The Urban Farm Podcast with Greg Peterson

245: Willow Aldridge on Raising Quail Exploring the benefits of raising quail for meat and eggs In this podcast: After meeting this young woman at a local Urban Farm tour and finding out how, and why, she started her own quail meat and eggs business, we could not act fast enough to get Willow Aldridge’s interview scheduled.  She shares with us how she convinced her parents to let her start the business, and the challenges and the wonders of raising quail and selling the meat and eggs.Cricket is natural homesteader. Growing up in rural Idaho with a garden, a horse, and lots of home canned food, she brings those sensibilities to her suburban home in Phoenix. Add a little dose of cottage garden flavor and permaculture tendencies, and you’ll see why her blog, GardenVariety.Life is a reflection of everything she does. Cricket enjoys sharing skills that promote a meaningful and practical connection to our gardens and environment. Because so many residents of the metro Phoenix area are transplants like her, she finds that the area’s unique desert climate is often misunderstood and underestimated in terms of what is possible. That’s where the fun begins. Arizona is a burgeoning permaculture haven with homesteading written all over it, and there is nothing Cricket enjoys more than encouraging others to jump in and give it a try.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/06/08/willow-aldridge/ for show notes

244: Raymond Jess on Wicking BedsWatering up in the garden, and using physics to maintain proper soil hydration.In This Podcast:  We hear from Ray Jess, a man who loves to learn, and is enthusiastically helping others get excited about wicking bed gardens.  When he first saw a wicking bed at a fellow Master Gardener’s yard, he was intrigued and that started his deep research. From there he tinkered with an idea about how he could build one in his own yard, with a little improvement, of course. Now he has written an article for the Urban Farm and we hear the benefits of capillary action in his own words.After retiring from two careers, the Air Force and teaching, he pursued his love of food by graduating from the Phoenix Art Institute with a certificate in Culinary Arts. The highlight of his culinary experience was working as a chef for the 2007 Super Bowl at the University of Phoenix Stadium. Natural extensions for this self-proclaimed foodie were the completion of his Master Gardner training and his Certificate in Permaculture Design.A love of fresh foods and herbs kept him gardening for the last two decades.  During a volunteer component of his Master Gardner training, Ray discovered wicking garden beds. A man of curiosity and a seeker of ways to do things more efficiently, he embarked on a research project leading him to the Father of Wicking Beds, Collin Austin. As a result of Ray’s research, his backyard garden has evolved from rows of crops in a plot of ground and raised beds, to grow-buckets and wicking beds. He is currently keeping his eyes open for the next great idea to perfect his garden, so he can keep giving his family, friends, and neighbors fresh produce.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/06/05/raymond-jess/ for more information on this podcast and to find our other great guests.

243: John Rowden on Planting for BirdsDetermining which plants are best for specifically local ecosystems.In this podcast: We learn a little bit more about a national resource for nature lovers from John Rowden from the National Audubon Society as he talks about their new database for native plants. It makes a lot of sense that native plants would be appreciated by birds, and John shares how the interaction between plants and birds can be enhanced and appreciated by anyone willing to grow a plant in their area.John joined Audubon in 2009 when he was hired by the New York City chapter to direct citizen science and outreach throughout the city.   In 2013, he transitioned to the National Audubon Society, first working on the Toyota TogetherGreen program before becoming Audubon’s Director of Community Conservation in 2016.John’s work at Audubon has focused on engaging new audiences in the organization’s conservation efforts, personally and through Audubon’s extensive national network. He holds a PhD in Zoology from Duke University.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/06/03/john-rowden/ for more information and links on this podcast.

