Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support The last few episodes have focused on stuff. The tools of farming. Today we are talking about the flip side of tools, the opposite of the physical. The mental side of things, in particular hustle. The best tools and the right stuff without the business sense, hustle, and effort won't mean anything. The tools make the job easier. Just owning them doesn't mean anything. You have to do the work. And it's that hustle to do the work form preparation to production to sales that can give you the advantage over people who just have the money and the stuff. As Stephen C Hogan said. "You can't have a million-dollar dream with a minimum-wage work ethic." Because if you do, where's that going to get you. Left with an unsuccessful business and collection of expensive stuff. A lot of success isn't quantifiable with a dollar sign, instead being measured in pure blood, sweat, and hard work. And the beauty of it is that none of this costs any thing and can be applied by literally every person on the planet regardless of their particular situation. Today, we will get into the importance of the hustle, and the areas like sales and preparation, where hustle makes the difference between you and the person who isn't hustling as hard. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/21 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE. Stefan Sebkowiak of Miracle Farms joins me to talk about the what's lacking in organic systems - biodiversity. And why organic is good, but creating a polyculture is a lot better. Stefan started out his journey purchasing a conventional non-organic orchard. He worked on converting it over to organic and realized that something wasn't right, something was missing. The system was lacking the biodiversity that you see in nature. So Stefan converted over his organic orchard into a permaculture, polyculture based system. He removed a lot of apple trees and replaced them with other fruit trees and support species. He added more diversity to the system giving him more products to sell, more wildlife, and ultimate a healthier, more resilient system. A lot of commercial orchardists say that polyculture won't work. Stefan has show that on a tree by tree basis he is getting as much yield as a conventional orchard. He is out there trying to prove that you gross $1.00 per square foot in a polyculture system that value adds from multiple yields - poultry, fruit, vegetables, herbs, etc. "You can read a lot, but you need to go out and test things." Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/21 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE.

Mycologist and author Peter McCoy of RadicalMycology.com takes on the question - In a perfect world, what would be your ideal recipe for a substrate mixture that is fairly universal in terms of species of mushrooms that would grow on it? 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/135 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Busy versus effective. Two different ways of getting stuff done. Think of busy as the pinball in a pinball machine, a lot of bouncing around randomly, getting some stuff done, but not in the most linear way. Where effective is like the bowling ball headed down the lane, a straight shot targeting a specific pin. Both lead to results, the busy route does a lot more moving per unit of work done. Usually these two routes are mutually exclusive. Busy people aren't effective, and effective people aren't busy. The danger in being a busy body, is just that, you are just busy; you are doing a lot of work, maybe the right work, maybe not, maybe in the right order, maybe not, and the cost of being busy is a loss of time. Whereas the effective person does what they need to do when they need to do it based on the time that they have available and the priority of the task at hand. This saves the effective person time, allowing them to get more done, or just have more free time. Time can be a major constraint for entrepreneurs. You can’t get more of it, and we all only have 24 hours in a day, so using that time effectively is going to determine what your lifestyle looks like. Today I am talking to an entrepreneur who has made shifts in their life to make their time less busy, and more effective. It's Erik Ohslen of Permaculture Artisans.  Erik's been on the show a few times in the past, and if you have heard those shows that you will know that he founded the successful landscape design and build company Permaculture Artisans. In addition to running that company, Erik also is a part of several other businesses, and he's married, and he has kids. How does he make it all work? That's the focus on today's episode. I am going to dig into Erik's new business venture, ForeSite mapping, and the strategy behind that. The second half of the episode will get into how to balance family and business? The key in all of this, is to make effective decisions, so you are less busy with your time. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/135 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Part three of our series on Small Scale Farming on the Cheap - What's the least you could spend to start a farm? Last week in Episode 23 we started going through the equipment needed, or perceived to be needed, when you start a farm along with the costs and advantages associated with that equipment. Given that this is Part 3 it probably makes more sense to listen to Part 1 and Part 2 first. Last week we left of the talk on equipment wrapping up with the tiller. We'll start today with a little bit of warmup on macro business talking before jumping back into the list discussing hand tools. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/52 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE. I welcome Frank Golbeck of Golden Coast Mead on the show today. Frank story is a great example of someone who went after their dreams in a smart and systematic way. He isn’t any different than any of us. He didn’t start with a huge some of money or some other advantage. But the difference between Frank and a lot of people is that took on the scary unknown, the hard part starting. Fast forward ahead a few years and the dream has become a reality. Things still aren’t easy, but they are very real and Frank is enjoying every moment of it. No matter where you are at in your life, I think Frank’s story is inspirational and highly copyable. Hopefully something in here will resonate with you and will inspire you to start that thing that you always wanted to do. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/52 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE.

