Episode 63

Greg Peterson’s Motto

Greg Peterson’s motto is: “I am the person on the planet responsible for transforming the food system.” A tall order indeed. Greg took on this mission after he attended a series of seminars for self development. Even though he has created many classes and events to educate and encourage people to be partners in transforming the food system as we know it, Greg is fine with the idea that his mission might fall a bit short. I guess he is acting according to another of his favorite quotes

“If your life’s work can be accomplished in your lifetime, you are not thinking big enough.”

Wes Jackson

UrbanFarmU

Greg created UrbanFarmU to achieve his plan of changing the food system. One reason we ended up with huge supermarkets filled with aisle after aisle of highly processed food that often traveled half way around the world is our arrogance.

“ Our downfall as a species is that we are arrogant enough that we think we can control Mother Nature and stupid enough to think it is our job.”                 Greg Peterson

Food that had to be stored and transported for a long distance does not taste very good. Greg learned that as a boy when he planted his first tree in his garden. When he harvested his first peaches from that tree, Greg knew that a tree ripened peach is an experience which involves all your senses – from feeling the warmth of the sun, seeing the tree with all its fruit, smelling the fragrance, feeling the juice running down your chin and finally becoming fully aware of the taste. That is the experience he wanted to share with his friends when he came up with the idea to plant 100 fruit trees.

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Little did he know that the 100 trees would become many thousands and turn into The Urban Farm Tree Education Program – now in its 17th year. Classes are held in person and are available online as well. The following link will take you to the Fruit Tree Program and several other free webinars. If at a later date, you decide to purchase a course or a membership from Urban Farm U, we will benefit from your purchase. Thank you. Free Urban FarmU Webinars.

And that was just the beginning. Urban FarmU offers many online classes and a membership site to teach even the complete beginner to have a successful garden. Here is a link to Greg’s free Jumpstart class. Just wanted to let you know that if you later decide to take on of the Urban Farm U paid classes, we will get a benefit from your purchase. Thank you in advance if you choose to go that way. The Urban Farm Jumpstart Class.

Why

Why is Greg dedicating his life to teach people how to grow food? Well, Greg truly believes (and had this verified by several Dr. friends) that three things cause 100% of diseases and by gardening, you can have control over all three.

1. Lack of nutrients in our food: We can nourish the soil to be nutrient dense and eating a freshly picked fruit or vegetable is at its peek. Nutrients will break down the longer the item is stored.
2. Environmental Toxins: The home gardener is in control of what touches the plants and soil.
3. Stress: Gardening and being surrounded by plants reduces stress – and the exercise helps as well.

The UrbanFarmU podcast

The UrbanFarmU podcast, another of the many enterprises Greg is spearheading, is published 3 times a week and so informative. Of course, I am a bit biased since I was a guest on the show not too long ago, but jest aside, Greg’s podcast is worth your time. He has guests from all different branches of the world of food production – from Permaculture practitioners to Paleo chefs; from herb growers to herb remedy makers; from water harvesters to architects building skyscrapers with vertical growing spaces in mind. Check it out. There is so much to learn.

Other topics we touched on:

How Greg got started with gardening (spoiler – he was pretty young)

Thinking: What if…..

How to deal with the “monkey mind.”

The Great American SeedUp.

Free Seed saving Webinar (affiliate:if you later decide to take on of the Urban Farm U paid classes, we will get a benefit from your purchase)

Why Greg loves his tower garden even though he has a 1/2 of an acre to plant.

To connect with Greg, the UrbanFarmU website is probably your best starting point. He also has a YouTube channel and of course can be found on Facebook .

On a personal note. If you like our show, we would love for you to give as a rating and review on iTunes or wherever you get your podcast from.

Greg mentioned a book which deeply influenced him: Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. If you like to purchase this, we would appreciate if you click here . This will take you to Amazon and we will get a small percentage of your purchase with no extra cost to you. Thank you.

Also, we are so happy to be part of the Better World Podcast Collective . Tom Idle put this site together of podcasters with the creation of a better world in mind. Do check out our fellow podcasters. I think you will like it.

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