The Urban Farm Podcast With Greg Peterson

800: Robbie Shaw on American Chestnut Blight and Rescue.Saving an iconic resource almost lost to history.In This Podcast: What if you discovered a long lost tree, one that there used to be billions of two centuries ago, but are now functionally extinct? Today's guest found one and rather than do nothing, she wrote a book about their story. Join Robbie Shaw as she shares the epic adventure of the American Chestnut.Our Guest: Robbie is a naturalist with a deep passion for storytelling that dates back to her childhood. When she stumbled across the New York Times article about an incurable blight that brought about the functional extinction of the American chestnut Forrest, she was moved and shocked. She wondered why generations of her family living in these forests never spoke about this incredible loss and why she had never learned about it in school.It has taken a century, but today’s science and technology exist to address this tragedy and turn back the hands of time.  Restoring a functionally extinc

799: Prepping Soil for New GardensA Rosie On The House Radio Show ReplayIn This Podcast: Soil the most important thing you can be investing in for your garden. Made up of 5 components and if all you have is the dirt component your chances of success are low. Invest the time to learn then invest in soil. This is our Rosie on the House segment with Shota Austin from Tanks green Stuff.Our Guest: Shota Austin has worked in the agricultural industry since 2005 working with livestock (goats, sheep, cattle, chickens), cotton, alfalfa, nursery crops, orchards, and vegetable production. As a former U of A Compost Cat Shota has been working with compost since 2013, and works for Tanks Green Stuff. As the Director of Tanks Green Stuff, he oversees all aspects of the business including production, quality control, product development, sales, marketing, social media, customer service.Visit www.UrbanFarm.org/799Rosie for the show notes and links on this episode!Need a little bit of advice or just a feedback on your de

798: Cami Prada on Being a Beginning FarmerA Journey to a more fulfilling lifestyle.In This Podcast: What if it was time for you to leave your corporate life and jump into a life of farming? Well that is exactly what Cami Prada did. She left her life in Miami to start anew in a small town in North Carolina. Now she works at a farm that has an honor stand and with the bee lady working her booth at the farmers market...and is finding life much more fulfilling.Our Guest: Rooted from the vibrant city of Miami Beach, the concept of farming was a distant echo in Cami’s upbringing. It wasn't until adulthood that the notion of 'sustainability' ignited her passion for Earth stewardship. In May 2022, she made a BIG move to the Small quaint town of Burnsville, NC. After a corporate layoff, she found solace and purpose as a farmer at a local farm that doubles as an Honor Produce Stand. Embracing the rural lifestyle, she also lends a hand to a beekeeper friend, sharing the golden sweetness of local honey at her commu

794: John Collet on Growing From Home Gardener to Market GardenerEncouraging people to grow food and sell their extra produce at a farmers market  In This Podcast: John Collet is a long distance runner that decided after a lifetime of hobby gardening to jump all in to market gardening, without knowing he was doing it. After successfully growing a ton (literally) of food and listening to the Urban Farm Podcast he decided to jump in to his local farmers market and boy was he surprised and pleased.Our Guest: John is a 5 Time NCAA Div 3 All American in Cross Country and Track who has Gardened off and on over the last 30 years. When he turned 50, he got serious about gardening and now has a 50’ x 100’ vegetable garden along with a separate space for apples, peaches, raspberries, black currants and cherries.He and his family grow and eat from his garden year round in Zone 5B where he grows lettuce, kale, collards, spinach, carrots, beets, garlic, onions, leeks, peas, beans, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant,

796: Rebecca Newburn on Documenting Seed LibrariesConnecting Seed Communities Worldwide.In This Podcast: Join Rebecca Newburn as she shares just what a seed library is and her organizations efforts to document where they are. They have had incredible success in first encouraging people to start seed libraries and now to document their world wide spread, in many different countries and languages.Our Guest: Rebecca is the Co-Founder of Richmond Grows Seed Lending Library, a free seed exchange located in the Richmond Public Library in Richmond, California where she lives. The “create a library” template she designed has helped hundreds of seed libraries launch around the world. She is the webmaster for SeedLibraries.net and the editor of Cool Beans! Seed Libraries Newsletter, an international publication supporting local seed projects.Visit www.UrbanFarm.org/seedcensus for the show notes and links on this episode! Need a little bit of advice or just a feedback on your design for your yard or garden?The Urban