Mycologist and author Peter McCoy of RadicalMycology.com takes on the question - If I grow mushrooms on soil contaminated with oil or heavy metals, will the mushroom be safe to eat?   To learn more about Peter and see all of the ASK Peter episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/peter

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/134 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Imagine it's your first year in college and you get an offer to go be an apprentice on farm. You've never farmed before. And you've never really thought about farming before. Taking the offer means that you would need to drop out of college to commit to the apprenticeship. And so would you future wife, because you're also engaged. She isn't from a farming family or background either. So it's you two, in college for something that isn't ag related, dropping out out college to take an apprentice ship on a farm. What would you do? Most people would say tell me more. Well, this is a farm raising chickens on grass. And this farm is located in Swoope, VA and it's run by a farmer named Joel Salatin. What would you do? Would you and your wife drop out of college to accept the invitation to be apprentices or not? A lot of people would say yes. But it's 2016. What if you got this same offer in 1996 when very few people outside of the area knew who Joel Salatin was, it's 1996 when pastured poultry wasn't a thing, and it's 1996 and you are going to be the second ever apprentice on Joel's farm. It's not the same slam dunk answer that it might be for many of you as it is today. That's the exact question that my guest, John McAuley was faced with back in 1996. To quit school and farm, or not. Let's find out how that played out. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/134 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com talks about creating Permaculture Chickens live on stage at PV3. To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Part two of our series on Small Scale Farming on the Cheap - What's the least you could spend to start a farm?. Last week in episode 22 we covered the base principles costs and equipment associated with farm startup. We established the point that tools are simply one leg on the stool of success. The tools should never hold you back. It's never going to be just the tools that make you successful. Yet, good tools can make job easier. That show focused on the concepts and the ideas behind the why. Today's show focuses on the what. What do you actually need and how much does it costs. This episode is the first of a few digging into that question. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

“These side issues, the longer they go on and we don’t face reality, the more people that are going to die, and the more trillions of dollars it is going to cost, so time is not on our side.  We need to act.  Most people want to act.  Institutions are holding us up.  Only ordinary people can lead and act.  And it is time to move.” Allan Savory This interview was conducted with Allan Savory several years ago at PV1. For more from Allan listen to Rhodesia to Long Beach. 50 Years of Struggle, Persistence and Success with Allan Savory (PVP055)  

Joel Salatin's talk on Stacking Fiefdoms from PV1. "The whole idea is to create customized fiefdoms so that people are autonomous and have the authority to run their own fiefdom within your own umbrella, and you can't believe how many things you can get done that way." Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/89 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE.

Mycologist and author Peter McCoy of RadicalMycology.com takes on the question - I have heard people say that I should always cook mushrooms before eating them? Is that true? What are your thoughts? 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/javan2 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Today we will try to break down the holistic context into bites that are more digestible and present it in a way that might be easier for some people to understand.   This is a tough subject to take on, and I think even Allan Savory would admit that, even stating in his book “the concept of holistic goal develop slowing winding its way through many wrong turns and dark passages.  It would prove to be more difficult to articulate than any other aspect of Holistic Management and it continues to evolve to this day." Kudos to Allan Savory for coming up with this framework, it’s his shoulders that we are standing on during this episode. Let’s get into it and try to deconstruct the holistic context, with my co-host Javan Bernakevitch. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/javan2 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com takes on the question - If you are processing broilers on a homestead level, what type of equipment do you think you need? To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Farming... is it expensive to start, or not? A lot of people want to get into farming, but they stall out when it comes to the money side of things. The common cause of that stall out is land. Land is expensive to purchase. So most people immediately dismiss the idea of farming because they can't afford land. But people like Greg Judy, Joel Salatin, and us on this show, have shown that you don't need to own land to farm. There's a lot of land available to farm. Land you don't need to own, and land that you can gain access to through options like leasing.. If you can lease land either for free or inexpensively and if you are in a market where you can move product, then the potential upside to small scale farming is pretty attractive given the low start up costs and low infrastructure requirements? How low? Very low compared to other businesses. In his book Curtis gives an initial start-up estimate for a 1/4 acre farm at $7k to $17k. Curtis started his farm with just $7k. That's $7k that buys equipment and infrastructure which is portable and resellable. In good markets, the risk reward of small scale farming is usually favorable because small scale market farming startup costs are very low compared to many business out there. Yet, despite the minimal start up costs, the costs are still prohibitive, or at least perceived to be prohibitive by some people. Given that we'll dig into the farm start up numbers and see where costs can be cut and what costs are just unavoidable. And we'll also bring in some rationale to these numbers discussing why certain items are worth the cost, and why others aren't. Today we'll begin a multi-part series discussing the minimum that you could spend to start a farm, and we will begin with the base principles, what are the things that you need to think about before you spend any money, that's coming up on Season Two Episode 22 of The Urban Farmer. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

