The Urban Farm Podcast with Greg Peterson

Bringing exotic flavor to local food systems.In This Podcast: Starting off at age 18, Joshua Burman Thayer was headed in the direction of working with plants and nature. He took his time before getting his permaculture certificate, but he packed a lot of learning and hands-on experience in during that period. Now, he is sharing that training, knowledge, and passion as he builds food forests, educates his clients, and writing articles about permaculture and food forest design.  Joshua has a degree in Community Engineering from Humboldt State University. He proudly admits he has always had his hands in the Earth, especially through his extensive travels throughout the Americas working with communities around plants and food.  He worked as a WWOOF volunteer on organic farms throughout Latin America, and as a laborer on organic CSA farms in California. He gained even more experience while apprenticing and working in ecological landscape design, as well as doing native plant field research with renowned mentors.Joshua has become a lead designer and advocate for uniting ecology with aesthetic, creating beautiful, productive, natural systems that work with nature to foster bounty.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/12/02/311-joshua-burmanthayer/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Chatting with a Sustainable Farming giant.In This Podcast: Having three generations of regenerative and sustainable farmers to learn from, Joel Salatin was very immersed in the philosophies of farming that rejected the use of chemicals.  Their efforts over the years on the virtually barren land his father purchased in the early 60’s has resulted in a vibrant, and productive farm that Joel now runs. He shares several key lessons he learned about farming and soil generation, and throws out some gems worth quoting!Joel and his family own Polyface Farm in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Featured in the iconic foodie book Omnivore's Dilemma and award-winning film FOOD INC., the farm's moniker is "healing the land one bite at a time." A prolific author (12 books to date) and speaker, he promotes local food systems, freedom of food choice, and farming systems that build the commons.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/11/28/310-joel-salatin/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Getting ready to raise chickens from eggs with your kids.In This Podcast:Raising chickens for eggs has been a joy of Fresh Eggs Daily author Lisa Steele’s for quite some time, so it was natural for her to write a book about raising chickens from eggs too.  She tells us how she decided to write a book for kids and why it is so special.  She also shares some tips and techniques for making the transition to raising the chicks from eggs and how to introduce new chicks to your flock.Lisa is a 5th-generation chicken keeper, top-selling author and the creative mind behind the Better Homes & Gardens award-winning blog Fresh Eggs Daily® (www.fresheggsdaily.com). Lisa inspires both the newcomer as well as the seasoned chicken keeper and engages fans worldwide on her Facebook page of the same name with her easy, fun and accessible approach to raising backyard flocks naturally. She is the author of several books and has a new one for kids coming out 1st Quarter 2018 called Let’s Hatch Chicks by Voyager Press.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/11/25/309-lisa-steele/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Recognizing the seasonal commonalities in different areas.In This Podcast: It was the timing of it all that needed to be addressed, so author and farmer Ann Larkin Hansen realized she needed to write a book about how to recognize the right time to do things on the farm no matter where you lived. She took the time to identify the seasons in ways that would make sense in every area because it compiled the common factors that affected when to plant which type of crops. Her interest in writing and farming also helped with a few other books that she wrote and she shares a few more useful tips. Go to urbanfarm.org/annlarkinhansenAnn is a homesteader and small-scale organic farmer, as well as a farm journalist specializing in sustainable farming and forestry. After she retired from farm reporting, she authored a number of books. Her latest book The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner – what to do and when to do it by Storey Press is in bookstores now.  She lives with her family on a farm in northern Wisconsin.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/11/21/308-ann-larkin-hansen/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Tackling local food waste and hunger through team effort.In This Podcast: Retirement does not mean you no longer contribute to your community, in fact retired teacher Steve Knight has taken advantage of his free time to do the make a huge difference for local food charities, and create a new club in his area. When he realized local farms had leftover produce after the harvest, he organized volunteers to go through the fields and orchards to gather the remnants for local food pantries. His volunteers are truly making a difference on two fronts! Steve taught high school science for 40 years and then retired. He spent the past few summers teaching chemistry for Upward Bound at the University of Maine at Farmington.  But what he is excited about is after he retired, he started a volunteer organization called Central Maine Gleaners Group. In the first 3 years, Steve and 15 volunteers have gleaned over 21,000 pounds of food from 7 local farms and back yards and he then gives this food to various food pantries in his area. Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/11/18/307-steve-knight/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Harvesting sustainable and nourishing foods found growing in the wild.In This Podcast: Taking the skills handed down for generations, Mark Lewis is very comfortable eating foods he finds in the wild. He teaches about these foods and their history to the next generation as well as to the people he meets while working at local farmers markets.  He is also starting a private farm hoping to save and expand on some of the wild plants that were once a primary source of food for local cultures.Mark is a Wildcrafter extraordinaire. Wildcraft harvesting provides ¾ of his family’s food supply on a daily basis, additionally Mark demonstrates sustainable foraging of 200 indigenous plants and 50 mushrooms at Phoenix area farmers markets, universities, schools, and regional conferences.Mark is now embarking on a new endeavor The Farm – growing 100 of the plants that he wildcrafts, introducing them and their culinary potential to area chefs, and sharing them and a library of First Nations’ language ethnobotanical materials with the native American Communities.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/11/14/306-mark-lewis/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Finding healing in gardening and peace in helping others grow healthy foods.In This Podcast: Uprooted as a very young child with her widowed mother from a familiar routine to a chaotic new and foreign world across an ocean, Lee Stewart eventually found healing and health through her gardening hobbies.  It made sense that she eventually focused on a career of health and wellness, and it was even more natural for her to find ways to help others start gardening at home so they can find the same healing she did.Lee, the owner of Veg Up Get Dirty was only 4 years old when she made the 2-year journey from Vietnam to the United States. She has been gardening since she came to the US, and believes in the health benefits that come from clean eating.She is a certified personal trainer, corporate wellness coach, and has over 15 years’ experience in nutrition and the health and wellness fields. She knows the importance of gardening, clean eating, and is passionate about educating others about the many health benefits of gardening. Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/11/11/305-lee-stewart/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Recognizing the feminine nature within all and how this benefits farming.In This Podcast: Seeking out the things that felt the most important and right to her sent Karen Lanier on a journey through several states and quite a few learning adventures. Earning a degree in Environmental Documentation kept her circling around natural surroundings and she found herself with the opportunity to interview women farmers about their experiences and insights. Her reflections and awareness that are worthwhile to any farmer regardless of gender is shared in her new book The Woman Hobby Farmer.Karen is a naturalist, documentarian, teacher, artist, and gardener who explores the interconnections of nature and culture. She holds degrees in photography, foreign language, conservation studies, and documentary studies as well as a professional environmental educator certificate. She worked as a seasonal park ranger in state and national parks across the US before settling in Kentucky and her Americore volunteer experience with Seedleaf, a community gardening nonprofit. This experience helped her shift her migratory perspective on life toward putting down roots.Karen writes a regular column for Hobby Farms online magazine. She edited and co-authored the book, Wildlife in Your Garden (Lumina, 2016), and authored the book, The Woman Hobby Farmer (Fox Chapel, 2017).Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/11/07/304-karen-lanier/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Learning about how food gets to our tables and where it comes from.In This Podcast:Serendipity was in play when Greg waived a stranger to his table during a conference and met another farming related podcaster named Rodger Wasson.  Rodger has spent the last several decades gaining experience and contacts in a variety of farming areas, from the fields to the markets, the advertising offices to policy making ones, and many versions of radio and television as well.  The theme in his life appears to be him making a difference in this community of growing food.Rodger is a graduate of Illinois State University and a food and agriculture veteran. He comes from a family with five generations of American farming in their blood. And although he was the first to leave their Central Illinois grain and livestock farm, he’s continually works for and with farmers though-out America and around the world. He has managed State, National and International Councils and Boards for agricultural industries covering over a dozen commodities.Rodger is presently building a consulting firm Idea Farming Inc., and his ‘Farm to Table Talk’ podcasts have been created for anyone interested in their individual journey within the food movement, the modern food system, and the stories behind our every bite.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/11/04/303-rodger-wasson/ for show notes and links.

Tailoring a green build project to address food insecurity, nutrition, and other community needs.In This Podcast: Diana Cuy-Castellanos and Stephen Mackell share the story of Lincoln Hill Garden, a 5-acre community green space that was built on the site of a demolished public school. This property is serving the community with gardens, an urban farm, and a natural playground.  They share the background of how three organizations came together and listened to the community to build a project to fit the community as well as provide much needed assistance with healthy local produce.Diana holds a Ph.D in nutrition and food systems and is a registered dietitian teaching courses in community nutrition and food justice at the University of Dayton. Her research interests include community-based participatory research, food insecurity and food environments.Stephen started volunteering for Mission of Mary Cooperative as an undergraduate at the University of Dayton and joined the staff full-time as the production and operations manager after completing his bachelor's degree in economics and philosophy. He is also the founder of Compost Dayton, a company working to expand food scrap composting efforts by city of Dayton residents.Together they have been working on Lincoln Hill Garden, a sustainable, multipurpose urban agriculture and community green space within Dayton’s Twin Towers Neighborhood. This five-acre site, located among the residents it will serve, is being transformed with educational and recreational elements that increase neighborhood access to fresh, healthy foods and offers open green space for community gatherings and nature play.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/10/31/302-lincoln-hill-garden/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.