The Urban Farm Podcast Private feed for Members

Bonus Episode 23: Seed Saving Class November 2018.  A chat with an expert on Seeds.  In This Bonus Podcast:  There is always a bounty of information available in conversations with Bill McDorman. This is the November 2018 episode of a Seed Saving Class - learn about the seed paradigm and  seed history. Listen as the ethics of owning and naming seeds, and other interesting...

Transforming waste into soil, jobs, and community. In This Podcast:  Sarah Boltwala-Mesina, along with other parents, hoped to start a recycling program at their children’s school. This was the first step on her journey to creating Food2Soil, a business that collects food scraps from people and businesses in San Diego and turns those scraps into rich compost. Her company provides service...

From green lawns to green vegetables. In This Podcast:  As his wife and youngest daughter began struggling with celiac disease, John Brubaker believed that the pesticides used on vegetables were perhaps weakening their immune systems. This was his entry into organic urban farming. He began small with 20 beds and has been expanding ever since. John is growing...

Challenging the mono-CULTURE of farming.  A passion for the soil, the earth and her community started when Leah Penniman began farming at the age of 16. Through the years she has continued to work towards ending racism and injustice in our food system, and also on land reparations for people of color. She and her family have built Soul Fire Farm where they raise culturally...

Mixing up a health drink for soil organisms. In This Podcast: When Ben Klempner and his family moved from Jerusalem to the holy city of Tiberias, he researched how to make the soil healthy in order to grow his vegetables. Finding information that was beneficial wasn’t the only hurdle—he was so far away from the products he needed. He kept researching online and seemed to end up with the...

Growing an herbal antibiotic. In This Podcast: Bill Bruneau suffered from what eventually was diagnosed as a leaky gut caused by using pharmaceutical antibiotics. Knowing that plants had medicinal powers he searched out which ones were natural antibiotics and came upon limited but intriguing information on the genus Sida. He waited for someone to write a book about this super-weed and wh...

Embarking on extreme tasks to bring attention to important issues. In This Podcast: Rob Greenfield lived a fairly normal American life until 2011 when he began reading and watching documentaries that helped him realize he was contributing to the destruction of our planet. That was enough to set him on a course of performing extreme actions in order to motivate others to change as well. H...

Building up a better buzz on bees. In This Podcast: Walking by Lloyds of London with his wife Ashley, Lloyd Hardrick was intrigued by the beehives in the windows of the famous bank that shared his name. Curiosity led to research and research led to the career path that Lloyd and Ashley ventured on—raising bees. Making an impact on their community is the primary goal for Lloyd as he works...

Creating healthy, nutritious snacks. In This Podcast: Tanya Batche loved to bake but didn’t necessarily think of it as a career. Looking at the frightening trend of obesity and diabetes, she knew there must be a way to still enjoy, and allow others to enjoy her delicious endeavors. Tanya turned her love of baking into her life’s work, teaching us how to enjoy our treats bu...

Preferring the taste of fresh pressed over store bought. In This Podcast: Curiosity on what to do with the fruit from the three large olive trees in his new yard led Ron Mantini on a quest to make his own olive oil. Over the course of several years, with trial and error and the power of the internet, Ron has discovered how to make an delicious olive oil. He has learned how to turn the olives on hi...

Becoming a steward of the soil. In This Podcast:  As a contour farmer facing the problem of so much soil washing away in the rain, Steve Szudera found his solution when he borrowed a no-till drill in 1981. He never looked back as he learned how completing warm and cool crop cycles and protecting the soil from damage were keys to healthy, productive crops. Steve s...

Managing an urban farm for families in poverty or homeless. In This Podcast:  Being a single mother trying to provide nutritious options for her children in a food desert gave St. Vincent de Paul’s Urban Farm manager Nika Forte a great understanding and compassion for the people she serves. She shares with her belief that food should nourish the body, mind and spirit&...