There are some wonderful examples of communities of practice growing around farmer-to-farmer extension of permaculture design principles in poorly served regions. How can the global permaculture community organize around the idea of putting permaculture at the heart of rural development, displacing the business-as-usual development programs that promote unsustainable farming systems, by making better use of resources that already exist – resources like the world-wide network of permaculture training centers, and the ubiquitous cell phone? Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/a5

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/cd5. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE.   Today's show is about time. Specifically how precious our tiem is, and how we ought not to waste it. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. This is one of the most common regrets that people have at the end of their lives. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people don't honor even a half of their dreams and die knowing that it is due to choices they had made, or not made. How many people listening to this have unfilled dreams? How many people are really living their lives the way they want? How many people are listening to this as they drive drive to or from a job that they really don't like and in a perfect world wouldn't be doing? A type of job that they only go to pay the bills because they have kids, a mortgage, etc, etc.. A lot of people live that life. And that's a life of fear disguised as practicality. It's a sad way to live, because life is too short. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/cd5 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE.

Mycologist and author Peter McCoy of RadicalMycology.com takes on the question - I'm new to mushroom foraging, what are some of the unwritten rules of the game? 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/133 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support If your listening to this show then you probably have a garden or have had one at one point and time. And for most of you gardeners summer is your primary gardening time. And for most of North America that's a good time to garden because it's relatively easy. Plants like to grow because day lengths are long and temperatures are warm.. at least for most of North America. But what if you live in a part of North America, that doesn't fall under under the previously mentioned "most" category... That's where my guest today, Market Gardener Brian Kowalski finds himself living in Newfoundland... Summer as he describes it is something like this... "May is still cold here, ground is just unfreezing, June is cool, average temp is around 4-5 Celsius (40F), but usually sunny with warm days (10-14C, 57F) but May and June night time temps are generally below 4C. July or August will be normal summer weather, 20-30 C, 85F with nights 12-15, 57F, but one them is usually pretty crappy grey foggy and damp with temperatures cool to warm. ...Septembers have usually been ok but there's a noticeable slow down of growth of course as the nights cool and the days shorten. So to answer your question, July or August. Lots of cold frames and row cover." Living in Newfound weather is one challenge for Brian. He describes the climate as like farming in the shoulder season all summer, windy generally with occasional hurricane, cloudy. Despite the challenges Brian has made a go of it and is a profitable market gardener. What he is doing is working. Given that, the goal for this to take a look at how Brian is dealing with harsh conditions to help those of you who might not have such harsh conditions. Another use of this information is to take some of the techniques that Brian has to apply in the summer and apply them to the colder parts of your season, be in the spring or fall shoulder seasons, or the winters... Listen to the ideas and techniques that he is using and think about how you can apply them to your situation even if your season and his don't match up. And when it's cold and rainy in October, just be thankful that it isn't June, and you aren't trying to garden in the summer in Newfoundland. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/133 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com takes on the question - What are the areas on the homestead where it pays to pay up and not go cheap? To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support "At too many companies, and in too many hapless careers, the number one imperative is to avoid failure and embarrassment associated therewith at all costs. My take, failure, supported by wildly imaginative hypotheses and incredibly hard work, is something that companies and individuals must embrace. Frankly at all costs. Unless you’re stretching... wildly, you're not going to reach that brass ring called hyper success amidst a brawl with no rules." Tom Peters The market and nature of small scale farming is too dynamic. To succeed you have to be dynamic as well. That will mean trying things that don't work, and trying things not knowing if they will work. You're going to have to make assumptions and best guesses. You're going to have to adapt. And that's what today's episode is all about... adapting and switching it up on the fly... Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Are you thinking of quitting your day job? Taking that big leap & embracing a permaculture business as your way forward? Matt Powers did just that shortly after PV2, & it hasn't been a predictable path either. Hear about starting up, failing upward, branching out, creating niches, generating value through meaning, & fighting to maintain a family in the startup phases of a new business. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/a5

