When you are only growing a 10 day crop, how much of an affect does light quality and temperature have on the crop? A lot. Chris is in Vancouver where he sees day lengths change from 8 hours at the winter solstice to 16 hours at the summer solstice; a large change which affects how much light crops get to grow. Less light in winter means slower or no crop growth. If you are a farmer, you get this. It makes sense, at least for field crops. But what about microgreens? Crops which spend only half of their life in the light, a life that might only be 5 to 8 days. Does seasonality really affect those crops over those 5 days? Yes, and more than you think. In this episode Chris will talk all about the change of the seasons and how it affects microgreen crop growth - specifically the effects of changing temperatures and light conditions. Two factors which can dramatically affect crop growth, yield and quality. How to Grow Better Microgreens All Year - Adapting for Changing Seasons, Temperature, and Light Conditions with microgreen grower Chris Thoreau. DOWNLOAD the show notes at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart and CLICK on Episode 101 Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Zach Weiss of Holzer AgroEcology discusses his experiences working on projects designed by Sepp Holzer. He also gets into Sepp's ideas and design philosophy. This is the recording of a presentation that Zach gave at a workshop at VersaLand in October 2014. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/b013 Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

To celebrate episode 100 I take a look back at the 100 combined episodes of The Urban Farmer and what is now Farm Small, Farm Smart focusing on the highlights, some backstory, and where the show is headed in the future. See some of the highlights from the first 100 episodes at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support Thanks for listening!  

Richard Perkin's Ridgedale Permaculture site in Sweden, a prime example of what a permaculture farm is and could be. A site that has undergone remarkable changes in just a few years.  Going from your average rural farm to the penultimate functioning permaculture farm that's right out the pages of a book.  And one that would also become a book. Unlike many permaculture demonstration sites, Richard's site functions as a farm.   I think it's a great example because permaculture or not, first and foremost it's a farm.  A profitable stand-alone farm.   Where the permaculture comes in, is they layer on permaculture over that working small farm model.   They use the design tool where needed and as needed, but all while paying attention to the bottom line knowing that the farm has to pay for itself.     The amazing thing about what Richard is doing, is he isn't doing it in the tropics or sub-tropics. He's doing it in Sweden at the 59th parallel with 6 months of winter and 6 months of everything else. That's the equivalent of the Northern part of the prairie provinces in Canada 700 miles above the US border. Not the easiest of locations to be doing this in, but one where he's making it work. And in true permaculture fashion the problem is the solution and the 6 months of winter allow Richard to rigorously plan out everything that he's doing on the farm.  One of the things that have really allowed him to fast track development of his farm. In this episode we go in depth on how he's done so much so fast, covering a lot of topics from rotational grazing to holistic management to no dig market garden beds. If you are looking how to blend permaculture, and farming in a way that works, this is it. Learn More and Download the show notes at www.permaculturevoices.com/225

There's one event that happens in many people's lives which instantly changes their life forever. Overnight, instantly, everything is different. Your life, your approach to life, how you view life, and how you go about living life all change. It's an event that some people aren't ready for and one that others are ready for, but one where no one is ever REALLY ready. It's the birth of a child. A beautiful event that instantly makes live more worth living and richer, but one which also makes life harder and more challenging, especially for entrepreneurs. If you thought running a business or starting a farm was hard without kids, try doing it with kids, because it's exponentially harder. Curtis is a brand new parent experiencing some of those challenges first hand. Today, we'll explore what those challenges are like in terms of life and farming, and how Curtis is dealing with them as a brand new inexperienced father, while being a seasoned experienced farmer. It's never easy, and as you'll hear it's always a balancing act. But it is one Curtis, me, and most other fathers wouldn't trade for anything else in the world. Get the audiobook at www.permaculturevoices.com/audiobook Download the show notes at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart and click on Episode 99.

Learn more about this episode at permaculturevoices.com/cd10 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Today’s show centers around Ben Hewitt’s book Home Grown; a great book that has had a profound effect on my life. It's one of those books that I couldn't put down and at the same point it was hard to read because I got so lost in thought reading it. It's a rare must read category book for me. It should appeal to the homesteader, the wannabe homesteader, the parent, the soon to be parent, and the millions of people who are feel like the system did them wrong by sending them off on the wrong path in life destined to a life of track homes and cubicles. It's a vicarious look into the life that many of wish we could live, but don't... The subtitle of the book is Adventures in Parenting off the beaten path, unschooling and reconnecting with the natural world. Ben describes it as his sharing of stories, "They are not merely stories about all we are learning but also about all we are unlearning and about our imperfect quest to inhabit a balanced place that allows us to remain part of a broader world while also living in a way that is true to our values and vision. In a sense, for us this has been the easy part. I have found that the harder part is determining how to conduct our lives in a manner than honors these values and this vision, even as we are continually confronted with evidence that such a quest is impractical, if not downright naive." The book is deep, and I hope that it gets you thinking. This episode and this book is one that is very important to me because Ben's book had such an impact on me and as the title of this episode says, it got me to stop worrying and to start living. I hope that it has an impact on you, if you are in need of one. Ben Hewitt and I, two father, talking kids and life, here it is. Learn more about this episode at permaculturevoices.com/cd10 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