Organically recycling through vermicomposting. In This Podcast:  Rhonda Sherman, an extension specialist in the Department of Horticultural Science at NC State University, shares how throwing away our food waste is a major problem in landfills, releasing methane gas which is a contributor to climate change and causing heavy metals to be released into water sources. She spe...

Bringing farm products to the local market. In This Podcast:  Lyndsay Ludden and her husband Eric wanted to grow real food. They talked about it all the time.  This led them to take the bold step to sell their home in Phoenix and find their perfect property in Cornville, Arizona. On just over two acres of land Lyndsay and Eric built their farm from scratch, beginning with chickens a...

Training future farmers to shape the future of our food system. In This Podcast:  Wondering where the bananas came from while eating them in his native United Kingdom was just the first step for Tobias Peggs, as he sought to figure out how to grow the food in his own city that previously would have spent weeks being shipped in from different climates. He was sure he could mimic the plants’ no...

Bonus Episode 22: Seed Saving Class October 2018. A chat with an expert on Seeds. In This Bonus Podcast: There is always a bounty of information available in conversations with Bill McDorman. This is the October 2018 episode of a Seed Saving Class - learn about Glass Gem Corn, how to be a seed steward, and why corn diversity is so important. Join the class! Register anytime for the next event. Reg...

Creating a line of homemade nutritious and delicious snacks. In This Podcast: As a young mother of two, and having just left corporate America, Ciara Bennett wanted something that was going to be helpful and healthful for her young children.  An inspiration to start making high-quality snacking granola also moved her build a business around this product while allowing her to keep her own...

Homesteading in the Suburbs. In This Podcast:  They planted their first fruit tree on a 1/10th-acre urban home. Prompted to look for something healthier, Duane Hebert moved to property just outside of Phoenix, or as he calls it – The Edge of Nowhere. On a semi-urban farm, they focused on growing healthy food and sharing with family, friends and a few customers. With a holistic mindset focused...

Being a resource for organic growers for over three decades. In This Podcast:  In 1988, Eliot Coleman literally wrote the book on being an organic grower and has been an invaluable resource for organic gardeners and farmers for three decades. He only started growing food because it sounded like an adventure; and he learned how through books and making friends with farmers around the world. We...

Changing the role of chemicals in our homes. In This Podcast:  It was not your typical birthday gift but a small collection of home cleaning products, and they changed Diann Peart’s direction in life.  She found a path that filled her passion and allowed her to truly make a difference. When she realized the products were chemical free, her passion for the environment and her desire to he...

Cooking with 8 ingredients or less. In This Podcast: After several years of contradictory and confusing medical advice, Brandi Doming was worn out trying to help her husband escape the pain of gout. As a new mom and a concerned wife, she sought out the next possible answer and found information on a plant-based vegan diet. This was the first one to give her husband some relief.  She started b...

Being bit by the urban farming bug and loving it. In This Podcast:  He was starting off on a vacant property with lots of Johnson Grass, almost no money, and no way to cut it down and remove it, yet this was not going to stop Michael Bell from building his urban farm. He got creative and found a resource to not only help remove the grass but turn it into an asset and deep rich soil in one sea...

Incorporating wild ingredients into every day and special occasion fare. In This Podcast:   Her curiosity, her love of gardening, and her creativity in the kitchen, come together beautifully and for our benefit when Marie Viljoen compiled recipes for her new cookbook.  She shares how she moved from gardening in 66 square feet to foraging all over New York City.  If you are ever...

Weathering the challenges of growing food in South Florida. In This Podcast:  Growing up and becoming a ward of the state, then becoming emancipated at 17 left a lifelong mark on Karin Fields, so when she started learning how to grow food in one of the most challenging and unique areas of the country, she wanted to help other young girls like her gain those skills too. For twenty years she ha...

Harvesting native foods in the Sonoran Desert. In This Podcast: The desert is full of amazing native plants that provide a rich, delicious bounty of food, IF you know what to look for and how to harvest it, and Brad Lancaster wants you know these secrets.  He is excited about a new cookbook that shares delicious and tested recipes for native trees and plants. And these plants are suited to th...