Living Homegrown Podcast with Theresa Loe

LH 131: Farming The Rooftops of New York City

This podcast focuses a lot on working with the space you have to grow your garden. Whether that's a backyard, a farmstead, or simply container gardening - where there is a will there is a way to a farm fresh lifestyle.

This episode is about a very creative and inspiring use of space - right in the middle of New York City (and it's not Central Park).

Host Theresa Loe invited Anastasia Plakias to talk about an actual farm that is acres large on top of buildings in New York City. She shares how this project is changing the way city folk think about agriculture and organic farming in a way that no one was expecting.

You will learn:

  •      Why build a farm on top of NYC Buildings
  •      How this farm produces over 50K pounds of veggies/year
  •      The challenges of building a 2 acre farm over the city
  •      The motivations behind the mission
  •      What turned out to be their biggest win in all this
  •      How they added rooftop chickens and bees to the project
  •      What they hope the community gains from their efforts

As always, you can find more links and info at www.LivingHomegrown.com/131 including a full transcript of the show.

Direct download: 131_LivingHomegrown_Podcast.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:14am PDT

Creative Ways to Use Your Garden for Health and Wellbeing

Explore how to get 'more bang for your buck' (in terms of health benefits) when it comes to your backyard gardens.

Host Theresa Loe brings on author Shawna Coronado to share her tips on the most nutritious foods we can grow and the best ways to use our gardens for wellness.

You will learn:

  • Which homegrown foods pack the biggest nutritional punch
  • What are the best homegrown "fast foods"
  • The best shade tolerant veggies
  • Shawna's secret recipe for making top-notch potting soil
  • Why moving more in the garden is so important
  • Ways to de-stress with sensory plants

As always, you can go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/130 for related links and a full transcript of the episode.

Direct download: 130_LivingHomegrown_Podcast.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:51pm PDT

How to Better Understand Your Backyard Chickens

If we understand the behaviors and mannerisms of any of our pets, we can have a better relationship with them.

And so it is with chickens! Everything they do (and say) has meaning.

In this week’s episode, I invite author Melissa Caughey to teach us a thing or two about chickens and their personalities.

You will learn:

  • That chickens are smarter than we realize
  • How they communicate without sounds
  • The main factor that determines pecking order
  • The role of the sentinel in your flock
  • Why your hens all cackle at once
  • The sound they make as greeting
  • Why chickens might growl and why
  • And other interesting facts about our feathered friends

As always, you can visit www.LivingHomegrown.com/129 for relate links and a full transcript of the episode.

Direct download: 129_LivingHomegrown_Podcast.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:25pm PDT

Fearless Brewing to Get Awesome Hard Cider Flavors

Have you wanted to learn the art of making hard cider but found most of the books were overly complicated for a beginning home brewer?

 

Well, here's your chance to learn the basics without all the overwhelm! Host Theresa Loe brings on Emma Christensen - the author of the new book Modern Cider.

Emma is well known in the foodie world for breaking down artisanal recipes into simple step-by-step DIY projects that are totally doable…and delicious. In her new book, Emma teaches people how to make cider from every angle. She covers using store bought juice or home pressed apples and she gives flavorful options that make your cider BETTER than the commercial brews.

In this episode, Emma shares how to make basic Hard Cider 101.

You'll see that it’s super easy, very forgiving, and you don’t need a lot of equipment to get started!

You will learn:

  • Is hard cider making safe
  • What exactly is happening when we “brew” apple juice
  • Why there are 3 different types of apples needed for hard cider
  • What to do if we don’t have apples of our own
  • What happens if you use pasteurized vs raw apple juice
  • The basic equipment we should buy
  • Which yeast gives the best results
  • How to flavor your ciders with spices, oak or fruits
  • The steps involved in brewing at home

As always, you can go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/128 for more info, all the links mentioned AND a full PDF of the hard cider recipe discussed in the episode.
Enjoy!

Direct download: 128_LivingHomegrown_Podcast.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:37am PDT

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