The Urban Farm Podcast with Greg Peterson
Welcome to The Urban Farm Podcast, your partner in the Grow Your Own Food revolution! This 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!
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678: Seed Saving Myths
05/13/2022
678: Seed Saving Myths
678: Seed Saving Myths. A Chat with an Expert on Seeds. In This Podcast: This is the April 2022 Seed Saving Class with Bill McDorman discussing seed saving myths. A myth is an idea or story that is believed by many people but that is not true, according to Webster’s Dictionary. Seed saving myths are plentiful and often are motivated by large corporations to increase seed sales and profits. You can’t save seeds to hybrids. You need lots of chemical inputs to grow successful seed crops. Seed saving is hard and should not be attempted by amateurs. You need a lot of space to save seeds. In this Seed Chat, Bill and guest host Janis Norton debunk these myths and others. They will help you understand the origins of these stories and how they have become part of our general narrative. At least ten times a year we have a live Seed Saving Class. Join the class! Register anytime for the next event. Bill McDorman is Executive Director of , 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. Visit for the show notes on this bonus episode, and access to our full podcast library!
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677: Lisa Steele on Cooking with Eggs
05/06/2022
677: Lisa Steele on Cooking with Eggs
Knowing a Thing or Two Dozen About Raising Hens and Collecting Eggs In This Podcast: Eggs are an important and readily available food source, and they are so very versatile. Rediscover the humble egg with returning guest, Lisa Steele as she talks about her newest book, The Fresh Eggs Daily Cookbook. She also tells us a bit about the process of writing the book, as well as what she feels has contributed to her success as a blogger, and her expansion into television. Even if you don’t have chickens, you will love the tips Lisa shares in this episode! Don’t miss an episode! visit UrbanFarm.Org/blog/podcast Lisa Steele is a fifth-generation chicken keeper and founder of the popular blog, Fresh Eggs Daily. Referred to as Queen of the Coop, Lisa traded in her life on Wall Street for life on a farm in rural Maine, where she has kept chickens for more than a dozen years. Having written a number of books on raising and caring for chickens, Lisa is a trusted source for all things chicken and egg. Her latest book is “The Fresh Eggs Daily Cookbook: Over 100 Fabulous Recipes to Use Eggs in Unexpected Ways” published by Harper Horizon and just released in February 2022. Visit for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library! Lisa Steele on Cooking with Eggs.
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676: Journaling and Learning, Growing from the Past
04/29/2022
676: Journaling and Learning, Growing from the Past
A chat with Kari Spencer. In This Garden Chat: Did you know that keeping a garden journal can help you to grow bigger and better vegetables? Kari Spencer, author of City Farming and Vegetable Gardening Journal & Logbook, will discuss the kinds of records that are important to keep, how to plan, and what to log anecdotally in a garden journal. She will share her personal record-keeping style, as well as tips about various journaling methods and technologies. Discover how planning and journaling can make you a better gardener with less stress over time. On the last Tuesday every month we host The Urban Farm Garden Chats where Greg Peterson has a relaxed conversation in a Zoom room with a special guest to cover useful gardening topics, and they answer questions from the live listening audience. To join us for the next event, go to or Our Special Guest:Kari Spencer is a popular local gardening & homesteading speaker. As a Master Gardener and a Master Farmer, she enjoys sharing her passion for growing and raising food with others. In addition to teaching classes all over the city of Phoenix, she is the creator of Urban Farm U’s Growing Food the Basics & Backyard Livestock courses. She and her family operate The Micro Farm Project, a small farm in North Phoenix, where gardens and livestock animals provide her family with fun and food. Kari is the author of Vegetable Gardening Journal: A weekly tracker and logbook.
