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Guest: Sal Dominelli, Sweet Rock Farms Big Idea: Saving Your own seeds makes you part of the solution for worldwide food security. Topic Today:  “It took a pandemic for us to realize that things are not going to continue on the way they were and that we need to be more self-reliant. So, as a country and as a province and as a community, we need to start growing more of our own food and we need to start saving more of our own seeds because seeds are the base of the food chain.” Sal is a seed farmer on Gabriola Island in British Columbia. He has been gardening and farming for 25 years so he has loads of ideas to help us grow better food. “It’s really important to have some local food resilience, and the base of the food chain is seeds.” Sal makes a living selling seeds but he also wants us to save our own open pollinated seeds. “If we all do a little bit, it’ll make our food system way more resilient to the food shocks that are most surely going to come in the next few years.” References: BC Eco-seed co-op https://www.bcecoseedcoop.com/ Contact Sal: saldominelli@gmail.com Sweet Rock Farms website: https://www.sweetrockfarm.ca/ Instagram: @sweetrockfarm phone: 250-713-9041 Sweet Rock Farm Varieties mentioned on the podcast include: Jade bean, Black cocoa bean, Black mountain Watermelon, Ardwina tomatoes, Black cherry tomatoes, Waltham broccoli, Red Russian Kale, dinosaur kale.

Guest: Dan Rollingson, Earthly Matters Big Idea: Raise your own worm fertilizer: 15 years of experience. Topic Today:  “Keeping it simple is kind of the key and worm castings is one of the best ways to grow simply.” Dan purchased a simple “system” for raising worms but when most of the worms died he knew he had to change things up. From the first grower that claimed his roses had never been so good to a large organic tomato farm that now uses thousands of litres of Dan’s worm castings, the business has grown organically. How does it work? The worms basically eat the microbes in their bedding and the organic grain added to the soil, feeds the microbes. “[Grain] doesn’t sound like a very good diet or enough in the diet, [but] basically we’re ramping up what’s in the soil as far as the biology goes. So then the worms go in and they start feeding on that [biology] it’s quite amazing.” References: Movie that inspired Dan: Cuba: The Accidental Revolution Dan’s Website: www.earthlymatters.ca Contact Dan: info@earthlymatters.ca Instagram: @earthlymatters Arthropods referred to in Dan’s castings : Hypoaspis miles are beneficial bugs that eat fungus gnats, thrips and springtails in the soil. Rove beetles, another beneficial insect, eat larger mites and other arthropods.

Guest: Rose Naomi O’Brey Big Idea: From a work injury to a magazine article about garden therapy, Rose Naomi has been healed by, trains in and actively practices garden therapy. Believing it is good for everyone, Rose Naomi shares ideas and positive themes, music and stories. Everyone benefits from a little bit of therapy – especially garden therapy. Topic Today:  Garden therapy happens in the garden by accident and, with the right help, it happens deliberately when you are guided by a trained therapist. Rose Naomi helps people understand the many benefits of garden therapy in this inspiring podcast. Through her website and programs for babies, hospitalized or in care, therapy from the garden is an all-age event. Gardening is good for you and Rose Naomi explains the ins and outs and shares stories from the field. References: CHTA Canadian Horticultural Therapy Association – https://www.chta.ca/ Rose Naomi’s website: https://avoiceinhisgarden.com/ Contact Rose Naomi: rosenaomi@avoiceinhisgarden.com

Guest: Cindy Lou Oulton of Annapolis Valley Luffa Big Idea: From the Alberta oil patch to growing environmental washcloths, Cindy is an entrepreneur and Luffa grower. Topic Today:  True confessions. I failed to grow Luffa in my garden on the west coast so when I heard Cindy is growing luffa, a natural sponge plant that grows like a squash and works without waste, I had to talk to her. And what a windfall! Cindy says luffa is used for cleaning up oil spills, cleaning dog teeth and washing dishes. This warm-weather plant is also edible and Cindy is growing it under high tunnels in the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia. And the best news? The product is grown organically and is entirely compostable so there is zero waste. References: Source of seeds (Luffa aegyptica) is Richter Seeds – Goodwood, Ontario, www.richters.com Where Cindy grows: Taproot farms https://taprootfarms.ca/ Connect with Cindy: https://luffacanada.ca/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnapolisValleyLuffa Instagram: @annapolisvalleyluffa    

