Surviving Hard Times

Dr. Rachel Rudolph joins the podcast today to discuss her work with high tunnels and vegetable crop production. As an Extension Vegetable Specialist, Dr. Rudolph lends her knowledge of plant science to the University of Kentucky’s Department of Horticulture as an Assistant Extension Professor. 

Dr. Rudolph is interested in developing alternative approaches to managing issues in the field and with high tunnel systems. Utilizing her knowledge of  tunnel systems, abiotic disorders, crop nutrition, and soil fertility, Dr. Rudolph is on a mission to make a real difference in the world of farming and crop production systems…

Jump in now to explore:

• The difference between horticulture and agriculture.
• What nematodes are, and how they impact crop production.
• Why soil solarization can be so beneficial to plant and soil health.  

To learn more about Dr. Rudolph and her research click here now!

Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3bO8R6q

Can beekeeping enrich your life and the environment around you? Tanya Phillips, a Director at Texas Honey Bee Farm based in Austin, Texas would certainly say so…

Tanya joins the podcast today to discuss her work as a beekeeper and educator. Her dedication to the preservation and cultivation of bee colonies has led her to not only be a central figure at Texas Honey Bee Farm, but also write Beekeeping: Everything You Need to Make Your Hive Thrive! – a book that illustrates how to foster and support healthy, vibrant colonies.

Jump in now to discover:

• Essential tips on how to cultivate your own bee colony.
• The roles that different bees play in their respective colonies.
• How bee preservation impacts the environment as a whole.

Are you interested in taking your self-sufficiency to the next level by learning how to take care of bees? Tune in now to find out how to get started!

To find out more about Texas Honey Bee Farm, click here now!

Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3bO8R6q

When you head to the grocery store's produce section, what are you looking for? The ripest bananas? The juiciest tomatoes? The largest oranges?

Whatever your answer, you might be surprised to learn what dictates the taste, ripeness, and nutritional quality of fruits and vegetables.

Angelos Deltsidis shares interesting details of his unique area of expertise: post-harvest ripening.  

Tune in to learn:

• What function ethylene serves (and why only some fruits and vegetables produce it)
• Level of ripeness vs. storage conditions: does one have a heavier hand than the other in the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables?
• New methods for increasing the overall quality of fruits and vegetables on the market 
• What goes into building a bountiful fruit and organic garden harvest

Interested in learning more?

Press play to hear the entire conversation and visit Angelos Deltsidis - People | Horticulture (uga.edu).

Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3bO8R6q

Joining us in this episode is Dr. Wolfgang Smith, a mathematician, physicist, philosopher of science, and metaphysician. Born in 1930, Dr. Smith developed his understanding of the world through the lens of philosophy and physics. Over the years, his fascination with these subjects has enabled him to apply a critical perspective to some of the world’s biggest questions.

During his time as a researcher, not only has Dr. Smith met the great Albert Einstein, but he has also written many books including Physics and Vertical Causation: The End of Quantum Reality, The Quantum Enigma: Finding the Hidden Key, and Vedanta in Light of Christian Wisdom. In addition to this, he has also contributed to film documentaries – one of which is coming out soon…

Join the conversation now to uncover:

• If humans are anywhere close to figuring out the nature of reality.
• The two things that physics consists of. 
• What a “scientistic belief” is. 
• The importance of the wisdom that bygone ages have passed on to us.

Wondering what Dr. Smith has found through all of his years investigating philosophy and physics? Jump in now to find out!

To learn more about Dr. Smith and his work, visit Philos-sophia.org now!

Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3bO8R6q

Cover crops have been around for over 10,000 years. It wasn’t until about 50 years ago that they started being replaced with chemical fertilizers, which many farmers saw as a more modern, efficient method.

But the tide may be turning again – back to the (cover crop) roots. And this time, there may be loads of economic opportunity and environmental sustainability to gain.

