: How-To Guide to Growing Crops & Raising Livestock in Urban Spaces, by 5MPublishing has just been released.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/01/13/323-kari-spencer/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Checking for the presence of pesticide in our food.In This Podcast:A youth spent on an organic sheep farm, and early adulthood spent traveling as a journalist led Henry Rowlands to the development of Sustainable Pulse – a news source dedicated to informing on sustainable agriculture. He now leads up the Detox Project which helps increase awareness of pesticide exposure in our foods and our bodies, and is spreading the word about a testing process that can determine pesticide levels in foods or bodies.  This is information that can be used to help determine the toxicity of chemicals in use today.Henry was raised on a family-run, organic sheep farm in Wales.  This led to his deep interest in issues related to sustainable agriculture, and he worked for a time as a news agency journalist in many countries across Europe.  He eventually moved on to set up Sustainable Pulse, a global news source focusing on sustainable agriculture and food, with a readership of over 500,000 people per month from over 125 countries.  He is also an adviser on sustainable agriculture to several governments in the European Union.Beyond their news platform, Sustainable Pulse is involved in several reference projects, all of which have the aim of educating the public on the problems surrounding the overuse of pesticides.  Henry is the Project Director for their program called The Detox Project, which has set up a unique pesticide testing platform for food and our bodies across America.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/01/09/322-henry-rowlands/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.