PermacultureRealizedPodcast's podcast

I was recently invited by Dan Kelly to be a guest on his show, The Farm Report, on the local radio station WUWU-LPFM 100.1, a low power radio station based out of Elberta, Michigan. It was a fun chat in which we talked about the land I'm homesteading on, the motivations behind Realize Homestead, current projects going on, lessons learned, visions for the future, local food systems, ecological succession and more! Thank you, Dan, for the engaging conversation and being such a great host! Hope you all enjoy it. RADIO STATION INFO: https://elbertalaborheritagecenter.org/wuwu-lpfm-100-1/ LISTEN HERE: https://archive.wuwuradio.org/   Comment here: https://realizehomestead.com/local-radio-interview-wuwu-lpfm/

Today’s guest is Samantha Graves of Healing Tree Farm at the historic DeYoungs farm in Northern Michigan. There, Samantha and her family are planting a Permaculture orchard and have had livestock like chickens, sheep and alpacas and are getting involved in fiber production. Their farm actually neighbors my families farm, and we’ve been working together for a few years now. I love Samantha’s story, and how she allowed her experiences to shape her and give her direction. Despite some really hard hits along the way, She has humbly, even gratefully received the lessons and moved forward, while passing on what she’s learned so that others don’t venture down the same treacherous route along their journey. Make sure you buckle up your ‘Pacas! She has taught me the value of understanding our historical context, not only from the big picture, which I tend to focus on, but also our local history, and the history of the land that we take it upon ourselves to steward and heal. There’s much to learn from those who came before us. Samantha also studies the history of her trade, Fiber, in order to discover the best methods from each time period and use them to create a beautiful new synthesis. And of course her love for the animals and plants that she tends shines through in her words. To learn more about Samantha’s work and keep posted on their progress, check out HealingTreeFarm.org. Thank you again for listening in. We’ve got many more great stories to share with you, here on the Permaculture Realized Podcast.

We’ve still got a LOT to learn about plant propagation, grafting, pruning and the other arts of tree cultivation. We’re blessed to have many experienced tree-whispers in our region like Archangel, and today’s guest, Trevor Newman. Based out of Southeast Michigan, Trevor is an avid gardener, orchardist and all-around plant geek, as his blog describes. He run’s an Edible Landscaping and Ecological Design Firm called Roots to Fruits. He is the president of the Michigan Nut Growers Association, and is passionate about promoting uncommon fruits, homesteading, permaculture, agroforestry and local food in general. This is an info packed interview, so be sure to get out your notepads on this one! You might think that having hard cider is just a luxury for those celebratory moments. But actually if you press apples into cider, then keep the cider in an airtight container, it will often start to ferment naturally from the native yeasts present on the apples. And this turns out to be a great way to preserve the apples much longer into the winter, because alcohol is naturally antiseptic. Another bonus product that can come from apples is vinegar. If you let the cider ferment while exposed to the air, then different microbes digest the sugars and it turns into apple cider vinegar. This vinegar is great for cleaning surfaces, taken in small amounts to aid in digestion, and it has many more uses. It’s so easy to take simple things in our lives for granted, like apples and apple trees. Trevor cracks open the enigma and shows all the fascinating behaviors and characteristics of these trees. Not to mention some serious patience in all the multi-year work that he’s doing. We need more pioneers like Trevor, focused in the work of resurrecting these old neglected food systems around us. Let’s raise a glass of Cider in cheers to the apple growers, the apple trees, and all those dedicated to cultivating a culture in partnership with trees. We need them. Thank you for listening in today. There’s more good stuff to come on the Permaculture Realized Podcast.

Today's guest is one my good friends and mentors Peter Bane, who is one of the most experienced permaculture teachers in the midwest. He's the author ofThe Permaculture Handbook; Garden Farming for Town and Country. He's also been the publisher of Permaculture Activist magazine for 25 years, which recently changed to Permaculture Design Magazine. Instead of putting a lot of energy into lobbying corporate and world leaders to take action, Peter seems to be outlining a grassroots approach where we each take responsibility to do all that we can in our own personal sphere on influence. The two main strategies he outlined are 1. sequester a lot of carbon out of the atmosphere by planting trees, and building topsoil. and 2. Produce most of our needs from our immediate landscape and community (think within biking distance), eliminating energy intensive transport costs and strengthening the local economy while restoring the local ecology. Peter does a great job of taking all these different threads; climate change, resource depletion, war, economic decline, human justice issues, and tying them together into a cohesive meta-narrative of the times we're living in. The picture that comes in to view is definitely unsettling to say the least. But at the same time, the glimpses of a different world that are everywhere slowly coming into being give great hope for what's to come. Definitely check out Peter's website, PermacultureActivist.net and seriously consider taking his upcoming Advanced Permaculture Design Course in Akron, Ohio on Nov 8-13th. But you don't need to take a course to get started. Just get outside and try stuff! You're going to make a lot of mistakes, but those are just as valuable as the successes because they still produce a very good lesson. Just start small at home, get the systems working there first before you rope in the whole county. Trust me, that was one of my lessons on this path. Thank you so much for taking the time to listen in. We have many more excellent guests on the way on the Permaculture Realized Podcast.