The Urban Farm Podcast Private feed for Members

Helping small farmers build their brands and grow their business. In This Podcast: A relaxing horseback ride with his wife helped motivate businessman Tim Young into the strange new world of farming. He didn't know much about farming, but he knew a lot about marketing so he used that knowledge to help build their farmstead into a successful one with award-winning products. Not content with being t...

The September 2017 Q&A session with two experts on Gardening and Fruit Trees Jake Mace the Vegan Athlete and Greg Peterson of The Urban Farm are both gardening educators offering classes, podcasts, and videos on a large variety of gardening topics. Every month they get together for a monthly gardening chat to discuss what is going on in their gardens and answer your questions. To dive in, get...

Paying attention to the pests and diseases that affect crops. In This Podcast: Science and the study of the biology of plants is a true calling for Robert Reeder, as he has been part of different projects at CABI for several decades; and his focus on the Plantwise Programme is something that is making a difference. He shares with us how the Programme is helping farmers in developing countries diag...

Adding some sweet and spice to life through delicious fruit jams. In This Podcast: A simple request to help fill a charity basket for cancer patients has turned into a small food-craft business for Jan McCarthy. Acting on the request of her son to help out a charity event, Jan made a few jars of jam.  Little did she realize how popular they would become, especially once she put her own specia...

Operating a small-scale diversified farm. In This Podcast: Growing up in an urban community in Chicago would not normally lead a person to choose a farming lifestyle, but during her college years several things led her to the agriculture career she has now. Liz Whitehurst tells us about the nudges that pushed her this direction as well as the amazing opportunity that came her way at the right time...

Bonus Episode 9: Seed Chat, September 2017 A chat with an expert on Seeds, Bill McDorman In This Bonus Podcast: There is always a bounty of information available in conversations with Bill McDorman. This is the September 2017 episode with a Seed School Chat Class continuing the conversation on Seed Saving Principles, Intellectual Property rights, Seed Saving policy history, and so much m...

Making the most of small spaces for gardens. In This Podcast: Returning guest Jessica Walliser opens our eyes and minds to working in small spaces with container gardens.  She worked hard to make a comprehensive book with important steps and key details for those who wish to make a container work for growing their vegetables, fruits and flowers too. And we get a few ideas for containers too....

Growing crops and raising livestock in urban spaces. In This Podcast:  Returning guest Kari Spencer talks about her first book City Farming, and shares about some of the key aspects of farming in a city space.  She visited several farms to research other perspectives and methods and gathered all the data into this book. She also tells about how it is so jam packed with information that p...

Checking for the presence of pesticide in our food. In This Podcast: A youth spent on an organic sheep farm, and early adulthood spent traveling as a journalist led Henry Rowlands to the development of Sustainable Pulse – a news source dedicated to informing on sustainable agriculture. He now leads up the Detox Project which helps increase awareness of pesticide exposure in our foods and our bodie...

Attuning our minds to social permaculture solutions. In This Podcast: When given the opportunity to make an abandon greenhouse become useful Adam Brock and a few friends created the GrowHaus.  He has traveled many places focusing on the invisible structures of permaculture design and has crafted a course that teaches how to see the needs and make a difference in your community. He tells us ho...

Documenting the histories of seeds in Baker Creek Catalogs. In This Podcast:  Traveling the world to get the unique seeds and document their stories – a dream job for a writer and gardener like Shannon McCabe.  She tells us a little more about how she got started working for Baker Creek Seeds and some of the perks of working for a visionary like Jere Gettle. She also shares about the upc...

Translating fowl language for urban farmers. In This Podcast: After moving all the way across the country, Melissa Caughey shares why she added chickens to her family.  She tells about how, with her science and teaching background, she eventually started teaching people about chickens. Always learning, she discovered there is a fowl language that could be understood and started teaching other...

