Living Homegrown Podcast with Theresa Loe

This episode is a Q & A session featuring several listener questions and answered by host Theresa Loe. You learn: If sterilizing is necessary when bottling up homemade liqueur, The biggest worry when infusing alcohol, Which "proof" is best when making liqueur infusions, The trick to getting a clear vinegar, Is it possible to reuse the fruit of one food project for another, How does homemade Greek yogurt work and Do you need a yogurt maker or not. All that and more - Plus you can go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/92 for a full transcript and all the links and resources mentioned in the episode.

Direct download: 92_LivingHomegrown_Podcast.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:12am PDT

Learn how to enjoy all sorts of garden harvests including fruits, veggies, flowers, seeds, pods and roots. If it has a harvest, there is a way to utilize it!  In this week's episode, host Theresa Loe interviews garden designer and author Stefani Bittner about her new book Harvest. Stefani co-wrote the book with Aletha Harampolis and together they create a book that is filled with gorgeous images, delicious recipes and tons of tips for adding a harvest to your life. You learn: How to create a useful and beautiful garden, Food safety in urban gardens, How to use all parts of the plants, A recipe for making a shrub (no - not the garden shrub! The drink!), How to garden through the seasons, How easy it is to add productive plants to your landscape. PLUS...You can enter to win a free copy of Harvest simply by going to the show notes and leaving a comment!  Two winners will be chosen - so leave your comment by March 16, 2017. Also, in the show notes there is a PDF download of Stefani's special quince paste recipe. She was nice enough to share!  Just go to: www.LivingHomegrown.com/91 and the recipe and a full transcript will be waiting for you. And don't forget to leave a comment!!  Tell Theresa what productive plant you are ready to grow next!  Your comment automatically enters you to win a free copy of the book directly from the publisher. Enjoy the episode. 

Direct download: 91_LivingHomegrown_Podcast.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:12pm PDT

This episode is all about flavor enhancers. It doesn't matter if you grow your own herbs or buy them fresh at the farmer's market, nothing beats the fresh taste of herbs in your cooking. But sometimes, you can't have fresh herbs at your fingertips. The good news is that there ARE ways to preserve those flavors for later so that when you find yourself in a pinch - those flavors are at the ready!  Host Theresa Loe has covered preserving herbs in different ways on other podcast episodes (which are listed in the show notes). And today, she covers two more methods that you can use: Herb Salts and Herb Butters. You learn: How to preserve herb flavor in salt, The best salts to use and why, Her favorite herbs to use, Two herbs you should NOT use, Why citrus is the perfect "secret ingredient", A method for freezing herbs that is very versatile, and How to take advantage of those flavors. As always, you can get more free information, links and a full transcript at www.LivingHomegrown.com/90 as well as a free downloadable recipe sheet with the recipes of the day.

Direct download: 90_LivingHomegrown_Podcast.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:02pm PDT

Learn what permaculture is and how to apply it to your own backyard to create more sustainable and eco-friendly garden. In this episode, host Theresa Loe interviews garden author Jessi Bloom. Jessi is an ecological landscape designer and the author of one of the top permaculture books in the country. You learn: Exactly what permaculture is, Why it is important, How to put it into practice this coming season, Why garden size doesn't matter when apply the principles, What the systems are and how they work, And how permaculture is about a lot more than gardening. As always, you can go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/89 for more information, links mentioned in the show and a full PDF download of the transcript.

Direct download: LH_89_LivingHomegrown_Podcast.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:14am PDT

This episode is about taking a natural approach to pest control and avoiding sprays and pesticides...even organic ones. You see, many people think that switching to organic gardening methods just means changing from synthetic sprays to more natural/organic ones. But the truth is that if you have a more balanced ecosystem in your garden, you don't need sprays AT ALL.  And that is what we cover in this podcast. 

Host Theresa Loe brings on author and organic gardening expert, Jessica Walliser to share how we as organic gardeners can shift our mindset when it comes to bugs. You learn: About the ecosystem of your own backyard and how to balance it, Making the shift from sprays to no-sprays, Do plants have immune systems, Can a plant send out a distress call, How to change your mindset about bugs, How to attract the "good bugs", What is a beetle bump and why in the world would we want one in our backyard and much more. As always, you can go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/88 to get all the links mentioned in the episode, more free information and a full PDF transcript of the show. 

