Episode 33: Albizia julibrissin is one of my new favorite trees. Commonly called The Tree of Happiness, Persian Silk Tree, and Mimosa, Albizia is native to Asia and a member of the Fabaceae family. I love its pink puffball flowers, gorgeous fragrance, whimsical nature, and potent medicine. To learn about Albizia, I spoke with Community Herbalist and Traditional Food Ways Educator Lindsay Kolasa. Lindsay and I start the interview by acknowledging that in some areas, Albizia julibrissin can be a weedy invasive plant. Albizia is self seeding, thrives in disturbed soil, and has very viable se ..read more

Episode 32: Meet the broad and beautiful Amaranth family in this episode with farmer and seed saver Andrew McMillion. Andrew shares his experiences propagating and growing Amaranth and tells us about his favorite members in this low maintenance and resilient family including: Orach (Atriplex hortensis), Caucasian Mountain Spinach (Hablitzia tamnoides), Syrian Medieval Chard, and Strawberry Spinach (Blitum capitatum). We touch on the fascinating history of this plant, why Andrew believes it’s important to “sow your weeds”, and how Amaranth provides him with food nine months of the year. If you ..read more

Learn how your clothing choices can change the world in this episode with writer Elizabeth Segran. Elizabeth tells us the grim news first. Did you know that the fashion industry is responsible for 8% of global greenhouse gases? That’s more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. About 100 billion articles of clothing are manufactured yearly. Clothes that don’t sell are often thrown in a landfill or burned at the end of a season. This massive overproduction has a detrimental effect on land, waterways, and workers. With styles changing rapidly, the fashion industry must pe ..read more

Episode 154: When medicinal at risk plants need help, United Plant Savers (UPS) comes to the rescue! Known as the “consciousness of the herbal products industry” because of their work with at risk medicinals, UPS staff and members have their feet on the ground and their hands in the soil protecting and growing these healing plants.  The former site of a contour mine, the 379 acre UPS Botanical Sanctuary in South East Ohio is now home to nearly 400 plant species. In this interview with John Stock, Outreach Coordinator and Sanctuary Manager for United Plant Savers, we learn why we shou ..read more

Episode 153: Put down that shovel and start a no-till perennial garden! In this fun and informative interview, Permaculture Designer and Teacher Morag Gamble shares her tips about how to create an abundant and thriving organic oasis. Morag’s garden in Queensland, Australia has more than 200 plants. In this episode she shares some of her favorites with us including Sweet Potato and Pumpkin. Did you know that you can eat the leaves of both? We focus on soil health and how to build soil fertility through feeding the soil, why multifunctional perennial plants are a good choice for any garden, how ..read more

Episode 152:  Famed cinematographer Louie Schwartzberg talks about his new film Fantastic Fungi that highlights the fascinating and often hidden world of the fungi beneath our feet. Renowned for his time lapse work with flowers, Louie has now turned his lens toward the fungal kingdom with astonishing and beautiful results. In this episode, we do a deep dive into Fungi and the many solutions that they offer us at this critical time, including: Carbon sequestration: Fungi are a climate change solution. Mycoremediation: Fungi are the grand decomposers of nature and can be used to clean ..read more

Episode 31: Journey into the world of Quercus, the amazing Oak.  Horticulturalist Byron Joel is an avid Oak fan and shares his knowledge about Oaks from tiny acorn to robust tree. You’ll learn about what Oaks need to grow well, the beauty of Oak as a perennial staple crop, the three “fruits” of Oak, and some of the many uses of this iconic tree. Byron also talks about the Dehesa, the semi-domesticated Oak savannah and its high quality yields. We also discuss specific species of Oak, including lower tannin varieties. Byron Joel is a Permaculture teacher and designer who is an avid Oak ..read more

Episode 151: What if we could heal broken ecosystems, toxic landscapes, and poisoned water? My guest today is Dr. John Todd, ecological designer and author of the new book, Healing Earth- An Ecologist’s Journey of Innovation and Environmental Stewardship. John Todd boldly travels to places that others try to avoid: toxic waste sites, oil spills, leaking landfills, and damaged waterways. Using the tools of nature to remediate these areas, John and his colleagues do good things in bad places. An expert in the design and construction of wastewater treatment systems, Eco-Machines, and living techn ..read more

Episode 150: Join us for a mind and heart expanding conversation with Dr. Monica Gagliano about her research in plant cognition and her direct experiences with the botanical world. A pioneer in the field of Plant BioAcoustics, Monica’s peer-reviewed work has furthered the concept of plant sentience. Monica’s experiences with plants have altered her life, her research, and are the subject of her new book, Thus Spoke the Plant. In this interview, Monica talks about her experiments with plants- including her groundbreaking studies with Peas, which provided evidence that plants, at least Peas, are ..read more

Episode 30: If you’ve ever wandered into a patch of Nettle, you probably remember its ferocious sting! But, did you know that Nettle is a nutritional powerhouse and herbal medicine rock star? Renowned for its tiny hairs and formic acid bite, Nettle is a plant with many medicinal benefits. Nettle contains protein, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, chlorophyll, and Vitamins A, C, D, and B! To learn about this medicinal herb that “bites’, I speak with Western Clinical Herbalist Cheryl Fromholzer, owner and founder of of Gathering Thyme, a community herb shop, clinic, and education center in Sa ..read more