Learn about the field of arboreal archaeology and why historic fruit trees are important in this interview with horticulturist John Valenzuela. John is a Permaculture Teacher, Designer, and Educator who specializes in tropical permaculture, rare fruit, and ethnobotany. 

Have you heard about Paw Paws, North America's largest indigenous fruit? Paw Paw fruit can weigh up to two pounds each and have a delicious and unusual tropical flavor, reminiscent of a mango, banana, pineapple, and cherimoya blend. In this fun and informative interview with Edible Landscape and Permaculture Designer Michael Judd, we learn how to propagate, grow, harvest, and prepare Paw Paws, from seed to table.

Do you live in a city and want to grow your own herbal medicine? In this episode, urban farmer and community herbalist Bonnie Rose Weaver shares the joys of growing medicinal plants in an urban environment. Bonnie believes that medicine is all around us, even in the heart of the city and that taking herbs grown locally can be potent medicine.

How would Nature farm? Can degraded, infertile land be regenerated? Can agriculture become a healing beneficial system that mitigates climate change? To answer these questions, I speak with farmer Joel Salatin, co-owner of Polyface Farm located in Swoope, Virginia. In this inspiring and uplifting interview, Joel shares the joy of being a visceral participant in healing land, why he believes that good farming should increase the commons, and how we can become beneficial participants in...

Have you ever thought of going to the International Permaculture Conference and Convergence (IPC)? Held every two years, switching between continents at different locations, the IPC is a gathering of Permaculture designers, teachers, and enthusiasts. This year, the IPC is held in India, which is celebrating 30 years of permaculture!

Larry Kandarian is an organic farmer and ancient grain advocate. In this episode, Larry takes us on a whirlwind tour of Kandarian Organic Farms where he grows over 200 varieties of plants. Larry Kandarian has been farming for over 25 years and grows ancient grains in the most ecological way possible.

Episode 140: Before 2006, Andrew McMillion wasn’t thinking too much about plants, soil health, or ecology. He was living the American Dream, spending a lot of money, and commuting to work at his job for a large corporation. The only catch? He felt miserable. After taking a test to see how high his carbon footprint was, Andrew committed to make a change. Now residing in Ornes, Norway, Andrew lives on a small ecological farm where he focuses on earth care, people care, and increasing and...

Episode 139: Dr. Vandana Shiva, author, activist, and scholar, talks about the forgotten richness of pulses and how growing these plants can help us practice a more biodiverse and permanent agriculture.  In this short interview, we talk about Pulses, the edible seeds of plants in the legume family. Common pulses include chickpeas, lentils, beans, and dry peas. Vandana says that growing pulses is an excellent way to begin farming nonviolently. Pulses fix Nitrogen, increase soil fertility, are...

Episode 138: Natural building is good for both people and planet. In this episode we hear from natural builders who are committed to their craft and who create beautiful structures using natural locally-sourced materials. Recorded at the Natural Building Colloquium at Quail Springs Permaculture Center in New Cuyama, CA, I speak with many natural builders including Sasha Rabin, Linda Smiley, Patrick Hennebery, Liz Johndrow, and Bob Theis.  I visit projects at the Colloquium including a feral...

Episode 137: Take a ride around the world with aromatic explorer John Steele. In this interview John talks about the sacred use of fragrance in ancient Egypt and Amazonian shamanism. John draws upon his decades of experience as an archaeologist and aromatherapist to delve deeply into the shamanic use of fragrance. John talks about smell as "direct intuition", how certain plant fragrances can be used to restore flow when stuck in negative thought patterns, and how fragrance can be used as an...

Episode 136: Beth and Shawn Dougherty have been farming together for over thirty years and practice grass-based homesteading in Eastern Ohio. In this interview, Shawn and Beth explain how they use intensive pasture management on a small scale to increase soil fertility, regenerate land, and grow delicious, nutrient-dense food. When the Dougherty's first spotted the place that was to become their home, they weren't impressed. It  was "in worse than bad shape" and had been deemed not suitable...

Episode 135: Starhawk is an internally renowned activist, feminist, writer, and Permaculture Designer and Teacher. Founder of the Earth Activist Training, Starhawk travels the globe teaching about Permaculture Design, Social Permaculture, and Earth-based spirituality. In this interview, Starhawk talks about how Permaculture changed her life, how to design beneficial relationships, and why she feels that there is no more vital work we can do than to heal our damaged earth. We learn about the...

Episode 134: Have you ever wanted to grow a cornucopia of organic fruit at home? In this episode, Permaculture and Ecological Designer Michael Judd teaches us how to plant a food forest in easy to follow steps. Michael recommends a "patch method" for starting your food forest, shares his recipes for sheet mulching, and talks about how to incorporate existing trees into your new food forest. Michael covers guilds (a selected group of plants that form a small ecosystem to support trees) and...