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675: Seed Dehybridizing
04/22/2022
675: Seed Dehybridizing
675: Seed Dehybridizing. A Chat with an Expert on Seeds. In This Podcast: This is the March 2022 Seed Saving Class with Bill McDorman discussing seed dehybridizing. We love hybrid vigor and what hybridized seed can offer. The only downside to using hybridized seed is you can’t save it. Wait a minute. What if you found out that isn’t true? That you could capture the best traits hybrid seed offers and develop seed that would reproduce like its parents, in other words, true to type? Learn the tricks of the trade to dehybridize your favorite hybrid plants and have lasting seed stock you can save! At least ten times a year we have a live Seed Saving Class. Join the class! Register anytime for the next event. Bill McDorman is Executive Director of , 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. Visit for the show notes on this bonus episode, and access to our full podcast library!
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674: Liz and Lem Tingley on Geodesic Greenhouses of Growing Spaces
04/15/2022
674: Liz and Lem Tingley on Geodesic Greenhouses of Growing Spaces
Bringing a 365-Days-a-Year Local Food Solution to Everyone. In This Podcast: In the last of five special daily episodes, we hear from Liz and Lem Tingley, whose passion for health and sustainability led them to Growing Spaces. They fill us in on how they came to be the new owners of the business, the amazing impact their geodesic Growing Domes are having on the communities where they are installed, and the sense of personal fulfillment they have experienced in running the business. Their excitement is contagious as they also describe their hopes and plans for the future of the Growing Domes and Growing Spaces. Don’t miss an episode! visit UrbanFarm.Org/blog/podcast Lem Tingley graduated from Colorado University Boulder in Mechanical Engineering and has been working for Colorado based manufacturing companies for the last 25 years focusing on his core values which revolve around efficiency, superior quality, exemplary customer experience, and conscious business practices. Liz Tingley graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and worked in the healthcare industry for over 27 years. She joined the Growing Spaces team full time in January of 2021 taking on Marketing, Sales, and Human Resources responsibilities. In April 2018 they acquired Growing Spaces, a Colorado-based manufacturing company making innovative and environmentally friendly products. They were excited to promote sustainable and healthy lifestyles through the manufacturing and installation of the Growing Dome greenhouses which can thrive in any part of the world so that anyone can grow their own local food 365 days a year. Visit for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library! Geodesic Greenhouses of Growing Spaces.
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673: Wallace Kirby and Boe Luther on Hustlaz 2 Harvesters
04/14/2022
673: Wallace Kirby and Boe Luther on Hustlaz 2 Harvesters
A Couple of Friends Who Are Transforming Their Disadvantaged Community. In This Podcast: In the fourth of five special daily episodes, we hear from Wallace Kirby and Boe Luther who have made it their mission to transform life and land. Their non-profit community garden in Washington D.C. was awarded a Growing Spaces growing dome which they plan to use as both an educational classroom and a way to increase the amount of food they can give back to the community. You will be inspired by their transformational stories, especially their own. Don’t miss an episode! visit UrbanFarm.Org/blog/podcast Wallace Kirby is a product of public housing in Washington DC and claims to be a survivor, thriver and transformer of disadvantaged communities. He is the senior co-founder of the Hustlaz 2 Harvesters Applied Research Garden. Boe Luther is the other co-founder of the Hustlaz 2 Harvesters. He was born and raised in Washington DC and is a returning citizen who is focusing on transforming lands and lives for the disadvantaged. Visit for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library! Wallace Kirby and Boe Luther on Hustlaz 2 Harvesters.
