The Good Dirt: Sustainability Explained

Tune in today for a brief check-in from Mary & Emma on the progress of the Lady Farmer 2022 Slow Living Challenge, and to discuss this week's focus theme. Sign up for the Slow Living Challenge HERE. Follow Us: Our Website @weareladyfarmer on Instagram Original music by John Kingsley @jkingsley1026Sowing seeds of slow living is our mantra at Lady Farmer. Simplifying our belongings, prioritizing good choices in food and clothing, and choosing sustainable habits wherever we can all have a positive impact on ourselves, our community and our planet. Every winter for the past few years we’ve taken on a Slow Living Challenge together as a community to bring these ideas into action little by little, day by day, week by week.This year, we’re excited to offer this free challenge for four weeks, kicking off Monday, January 31st. Each week you will receive a downloadable calendar in your email inbox that includes daily prompts centered around a theme. We’ll be able to share our experiences together in community, with all of us walking alongside you, through #slowlivingchallenge on Instagram or within our private online membership, The ALMANAC. If you’re not yet a member, participation in the challenge gets you a free trial in this community!

Rewild the land and yourself by farming in harmony with nature and leaning into regenerative practices that create habitat connectivity. Our guest today, Lynn Cassells, alongside her partner Sandra Baer, owners of Lynbreck Croft, had a shared dream of living closer to the land. And while the pair never meant to be farmers, they found themselves called to the task of stewarding a 150 acre croft in the Highlands of Scotland in 2016. Seized by a vision of farming in collaboration with nature, rather than against it, they began their mission of creating a place that honored not only their desire to grow their own food, but also the needs of the land and the animals, all working and thriving in a collaborative community. The whole story of how they unexpectedly became farmers and created a viable and sustainable working farm using their own combination of regenerative and rewilding practices is soon to be available in their upcoming book “Our Wild Farming Life: Adventures on a Scottish Highland Croft”. Lynn’s message - looking back doesn’t have to mean going back. Let the land do the leading and don't be afraid to rewild yourself along the way. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podchaser, Podtail, or on your favorite podcast platform.Topics Covered: Regenerative Farming  Croft - A small agricultural unit and form of land use/ legal entity unique to Scotland: source via citzensadvice.org.uk  Rewilding - taking a piece of land and allowing it become self-willed; taking people out of the equation; reintroducing native species; restoration on a wild scale  Resources Mentioned:  Pre-Order Our Wild Farming Life: Adventures on a Scottish Highland Croft by Sandra Baer and Lynn Cassells  Wilding: Returning Nature to our Farm by Isabella Tree   BBC - This Farming Life Season 3  Lynbreck Croft Courses - “How to Farm”  The National Trust  Cairngorms National Park  Knepp Castle  “You Can Farm” by Joel Salatin  Guest Info Connect with Lynn Lynbreck Croft Instagram @lynbreck_croft Follow Us: Our Website @weareladyfarmer on Instagram 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.Mentioned in this episode:Join The ALMANAC CommunityALMANAC TGD Discount

Tune in today for a brief check-in from Mary & Emma on the launch of the Lady Farmer 2022 Slow Living Challenge, and to discuss this week's focus theme. Sign up for the Slow Living Challenge HERE. Follow Us: Our Website @weareladyfarmer on Instagram Original music by John Kingsley @jkingsley1026Sowing seeds of slow living is our mantra at Lady Farmer. Simplifying our belongings, prioritizing good choices in food and clothing, and choosing sustainable habits wherever we can all have a positive impact on ourselves, our community and our planet. Every winter for the past few years we’ve taken on a Slow Living Challenge together as a community to bring these ideas into action little by little, day by day, week by week.This year, we’re excited to offer this free challenge for four weeks, kicking off Monday, January 31st. Each week you will receive a downloadable calendar in your email inbox that includes daily prompts centered around a theme. We’ll be able to share our experiences together in community, with all of us walking alongside you, through #slowlivingchallenge on Instagram or within our private online membership, The ALMANAC. If you’re not yet a member, participation in the challenge gets you a free trial in this community!

Heal and connect with seasonal locally grown food and learn how to participate in a system that sustains our local economy, provides food access, food security and mitigates food waste. Our guest today, Liz Reitzig, saw that responsibly sourced food had the power to heal her family and community. In hopes of spreading the good word on the transformative power of this food, she started a buying club consisting of high quality foods from sustainable and regenerative local farms and artisans. She wanted to create consistent and convenient access to these foods and provide an alternative choice to the unsustainable industrialized system that currently prevails. Liz knows that access to shorter supply chains means not only supporting fair living wages for farmers and high quality conditions for our food but ensures our own food supply in the event of a larger scale supply chain disruption. The reward of eating local, getting to enjoy a deep connection to delicious, high quality food that is intrinsically linked to the land and the seasons. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podchaser, Podtail, or on your favorite podcast platform.Topics Covered: CSA - Community Supported Agriculture  Buying Club  Supply Chain Issues  Food Waste Raw Milk* Pasteurization  The Dairy Industry  Short Supply Chain Local Food  Sourcing Locally  Food Security  Food Waste Composting Resources Mentioned:  Liz Riffle of Riffle Bison Farm Good Dirt Episode  Veteran Compost 1000 Eco Farms  A History of Raw Milk Slow Living Challenge 2022 The ALMANAC   Liz's Store Guest Info Connect with Liz at http://nourishingliberty.com Liz's Podcast Follow Us: Our Website @weareladyfarmer on Instagram Original music by John Kingsley @jkingsley1026*Raw milk for human consumption is a highly controversial issue and one that requires research and understanding on the part of the consumer. Statements 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.

