The Urban Farm Podcast Private feed for Members

Investing in small agriculture businesses. Production farming in America is not an easy business path to start on without some help or connections.  Appreciating the value of farming after his travels in the US Navy, Chris Rawley realized these challenges farmers face when trying start or expand small-to-midsize farms and decided he could help. He breaks down the basic process for agriculture...

Making the hatching of backyard chickens easy and fun. In This Podcast:  If you are not careful, you might find that hatching eggs can quite easily develop into a passion, just ask Pascale Pearce! She took a job that needed her to hatch eggs at least once, so she knew what she was talking about – and now she loves to help others understand the process.  She shares some key points about i...

Expecting that ruralization is the next evolution. In This Podcast: Studying the changes in shifting populations, Jason Bradford is predicting the trend for urban growth is going to reverse. He breaks down why our energy dependency is indicating a reversal, why technology is creating discounted problems, and more importantly why personal action toward energy literacy and resilience is critical. He...

Bringing concentrated, jam-packed garden education to life. Her passion for bringing people together in educational garden summits is quite evident when you listen to Stacey Murphy tell us what she has planned this year.  She explains why she started presenting her summits and some of the exciting results she’s getting in return.  She also talks about how food dies, nutrients are lost ev...

Developing a relationship between primary pollinators and growers. Realizing that his apple trees were barely producing compared to his neighbors, Dave Hunter found the answer was mason bees.  His hobby increased his harvest, and eventually his new passion developed into a brand-new industry and a new company. Now he is working hard to educate how mason bees and leaf cutter bees are a signifi...

Bringing a whole system approach of design and nature to the farm. In This Podcast: Taking a permaculture course as a young adult gave Raven Venturelli the confidence and inspiration to start her own farm. However, finding land in California to develop her nature-based farming concepts was difficult so she followed her parents and moved to Arizona. She has used her holistic design methodology...

Creating healing tonics from common and locally foraged plants. In This Podcast: Growing up in a plant based family and then struggling with health concerns it felt natural for Devon Young to turn to herbals remedies for wellness and relief. When she started noticing results, she focused on helping others as expanded her knowledge through studies and training. She shares some key details about how...

Bonus Episode 28: Seed Saving Class May 2019.  In This Bonus Podcast: Once again we join a conversation with Bill McDorman and Greg Peterson to learn about growing  from  seed, growing for  seed, and why our seeds are so important in these changing times. This is the replay of the May 2019 Seed Saving Class - In this class he covers seed school, ho...

Finding joy and adventure in the backyard with kids and nature. In This Podcast: We welcome back Matt Smith from Smith House Design to hear more about improving family life with a garden. Matt and his wife have created a learning environment in their backyard full of fruit trees and plants. Now, their children prefer nature over screen time. He shares his secrets to gardening with kids a...

Merging two gardening systems into one. In This Podcast: What do you get when a civil engineer loves to garden but doesn’t want to spend two hours a day in the backyard? You get a LEHR garden! Meet Ed Williams, the creator of this regenerative, functioning ecosystem that utilizes aquaponics and mushroom spawn. His garden beds are low maintenance, create soil, self-water, and fertili...

Making more than just juice from a popular fruit. In This Podcast: Our apple expert Kanin Routson joins us again to help us understand the process of making delicious apple cider using white wine making techniques. He explains the difference between juice, cider, and hard cider, and how the new modern ciders vary from the heritage ciders. We are introduced to Stoic Cider and we learn more about hi...

Having good clean fun on an urban farm. In This Podcast: Awakening to the desire to grow their own fruits, vegetables, and meat, Brittney Schiff and her husband Stephen started with a few garden beds and chickens. Gradually this increased and they moved to a property that allowed them to do more.  Now they raise, chickens, ducks, rabbits and goats and their kids are learning homesteading skil...

Farming with an eye on the future. In This Podcast: The home purchase was going to be a stretch, but she could not escape the pull.  After several visits, Katie Critchley took the leap and this farming community is much more than she expected.  The appeal was so strong that her extended family joined her as well. She found herself becoming more and more involved and eventually becam...