While the prospects of starting a small market farm that grosses over $100,000 is lucrative and attractive, it's not for everyone or possible in every location. And that's the topic of today's episode with Blake Cothron of Peaceful Heritage Farm.... A lot of what you hear about in the small scale farmer movement are the uber-successful small farmers that are grossing 1, 2 or $300k per acre.  They are inspiring stories, but those stories all share one thing in common, their markets.  Typically small farmers grossing big dollars are able to do that by selling their produce into larger, higher end urban market streams - market streams which will pay top dollar for microgreens, salad mix, and baby root veg. What if you don't live near one of those large urban markets? What if you don't have high end farmers markets and restaurants to sell product too?   What do the prospects of your rural farming career hold? Today, I am talking to a farmer who faced that exact problem, making farming work in very rural Amish Kentucky without high end restaurants and with a sleepy farmer's markets.     In this episode Blake Cothron of Peaceful Heritage Farm located in very rural Crab Orchard Kentucky will share his story.   It's an inspiring story about a husband and wife making a small farm work, by approaching farming in a very smart way.   A necessity, when your local customer based is used to buying vegetables at prices like 3 for $1 or $1 per dozen sweet corn. If you're interested in farming, but you are nowhere near a large city, then this episode is for you. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Paul Wheaton joins me to talk about his new Kickstarter and what he's learned over very successful Kickstarter campaigns.  He also discusses what makes a good PC, choosing the right PDC, and how he deals with the constant hate that people throw his way.  We wrap up the conversation talking about doing epic s*** versus living a boring grey life. Support Paul's Kickstarter at www.permaculturevoices.com/paul

Today I'm talking to a grower who's admittedly "I'm a little bit obsessive about growing high quality produce." It's an obsession that's fueled his farms growth, and an obsession which is a bit necessary to fuel the farm's growth to bring his fiancé onto the farm full-time. And while Elliot Seldner of Fair Share Farms' obsession may be on growing high quality produce, it's not only on growing high quality produce, because Elliot realized the importance of work life balance and the need to have a time and place to enjoy the other things created on the farm. Today Elliot is going to talk specifically how they do that, in part by focusing intentionally on making the farm more efficient through appropriate technology, no till, and optimizing equipment. Elliot's also going to talk about how he and his fiancé are approaching farm transition. Because she's current employed a schoolteacher, a necessary step in their farms evolution, but one that's only a step, where the long term goal is to get her onto the farm full time. Looking into the future, it's the farming methods that Emma and Elliot use which will make this all possible, a farm that provides multiple incomes on just over half and acre... Let's get into it, with one of the masters of farm efficiency, Elliot Seldner. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Whether it’s MMA or becoming a freelancer or business owner, the punches will be thrown, and they will hit you. But as Mike Tyson said, "Everybody has a plan until they punched in the face. Then, like a rat, they stop in fear and freeze." When life hits you in the face what are you going to do? Are you going to freeze like a rat, or are you going to come back like Mike Tyson and be that baddest man on the planet? The hard reality of that question, is that it truly is up to you to decide. What would you do? Let’s find out what a former MMA fighter turned farmer did, and find out from out what's it's like to get punched into the face by life, and someone else... Read more at permaculturevoices.com/yourstory2 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Music: www.purple-planet.com

If customers keep asking if you have certain crop, and you don't, should you grow it? It depends. And that's the focus of today's show: When, How, and Why to Start Producing A New Microgreen Crop Today microgreen grower Chris Thoreau and I are talking about new crops - specifically how do you start growing them? On the surface that may seem like a simple and straightforward question, but there's a lot of specifics involved in answering that questions, and the specifics are where profits are made or money is lost. You have to consider things like can you actually grow the crop - meaning can you get a good yield from in within your system that's already setup to grow other crops; or does the crop's harvest schedule fall in line with your other crops and your current harvest schedule.   If you plan on scaling the crop, can you actually buy enough seed?  And can that seed be bought at a price that makes the crop profitable. All legitimate considerations which need to be considered, anytime you take on the decisions to grow a new corp. If you are thinking about starting a farm or adding some new crops to the mix, then this episode is for you. Chris will put the theory to reality and talk about his experiences and failures introducing new crops, like basil. What his methodically and thought process was and why. As you'll hear, not everything always works, regardless of how much experience you have, and sometimes some crops are just better off not grown. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

In honor of Earth Day, today's show is a replay of the interview with the original Earth Day lead organizer Denis Hayes. Denis Hayes talks about a lifetime of work in environmentalism - the challenges, successes, the changing environmental problems since the 60's, and how he has endured numerous political changes in Washington. Denis was the organizer of the first Earth Day in 1970, headed the Solar Energy Research Institute under President Carter, and is now president of the Bullitt Foundation. In 1999 Time Magazine named him Hero of the Planet. In this episode we go through his early life in a polluted Washington paper milling community to how he became an environmental activist. We also discuss the creation and organization of the first Earth Day in 1970 and how the scope of the environmental problems have changed since then. Learn more about Denis at permaculturevoices.com/cd3.  

Today I'm going to be talking to another small scale farmer who's greatly benefited by growing smaller, not larger. A few years ago farmer Alex Bertsch started farming on half an acre.  Not a ton of land, but enough to make it hard for one person to manage.  Add in the fact that the half an acre was being farmed part-time, and that half an acre seems a little more daunting.  Then place that half an acre 40 minutes from where Alex lived, and you now have a hard farm to manage for anyone.  It was a situation that was further complicated by growing a large variety of crops.   Despite these first year challenges, Alex persevered and came out the first year ahead.  Then he did something wise, he accessed the situation and he scaled back. He cut his farm down from half an acre to just 500 square feet and some indoor growing space, and he moved the farm from the remote location to his back yard.  Also, as part of his strategy he dramatically reduced his crops selection down to just salad greens and microgreens. It was a big change of going smaller and simpler that changed everything for Alex.  It made his life and his farm more manageable, and it's one that he continues to grow today. Growing Better by Growing Smaller - Going From Half an Acre to 500 Square Feet with Alex Bertsch of Epic by Nature Farm. Stay tuned every Monday, for a new episode at www.permaculturevoices.com/grassfed Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Welcome to world of Farming Small and Farming Smart, it's The Urban Farmer. When you are starting any new business it can be very overwhelming. You have a lot to do all at once - building infrastructure, creating your brand, marketing, cultivating a customer base, customer service, and of course producing a product. All essentially full time jobs, but full time jobs that need to be done all at once, by one person, you. It can be very overwhelming. Where do you start? After all you can't just focus on producing good product without cultivating a customer base or you have no one to sell that product to. And you can't start producing product without having some way to clean and store that product. Given that you really need to start everywhere, doing it all in parallel. For a lot of new farmers this is where analysis paralysis sets in, and it's the topic of today's episode. Here it is Conquering Analysis Paralysis By Starting a Whole Farm at Once in this episode of The Urban Farmer. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

This episode is a special episode, it's a replay of another podcast, specifically someone else's podcast. The episode that you will hear today is an interview that Marianne West did with me on a subject I am very passionate about - being a dad. Marianne is going to talk to be about being a dad and how that first experience of being a dad dramatically shook up my life, and not just in a good way. Marianne did a great job with the interview, and it's an episode that I am very proud to have been a part of. If you like what you hear in this one, and you want to hear more be sure to check out more episodes with Marianne and her co-host Janice at www.sustainablelivingpodcast.com. With that, let's get into it, with me on the other end of things for a change, it's me on being a dad. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/podcast Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Today it's back to Kelowna and Green City Acres as Curtis and I take a look back at his experiences with inter-planting, planting multiple crops in the same space . It's something that he's done for a few years now, and something that he's doing again this year with his tomatoes. We first stated talking about this subject back in 2015 when we did an episode touching on the subject in Season One, then we hit on it again almost a year ago in Season Two. Today we are going to take a look at what Curtis is doing now when it comes to inter-planting and how that's changed since we first started talking about it two years ago. It's a technique that Curtis has a lot of experience with, but one that's continually evolving as he uses it more. It's a technique that he uses, because it allows him to earn a lot more in the same space over a given year. For are going example he made and additional $1100 last year, by inter-planting Salanova lettuce in with his tomatoes. That's an extra $1100 that most farmers wouldn't captured. That's the benefit of inter-planting. Getting multiple yields out of the same space over the same time period. But be aware going in, this technique isn't for everyone. There's a lot of constraints and complications that come with inter-planting. And it's a technique that doesn't make sense if you have a lot of land. None the less, it's a technique that can be a game changer for those of you who do feel like you have a limited amount of land. For you all, this is just another way to get more crops and more money, without adding land. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

There's a lot to worry about out there in the world right now - climate change, GMOs, the financial system, debt, terrorism, disease, water insecurity, a fragile food system. What if you could insure yourself against some of these worries? And get that insurance through land, land as insurance.. It would be a way to take insurance back into our control and put the fragile dollars into an anti-fragile system - an ecosystem. Today Rob Avis of Adaptive Habitat and I will be discussing the idea of owning land as insurance against disaster in depth. We'll get into models that don't exist yet, and ways that anyone can start to create some anti-fragility in their life now, regardless of where you live and whether you have land or not. I guarantee, this one will get your wheels turning. The Antifragile Property Series with Rob Avis - Part 1 Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/podcast Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Today I'm going to be talking to another small scale farming making a go of it as we go to Sebastopol, CA to talk to Caiti Hachmyer of Red H Farm. Caiti's a farmer who started out her farming career on the advocacy side of things.  She was living the Bay Area advocating for farmers and looking to play her part in changing hte food system.  But after a while she felt something was missing.  And she felt like she needed to get on the ground and see what life was really like for some of the farmers that she was advocating for.  So she picked up her California roots and moved to Minnesota to spend some time working on a production farm.   It was step that would change her life forever.  Giving her perspective of the on the ground side of things which helped her on the policy side, and one that would give her a nice experience ot have in her back pocket. One that she would need to draw on when she moved back to California and needed work.   Caiti's gone on to continue her work on the ground and policy side of things.   It's the dual nature of her work that we focus on today, Here it is Farming For A Change with Advocate Farmer Caiti Hachmyer of Red H Farm. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Today I'm going up to Vancouver to talk to Microgreen Farmer Chris Thoreau with the goal of focusing in on 10 base principles for growing high quality microgreens. Think 10 things that are critical to growing a good crop regardless of where you are growing them, when you are growing them or how you are growing them. These base principles help ensure that you get a successful crop that is free of disease and of high quality. It’s not enough just to go through a successful process without knowing why you are doing what at different parts of the process.   Because if you don’t know, and a variable changes, you need to be able to know how to react and adapt. While everyone’s process is likely different based on the crop that they are trying to grow, today’s show it’s all about what’s the same, the base principles. Learn more about Chris's course at www.permaculturevoices.com/microgreens Show Notes at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart

"Farming is as much about growing yourself as it is about growing vegetables." One of the big lessons shared in this episode with farmer Chris Gilbert from Bettendorf, Iowa. Welcome to world of Farming Small and Farming Smart. Today I'm going to be talking to another small scale farming making a go of it as we go to Bettendorf, Iowa to talk to farmer Chris Gilbert of Gilbert's Grapes Farm. Chris's is one that many of share - going from hobby gardener to production farmer. It's a journey that's had its up and it's downs. As Chris describes it: “When I first started gardening, it was to supplement the lack of income my family had. It also had been something I had never tried before. I simply started gardening for myself and my family, but ended up producing much more than our family could use from a small 4 X 20 ft. garden. A lot of cards fell into place in the fall of 2013 and we were able to buy our first home that had an acre of land just outside the hustle and bustle of the city. I had thought of starting a small roadside stand, or selling in the parking lot of several locally owned businesses in the past, but decided I would try to get into a large farmer's market in the area. Expectations - I had none. I had blind passion. I really wanted to do something on my own and had started several other business ventures such as graphic design, a t-shirt company, and being a musician. I came into farming naively and childishly almost, and I think that is important. It seems idealism gets rooted in our thoughts and goals, and sometimes ideal goals may not be realistic goals. I think goals are important, but I think it is important not to beat yourself up if you find some challenges along the way and are not able to reach your goal. Every year is a new learning experience and provides new inspiration and knowledge of how to refine your farm and farming plans the next year.” Chris may have stated out naive, but he's no longer naive learning from the school of hard knocks. He's grown the farm over the last few years taking it form a small plot to now farming 1/4 of an acre. And he's grown as a person having to manage the farm while being a father to a growing family and dealing with the challenges that come with it. It has been a journey where Chris has grown, just as much as some of his vegetables. Here it is the story of farmer Chris Gilbert. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Welcome to world of Farming Small and Farming Smart. Today I'm talking to another small scale farming making a go of it, as we go to Omaha, Nebraska to take a look at how farmer Taylor Rogers started his farm. It's an interesting story that takes Taylor from working behind the scenes in a restaurant kitchen to starting up a farm with no experience in a 3rd story apartment.  Being on the third floor dealing with all of the steps made for tough go of it initially, but Taylor persisted. In hindsight he didn't start out farming in the perfect conditions or with the perfect setup, but the key was that he started and he never looked back.   He back his enterprise in that 3rd story apartment by producing 6 trays of microgreens a week, then leveraging that production and the learnings that came with it to gradually scale up to doing 150 trays of microgreens a week. He currently grows of 20 different crops, and it's that variety that has been one of the keys to his success.  In this episode he'll also talk about some of the other things that have made him successful such as growing what chefs want, how they want it, and bringing it when you say you’re going to bring it. All keys to his current success and keys he learned before he even got into farming when he saw these problems first hand working behind the scenes in the kitchen.  Taylor's going to share a lot of information and insight in this one about working with chefs. Today it's all about growing what chefs want with Taylor Rogers of In Season Omaha. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Today is another episode where Curtis and I will be widening the scope, stepping back and zooming out from the tools and techniques and his 1/3 of an acre farm, to take a look at some of the macro issues surrounding agriculture. The focus today is on employees. Curtis will take about his thoughts on hiring employees, and what he looks for in employees. We'll also get into some of the complications that having employees bring to a business owner and what other options other than hiring someone are available. One of the options that we will look at is having fiefdoms or element partners on your land base. An idea that sounds great in theory, but one that has some downsides in reality... Today it's all about getting more done on the farm, by bringing in more people to do the work; it's all about employees...in this episode of The Urban Farmer. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

