Stirring up a custom batch of planting mix.

In This Podcast: When asked what makes a healthy planting soil for trees and gardens in Arizona, Emily Rockey gets excited because this is truly a passion of hers.  As her nickname implies, she loves getting her hands in the dirt and making a medium that others can rely on. She explains how she and Farmer Greg developed their soil mix, why building a healthy planting mix is different for the southwest desert, and why local mixes make a difference. 

Emily is currently the Director of Sales and Marketing for Tank’s Green Stuff in Tucson, which specializes in “green” landscape debris recycling, construction debris recycling, and more.  She brings her passion for both plants and recycling to the company’s composting operation where they convert landscape debris into organic compost which is then made available for gardens and green spaces. 

Tank’s offers an entire line of organic garden and landscape materials which are “Good for People, Plants, and Planet”; and are available under the name ‘Tank’s Green Stuff’.  Tank’s has also just begun offering a new planting mix called Farmer Greg’s Planting Mix, specially designed for planting in the southwest desert.

Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/08/28/379-emily-rockey/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Following rabbit holes to new adventures and new veggies.

In This Podcast: Sometimes it takes a person to reach a really low point in their life before they make the choice to change the way they think. Lee Rhodey had that realization and decided it was time to be look at life differently in order to find her life’s purpose. On that journey she found Market on the Move and discovered that it brings adventure to her life with every new box. Her goal to be an example and share the mindset changing journey is documented in her I'm So Her project.

Lee is not our typical guest, but her story is something that I can relate to.  Lee reached a place in her life where things were at a turning point.  She was unhappy and the grass looked greener in everyone else’s story. She realized she needed to change her outlook and she started the I’m so Her project to help her appreciate what she had.

Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/08/25/378-lee-rhodey/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Bonus Episode 19: Seed Saving Class June 2018. 

A chat with a seed expert about where our seeds come from

In This Bonus Podcast: Seeds are grown all over the world and we don't always know where our seeds come from when we buy. This is the June 2018 episode of a Seed Saving Class - Bill McDorman discusses seed origination, land race seeds, finding unique seed varieties, and so much more.

Join the class! Register anytime for the next event.Register Here for the Seed Saving Class with Live Q&A

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.

Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/08/21/bonus19/ for show notes and links on this bonus podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Bringing gardening knowledge to your fingertips.

In This Podcast:

It was a need to become more mindful and eat the healthier foods he needed that led Dale Spoonemore to the garden.  It did not take long for him to get hooked on the flavors of homegrown vegetables.  But a conversation in line waiting to vote alerted him for a need to make it easier to garden. This inspired him to teach himself coding to write an app that is going to bring success to many more new gardeners.  His passion and drive continue to build this mobile tool, and his family are big parts of the whole project. 

Dale and his family converted their urban Oklahoma backyard into a food farm to feed their family and built the “From Seed to Spoon” mobile app that makes it easy for others to do the same. The app will guide you through planting, growing, harvesting, and cooking over 70 different foods with information customized for your location. Dale and his family live in OKC with their four children.  You can learn more about them on their From Seed to Spoon social media pages and on their website at seedtospoon.net

Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/08/18/377-dale-spoonemore/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Preparing school meals with gut health in mind.

In This Podcast:

After growing up believing the only healthy way to eat was “fat-free”, Hilary Boynton was not prepared for the fertility and health issues that plagued her family. Seeking the best for her children, she educated herself on “real-food”, the GAPS diet, and eventually wrote a cookbook with gut health in mind. This path led her to becoming a school lunch lady cooking and educating for gut health to the students.

Hilary is a certified holistic health counselor, with a BA in psychology from the University of Virginia and trained at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Inspired by her experience of "food as medicine," she dedicated herself to helping others on their path to wellness as a cook, coach, and professional educator.

Seeing our chronic global health problems opened her eyes. The lessons she learned along the way helped to fuel her project LIVE YUM YUM and inspired her to co-author the bestselling The Heal your Gut Cookbook, released in September 2014.

Hilary’s passion and determination to empower people to take control of their own health and prevent disease is tireless.  Plus, along the way she has earned the title of The Lunch Lady

Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/08/14/376-hilary-boynton/ for more information and links on this podcast, her blog articles, and to find our other great guests.

Finding nature is an ally for waste disposal.

In This Podcast: He is always on the lookout to find ways to have a better relationship with nature, so when Eddy Garcia noticed that some beetle larvae were eating the polystyrene cup he put them in, he jumped into experiments to learn more.  Using a surfboard in a science experiment, his achieved some exciting and astonishing results. All of this tied into his work to educate others about regenerative systems, and even aspiring surfers in Iowa are learning about earth systems through his projects

Eddy, has an E.B.N. or as he likes to call it Educated By Nature degree. With over 30 years of living off-grid on a remote Hawaiian island he has developed a deep connection to Nature. It has taught him fundamental truths that are woven into Living Earth Systems: Observation, Consistency & Patience. 