Guest: Dustin Morton Big Idea: From Seed Sales to Farmer. More than one way to grow a small farm. Topic Today:  “Weeds, again, are an issue in onions and garlic, and if you don’t get ahead of them, you get way behind, very fast.” Dustin’s grandparents moved into his great grandparent’s home on the family farm when he was still under five. The smell of his grandparent’s sunroom-greenhouse imprinted memories on young Dustin that are still alive today. He learned gardening from his aunt, who was evangelical about Wave petunias but he didn’t discover horticulture until he had already at the University of Saskatchewan planning to become a Veterinarian: “I was sure I wanted to be a vet, and it was in the middle of my first semester of first year that I realized, wow, “I do not like animals as much as plants, so this is probably a bad idea.” Dustin’s career led him to Ball Horticultural, a family owned company based out of Chicago and his farm location was chosen because his wife’s parents farmed there first. “ [it] just sticks with me to this day about how sometimes people need a little help and a little steering to make something even better, better than it could be.” It is January 2021 and if you haven’t started your onions from seed yet this is the perfect time. Too late to fall seed but just in time for seeding indoors. References: Dustin buys his garlic from Rasa Creek, BC (www.rasacreekfarm.com) and his onions from various sources. He likes Ailsa Craig, Patterson, and Cabernet onions. His favourite garlic varieties are Chesnok Red, Creme de la Rasa, Majestic and Red Razan. Connect with Dustin: www.parsnipsandpaddocks.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=parsnipsandpaddocks  

Guest: Steven Biggs Big Idea: Grow lemons in Canada with or without a greenhouse Topic Today:  Steven Biggs is my co-author for the Canadian bestselling book “No Guff Vegetable Gardening.” He is also an award-winning garden writer, father, husband and keen gardener. This is Steven’s second visit to my podcast and in this episode he tells us the basics of starting, growing and cooking with Lemons. His book, “Grow Lemons Where You Think You Can’t” is available on his website. The spinach he suggests for low light seasons is called Speedy Hybrid and the insulating material he suggests for protecting lemon trees outside is Reemay or Agribon. References: Bob Duncan at Fruit Trees and More introduced Steven and I to growing Citrus outside on Vancouver Island. Bob’s farm is located very close to the airport in Victoria, British Columbia. Connect with Steve: www.stevenbiggs.ca Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FoodGardenLife Instagram: Foodgardenlife

Guest: Ron Berezan, The Urban Farmer Big Idea: How Cuba’s drastic food reform system will help us grow. Topic Today:  In today’s podcast Ron says “The more the pandemic endures, the more I keep thinking back to Cuba, because, here we are. Many of us have begun to see some of the fragilities in our own food system. I think people in Cuba would never have seen coming what came. It seemed like everything was quite fine, thank you very much. And I think we’re the same.” Ron’s background bringing tours to the once starving, now thriving, country of Cuba is filled with tidbits and sustainability ideas everyone will enjoy. Ron is so concerned about food systems and security he has dedicated his life to it and is helping his community by taking part in a co-housing project. Asked what he learned in Cuba Ron says “I had my head blown open in a big way by meeting some amazing people involved in Cuba’s very drastic food system transformation [in] the early nineties. I’ve been 37 times and I’ve taken 27 different groups to see, urban agriculture, permaculture and organic agriculture in practice in Cuba.” From his work with The Urban Farmer, his tours to organic farms in Cuba, and his latest project developing a co-housing farm in Powell River, Ron literally puts his money where his mouth is. “I think that home gardens, urban agriculture [and] small scale solutions are our greatest security and, in looking at this, our greatest bet. And imagine if everybody in your community, everybody in my community, everybody in the city of Vancouver starts to grow a little bit of food: that becomes significant. It becomes significant.” References: How to Grow More Vegetables by John Jeavons (https://johnjeavons.org/) Connect with Ron: www.theurbanfarmer.ca Blueberry Commons: www.blueberrycommons.ca      