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672: Andrew Trujillo on Hobby Gardening in a Greenhouse
04/13/2022
672: Andrew Trujillo on Hobby Gardening in a Greenhouse
Sharing the Passion of Gardening into the Community Starting at Home. In This Podcast: In the third of five special daily episodes, we hear from Andrew Trujillo whose seeds of inspiration were planted in him as a child. When those seeds began to sprout as an adult, he watered and nourished them by connecting with and learning from lots of other gardeners. Andrew now uses his Growing Spaces growing dome to pass those seeds of gardening inspiration on to others in his community by building more gardens and providing fresh vegetables to neighbors in need. Don’t miss an episode! visit UrbanFarm.Org/blog/podcast Andrew Trujillo is a husband, daddy, veteran, friend, and neighbor with a deep-rooted desire to grow, who thrives when working in the soil. He has helped build gardens at all the schools in Bayfield, Colorado as well as the local food bank and his local church. Andrew uses a lot of permaculture techniques as well as hugelkultur in his garden designs. His own personal garden has an 18-foot Growing Dome, where he shares about the benefits of this earth-friendly greenhouse. Visit for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library! Andrew Trujillo on Hobby Gardening in a Greenhouse.
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671: Eric Andrews on Peace Tree Parks and Community
04/12/2022
671: Eric Andrews on Peace Tree Parks and Community
Engineering a Growing Community. In This Podcast: In the second of five daily special episodes, we hear from Eric Andrews, who is using a forty-two-foot Growing Spaces growing dome to educate and inspire the members of his Detroit community. Eric’s excitement is contagious as he shares the incredible story behind the nonprofit he cofounded and tells us how the dome will contribute to its mission in a new way. He describes the buzz created in the community as the dome was being built and talks about the challenges encountered along the way, both frustrating and amusing. Don’t miss an episode! visit UrbanFarm.Org/blog/podcast Eric Andrews was born and raised in Detroit, MI. He is the current Executive Director and co-founder of Peace Tree Parks a 501(c)3 Nonprofit Organization. Eric is a Ferris State University Alumnus that majored in Mechanical Engineering Technology. He is currently employed as a Sr. Product Engineer at American Axle Manufacturing, and he is a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. Peace Tree Parks was founded in 2015 with the mission to increase the access that Metro Detroit residents have to fresh organic produce by converting vacant land into community gardens. They reach their community through a residential and community garden program. These programs work together and are designed to reach those in need regardless of race, age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Visit for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library! Eric Andrews on Peace Tree Parks and Community.
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670: Puja and Udgar Parsons on Growing a Green Business
04/11/2022
670: Puja and Udgar Parsons on Growing a Green Business
Creating a sustainable greenhouse business in the 90’s. In This Podcast: In the first of five special daily episodes, we hear from Puja and Udgar Parsons, the founders of Growing Spaces. They give us a peek inside their geodesic dome greenhouse kits, detailing how they work and describing the features that improve upon a traditional greenhouse. Udgar explains how the dome’s shape is an extension of his permaculture principles and love of nature, and Puja inspires us with stories of their determination to share the joy of healthy, garden-fresh vegetables year-round with as many people as possible, despite the growing pains they experienced as entrepreneurs. Don’t miss an episode! visit UrbanFarm.Org/blog/podcast Udgar Parsons was born and bred in Yorkshire England in the early forties while Puja Parsons was raised in Burbank, California. Udgar left a career in dentistry and orthodontics to raise a family on a farm in the North of Scotland. There, he learned to live off the grid and lead a healthy lifestyle. Puja’s degrees are in Psychology, Philosophy, and Fine Arts, and that led her to create several non-profits for the promotion of holistic health and spiritual growth. After traveling the world together and participating in several intentional communities, Udgar decided to become an American citizen and they moved to Colorado. There, in the Roaring Fork Valley, he was inspired by the vision of Buckminster Fuller and John Denver at Windstar, where he experimented with Bucky's Biodomes. In 1989 they founded their own company called Growing Spaces, after developing Udgar’s own greenhouse model called the Growing Dome. Puja held that businesses could offer solutions for environmental degradation and promote nutrition and natural medicine based on fresh food and organic gardening for clients and a socially responsible business culture. Together they grew the company as social entrepreneurs for 29 years before passing it on to Liz and Lem Tingley in 2018. Visit for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library! Puja and Udgar Parsons on Growing a Green Business.