Direct download: 88_LivingHomegrown_Podcast.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:15am PDT

In this episode, host Theresa Loe interviews author Shawna Coronado about simple organic gardening tips that we can do to save money and time. The tips range from practical time-savers to clever ways to reuse and repurpose items for gardening. You learn: How to use empty wine bottles in the garden, Why rotisserie chicken can lead to greenhouse growing, A shortcut to saving tomato seeds, How to grow edibles from kitchen scraps, The secret to sprouting potatoes, The magic of manure tea and How to reuse cooking water. As always, you can go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/87 to get all the links mentioned and full transcript to the episode.

Direct download: 87_LivingHomegrown_Podcast.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:14pm PDT

This week's episode is the story of one man's journey of discovering his true calling in garden design while helping families along the way. Host Theresa Loe interviews Doug Scott - the owner of the landscape design firm, Redeem Your Ground. Doug helps families connect through the nature in their own backyards. You learn: Why sometimes school and business aren't the only measure of success, How to following your passion can lead to following your dreams, Life lessons that come from raising chickens, What nature deficit disorder is, How redeeming your ground leads to other redemptions, and three steps to getting started in your own backyard space. As always, you can go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/86 to get all the related links and a free PDF download of the transcript. 

Direct download: 86_LivingHomegrown_Podcast.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:30am PDT

In this week's episode we talk about small livestock for those of us with have super small spaces. We've covered backyard chickens and ducks on previous episodes. So it was time to discuss raising backyard rabbits for their nutrient-rich manure or their fiber (hair for spinning). And yes, some people raise rabbits for meat. But that's not what we go into here. Instead, host Theresa Loe interviews author and farmer Chris McLaughlin about what it means to raise backyard rabbits. They discuss raising one cute little family pet for composting their manure, to what is involved with raising them to sell their "wool".  You learn: The different shelter requirements for rabbits, Combining rabbits with vermicomposting, The benefits of rabbit manure, The difference between wool, mohair and fiber, How to properly groom and care for fiber rabbits, Where to go to learn about speciality breeds and more. As always, you can go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/85 to learn more, get related links and download the free PDF transcript of the show.

Direct download: 85_LivingHomegrown_Podcast.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:33am PDT

First everyone wanted backyard chickens. Now backyard ducks are gaining in popularity - and rightly so. Their eggs are incredible. And in many ways, they can be easier than backyard chickens. In this episode, host Theresa Loe interviews author and poultry expert, Lisa Steele of Fresh Eggs Daily. And they discuss all the benefits of raising ducks in your backyard. You learn: The benefits ducks can offer your garden, How they compare to backyard chickens, Are they fed differently than chickens, What do you need to provide so they are happy and healthy, What's the deal with having all your "ducks in a row", Do ducks have a sense of humor, Can ducks and chickens live together, Where should you go to get the more unusual breeds and so much more!  As always, you can go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/84 to get all the links mentioned in this episode as well as the full transcript and a free PDF Tip Sheet on How to Raise Ducks.

Direct download: 84_LivingHomegrown_Podcast.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:29pm PDT

This episode is a little different!  Host Theresa Loe brings on eight different garden authors and experts to all answer the same question: "What do you know NOW, that you wish you knew THEN?"  In other words, if they could go back in time...What important piece of garden advice would they tell their younger, gardener-self?  This episode is packed with nuggets of gardening wisdom because each expert gave completely different answers.   You learn: Each expert's top piece of gardening advice, What type of mindset you should have when you garden, When you should ask for help and when should you "wing it" and so much more!  As always, you can go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/83 for more information including: a free PDF download of all the garden tips (plus a few extras), a full transcript of the episode and links to all the garden experts previous podcast episodes. And there is a lot more free information on living homegrown and farm fresh on the website. Enjoy!

Direct download: 83_LivingHomegrown_Podcast.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:27am PDT