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/91 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE. This show is a conversation that I had with Mark Shepard about the process of starting up his farm, New Forest Farm, in Viola, Wisconsin. How did he start? What was the process like - both on the land and off? What were the real life financial struggles and challenges that he went through and faced? Hint... It wasn't easy. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/71 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE.

Mycologist and author Peter McCoy of RadicalMycology.com takes on the question - What are your thoughts on training mycelium to break down biodegradable and compostable plastics? To learn more about Peter and see all of the ASK Peter episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/peter. Support the show at 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

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com takes on the question - How much room do chickens actually need to roost? To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support If you are a single worker farm then you only have so much time and energy to spend on the farm. If you spend a massive amount of that working with weeds then that's time take away from other farm tasks or other non-farm tasks like spending time with your spouse or kids. What are the weeds worth? For most people, they aren't worth enough to deal with when you zoom out, and take all of the factors into account, and therefore the weeds get cut, literally. That's the focus of today's show. Weed management, where we discuss various methods of preventing weeds from establishing themselves on the farm in the first place, and how to deal with them when they do. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer John Suscovich of Camps Road Farm and FarmMarketingSolutions.com answers the question - Why aren't you certified organic? To learn more about John and see all of the ASK John episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/john.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/61 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE. It is through the Global Village Construction Set that Marcin and OSE have set out to change the way that we build the communities of the future. Marcin has said "I'd like to be able to show that a full modern standard of living can be created from any parcel of land using only the local resources on site in a small fraction of time." A modern standard of living created using tools built locally, within the community. Tools built to last a lifetime, being easily repairable, and ever evolving as open source. This open source model is a powerful tool to help change the future. I see this as a way where a group of farmers could come together, build a piece of this equipment themselves, be able to repair it themselves, and be able to share it amongst themselves without being dependent upon big companies like John Deere and the debt that goes with them. It is this process that minimizes debts, builds strong communities and builds local resiliency, and that is a political shift. You shift the power from the big corporations to the communities and the individuals by empowering them to take back some control. Like Marcin said, "I think a lot of people are hungry to be productive and find that productivity within themselves." In a land of retail sales, why not empower people to innovate and produce, not consume, the future that they want in the factories of new, not of old? Why not make that dream of permaculture and polyculture based landscapes and farms more possible by providing blueprints for the equipment that you can build to do the work? Literally. If you want to build it, you can, because we are talking about a future where you hold the blueprints yourself. That is the future that OSE is creating and that is what we are talking about today with Marcin Jakubowski of Open Source Ecology… Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/61 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE.

It is through the Global Village Construction Set that Marcin and OSE have set out to change the way that we build the communities of the future. Marcin has said "I'd like to be able to show that a full modern standard of living can be created from any parcel of land using only the local resources on site in a small fraction of time." A modern standard of living created using tools built locally, within the community. Tools built to last a lifetime, being easily repairable, and ever evolving as open source. This open source model is a powerful tool to help change the future. I see this as a way where a group of farmers could come together, build a piece of this equipment themselves, be able to repair it themselves, and be able to share it amongst themselves without being dependent upon big companies like John Deere and the debt that goes with them. It is this process that minimizes debts, builds strong communities and builds local resiliency, and that is a political shift. You shift the power from the big corporations to the communities and the individuals by empowering them to take back some control. Like Marcin said, "I think a lot of people are hungry to be productive and find that productivity within themselves." In a land of retail sales, why not empower people to innovate and produce, not consume, the future that they want in the factories of new, not of old? Why not make that dream of permaculture and polyculture based landscapes and farms more possible by providing blueprints for the equipment that you can build to do the work? Literally. If you want to build it, you can, because we are talking about a future where you hold the blueprints yourself. That is the future that OSE is creating and that is what we are talking about today with Marcin Jakubowski of Open Source Ecology… Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/61