When you start your farm business, one think that you need to think about is your business structure. Sole proprietorships and LLCs are common ways to go, but there are also other options, like co-operatives... That's how farmer Chris Thoreau of Food Pedalers structure his business, and that's the subject of today's show... Today I'm going up to Vancouver to talk to microgreen farmer Chris Thoreau about a topic that you don't hear discussed a lot in small scale farming circles - how he organized his business.. Chris initially started his business as a sole proprietor, but as he began to grow, both in the size of the business and the amount of people working in the business, he realized he needed to change that. After looking at all of the options, Chris decided that he wanted to do something different, something that went more against the status quo, and something that was equitable for everyone involved - so Chris organized his business as a co-operative. It's an interesting business structure and it's one that most people wouldn't think of when organizing their business. If your business is growing, or if you are thinking about expanding your team, then a coop structure might make sense for you... Today Chris will talk about why he chose that structure, the advantages and disadvantages of it, and what it takes to have a successful member-owner business. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Today I am talking with Dr. Ross Mars, author of The Permaculture Transition Manual. A book that covers a wide variety of practical topics including: permaculture design principles, soil building, nutrient-dense food growing, and greywater systems. In the book Ross also dispels a number of well accepted permaculture myths, such as comfrey being a dynamic accumulator.  I think we have all hear that one before, plant comfrey because its roots mine and accumulate nutrients deep within the soil.  A great concept, unfortunately one that's just not true.  As Ross found there's no scientific evidence to back that claim up. It's this scientific approach to permaculture that makes Ross's approach unique. In his book and in this interview he talks about what's worked for him and what's scientifically plausible. Today Ross and I will use that practical and realistic lens to take a look at home scale rainwater harvesting and waste treatment.   Ross will use his 20 years of industry experience to talk about the insanity of bathtub reed beds, and the need slow water down as it moves through the system. It's all about home scale greywater and blackwater with Dr. Ross Mars. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/152 Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

