
The Forest Garden
Have you ever wanted to transform your organic gardening practice into something more? Are you interested in ecology, permaculture, or sustainability? This podcast takes a deep dive into these topics, through in-depth commentary and relevant interviews with forest gardeners, permaculturalists, and regenerative system designers.
The Forest Garden Podcast is a joint venture between Ben Bishop and Mike Amato, two plant nerds who in the summer of 2020 realized they shared the same alma mater and the same interests in alternative solutions to our rapidly evolving climate.
Latest episodes

Jun 2, 2023 • 1h 5min
Groundcovers in Edible Forest Gardens with Dave Jacke
You spoke up and we listened! Responding to a survey we put out earlier this year on our instagram page, which is @forestgardenpodcast, we decided to do an episode on ground covers in the forest garden. And who better to talk about this topic than the man who wrote the book on forest gardens in North America, Dave Jacke (with co-author Eric Toensmeier, who we have previously interviewed... and you should check out that episode too). Today's episode discusses ground covers, but also dips into a range of topics related to forest gardens and Dave's experience writing the book Edible Forest Gardens Volumes 1 & 2. Stick with us for an episode jam packed with useful info.
Dave's links:
https://www.edibleforestgardens.com/
contact: davekjacke@gmail.com
Chelsea Green link to purchase the books:
https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/edible-forest-gardens-2-volume-set/

May 19, 2023 • 41min
Food Access & Community Fridges with Reggy of Fridgeport
Today's episode dives into the community fridge model, a concept that became common in the U.S. during the Covid-19 pandemic as more and more people in urban areas across america became food insecure. Join us today, as we learn about the origins of Fridgeport, the community fridge project based in Bridgeport, CT. Be sure to check out the links below, and consider making a peapod delivery donation to the fridge itself at the location listed here:
Fridgeport address for donations: 219 James St, Bridgeport, CT 06604
https://bridgeportmutualaid.org/what-do-you-need-what-can-you-offer/
https://www.facebook.com/Fridgeport/
https://www.instagram.com/fridgeport/
https://www.instagram.com/fridgehaven/
https://www.instagram.com/fridgeford/

May 5, 2023 • 48min
Four Season Farming with Dakota of River Ridge Farm
Today's episode is all about the winter harvest, and the reality of starting a farm in New England where land is not affordable. Tune in for our interview with Dakota Rudloff-Eastman of River Ridge Farm to learn about what the land acquisition process looks like for a new farmer trying to set their roots, leasing vs. owning, how four season farming with the double cover method works, which vegetables produced through this method do best at the market, advice for young farmers trying to get started, and much more. Find us on instagram @forestgardenpodcast and Dakota & Matt at the links below:
https://www.riverridgefarmandmarket.com/
https://www.instagram.com/riverridgefarmct/
https://www.facebook.com/Riverridgefarmandmarket
Starting a farm resources mentioned by Dakota:
https://www.ctfarmlink.org/find-a-farm
https://newenglandfarmlandfinder.org/new-england-farm-link-collaborative
https://www.fsa.usda.gov/
https://www.farmcrediteast.com/
https://www.dirtpartners.com/
https://landforgood.org/
https://www.thecarrotproject.org/

Apr 21, 2023 • 37min
Kernza & Perennial Agriculture with Tessa Peters of The Land Institute
How many of y'all have heard of the long root ale? Climate smart honey oats cereal? How about Kernza? The main ingredient in these products, and the perennial grain that has the potential to revolutionize our modern agricultural system. Tune in today for a deep dive into Kernza and the other perennialization projects taking place at the land institute. Tessa Peters fills us in on the history of perennial grain research in the U.S., what Kernza is, where it grows, what conditions it prefers, what hurdles perennial grains have to overcome in our current agricultural model, and much more. Don't touch that dial! Find our guest at @thelandinstutue and us on instagram at @forestgardenpodcast.
Links:
https://kernza.org/
https://landinstitute.org/

