The Good Dirt: Sustainability Explained

The foundation of all life on the planet is the soil beneath our feet. But that soil isn't indestructible and if scientists are right, we may only have a few dozen harvests left before the good dirt is depleted. So what can we do? We're glad you asked. In this episode, Mary and Emma discuss how everyone can contribute to soil regeneration, even without access to a farm or garden. They explore various methods, including composting food waste, sourcing food from local growers, and adding organic matter to the soil. They also share tips on minimizing digging, leaving leaves to create natural mulch, and starting a worm bin to make the soil of your dreams. If you want to start cultivating with intention by taking small steps towards creating a healthier planet, this episode on The Good Dirt about the good dirt is sure to inspire you.Topics Discussed• Encouraging Kids to love good dirt.• Individual Responsibility• The Biology of Soil• Harvest Cycles• Soil Degradation & Regeneration• Limited Resource Depletion• Composting Your Food Waste• Local Food Sources• Intention, not Guilt• Good Dirt in Small Spaces• Herbicides and Pesticides• The Dealing with Raking Your Leaves• Leave Your Garden Alone in the Fall• Vermiculture• Actionable Steps to Take This SeasonEpisode Resources:• Only 60 Years of Farming Left if Soil Degradation Continues by Chris Arsenault in The Scientific American • Old Farmers Almanac: How To Compost At Home • Home composting resource and free composting consult• Find a Composter• Compost Manufacturing Alliance • Vermiculture Blog• The Nation’s Corn Belt Has Lost a Third of Its Topsoil by Becca Dzombak in the Smithsonian Magazine━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🌻 About Lady Farmer:• Our Website• Follow @weareladyfarmer on Instagram• Join The Lady Farmer ALMANAC• Email us at thegooddirtpodcast@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail! Call 443-459-1950 and ask a question or share what the good dirt means to you!Original music by John Kingsley. Editing and podcast production by Fast Forward Production. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We often have this misconception about homesteading; that we need 40+ acres in order to start growing our own food. But that's not the case. There's so much we can do with where we are. Master Gardener Michelle Bruhn and Master Preserver Stephanie Thurow sought to change this mindset by co-authoring "Small-Scale Homesteading: A Sustainable Guide to Gardening, Keeping Chickens, Maple Sugaring, Preserving the Harvest, and More". Join the conversation as they cover a range of topics related to small scale homesteading, including the joy of preserving and growing food, finding balance in a busy schedule, and the importance of inspiring others. Emma and Mary also ask Michelle and Stephanie about their greatest challenges and joys in their work, making for a lively and informative conversation that will leave you feeling motivated to try your hand at homesteading, no matter how small your space may be.This episode is brought to you by Dirty Labs: Use code "TGD20" for 20% off your order!Topics Discussed• The Fall Equinox• Finding a Business Partner• From Online Connection to In-Person Collaboration• Pushing the Seasons• Chickens, Eggs, and Silver Maple Trees• Food Preservation• Feeding the Soil• Dealing with Foxes• Vertical Gardening in the Suburban Space• Hügelkultur Gardening and Lasagna Gardening• Working with Your Local Government• Yearning• Doing What You Can Where You're At• Why We All Need Community• Fostering Relationships with other Farmers• Farmer's Markets & Sourcing Products You Can't Grow On Your Own• The Lone Star Tick• Farm to School Food• Favorite Foods to Can• RaspberriesEpisode Resources:• Listen to The Good Dirt "Slow Living Through the Seasons | 02 | September"• Find Mary's Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe here• Join Us in The ALMANAC • "Small-Scale Homesteading: A Sustainable Guide to Gardening, Keeping Chickens, Maple Sugaring, Preserving the Harvest, and More" by Stephanie Thurow and Michelle Bruhn• "Weck Home Preserving: Made-From-Scratch Recipes for Water-Bath Canning, Fermenting, Pickling, and More" by Stephanie Thurow• "Freeze Fresh: The Ultimate Guide to Preserving 55 Fruits and Vegetables for Maximum Flavor and Versatility" by Crystal Schmidt• The Northern Gardener MagazineConnect with Michelle Bruhn:• Forks in the Dirt: https://forksinthedirt.com/• IG @forksinthedirt : https://www.instagram.com/ForksintheDirt/• Linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/forksinthedirtConnect with Stephanie Thurow:• Minnesota from Scratch: https://minnesotafromscratch.com/• IG @minnesotafromscratch : https://www.instagram.com/minnesotafromscratch/• Linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/MinnesotafromScratch━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🌻 About Lady Farmer:• Our Website• Follow @weareladyfarmer on Instagram• Join The Lady Farmer ALMANAC• Email us at thegooddirtpodcast@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail! Call 443-459-1950 and ask a question or share what the good dirt means to you!Original music by John Kingsley. Editing and podcast production by Fast Forward Production. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Our guest today is Andi Eaton Alleman, Founder of Oui, We Studio, a platform dedicated to new school approaches to radiant living. She also hosts the top-ranked wellness podcast Your Woo Woo Best Friend, which features practical conversations for attainable transformation. Andi is known for her no nonsense approach to spiritual wellness and practical advice for living a high-vibe life. Her latest book, Elemental: Nature Inspired Rituals to Nourish Your Life is for wellness enthusiasts interested in disconnecting from the digital and reconnecting with the natural world for better health and inner peace. She’s also the Founder and Creative Director of the clean beauty brand Casa Noon.In this conversation, we discuss numerous topics, including some of the ideas in Andi's book about nature and ritual, Ayurveda, the practice of manifestation, the system of Human Design, and how to bring soul and spirit into our work. Tune in for a fresh and accessible approach to creating the life you want!This episode is brought to you by Dirty Labs: Use code "TGD20" for 20% off your order!Topics Discussed• Manifestation• Ayurveda & Ayurvedic Beauty Brand• Rituals• Astrology• Living with Intentionality• Disconnecting from the Digital World• The Difference Between Ritual and Habit• Believing in What is Meant for You• Detaching from the Outcome• Human Design• Defining a Manifesting Generator• Connecting to Your Intuition• The Incarnation Cross• Being a Conscious CEO• What Success Means• Breaking the Hustle Culture CycleEpisode Resources:• "Elemental: Nature-Inspired Rituals to Nourish Your Life" by Andi Eaton Alleman • The Artist's Way with Lady FarmerConnect with Andy Eaton Alleman:• "Oui, We" Website: https://www.ouiwegirl.com/• IG @ouiwestudio: https://www.instagram.com/ouiwestudio• IG @ouiwegirl: https://www.instagram.com/ouiwegirl/• TikTok @ouiwegirl: https://www.tiktok.com/@ouiwegirl• Listen to Your Woo Woo Best Friend: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-woo-woo-best-friend/id1555589799• Casa Noon Beaty @casanoonbeauty: https://www.instagram.com/casanoonbeauty/━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🌻 About Lady Farmer:• Our Website• Follow @weareladyfarmer on Instagram• Join The Lady Farmer ALMANAC• Email us at thegooddirtpodcast@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail! Call 443-459-1950 and ask a question or share what the good dirt means to you!Original music by John Kingsley. Editing and podcast production by Fast Forward Production.36:46 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Liv Olsen, owner of the secondhand fabric shop A Thrifty Notion in Ogden, Kansas, has a passion for textiles and ecology. She is on a mission to prevent deadstock and destashed fabrics from ending up in landfills, while promoting sustainability in the textile industry. In this episode, Emma, Mary, and Liv discuss the challenges of sourcing quality secondhand textiles, ways to promote mindful consumption, and the intersection of textiles and sustainability. Liv's message will inspire you to reconsider your own practices and adopt a more sustainable approach to your clothing.This episode is brought to you by Farmer’s Friend: Use code “good dirt” for $10 off your first order of Quick-Plant Fabric for the month of September. One use per customer. Offer valid exclusively for new customers, expires 10/1/23 at 12:00 am. Topics Discussed• The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron• Creating an Online Business• Leaving Quilting for the Secondhand Store• Why Thrifting Has Risen in Popularity• Goodwill's Rising Prices• Checking Clothes for Plastic Content: The Burn Test• The Permanence of Plastics in Fabrics• Overconsumption & Abundance of Clothing• Growing Up in a Homestead• Each Generation Dealing with More and More Stuff• How Marketing Might Be the Potential Solution in America• Secondhand Quality Control• Tough Fabrics to Maintain• Balancing Sustainability with Running a Business• Funding the Creative Process• Cotton• Linen, Flax, and Hemp• Waiting Before ConsumingEpisode Resources:• The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron• "The Lady Farmer Guide to Slow Living: Cultivating Sustainable Simplicity Close to Home" by Mary E. Kingsley • Crispina ffrench• Listen to The Good Dirt. "The Chico Flax Project"• Listen to The Good Dirt, "The PA Flax Project"• Mr. Money Mustache Connect with Liv Olsen:• A Thrifty Notion Website: https://athriftynotion.com/• Instagram @athriftynotion: https://www.instagram.com/athriftynotion/• Blog: https://athriftynotion.com/a/blog• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC__MBy85k6bHejXAl4NLNPA?sub_confirmation=1Statements in this podcast have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not to be considered as medical or nutritional advice. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, and should not be considered above the advice of your physician. Consult a medical professional when making dietary or lifestyle decisions that could affect your health and well-being.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🌻 About Lady Farmer:Our WebsiteFollow @weareladyfarmer on InstagramJoin The Lady Farmer ALMANACEmail us at thegooddirtpodcast@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail! Call 443-459-1950 and ask a question or share what the good dirt means to you!Original music by John Kingsley. Editing and podcast production by Fast Forward Production. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Welcome to September and Slow Living Through the Seasons! This is the month that we transition into fall. We'll talk how to embrace the last beautiful days of summer despite the marketing pressure for the upcoming autumn and winter season. Our Planting By the Signs segment will help you plan your fall garden activities, and as always we'll be sharing a couple of special recipes from our seasonal kitchen. Also we're discussing sweater weather, and some things to consider in keeping your cool weather wardrobe more sustainable.Support this podcast and get your own downloadable planting by the moon calendar by becoming a member of The Good Dirt Supporters! Topics Discussed & Resources Mentioned*:Planting by the Signs: Part Two Blog on Lady Farmer WebsiteFind Mary's Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe hereFind Mary's Pimento Cheese Recipe hereFor Members of the Lady Farmer ALMANAC*Creating Fall Fragrances*Some of the linked articles will only be available to current members of The ALMANAC. If you are not currently a member and are interested in subscribing, check out this page for more information.Support this podcast and get your own downloadable planting by the moon calendar by becoming a member of The Good Dirt Supporters! ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🌻 About Lady Farmer:Our WebsiteFollow @weareladyfarmer on InstagramJoin The Lady Farmer ALMANACEmail Mary at production@lady-farmer.com or leave us a voicemail! Call 443-459-1950 and ask a question or share a story about slow living through the seasons! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this interview, the mother-daughter team Krista and Fia Arias join Emma and Mary to discuss the mission of Tierra Soul Farm in Magdalena, New Mexico, helping people and communities find well being, connection and belonging in an often confusing and complicated world. Tierra Soul Farm is an earth sanctuary, honey spa, artist hive, ministry for healing, liberation, and cultural repair. Krista Arias is a Myth Mender— an Earth Alchemist and the creator of the Lazy Lady Living program. Also, among other things, she is a nutritional therapist, restorative justice enthusiast, permaculture instructor, birth keeper, and death midwife.Fia Arias, 17 years old, is keeper of the farm animals, big sister, daughter and aspiring sustainable, regenerative, and connected farmer. Her specialty is dairy. In this conversation, Fia reflects on her work with the animals and her coming of age in the context of an atypical upbringing, while Krista shares her thoughts about the inherent spirituality of earth connection, permaculture, indigenous wisdom and ancestral healing.This episode is brought to you by Farmer's Friend: Use code "gooddirt" for $10 off your first order of Quick-Plant Fabric for the month of September. One use per customer. Offer valid exclusively for new customers, expires 10/1/23 at 12:00am. Topics Discussed• Folklore Foods & Farming Program• Te Amo Member Cafe• Homesteading & Permaculture• Typical Teenager Life vs. Farm Life• Cultural Ethos to Raising Children• Indigenous & Mexican Practices• The Spiritual Dimension of Our Material Reality• Appropriation of Ceremony and Ritual• The Trauma of Colonization• Creative Revolutions from Plants• Remembering Our Bodies as a Part of Nature• GED, College, and Rites of Passage• Home Schooling• Reciprocity & Relationships• Specializing in Dairy & Cows vs. Goats• Myth Mending• The Soft Animal Course• Solace in Nature & AnimalsEpisode Resources:• Lazy Lady Living• Captain Fantastic Connect with Krista Arias:• Website: https://kristaarias.com/contact/• Follow @tierrasoulvillagefarm: https://www.instagram.com/tierrasoulvillagefarm/?hl=en• Tiera Soul Website: https://tierrasoul.com/• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TierraSoul━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🌻 About Lady Farmer:Our WebsiteFollow @weareladyfarmer on InstagramJoin The Lady Farmer ALMANACEmail us at thegooddirtpodcast@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail! Call 443-459-1950 and ask a question or share what the good dirt means to you!Original music by John Kingsley. Editing and podcast production by Fast Forward Production. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Do you feel like your time slips away from you? Do you feel overwhelmed by the tasks you have to complete during your day, like they're an insurmountable mountain you can't climb? You're not alone. We all feel this way at times. At The Good Dirt, we aim to educate and empower you, the consumer, to create the life you want and embrace slow living. In today's discussion, Mary and Emma will explore techniques to help you reframe your relationship with time and provide three practical tips for helping you experience more spaciousness in your day:Topics Discussed• What Time Actually Is• EOD or End-of-Day• The 21st Century Human's Relationship to Time• The Fixed Nature of a 24 Hour Day• Allowing Time• Changing Our Language Internally & Externally• The Making Meditation• Remember the Breath• Embrace Empty Space• Giving Your Kids Permission to Embrace Time• Overview of the 3 Practices: Allowing Time, The Making Meditation, Embrace Empty SpaceEpisode Resources:Leave Us a Voice Note at (443) 459-1950 to let us know how you will be implementing these techniques to help you take ownership of your time!━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🌻 About Lady Farmer: Our Website Follow @weareladyfarmer on Instagram Join The Lady Farmer ALMANAC Email us at thegooddirtpodcast@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail! Call 443-459-1950 and ask a question or share what the good dirt means to you! Original music by John Kingsley. Editing and podcast production by Fast Forward Production.12:42 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

As the climate crisis continues to escalate, viable solutions might seem more and more unattainable. Our guest is Philip Clayton, Co-Founder and President of the Institute for Ecological Civilization, talking about the great hope in on-the-ground solutions showing up all over the world that reflect the values of living in harmony with the earth. Philip describes EcoCiv as a place where "big ideas meet the local project." With his extensive background in academia, including a PhD from Yale University and guest professorships at top universities, he has refocused his efforts at the intersection of the environment and humanity, helping others in living ecologically and in ways that foster the thriving of our one and only planet earth. Philip provides three crucial steps that anyone can take to transform their habits and explores how each of us can affect positive change in a world that is increasingly in need of ecological solutions.Topics Discussed• The Institute for Ecological Civilization• The Climate Crisis• Finding a Piece of Earth• Reconciling Theology and Ecology• Our Home Ecosystem• Panentheism & Spirituality• Centering Nature over Humanity• Honoring the Sacred Aspect of Nature• The Anthropocene• How Humanity's Dominance Over Nature Shows Up In Our Day-to-Day• Transforming Our Habits• Promising Changes Happening Today• The Three Phrases to Help Anyone Get Started• Incremental Lifestyle ChoicesEpisode Resources• Listen to Our New Podcast "Slow Living Through the Seasons"• Listen to The Good Dirt "An Ecological Civilization for All with Andrew Schwartz of EcoCiv"• Visit The Lady Farmer Marketplace • The Ecociv Podcast.• "Is It Too Late?: A Theology of Ecology" by John B. Cobb• "The New Possible: Visions of Our World beyond Crisis" by Philip Clayton and Kelli M. Archie• This Changes Everything with Naomi Klein • "Change the Story, Change the Future: A Living Economy for a Living Earth" by David C. Korten • Kiss the Ground Film• Humanity as a Geologic Force with Michael Osborne of Generation Anthropocene• Greta Thunberg• Jainism• Deep Ecology• Religious Society of Friends.Connect with Philip Clayton:• Website: https://www.philipclayton.net/• Institute for Ecological Civilization: https://ecociv.org/member/clayton-philip/• Instagram @ecociv_: https://www.instagram.com/ecociv_/━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🌻 About Lady Farmer:• Our Website• Follow @weareladyfarmer on Instagram• Join The Lady Farmer ALMANAC• Email us at thegooddirtpodcast@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail! Call 443-459-1950 and ask a question or share what the good dirt means to you!Original music by John Kingsley. Editing and podcast production by Fast Forward Production. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this episode we're talking to Leah Webb, author of The Seven Step Homestead about how to turn any yard into a primary food source with vegetables, fruits, chickens, pollinator plants and medicinal herbs. A mother of two children with unique medical needs, Leah utilizes food grown in her own backyard garden as an important part of her children's integrative care. She sees herself as a solutions-based Family Food and Garden Coach, with a goal of guiding families in making small yet impactful steps towards sourcing their own nutrition and achieving long term dietary, cooking, and gardening goals. She is also the author of The Grain-Free, Sugar-Free, Dairy-Free Family Cookbook. In this conversation, we delve into the challenges and benefits of growing and preparing nutrient dense food, and the practicalities of creating your own microfarm in the space you already have. If you are one of many with a goal to connect with the land and create more independence from the industrial food system, Leah can guide you through, step-by-step.Topics Discussed• A Stormy Week in the DC Area• Leah's Background in Nutrition Education and Her Path to Creating a Microfarm in her own Backyard.• Being a Mom to Kids with Unique Medical Needs and the Role of Gardening and Home Grown Food in their Integrative Care.• Learning the Basics of Gardening for Food• Eating Home Grown Vegetables• Food Preservation• Convenience Foods• Priorities & Food• Investing in Homesteading• Start Small for the Long Haul• Which Plants to Start With• Planting Charts• Using, Measuring, and Creating Compost• The Difference Between Homesteading and Gardening• Homesteading , Self Sufficiency and Community• Finding an Alternative to the Industrial Food Industry• Consumer Awareness of Food• Regenerative Growing PracticesEpisode Resources:•"The Grain-Free, Sugar-Free, Dairy-Free Family Cookbook: Simple and Delicious Recipes for Cooking with Whole Foods on a Restrictive Diet" by Leah Webb•"The Seven-Step Homestead: A Guide for Creating the Backyard Microfarm of Your Dreams" by Leah Webb•Listen to The Good Dirt Reclaiming Our Food from Field to Kitchen with CSA Farmer Mo Moutoux of Moutoux OrchardConnect with Leah Webb:• Website: https://www.leahmwebb.com/• Instagram @leah_m_webb https://www.instagram.com/leah_m_webb/• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeahMWebbWellness/━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🌻 About Lady Farmer:•Our Website•Follow @weareladyfarmer on Instagram•Join The Lady Farmer ALMANAC•Email us at thegooddirtpodcast@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail! Call 443-459-1950 and ask a question or share what the good dirt means to you!Original music by John Kingsley. Editing and podcast production by Fast Forward Production. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This episode originally aired on August 23, 2022. What aspects of the back-to-school season are tapping into core memory making, and how much is just consumer hype? Listen in as Mary & Emma peel away the marketing from the emotion, and discuss ideas for reframing this season in a more sustainable way for kids AND parents.Things Mentioned: Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food - An Eater's Manifesto Lady Farmer Marketplace Wool Lunchbox Jute Sandwich Bag Jackalo Clothing About Lady Farmer:Lady Farmer is a sustainable apparel and lifestyle brand, with education around sustainability and sustainable living at the forefront of our mission. Lady Farmer is proud to produce The Good Dirt podcast. Our Website @weareladyfarmer on Instagram Join The Lady Farmer ALMANAC Leave us a voicemail! Call 443-459-1950 and ask a question or tell us what the good dirt means to you. Email us at thegooddirtpodcast@gmail.com Original music by John Kingsley @jkingsley1026Statements in this podcast have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not to be considered as medical or nutritional advice. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, and should not be considered above the advice of your physician. Consult a medical professional when making dietary or lifestyle decisions that could affect your health and well being. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy