The Urban Farm Podcast with Greg Peterson

Keeping backyard chickens healthy through simple steps.In This Podcast: Sometimes helping a neighbor out can truly change your life in ways you never expected. Kathy Shea-Mormino changed her path from attorney to now running a successful business sharing advice through her Facebook page and blog about raising chickens. She says keeping backyard chickens should not be over-complicated and shares her simple steps to keeping the hens happy and healthy.Known as The Chicken Chick, Kathy brings an informative style and fresh perspective on raising backyard chickens to millions of fans around the world. An attorney by profession, Kathy is the founder and one-woman creative force behind her wildly popular and award-winning Facebook page and blog, The-Chicken-Chick.com.Her practical approach and sense of humor allows her to connect, educate and share an appreciation for keeping chickens as family pets as well as for their eggs. With a following of over 700,000 Facebook fans, she has become the person folks interested in keeping chickens, go to for information, advice and fun!  She is also the author of the bestselling book The Chicken Chicks Guide to Backyard Chickens, Simple steps for healthy Happy Hens by Voyager Press.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/10/14/298-kathy-shea-mormino/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Enriching the community, becoming the next generation of hope.In This Podcast: We meet the well-spoken farm manager Casey Holland who explains why she cares so much about her community and providing healthy food to her customers.  She also introduces us to the National Young Farmers Coalition and tells us what they have been doing in her area.  She has gained a lot of wisdom in a short amount of time as a farmer, and her vision and drive gives us a lot of hope for the future.Casey is a native New Mexican and young farmer committed to affecting positive social change around small-scale sustainable agriculture in the Rio Grande Valley. She graduated in 2012 from the University of New Mexico with dual degrees in Psychology / Peace Studies, and Sociology. As a requirement for her minor she did an internship with the SouthWest Organizing Project's: Project Feed the Hood. There, she found her calling when she realized the importance of the way in which our food is produced in addressing many of the issues we face locally, nationally, and globally.In 2015, she started organizing with the local chapter of the National Young Farmers Coalition, which provided her numerous opportunities to speak with government officials and learn about policies that impact her community. Since then she strives to make access to nutritious, enriching food more affordable for underprivileged families and helping her community reconnect to its agricultural roots & culture.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/10/10/297-casey-holland/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Growing quality grapes and wines in the Grand Canyon State.In This Podcast: At a point in their lives where they were ready for something new, Peggy Fiandaca and her husband decided to take their interest in wines to the next level.  They decided to become vintners to make high quality wine and got serious about it.  Now they have a 40 acres winery and a wine tasting gallery.  She explains some of the wine growing history for the state and even some of the processes that vintners use to make wines. Like everything they do, they do it with style!After a slight detour through urban planning, Peggy found her true calling in growing and producing wines.  With her Italian family heritage and a grandfather that produced alcohols during prohibition, this path was in her ‘vines’ so-to-speak.She and her husband Curt Dunham own a vineyard in south eastern Arizona and the LDV Wine Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Here she enjoys watching someone taste wine and identify the flavor characteristics for the first time, or examine a vine closely with a new appreciation for its role in producing that wine.  Peggy has served two terms as the President of the Arizona Wine Growers Association, which represents wineries and vineyards statewide, and she cares deeply about all the vineyards in the state.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/10/07/296-peggy-fianadaca/ for show notes and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Bringing healthy food and education to urban tables through community engagement.In This Podcast: Creating a successful community health hub is no small feat, and Emily Mickley-Doyle has been part of doing just that in her part of New Orleans using an empty grocery store building, a desire to teach others how to grow food, and some fabulous ideas. The space now has several programs including a community garden, a teaching kitchen for doctors, a farmers market, and programs for the community youth to learn gardening and cooking skills. SPROUT NOLA is amazing, inspiring, and basically EPIC!Emily earned her degree in Sociology from Loyola University New Orleans in 2008. In 2011, she cofounded SPROUT NOLA, an urban farming organization that spreads the love of growing fresh, healthy food through community engagement and outreach, partnerships with local food vendors and food justice organizations, hands-on training programs, and advocacy. SPROUT NOLA grows market gardens throughout New Orleans, publicly advocates for sustainable agriculture, and coordinates the ReFresh Community Farm and market, a teaching garden that is located at the ReFresh Project. The garden offers educational resources to community members about home gardening and facilitates an on-site community garden where neighbors can grow and harvest food for themselves.  Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/10/03/295-emily-mickley-doyle/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Running a machinery-free farm with nature inspired principles and techniques.In This Podcast: As one of two new millennial farmers, Lyndsay Jacobs and her business partner Lauren are working their farm using their own labor rather than rely on technology. With the exception of removing some sod in the early days, they are growing and harvesting the crops on their small farm without the use of any typical industrial machines.  As they bring their vegetables to market they know they are doing the right thing by all the positive feedback they are getting from their customers!Lyndsay is a graduate of the Zenger Farm Internship Program where she learned how to address food justice issues, develop efficiency and endurance in farming methods, and best chicken husbandry practices. She earned her degree in Graphic Design & Interior Architecture from James Madison University and is using that on marketing, branding, craftsmen experience, and design expertise for farm infrastructure. She received her Permaculture Design Certificate in Portland.Lindsay and her business partner Lauren (who was our guest on episode 293) run Sprout and Blossom Farm in Vancouver, WA combining their social and environmental justice passions, with permaculture and sustainability inspired practices for animal, plant, and human systems on the farm.