242: Laura Kelly on Healthy Bones through Whole Foods.Combating nutritional deficiencies and fighting off diseases through whole and natural foods.In this podcast:  Sometimes it is fighting for the health of a family member that prompts an understanding which in turn helps many other people.  In this conversation, Dr. Laura Kelly explains why she turned her attention to bone health, and what she found when looking for underlying causes to bone density loss.  Then as she was not content to just helping others understand bone health, she determined to help people take action to help themselves.Dr. Laura practices medicine based on principles of nature, using nutrients and natural medicines. This approach to primary care combines functional medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, and tools of Western medicine to build a complete picture of the body – and a plan for how to guide and assist in its return to health.She consults with patients in multiple countries and is based in Topanga, California.  Her first book is The Healthy Bones Nutrition Plan and Cookbook, Published by Chelsea Green which she co-wrote with her mother Helen Bryman Kelly.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/06/01/laura-kelly/ for show notes

241: Jared Gulliford on Millennial FarmersStarting a farm from scratch as an urban-raised millennial.IN THIS PODCAST: Being young and not having any land or farming experience did not stop Jared Gulliford from developing a plan and a dream to have his own farm.  He shares his story about how he came to the decision to pursue a living as a farmer, where he got his training and experience, and how he transformed his family’s properties into a farm.  Then once he got there he had to change the soil and he did this using elbow grease and old-fashioned techniques so that he would not have to use chemicals because he cares about what he sells. At the age of 25, Jared moved back to the land he grew up on to start a farm.  Gardening since he was a teen, he became interested in agriculture while at University. Now, he is striving to produce food to share with, and nourish, his community while teaching others along the way.Taking advantage of an opportunity when his sister and her family bought the land next to their parents, he’s attempting the multi-generational farm dream in the middle of suburbia. On degraded soil and with ten thousand dollars, he started from the ground up. Although Jared is the only farmer at this point, he hopes friends and family will join as the project becomes further established.Despite start-up expenses, infrastructure needs, vehicle repairs, and everything else; he survived, and the inaugural year of Earth First Farm was a success. He has a ½ acre market garden, and homestead quantities of livestock then he plans for the farm to evolve from a working venture to a place for education and reconnecting with nature. Jared is also the curator at Dr. Jim Duke's Green Farmacy Garden in Fulton, Maryland; a sanctuary with over 300 species of native and non-native medicinal herbs.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/05/30/jared-gulliford/ for more information and links on this podcast and to find our other great guests. 

240: Eve Sibley on Recording the Farm's ActivitiesCreating a history of the garden or farm to document what works best.Eve is a creative who studied painting in school, but it was her passion for activism which led her into gardening and farming. In 2006, when she turned 30, she left New York City and moved to a farm to clarify where she wanted to focus her activism energy. She became interested in gardening as a solution to many of the world’s ails and immediately learned square foot gardening.Eve has spent years setting up innovative gardens, mostly vertical, for different organizations in her travels through the USA, Costa Rica, and India. She came to believe internet technology could be utilized to help more people with their growing projects, and during her travels used her computer skills on attempts to find ways to connect and help gardeners around the world.Through her gardening work, and by volunteering on various farms, Eve recently found a need for improved garden record-keeping and she set out to build an app for that. The FarmFollow app is available in app stores and this is the first real season it is in use.In this podcast: We meet Eve Sibley who melded her determination to make a difference with a love of gardening to make an app that helps gardeners and farmers keep better records of their growing efforts.  Eve explains how she got the idea to make an app for growers, and how to make use of the free online tool to keep track of the daily tasks that can make a difference in each year’s crop results.  Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/05/27/eve-sibley/ for show notes

239: Pam Freeman on Chicken Raising RealitiesDiscussing the next level of raising your own chicks In this podcast: Chicken expert and poultry advice columnist Pam Freeman shares some great tips on getting started with raising your own chicks.  Her own adventure started with a little gift from the Easter Bunny, and now she helps others get comfortable with hens starting with the egg and raising chicks.Pam is the editor of both the Backyard Poultry and Countryside magazines. After she received four Silver Laced Wyandotte chicks from the Easter Bunny, her flock quickly grew and Pam launched PamsBackyardChickens.com.  In the years that followed, she hand-raised chicks, nursed chicks and chickens back to health, and experienced the entire lifecycle many times over.  Pam is also the resident "Ask the Expert" columnist for Backyard Poultry magazine and continues to write regular posts about chicken keeping and homesteading.  In her spare time, Pam loves to hunt for antiques, bolster her life list as a life-long bird watcher, plus tend her herb and perennial gardens that are set up to encourage local wildlife such as bees, butterflies and birds.  Her latest book is Backyard Chickens: Beyond the Basics. Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/05/25/pam-freeman/ for more information and to find our other great guests.