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669: Christy Wilhelmi on Garden Variety – a Novel
04/08/2022
669: Christy Wilhelmi on Garden Variety – a Novel
There’s More to Gardening Than Merely Keeping Pests at Bay. In This Podcast: Christy Wilhelmi returns to tell us about her latest book, Garden Variety, a novel set in a community garden. She explains why she wrote the book and shares a little bit about the process, then she introduces us to the characters and even narrates a page or two. As expected, Christy weaves some amazing gardening tips into her novel and our podcast. Don’t miss her announcement about a new gardening course and her plans for future novels! Don’t miss an episode! visit UrbanFarm.Org/blog/podcast Christy Wilhelmi is the founder of Gardenerd, the ultimate resource for garden nerds, where she publishes her newsletters, her popular blog, top-ranked podcasts, and YouTube videos. She also specializes in small-space, organic vegetable garden design, consulting, and classes. Between 70-80 percent of her family's produce comes from her garden of less than 300 square feet. She is author of Gardening for Geeks, 400+ Tips for Organic Gardening Success, Grow Your Own Mini Fruit Garden, and just released in February 2022 is her debut novel Garden Variety (William Morrow/Harper Collins). Visit for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library! Christy Wilhelmi on Garden Variety – a Novel.
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668: Rebecca Ruda on Mental Health and Urban Farming
04/01/2022
668: Rebecca Ruda on Mental Health and Urban Farming
Understanding the Importance of Keeping Grounded While Trying to Make a Difference In This Podcast: We talk a lot about agricultural practices, climate change, and the global food supply, and the news is not always great. Rebecca Ruda reflects on the anxiety this can cause and reminds us that just as the problems of the world deserve our attention, so does our mental health. She provides tips for recognizing anxiety symptoms and openly shares her own experience. Then Rebecca offers simple but useful strategies for continuing the work of advocating for nature without doing harm to ourselves. Don’t miss an episode! visit UrbanFarm.Org/blog/podcast Rebecca Ruda is a wife, mother, mental health therapist and urban farmer. When not endlessly pulling bindweed from her strawberry patch, she enjoys hiking in the nearby mountains with her family. She is currently at work on her first novel. As an Urban Farm podcast listener, we have invited her to share her story. Visit for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library! Mental Health and Urban Farming.
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666: Joshua Prieto on Empowering Regenerative Businesses
03/25/2022
666: Joshua Prieto on Empowering Regenerative Businesses
Highlighting Entrepreneurs with Strong Moral Standings and an Understanding of Regenerative Practices. In This Podcast: When we think of permaculture, we immediately think of farms, gardens and homesteads, but Joshua Prieto broadens our perspective. These principles are so universal, they can (and should!) be applied to more than just our gardens. Joshua explains his unique programs that teach entrepreneurs how to grow regenerative businesses from the ground up, rather than creating businesses that simply apply regenerative practices. Don’t miss an episode! visit UrbanFarm.Org/blog/podcast Joshua Prieto is the Co-Founder and Director of the Seeds of Tao learning platform for regenerative entrepreneurs. He has over 10 years of experience creating, building, and operating startup solutions alongside entrepreneurs of all shapes and sizes. That experience has shown him that entrepreneurs have the biggest role to play in the Anthropocene as we either create the solutions for, or become the root problem of, our people, planet, and future. Josh now co-creates educational programs that disrupt the current way our entrepreneurs learn. His holistically designed educational programs empower entrepreneurs to stop chasing “silver-bullet” solutions and start designing solutions that use regenerative systems. Visit for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library! Empowering Regenerative Businesses.