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/09/30/294-lyndsay-jacobs/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Starting a successful herb and vegetable farm business with a friend.In This Podcast: A taste of permaculture and agriculture in college was enough to help Lauren Krug go across the continent and try WWOOFing. That experience and some Americorp work gave her the connections to find an amazing new friend and like-minded future farming partner. So, when the opportunity happened to start a farm business on some property owned by a supportive couple, the two friends jumped. Now she and Lyndsay run an herb and vegetable farm and are making a difference in their community.Lauren earned her degree in Community Entrepreneurship from the University of Vermont. Shortly after graduation, she headed west to work on a small veggie farm. After two seasons on this farm, Lauren joined the team at the Clark County Food Bank where she served as their Americorps VISTA Local Produce Coordinator. There, she coordinated the Farming & Gleaning program delivering fresh, locally-grown produce to those in need.Lauren and her business partner Lindsay (who will be our guest on episode 294) run Sprout and Blossom Farm in Vancouver, WA combining their social and environmental justice passions, with permaculture and sustainability inspired practices for animal, plant, and human systems on the farm.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/09/28/293-lauren-krug/ for show notes and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Appreciating the relationship between plant roots and the life in the soil.In This Podcast: We meet Jake Mowrer and understand what brought him to his studies on soil and the relationships between crop roots and the complex community of life in the world beneath us.  This often-invisible world is so essential to the foods that we eat, and the interaction between the subterranean portion of crops and the microbial lifeforms there are easily overlooked. We learn more about what is happening between these elements and why this is crucial to our semi-finite resource of soil.   Jake was raised on a farm in north Georgia where his family produced broiler chickens and beef cattle.  Growing up, the work was often hard, but the food was always good.  Life on the farm is a good way to gain an appreciation for the connectivity of food production in our daily lives. Jake now works with farmers in Texas as a Texas A&M faculty member in the Soil and Crop Science Department, and as an Extension Specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension to communicate the importance of managing soil as a natural resource. His research has become focused on the way that crop roots behave in their soil environment to better understand the best practices for keeping soils continuously functional & productive, both for people and the ecosystems we inhabit.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/09/26/292-jake-mowrer/ for show notes and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

            Connecting with nature in gardens and farms to promote hope, joy and healing.In This Podcast:  It was after her cancer treatments and when she was feeling very low, that Jenny Peterson was encouraged to go into her outdoor space.  The hope and healing she found during her recovery was enough that she now guides and encourages others to find their wellness through gardening and connecting with the natural world.  Her experience has been a spring board to helping many others find their hope through the dark times.Jenny is an Austin, Texas-based garden designer with her own firm, J. Peterson Garden Design, as well as a writer, author and speaker. She specializes in designing, writing and speaking about gardens that enhance the quality of life, heal from the inside out, and help to create balance and wellness.She is a breast cancer survivor and the author of “The Cancer Survivor’s Garden Companion: Cultivating Hope, Healing & Joy in the Ground Beneath Your Feet” (St. Lynn’s Press 2016) and co-author of “Indoor Plant Décor: The Design Stylebook for Houseplants” (St. Lynn’s Press 2013).Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/09/23/291-jenny-peterson/ for show notes and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Telling the story that helps build business in a local market.In This Podcast: After spending some time in Major League Baseball, Chris Gruler recognized the benefit of a personal story and owning your own branding. He now works with companies big and small to help identify and promote their brands, a process that one of his projects is using to help promote the restaurants in his home town.  This essential of building a marketing strategy is valuable to local food businesses as well.Chris has been in the branding/internet game for close to 12 years, using his strengths in branding, storytelling, website development, and online strategy for growth. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies, professional athletes, and small businesses who are looking to expand or protect their brand online.He started ProtegeBranding.com in 2007 with the intent to assist companies and brands with their online presence. One such project dedicated to restaurants and local dining is ScottsdaleRestaurants.com where they create video reviews of local area restaurants to showcase the positive aspect of each restaurant!  A key piece that they highlight is how each restaurant uses locally grown produce.Chris is all about telling stories and assists his customers in telling the right one for their brand!!Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/09/21/290-chris-gruler/ for show notes and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Appreciating America's forgotten fruit.In This Podcast: Amazed upon being introduced to a delicious tropical fruit that grew in temperate areas of the Americas, Andrew Moore delved into some heavy research to learn more about it. He found that this fruit has been growing on the continent for a very long time, has a rich history with both ancient fauna and early human civilizations. He tells us some of what he learned and why it has been forgotten.Andrew grew up in Lake Wales, Florida, just south of the pawpaw’s native range. He is a writer and gardener, and now lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  His first book, Pawpaw, In Search of America's Forgotten Fruit was published through Chelsea Green in 2015 as a hardback and this year in paperback.  It was also nominated for the James Beard Foundation Award.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/09/19/289-andrew-moore/ for show notes and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.Andrew Moore on The Pawpaw Fruit