Old Ways New Days

Every great harvest begins with a well-cared-for tool. This week,  we’re stepping into the workshop to explore the forgotten art of tool maintenance. 🪓 Learn how to: • Prevent rust with the classic sand-and-oil bucket • Sharpen hoes, shovels, axes, pruners, and knives • Care for wooden handles • Store tools for generations of use • Embrace the old philosophy of repairing instead of replacing Beca...

Have you ever felt like you're throwing money away on plants that just won't survive? You're not alone. In our very first At the Garden Gate episode, we're answering a real question from the r/gardening community about how to stop buying random plants and start building a thoughtful, long-lasting perennial garden. 🌱 Learn why observation is more valuable than impulse buying....

In this episode of Old Ways, New Days, we wander through gardening folklore and summer harvest sayings from around the world — from "corn should be knee-high by the Fourth of July" to planting by the moon, midsummer herb gathering, saints'-day planting traditions, and the seasonal signs read in trees, bees, and rain. Which old sayings hold practical wisdom, and which are more magic...

Pull up a bucket and lean on the fence. This is your introduction to the Old Ways New Days (OWND) Reddit community companion to the Old Ways, New Days podcast's At the Garden Gate series—a welcoming place to ask gardening questions, share successes and failures, swap seasonal tips, and learn from fellow gardeners, homesteaders, and nature lovers. Whether you're tending a backyard garden,...

What if your backyard could feed you for decades with less work each year? This week on Old Ways New Days , we're exploring Backyard Food Forests for Beginners—layered planting systems, perennial foods, berry bushes, fruit trees, and the ancient wisdom of creating abundance by working with nature instead of against it. Come discover how a single tree can become the beginning of a thriving edi...

Who decides what's on your plate? 🌎 Global food-system reform🥕 The EAT–Lancet Commission 🌱 Food sovereignty vs. food security 🐔 Responsible animal husbandry 🏡 Homesteading as resilience 🤝 Building local food networks In a world of increasing uncertainty, what role should communities play in shaping their own food future? Join us as we explore the balance between sustainability, self-rel...

Listen to learn the rules of the contest. Be sure to follow the rules to gain as many points as you can.  Send us Fan Mail Support the show Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581390940178 Send us an email at oldwaysnewdayspodcast@gmail.com Episode sponsor: Medicinal Garden Kit https://www.digistore24.com/redir/379812/OWNDpc/MedicinalGardenKit

The Honey Moon rises in June 🌕🍯 This is the season of the bee and the rose — sweetness gathered, hearts opened, abundance tasted. In this episode: 🐝 The ancient lore of bees & "telling the bees" 🌹 What the rose teaches about opening fully 🍯 Seasonal herbs, foods & colors of the Honey Moon 🧠 The psychology of receiving sweetness 🕯️ Rituals & a guided "Golden Hum&quo...

The garden is changing 🌿☀️   In this episode: 🧄 Harvesting garlic scapes from hardneck garlic 🌱 Succession planting spring crops into summer abundance 🍓 Preserving fresh berries 🌾 Mulching & weed control 🌿 Harvesting herbs before the heat   Because the early summer garden isn’t just planted…   It’s tended. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pro...

Once in a Blue Moon 🌕💙   In this episode, we explore: 🌌 Blue Moon folklore & spiritual symbolism 🌿 Lunar herbs, foods & colors 🕯️ A powerful Blue Moon ritual 🧠 Emotional & intuitive energy of rare moons 🌕 A guided meditation beneath the moonlight   Because some moons don’t just illuminate the sky…   They illuminate us. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Find us on Facebook https:/...

Early summer gardening isn’t just about growing…   It’s about tending 🌿   In this episode: 🌱 Making fertilizer from weeds 💧 Keeping thirsty plants hydrated 🐛 Identifying common garden pests 🌼 Natural pest control & companion planting 🌎 Building a resilient garden ecosystem   Because the healthiest gardens work with nature — not against it. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Find us on Fac...

What if your garden could actually feed you? In this episode, we explore:  🥔 High-calorie survival crops  🌽 Small-space food production  🫘 Beans, potatoes, corn & resilient staples  🌎 Ancient growing methods from around the world  🌱 Soil, water & climate resilience Because real food security starts closer to home than most people realize. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Find us on F...

