Welcome to The Urban Farm Podcast, your partner in the Grow Your Own Food revolution! This 3-day per week audio only podcast features special guests like Jason Mraz, Lisa Steele, and Kari Spencer as we discuss the art and value of growing food in urban areas. We'll explore topics such as urban beekeeping and chicken farming, permaculture, successful composting, monetizing your farm, and much more! Each episode will bring you tips and tricks on how to overcome common challenges, opportunities to learn from the experience of people just like you, and plenty of resources to ensure you're informed, equipped, and empowered to participate more mindfully in your local food system... and to have a great time doing it!
261: Brigitte Mars on Natural First Aid
Preparing a resource for quick response to emergency incidents with simple and natural ingredients.
In This Podcast: She knew that she wanted to avoid needing doctors ever since she was very young. So, Brigitte Mars has spent her entire life learning about and using natural herbs, plants, and oils for health and the prevention and treatment of minor ails. She shares with us the essentials of a good first aid kit and several examples of first aid remedies.
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Brigitte is an herbalist and nutritional consultant of Natural Health with almost fifty years of experience. She teaches Herbal Medicine at Naropa University, and The School of Health Mastery in Iceland and has taught at Esalen, Kripalu, the Arise Festival and Mayo Clinic.
Brigitte is the author of more than a dozen books and DVDs, including - The Home Reference to Holistic Health and Healing, The Country Almanac of Home Remedies, and her most recent book through Storey Publishing called Natural First Aid. She also created a wild plant reference app called iPlant
Go to www.urbanfarm.org/naturalfirstaid for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.
260: Amanda Jordan-Starks on Vacant Land into Urban Gardens
Nourishing a community and its youth through transformative garden programs on vacant properties.
In This Podcast: Vacant lands can become whatever you see in them, and for Amanda Jordan Starks she sees potential. Potential for her community, and especially the youth that can grow and blossom by working the land and growing the food that nourishes the people that make up the community. She tells us more about the programs that are working to make this happen in her area.
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Amanda is third generation Californian, raised in a small coastal town near the Oregon border. She went to the University of California, San Diego to pursue a degree in International Studies-Political Science, and obtained her Master's degree in Social Justice.
Amanda currently works with UrbanLife Ministries, and directs its youth outreach and community development activities. Her love for growing food and serving youth came together when she began directing the UrbanLife Farms program which uses vacant land to grow local, healthy produce and provide job skills training to teenagers. Her favorite veggies are radishes and artichokes!
Go to www.urbanfarm.org/urbanlife for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.
259: David Montgomery on Bringing Our Soil Back to Life.
Using a geology background to understand regenerative soil processes.
In This Podcast: Studying the surface formation of the earth usually means looking at geological processes taking place over long periods of time. Geologist David Montgomery, however, became interested in studying more than just rocks and focused on something a bit more connected to life on earth and in the soil. As a non-farmer, his outsider’s perspective might help others understand the crucial processes taking place in regenerating this very necessary material for food production.
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David is a MacArthur Fellow and professor of geomorphology at the University of Washington. He is an internationally recognized geologist who studies landscape evolution and the effects of geological processes on ecological systems and human societies.
An author of award-winning popular-science books, he has been featured in documentary films, network and cable news, and on a wide variety of TV and radio programs, including NOVA, PBS NewsHour, Fox and Friends, and All Things Considered.
David has written two books on soil: Growing A Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life, and The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health which he co-wrote with his wife Anne Biklé.
Go to www.urbanfarm.org/bigdirt for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.
Bonus Episode 2: Bill McDorman
A chat with an expert on Seeds.
In This BONUS Podcast:There is always a bounty of information available in conversations with Bill McDorman. This is the June 2017 episode with a Seed School Chat Class covering Seed School Online, de-hybridization, seed patents, and so much more.
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Bill McDorman is 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 2013.
He authored the book, Basic Seed Saving, in 1994. In 2010, he and his wife Belle Starr created Seed School, a nationally recognized week-long training. He served as Executive Director of Native Seeds/SEARCH from 2011 to 2014. Bill is a passionate and knowledgeable presenter who inspires his audiences to learn to save their own seeds.
258: Deb Burns on How to Get a Farming Book Published.
Writing and publishing books for urban farmers, homesteaders and nature lovers.
In This Podcast. Helping authors get published is what Deb Burns has done for more than two decades. She explains a lot about the process and helps break it down and make it easier to understand for aspiring authors. If you have considered writing a book, this might help you get past some of those hurdles you’ve built.
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Storey Publishing is a prolific publisher of farming and gardening books. Having roots going back to the 1970’s, their in-house editors and designers embrace the challenge of complementing each author’s work with book design, editing, and original illustration or photography to enhance the book’s distinctiveness and make it accessible as well as practical. We have had many Storey authors on our show and thought it might be great to get useful information on how to get your book published.
Deb has been an Acquiring Editor at Storey Publishing for 23 years, where she oversees books on farming, animals, and nature. She attended Bard College and UC Berkeley and currently lives in the beautiful Berkshires of Massachusetts. She loves making music and traveling the world and has authored books on history and travel.
Go to www.urbanfarm.org/storeypubllishing for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.
257: Laura Allen on Greywater
Exploring low-tech, sustainable water solutions for urban homes and landscapes.
In this Podcast: A determination to save money and help the environment was the beginning of a career in water conservation and education for Laura Allen. She tells us why water solutions became so important to her, as well as gives us an understanding of what a greywater system is and why anyone can set up an easy one for themselves. There are many different options to customize a functioning system and she helps explain the differences.