Press play to explore:

• Tips for growing cash crops that will enrich soils, leading to better harvests
• How algal blooms and drinking water problems can result from bare soils in the winter months
• How relay cropping works and why it’s so useful

Mitch Hunter is an Assistant Professor and Associate Director of the Forever Green Initiative at the University of Minnesota. This interdisciplinary initiative is dedicated to helping farmers and the environment by developing comprehensive crops, cropping systems, and supply chains for novel crops. The ultimate goal is to keep soils covered all year long, preventing fertilizer from washing into bodies of water, maintaining soil quality, and boosting overall productivity.

Tune in and visit Home | Forever Green (umn.edu) to learn more.

Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3bO8R6q

Joining us today to discuss dormancy and cold hardiness in plants is Al Pacheco Kovaleski, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Horticulture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since connecting with the UW–Madison faculty in March 2021, Al has enjoyed applying his research in plant cold hardiness to the freezing Wisconsin winters…

Al grew up in one of the coldest parts of Brazil, which encouraged his interest in horticulture in cold environments from a young age. Since then, he has focused his research on how plants control their cold hardiness and dormancy during the winter, and how that leads to bud break and flowering in the spring – all from a physiological and molecular level. 

Join us now to hear Al discuss: 

• What happens to plants during the winter. 
• Why some plants are not able to survive cold environments.
• How climate change is altering which plants are able to thrive in certain geographical areas.
• What can lead plants to gain and/or lose cold hardiness.

To learn more about Al and his research, click here now!

Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3bO8R6q

Today, we sit down with Rob Avis, the Owner, Lead Instructor, and Engineer at Verge Permaculture. Rob is an expert in regenerative business and eco-entrepreneurship, and he is using his skills to lead the next wave of permaculture education – covering everything from building science to agroecology.

In this episode, you will uncover:

• Why the energy return on fossil fuel may be dwindling. 
• The limitations of our world’s current energy sources. 
• Why the nutrient density of our food is steadily declining. 

What’s the future of energy and food production on our planet? Experts like Rob are determined to find out…

Want to find out more about Rob and his work? Click here now!

Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3bO8R6q

Wild rice isn’t just uniquely delicious: it’s highly nutritious and takes a lot of careful work to grow. 

Learn the ins and outs of breeding and cultivating wild rice in Minnesota from Jennifer Kimball, Assistant Professor in the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics at the University of Minnesota.

Tune in to explore:

• Environmentally responsible practices in wild rice breeding and cultivation
• The purpose and importance of “seed shattering”
• How long people have been breeding wild rice compared to other grain crops like wheat and corn
• Wild rice planting to harvesting - how long does it take?

Press play to hear the full conversation and learn more about Kimball’s work at Jennifer A Kimball | Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics (umn.edu).

Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3bO8R6q

Human health benefits, soil cleaning, easy growing, and more … professor of plant breeding and genetics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Ismail Dweikat, shares his knowledge on the wonders of the hemp plant, traditional plant breeding, plant genetics, and more.

Tune in to learn:

• The desirable traits of wild hemp that Dweikat focuses on breeding into additional crops
• A unique characteristic of hemp that allows it to clean contaminated soils
• Legal THC levels in Nebraska-grown hemp
• Why people with Celiac disease can safely eat sorghum but not wheat

Dweikat also has impressive experience growing and breeding blueberries and the ancient pearl millet and sorghum crops.

Press play to hear the entire conversation and learn more about Dweikat’s work at Ismail Dweikat | Department of Agronomy and Horticulture | Nebraska (unl.edu).

Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3bO8R6q

Mother of nine and homesteader since 1992, Dawn Gallop, returns to the show to share more tips, tricks, and indispensable knowledge about homesteading, including greenhouse gardening in small spaces and using high tunnels.

Press play to discover:

• When and why to use shade cloths to protect crops
• The difference between a greenhouse and a high tunnel
• How to avoid salt and other mineral buildups in high tunnels
• Growing tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants in 5-gallon buckets – (why and how Dawn does it!)

Interested in learning more?

Check out Dawn’s educational videos on her popular YouTube channel at (1) Dawn Gallop of #9 Farms - YouTube.

Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3bO8R6q