The world feels uncertain… but that doesn’t mean you have to feel unprepared. In this episode, we explore: 🌱 Modern food systems  🖤 Climate anxiety & how to move through it  🌾 Building resilience in everyday life  🤝 The power of local networks Because resilience isn’t about fear… It’s about connection. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.p...

The hands that fed the world… were often never named. In this episode, we explore the hidden agricultural labor of women: 🌱 Seed keepers  🖤 Midwives  🥛 Dairy workers  🧵 Textile makers Work that sustained entire communities — but was rarely recognized. Because not all labor is visible… But all of it matters. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile....

What if weeds aren't weeds at all?   What if they're the land's own diagnostic report — telling you exactly what your soil needs and how to heal it?   In this episode of Old Ways, New Days, we go deep:   ✨ What every common weed is actually telling you about your soil ✨ Natural amendments to address each soil condition (no chemicals needed) ✨ The sacred history of dandelion, plan...

When was the last time you asked the land permission?   This week on Old Ways, New Days, we step into one of the most important — and most overlooked — conversations in the foraging world:   The Ethics of the Harvest.   ✨ The ancient principles of sacred harvest that predate every civilization we can name ✨ Why 'only take what you need' is more radical than it sounds ✨ Land acknowledg...

Earth Day didn’t start as a hashtag. It started as a protest. In this episode, we explore: 🌍 The true history of Earth Day  🌱 Sacred activism & earth care as spiritual practice  🌾 Permaculture ethics  🖤 Climate grief & how to move through it  🌿 Simple ways to care for the earth every day Because caring for the planet isn’t just political… It’s personal. To find out where you can celeb...

Think you need land to homestead? Think again. In this episode, we explore urban homesteading without land ownership — from container gardening and balcony permaculture to community gardens and guerrilla growing. Because self-sufficiency doesn’t start with acres… It starts with a single plant. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581390940...

What if nothing in your life was truly wasted?           Not your grief. Not your past. Not even the parts you wish you could throw away. In this episode, we explore the spiritual practice of soil building — from compost as a form of quiet ritual to what the earth can teach us about patience, loss, and transformation. Because sometimes… the most powerful growth happens in the dark. Send us Fan Mai...

Before we plant… we plan. In this week’s episode of Old Ways New Days , we’re mapping the garden like our ancestors: 🌱 Seed placement with intention  🌿 Companion planting wisdom  🌎 Spiritual land design  🗓 When to sow outdoors  🪴 Where your January & February seedlings should be right now Gardening isn’t just rows in soil. It’s relationship. Listen now wherever you gather your podcasts — a...

Everyone wears green on March 17th… but do you know what the “snakes” really represented? This episode dives into the true history of St. Patrick’s Day — from Christian conversion to cultural erasure — and how modern witches can reclaim the day by honoring those lost to persecution. Why some witches wear red and black instead of green.  How the holiday became a global drinking event.  And what rem...

What if your garden didn’t just grow food… What if it grew fences that live, beds that feed themselves, and soil built from yesterday’s scraps?   In this week’s episode of Old Ways New Days, we’re breaking down easy at-home garden builds — from willow living fences to hugelkultur mounds and keyhole gardens.   No fancy budget. No perfection. Just practical magic and hands in the dirt.   Listen now...

The chemicals used to fertilize modern fields were once used to make bombs. After WWII, excess war factories turned their production toward agriculture — and the soil has been paying the price ever since. What does that mean for our bodies?  For chronic disease?  For the way we farm animals?  For the way we eat? In this episode of Old Ways, New Days , we explore the deep connection between soil he...

This Black History Month, we honor the Black herbalists who healed under enslavement, carried medicine in memory, and kept communities alive when care was denied. Part Two of Old Ways New Days is a reverent reflection on plant medicine, lineage, and survival. 🌿 Send us Fan Mail Support the show Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581390940178 Send us an email at oldwaysn...

“Before sustainable living had a name, it had roots. 🌱  This Black History Month, Old Ways New Days honors the Black innovators, ancestral farmers, and land stewards who shaped homesteading, regenerative agriculture, and food sovereignty — blending history, spirituality, and soil wisdom into one powerful story.” Resources: Oneearth.org Tsfrcbo.org  Blackinplantscience.org Csuchico.edu Send us Fan...