Get In My Garden Podcast

Today we have a very special guest, speaker, writer, entrepreneur, citizen scientist, mycologist and so much more, William Padilla-Brown. He is a Contributing Editor for Fungi Magazine, and today we discuss his work with algae, and the five algae species that are most promising for cultivation and economic feasibility. William talks about algae and fungi as the premier organisms for ecosystem restoration and their relationship to each other, current algae research for algoremediation potential in wastewater, and usage in various agriculural systems. Then we talk about how many people are now creating new micro industries, self educating and contributing to a much brighter future that includes natural farming methods paired with creative use of technology. Finally we talk about William’s various projects and businesses and some details about DNA sequencing research he is involved in to identify new mushroom species and species specific unique compounds with medical discovery potential.

Kim Sorvig, author of Sustainable Landscape Construction, A Guide to Green Building Outdoors catches us up with what’s going on with the sustainable landscape construction an design industry and where things might be moving in the future as we face ecological challenges. This episode was recorded at the Honeymoon Brewery in Santa Fe, New Mexico where we sampled their awesome alcoholic kombuchas.

Today we have the much anticipated episode with Melanie Kirby who you may have seen on instagram TV or in any of the short videos I shared on social media recently. We met at her land up in the mountain village called Truchas, New Mexico where she and her partner have their mother breeder colonies and sells queens bees from their business Zia Queenbees. She is a bee researcher testing out bees in different bioregions, while working on her graduate degree at the famed Washington State University Honeybee Research Laboratory. She talks about the modern business of pollinator bees we depend on to pollinate our food crops. Then we learn about her queen breeding program, nicknamed ‘Bees as Seeds’ with the purpose of breeding more resilient honeybees. She mentions the different subspecies of American bees and much much more. Melanie talks about how she uses a non-intrusive tracking system technology she helped create to document and understand the adaptations of honeybees. She will be taking her work to Spa

Dylan Martin is back to discuss some very interesting women involved in mycology today and what they are up to. He mentions his involvement with the Controlled Environment Agriculture Program at the trades and technology program at the Santa Fe Community College, raising money from a mushroom program and all the awesome research and activism projects he is spearheading. Dylan is taking his radical mycology to the next level by starting a Mycoflora Project in the unique bioregion in and around New Mexico and building community in the mycology world. I ask him about the opportunities and startup scene in Santa Fe and what the Controlled Environment Agriculture Program has going on in their new 12,000 square foot greenhouse. Check out instagram @getinmygarden for pictures and videos of what’s going on, and reach out Dylan, me and anyone else mentioned in the episode.

Today we learn about observational beehives with Dan Long, Georgia Master Beekeeper, bee hobbyist since 1995, and serious beekeeper since 2011. He is a father of six and lives in Athens, Georgia where he is owner of a nursery specializing in clematis. Dan talks about the different types of observational hives and the people who build these small movable hives to bring along to the farmers market or to educational venues. We learn about his favorite type of observational hive that fits right onto a home window as well as some interesting details about the bees and their lifecycle that can be witnessed throughout the year with observational hives.

This is the second part of the interview with Matt Ladegaard where we talk about the basics of plant breeding and adaptations, seed saving and plant genetics. We also talk about the local food scene here in Santa Fe, New Mexico and how the distribution happens from farm to table. Matt also tells us a bit more about the experience of being a market gardener and running the business side of things. You can meet Matt at the Santa Fe Farmers Market on Saturdays and Tuesdays.

Today we have a very special guest, Steve Raisner, of the Growing with Fishes Podcast and the Potent Ponics Youtube station. He is an extremely knowledgable guy and the type of person who is always gaining more knowledge and evolving his practices based on what he learns. he is a legitimate scientist and researcher. We discuss dual root zone planting for cannabis for greater terpene production and terpene variety and also much faster and stronger plant growth. The benefits are huge and he talks about how aquaponics maximizes the natural capacity of the cannabis plant. Steve gives a side by side comparison of soil vs aquaponics growing to understand cost and the differences. He mentions what NASA research has discovered about aquaponics microbial life and the aquatic food web vs the terrestrial food web. Towards the end of our discussion we discuss what’s going on in the world of GMO, and how some labs are creating cannabinoids for mass market without the cannabis plant and some of the downfalls of this.