795: William Horvath on Permaculture Farming in CroatiaEncouraging and assisting aspiring permaculturistsIn This Podcast: Join William as he shares his story of growing up in war torn Croatia in the early 1990's then exploring Australia and discovering permaculture first hand from David Holmgren. And finally he tells how he returned home to start his own permaculture adventure and educational platform.Our Guest: William Horvath is a geologist turned permaculture farmer and educator. He runs a small experimental permaculture site in Croatia, Southeast Europe, as well as his website Permaculture Apprentice, where he helps aspiring permaculture farmers and homesteads find, design, and develop their properties. Through his consulting and coaching work, William has assisted over 1,000 people in starting their permaculture properties and implementing permaculture systems, from backyard to broad scale.Book Recommendation: Retro Suburbia by David HolmgrenVisit www.UrbanFarm.org/PermacultureApprentice for the show

794: Kristin Parsons on GuildsA Rosie On The House Radio Show ReplayIn This Podcast: Kristin Parsons joined us for our monthly Rosie on the House Radio hour talking about plant guilds. What is a guild you say? It is a beneficial collection of purposely planted plants that self generate in the future. Ya know kinda like nature does. She also share the 7 components of a guild...Enjoy!Our Guest: Kristin is a native Texan, went to college in Kansas, and ended up in Arizona in 2004. She’s been gardening, raising chickens, planting fruit trees, and constructing buildings ever since! She completed her Permaculture Design Course in 2015 and since then has been focusing on local food system development and permaculture.  She lives on an half-acre edible landscape property that has over 75 fruit trees n Scottsdale. She and her business partner Melissa run Cultivated LLC., a company that provides hands-on workshops on freeze dried foods and locally grown flowers.Visit www.urbanfarm.org/794Rosie for the show n

793: Lee Reich on Growing and Pruning Fruit TreesIn This Podcast: Lee Reich joins us to share his multi decade journey from perpetual college student to author and fruit tree grower. Lee shares his incredible journey from a chance meeting with Elliot Coleman to his present tay farmden and beyond.Our Guest: Lee dove into gardening decades ago, initially with one foot in academia, as an agricultural scientist with the USDA and Cornell University, and one foot in the field, the organic field. He eventually expanded his field to a farmden (more than a garden, less than a farm) and left academia to lecture, consult, and write. He has authored nine books and was a syndicated columnist for the Associated Press. Besides providing a year ‘round supply of fruits and vegetables, his farmden provides a testing ground for innovative techniques in soil care, pruning, and growing fruits and vegetables, plus provides an educational site for workshops and trainings. Science and an appreciation of natural systems underpin a

792: Bryce and Brita Lundberg on Growing Organic RiceContinuing a multi-generational practice of regenerative organic farming.In This Podcast: Brita and Bryce Lundberg of Lundberg Family Farms join us to share their four-generation family journey into Regenerative Organic farming. It is an amazing story that started in the great American dust bowl, then created a mantra of leaving the land and environment better than they found it.Our Guests: In 1937, Brita’s great-grandparents left Nebraska in the wake of the Dust Bowl after seeing how farming techniques stripped the land of its topsoil.  When they moved to California, they decided to do things differently by tending to soil, air, water, and wildlife as carefully as their crops so they can deliver on their founding promise to leave the land better than they found it. The Lundberg family began farming organically in the late 1960s and, in 2023, became the first U.S. grown rice brand to launch Regenerative Organic Certified® rice. Brita is a fourth-gen

791: Jeff Robinson on Grow a Lot with Little Space Growing way more food than one could eat by oneself.In This Podcast: Join us in a conversation with Jeff Robinson about how he grew from a environmental science professional into a professional farmer. In a quarter acre of land and with a little planning he is growing and processing strawberries, blueberries, cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers to prepare and sell salsas, pickles, jams and jellies. He is doing incredible work and has gone from a dream to reality in just a few years.Our Guest: Jeff’s background is in Environmental Science, and has spent the last decade working for regulatory agencies doing compliance inspections to help promote a healthy environment.  However, growing plants, vegetables, and flowers has been a passionate hobby of his for close to 15 years and has given him a lot of leftover produce each season. Unwilling to throw it away, he had to think of something to do with all of it and about ten years ago he started canning.  S

