This week's guest is Rose Lawrence, owner of Red Bread Bakery. She's a Master Food Preserver, personal chef, and activist in food justice issues.
The beauty of a fall or winter garden is that it grows almost without care. Cooler temperatures and rain lend themselves to a stress-free garden. There are virtually no bugs, you don't have to water as often, and some veggies (brassicas and root crops in particular) become sweeter with a frost. True, they do need protection from cold snaps in cooler climates. But now we reap the benefits of a winter garden--it's harvest time! If it's too cold for a…
Joanne Poyourow is a change-maker. She started two community gardens, created a seed company, founded a grassroots environmental activism group, and wrote a book that started it all. In today's podcast, Joanne shares her journey from feeling helpless about Climate Change, to fostering a positive impact on her local community and beyond. She has funneled her gardening knowledge into several publications that raise awareness and reduce one's carbon footprint at the same time. Environmental Change-Makers is headquartered at Holy Nativity…
This week I had a unique opportunity to visit the Wildlife Waystation, a sanctuary for wild and exotic animals on 160 acres in Sylmar, CA. The motto of the Wildlife Waystation is Refuge, Healing, Education. It was an experience I'll never forget. Imagine standing in the midst of the Angeles National Forest, among chaparral, cactus, and wildflowers. Suddenly you hear a lion roar. Next, a peacock caws, followed by the hoot of two or three chimpanzees. It's out of place…
Our final interview from the 2018 Heirloom Expo is with Dr. William Woys Weaver, steward of the Roughwood Seed Collection. Dr. Will is author of 16 books, and a fascinating food historian and epicure. We chat about how he discovered the Roughwood Seed Collection at the bottom of his grandfather's freezer. Dr. Will's knowledge of Pennsylvania Dutch culture and cookery has filled volumes, so it was hard to limit this podcast to just seeds. We chat about his process of…
New Year's resolutions are tough. I'm torn between motivation to make changes, and residual exhaustion from last year telling me to take it easy. Usually that exhaustion wains as spring draws near, as excitement for new seedlings permeates my world. So with hope in the wings, here are two resolutions to share for the coming year: Self-Care We all know that self-care is hard. We sacrifice ourselves for our families, for clients, for the cause. It's easy to burn out.…
I met Astrid Hoffman back when she and her husband Matthew had just started The Living Seed Company in northern California. Since then, their company has grown to showcase far more than the original 22 seed varieties they sold in the beginning. Now they're providing locally adapted seeds from around the world. During our interview, we talk about what got them started. Astrid mentions Seed School from the Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, as the point of inspiration that sparked it…
This is our penultimate post of the year wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year. Our last post of the year will be a new podcast on Thursday, Dec. 27th, but we couldn't leave 2018 without thanking you for being such adventurous and enthusiastic gardenerds! Here are some highlights from 2018 to inspire you for the coming year: Year-End Round Up New varieties we tried: There's so much more that happened, including a…
If you don't already know Pamm Larry, you'll want to. She's the fearless leader of Good Food Brigade, fighting for safe, just, healthy, and regenerative food for all. In our latest podcast, we chat with Pamm about her battle against GMO food production, and we discuss what we can all do to take back control of our food system--one garden at a time. Pamm spearheaded the citizen-backed campaign to label GMO ingredients in California through Prop 37 back in 2012.…
Winter is the time for baking, so it's only fitting that Chronicle Books released Heritage Baking by Ellen King just in time for holiday festivities. What's better than breads and pastries made with whole grains? This book, showing you how to do it yourself. Here at Gardenerd, we grow a small batch of heritage grains each year. So far we've grown Turkey Red, Kamut, White Sonora, quinoa, triticale, and this year, Red Fife. We usually harvest enough to make a…