This week on Greenhorn Radio Sev spoke to Sandor Katz from Tennesee, a internationally recognized master of fermentation. Sandor’s goal is to stress to people that fermentation should NOT be intimidating, and is a great way to not just preserve foods at times of bounty, but to bring out flavors in foods that might not otherwise be available. Learn how Sandor used daikon radishes and cabbage to ferment and create 70 gallons of “kraut chee”, plus why fermentation can be a way for people to connect to their farmers and create great value-added products with produce. This episode was sponsored by Hearst Ranch: purveyors of grass-fed beef from the California coast.

This week on Greenhorns Radio Sev speaks to agro-ecologist Houston Wilson. Wilson discusses the primary goal of his science: eliminating “off farm” input. This essentially means designing your farm in a way that encourages nature to do the tasks we often leave up to chemicals or people. With enough crop diversification farmers will find that controlling pests, nutrient cycling, and dealing with diseases can all be executed internally if the farm is designed appropriately. This episode was sponsored by Hearst Ranch: purveyors of fine grass-fed beef from the coasts of CA.

Photo 1: The Altieri Lab at UC Berkeley has been conducting cutting edge research in vineyard agroecology over the past decade. Recent efforts focus on the management of non-crop vegetation to enhance the natural regulation of key insect pests in vineyards. We strive to conduct comprehensive research spanning landscape-level dynamics to specific within-field insect interactions. We also believe in the importance of collaborating with growers to conduct research in real-world settings where the system designs that we are developing will be employed.

This week on Greenhorns Radio Sev spoke to Ann Larkin Hansen, author of “The Organic Farming Manual”. Hansen was frustrated that there didn’t seem to be a single “one-stop-shop” source of information for someone who wanted to grow food organically–so she wrote one. Listen to hear Ann’s journey from a kid growing up in the suburbs to a full fledged livestock and vegetable farmer, and how the Wisconsin Women’s Sustainable Farming Network was a vital friend during her journey. This episode was sponsored by Hearst Ranch: purveyors of fine grass-fed beef from the coast of CA.

This week on Greenhorn Radio Sev speaks to Marguerite of Mother Plants Nursery in upstate NY. Mother Plants specializes in baby plants that are green-roof ready, so you can jump start the “green” part of your green roof. They have a seemingly infinite amount of low maintenance, draft tolerant, “plug-size” plants and can deliver anywhere UPS is willing to trek. Their goal is to be a catalyst for the public’s growing interest in green roofs, and facilitate not only the start of new roofs, but to ensure current roofs are the botanical wonderlands their owners had envisioned. This episode was sponsored by Hearst Ranch: purveyors of all natural grass-fed cattle from the coast of California.

Photo: A green roof w/Mother Plants Nursery plants

This week on Greenhorns Radio Sev speaks with Jarrett Man of Stone Soup Farm in Belchertown, MA‎. Jarret speaks on the hurdles of working with volunteers–separating the dedicated vikings of the earth from the lackadaisical volunteers who disappear after the first bead of sweat. He and Sev praise The Small Farm Institute, an organization responsible for starting the farming career of Man and many, many others. Man also speaks on learning about farming; his school-born, formal, explicit education versus his on-sight, subtle, experiential wisdom. This episode was sponsored by Hearst Ranch.

This week on Greenhorn Radio Sev speaks to Clayton Burrows of the non-profit Washington State organization Growing Washington. Growing Washington has an extremely far reach in terms of their goals for the state, but the unifying theme behind all the work is helping resident Washingtonians. Clayton works to help spread sustainable agriculture, environmental and societal health, and whatever help Washingtonians need. This episode was sponsored by Hearst Ranch: purveyors of grass-fed beef from the coast of California.

Photo: Clayton Burrows, Growing Washington Director

This week on Greenhorn Radio Sev speaks to Cody Hopkins of Falling Sky Farm in Marshal Arkansas. Cody speaks on everything from the spark that inspired him (Joel Salatin and Michael Pollan) to his efforts to inspire others (leasing his own land to jump start interns who want to farm). Tune in for an in-depth conversation on what infrastructure is and isn’t there for a small sustainable farmer. This episode was sponsored by Hearst Ranch: purveyors of fine grass-fed and finished beef from the California coast.

Photo: Falling Sky Farm

Richard Wiswall

This week on Greenhorn Radio Sev spoke with Sarah Petranek, former radiologic technologist and current blueberry farm proprietor. Sarah conveys the story of her drastic decision to put her and her husband’s love of hard work and the outdoors to use by moving their family 400 miles away to rural Kentucky. There she eventually fulfilled her dream of living off the land, leaving behind the material world, and having time to spend time with her family. Now she is a successful blueberry farmer looking to expand to strawberries, and despite some lingering monetary issues, as happy as she’s ever been. This episode was sponsored by Hearst Ranch: purveyors of grass-fed beef grazing on the beautiful coast of San Simeon, CA.

This week on Greenhorn Radio Sev celebrated her 50th show and spoke to Andrew Mariani of Scribe Winery. Learn about the rich history of this Sonoma Valley vineyard stretching back to the 1850’s, through a sordid prohibition past of Road Ridge bootlegging, into a sustainable and delicious future. Tune in to learn how Scribe is breaking up the standard vineyard monoculture, rebuilding the local ecosystem for the better, and how it all stretches back to a life-changing trip to Europe. This episode was sponsored by Hearst Ranch: purveyors of grass-fed beef grazing on the beautiful coast of San Simeon, CA.