790: Tom Spellman on Best Fruit Tree Pruning Practices.Keeping fruit trees manageable for typical backyards.In This Podcast: What are the best practices for growing fruit trees in our front and back yards. It is not the way fruit trees are grown in orchards. So then what? Join Greg, and Janis as we chat with Tom Spellman from Dave Wilson Nursery to discover the best backyard orchard techniques for you.Our Guest: Tom has been involved in the nursery business since 1973. At that time, he was a freshman in high school and rode his skateboard to work. Since then he has worked for several different nurseries including La Verne Nursery where he was general manager for 20 years. And currently he is the southwestern sales manager for Dave Wilson Nursery for the last two decades. Dave Wilson Nursery is the largest grower of fruit, nut and shade trees in the USA. They grow 10 million plus trees per year and ship wholesale worldwide. Over the past 20 years Tom has also done television, video, radio, written, conduc

784: Wildflower Seed Chat. A chat with an expert on seeds.In This Seed Chat:This is the December 2023 Seed Chat - Who doesn't love wildflowers? Contrary to popular belief, you don't toss wildflowers on your land and hope that they grow.Like most crops, they need special tending to get them started. If you're really daring, you might mimic the patterns of the plants whose seeds you want to sprout. But keep in mind, wild plants put out thousands of seeds because so many of them don't make it. They're looking for the odds to be in their favor. Join Bill & Greg as they dive into this seedy topic.Visit www.urbanfarm.org/seeds23dec for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!What is the Seed Chat?At least ten times a year we have a live Seed Saving Class with Bill McDorman, the former Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, Ketchum, Idaho. He got his start in the bio-regional seed movement while in college in 1979 when he helped start Garden City Seeds. In 1984,

788: It’s Not Too Late to Plant Your Fruit TreesA Rosie on The House Radio Show Replay"Rosie on the House is a father and son weekly radio show on home-improvement advice that is found on several key Arizona radio stations. It is a trusted source of home-improvement advice and know-how. Rosie and Romey Romero consider that an honor and a responsibility, a feeling that Greg shares."In This Show:It's not to late to plant your fruit trees and you know the old adage the best time to plant a tree is now and 20 years ago. So let's get to it and plant our trees. Join Greg and Romey as they explore what ultimate fruit tree success really means and how not to waist our time on trees that just don't do all that well.Rosie on The House: On the fourth Saturday of each month, Farmer Greg will talk with Romey about all aspects of gardening and urban farming in the Arizona climates…7Gardening Tips * Chickens * Composting * Smart Watering Tips * Fruit Trees * Seed Saving * Sonoran Desert Weather * Permaculture TidbitsVisi

787: Paul Wheaton on Horticultural Techniques.Teaching an effective way to build hügelkultur gardens.In This Podcast: In this episode we talk to Paul about what is and what isn't hügelkultur. Greg was pretty sure he knew going in what and how to and was really surprised that he was way off base. Join us as we discover how to build our own 7 foot tall hügelkultur bed and why it is important.Our Guest: Paul Wheaton, is an author, producer, certified advanced master gardener, and is the lead mad scientist of Wheaton Labs and Permies.com. After a successful career as a software engineer in aerospace, Paul became obsessed with everything permaculture. He has created hundreds of videos and podcasts, and written dozens of articles and several books.  Visit www.urbanfarm.org/WheatonLabs for the show notes and links on this episode!Need a little bit of advice or just a feedback on your design for your yard or garden?The Urban Farm Team is offering consults over the phone or zoom. Get the benefits of a persona

786: Judith Horvath on A Resilient Food Supply Chain.Helping small farmers get started successfully.In This Podcast: Twenty years ago, driven by her children's allergies, Judith unknowingly started homesteading—ripping up her lawn to grow clean produce. This journey expanded to a farm. After eight years of a corporate-farming double life, the pandemic prompted a leap into full-time farming and consulting. Now, she helps others embark on farming ventures, fostering spiritual richness.Our Guest: Judith has journeyed from a white-collar business executive to hair sheep and dairy goat farmer.  When Covid and global events laid bare the fragility of our food supply chain, Judith found a way to leave corporate life to concentrate solely on farming.  Today she’s helping launch a new generation of small farmers with the goal of establishing a resilient local food supply chain based on regenerative agriculture methods, rotationally grazed grass-fed meats, and nutrient dense produce.  She’s on a missio

