The Urban Farm Podcast with Greg Peterson

As his wife and youngest daughter began struggling with celiac disease, John Brubaker believed that the pesticides used on vegetables were perhaps weakening their immune systems. This was his entry into organic urban farming. He began small and has been expanding ever since. John is growing numerous crops in his small space, including kale, spinach, beets, radishes and glass gem corn for the Farmers Market. He is finding great success with his natural farming. urbanfarm.org/strawhat 

A passion for the soil, the earth and her community started when Leah Penniman began farming at the age of 16. Through the years she has continued to work towards ending racism and injustice in our food system, and also on land reparations for people of color. She and her family have built Soul Fire Farm where they raise culturally important food, delivering it to people in need. They give tours and help train future activists. urbanfarm.org/soulfirefarm

When Ben Klempner and his family moved to Tiberias, he wanted to make the soil healthy to grow his vegetables. Finding information that was beneficial wasn’t the only hurdle—he was so far away from the products he needed. He kept researching online and kept ending up with the suggestion of Korean Natural Farming. He took it as a sign. He knew that creating these soil amendments for others was what he should be doing instead of growing his own vegetables and Galil Soil Farm was born. urbanfarm.org/gal

Bill Bruneau suffered from what eventually was diagnosed as a leaky gut caused by using pharmaceutical antibiotics. Knowing that plants had medicinal powers he searched out which ones were natural antibiotics and came upon limited but intriguing information on the genus Sida. He waited for someone to write a book about this super-weed and when no one did, Bill knew he had to do it. Listen as Bill lists just a few of the many illnesses he uses Sida to treat or prevent. urbanfarm.org/sida

Rob Greenfield lived a normal American life until he began reading and watching documentaries that showed that he was contributing to the destruction of our planet. That was enough to set him on a course performing extreme actions to motivate others to change as well, including bicycle rides across America doing good deeds and dumpster dives to forage for food. He’s embarking on his biggest adventure yet—going an entire year eating only what he produces or forages himself.www.urbanfarm.org/foodfreedom

Walking by Lloyds of London with his wife Ashley, Lloyd Hardrick was intrigued by the beehives in the windows of the famous bank that shared his name. Curiosity led to research and research led to the career path that Lloyd and Ashley ventured on—raising bees. Making an impact on their community is the prime goal for Lloyd as he works to educate people on bees and their importance in our lives. As Lloyd says, “It’s everybody’s business to want to save the bees.”  www.urbanfarm.org/honeybeegood

Tanya Batche loved to bake but didn’t necessarily think of it as a career. Seeing a trend of obesity and diabetes, she knew there must be a way to still enjoy, and allow others to enjoy her delicious endeavors. Tanya turned her love of baking into her life’s work, teaching us how to enjoy our treats but making them much healthier. Now you can enjoy her Hunger Bomb cookies too. As well as making these healthy treats Tanya also helps private clients become healthier. www.urbanfarm.org/hungerbomb

Curiosity on what to do with the fruit from the three large olive trees in his new yard led Ron Mantini on a quest to make his own olive oil. Over the course of several years, with trial and error and the power of the internet, Ron has discovered how to make an delicious olive oil. He has learned how to turn the olives on his trees and neighboring trees into a bright green, fresh and addictive pressed oil, a nice pairing for his homemade bread and pasta. www.urbanfarm.org/ronsfreshpressedoil

As a contour farmer facing the problem of so much soil washing away in the rain, Steve Szudera found his solution when he borrowed a no-till drill in 1981. He never looked back as he learned how completing warm and cool crop cycles and protecting the soil from damage were keys to healthy, productive crops. Steve shares with us ways to rejuvenate our soil, and even shares how he reuses old potting soil, making it healthier than before. www.urbanfarm.org/tabletopfarmer

Being a single mother trying to provide nutritious options for her children in a food desert gave St. Vincent de Paul’s Urban Farm manager Nika Forte a great understanding and compassion for the people she serves. She shares with her belief that food should nourish the body, mind and spirit with her clientele as she encourages them to reconnect with where their food comes from as they are being helped by the many services of St. Vincent de Paul. www.urbanfarm.org/nika

Rhonda Sherman, an extension specialist in the Department of Horticultural Science at NC State University, shares how throwing away our food waste is a major problem in landfills, releasing methane gas which is a contributor to climate change and causing heavy metals to be released into water sources. She spends 90 percent of her work time educating people in what to do with their food waste instead, namely by composting or vermicomposting. www.urbanfarm.org/wormfarmershandbook

Lyndsay Ludden and her husband Eric wanted to grow real food and talked about it all the time. This led them to take a bold step to sell their home in Phoenix and find their perfect property in Cornville, AZ. On just over two acres of land Lyndsay and Eric built their farm from scratch, beginning with chickens and goats. Having more eggs than they could use led them to the farmer’s market. They’ve been working and adding new animals and gardens to the Hoppy Goat Farm. www.urbanfarm.org/hoppygoat

Wondering where the bananas came from while eating them in his native United Kingdom was the first step for Tobias Peggs, as he sought to grow different foods in the city. He was sure he could mimic the plants’ normal environments. Peggs has not only built a working modular farm in Brooklyn, New York, but runs a Next-Gen Farmer training program to help ensure that others are working toward bringing real food to all the cities of the world.  www.urbanfarm.org/squareroots 

There is always a bounty of information available in conversations with Bill McDorman. This is the October 2018 episode of a Seed Saving Class - learn about Glass Gem Corn, how to be a seed steward, and why corn diversity is so important. www.urbanfarm.org/bonus22

As a young mother of two, and having just left corporate America, Ciara Bennett wanted something that was going to be helpful and healthful for her young children. An inspiration to start making high-quality snacking granola also moved her build a business around this product while allowing her to keep her own identity. Now she makes Vintage Oats, a line of premium granola with unique & tasty flavors her kids love and so do her customers. www.urbanfarm.org/vintageoats