Guest: John Mills, Eagle Creek Farms Big Idea: “Get your kids growing with you….” says Alberta’s John Mills, a 4th generation farmer but the first in his family to grow potatoes organically. “I didn’t start off pursuing organic vegetable production or transitioning the farm to organic production. It was just a slow evolution of realizing that I could grow without the chemicals and the need of those inputs. And then just the challenge of making that work in a region that’s not historically for organic production it was …it took years,” says John, who fondly remembers helping his parents at the market when he was young and says that was a big part of what led him to become a farmer even though his dad strongly discouraged it. In this conversation find out the difference between determinant and indeterminate potatoes, seed potatoes, some of the trade tricks from commercial growers and how to make sure your potatoes are ready to harvest and store this fall. Topic Today:  The focus today is on organic production because potatoes are one of those crops listed on the dirty dozen of frequently sprayed crops. Home gardeners want to start growing more of their own clean food and John is here to help. Some of the potatoes John talks about are Nicola, Sieglinde, French Fingerling, Bellanita, Rode Eesterling, Dakota pearl, Pink Fir, Amarosa red, Alta rose, Alta Blush, Norland, Russet Burbank, Viking, Sangria and Russian Blue. For more info about the dirty dozen check out the Environmental Working Group dirty dozen lists for 2020 (https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary.php.) You’ll be surprised that potatoes are not the only commercially grown food with such high levels of pesticides. Other commonly tainted food include strawberries, spinach, kale, grapes and tomatoes. PS In the podcast I say potatoes are in the top ten but they are actually number 12 on the dirty dozen list. Covid alert: John’s four kids are home from school in this segment and you can hear their sweet voices in the background occasionally. Connect with John through his web site: https://www.eaglecreekfarms.ca/about/contact-2/ Web site: https://www.eaglecreekfarms.ca/ and seedpotatoes.ca Link to the Organic Centre of Canada: https://www.dal.ca/faculty/agriculture/oacc/en-home.html    

Guest: Dr. Christopher Trobacher Big Idea: Big Idea: “Fertilizer is food. So you expect that that’s going to be the main thing, driving plant growth, but you add a little bit of kelp and it seems like the plant’s able to use it’s food and combat the stresses in its environment a lot better than nutrition alone,” says Dr. Trobacher, who is actively doing plant research in Canada. Developing quality fertilizers for home gardeners based on products used by commercial organic gardeners is Trobacher’s job and today he tells us all about nutrients and their role in plant growth. If things are flagging in your late season garden tune in and find out what’s new and what you should do right now. NutriAg’s home garden products are grouped together in the Ferticare line and they sent samples to Donna Balzer for trial but they did not support, fund or otherwise influence this podcast. Topic Today:  Fertilizers are incredible and incredibly controversial. Luckily there is something new on the market. A new home gardener fertilizer with chelated micronutrients that can be safely sprayed or watered on your plants. If something is going wrong in your garden listen now to find out what the research is saying about plants and plant nutrients. There is help for stressed plants and the help comes in the form of proper nutrition.   Connect with Chris: on twitter @NutriAgC   Look for Chris’ band, The Barfridge Family, on Youtube.   Look for the coupon, valid for a 12% discount on amazon.ca at https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=ferticare+fertilizer&ref=nb_sb_noss_1 If You live in the USA you can find the same discount on  amazon.com   Web site: NutriAg.com    

