The Urban Farm Podcast with Greg Peterson

209: Alastair Monk on The Future of Indoor Ag.Creating technology to help gardeners and farmers control their greenhouse watering systems.Alastair, or Ally, is the CEO and Co-founder of Motorleaf, which created the first wireless, automated, indoor growing system. A native from the UK, Ally has lived and worked in North America since 1999.  He has a history of success within the technology sector, providing his 3 children, wife and Husky Dog (Shadow) a rich life filled with nature and opportunity.Ally loves to keep it simple and he says he wakes up each morning feeling hungry. Hungry for company growth, hungry for new product features, and hungry for new happy customers.In This Podcast:  Greg talks to Ally and finds out what it is like to be a founding partner in a brand-new company that is focusing on making indoor gardening easier.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/03/16/alastair-monk/ for show notes and links.

208: Chat with an Expert - Catherine Crowley "The Herb Lady"Catherine, The Herb Lady, is a self-taught, hands-in-the-dirt, Urban Farmer who experiments and researches constantly for new and interesting edibles as well as playing with old favorites. She was given the nickname "The Herb Lady" when vendors and customers at farmers markets would say "go ask the herb lady" for questions on herbs.  It stuck. Catherine has taught many cooking and gardening classes at various locations private and public including the notable Boyce Thompson Arboretum which is an Arizona State Park, and Phoenix’s own Desert Botanical Garden. She has been a newspaper columnist for 4 years writing on growing and using edible herbs.  Catherine has a blog online and is a regular vendor at her local Farmers Market.  In this Podcast: Chatting with Herb expert Catherine Crowley about growing herbs and using them in cooking other beneficial ways. She and Greg explore many of the different unique and awesome aspects of a myriad of herbs that can be grown in the home gardens and urban farms, with a special emphasis on garlic.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/03/14/cwe-catherine-the-herb-lady-crowley/ for show notes and links.

207: Megan Cain on Garden PlanningJoining a Legion of Gardening addicts through sensible preparation and design.Megan grew up an urban girl in a row home in Philadelphia. She never saw a vegetable growing in the ground until well into her 20’s. A few years ago, she quit her job and traveled to Africa for two months to volunteer with a fair trade organization.  Now, she is a garden educator, writer and speaker. She has developed one of the first youth gardening programs in Madison, designed and installed gardens in many homeowners’ yards, managed a quarter-acre youth farm, worked on CSA farms, created a series of gardening class that often have waiting lists, and tends to a large home garden. She knows what works and what doesn’t…and loves to share it.Megan is setting out to create a legion of gardening addicts that successfully and passionately grow their own food. Through her gardening education business, The Creative Vegetable Gardener, she helps people get more from their gardens by first mastering the essentials and then indulging in the colorful details that make gardening not just a favorite pastime, but a lifestyle.In This Podcast:  Acquiring a love of gardening transformed Megan into a fully focused farmer and she tells Greg how she went from being an naive urbanite with no plant growing experience to a gardening educator and resource to kids and adults alike.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/03/11/megan-cain/ for show notes and links.

206: Allison Duffy on Food Preservation. Canning and other preservation techniques to safely store foods longer.Allison has been growing and preserving food for over fifteen years.  She is a Master Food Preserver, trained through the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, and holds a Master’s Degree in Gastronomy from Boston University.  She has written about food for various publications including the Boston Globe, Backpacker magazine, and Taproot magazine, and is the author of the book Preserving with Pomona's Pectin.She regularly writes and develops recipes for the Pomona Pectin company, and blogs at her own website CanningCraft.com plus she teaches canning and preserving classes. Allison lives on several acres in Mid-coast Maine with her husband Ben and their two young boys, where they tend an apple orchard, look after a way-too-big vegetable garden, take care of chickens, and put up as much food as they can manage.In this podcast: Canning food is a favorite topic of Greg’s so of course he was excited to talk to Allison about her experiences and get some tips from her as well.  As a bonus, they also chatted about her ‘too big’ garden and how this homestead is so rewarding for her family.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/03/09/allison-duffy/ for show notes and links.

Nancy Bailey on Prolific Vegetables in Small Spaces.Increasing the yield of a small garden through planning and care.Nancy had an idyllic childhood growing up in western New York State, right next door to her grandfather who she adored. He had a small farm where he raised a few head of beef cattle and always had a few dozen chickens. While much of the 10-acres was devoted to raising hay and grain to feed and bed the cattle, her father and grandfather also managed a large vegetable garden and an apple orchard.The garden produced a considerable bounty which her mom canned and froze; and while young, it didn’t occur to Nancy to consider how special it was to be fed on free-range grass-fed beef and farm fresh eggs, and to eat organically grown fruits and vegetables year-round.  Today she looks back and realizes how lucky and loved she was.Although she’s always had a passion for ornamental horticulture, it wasn’t until retirement 2 years ago, that she got serious in raising vegetables and composting. By adding micro-nutrients and her own amendments, each season has yielded a more prolific harvest. Although her vegetable garden is less than 200 square feet, she reaps far more produce than she and her husband can consume. She says she raises vegetables for the joy of watching them grow as well as to consume and share with the neighbors.In this podcast: Greg chats with Nancy, an urban farmer from Southern California who explains how she is maximizing the potential of her very small garden. She has faced off critters of various sizes with some ingenious tricks and she is using soil amendments to make her soil healthy and her plants happy and productive.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/03/07/nancy-bailey/ for show notes and links.

204: Vanessa Sardi on Farm over Pharma.Learning how to prevent health issues through achievable diet changes.Vanessa is Certified Health and Nutrition Coach with a unique perspective on health and wellness. She has a Master's degree in Cardiopulmonary Physiology, a bachelor’s in Sports Medicine, clinical work in Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation, and research/sales positions in pharmaceutical and gene expression testing.  Vanessa has a passion for nutrition & helping others to live healthy, fueled by her background and consistent studies. When Vanessa realized that “more pills” wasn’t the answer to better health, she walked away from her cushy salary as an Executive Sales Rep for one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world to start her own business, Nutriception®.  As a Certified Health and Nutrition coach, she is now driven to help people get off their meds, many of which she promoted herself, and improve their health via a whole-foods, plant-based lifestyle. Vanessa’s slogan says it all…FARM over PHARMA.In this podcast: Greg finds another EPIC moment in this interview with Vanessa Sardi who tells why she decided to stop selling pharmaceutical drugs and instead is focusing on preventing issues through teaching about healthy diet choices. Tired of feeling like she was adding to problems, she wanted to be part of the solution and she went out and found a way to do just that.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/03/04/vanessa-sardi/ for show notes and links.

Anna Swanson and Meg Stratton on School and Community GardensHelping kids and community members understand food origins.Megan is a student at Binghamton University, and was drawn into the world of food and agriculture as a powerful way to address a range of current environmental, social, and ethical issues. After graduating with a self-designed degree focused on sustainable food systems, she moved to Glocester to join the FoodCorps. As a two-term FoodCorps service member, Meghan has been involved in all aspects of the Backyard Growers' school programs.Anna graduated from the College of William and Mary with a BA in Africana Studies and a minor in Environmental Studies.  Looking for a way to integrate her desire to work for social justice and her interest in environmental sustainability, Anna became Backyard Growers’ first FoodCorps service member in the fall of 2013. After her year of service, she moved back to her hometown of Philadelphia, where she taught farm, food, and nutrition classes on the farm and in Philadelphia schools.In this podcast: Greg chats with an inspiring couple of women from Backyard Growers. Anna and Meghan help explain the purpose of this community organization and how satisfying it is to watch kids and community members learn about growing food and cooking the food they grow.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/03/02/anna-swanson-and-meghan-stratton/ for show notes and links.

202: Andrew Mefferd on Hoophouse and Greenhouse growing.Improving crop production through the smart use of protected structures.Andrew spent seven years in the research department at Johnny’s Selected Seeds, traveling around the world to consult with researchers and farmers on the best practices in greenhouse growing. He put what he learned to use on his own farm in Maine. He is now the editor and publisher of Growing for Market magazine.Prior to starting his own farm, he worked on farms in six states across the US. Andrew also works as a consultant on the topics covered in his book The Greenhouse and Hoophouse Grower's Handbook Organic Vegetable Production using protected culture another great book published by Chelsea Green.In this podcast: Getting excited about agriculture in protected structures is the topic of discussion for Greg and his guest Andrew Medferd today.  With a journey that took him across the United States, Andrew learned a lot about different types and sizes of farms.  He explains how he used that experience to improve his skills why he hopes others can learn from it as well.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/02/28/andrew-mefferd/ for show notes and links. Go to www.urbanfarm.org/onedropfarm for more information, photos and links on this podcast and to hear from our other great guests.

201: Jake Mace on Gardening with SeedsChat with an expert on gardeningJake Mace started his garden in 2011 with a peach tree, fig tree, pomegranate tree, and kumquat tree to save money on his food budget. Today, it’s a luscious green food forest. In Episode 001, we interviewed Jake about his urban farm, learned some of his best tips and tricks, how to avoid his failures, and became inspired by his mission to live a life that’s compassionate with a a zero- to positive-sum impact on the earth, particularly through his commitment to a vegan lifestyle.He also teaches Martial Arts, Fitness, Tai Chi, Yoga, Gardening, and Golf to people from around The World via his successful YouTube channel and Online Schools at JakeMace.com. Outside of teaching, Jake’s real passion is as an advocate for the environment, animals, and people. Jake has been a Vegan Vegetarian for nearly 16 years and believes in preserving The Earth, it’s resources, and it’s living inhabitants so that future generations can enjoy them as he has! Jake Studied Mandarin Chinese while attending ASU and Duke Universities. Currently Jake lives with his wife Pamela and their many adopted animals on their edible urban homestead in Tempe.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/02/25/jake-mace-cwe/ for show notes and links.

200: Josh Trought on Community-Scale Permaculture FarmingAppreciating the wonders of a community farm with a resilient lifestyle.Born to two service-oriented medical professionals, he spent most of his upbringing in the fields and forests of North Carolina which at the time was transitioning from a rural agricultural economy into a service based economy. The sprawl and destruction of the traditional culture lost in the transition process left him with an undeniable distrust of growth and consumerism. So, he graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in Environmental Conservation, and after college he spent the summer as an intern for the Solar Energy International’s renewable energy and construction school.  He’s spent time abroad in Spain during college, and traveled through South America. And in 1997, he moved full time to what is now known as D Acres where he has specialized in forestry, construction, and farming.Currently he is a member of the Artistic Roots Co-op in Plymouth and serves as Treasurer of the Pemi-Baker Solid Waste District. He also participates in local government as the Dorchester Town Moderator overseeing elections and facilitating the annual Town Meeting.  The fate of humanity preoccupies his thoughts.In This Podcast:  Greg talks with Josh, a member of a permaculture farm community near Plymouth, NH, and learns about living a resilient lifestyle from someone who is living a truly community-oriented and sustainable farming lifestyle.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/02/23/josh-trought/ for show notes and links.