The Urban Farm Podcast Private feed for Members

Understanding the living matrix that affects the quality of our food. In This Podcast: Having been drawn to the wonders of soil quality early on, Elizabeth Murphy has studied this living matrix in great detail.  She wants to make soil care an intuitive concept that all growers have. Today she shares some of the basics and with us including the make-up of soil, why cover crops are important an...

            Understanding a gentle and helpful creature  essential to our food production. In This Podcast:  It was a simple and unexpected class that ignited Stephanie Elson Bruneau’s passion for beekeeping and many others are benefiting from this as well.  She takes the time to explain some of the key aspects of bees and beeke...

Making gardening easier through a series of simple shortcuts, and changing your life through gardening. In This Podcast: Initially we thought this might be an episode that focused on gardening hacks, and Shawna Coronado has over 100 hacks to share, so we did get to hear some cool ideas. Yet there was so much more to the conversation as important mindsets to help make gardening and life in gen...

Using native plants to creatively interact with wildlife and avoid landscaping conflicts. In This Podcast: If you are a person who really cares about all wildlife and creatures great and small then it probably bothers you a lot if an animal is killed through human carelessness.  This is the podcast for you.  Nancy Lawson writes about smart gardening choices that can reduce the problems o...

Helping one city understand the realities of food insecurity. In This Podcast: Finishing her master’s degree required a semester project and Cindy Tran’s had fallen through since the city food policy she was going to evaluate had not been passed yet. Realizing the city leaders either did not fully understand what food security was or how significant the issue of food insecurity was for their own c...

Inspiring creativity in communities everywhere. In This Podcast: It was a lucky find that inspired Margret Aldrich to change her direction and motivated her to write a book about how the finding or creating that same thing has affected many others. The Little Free Library project is going worldwide and with each little one there is more community building, inspiration ignited, and enlightenment co...

Building a business on the tiniest greens. In This Podcast: As a young adult with an unfocused passion, Joseph Martinez was looking for something that he could feel good doing.  His travels gave him little nudges in the right direction, but things did not really come clear until he decided to start a business with his brother and got some unexpected advice from a client. Just a few years late...

Bonus Episode 5: Seed Chat July 2017 A chat with experts on Seeds, Bill McDorman and Julia Coffey. In This BONUS Podcast:Bill McDorman brings a friend and fellow seed enthusiast Julia Coffey to the chat to help explain about running a seed business.  Together they talk to Greg about being a seed grower, germination testing, maintaining seed projects,  running a seed business and much mor...

Meeting the first 'Poultry Personality' of Backyard Poultry. In This Podcast: His hobby of raising chickens developed into helping others succeed in raising their own. This led Andy Schneider into becoming the first well known "poultry personality" in the world of backyard poultry and eventually running a business that he loves.  He...

Covering some basic questions about making cheese at home In This Podcast: Having a small dairy farm is very helpful if you are going to make cheese at home, and Gianaclis Caldwell shares some of the truths she collected as she learned to make her own cheeses.  She helps explain some of the differences between common cheeses as well as how slight changes in the proces...

Working together with other small farms to provide farm goods to a local economy. In This Podcast: Not having enough eggs to keep her farm stand stocked, Deb Kolaras reached out to a couple neighboring small farms to add their products to hers. What has developed is a successful honor based farm stand that neighbors shop to find their fresh produce...

Buzzing through some basics on bees, hives and honey. In This Podcast:  Starting from a bucket list item on her boyfriend's wall, Hilary Kearney jumped into the world of beekeeping and found her passion.  She teaches us some basics about bees, beekeeping, and the honey that they produce.  She also shares some tips for new beekeepers including some highlights of introducing new...

Motivating the necessary people to create and maintain a lasting grade school garden program. In This Podcast:  A class project for her community college biology students to create a school garden at an elementary school challenged Lori Rose to move from the theoretical world to the epic one she has created for the local grade schools in her community. The tricky...

Learning the identity and uses for common plants growing wild in North America. In This Podcast: Sharing her knowledge about wild herbs and plants is exactly what Brigitte Mars wants to do and she used modern technology to reach this goal. After an inspiring walk with a couple of Navy Seals, she focused on making a new mobile app specifically to help identify wild plants and educate on their...

Bonus Episode 4: Ask Jake and Greg.  A July 2017 Q&A session with two experts on Gardening and Fruit Trees. In This BONUS Podcast: 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...

Improving results in your garden through planning and record keeping. In This Podcast: Putting a brand new edible landscape together for homeowners and even apartment communities in the Seattle area is just another work day for Colin McCrate, and he loves it.  So, after several years and many gardens built & maintained, he has learned a thing or two about how to improve the production of...

Spreading Education and support about an oft dismissed, yet devastating disease. In This Podcast: There is a disease spreading across the United States and other countries, unchecked and in many cases dismissed or ignored, at great physical, emotional and financial cost.  Sarah Schlichte Sanchez was infected in a state that supposedly did not have Lyme disease, so getting answers and help was...

Assisting urban and rural farmers negotiate the maze of promotion and marketing. In This Podcast: When agriculture is a serious passion, then one way or another your path will probably lead you to a place like a state farm bureau.  Julie Murphree cares so much about helping farmers find ways to succeed that she wrote a book and tries to personally deliver them when she visits farms in her sta...

Addressing the impact water scarcity will have on food resources on a national level. In This Podcast: Filmmaker and environmental planner Jim Thebaut has been working hard to educate others about serious issues involving the water-food nexus which can have a major impact on national security.  Although his upcoming film is regionally based, the consequences can have tremendous reach.  H...

266: Jonathan Pereira on What is Beyond Sustainable.  Creating a circular economy system with cooperating businesses for shared benefits. In This Podcast: Cooperating business that work together to succeed as they reduce the waste stream at the same time. While this might sound unrealistic, this concept is succeeding through a project in Chicago, and Jonathan Pereira tells us more about...

Shifting a food-growing landscape into a more natural system In This Podcast: Learning about many different methods to garden, Kateen Fitzgerald kept going and learning until she found the program that put everything into place for her.  Now she teaches others about permaculture, dynamic designing, and working with nature to cultivate a landscape to a beautiful and productive result.  Sh...

Bonus Episode 3: Brendan Gaughran on Liver Health. Chat with an expert on Gut Health.  In This BONUS Podcast: Brendan Gaughran was a podcast guest not too long before this interview which took place one evening as Greg invited him back to discuss gut health further and specifically focus on liver health. This is a variety of health and nutrition issues brought into an easy to understand persp...

264: Anne Biklé on Microbial Roots of Life and Health Mapping the nutritional highway that connects healthy soil to healthy plants In This Podcast: The microscopic world of fungi and other soil organisms is crucial to the health of soil, plants and any being that lives off those plants. Biologist Anne Biklé understands the relationship between the lifeforms which create the microbiome that st...

263: Deanna Cook on Kids and Farmers Markets Creating an early love of healthy foods and cooking through fun activities. In This Podcast:  Encouraging kids to enjoy healthy cooking and eating is an investment in their future, and Deanna Cook has some activities to help make that a little easier and a lot more fun.  Working with kids, learning how they enjoy cooking, and helping them have...

262: Bill Sadler on Nutrition to the Soil and Plants Developing solutions for our growing mediums In This Podcast: Soil nutrition is not just a simple matter to Dr. Bill Sadler; it is so significant that feeding the life in the soil is central to the whole life cycle.  He explains the importance of healthy nutrition for the multiple families of organisms in the soil, as well as why different...