The Urban Farm Podcast Private feed for Members

683: Pollinators & Wildflowers. A Chat with an Expert on Seeds. In This Podcast: This is the May 2022 Seed Saving Class with Bill McDorman discussing planting wildflowers.  A diverse and integrated garden requires many different elements. Top on that list are pollinators and wildflowers. If you have a robust flower component to your cultivated gardens, so much of the extra workload is han...

Doing the hard work of setting up a strong community In This Podcast: Turn your vision for a successful community garden into a reality using the ten-step plan laid out by Christine Lance in this episode.  It is no surprise that gardening skills are a plus, but what about planning, land, and funding?  How do you develop collaborations, build relationships, and get the support that will b...

Home gardens are more efficient and effective than the industrial food system In This Podcast: David Fisher talks about what he has learned during the recent lockdowns about the productivity of home gardens versus the industrial food system. He studied in depth about the differences between two distinct sources of our food, as well as some of the external costs of the industrial food system. ...

Greg interviews Megan Baxter about her new book. Join us as we meet this delightful guest and learn about her journey to write a memoir about growing up on a farm. Megan has won numerous national awards, including a Pushcart Prize. Her work has been listed in The Best American Essays of 2019. She serves as a mentor to young writers and loves developing cross-genre and innovative creative writing p...

A chat with Michael Moore.   In This Garden Chat: Instead of starting a new crop in your gardens with tired old soil, consider boosting the potential yield and health of the crops by rejuvenating the soil each season. In this Garden Chat we talk with permaculture gardener and practitioner Michael Victoria Moore about how to boost the health of the ecosystem housing the roots of your plant bab...

678: Seed Saving Myths. A Chat with an Expert on Seeds. In This Podcast: This is the April 2022 Seed Saving Class with Bill McDorman discussing seed saving myths.  A myth is an idea or story that is believed by many people but that is not true, according to Webster’s Dictionary. Seed saving myths are plentiful and often are motivated by large corporations to increase seed sales and profits. Y...

Knowing a Thing or Two Dozen About Raising Hens and Collecting Eggs In This Podcast: Eggs are an important and readily available food source, and they are so very versatile.  Rediscover the humble egg with returning guest, Lisa Steele as she talks about her newest book, The Fresh Eggs Daily Cookbook .  She also tells us a bit about the process of writing the book, as well as what she fee...

A chat with Kari Spencer.   In This Garden Chat: Did you know that keeping a garden journal can help you to grow bigger and better vegetables? Kari Spencer, author of City Farming and Vegetable Gardening Journal & Logbook, will discuss the kinds of records that are important to keep, how to plan, and what to log anecdotally in a garden journal. She will share her personal record-keeping s...

675: Seed Dehybridizing. A Chat with an Expert on Seeds. In This Podcast: This is the March 2022 Seed Saving Class with Bill McDorman discussing seed dehybridizing.  We love hybrid vigor and what hybridized seed can offer. The only downside to using hybridized seed is you can’t save it. Wait a minute. What if you found out that isn’t true? That you could capture the best traits hybrid seed of...

Bringing a 365-Days-a-Year Local Food Solution to Everyone. In This Podcast: In the last of five special daily episodes, we hear from Liz and Lem Tingley, whose passion for health and sustainability led them to Growing Spaces.  They fill us in on how they came to be the new owners of the business, the amazing impact their geodesic Growing Domes are having on the communities where they ar...

A Couple of Friends Who Are Transforming Their Disadvantaged Community. In This Podcast: In the fourth of five special daily episodes, we hear from Wallace Kirby and Boe Luther who have made it their mission to transform life and land.  Their non-profit community garden in Washington D.C. was awarded a Growing Spaces growing dome which they plan to use as both an educational classroom and a w...

Sharing the Passion of Gardening into the Community Starting at Home. In This Podcast: In the third of five special daily episodes, we hear from Andrew Trujillo whose seeds of inspiration were planted in him as a child.  When those seeds began to sprout as an adult, he watered and nourished them by connecting with and learning from lots of other gardeners.  Andrew now uses his Growing Sp...

Engineering a Growing Community. In This Podcast: In the second of five daily special episodes, we hear from Eric Andrews, who is using a forty-two-foot Growing Spaces growing dome to educate and inspire the members of his Detroit community.  Eric’s excitement is contagious as he shares the incredible story behind the nonprofit he cofounded and tells us how the dome will contribute to its mis...