Episode 133:  Is it time to turn your lawn into a biodiverse meadow? In this interview with John Greenlee, we learn about the many benefits of meadow gardens. An expert in grass ecology and sustainable design, John is the author of the books The American Meadow Garden and The Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses. John Greenlee says meadows are the "places you want to be, sunny, soft, and human-friendly" and are an excellent replacement for the typical turf lawn. In this interview, John asks a...

  Episode 132: Can planting lentils be a radical act? Yes, if you live in a small conservative farming town in Montana, circa 1976. That was the year David Oien moved back to his family’s farm and planted a crop of lentils. This marked the beginning of the Lentil Underground, a group of farmers who created a new way of doing business both on the farm and in their community. It wasn’t always easy. Planting lentils in a county known for wheat created waves and they weren’t amber waves of...

Episode 131: Dr. John Todd is a pioneer in the field of ecological design. The inventor of the Eco-Machine, John Todd works with nature to heal degraded waste sites often thought irreconcilably damaged. John Todd and his associates have worked on projects on five continents dealing with waterborne waste streams of both domestic sewage and industrial waste.  John believes that there are ways to heal our damaged earth and designs machines that work with nature to reduce the amount of nutrients...

Episode 130: Permaculture teacher, poet, and author Patrick Jones talks about his family's epic journey, how they took Permaculture on the road, and some of Australia's indigenous plants. In 2013, Meg Ulman and Patrick Jones embarked on a 14 month, 6,000 km journey by bike, cycling along Australia's East Coast from Daylesford to Cape York. Their travel companions were their sons, Woody and Zephyr, and their Jack Russell Terrier, Zero. Patrick and Meg wrote a book about their journey called...

Episode 129: Fungi are absent from our awareness, but are everywhere around us. In this interview with Peter McCoy, author of the book, Radical Mycology, we learn about fungi and its influence and effect on all life.  Did you know that fungi are the "grand chemists of nature"? That fungi are more closely related to the animal kingdom than the plant kingdom? Or that fungi is a high protein functional food that boosts your immune system?  Peter McCoy shares with us some of his knowledge...

Episode 128: Dr. Elaine Ingham of Soil Foodweb Inc. guides us on this podcast journey into the world of soil. The meeting place of atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere, soil contains vast numbers of species.  Like most places where “edges” of different worlds meet, the soil is a dynamic interface. Fertile soil is alive with the biodiversity of a thriving forest; complex ecosystems connecting, growing, living, co-existing, and dying. In this episode we learn about the cast of...

Episode 127: How can we apply Permaculture ethics and principles to our lives and relationships? In this episode Delia Carroll and Rachel Kaplan, co-founders of 13 Moon CoLab, talk about Social Permaculture, designing your life for resiliency, and how tending to your inner landscape can lead to cultural repair.  The 13 Moon CoLab's Permaculture From the Inside Out Design Course is intended to grow Permaculture people and places. The 100+ hour course includes the traditional 72 Hour...

Episode 126: Joseph Simcox is a botanical explorer, ethnobotanist, international lecturer, and expert in food plants from around the world. In this free-ranging conversation, Joseph talks about the potential that we have to transform the planet in positive ways, how we can become "Giant Enrichers", acting like the "new earthworms of the planet." Joseph shares his knowledge about resilient plants and climate change, the agriculture industrial complex, and how we can re-integrate foodways from...

Episode 125: In this interview with Irina Stoenescu we talk about the re-discovery of food traditions, how regional foods are going global, and how Millennials and their interest in food with a story is shaping our food system. After the taste standardization of the fast food era, we are in the middle of a food revolution. We are living in a time where the story of food and its ingredients (the community growing or raising it, its nutritional benefits, and traditions), are as important as...

Episode 124: In this episode we dive into the world of Natural Process Farming with Bob Cannard. Bob grows highly diversified food crops by working with nature and natural systems. In Natural Process farming, crops are grown 50% for people and 50% for Nature. In this interview, Bob talks about the value of "nature support plants," why weeds need to be managed, not eradicated, the digestive systems of and in the soil, how to feed the soil, and why we should strive to give plants a "life of...

Episode 123: In this episode I speak with Mary Alford of Rabble Housers. Mary Alford is a professional engineer and expert in energy optimization and sustainable building practices.  The Rabble House is a 600 square foot home designed to be built by individuals, groups, and/or volunteers. Modeled after the Craftsman Home Kit that was available from Sears in the early 1900s through 1940, the Rabble House is a home designed for efficiency, comfort, and affordability. The Rabble House can be...

Episode 122: In this episode we dive into the world of Vetiver. With powerful roots that grow 12-15 feet deep, Vetiver is a valuable plant that acts as a living infrastructure. Vetiver is planted around the world to remediate polluted soil and water.  To learn about this multi-faceted plant, I spoke with Vetiver expert Jason Fox of Vetiver Farms Hawaii. Jason fills us in on vetiver's many uses including slope and erosion control, wastewater treatment, toxin absorption, water diversion, and...