Apr 7, 2023 • 44min
Forest Farming with Linh Aven of Dandelion Forest Farm
Join us for our discussion with Linh Aven, regenerative farmer and chef extraordinaire. Linh has a fascinating background in both molecular biology and gastronomy, which she applies to her current practice as a regenerative farmer. Today we learn about her story and how it brought her to forest farming in Nottingham, New Hampshire. In today's episode, we cover a wide variety of topics including the layout and design of Dandelion Forest Farm, what a csa box from the farm looks like, the agroforestry products Linh has been working on, Linh’s farm to table dinner series, and much more. You can find Linh on instagram and facebook at @dandelionforestfarm, and us on instagram at @forestgardenpodcast.
Linh's links:
https://www.dandelionforestfarm.com/
Links to topics discussed in the episode:
https://route9cooperative.com/
https://www.regenerativedesigngroup.com/
http://www.twisted-tree.net/ (Akiva Silver)
https://www.perfectcircle.farm/ (Buzz Ferver)
https://www.eco59.com/ (CT local ecotype project)
https://edgewood-nursery.com/ (Aaron Parker, local ecotype seed)
https://www.riverhillsharvest.com/ (American Elderberry)
https://www.facebook.com/BigRiverFriend/ (Big River Chestnuts, Jono Neiger)
https://www.foragersharvest.com/store/p240/HickoryNutOil.html (Sam Thayer, hickory nut oil)
https://www.yellowbud.farm/ (Jesse Marksohn + co., hickory nut oil)
https://northeastpermaculture.org/ (PAN)

Mar 24, 2023 • 1h 5min
Tree Crops with Buzz Ferver of Perfect Circle Farm
Welcome back podcast listeners! This episode is jam packed with information about fruit and nut trees. We consider ourselves very lucky to have Buzz Ferver of Perfect Circle Farm on the podcast today, sharing his wealth of knowledge with us. Tune in to learn about Buzz's backstory, his introduction to tree crops and regenerative systems, the history of tree crop selection in the early 20th century in North America, and much more. If you stick around until the end of the episode, we dive into specifics on several nut and fruit trees. It's really worth the listen! We hope you enjoy the episode, and remember you can always get in touch with us via a direct message on our instagram page @forestgardenpodcast.
Buzz's links:
https://www.perfectcircle.farm/
https://nutgrowing.org/

Mar 10, 2023 • 33min
The Cohousing Model with Henry Lappen of Cherry Hill Cohousing
Hey there podcast listeners. Today we have a very interesting interview for you with Henry Lappen, a member of the Cherry Hill Cohousing community based in Amherst, Massachusetts. Henry has been a part of this unique community in western Massachusetts for the past thirty years - ever since its establishment in the early 1990's. For those who aren't familiar, the cohousing model is a Danish concept that originated in the 1960's. If you're trying to imagine what cohousing looks like, think of an intentional community of private or semi-private homes laid out in a clustered design around shared communal spaces. Shared meals and shared work are an integral part of the model, and often these communities have many gardens or agricultural spaces integrated in the landscape. In this episode, we’ll learn all about the cohousing model, how the vast food forest at Cherry Hill came to be, and what day to day life is like at Cherry Hill. We'll also get some insight into how folks interested in establishing their own ecovillage or cohousing community can get started. Stick with us, and remember that if you have a question about the episode you can always reach us via a direct message on our instagram page @forestgardenpodcast.
Relevant Links:
https://web.cohousing.com/
http://cohousing.org/

Feb 20, 2023 • 37min
Winter Gloom Survival pt. 2: Our Favorite YouTube Channels
Welcome back podcast listeners. In todays episode we are continuing our series on overcoming winter gloom, with some forest garden (or forest garden-adjacent) streamable content. Tune in to hear about some of our favorite youtube channels. Our hope is that you'll discover something new! Maybe a channel that inspires you to try something different this coming spring, or teaches you something you didn't know, or maybe just satisfies your innate need to binge. This episode has something for everyone. Think we missed a notable channel? Let us know with a message to our instagram page @forestgardenpodcast.
Channels covered today:
Weird Explorer, Jared Rydelek
Business Insider: So Expensive - Food
Growing Your Greens, John Kohler
Those Plant People, Pippa Chapman + Andrew Chapman
Kirsten Dirksen
Green Dreams, Pete Kanaris
Edible Acres, Sean Dembrosky
The Forest Gardener, (our very own) Ben Bishop
Andrew Millison
Happen Films
Exploring Alternatives
Regenerative Films