Creating a sustainable greenhouse business in the 90’s. In This Podcast: In the first of five special daily episodes, we hear from Puja and Udgar Parsons, the founders of Growing Spaces.  They give us a peek inside their geodesic dome greenhouse kits, detailing how they work and describing the features that improve upon a traditional greenhouse.  Udgar explains how the dome’s shape is an...

There’s More to Gardening Than Merely Keeping Pests at Bay. In This Podcast: Christy Wilhelmi returns to tell us about her latest book, Garden Variety , a novel set in a community garden.  She explains why she wrote the book and shares a little bit about the process, then she introduces us to the characters and even narrates a page or two.  As expected, Christy weaves some amazing garden...

Understanding the Importance of Keeping Grounded While Trying to Make a Difference In This Podcast: We talk a lot about agricultural practices, climate change, and the global food supply, and the news is not always great.  Rebecca Ruda reflects on the anxiety this can cause and reminds us that just as the problems of the world deserve our attention, so does our mental health.  She provid...

Highlighting Entrepreneurs with Strong Moral Standings and an Understanding of Regenerative Practices. In This Podcast: When we think of permaculture, we immediately think of farms, gardens and homesteads, but Joshua Prieto broadens our perspective.  These principles are so universal, they can (and should!) be applied to more than just our gardens.  Joshua explains his unique programs th...

In Part 2 of this special 3 part series, Greg Peterson reflects on the upcoming move from the Urban Farm in Arizona, to a new, yet to be named farm in North Carolina.  He talks about the factors leading up to the move and the criteria for choosing the new location. "Well, the news is out and there are big changes in my life. Heidi and I are moving, and this is not a little move. We are t...

A chat with Lisa Ziegler.   In This Garden Chat: Every vegetable garden can benefit from having beautiful flowers in and around the area. Beautiful blooms can boost the aesthetics and add a wide pallet of colors. Some flowers can repel unwanted pests, and some flowers can bring in healthy pollinators. Some flowers are even edible. Let's get in the know with Lisa Ziegler of "Vegetables Love Fl...

In Part 1 of this special 3 part series about the Past, Present and Future of the Urban Farm, Greg Peterson reviews the history of the Urban Farm and gives a sneak peek into the future. "Well, the news is out and there are big changes in my life. Heidi and I are moving, and this is not a little move. We are transporting ourselves 1900 miles to our dream home in Asheville, North Carolina.&nbsp...

662: Starting Your Seeds Indoors in Trays. A Chat with an Expert on Seeds. In This Podcast: This is the February 2022 Seed Saving Class with special guest Kari Spencer discussing starting your seeds indoors. Kari shares insights on how to get a head start on your spring gardens by starting your seeds indoors in trays. We will talk about germination temps, timing, and nutrition as well as how to av...

Reducing Agricultural Nitrogen Runoff into Rivers and Oceans In This Podcast: Abby Schaefer didn’t know what she wanted to do when she started college, but she went with the flow and turned her love of chemistry into a career studying water as a bio-systems engineer.  Abby studies woodchip bioreactors, a relatively new technology which harnesses the power of microbes to remove excess nitrogen...

A chat with Bill McDorman.   In This Garden Chat: Your tastiest vegetables can be grown again and again from your own garden! Future harvests are just a few steps away from what you are growing now and Bill McDorman can help you see the path to the future you want.  Explore the benefits of seed saving, learn how to take those first steps, and keep your journey on course with a free class...

Companion Planting. A Chat with an Expert on Seeds. In This Podcast: This is the December 2021 Seed Saving Class with Bill McDorman  and special guest Kari Spencer discussing companion planting. Why work so hard in your garden? Gardening should be fun, relaxing and stress free. Unfortunately many of us don’t subscribe to that philosophy. We worry, we fret and we fear we aren’t doing it right....

Growing Fruit Trees WhileAdapting to Changing Climates. In This Podcast: Mike Biltonen explains how he applies pre-industrial farming principles to help food farmers plan for the unpredictable weather that affects their crops.  He remains a positive voice in the often negative conversation surrounding climate change, and advocates for quality of nutrition over quantity of production, focusing...