Ever want to forage for your own food? Ever wonder which mushrooms you come across in nature are safe to eat? Interested in mycology? Todays episode of We Dig Plants is for you! Tune in as Carmen DeVito and Alice Marcus Krieg are joined by forager Michael Heim. Michaels interest in plants began while attending the University of Nebraska at Omaha, when he took a Horticulture class to satisfy a hard science requirement. Around the same time he learned how to forage for wild mushrooms. The passion was planted! Since then he has been fusing his passion for spirits and culinary creations with his passion for botany, mycology, and wild foods. This program was brought to you by Chefs Collaborative. Its healthy to have skepticism about what you eat - its just a matter of how you apply that. [09:00] If I wanted to be a gourmet mushroom farmer, I would just buy a forrest and say Im a farmer. [22:00] Mushrooms are the gate keeper between life and death. Without mushrooms, we dont have soil. [37:00] --Michael Heim on We Dig Plants

Episode 135: Mycology, Foraging & Wild Food

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On our season finale, host Carmen Devito visits Zone 1 of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, which includes Alaska, and also revisits Zone 13, which includes Puerto Rico.

First, we hear from Peter Johnson and Rusty Foreaker, agronomists with Alaska's Department of Natural Resources Division of Agriculture. After the break, we're joined by Dr. Grizelle González, Project Leader of the Research and Development Unit at the International Institute of Tropical Forestry in Puerto Rico.

Episode 212: Zone Envy – Zone 1

This month on We Dig Plants, hosts Alice Marcus Krieg and Carmen Devito visit Zone 2 of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, which includes Fairbanks, Alaska, where our first guest Cyndie Warbelow is a gardener.

After the break, we're joined by Marta McDowell, author of The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Frontier Landscapes That Inspired the Little House Books.

Episode 211: Zone Envy – Zone 2

This month on We Dig Plants, hosts Alice Marcus Krieg and Carmen Devito visit Zone 3 of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, which includes parts of Alaska.

Joining them on the line is Jeff Lowenfels, the author of a trilogy of award winning books on plants and soil, and the longest running garden columnist in North America.

Episode 210: Zone Envy – Zone 3

This month on We Dig Plants, hosts Alice Marcus Krieg and Carmen Devito visit Zone 4 of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, which includes the Wisconsin prairie.

A pioneer in the native plant industry and recognized internationally as an expert in native plant community ecology, Neil Diboll has guided the growth of Prairie Nursery for 30 years. He has dedicated his life to the propagation of native plants and their promotion as uniquely beautiful, ecologically beneficial and sustainable solutions for landscapes and gardens. In 2013 Neil was the recipient of the Great American Gardeners Award from the American Horticultural Society.

Episode 209: Zone Envy – Zone 4

This month on We Dig Plants, hosts Alice Marcus Krieg and Carmen Devito visit Zone 5 of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, which includes parts of both Nebraska and Iowa.

Del and Alice Hemsath are members of Nebraska's Soil Sisters and Misters Garden Club, which promotes education of the general public about the importance of outside activities for health, supports community projects, and provides education for youth and adults.

Kelly Norris is an award-winning author and plantsman from Iowa and the first director of horticulture at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, a newly revitalized public garden in Des Moines, Iowa.

Episode 135: Mycology, Foraging & Wild Food

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