785: VermicompostingA Garden Chat with Enoch Graham.In This Garden Chat:Vermicomposting is an incredibly useful gardening skill that converts kitchen scraps and garden waste into gardener's gold. Join us as we chat with our good friend Enoch Graham to discuss the process that most any gardener can do in their own space. Our Special Guest:Enoch is a small space gardener who has been growing some of his own food for over 12 years in his limited urban space in Southern Oregon. Growing so many different varieties of vegetables and fruits in his limited space garden has taken his gardening skills to a new level each year and he's been sharing his gardening adventures with his viewers on YouTube at The Urban Gardener Channel for the last 7 years. When his passion for growing food grew over the past few years he never imagined where it would take him. He is constantly surprised by what he gets back by sharing his growing adventure.Need a little bit of advice or just a feedback on your design for your yard or garde

784: Grains And Your Gut Instinct. A chat with an expert on seeds.In This Seed Chat:This is the November 2023 Seed Chat about how our modern-day grains have gone through huge genetic changes and many would say not particularly for the better. There is a harkening back to ancient and heritage grains that are better for bellies, taste great and are easy to grow. Join us for this Seed Chat to learn about the Fresh Flour movement and how it is taking the country by storm. Come Chat with Us!.Visit www.urbanfarm.org/seeds23nov for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!What is the Seed Chat?At least ten times a year we have a live Seed Saving Class with Bill McDorman, the former Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, Ketchum, Idaho. He got his start in the bio-regional seed movement while in college in 1979 when he helped start Garden City Seeds. In 1984, Bill started Seeds Trust/High Altitude Gardens, a mail order seed company he ran successfully until it sold in

783: Christian Marr on Marvelous and Modest MushroomsTeaching others about wild food and fungiIn This Podcast: Join us on this episode as we delve into the captivating world of wild food and fungi with Christian Marr, a seasoned mycologist and co-founder of Closed Loop Lab LLC. Christian's journey, fueled by a deep passion for the natural world and shaped by her science-oriented upbringing, unfolds into a holistic exploration of healing, academic pursuits, and permaculture experiences. We unravel the metaphorical richness of fungi in understanding life's intricacies, and Christian sheds light on the incredible capabilities of mycelium, the hidden network beneath mushrooms.Our Guest: Christian has been studying mycology and cultivating fungi for over 13 years. She has a BS in Biology plus an Associates of Engineering and recently founded Closed Loop Lab LLC with her business partner and microbiologist, Beth Kennedy. Christian is also very passionate about education and citizen science,  she truly belie

782: Patio Farming - Growing Food in Pots and ContainersA Rosie on The House Radio Show ReplayIn This Episode: What if farming could be simple? A few pots on the patio, either back or front and you are growing food for yourself and the neighborhood. Join Greg as he chats with Kari Spencer about Patio Farming and how to get it done. It is really that simple."Rosie on the House is a father and son weekly radio show on home-improvement advice that is found on several key Arizona radio stations. It is a trusted source of home-improvement advice and know-how. Rosie and Romey Romero consider that an honor and a responsibility, a feeling that Greg shares."Rosie on The House: On the fourth Saturday of each month, Farmer Greg will talk with Romey about all aspects of gardening and urban farming in the Arizona climates…7Gardening Tips * Chickens * Composting * Smart Watering Tips * Fruit Trees * Seed Saving * Sonoran Desert Weather * Permaculture TidbitsVisit www.urbanfarm.org/782-rosie for the show notes on this e

781: Alexandra Kutner on You Are What You EatBringing a passion for health into a healthy snack businessIn This Podcast: Join Greg as he chats with Alexandra Kutner and how she transformed her life with a healthy lifestyle, food is medicine, non-toxic house attitude! Alexandra is very passionate about the saying “you are what you eat” and she believes that the proper diet through food from the earth is all that we truly need. Our Guest: Alexandra is a health enthusiast and entrepreneur. As the Creator of EveryDATE Treats, she is driven to promote health and longevity and a true believer and activist of the “you are what you eat” lifestyle. Her passions run deep and her journey to entrepreneurship was created through wanting to spread health to her community and eventually the world.Visit www.urbanfarm.org/EveryDate for the show notes and links on this episode!Need a little bit of advice or just a feedback on your design for your yard or garden?The Urban Farm Team is offering consults over the phone or zoom