Jan 20, 2023 • 49min
Documentaries to get you through Winter Gloom
Happy New Year podcast listeners, and welcome to season three of the podcast! We have a winter themed episode today featuring many documentaries that we have curated into a list separated by topic. Some of you may remember our interview with Lisa Fernandes from last season. In that interview Lisa mentioned how The Resilience Hub of Portland, Maine hosted movie nights to start building community around regenerative programming. That interview gave us an idea, if we were to make a master list of documentaries and films related to the topics we cover on the podcast - what exactly would that look like? Today's episode is our best attempt! We hope you enjoy the episode, and if there are any that you think we missed and are deserving of being included feel free to reach out to us on instagram @forestgardenpodcast
Docs Featured in the Episode:
Soil/Regenerative Ag:
Kiss the Ground, 2020 (Netflix)
Regreening the Desert John D Liu, 2012 (Youtube/Vimeo)
Symphony of the Soil, 2012 (Youtube)
Living Soil, 2018 (Youtube)
Farming:
The Biggest Little Farm, 2018 (Rotational Streaming)
Fruit/Food
The Fruit Hunters, 2012 (Youtube/Rotational Streaming)
The Botany of Desire, 2009 (Prime/Rotational Streaming)
Bees:
The Pollinators, 2019 (Prime)
More than Honey, 2012 (Plex/Rotational Streaming)
Vanishing of the Bees, 2009 (Plex/Rotational Streaming)
Climate/Water:
Tomorrow, 2015 (Rotational Streaming/Direct Purchase)
Last Call at the Oasis, 2011 (Rotational Streaming)
Tapped, 2009 (Youtube/Rotational Streaming)
Chasing Ice, 2012 (Rotational Streaming)
Permaculture:
Inhabit: A Permaculture Perspective, 2015 (Direct Purchase Vimeo)
Woodlanders Series, 2017 (Vimeo)
Permaculture The Documentary: How it Started, 2020 (Youtube)
Regenerative Films (Youtube)
Mushrooms:
Fantastic Fungi, 2019 (Netflix/Rotational Streaming)
The Last Season, 2014 (iTunes)
How To Change Your Mind, 2022 (Netflix)

Dec 2, 2022 • 25min
Specialty Plant Nurseries for Next Year's Food Forest
It's December and winter is nearly here! For many of us, it probably feels like it has already started. Some might wonder what a plant nerd does in the cold winter months, at least for us - we start planning. What new trees are going in the ground in the spring, where will they be planted, and more importantly where will we get them from? Today's episode is meant to help with that last question. Tune in for our discussion on some of our favorite mail order nurseries that ship plants and plant materials across North America. An important note for listeners - the nurseries we cover in today's episode all have one thing in common, they're not massive businesses with immense staff. Plants they carry frequently sell out and ordering from some of them may not be possible at the time that this episode is released! Patience is always a virtue when trying to source hard to find specialty trees, shrubs, or perennials. Different plants or plant materials are often available at different times of year. In our experience a friendly email goes a long way, and often there's a mailing list you can sign up for to be notified when new plants are available. Be kind and you will be rewarded! We hope you enjoy the episode, and as always you can get in touch with us most easily by sending a friendly DM to us on instagram @forestgardenpodcast
Links of nurseries covered in today's episode:
Humble Abode Nursery, Ashfield, MA USDA Zone 5a: https://www.humbleabodenursery.com/
Hidden Springs Nursery, Cookeville, TN USDA Zone 6: http://www.hiddenspringsnursery.com/
England’s Nut Orchard, McKee, KY USDA Zone 6a: http://www.nuttrees.net/
Ozark Mountain Jewel, Gainesville, MO USDA Zone 6b: https://www.ozarkmountainjewel.com/
Norton Naturals, Tamworth, ON USDA Zone 5b: https://www.nortonnaturals.com/
Perfect Circle Farm, Barre, VT USDA Zone 4b: https://www.perfectcircle.farm
Fruitwood Nursery, Humboldt County, CA USDA Zone 8: https://www.fruitwoodnursery.com/