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Laura has spent the past 15 years exploring low-tech, urban, sustainable water solutions, while earning a BA in environmental science, a teaching credential, and a master’s degree in education. Plus, she participated in the CA and WA state greywater code development committee. She puts this to use by presenting at conferences, leading classes and workshops on rainwater harvesting, greywater reuse, and composting toilets.
Laura is the author of Greywater, Green Landscape, and The Water-Wise Home: How to Capture, Conserve, and Reuse Water in Your Home and Landscape. Both published by Storey Publishing. She is also the co-founder of GreywaterAction.org, an education based organization that teaches people how to design and install greywater systems and was the 2014 recipient of the Silicon Valley Water Conservation Award of Water Champion.
Go to www.urbanfarm.org/GreyWaterAction for more information, photos and links on this podcast and to find our other great guests.
256: Tammi Hartung on the Versatility of Plants.
Discovering amazing uses for herbs, weeds and other common North American plants.
In This Podcast: Curiosity about the uses and benefits of plants led Tammi Hartung to do some pretty interesting research. She has a significant knowledge base to pull from since she loves plants and has over 1200 varieties on her farm, yet she wanted to know more and shares a little of what she found. There are some amazing surprises that blew our mind, let us know if you think so too.
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Tammi is an ethnobotanical herbalist, organic farmer, author and international speaker. She has been working with plants for more than 37 years.
She and her husband, Chris, own Desert Canyon Farm, a certified organic farm in southern Colorado where they grow more than 1200 different varieties of plants.
Tammi is the author of several books including the national bestseller Homegrown Herbs, The Wildlife-Friendly Vegetable Gardener, and her newest book Cattail Moonshine & Milkweed Medicine, Published by Storey Publishing.
Go to www.urbanfarm.org/cattailmoonshine for more information & links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.
255: Gianaclis Caldwell on Holistic Goat Care
Considering the whole picture of raising goats and their benefits.
In this podcast: Raising goats in a holistic and nurturing manner is second nature to Gianaclis Caldwell. She shares with us some uplifting and useful advice on caring for these unique farm animals, including the three most important things to know about them. She also tells how she and her husband started their dairy farm from scratch and off-the-grid, raised their family, and now they host guests who get to know the intricacies of goat farming. This is a great resource for anyone considering raising goats.
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In addition to actively managing their dairy goats, Gianaclis is the main cheesemaker, milker and owner of Pholia Farm, a licensed dairy located on 24 acres she grew up on in southern Oregon. Her farm is well known for its artisan, aged raw milk cheeses; classes on small-dairy, goat husbandry, and cheesemaking at all levels; and its off-grid, sustainable life-style focus.
She is the author of many books including Holistic Goat Care, Mastering Basic Cheesemaking, The Small-Scale Cheese Business, and often writes and photographs for Culture – The Word on Cheese magazine. Gianaclis and her husband Vern own and run Pholia, where they are raising their daughters Phoebe and Amelia.
Go to www.urbanfarm.org/GoatCare for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.
254: Stephanie Tourles on
Natural Ways to Repel Insect
Focusing on natural options to create your own bug repellents.
Due to the increasing concern about tick and mosquito populations spreading, as well as the diseases they carry, we pushed this interview to the top of our calendar. Please share this interview with your friends in those areas that are high tick infestation areas, or those who just love the outdoors.
In This Podcast: Years of studying skin care and natural ingredients has led Stephanie Tourles to put together several recipes for natural insect repellents. She shares some important information about using natural product recipes, as well as a recipe for a great smelling tick and mosquito repellent.
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Stephanie has practiced and taught healthy living for more than 25 years. She is a licensed holistic esthetician with a strong background in Western and Ayurvedic herbalism, has extensive training in the nutritional sciences, and is an avid organic gardener.
Stephanie is also a certified aromatherapist, a nationally certified foot & hand reflexologist, and a professional member of the Alliance of International Aromatherapists.
Currently residing in Orland, Maine, she is the author of twelve books the including Organic Body Care Recipes, Hands-On Healing Remedies, and Naturally Bug-Free all available through Storey Publishing.
Go to www.urbanfarm.org/NaturalBugFree for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.
253: Tony Kasowski on Farm Trippin
Traveling across several states and profiling examples of amazing farms.
In This Podcast: Chatting with friends on his social media about their farming activities and garden projects got to the point where Tony Kasowski decided he needed to just go see some of those farms and gardens for himself. We hear his plans for this summer, when he is going on a road trip to see farms, where he will learn new things and share some knowledge & skills along the way. The cool part is that he is going to share the adventure with the rest of his social media friends.
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Tony is Co-Founder and Principal Farmer at St Vincent de Paul Urban Farms in Phoenix, Arizona. The agricultural division to the charity provides food production, education, and revenue generation, and has produced over one hundred thousand pounds of fresh food to feed the working needy and homeless through five dining rooms in Arizona. The farm is also responsible for mitigating over one million pounds of food and landscape material through its composting initiatives.
Tony is also the founder of GrowKale.com where he consults, educates, designs and builds ecological and chemical free edible spaces. His current project, Farm trippin is a cross country road trip showcasing ways to grow food mindfully, while featuring the individuals and their stories behind the farms. He will be sharing the journey through his website Farmtrippin.com and his informative Instagram @Tonygrowsfood.
Go to www.urbanfarm.org/FarmTrippin for more information and links on this podcast and to find our other great guests.