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665: Urban Farm Series: The Present
03/22/2022
665: Urban Farm Series: The Present
In Part 2 of this special 3 part series, Greg Peterson reflects on the upcoming move from the Urban Farm in Arizona, to a new, yet to be named farm in North Carolina. He talks about the factors leading up to the move and the criteria for choosing the new location. "Well, the news is out and there are big changes in my life. Heidi and I are moving, and this is not a little move. We are transporting ourselves 1900 miles to our dream home in Asheville, North Carolina. Lots more to come about our landing place in the ‘future’ part of my writing. I want to assure you, however, with our team in place (Janis, Tayler, Theresa, Ray, Renee, Bill, Belle and Kari) all of our programs will continue into the future just like they have for over 20 years. And for those of you that expect to see me on the ground in Phoenix – you still will for the Fruit Tree Program events and the Seed Up. To begin my journey I thought I would review the Past of the Urban Farm, visit the Present and the biggest question I get…why are you moving?, and speculate on the Future of our new space. Here is a little teaser, we are moving mid-April 2022 to a quaint little town 10 miles from downtown Asheville, North Carolina. We found our ‘dream farm to be’ on 4 acres that is exploding with possibilities, way too many for me to choose right now." For more information visit
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664: Growing Flowers to Love Your Veggies
03/18/2022
664: Growing Flowers to Love Your Veggies
A chat with Lisa Ziegler. In This Garden Chat: Every vegetable garden can benefit from having beautiful flowers in and around the area. Beautiful blooms can boost the aesthetics and add a wide pallet of colors. Some flowers can repel unwanted pests, and some flowers can bring in healthy pollinators. Some flowers are even edible. Let's get in the know with Lisa Ziegler of "Vegetables Love Flowers". On the last Tuesday every month we host The Urban Farm Garden Chats where Greg Peterson has a relaxed conversation in a Zoom room with a special guest to cover useful gardening topics, and they answer questions from the live listening audience. To join us for the next event, go to or Our Special Guest: Lisa Ziegler is a cut-flower farmer, author, and online teacher on organic cut-flower gardening. She has been farming since 1998 in Southeastern Virginia on the Ziegler family homestead. In season this urban three-acre farm produces thousands of stems of flowers and an abundance of vegetables weekly. Lisa has sold her flowers to florists and supermarkets, and at farmer’s markets and her members-only farm market. She loves sharing the experiences she gathers from day-to-day life on the farm. In recent years Lisa’s business, TheGardenersWorkshop.com has grown into an online garden shop and Learning Center that includes resources and online courses for gardeners and farmers.
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663: Urban Farm Series: The Past
03/15/2022
663: Urban Farm Series: The Past
In Part 1 of this special 3 part series about the Past, Present and Future of the Urban Farm, Greg Peterson reviews the history of the Urban Farm and gives a sneak peek into the future. "Well, the news is out and there are big changes in my life. Heidi and I are moving, and this is not a little move. We are transporting ourselves 1900 miles to our dream home in Asheville, North Carolina. Lots more to come about our landing place in the ‘future’ part of my writing. I want to assure you, however, with our team in place (Janis, Tayler, Theresa, Ray, Renee, Bill, Belle and Kari) all of our programs will continue into the future just like they have for over 20 years. And for those of you that expect to see me on the ground in Phoenix – you still will for the Fruit Tree Program events and the Seed Up. To begin my journey I thought I would review the Past of the Urban Farm, visit the Present and the biggest question I get…why are you moving?, and speculate on the Future of our new space. Here is a little teaser, we are moving mid-April 2022 to a quaint little town 10 miles from downtown Asheville, North Carolina. We found our ‘dream farm to be’ on 4 acres that is exploding with possibilities, way too many for me to choose right now." For more information visit
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662: Starting Your Seeds Indoors in Trays
03/11/2022
662: Starting Your Seeds Indoors in Trays
662: Starting Your Seeds Indoors in Trays. A Chat with an Expert on Seeds. In This Podcast: This is the February 2022 Seed Saving Class with special guest Kari Spencer discussing starting your seeds indoors. Kari shares insights on how to get a head start on your spring gardens by starting your seeds indoors in trays. We will talk about germination temps, timing, and nutrition as well as how to avoid common problems. Then we discuss how to transplant your seed starts into your garden successfully. At least ten times a year we have a live Seed Saving Class. Join the class! Register anytime for the next event. Kari Spencer is the founder of the Microfarm Project in Phoenix, Arizona and the author of two books, Vegetable Gardening Journal; A Weekly Tracker and Logbook, and City Farming. In addition to teaching classes all over the city of Phoenix, she is the creator of Urban Farm U’s Growing Food the Basics & Backyard Livestock courses. Visit for the show notes on this bonus episode, and access to our full podcast library!