Mycologist and author Peter McCoy of RadicalMycology.com takes on the question - "I'm attempting your technique of decomposing cigarette butts with oysters. I have them growing on coffee grounds and I'm curious about using coffee as the substrate. I know it's probably not the best, but can I move to feeding it cigarette butts or would it be too much? And I'm also curious as to  whether or not there's more research done that suggests that the mycelium can broke down all or some of the toxins from used cigarettes butts." 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/b39 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Today's episode is a replay of the presentation that Peter Allen gave at PV2 in March 2015.. The presentation is titled Grazing the Savanna: Lessons from New Forest and Mastodon Valley Farms. In this talk Peter will share the lessons he learned establishing and managing multi-species rotational grazing operations in a well-established permaculture setting at Mark Shepard’s New Forest Farm, and now in a newly emerging setting, at Mastodon Valley, where he is planting tree crops, grazing a suite of animals, thinning forest, constructing an off-grid homestead, and building a broad-acre permaculture farm. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/b39 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com takes on the question - I notice you give your chickens fermented or soaked grains each morning.  Can you give us the recipe on what grains you use?  And the process? To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Farming, it truly is a lifestyle. And one that a lot of people seek out. This leads people down the road of thinking about how can they start or transition into small scale farming. And when they go down that path they inevitably run into issues. Because startup isn't always clear, or easy, and there are always unique challenges. Today we will take take a look at one listeners plan to transition into farming and startup an urban farm of his own. This is the story of Michael from LA, and Michael wants to be a farmer. He has a lot of resources, constraints, and questions. And that's what we'll be digging into today, in Season Two, Episode 19 of The Urban Farmer. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Permaculture focuses on trees as the coming food source for the world.  And- the Florida citrus industry is collapsing (again).  An Evolutionary Ecologist who has bred trees for 40 years explains why YOU need to understand some genetics; why the word "hybrid" means 4 different things, or nothing at all; shows examples from his 3 tree crops; why the most expensive thing you can do is plant cheap trees; discusses how small growers can work to maintain, and improve, genetic diversity (without setting invasive species loose...), and how YOU can bring new species into the food crop mix.   Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/34 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE. Grant Schultz joins me to talk about developing a perennial polyculture in the middle of row-crop corn and soy country Iowa. He discusses a lot of the innovation and developments taking place on his farm, including some really innovative ways of doing GPS keyline design. We spend a lot of time talking about the business of farming. The importance of monitoring cash flows and being cash flow positive. And how Grant is using USDA funds to help pay for pieces of his system and getting moving in the right direction. Key Takeaways: Importance of making your operation cashflow the whole time. Expenses will pile up so start getting cashflow and a customer base early. Consider buying rootstock and graft it over later. It is much cheaper to go that route and grafting isn't that hard. Get plant systems going early on. It is fairly inexpensive and gets the system starting to advance. Have a plan but evolve as you go. Having an end in mind gives you a goal and a direction to head in, but things will change along the way as you learn the intricacies of the system. Plant the earliest maturing fruit trees downslope. That way when you are browsing them the manure runs downhill. How do you want your system to look at maturity and what are the action items to get you there? Then the thing to do is the one with the most impact. What has the earliest yield to get you to the move to the next impact item. Do not underestimate the importance of monitoring and planing out cashflows. When you are farming on broad acres you have the same advantages that conventional farmers have. Crop insurance. Consider using a nurse crop that also cash flows. Grant's example of raising oats for cover crop seed. Consider the balance of high value versus high labor. Is the value worth the labor? There is a huge need for more local genetic permaculture plant material. Recognize the importance of planting dense. Buy trees in mass. It gets cheap and doesn't cost you more to plant at high density. You take advantage of genetic selection and protect yourself against losses. Irrigate your trees if possible - think keyline, swales. Growth rates of trees that are irrigated versus those that aren't is huge when the trees have consistent water availability. Consider the economic impact of the yield with water versus no water. The work now can make you a lot more money down the line. Take advantage of all available resources: USDA, NRCS, EQIP. When starting out pre-sell as much as you can. Build a local customer base from Day 1. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/34 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE.