238: Mimi Arnold on Farm-to-Table, Resort Hotel Style Building food and garden resources for an ocean-front, secluded ranch hotel.In this podcast: We hear from Mimi Arnold, the gardener who is helping initiate a farm-to-table program at one of California’s beautiful coastal hotels. She explains how she has been working with the owners and the chef to help design and provide the resource gardens on the property. She is dedicated to preserving the environment and loves helping the Inn and its guests connect with nature as much as she can!Mimi is a visual artist and garden designer. After receiving her bachelors in Fine Art at UCLA's School of Art and Architecture, her ongoing interest in botanicals and green spaces fully surfaced; thus, she merged her artistic background with her love in all that is green and headed into the garden design industry. For over two years, Mimi worked for two specialty gardening companies in San Francisco, and contributed to projects for Google and Restoration Hardware.Currently, she is located on California's Mendocino coast where she works as the head ornamental & edible gardener for the Inn at Newport Ranch, as well as the ranch’s florist.  Here, she is involved with developing a farm-to-table food service for the inn, botanical styling throughout the interior, and providing weekly fresh florals-whether grown on site or foraged from the 2,700 acres of redwood forest.Food, flowers, and foliage, - the source matters; she’s doing her best to keep things local and maintain a mindful and sustainable practice.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/05/23/mimi-arnold/ for more information

237: Scottie Jones on Farm StaysExperiencing farm life at the source, a few days at a timeIn this podcast:  Moving to a farm gave Scottie Jones and her husband a new chapter in her life. Yet that story changed completely when she decided to open her farm to guests and realized there was no association or group available to help organize farms as a vacation resource. She tells us about how she decided to fix this and how she made FarmStayUS happen. Scottie is a woman of many talents.  She has an MA in Medieval Archaeology Plus an MBA.  She worked at Arizona State University for 11 years, was the Arizona franchisee for The Body Shop, and later Director of Retail and Host Services at The Phoenix Zoo.  Currently she is a sheep farmer at Leaping Lamb Farm in Oregon, a farm stay host, and the founder of FarmStay U.S. - a national travel site for farm and ranch vacations.  Building on the success of her own farm stay, she has made it her mission, via FarmStayUS.com, to raise awareness of the 1000+ working farms and ranches in the U.S. that offer overnight accommodations. For travelers, it's about experiencing farm life at the source, not just at the farmer’s market.Her feeling: it’s all about real food, real farmers, and living the lifestyle that built this nation - if only for a weekend.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/05/20/scottie-jones/ for more information on this podcast and to find our other great guests.

236: Roza Ferdowsmakan on Sourcing Food in the Digital Age.Helping foodies find chefs, and chefs find local farms, all through their phones.In this podcast:  We are excited to share this conversation with Roza Ferdowsmakan, someone who cares about building up the local food economy as much as we do.  Roza decided she could make a difference in her community by connecting foodies, culinary talents, and local farms through a specially design app.  It is with her new app that she hopes to give people culinary awakenings like the one she had as a young teenager.Roza wants to change the way people connect with food, with their communities, and with the earth. As a tech company founder, she has created a community-driven, farm-to-table mobile app called bites., set to be released in beta to the metro-Phoenix community in July.bites. is a marketplace app for foodies of all socio-economic levels to connect with and reserve personal chef services offered by homemaker cooks, culinary students, and professional personal chefs. These participating chefs are encouraged to source ingredients from local farms.These farms, whether they identify themselves as urban, micro, organic, co-op, family-owned, or simply small farms are encouraged to participate and gain visibility by visiting the bites. website and creating a farm profile prior to the July 1st beta release date so that their profiles will be up and running when the app goes live.Roza also just started a Phoenix area local meetup called "grassroots", intended to engage foodies, local culinary talent, local farms, and sustainability supporters in community events centered around sustainability and education, all part of the ethos behind the bites movement. Beyond "grassroots", she is working to co-organize and resurrect TEDx Phoenix for the local community.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/05/18/roza-ferdowsmakan/ for more information on this podcast and to find our other great guests.