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661: Abby Schaefer on Woodchip Bioreactors
03/04/2022
661: Abby Schaefer on Woodchip Bioreactors
Reducing Agricultural Nitrogen Runoff into Rivers and Oceans In This Podcast: Abby Schaefer didn’t know what she wanted to do when she started college, but she went with the flow and turned her love of chemistry into a career studying water as a bio-systems engineer. Abby studies woodchip bioreactors, a relatively new technology which harnesses the power of microbes to remove excess nitrogen from agricultural waste water. She explains what they are and how they work to prevent dangerous dead zones downstream. Don’t miss an episode! visit UrbanFarm.Org/blog/podcast Abby Schaefer is a research scientist and engineer in Michelle Soupir’s Water Quality Research Lab in the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering department at Iowa State University. Abby solves water quantity and quality problems, and loves microbes, data analysis, and programming. She is the 2020 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Pre-Professional Engineer of the Year, and her research was recently published in Agrosystems, Geosciences, & Environment. Visit for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library! Woodchip Bioreactors.
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660: Harvesting the Future from Your Garden
02/25/2022
660: Harvesting the Future from Your Garden
A chat with Bill McDorman. In This Garden Chat: Your tastiest vegetables can be grown again and again from your own garden! Future harvests are just a few steps away from what you are growing now and Bill McDorman can help you see the path to the future you want. Explore the benefits of seed saving, learn how to take those first steps, and keep your journey on course with a free class recommendation. On the last Tuesday every month we host The Urban Farm Garden Chats where Greg Peterson has a relaxed conversation in a Zoom room with a special guest to cover useful gardening topics, and they answer questions from the live listening audience. To join us for the next event, go to or Our Special Guest: Bill McDorman 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, and in 2010 he and his wife, Belle Starr, created Seed School, a nationally recognized week long training. Bill is a passionate and knowledgeable presenter who inspires his audience to learn to save their own seeds and so much more!
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659: Companion Planting
02/18/2022
659: Companion Planting
659: Companion Planting. A Chat with an Expert on Seeds. In This Podcast: This is the December 2021 Seed Saving Class with Bill McDorman and special guest Kari Spencer discussing companion planting. Why work so hard in your garden? Gardening should be fun, relaxing and stress free. Unfortunately many of us don’t subscribe to that philosophy. We worry, we fret and we fear we aren’t doing it right. Companion planting is a way to capture nature’s brilliance to help you “get it right.” There are plants that naturally love being partnered with each other in the garden. They provide many benefits such as shade for a heat sensitive specimen or maybe are themselves a kind of bug repellent for another plant. Often food from plants that taste good together have a symbiotic relationship in the garden. At least ten times a year we have a live Seed Saving Class. Join the class! Register anytime for the next event. Bill McDorman is Executive Director of , 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. Visit for the show notes on this bonus episode, and access to our full podcast library!