Mycologist and author Peter McCoy of RadicalMycology.com takes on the question - If I wanted to get into mushroom cultivation, what are some of the easiest species to start with? 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/b38 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Today’s episode is a replay of the presentation that Peter Allen gave at PV2 in March 2015.. The presentation is titled Savanna Gardens: Regenerating the Ultimate Human Ecosystem. Why Savannas? Savannas were some of the most complex, diverse, and productive ecosystems in North America and provide an excellent model for permaculture – integrating woody perennial crops with grazing and browsing livestock. However, managing the complexity of these ecosystems requires approaches and skill sets that are in many ways opposed to those of conventional land management, especially agriculture. Given the importance of savannas, this presentation will help you understand its ecology and evolution and what we can do to embrace the complexity and restore the ecosystems most capable of cooling our planet and feeding our communities. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/b38 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com takes on the question - Cutting your grocery bill, by raising your own food - what gives you the most bang for your buck? To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support This is Part 2 of that series and today we specifically focus on the pro’s and cons of selling to restaurants taking into account high maintenance versus low maintenance. Given that this is Part 2 it probably makes more sense to listen to Part 1 first, Episode 17 - All Customers ARE NOT worth Selling To, An In-Depth Look at High Maintenance versus Low Maintenance Customers. But you won’t be totally lost in this one if you haven’t heard that episode. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer John Suscovich of Camps Road Farm and FarmMarketingSolutions.com answers the question - How do you time your broilers and pigs to meet your CSA demand? To learn more about John and see all of the ASK John episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/john.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/71 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE. As my guest today David Pagan Butler of OrganicPools.co.uk says, "If you want really healthy water, you want it full of life; not devoid of life." That is what today's show is about. Creating the conditions for life to happen within the water in natural swimming pools. Natural swimming pools unlike their chemical counterparts use no chemicals. The pool water is cleaned biologically by plants and organisms within the water. No smells, no chemicals, no pathogens, biology creating water so clean you can drink it. David has developed a system of building natural pools that is both cost effective and ecologically enhancing. Natural pools that utilize natural biological processes to keep the water clean. The classic case of nature doing something equal to or better than some chemical made in a factory - clean, pathogen free drinking water, in swimmable form. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/71 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/javan1 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support As Joseph Campbell, the originator of the follow your bliss concept stated... "if you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be.'  When you do learn to recognize it and when you do find it, Campbell contents that it put’s your life on a different track…"  The Power of Myth Should you walk into the unknown following your bliss with the hope that it will lead to open doors? In many ways yes and in many ways, no... Because your bliss gets you started on the journey, but that journey may or may not lead to livelihood and opportunity... Bliss is just one part of the journey, one tool to use along the way... Given that, should you simply follow your bliss, and is that the best advice in the world or is it the worst advice in the world? One of the many ideas that I’ll explore in today’s show with Javan Bernakevitch. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/javan1 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com takes on the question - I am thinking want to leave my job and start a homestead, what are my options for cash flowing it? To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support “Put another way, you are more upset about losing $50 than you are happy about gaining $50,” the paper states.  In addition, bad events wear off more slowly than good ones." Hopefully know this can help you do a few things. Try to force yourself to really think about the positive things more and have more gratitude for them, bounce off of the negative situations quicker, and rid yourself of the negative relationships that produce negative emotions. That’s the focus of today’s episode as we explore the differences between high maintenance customers and low maintenance customers. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer John Suscovich of Camps Road Farm and FarmMarketingSolutions.com answers the question - Why are your broiler chickens naked, what happened? To learn more about John and see all of the ASK John episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/john.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/b016 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE. What do you do if you have a passion and there is no one out there offering you a job to fulfill that passion? One option is to just work any job, foregtting what you are actually passionate about. And that is what many people do, and I think that those people can attest to the fact that that option sucks. Another option is to find the intersection between your passions and your strengths and problems that need solving and solve those problems by starting a business. This podcast is about that. this is the audio from Rob Avis's presentation from PV1. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/b016 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support