This week I'll pick up where last week left off with market gardener Ray Tyler of Rosecreek Farms. While last week's episode was more inspiration, this week’s more of the perspiration side of things as Ray talks about some of his production methods and big changes that he made turn go from grossing $35,000 in 2015 to $120,000 in 2016 on less land. Ray's going to go talk about some of the big changes that made that huge increase in gross sales possible. He'll also get into how he controls weeds on the farm, and how he established a market for his product early on given that he only lives in a town of 2000 people. Today it's all about production and sales, with Ray Tyler of Rosecreek Farms in Selmer, TN. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Farming Against All Odds with Ray Tyler of Rosecreek Farms From laid off and in debt to grossing $120,000 on one acre. Today's show goes beyond Curtis and the urban farm, as we take a look at another small scale vegetable producer and their farm. We all know that running a business is hard. We all know that running a farm business is hard. But think everyone knows how hard it actually is.  How much it can push you to the limits and test your to your core?   It's during those tests, when the world seems darkest, that most entrepreneurs throw in the towel.  The pressure, the stress, the money, it's all too much. Nonetheless more and more people flock to farming without any experience, not totally knowing what they are getting themselves into.. One of those people was Ray Tyler... Ray started out like a lot of people who get into farming, he was inspired by to get into farming by Joel Salatin's You Can farm... He started raising livestock, and then life got real... Imagine yourself as a new farmer running a full time livestock operation raising 50 pigs and a few thousand chickens a year.   And then imagine running a two acre market garden on top of that... And along the way the, your 5 year old daughter gets caner... It was a moment that put Ray's farm and life on the ropes... it's the story of Ray Tyler or Rosecreek Farms... Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/151 There had always been that group of design-centric permaculturalists focused on the process, not the techniques. The Toby Hemenways and Larry Santoyos of the world, the Darren Dohertys and the Ben Falks, The Richard Perkins, and my guest today, Rob Avis. They are all just a small sample of a larger subset that's focused on permaculture a design process, and only a design process. To them it's just another tool in the toolbox. A tool that you have at your disposal that when needed and applied correctly, can make your job easier. It's through the readings and conversations with these people that I have re-embraced permaculture for what it was a intended to be, and how I initially came about it. And a big key in that return to permaculture as a tool, were the conversations that I had with Rob Avis of Verge Permaculture. Like me Rob comes from an engineering background, and he came to permaculture after having been an engineer. For him, permaculture gave him another tool to use and way to re-purpose his engineering career. Permaculture gave him a way to richen and deepen his design work and engineering versus diluting it. And it was in one of our conversations where he said something that stopped me in my tracks, and changed my paradigm on the spot. He said, "Diego, it doesn't matter what anyone is saying or doing with permaculture, no matter how irrelevant it may seem. Permaculture is simply another tool in the toolbox, and if it makes my job easier, then I will use it. Like a hammer, it doesn't matter what people are saying or claiming about a hammer, when you need to drive a nail you use a hammer, and when you, I don't pay attention." It was that simple idea of permaculture being a tool, regardless of what claims people make, it's still a tool, that really reset my perspective on permaculture. Suddenly all the bogus claims didn't matter, and I had something in my back pocket that made things easier, it was Permaculture - Another Tool in The Toolbox. Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support Valuable and necessary to the success of hte changing landscape of agriculture... or an abused form of cheap labor that helps some farms appear more profitable than they really are... That's what we are talking about today on The Urban Farmer with Curtis Stone With the 2017 season underway, we'll be widening the scope.  Not only going beyond Curtis and the urban farmer, but also beyond the urban farm. This year Curtis and I will take a step back zooming out from the tools and techniques and his one third of an acre farm, to take a look at some of the macro issues surrounding agriculture. Each of our episodes will look at a difference topic that all are touched by the common thread of how do we scale this movement, and what does that look like in the future. It's a year of farming small and farming smart, but thinking big. Today, we are going to start out by taking a look at interns and farms.  What's good, what's bad, and what could be improved upon. It's an issue that's really relevant and timely, because it's one that Curtis is dealing with right now, doing something that I never, ever, thought he would do, get an intern. Let's find out why, in this episode of The Urban Farmer... Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Today I will be talking with someone who likely inspired many of you to get into farming, to consider farming, or to farm better, not bigger. I'll be talking to market gardener, Jean-Martin Fortier.   We'll start out talking about his days before he farmed and how he figured out exactly who Jean-Martin Fortier was and what he was about.  And we'll end up in the fields talking about something that still gets JM excited today, the soil... Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

A compilation of stories from peers, friends, and students paying tribute to Toby Hemenway who passed away on December 20, 2016. Learn more about Toby at www.permaculturevoices.com/150 Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support Background Music: Voyage by LEMMiNO https://soundcloud.com/lemmino Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported— CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... Moon by LEMMiNO https://soundcloud.com/lemmino Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported— CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... Music by BENSOUND http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-... Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... Last Light by Gregory Klein https://500px.com/GregoryKlein Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... . Dreams by Joakim Karud https://soundcloud.com/joakimkarud Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported— CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... Music provided by Audio Library https://youtu.be/VF9_dCo6JT4 Grass - Silent Partner https://youtu.be/VlohuOGWzG8 Days Are Long by Silent Partner https://youtu.be/dMWPj0wu1Dw Parallel & Last Dawn - Ross Bugden  https://youtu.be/wWjgsepyE8I   https://youtu.be/je9bnuIqVVc Kygo feat. Conrad Firestone Instrumental https://youtu.be/rGIAQm-ixAQ Get Back Up - Silent Partner https://youtu.be/pMdlF4rbf6Y

Ben Watson, a senior editor at Chelsea Green, joins me to talk about his work with Toby Hemenway on the first edition of Gaia's Garden back in 2000 and how much of an influence that book had on the permaculture movement and the future of books in this space. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/149 Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Liberation Permaculture by Toby Hemenway. This episode is the rebroadcast of Toby talk from PV2 in March 2015. Permaculture offers more than a path to a sustainable and just food system. It can move entire segments of our society off the radar screens of state oppressors and help return equality, abundance, and justice to people while restoring healthy ecosystems. This talk will tell you how. Here's a hint on how that's possible. If you can't measure it, you can't tax it. Enjoy it, I hope it gets you thinking. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/148 Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Today, let's take a look at permaculture.  Let's go beyond the land, and beyond food to take a look at a concept that Toby is calling liberation permaculture. "Permaculture offers more than a path to a sustainable and just food system. It can move entire segments of our society off the radar screens of state oppressors and help return equality, abundance, and justice to people while restoring healthy ecosystems. This talk, being premiered at Permaculture Voices, will tell you how. If you’ve appreciated Toby’s series on permaculture and civilization, you’ll want to see this significant new chapter." Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/147 Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Backing Away from the Energy Cliff: A Permaculturist's Guide to Thinking About Energy.    Fossil fuels are the underpinning of our civilization, and our desperate attempts to keep cheap oil flowing runs the risk of collapsing ecosystems and cultures. This lecture uses a permacultural approach to evaluate energy sources and to design possible energy futures.    Presented by Toby Hemenway at PV1 in March 2014.   Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/146   Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Ten thousand years of agriculture has devastated every ecosystem it has come in contact with. Horticultural societies point toward a solution, and permaculture can help us design a way to overcome agriculture's deficiencies, preserve many of the best features of our culture, and create a horticultural society that has a good chance of proving sustainable. This lecture shows how we got into this mess, and offers a route out of it. Presented live at PV1 in March 2014. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/145   Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support  