Join the minimalist movement, and design a simple, sustainable lifestyle that provides freedom from debt, consumerism, and cultural expectations. Our guest today is Ryan Mitchell, creator of The Tiny Life, who started his minimalist journey by challenging the American dream and having the courage to ask, what does the life I really want to live actually look like? He began by moving into his self built tiny house in 2012, sharing his journey along the way and connecting with other like-minded tiny house enthusiasts. This passion ultimately created a business that sustained his dream of an independent, pared down, low cost life – one deeply rooted in an understanding of slow living and the power of conscious choices. Ryan simplified his life by pausing to examine how he spent his time, money, and resources. He is now a life simplification expert and encourages everyone he meets to build a habit of questioning norms and stopping to think critically about your choices as a consumer. The key to minimalist living is to mindfully observe how you move through your life, how you use your resources, your time and your living spaces. Be bold and challenge assumptions. On the other side of hard decisions and self observation is a small, simple life that supports you and the planet.  Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podchaser, Podtail, or on your favorite podcast platform.Topics Covered: Tiny Homes The Tiny House Movement  Homesteading Simple Living  Minimalism Marketing “PAS” - Identity the Problem, Agitate the Consumer, Present a Solution  Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Resources Mentioned:  Lady Farmer Guide to Slow Living CODE???? Blog Post - 7 Day’s of “Real Food” Winter Meals The Tiny Life  Tiny House Living: Ideas For Building and Living Well In Less Than 400 Square Feet by Ryan Mitchell  “If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.” - Dave Ramsey “Children of Time” by Adrian Tchaikovsky “The Comfort Crisis” by Michael Easter  “Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart” by Gordon Livingston  Use code THEGOODDIRT for free shipping on The Lady Farmer Guide to Slow Living in the Lady Farmer Marketplace Guest Info Connect with Ryan at thetinylife.com  Instagram @thetinylifedotcom  Twitter @the_tiny_life Follow Us: Our Website @weareladyfarmer on Instagram 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.

Where does land stewardship and regeneration, natural wine production, sustainable farming practices and local community collaboration come together? On today’s episode of The Good Dirt, Mary and Emma talk with sisters Lisa Hinton and Ashli Johnson of Old Westminster Winery in Westminster, Maryland. Their story begins in 2008; when the family was unable to sell their farm, they united instead behind a vision of preserving it and putting the land into a thriving, sustainable and regenerative operation. They agreed that growing and making wines was an idea worth pursuing, and thus the dream of planting a vineyard was born. Ten years later, Lisa, Ashli, and their brother Drew, are on a mission to craft distinctive wines with a sense of place. Through trial and error, and in collaboration with other growers to proudly represent their region and it’s beautiful varieties, they have been able to develop a style of wine linked to the land and the seasons in an intimate and intentional way. Hand-harvesting 30,000 bottles annually, their wines are alive, vibrant, and uniquely local. With a holistic approach to sustainability, this family business is all about creating a great product while taking care of their land and their community. This is truly a good dirt story! Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podchaser, Podtail, or on your favorite podcast platform.Topics Covered: Grape Varieties  Natural Wines Chardonnay  Muscat  Chardonel  Albarino Cabernet Franc Maryland Wineries Land Stewardship  Terroir - to mean “a sense of place.” Essentially, terroir encompasses all of the factors that go into producing wine grapes in a vineyard, from the climate to the soil to the elevation. Source via jjbuckley fine wines.  Resources Mentioned:  Burnt Hill Farm H-2A Visa Program Migrash Farms  The Almanac  Guest Info Connect with Ashli and Lisa at Old Westminster Winery  Follow Old Westminster on Instagram Follow Us: Our Website @weareladyfarmer on Instagram 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.

Transform your microbiome and your life with cultured foods, and learn how the simple practice of food fermentation can promote mind and body healing. On today’s episode of The Good Dirt, Mary & Emma sit down with the founder of Cultured Food Life, Donna Schwenk. Many years ago, Donna found herself pregnant with her third child and in need of a lifestyle change. At 40 with a brand new baby she realized she wanted to live a vibrant life for her newborn and for herself. Enter “kefir'' and the beginning of Donna’s journey towards healing her body, mind and spirit. Cultured food was her pathway towards nurturing for herself and her family. Now Donna devotes her life to sharing the power that cultured food holds to transform your microbiome. Throughout the episode, Donna introduces us to the sacred trilogy that is fermented foods, kombucha and kefir while explaining how to rebuild your gut and reframe your mindset around bacteria. With over 350 free recipes on her site, Donna generously shares her abundant wisdom on cultured foods and on life. She knows when people feel good, they do good.Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podchaser, Podtail, or on your favorite podcast platform.Resources Mentioned: Old Befana Podcast Episode  Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon Body Ecology By Donna Gates Bifidobacterium  Einkorn flour  saccharomyces boulardii Lactobacillus Plantarum Seylou bakery Red phenol powder Fermented Foods Safety Guest InfoFollow Donna at Cultured Food Life Instagram Twitter Follow Us: Our Website Instagram 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.

