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Private Notes
ECHO (Educational Concern for Hunger Organization) is an organization that uses the power of agriculture on a global scale to reduce hunger and improve lives in underdeveloped countries. ECHO provides students and overseas development workers with agricultural skills and resources to help those who are just one failed crop away from starvation.
In this episode Joe and Patti touch on some of the most common mistakes we all make, most of the time without realizing it. They offer practical, simple tips for gardening in a more earth‐friendly way as they help one homeowner begin a sustainable landscaping project.
Creating an eco-friendly garden at home is catching on all around the country as we strive to create more sustainable outdoor spaces. But for many of us, it’s still an ongoing process as we work with our existing landscape.
Today we visit Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh which has a special place in Joe’s heart because Garden Design Magazine asked him to write an article about the ‘Greenest Garden in America’. Patti gets a tour of the edible landscape and Nathan creates a special dish with one of Patti’s favorite finds in the garden.
Patti and Joe visit the organization’s headquarters in Milwaukee and Nathan cooks up a special dish with some popular greens.
In this episode we find Patti and Joe crossing the country joining Nathan in Seattle, Washington to put you in touch with one of the greatest soil amendments nature has to offer: Compost.
In today’s episode, Joe and Patti discuss the importance of honeybees and their relevance to the foods we eat. According to the Agricultural Research Service of the USDA, about one in three mouthfuls of food we eat is directly or indirectly related in some part to the honey bees’ job.
Join us today as we visit the Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, California. This nationally recognized organization was conceived in 1994 after a seemingly innocuous comment about the condition of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School by restaurateur Alice Waters who passed by the school daily. Principal Neil Smith then contacted Alice and, knowing of her reputation, invited her to plan a garden at the school. The rest, as they say, is history.
In this episode we become acquainted with Fetzer, a vineyard so entrenched in stewardship of the planet it has been coined “The Earth-friendly Vineyard”. Founded in 1968 Fetzer has always been a pioneer in the field…literally! In 1978 they were the first California vintner to introduce a line of white wines at a time when whites were not so popular and in 1984 made the commitment to convert to utilizing only sustainable practices.
This week finds Joe, Patti and Nathan in Richmond, CA for a behind the scenes visit with Annie Hayes of world-renowned Annie’s Annuals and Perennials. From humble beginnings in her own back yard to two and a half acres of prime San Francisco real estate and a tremendous following, Annie now offers some 3,000 varieties of hard to find and rare heirloom annual and perennial plants preserving them for generations to come.
In this episode we meet Farmer D, the new face of farming today. But he is not at all what you might think. There is no stereotypical pair of overalls and straw hat; no image of Mr. Greenjeans comes to mind. For over 14 years Daron Joffe has been out to change how we think of agriculture in a world poisoned by fertilizers and chemicals, where the miles food has to travel leaves it lackluster in flavor and nutrients and where many children don’t even know how the foods they eat are grown.
Today we meet Jack Chambers of Sonoma Valley Worm Farm fame. A pilot by trade and a gardener at heart, Jack’s life was changed forever by a bucket full of lowly creatures…worms. It was in 1992 that Jack first encountered the ‘Worm Farm’ after being directed there by a friend who suggested he purchase some worms for his compost bins. Depositing half of the 5 gallon bucket into an almost finished bin and the other half into a newer one, he flew out on a 5 day trip not thinking much about it.
In this episode we learn about how MOBOT, as it is called, brings plastic pot recycling full circle from the waste that is created as we work to beautify the landscape. This brain-child of Dr. Steven Cline began about 12 years ago as he pondered what to do about the mountain of empty pots piling up in his garage.
Joe visits with Tracy DiSabato-Aust, author of “The Well-Tended Perennial Garden” considered by many to be the bible of perennial maintenance. Pruning is such a variable topic with many attributes to be taken into consideration such as climate, species, and goals of the gardener.
In this episode we visit with Joe’s then Associate Producer of Growing a Greener World, and homesteading expert, Theresa Loe. (Theresa is now the Co-Executive Producer of the show.) Joe, Nathan and Patti descend on Theresa’s small but productive urban garden in LA to see first-hand how this popular blogger and trained Master Canner incorporates enough produce aesthetically to feed her family of four. Annuals and perennials are intermingled with vegetables, herbs, fruit and chickens for a visually pleasing yet highly productive garden and outdoor learning environment for her two young boys.
This week’s episode focuses on native plants and their role in helping to sustain our environment. Joe and Patti first visit the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, TX.
Joe and Patti travel to Decorah, Iowa where the Heritage Farm houses one of the world’s 1,400 seed banks and helps celebrate their 35th anniversary. Founded in 1975 by Kent Whealy and Diane Ott Whealy, the idea behind Seed Savers Exchange lay in two varieties of plants handed down by Diane’s grandfather, who’s parents brought the seeds with them from Bavaria.
Joe and Patti journey to Philadelphia, home of Greensgrow Farms, fulfillment of the dream of visionary in urban farming, Mary Seton Corboy. More than ten years ago a city block in the Kensington area was the site of an abandoned galvanized steel plant and an EPA brownfields project (see below) that the neighborhood had given up on. But not Mary. Beginning the experimental transformation she was growing lettuce hydroponically (growing plants in a water and nutrient solution without soil) for her clients; high-end local restaurants in need of fresh, organic produce. But the one attribute she prides herself on is her ability to change.
Joe, Patti and Nathan reveal dramatic facts and offer suggestions for how we can reduce the amount of water wasted without a significant impact on our lifestyle. However, these seemingly small changes will make a significant impact on the planet.
Nestled in the Hopewell Valley area of central New Jersey, Honey Brook Organic Farm is one of the nation’s largest CSA farms. Jim Kinsel and Sherry Dudas, owners and husband and wife, run the Pennington farm. These two have combined their love of community and organic farming to grow over 60 types of crops and 350 varieties, including many unusual and heirloom vegetables.
Joe travels to Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio to speak with Bobby Wilson, President of the American Community Gardening Association. ACGA was founded just over 30 years ago to provide technical assistance to individuals and groups that have a desire and the means to grow fresh vegetables. Their website is chock full of information for anyone seeking to find a community garden in their area or to begin the process of creating one.
Today Joe and Patti visit Chicago’s famous City Hall rooftop garden. Although a welcome respite among concrete and steel, rooftop gardens offer so much more and it is one of the best ways to reduce our carbon footprint.
Joe and Patti travel to rural Pennsylvania to the Rodale Institute, the cradle of organic gardening in America. Founded in 1941, by visionary J. I. Rodale, and nurtured by four generations of the Rodale family, today the Institute resides on a 333-acre farm. Rodale Press has evolved into the largest multi-media company dedicated to restoring a healthy planet and continues to pioneer the organic movement through research and it’s books and magazines. Rodale’s flagship publication “Organic Gardening” (1942) still enjoys a robust following today.
Suzanne Wainwright-Evans blends her degrees in environmental horticulture and entomology, into a unique skill as an “ornamental entomologist” specializing in Integrated Pest Management establishing that there is a safer way to treat pest problems. Her company, Bug Lady Consulting, specializes in controlling pests within the green industry; specifically greenhouses and nurseries.
Joe and Patti visit Jefferson’s Charlottesville home, Monticello, to speak with the undisputed authority on Thomas Jefferson’s gardening practices, Peter Hatch. He is the Director of Gardens and Grounds for the Monticello estate.
Although widely popularized in WWII Victory Gardens had their roots in WWI. Dr. Rose Hayden-Smith, a historian and nationally recognized expert on Victory Gardens and wartime food policies discusses the subtle differences.