Guest: Dr. Ken Fry Big Idea: Big Idea: “I guess the word of the day would be biodiversity and that is having an abundance of different kinds of plants: different colours, different times of flowering, different sizes and statures, different fragrances. And that way you have all the different kinds of resources that are necessary for a rich, happy biodiverse garden.”   Topic Today:  Join in and learn about some of the bugs we love to hate and some of the solutions to pests in our garden. Ken answers Donna’s specific insect questions and offers ideas for a well-rounded garden.”Tiny flowers are like charging stations for beneficial insects,” says Ken as he encourages us to build varied gardens with water and plenty of variety in the plants. “If you want good predators and parasitoids then the shallower flowers are the ones that are the most beneficial.”    Ken also discourages us from buying Lady Beetles: “They’re not produced in a factory, shall we say, or reared in an insectary. They’re actually harvested, unsustainably, from the wild in California, Utah and other places. So they go and collect them from their overwintering sites, package them up, ship them out….. you buy a container of a hundred lady beetles, and you’re lucky if a couple of them stick around because all the rest have flown the coop…. as an instinctive response to waking up from overwintering. ”   Books: Garden Bugs of Alberta, Lone Pine Press (https://books.google.ca/books/about/Garden_Bugs_of_Alberta.html?id=ZfzMAAAACAAJ&redir_esc=y)   Resources Mentioned: Dr. Ken Fry teaches at Olds College in Alberta but has experience beyond his research and teaching background. For more information about Dr. Kenneth Fry go to LinkedIn or to the Olds College website.   Web site: https://www.oldscollege.ca/  

Guest: Steve Solomon Big Idea: Big Idea: Our Human Health depends on the health of the soil we grow our food in. Mineralize soil and grow the best possible food for health and happiness.   “I have often thought that our farming system is basically a system of mining. And what we have removed from […]

Guest: Ben Patarin Big Idea: Forage the best wild food while respecting nature “I could easily survive with just what I get from the forest, you know, if I had too” says Ben, who has collected or foraged since he was 2 because in France, “that’s the hobby you have with your family!” “So one […]

Guest: Rob Lavoie Big Idea: Biochar Builds Better Soils and Improves Food Security I boosted the quality of my garden soil with Soil Matrix biochar. Why is my soil better now than before? My garden grows on sandy soil so there is no way for minerals to be held in place. Before biochar, plants started […]

Guest: Steven Biggs Big Idea: Want to find out how to take cuttings, grow, prune, fertilize and overwinter figs? Tune in now. “I just like to say to people, [Figs are] such a fun plant to grow, so do give it a try and do just keep in mind that you want to find a […]

Guest: Khaled Majouji, Ingenius Farms Big Idea: “Give access to quality food at an accessible price to everyone” says Khaled, better known as The Plant Charmer among his 86,000 fans on Instagram and YouTube. Posting interesting tidbits about how to grow food in rain gutters on his urban farm in LaVal, Quebec is an ongoing […]

Guest: Donna Balzer, www.donnabalzer.com Big Idea: “It’s so clear everyone has become re-engaged in growing food during this pandemic, hence the run on seeds at the stores,” said Dinah via email. She went on to ask her many questions and suggest that Donna tape a special podcast on this subject. Well here it is! Donna […]

Guest: Dean Kreutzer, Over the Hill Orchards Big Idea: Dean trained as a computer programmer so he was pretty desk-bound before he turned 33 and started his active new career as an organic farmer. Now he is a plant breeder and zone denier on his cold-climate farm near Regina, Saskatchewan in Canada. He grows fruit […]

Guest: Donna Balzer Big Idea: Donna has two greenhouses so in this episode Robyn interviews her about her greenhouses, how she uses them to grow more food and disasters she has experienced while growing. Start the process of getting your own garden growing under cover by listening in to this greenhouse growing primer. We cover […]

Guest: Craig LeHoullier Big Idea: Craig trained as a chemist so when he was laid off it made sense to keep using his scientific mind. And because this is not an episode of Breaking Bad, Craig turned to tomatoes. He has been actively involved in the Dwarf Tomato project for 15 years, is devoted to […]

Guests: Al Grant & Gayle Berry Big Idea: Gayle and Al retired three times between them and were newlyweds in 2015 when they saw a farm with a greenhouse for sale near Qualicum Beach, B.C. They wanted to do something worthwhile with their time together so they bought the farm. Because they have already retired […]