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658: Mike Biltonen on Regenerative Orcharding with Climate Change
02/11/2022
658: Mike Biltonen on Regenerative Orcharding with Climate Change
Growing Fruit Trees While Adapting to Changing Climates. In This Podcast: Mike Biltonen explains how he applies pre-industrial farming principles to help food farmers plan for the unpredictable weather that affects their crops. He remains a positive voice in the often negative conversation surrounding climate change, and advocates for quality of nutrition over quantity of production, focusing on the soil to accomplish that goal. Don’t miss Mike’s tip for an easy soil test you can do right now! Don’t miss an episode! visit UrbanFarm.Org/blog/podcast Mike Biltonen has spent nearly 40 years in agriculture –working mostly with orchards, vineyards, and specialty veg and fruit crops. An early passion for sustainable agriculture evolved into a profound dedication to the principles and practices of ecologically focused, biodynamically-driven farming. For the last fifteen years Mike has worked as a consultant to novice and seasoned farmers and orchardists on all aspects of managing regenerative and integrated farmscapes. Mike conducts workshops, seminars, and webinars, and has a free newsletter for the truly dedicated. He co-owns Know Your Roots, a novel and innovative family-owned company, with his wife Debbie, where they are synchronously using farming and herbalism practices to heal the Earth. Visit for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library! Regenerative Orcharding with Climate Change.
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657: Vicki Hird on Rebugging the Planet
02/04/2022
657: Vicki Hird on Rebugging the Planet
Renewing Our Relationships with Bugs. In This Podcast: Wait…Don’t step on that bug! Vicki Hird introduces us to the fascinating world of bugs, showing us a whole new way to think about our insect and invertebrate friends. She invites us to look a little closer so we can begin to appreciate bugs not only for the many essential services they perform, but also for the amazing diversity they represent. Vicki describes the many dangers they face, then talks about what we can do to protect them from harm and even encourage them to thrive and flourish. Don’t miss an episode! visit UrbanFarm.Org/blog/podcast Vicki Hird is the Head of the Sustainable Farming Campaign for Sustain: The Alliance for Better Food and Farming (over 100 non-profit organizations), and she runs an independent consultancy. She has a Masters in Pest Management and is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society (FRES). As an experienced and award-winning environmental campaigner, researcher, writer, and strategist working mainly in the food, farming and environmental policy arena, Vicki has worked on government policy for many years. Vicki is the author of Perfectly Safe to Eat? The facts on food, and her latest book is titled Rebugging the Planet (published by Chelsea Green). Her passion is insects and other invertebrates. Visit for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library! Rebugging the Planet.
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656: Growing, Giving, and Making a Difference
01/28/2022
656: Growing, Giving, and Making a Difference
A chat with Jenny Beasley. In This Garden Chat: Jenny Beasley talks about her 12 years working with Heart for the City Community Garden in Arizona. Grown from nothing more than a plot of dirt and a desire to help others, the garden is now a safe space where people exchange food and knowledge with neighbors from other cultures. Jenny recalls the work it took to get the garden off the ground, describes the tending that was required to grow a strong sense of community, and expresses appreciation for the many people who keep it growing. On the last Tuesday every month we host The Urban Farm Garden Chats where Greg Peterson has a relaxed conversation in a Zoom room with a special guest to cover useful gardening topics, and they answer questions from the live listening audience. To join us for the next event, go to or Our Special Guest: Jenny Beasley received her certification as a health coach at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City along with her Bachelors of Science in Business Administration from Northern Arizona University. She is currently the Director of Heart for the City Community Garden located in Glendale, AZ. She became involved with Heart for the City twelve years ago, a non-profit that helps change lives of inner city at risk youth by walking life with them. She was asked to spearhead a 1/2-acre community revitalization project…. a community garden in which they educate Title 1 school children and their families on gardening and provide families ways of growing their own healthy foods. Jenny decided to become a health coach to fulfill her passion of working with individuals to enhance their own well-being, and she is currently becoming a Master Gardener.