Eddy is the lead designer for Living Earth Systems which designs and builds holistic agriculture systems for the future. He is also one of the founders of  R.E.C. (Regenerative Education Centers) which demonstrates alternative technologies and approaches to solve some of our planet’s current problems. Eddy educates and inspires to promote regenerative lifestyles.

Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/08/11/375-eddy-garcia/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Digging into the vast world of invisible life in our soils.

In This Podcast:

It takes a real love of science and soil ecosystems to be as comfortable with microbes as Anthony Dominguez is such that he rattles off names of bacteria species like he is sharing the guest list for a party.  This passion translates into a true dedication to making life supporting products for the soil microbiome. We should all enjoy our jobs as much as he does; and knowing how much he cares can inspire you to build a better soil for your plants.

Anthony is an Arizona native from the town of Gila Bend, with a degree in Microbiology from the University of Arizona. He is a co-founder and C.O.O. of HiKreations, a company dedicated to bringing beneficial microbes to the world and farmers everywhere.  With an organic philosophy and a science core, they have developed a line of soil amendments for both indoor and outdoor cultivation.  He has a long interest in microbes, especially in their beneficial properties.

Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/08/07/374-anthony-dominguez/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Seeking out answers about food labeling.

In This Podcast: Returning from a trip to Europe it became clear to Aube Giroux, that food labeling in North America was controlled by a very different set of rules and she sought to learn why. Documenting the process on video, she and her mother set out to learn about the labeling of genetically modified food ingredients, a journey that took a turn when her mother developed cancer. Instead of closing the project, she persisted and the resulting film garnered many indie awards.

Aube (pronounced ōb) is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, organic gardener, and food blogger. She is the creator of “Kitchen Vignettes”, an online farm-to-table cooking show on PBS which received the 2012 Saveur Magazine Best Food Blog Award and is a two-time James Beard Award nominee. Aube holds an MFA in Film Production from York University. Modified is her first feature-length documentary, which she wrote, directed and produced.

In Modified, the filmmaker and her mother embark on a personal and poignant investigative journey to find out why genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not labeled on food products in the United States and Canada, despite being labeled in 64 countries around the world.

Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/08/04/373-aube-giroux/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests. #modifiedthefilm

Building simple, cost-effective solutions for conserving water resources.

In This Podcast: 

When looking into how water was being cycled in her community, and then looking at other desert-like cities in other states and countries, Brook Sarson was intrigued. California was in a drought and she realized there was a lot of potential ideas and processes implemented elsewhere that could help her community. Brook shares what she discovered about the ‘ethics of place’ and the significance that small changes in a community can have on a whole watershed.

Brook is co-owner and CEO of CatchingH2O and H2OME. She started H2OME in 2008 with the mission to be a resource to the San Diego Community for water harvesting. She was determined to create change from the ground up by showing homeowners, educators, and policy makers how simple and effective rainwater harvesting and greywater recycling can be.  Her continued mantra has been that individual contributions create tremendous impact toward a larger water conservation strategy.  

Since H2OME’s inception Brook has directly installed or facilitated hundreds of thousands of gallons of water conservation between rainwater tanks, greywater systems, and landscape design changes.  Her engineering background perfectly complements the permaculture design framework she uses to approach design problems.

Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/07/31/372-brook-sarson/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Documenting the first town-wide pesticide-free ordinance in the world.

In This Podcast:

On a trip overseas, a professor of Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems stumbled onto a story worth telling about the first community in the world to ban pesticides. Philip Ackerman-Leist was able to document this endeavor from almost the very beginning and he shares the reasons why anyone who cares about their community needs to understand what happened and why it is so important.

Philip is Professor of Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems at Green Mountain College in Vermont, where he established the college’s organic farm, sustainable agriculture curricula, and the first online graduate program in Sustainable Food Systems in the United States.

He and his wife Erin live on a remote off-grid farm in Pawlet, Vermont with their three children, where they raise grass fed American Milking Devons cattle. He is the author of Rebuilding the Foodshed: How to Create Local, Sustainable, and Secure Food Systems and Up Tunket Road: The Education of a Modern Homesteader.  His newest book is A Precautionary Tale: How One Small Town Banned Pesticides, Preserved its Food Heritage, and Inspired a Movement, Published by our friends at Chelse Green Publishing.

Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/07/28/371-philip-ackerman-leist/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.