Recognizing the connections between insects and plant life. In This Podcast: Several years into running a landscaping company, a few key employees opened Jessica Walliser's eyes to the importance of avoiding pesticides. Taking the time to educate herself, she converted to a whole new mindset and is now an avid teacher about natural pest control. She tells us about the predator-prey cycle and...

Breaking down some factors in the science of studying soil. In This Podcast:  It was not her first thought when she went college, but after an inspiring study abroad trip, Mary found her passion in the science of studying soil. She tells us how this life path change occurred, and how she not only found a topic she could literally dig into, but also a society that she would enjoy and now repre...

Stacking beekeeping businesses with alternative energy for everyone's benefit. In This Podcast: Chiara and Travis Bolton are not just any regular beekeepers, they are also changemakers in that they have devised an innovative way to help several aspects of their local community in environmentally friendly and the area of sustainable energy.  They realized they could stack the functions of beek...

Embracing simplicity and starting a new life. In This Podcast:  After spending some time completing an earthen building project and maintaining two mortgages and many of the standard life trappings, Leanne Phillips realized this was not the lifestyle she was looking for and decided to simplify.  She moved to a remote property off a 10-mile dirt road and started over without the infrastru...

Finding amazing seeds and becoming a seed storyteller. In This Podcast:  Her young life was spent on a small island near a 300-year-old farm, with a family that loved to share history through storytelling.  Then Shannon McCabe got a chance to work for Baker Creek Seeds and now she documents the stories of seeds from around the world. She explains just what an heirloom seed is, and why th...

Seeking natural solutions for food waste recycling. In This Podcast:  It was his grandmother’s principles about not wasting food or resources in rural Georgia that influenced  Dr. Jeff Tomberlin’s  philosophies on his life. He found his calling in college and has dedicated much of his energies to teaching others about nature’s extremely effective recycling tool – the Black Soldier F...

Getting to know more about the popular culinary fungi. In This Podcast:  His space was limited and he wanted to start a small food growing business, then Kevin Fitzgerald found his perfect match in growing mushrooms and selling them at the farmers market.  He talks with us today about the mycelium that is a favorite of many foodies, and has such potential to nourish while also helping th...

Bringing exotic flavor to local food systems. In This Podcast:  Starting off at age 18, Joshua Burman Thayer was headed in the direction of working with plants and nature. He took his time before getting his permaculture certificate, but he packed a lot of learning and hands-on experience in during that period. Now, he is sharing that training, knowledge, and passion as he builds food forests...

Chatting with a Sustainable Farming giant. In This Podcast:  Having three generations of regenerative and sustainable farmers to learn from, Joel Salatin was very immersed in the philosophies of farming that rejected the use of chemicals.  Their efforts over the years on the virtually barren land his father purchased in the early 60’s has resulted in a vibrant, and productive farm that J...

Getting ready to raise chickens from eggs with your kids. In This Podcast: Raising chickens for eggs has been a joy of Fresh Eggs Daily author Lisa Steele’s for quite some time, so it was natural for her to write a book about raising chickens from eggs too.  She tells us how she decided to write a book for kids and why it is so special.  She also shares some tips and techniques for makin...

Recognizing the seasonal commonalities in different areas. In This Podcast:  It was the timing of it all that needed to be addressed, so author and farmer Ann Larkin Hansen realized she needed to write a book about how to recognize the right time to do things on the farm no matter where you lived. She took the time to identify the seasons in ways that would make sense in every area because it...

Tackling local food waste and hunger through team effort. In This Podcast:  Retirement does not mean you no longer contribute to your community, in fact retired teacher Steve Knight has taken advantage of his free time to do the make a huge difference for local food charities, and create a new club in his area. When he realized local farms had leftover produce after the harvest, he organized...

Harvesting sustainable and nourishing foods found growing in the wild. In This Podcast: Taking the skills handed down for generations, Mark Lewis is very comfortable eating foods he finds in the wild. He teaches about these foods and their history to the next generation as well as to the people he meets while working at local farmers markets.  He is also starting a private farm hoping to save...