Toni Farmer's Garden: The Podcast

Food industry insider, Melissa Musiker, is back to talk about how we can change our food system by voting with our plate. Toni and Melissa talk McDonald's apple slices, complaining to your local grocer and the latest buzzword: fiber. New episodes of Toni Farmer's Garden: The Podcast are available every other Wednesday.

Adding fish (fertilizer) to your garden? That's the family business. Toni talks to Ann Molloy about her family's business: Neptune's Harvest. When Ann's father wanted to stop wasting fish that he was selling (only 30% of fish can be eaten), he discovered a new kind of fertilizer that's a miracle in the garden. Learn more about Ann's educational program at gloucestersalt.org . New episodes of Toni...

An average U.S. household loses $3,000 in food waste each year. Jonathan Deutsch, founder of the Drexel University Food Lab, works every day to help cut down on that food waste with more creative recipes, product development for university dining halls and food pantry strategy. Toni talks with him about how we can use his strategies in our own day to day lives. New episodes of Toni Farmer's Ga...

There's more to your garden center than packets of seeds. Toni gets the inside scoop from Val Nalls – owner of her family's garden center, Nalls Produce & Garden Center, in Alexandria, VA.  From the best days to visit and how not to ask for a discount to saying hi to your garden center cat (or even your garden center pigs!), Val filled us in on everything there is to know about your local gard...

If you feel like your home garden is becoming an uphill battle, you're not alone. A few years ago, Toni thought her garden had hit its peak. But then she focused on her soil's microbiome (don't worry, it's not as scary as it sounds), and everything changed. Today, ag-tech companies are jumping onto the soil microbiome trend and slowly but surely, new fertilizer products are hitting the shelves to...

As farmers age into retirement, the industry finds the younger generations – especially people in their 20's and 30's – stepping up to the field. Just like Bryce and Anna Kulik, owners of Folks Farm and Market. Toni chats with the Kuliks about the dirty details of running a farm, including the couple's real jobs and what it's like picking peaches while pregnant.

When Michelle Obama launched her Let's Move! campaign, Melissa Musiker was in the room helping the big food companies navigate the initiative (she was working for the Grocery Manufacturers Association). And the great thing about food industry insiders is that they're happy to share their knowledge. So Toni chatted with Melissa to get the inside scoop on what's landing on your kids' plates during l...

If you're dreading the conversations that will crop up at the Thanksgiving dinner table – SNAP, climate change, tariffs, MAHA – listen up! Toni and Klein are doing a little exercise. Klein (reluctantly) plays the role of your Uncle who has very different views than you when it comes to our food system. And Toni gives her tips for how to respond while still keeping the temperature cool for the holi...

Do you have to work on a farm to be exposed to – and affected by – pesticides? Toni dives into the science behind these questions with Dr. Elisa Jazan, who just got her PhD from Tufts University in Environmental Health, and spent years studying exactly that. New episodes of Toni Farmer's Garden: The Podcast are live each Wednesday!

Somewhere, in a lab, there are scientists trying to make food taste sweeter. Or saltier. Or more bitter. These scientists are hired by food companies to perfect their recipes and keep their products flying off the shelf. So this week, Toni sits down with food scientist Mark Hines to dig into how it happens. New episodes of Toni Farmer's Garden: The Podcast are available every Wednesday!

As food prices rise and SNAP benefits are cut, Toni's conversation with UPenn professor Domenic Vitiello about how people living in cities can access food feels more relevant than ever. The two chat about gardening with limited space, sharing fridges with your neighbors and much more to help anyone, living anywhere, find food. New episodes of Toni Farmer's Garden: The Podcast are available...

The second half of Toni's conversation with Maria Rodale (of the Rodale Institute) covers everything you need to know about eating organic...like why it's better for you, how to know if a product is actually organic (those labels can be tricky!) and what foods are carrying the most pesticides. Tune in every Wednesday for new episodes of Toni Farmer's Garden: The Podcast!

Toni talks with Maria Rodale, granddaughter of the founder of the Rodale Institute, about why our farming system is broken – and how we can fix it. Plus, did you know it takes 5 years for a farmer to switch to organic farming? And we talk why farmers don't change their votes even when it hurts them.