Toby Hemenway joins me to talk permaculture - how permaculture has changed and how we can work more permaculture into our lives. Key Takeaways: It really benefits anyone in almost any field to be able to think in whole systems. Someone who embraces permaculture can do a lot more than teach and design property. Apply permaculture techniques and principles to what you do. Find good mentors. Many people want to help others. You just have to ask. Some standard economic training is good. You can get a great toolkit and then apply it however you want. Standard training is a tool, a means to an end if you goal is ecological design. Catch kids while thinking in whole systems. Before they are trained out of it into compartmentalized thinking. Starting with soil fertility and building organic matter is a good idea. It is almost a universal panacea along with being careful with water. Move to the highest generalization. For example, do you want to open a store, or do you want to make a living providing good products for your community. Find the things in life that you are really good at and do those things. It gives you good feedback and then you start building confidence and making forward progress. Want to transition careers? Find ways to make it less scary - lower expenses. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/144 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Today's episode is the first episode in a week long series dedicated to the late Toby Hemenway.   It's the first presentation in a series of episodes which Toby called his civilization series.   It's titled How Permaculture Can Save Humanity and the Earth, but Not Civilization.   Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/143   Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

2016 has been an interesting year for me.   It's been one of transition and growth and change. It's been a year that's ended a long career in one world and kick started a new career going out on my own. It's been a year of loss losing pioneers like Toby Hemenway, Gene Logsdon, and Bill Mollison;  and it's been a year of addition as a beautiful daughter entered my life. I have a grown a lot and changed a lot as a person.  And honestly I feel like I am more me than I have ever been. It's a me that's been found through a lot of self-reflection, writing, literally hundreds of podcasts, and conversations with people like Javan. Along the way I have learned a lot. Today I will be sharing some of what I learned as Javan and I go through our top 5 lessons from 2016. In total 10 simple ways of looking at life, approaching life, and thinking about life that can change your life tomorrow. I look at a lot of these lessons as base principles in an approach to life that very much contradicts the status quo.   None of these lessons require any money or technology to implement. There are no tools or techniques here. It's simply changing your approach.   As 2016 comes to an end, take what you can from this episode, to align what you do in life more with who you are. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/javan Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Mycologist and author Peter McCoy of RadicalMycology.com takes on the question - I'm wondering if you have any information about inoculating trees to grow truffles. I have read that hazelnuts are sometimes used in truffle production and, while there are nurseries that sell (large quantities of) inoculated trees, I can't find any information about doing it yourself. It seems like the method is to introduce some kind of inoculum into sterilised seeding media just prior to germination, but what is the inoculum? Ground up truffles? Can you grow out the inoculum prior to introducing it to the soil to expand your supply? To learn more about Peter and see all of the ASK Peter episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/peter.   Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

In terms of journeys, today I am going to highlight an epic one.   It's the story of Justin Rhodes. Justin who has gone from someone one government assistance and in debt to someone who is self-made, out of debt, and now making a living through his various online businesses.   A remarkable feet in an of itself.  And even more remarkable given how quickly it has played out. It's a truly inspirational story that started from this show. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/133 Support the show at www. permaculturevoices.com/support

Mycologist and author Peter McCoy of RadicalMycology.com takes on the question - The question is whether or not mushrooms could be used in a brooder to help break down the wood based bedding, manure and spilled feed and maybe get a mushroom harvest. My brooder, along with others across the country are basically going to sit idle over the winter. Come late winter I go in there with some tools and clear it out. It is my least favorite day of the entire year. I'd be interested in inoculating the bedding with a mushroom and seeing what could be done. Any reduction in the amount of bedding would be a gain. If I could get some mushrooms out of it, all the better.  My thoughts were to cultivate something over the winter while the brooder is inactive and then clean it out before my first batch of broilers begins late February. Not sure if that would be a long enough time frame for mushrooms. To learn more about Peter and see all of the ASK Peter episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/peter.   Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Mycologist and author Peter McCoy of RadicalMycology.com takes on the question - I have an abundance of woodchips.  Any thoughts on inoculating the pile to "rapidly" break down the pile of chips into compost, or is it not worth the effort and just let nature do the work? To learn more about Peter and see all of the ASK Peter episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/peter. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