Today we meet Matt Ladegaard, a market gardener, entrepreneur and marketeer, founder of Groundstone Farm in Pojoaque NM, just north of Santa Fe where he sells retail at the Santa Fe Farmers Market and wholesale via Squash Blossom Local Food and La Montanita Coop. He went to school for sustainable agriculture and has worked at several farms around the country over the last decade. We cover what it’s like to be a market farmer, an overview of the the thriving Santa Fe farmers market community, how he leased a small piece of prime farmland for almost nothing to start his market farm business, what the new generation of farmers are doing now to launch successful farmers market businesses, how to market the highest quality local food and not compete on price in a world of easily available cheap foods, how much land you really will need to start farming, and the basic farming concepts and systems you must master before jumping into business.

Today we have a very interesting and information-packed episode with Ayla Bystrom-Williams founder of the Honeymoon Brewery in Santa Fe, New Mexico and her partner James Hill, head brewer of Honeymoon Brewery. They tell the origin story of their new brewery that is focussed on alcoholic kombucha brewed in one of the most pristine environments in the country at the foothills of the Sangre de Christo Mountains. First off, they share their entrepreneurial experiences, the barriers they had to overcome to found their unique brewery, and then they go into the history of kombucha in the United States. Then James talks about my favorite subject, microbes, how they inoculate their kombucha, and how their SCOBY culture evolves with the local indigenous microbes, making it very unique to our high altitude ecosystem. We talk a lot about microbes and the terroir of different brewing locations. James shares the details of kombucha brewing in general from home brewing to larger scale operations, how to control the a

Today we meet Adrienne Rosenberg, documentarian and Memphis native turned Northern New Mexican. We learn about pollinator insects, creating a pollinator refuge on your land, no matter how small, some of the very interesting history of acequias, the agricultural waterways and the water rights system that the Spaniards brought to New Mexico several hundred years ago, and the socio-cultural environment and history around managing these community water resources. Adrienne understands the profound connection humans have always had to the land they live on, and how important this is for the continuity of knowledge and history.

This is episode #33 of the Get in My Garden Podcast. Permaculture expert and New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program consultant Bradley Babb discusses his recent trip back home to the island of Barbados, the current state of permaculture and recycling on the island, what he noticed after nearly 20 years away, and some great ideas on how to educate the citizens and start solving some of the ecological and social issues the island is facing.

This is episode 32 of the Get in My Garden Podcast. Today we visit again with Jon Romens, owner of Future Roots Regenerative Landscapes based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He answers our questions about trees, weeds and what to do in winter, and how to build soil and continue to think about our gardens and landscaping during the winter months. John introduces the idea of a different tree-focussed perennial agriculture model to feed ourselves and our farm animals, how to use trees to stop erosion and to plan your landscaping properly, and methods for farming drylands and managing water intelligently using invasive, non-native trees to our benefit, and so much more.

This is episode 31, and we have Korean Natural Farming and Soil Food Web expert Eric Weinert calling in from Hawaii where he is a farming activist and former candidate for State House of Representatives. He has over a decade of hands on experience in the methods of Korean Natural Farming. We talk about what Korean Natural Farming is and how to foster indigenous microbial life, how to feed your natural habit and foster a state of balance. We discuss what Eric has discovered over several years of farming in a tropical island climate and so many other things. I hope you enjoy the episode and pick up a few ideas that will benefit or improve your farming and gardening methods and make your environment more health. Subscribe to the podcast and leave positive reviews if you like the show. It is available on iTunes and most other podcast apps.