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655: Culinary & Aromatic Herbs
01/21/2022
655: Culinary & Aromatic Herbs
This is the November 2021 Seed Saving Class discussing herbs. A garden without herbs is like ice cream without hot fudge. Herbs enhance any meal, and drinking teas made from herbs is healing and medicinal. They can be perennial and annual allowing for many different planting opportunities, and they are usually easy to divide and reproduce. Bill and Greg explore this magical garden component. At least ten times a year we have a live Seed Saving Class. www.urbanfarm.org/seeds21nov
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654: Alyssa Brodsky on Composting for Profit
01/14/2022
654: Alyssa Brodsky on Composting for Profit
Do good and earn a profit? Sign us up! Alyssa Brodsky explains Food2Soil, a program in San Diego that creates soil farmers, people who get paid for turning food scraps from homes and restaurants into rich compost. She passionately describes how the program works, how she got involved, and the many ways the program has positively impacted both the environment and the participants. Alyssa also provides some tips for anyone considering a similar program in their own community. www.urbanfarm.org/food2soil
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653: Starting Fresh in 2022
01/07/2022
653: Starting Fresh in 2022
Greg takes a few minutes at the beginning of this new year to acknowledge the challenges of the last couple of years and to highlight the importance of growing our own food. He expresses gratitude for you, the Urban Farm community, and talks about ways we can support each other. Then he walks us through the comforting rhythms of his year-round garden, describing in detail the tasks of each season and the bountiful harvests he enjoys as a result of his efforts. www.UrbanFarm.org/Podcast-by-episode-titles
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652: Shannon Owen on Educational Gaps in Nutrition Density
12/31/2021
652: Shannon Owen on Educational Gaps in Nutrition Density
Shannon Owen shares the joys and struggles of starting a new farm business with her husband, Chris. They saw a need in their community and decided to help by growing microgreens in their basement. Shannon reveals the magic that happens when they take their greens out into the community, and she describes the encouraging conversations that educate and bring people together, as well as the love of community that inspires them to grow and sell healthy, nutritious food. www.urbanfarm.org/shannonowen
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651: Thinking Outside the Garden Box
12/24/2021
651: Thinking Outside the Garden Box
Farmer Greg talks with Raymond Jess and Janis Norton, from the Urban Farm, about a multitude of variations on the traditional garden box. They share their own experiences and discuss the unique advantages of each type of bed, covering topics such as how they work, how to set them up, and how to care for them. Raymond gives us a peek inside his garden, telling us what he is currently growing and how he is growing it, and Janis tells how to nourish your plants so they thrive. www.urbanfarm.org/garden21oct
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650: Jennifer Foltz-Sweat on Urban Bee Communities
12/17/2021
650: Jennifer Foltz-Sweat on Urban Bee Communities
Jennifer Foltz-Sweat opens our eyes to the wide world of bees. By now many of us have heard that bees are a crucial element of the environment, but what should we do with that knowledge? Jennifer explains easy things we can do to attract bees to our garden and warns us what not to do. She gives uplifting examples of how important education is to conservation, tells us about the move toward citizen science, and encourages all of us to get involved. www.urbanfarm.org/urbanbees
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649: Jennifer McGuinness on Micro Food Gardening
12/10/2021
649: Jennifer McGuinness on Micro Food Gardening
Jennifer McGuinness’ contagious enthusiasm for gardening will have you pining to grow something. No space? No problem! Jen has found creative ways to grow food in small spaces. She gives us a taste of the small space gardening projects we’ll find in her new book and she shares the joy she found in writing and taking the photos for it. Jen tells about her website, describes all the things she loves about gardening, and revels in her current role in the gardening community. www.urbanfarm.org/frauzinn
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648: Tony Horn on Living in Harmony
12/03/2021
648: Tony Horn on Living in Harmony
Listen as Tony Horn shows us where to look and what to do to rediscover peace in our lives. Tony shares his key definition of peace and his vision of a beautiful world where humans are once again living as nature intended. He explains that the biggest human struggles we face today have surfaced recently and are of our own making, but he believes we do have the power to eliminate these problems. First, though, we must wake up, gather together, and be willing to change. www.urbanfarm.org/areturntopeace
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