For notes related to this episode visit permaculturevoices.com/growmicrogreens. When you think about what your selling, don't forget that what you are selling isn't just what's in the cooler behind your booth. You're selling yourself, your story, and the role that you play in a bigger movement; all intangible assets that can allow you to succeed without having a diversity of products. But if you want to grow, and you don’t have more products to sell to customers, then you need to find more customers, and that likely means diversifying beyond the farmers market. That’s the subject of today's show where farmers market is one of the market streams that we dig into as Chris talks about his experiences selling to a diversity of market streams without a diversity of crops. For notes related to this episode visit permaculturevoices.com/growmicrogreens.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support About one year ago Season 1, Episode 37 aired. It was us taking a look back at Curtis production for the 2015 season. Today we will do something similar for 2016, because a lot has changed. Let's start by rewinding the clock and go back that previous episode from December 2015... "We are officially out of the main season and for the most part, Curtis is now done producing crops off of his farm. In this episode we will take a look at what Curtis produced on the farm in 2016, and how much of it he produced. And as a hint, he produced a lot. All in Curtis produced about 17,500lbs of product off of his farm this year. That's a lot of food coming from a small space. Remember Curtis is only farming off of 15,000 sq.ft. which is spread out over 5 plots. And this year he made the most of it producing over 17,000lbs of produce on those 5 plots. And we aren't talking corn and potatoes here. For the most part many of the crops which he produced really aren't that heavy, he simply produced a lot of product. 3000lbs of tomatoes, 2500lb. of radishes, 2500lb. of spring mix, 2000lbs of turnips. Big numbers for a small farm." That was then. Now let's go to present day of December 2016. And while a year ago the production season was over, this year, it's not. We are still in production season, because Curtis's farm now produces year round, with sales every week of the year. That's just one of the many changes that took place at Green City Acres this year. As we look back at 2016, it was a year where Curtis farmed less land than 2015, cut back on certain crops, and added others. Part of those changes came as a result of changes in his market streams as he cut back on restaurant sales, eliminated the farmers market, and started selling a lot more to local grocers. Big changes, that have had a big effect on what he's growing and how much he's producing... Let's jump into it and take a look at Curtis 2016 farm production... what was produced, what wasn't, and why it changed. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Mycologist and author Peter McCoy of RadicalMycology.com takes on the question - Is it possible to have a raised "bed" of hardwood chips with multiple strains happily cohabiting and fruiting in different seasons? To learn more about Peter and see all of the ASK Peter episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/peter.   Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/141 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Stefan Sobkowiak of The Miracle Farm is encouraging more vegetable farmer to consider planting some fruit trees. And to start planting some trees now, so they are established and producing when you or the vegetable farming gets old. Now you may be saying, "I barely have enough time to do the work that I am doing now." Establishing this orchard might not take as much time as you think. And the slow growth of trees might be on your side. As Stefan will talk about in this episode he manages his whole operation on just 50 hours per year. That includes all pruning, training, irrigation, spraying, clean-up, the whole lot. And he thinks that one person could maintain 4 to 6 acres. Overall making it a doable takes that makes your farming enterprise less fragile, while adding some diversity to your famers market booth or CSA box. If that sounds intriguing stay tuned. Overall Stefan brings it in this one.     He walks through what a typical season is like.     Talks about why you want to be a price maker not a price taker.     Talks about the pros and cons of a u-pick model. There's a lot in this one, and I am willing to bet that it will have you looking at small scale o Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/141 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Anytime that you do something for a long time, over and over again, how do you keep it fresh. Let's be honest, any time that you do something for weeks and years, eventually that honeymoon phase wears off. As should be expecting, things changes, life changes, and you change. If that think that's getting old is you farm, and your livelihood is dependent upon it. How do you battle this evolution of getting stale? One way is to branch out and do other things. Maybe that's research and development, maybe that's teaching, maybe that's furthering a cause and maybe crowd sourcing inspiration globally as you try to get more people interested in farming. That's where Curtis finds himself now. After seven seasons of full time farming his farm has changed dramatically since day 1, and even going back to the beginning of 2016 things have changed quite a bit. It's those changes and the desire to grow and innovate that's helped Curtis stay motivated and keeps things fresh, when it could just as easily get old... That's the topic of today's show on The Urban Farm Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Mycologist and author Peter McCoy of RadicalMycology.com takes on the question - What are your thoughts on looking for local strains of mushrooms to cultivate out versus ordering or receiving genetic material from someone from a strain that isn't indigenous to your particular area where the strain will be grown? To learn more about Peter and see all of the ASK Peter episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/peter.   Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.