We are back with Dylan Martin, Vice President of the New Mexico Mycological Society to discuss recent results of research into how bees are naturally using fungi to increase their immunity, ways we may soon be able to help our local bee populations with fungi, and what this means for us humans.

Here on earth, the soil food web is of great interest for farmers and gardeners, and so much research has happened over the last several decades to better understand microbes and their subterainean ecosystems. In fact, the underground biosphere is basically twice as big as Earth’s oceans and contains some 23 billion tons of organisms. The Deep Carbon Observatory calls it the subterranean Galapagos. The DCO is a collaboration of around 1,000 scientists studying “deep Earth” ecosystems. According to researchers, knowing how organisms survive in the extreme conditions below Earth’s surface will help us understand the origins and evolution of life on our planet—and perhaps our closest neighbor Mars. Deep earth microbes that can live miles beneath land and seafloor habitats are called intraterrestrials, and about 70% of all the bacteria and archaea on Earth live in this subsurface environment. We know very little about them because they are so hard to access. The deep carbon observatory has sampled hundr

In this episode, Dylan Martin tells us about the benefits of being involved with your local Mycological Society, some great events that have been hosted by the New Mexico branch, details about the mycoremediation hearing in Los Alamos, New Mexico and about other interesting mycology activism and research we need to follow. And lastly, if mushrooms are so good at sucking up toxins from the environment, I ask Dylan if we should we be worried the the mushrooms we consume my have high levels of heavy metals and other undesirable contaminants?

Today we learn about the rewilding philosophy. There are very few people with the level of sincerity of next guest. He has a great back story and he calls himself Maximilian LionMan. Maximillian discusses the rewilding philosophy, the movement he is a part of to honor our ancient human ancestors, their wisdom and their connection to the earth. We talk about the trajectory of modern man and ways we can lead more connected lives, no matter where we live. Maximilian shares how to use the rewilding philosophy as a lens to evaluate the world and the choices we make on a daily basis to thrive, to maintain community, to reconnect to the earth and become more of our human selves. Please subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and leave positive reviews if you liked the show. Also, I am so grateful to the people who have reached out to me with ideas and connections for the podcast. It is the listeners who make the podcast community. Thank you.

Dylan Martin is back to talk growing mushrooms at home as a beginner, and the progression from simple to more advanced methods. Growing mushrooms is so easy, and once you get started, it can become addictive. Dylan and I met on a busy weekend morning at a downtown coffee shop to chat about backyard and inside growing of fungi.

Hi Everyone, This is Episode 25 of the Get in My Garden Podcast, a chat with Radical Mycologist, Dylan Martin about Mycology, Mushroom Tech and the Frontier of Mycology. It has been a while since the last episode, as I have been consumed my my work at the farmers markets, planning my new soil health business and researching desperately needed new sound equipment for this podcast. The focus has always been to feature local experts, hobbyists and successful small business creators who work with the earth in unique ways. Next year, podcast content and interviews will focus on organic gardens and gardening, sustainable high-impact small farming, permaculture, the soil food web, landscaping, plant collecting, farmers’ market businesses, and so much more. Great things are planned for this podcast. Going forward, it will have tighter and shorter episodes and ocassionally feature short crossover videos on youtube and facebook with content to support the episodes. With new microphone equipment and better editin

Today we revisit with Kelly McCracken of High Desert Orchids who was on the podcast several months ago when she was launching her online plant business. We talk about the evolution of her business, her very unique strategy she is using on facebook, and how she is successfully engaging and educating her customer via facebook groups and weekly live streams of her unique orchid plants. If you are interested in online marketing of your hobby and turning it into a successful business, you will be inspired by Kelly’s story. Since we are both the admins of our own facebook groups, we talk about our theories about the facebook algorithms too. Have a listen If you are interested in the geekier side of orchid collecting, random facts about orchids, the types of people who collect orchids, the complex world of hybridizing them, the details about the vast quantities of very diverse orchids all over the world, and an update on the orchid industry that has been crushed by the erupting Hawaiian volcano. Make sure to j