Focusing on higher yield and better quality in harvests. Earning his degree in agronomy put Marty Campfield on a path that led him eventually to work for AZOMITE selling this unique nutrient dense fertilizer/soil amendment product. He helps explain about the importance of nutrients in the soil, and how different forms can easily break down for quick plant consumption or slowly break down for long...

Stewarding future crops through considerate cultivation and harvesting of seeds. In This Podcast: In the pursuit of resetting his health, Luke Allen took a four-day fasting journey and ended up taking his life in a new direction.  Eventually he resettled, started growing food, and seeds! He helps break down some seed terminology for us and discusses the importance of true breeding in seeds. L...

Bonus Episode 27: Seed Saving Class April 2019.  In This Bonus Podcast: Once again we join a conversation with Bill McDorman and Greg Peterson to learn about growing from seed, growing for seed, and why our seeds are so important in these changing times. This is the replay of the April 2019 Seed Saving Class - In this class he covers grains, disease resistance, and packaging seeds safely...

Building up property value with beautiful food growing spaces. In This Podcast: Knowing that curb appeal is important, Matt Smith has applied this concept to his backyard to improve the value of his home. He shares how growing food and appreciating nature has become so important to him, and which historical figures influence his goals for his green space. Matt also explains why home improveme...

Grinding out award winning chocolate In This Podcast: Early influences helped Kasey McCaslin develop a love for food and making things, and that eventually led her to try making small batch chocolate to sell at the farmers market.  From there she has gone on to develop recipes that have earned her several awards and she shares about the steps and care she takes to make her internationally ins...

Homesteading with a passion and a purpose. In This Podcast: For years, Julia Hubler couldn't find a garden planner that had it all. After running her family's homestead of chickens, goats, and gardens, she put together a comprehensive garden planning guide and journal. Here, she paints a picture of life on her homestead. Listen in to learn why she added native trees back into her orchard, wha...

Taking fruits and berries to make tasty results. In This Podcast: What do you do with the abundance of fruit from your yard? Making jams and jellies are an easy solution. Sara Wolters from Pomona's Universal Pectin shares how their fruit-based pectin allows you to create delicious preserves with little to no added sugar. She also shares about the pectin industry, the recipe and video resource...

Growing delicious produce - in the garden, an allotment, or in the greenhouse! In This Podcast: Jason Johns is the author of 18 books on gardening. Here, he shares everything anybody needs to know about growing tomatoes! From the ideal soil, varieties, conditions, and pruning you'll be ready to plant amazing tomatoes. We also discussed common pests and what to do about them, as well as his fi...

Living the good life while selling from a small farm. In This Podcast: How does one become a farmer when you haven't gone to school for agriculture? Emily Heller did just that using local education programs and opportunities. Here, she discusses successful selling as a small space producer, parameters for success in gardening, and some of her best practices. She also speaks to the emotional j...

Finding purpose in educating about indoor farming.  In This Podcast: We had the pleasure of talking aquaponics with Jill Shea from Trifecta Ecosystems. Trifecta Ecosystems practices sustainable farming in their aquaponics farm and educates the community to grow their own food as part of the City that Feeds Itself initiative. In addition to the great community programs, we dove into how a...

Bonus Episode #26: Seed Saving Class March 2019.  In This Bonus Podcast: There are new things to learn in every conversation with Bill McDorman. This is the March 2019 episode of a Seed Saving Class - we go back to the basics on why to save seeds, how to start, how to store seeds, cross-pollination, planting diversity, and so much more. Bill McDorman is Executive Director of Rocky Mounta...

Having trees as partners in farming projects. In This Podcast: Akiva Silver spent years observing and learning from nature. He discusses how to partner with trees, talks about his new book, and shares some of his favorite trees. Listen in to learn about the different functions of trees, all the amazing ways we can use Hickory trees, and how to use some of the lesser know varieties in really c...