The Urban Farm Podcast with Greg Peterson

Food brings people together, and David Tyda specializes in creating events and festivals that build relationships between local restaurants and the community. If you've ever wondered how food festivals become a reality or considered starting your own, listen in to learn how he creates affordable events for 10,000 people! David shares things he considers, ways to maximize the event space and infrastructure, and how he makes fun, original events that people attend year after year! www.urbanfarm.org/phxfest

How can we revitalize arid areas in a logistically feasible way? Dr. Elise Gornish walks us through the process of working with land and stakeholders to restore their land using seed balls. Learn about seed balls: making them, how they work, and strategies for small or large scale production. She also gives tips on creating invasion resilience and deterring invasive weeds while encouraging native plants. Full of great info for teachers, parents, and environmental enthusiasts! www.urbanfarm.org/seedballs

How do you go from teaching yoga with no culinary experience to a culinary leader implementing sustainable change within our food system? When Danielle Leoni jumped into fine cuisine, her journey was shaped by her patrons inquiring where the food was sourced. She soon discovered the true cost of inexpensive food and is now actively engaged in the good food fight and influencing traceable sourcing. This episode will inspire everyone to follow their dreams and live their values! www.urbanfarm.org/breadfruit

The OGarden, a high tech way of bringing indoor gardening into a small space in your home, is Pierre Nibart's labor of love to improve people's well being. With his OGarden, you can grow 90 plants in a self-lit, 29" by 53" space with minimal involvement. Learn how to start seeds, use the plants in your daily meals, and teach kids about gardening. Plus, it's a great way to get your kids to eat more vegetables when they play a part in growing the plants! www.urbanfarm.org/ogarden

We've all heard about the benefits of eating microgreens, but what does it take to grow them? Melissa Canales of Quantum Microgreens did a career 180 after a health crisis and now makes it her business to grow and supply this amazing health food. Hear about her growing set up and which varieties are the best for beginners. For more advanced farmers, she shares how she made the leap into farming, the business side, and how to find your place in the farming community. www.urbanfarm.org/quantummicrogreens

Many of us try to eat organic fruits and vegetables and pasture raised meats as often as possible. However due to marketing terms, we may not be eating what we think we bought. Eugene Trufkin explains what the gimmicky packaging terms really mean, how that impacts your diet and body, and how to source high quality meat and produce if you aren't growing your own. Nutrition minded, healthy food visionaries will love the information in this episode! www.urbanfarm.org/trufkin

An online presence is important for any farmer or person in agriculture to share their products and knowledge. This episode's guest, John Lagoudakis, professionally coaches businesses on reaching their audience. Here, he gives Urban Farmers tips on how to build their business using online strategies. Learn about the benefits of a website, the best way to use social media, and how to capture future customer's attention using consistent, free content and genuine interaction. www.urbanfarm.org/webagents

Returning guest, Tiffany Panaccione, is back for an update on her new basil farm. She discusses some of her early learnings on preparing greenhouse plants for a garden, when to plant outside of your area's planting calendar, how she protects against pests, and theories on a mysterious overnight digger. Also, listen in for her experience attending the Earthship Academy, some of her mentors as she starts her farm, and why basil holds a special place in her heart. www.urbanfarm.org/tiffsbasil

This special seed saving chat covers Bill McDorman's learning and experiences after attending the 8th Session of the Governing Body International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resource for Food and Agriculture in Rome, Italy.  This is a recording of the November 2019 episode of a live Seed Saving Class discussing the global seed situation, plant patents, advanced methods for creating new plants, why seed saving is more important than ever, and so much more. www.urbanfarm.org/bonus32

How do you farm in a city without a large plot of land? Allie Borovik, the creator of Neighborfood, is learning how to do just that in Austin, TX. Using Fleet Farming and Curtis Stone for inspiration, she has devised a business model that allows her to produce and harvest food for local chefs and restaurants without purchasing her own land. Listen in to learn her method of yard farming, the benefit to her landowners, and how she builds her inventory of yards and produce. www.urbanfarm.org/neighborfood

Shortly after getting married, Sonja Overhiser and her husband did a 180 from fast and frozen food to eating a home-cooked, mostly  whole food plant-based  diet. She shares what motivated them to learn to cook as well as her efforts to teach others through an award-winning food blog, cookbook, and popular newsletter. There are so many social, mental, and physical benefits to plant-forward diets and she gives examples of how the shift in cooking has changed their life. www.urbanfarm.org/acouplecoooks

We normally focus on inspiring urban farming, but for our 500th episode, we wanted to educate on one way you can turn your urban farming passion into a business. John Lee Dumas is the creator of Podcasters Paradise, a school that teaches how to start and run a successful podcast. JLD tried several careers before he found his perfect fit, and he discusses what led him to podcasting, managing a business, how to create energy for action, and some of his hurdles along the way. www.urbanfarm.org/eofire

Dropping everything and moving to the northernmost city in the world might be what some people would call ‘extreme’, yet Chef Benjamin Vidmar did that and is going even further by working towards a zero-waste food system for the city.  He shares how this project uses permaculture in a city that imports its food and exports its waste, and how he has garnered the city leaders’ support. Listen in to see how you can help. www.urbanfarm.org/polarperm

We've heard about bees on previous podcasts, but Jaime Pawelek, a taxonomist who identifies bees and unnamed species, is sure to teach you something new! We go outside of the typical honey, carpenter, and mason bee discussion and into some unique varieties like a sweat bee. Jamie shares details on how bees collect pollen and nectar, their motivation, seasonal needs, and environmental needs to bring these pollinators to your garden. Learn more on how to plant garden bees! www.urbanfarm.org/wildbeegarden

Even if you don't own chickens, if you've ever considered the difference that eating organic makes, this podcast on Chicken Feed Co-ops is for you! Learn why Scott Brown is passionate about finding reasonably priced organic feed for his hens and how his plight created a community co-op. Most importantly, he shares some of the science and studies on GMO's, soy, and organic foods. Through bioaccumulation, our food's food is our food and he puts a whole new spin on eating well. www.urbanfarm.org/scottbrown