You can begin healing the planet, improving your health and mitigating climate change right outside your door! On today’s episode of The Good Dirt we sit down with Justin West, the creative entrepreneur behind Thrive Lot – a marketplace platform on a mission to create food abundance by combining agroecology, landscape design and technology. Thrive Lot seeks to reimagine the lawn care industry by scaling permaculture and installing ecosystems into our very own yards. But to do so requires a shift in our collective idea of what we consider lawn care. We can create habitats for wildlife, regenerate the soil, reduce our carbon footprint and mitigate climate change by reimagining our lawns as a place where we grow our own food, produce medicinal herbs, fruit trees and vibrant ecosystems.With over 40 million acres of lawn in the United States - the largest single irrigated crop - it’s a concept ripe with potential, which is why we’re so excited to share our conversation with Justin as he dreams of a future where home agroecology is the norm, and where “good dirt” heals the world. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podchaser, Simplecast, Podtail, or on your favorite podcast platform.Topics Covered: Agroecology--is the application of ecological concepts and principals in farming, combined to create a type of farming that is sustainable and in cooperation with nature.  Permaculture--the development of agricultural ecosystems that are self-sufficient and sustainable, drawing from an observation and imitation of systems in nature and resulting in crop diversity, resilience, increased natural productivity, less human intervention and more sustainability.   Carbon sequestration is "...the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide. It is one method of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with the goal of reducing global climate change." Perennials vs Annuals  Resources Mentioned:  Thrive Lot Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) Food Forest at Brown Mills  The Museum of Discovery and Science  Guest InfoVisit the Thrive Lot websiteFollow Thrive Lot on  InstagramFollow Us: Our Website Instagram Original music by John Kingsley @jkingsley1026

Today we're talking to Cookie Washington, an African American quilting muralist and fourth generation needle worker, who addresses issues of race and social equality while celebrating the contributions of her African ancestral heritage and the  Divine Feminine in her work.  Cookie is the first in this long line of needle workers to take up art quilting, yet she feels her connection very deeply to her foremothers and her African-American history whenever a needle and bit of cloth is in her hands. Her passion for quilting is a way of communicating the African American woman’s experience. In our conversation, Cookie shares several  fascinating stories around her recent projects, You’ll hear about mermaids and goddesses, and how she was divinely inspired to do  a series of eight quilts depicting The Black Madonna as a way of bringing the healing energy of the Sacred Feminine into the world. She also shares the heartbreaking story of her friendship with Reverend Clementa Carlos Pinckney, a senior pastor at Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church  in Charleston who was murdered by a white supremacist terrorist in 2015, just days before they were to meet to plan an art exhibit in his church. Cookie also shares with us some ancestral wisdom that is communicated through the bees, and the upcoming Return of the Bees Multimedia Project, which is an exhibit that  celebrates the history, evolution, and futurism of southern Black agrarian material culture, including fiber arts and heritage quilt making. The show will be in Charleston, South Carolina at the City Gallery at Waterfront Park, opening January 17th and running through Black History Month.Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podchaser, Podtail, or on your favorite podcast platform. Mentioned: Website The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd The Return of the Bees Multimedia Project Acres of Ancestry Follow Us: Our Website Instagram Credits: Original Music by John Kingsley @jkingsley1026

Today's guest is Sara Marie Massee, a lead interpreter at George Washington's Mount Vernon. She works with the historic trades department, teaching and actually doing many of the skills and trades that were being practiced around Washington's estate during his lifetime there.  She oversees Mount Vernon's cooking, baking, and textile living history demonstrations to illuminate daily life in the 18th century. Sara Marie has been in the field of living history for 16 years, 14 of them at George Washington's Mount Vernon. She spends her days talking to visitors about Washington's sustainable, innovative farming practices and demonstrating various trades that enslaved people and white, indentured workers would have done on the estate. Her favorite demonstrations are cooking and textile work (spinning, weaving, natural dyeing, and preparing wool, linen, and hemp fibers to be spun). In today’s episode, Dr. Massee shares anecdotes and stories that give us a glimpse of the the textiles industry in the 18th century and the role it played in the economy of George Washington's estate. Tune in to learn more!Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podchaser, Simplecast, Podtail, or on your favorite podcast platform.Topics Covered: The history of textile production at Mount Vernon.  18th-century clothing and linen Working in the field of living history Resources Mentioned:Mount VernonGuest InfoConnect with Dr. Massee on Mount Vernon’s websiteFollow Us: Our Website Instagram