The Urban Farm Podcast with Greg Peterson

189: Manuel Gonzalez on Innovation in Food and Ag.Pitching food and agriculture related business ideas to potential investors.Manuel is the North America Head of StartUp Innovation at Rabobank, where he leads the growth of their start-up platform build through FoodBytes! and new Accelerator, Terra. At the same time, he focuses on developing plans around how relationships with startup firms can benefit corporate clients. Manuel has been Head of the San Francisco Office of StartUp Innovation since 2012, where he led a process that greatly strengthened relationships with corporate clients in the Western Region of the US.He joined Rabobank in 1996 as a project manager. In 2003, he was named Head of Credit, and a year later became Head of Credit and Legal. Manuel was appointed Deputy General Manager in 2007, and just a year later promoted to General Manager in 2008. Under his leadership, the Mexico franchise significantly strengthened business performance, achieving considerable increases in revenue, cross-sell and net income. Manuel was instrumental in building a strong local investment banking team, and in fostering a high-performance culture focused on enhancing client relationships.In this podcast: Manuel is someone who works to help people with food-and-ag related business ideas connect with investors and start the process towards funding those ideas. He tells Greg about the FoodBytes business pitch event that is focused on food and ag, as well as Terra and Rabobank with their focus on innovation in this business field. His take on how to deal with failure is something every person who runs or hopes to run their own business should hear.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/28/manuel-gonzalez/ for show notes and links.

188: Megan Whatton on The Urban Habitat Network.Mapping the habitats of wildlife around the world a section at a time.Megan is the Urban Habitat Network Manager for The Nature Conservancy. She works with scientists, partners, private landowners, citizen scientists and volunteers to re-imagine their properties as habitat for the benefit of wildlife and people. Most recently she was the volunteer coordinator for the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute on the eMammal project to monitor mammal populations in the mid-Atlantic region. Megan has a M.S. Degree in Environmental Science and Policy from George Mason University and B.S. Degree from Ball State University.In this podcast: Megan introduces Greg and his listeners to the Nature Conservancy and the Habitat Network Project. This project creates citizen scientists around the globe and is working to map the globe with their data to paint a picture of the wildlife in every part of the world. Megan explains how this project got started and how easy, fun and rewarding being a member of the network can be.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/26/megan-whatton/ for show notes and links.

187: Sherrie Pelsma on Macro Photography in the Garden.Looking at garden wildlife from a whole new perspective.Sherrie grew up on the rural Oregon Coast before moving to Portland to finish her degree. She has spent the last 10 years in Community Education, and runs a program where participants learn Do-It-Yourself skills to make homes safer and more energy efficient. As an environmentalist who loves macro photography, she took a special interest in pollinators and other insects which quickly blossomed into the love that drove the founding of the project Pollinator Parkways. In this podcast: Greg gets a chance to talk with Sherrie about her garden photography. Sheri has been developing her skills with macro photography and loves to share the results with her projects and her community. Here she helps explains the basics of garden photography, and tells how looking through the camera lens has given her a whole new perspective on the tiny lifeforms around her.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/24/sherrie-pelsma-2/ for show notes and links.

186: Robin Kelson on Seed Saving-Resiliency.Keeping the strength of genetic traits through community sharing of seeds.Robin is the owner of the Good Seed Company  - “heirloom seeds for common use,”  a small heirloom vegetable, flower and herb seed company based in Whitefish, MT and dedicated to helping re-establish the community practice of selecting, saving and sharing seeds for common use.The Good Seed Company envisions becoming a model for cultivating community-grown resilient seeds, seed savers and gardeners, and offers “workshops from soil to seed” under the trade name: “DIY:GROW”, including a one-year “seed steward” internship. DIY:GROW seeks to reduce the barrier to entry for anyone wanting to take control of their food. A biochemist and attorney by training, Robin has spent over 30 years exploring human vitality, resiliency, and patterns in the natural world. In support of cultivating a sustainability perspective for our common future, she also offers "The Resiliency Dialogues", presentations for all audiences that introduce simple tools from nature for practicing resiliency in any context and to invite dialogue on this subject.In this podcast: Greg talks to a former lawyer Robin Kelson who now runs The Good Seed Company. She shares her story about the unexpected transition in her life leading her to her work around seeds.  One of the big events in her new life is an epic community event focused on seed saving and sharing.  She also explains why the company is using seeds from backyard growers.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/21/robin-kelson/ for show notes and links.

185: Elaine Ingham on Life in the Soil.Examining the biology of healthy soil to improve plant growth.Dr. Elaine Ingham is the Founder, President and Director of Research for Soil Foodweb Inc., a business that grew out of her Oregon State University research program.  Behind her user-friendly approach to soil lies a wealth of knowledge gained from years of research into the organisms which make up the soil food web. Her goal is to translate this knowledge into actions that ensure a healthy food web that promotes plant growth and reduces reliance on inorganic chemicals. Elaine also offers a pioneering vision for sustainable farming, improving our current soils to a healthier state, without damaging any other ecosystem.In her spare time, Elaine publishes scientific papers, writes book chapters and gives talks at symposia around the world. Elaine and her husband Russ (who also has a Doctorate from Colorado State University in Zoology, emphasizing nematology,) live in Corvallis Oregon.In this podcast: Greg talks with one of the foremost experts on soil health Dr. Elaine Ingham and learns a lot about the world of microbiological life in the soil.  Her studies have been amazing and it is easy to see how being a student in one of her classes can be quite informative.  She tells about how she became so focused on the microbiological life in the soil and educates us on the importance of those first few dozen inches of earth our food is grown in.  This is a mini course of science in just one podcast.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/19/elaine-ingham/ for show notes and links.

Michael Phillips, known for helping people grow healthy apples, discusses holistic orcharding and the community orchard movement. He shares insights about his farm, Lost Nation Orchard, and the challenges of growing fruit in colder climates. The impact of warming temperatures on orcharding and the importance of preserving apple varieties are also discussed.

183: Shawn Jadrnicek on The Bio-Integrated Farm.Maximizing functions from landscape elements to save time, energy and money.Shawn has nourished his interest in sustainability through work as an organic farmer, nursery grower, extension agent, arborist, and landscaper, and now as the manager of Clemson University’s Student Organic Farm. From his earliest permaculture experiments with no-till farming in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California to his highly functional bio-integrated designs in the Southeast, Shawn has learned how to cultivate food in a variety of climates and landscapes. He shares his creative solutions through teaching, consulting, design work and his book The Bio-Integrated Farm:  A Revolutionary Permaculture Based System Using Greenhouses, Ponds, Compost Piles, Aquaponics, Chickens and More - Published by Chelsea Green.IN THIS PODCAST:  Greg meets Shawn who explains a key permaculture concept of having multiple functions from one element. Shawn tells how he has designed many projects focusing on elements that have at least seven functions each. With his experience, he has brought together several examples in his new book and so he shares some ideas in this interview. Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/14/shawn-jadrnicek/ for show notes and links.

182: Matthew Shepherd on Planting to Feed Bees.Expanding the habitat of an essential pollinator through our garden choices.Matthew’s career began in England where he established a successful community-based conservation program in Essex and helped to create Samfire Hoe, an award-winning nature park. He has also worked with local communities and government agencies in Kenya to improve the management of the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, on the coast north of Mombasa. He has created and maintained gardens that provide for insects and other wildlife everywhere he has lived, a passion that began when he learned gardening at his mother’s side.Matthew’s introduction to pollinator conservation actually came two decades ago, on a sunny hillside in southern England, while working on a project to protect disappearing grasslands. He was manually using an artist’s paintbrush to transfer pollen between endangered orchids and realized there was obviously something missing in that ecosystem. Five years later, after marrying an American and moving to Oregon, Matthew was working for the Xerces Society at the vanguard of a new effort to protect pollinators.In the past 15 years, he has collaborated with people from all walks of life to promote awareness about, and protection of, pollinator insects, especially native bees. Matthew is author of numerous articles and other publications, including Attracting Native Pollinators and Gardening for Butterflies. He is now the Society’s Communications Director, reducing the amount of time spent with pollinators, but increasing the time supporting the many other aspects of Xerces conservation work.IN THIS PODCAST:  Greg chats with Matthew Shepherd of the Xerces Society to learn more about their latest book titled 100 Plants to Feed the Bees, as well as some of the projects the Society has been working on.  Matthew’s story of how he got to work for the Xerces Society is a little world tour and then he helps explain more about different bees and what they need.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/12/matthew-shepherd/ for show notes and links.

181: Quita Jackson on Thrifty Self Sufficiency.Taking small steps to being green and making a difference.Quita is one of the founders of GreenDesert.org.   And while some would call her an urban farmer or a gardener, she prefers to consider herself spiritually connected to mother earth and her environment.  She loves everything about nature! GreenDesert.org is all about showing people ways to be more self-sufficient, whether you’re gardening, making your own clothes, recycling, or making your own cleaning products… every little bit counts.Quita is all about living the lifestyle…everything from maintaining a garden rich with herbs, vegetables and fruit, to raising chickens and tilapia, to using a water generator to make water from the humidity in the air, to collecting rainwater and The list goes on. She is quite passionate about this topic because she believes we are all in this together… and must recognize how our actions about the environment affects others.  In addition, saving money is a huge priority for her and of course that’s a huge part of being green.IN THIS PODCAST: Being green is all about having less of a negative impact on the planet and here Greg chats with Quita who has fully adopted a new lifestyle and loves helping others find their way into it as well. Quita tells how she got the courage to start gardening, and how that gave her confidence to try new ways to become self-sufficient even while living in a major city. Her encouraging attitude and caring nature helps as she spreads the word about little steps people can take in their own lives.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/10/quita-jackson/ for show notes and links.

180: Brian Smith on Biochar.Enhancing your soils through an ancient, carbon-sequestering, process.Brian is a systems engineer and project manager living in north Phoenix.  For the past 30 years, he has worked for GE, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Honeywell on software for flight control systems in commercial and military aircraft.  Recently, he became an entrepreneur and started a small software development company.  To balance his high-tech career, he has enjoyed more simple hobbies like making beer, woodworking, and organic gardening.During the Great Recession, he purchased a foreclosed property that had been neglected and abused for many years and he has spent the last 8 years renovating both the indoors and outdoors.  After removing 5 layers of different landscaping stone that previous owners had covered the yard with, he spread several inches of arborist wood chips over the dirt to reduce water loss and increase soil fertility.  In the backyard he converted a broken-down diving pool into a private aquifer by filling it with rock and gravel, connecting a pump to the drain pipe and covering it with topsoil.  He now has several fruit trees and a vegie garden growing on top of 3000 or 4000 gallons of secure rainwater. IN THIS PODCAST: Greg talks to Brian, a transplant to Arizona who needed to improve his gardening results and found out about biochar. Brian explains the process that was used over 2000 years ago, to transform burned wood into a long lasting organic super buffet with nutrients galore. He tells how he was so interested in the results that he took his research to the point that he can now make his own biochar in his backyard.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/07/brian-smith/ for show notes and links.