Discover the power of the potluck as a community forum for the New Agrarian Revival, a movement cultivating connections that are deeply rooted in the land, local food, our health, and one another. Our guest today, Jason Fowler, is founder and organizer of Land and Table, an organization that sponsors a monthly potluck event to network with farmers and like-minded local food enthusiasts; offering a unique opportunity to gather for a shared meal in an evermore disconnected world.

Discover author Julia Watkins' light and loving approach to gardening and to slow living as she shares her perspective on parenting, work, and finding joy and compassion in the midst of it all. As an author, photographer, fellow slow living enthusiast, and Lady Farmer friend, Julia has a wealth of knowledge about how to cultivate a slow and beautiful life in a way that is profoundly honest and approachable.

This week we spoke with historian, nonprofit founder, and author Tony Cohen, who operates Button Farm, Maryland’s only living history center depicting 19th-century slave plantation life and the heroic story of the Underground Railroad. Tony has dedicated his studies and work to preserving the Underground Railroad’s history, historic sites and environments. In this episode, he shares with us stories of his own travels along the Underground Railroad on foot, in an effort to recreate some of the original travelers' sensory experience of the landscape and the monumental physical challenges they endured in the pursuit of freedom. Tony also shares the story of meeting Oprah Winfrey and working with her in preparation for her starring role in the film, BELOVED, based on the book by Toni Morrison. Tony is founder and director of the Menare Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the creation of cutting edge educational programs, including an Underground Railroad immersion experience based on the work he did with Oprah Winfrey. 1:20 - Mary and Emma check in with the Slow Living Challenge 7:10 - The Spring Grow Your Own Food Intensive Let’s get into the interview! 8:40 - Tony introduces himself and The Menare Foundation 12:50 - Why start a nonprofit? 17:00 - Tony’s experience walking the route of The Underground Railroad 20:00 - Mary’s land and its connection to The Underground Railroad 27:00 - Tracking down your roots along The Underground Railroad 36:00 - Tony’s connection to the Harriet Tubman Museum 38:00 - How Tony got involved with Oprah Winfrey 49:00 - What is Button Farm? 57:00 - Tony’s work in relationship to Good Dirt Mentions: https://almanac.lady-farmer.com/plans/120369?bundle_token=d3b036682ef29046465cd91797244ddeandutm_source=manual (Slow Living Challenge) https://www.lady-farmer.com/upcoming-events/intensive-workshop/ (Grow Your Own Food Intensive Workshop) https://almanac.lady-farmer.com/plans/120369?bundle_token=d3b036682ef29046465cd91797244ddeandutm_source=manual (The ALMANAC) https://buttonfarm.org/ (Button Farm Living History Center) https://menare.org/ (The Menare Foundation) https://www.amazon.com/underground-railroad-Montgomery-County-Maryland/dp/0960109404 (The Underground railroad in Montgomery County, Maryland: A history and driving guide) https://chesapeaketourplanner.com/ (Chesapeake Tours) https://fibershed.org/affiliate/chesapeake-fibershed/ (The Chesapeake Fibershed) Beloved by Toni Morrison Mentioned in this episode: Join The ALMANAC Community https://the-good-dirt-sustainability.captivate.fm/almanac (ALMANAC TGD Discount)

Discover the wonders of forest agriculture and agroecology with our guest Lincoln Smith, founder of Forested, an edible food forest devoted to sharing research and knowledge surrounding forest gardens through tours, classes and forest to table dinners. As a champion of good dirt, Lincoln believes that growing forest gardens as a form of environmentalism can reintegrate our lives with nature and reestablish a connection to the forest as a food source. Having trained in landscape design, Lincoln brings his expertise to food forest projects in and around the DC area, and has seen first hand the incredibly positive effects an edible forest garden can have on a community.

Tune in today for a brief check-in and wrap up from Mary and Emma on the progress of the Lady Farmer 2022 Slow Living Challenge, and to discuss this week's final focus and theme. Sign up for the Slow Living Challenge https://my.captivate.fm/www.ladyfarmer.com/slowlivingchallenge (HERE). Follow Us:https://lady-farmer.com/blogs/the-good-dirt-podcast (Our Website)@weareladyfarmer on https://www.instagram.com/thegooddirtph/ (Instagram)Original music by John Kingsley @jkingsley1026Sowing seeds of slow living is our mantra at Lady Farmer. Simplifying our belongings, prioritizing good choices in food and clothing, and choosing sustainable habits wherever we can all have a positive impact on ourselves, our community and our planet. Every winter for the past few years we’ve taken on a Slow Living Challenge together as a community to bring these ideas into action little by little, day by day, week by week.This year, we’re excited to offer this free challenge for four weeks, kicking off Monday, January 31st. Each week you will receive a downloadable calendar in your email inbox that includes daily prompts centered around a theme. We’ll be able to share our experiences together in community, with all of us walking alongside you, through #slowlivingchallenge on Instagram or within our private online membership, The ALMANAC. If you’re not yet a member, participation in the challenge gets you a free trial in this community!

Join us for this conversation with author, mother, model and beauty entrepreneur Jesse Golden of The Golden Secrets, as she shares her story of creating a sustainable skincare product line, and her tools for creating self love and healing, all while living with chronic illness. Jesse has created a multifaceted career with integrity by embracing natural products, ancient folklore and a soulfully slow approach to beauty. From seed to skin, Jesse has fostered a brand around making conscious choices at every stage of her business and sees her products as a tool to cultivate rituals of self love and healing. With chronic illness as her greatest teacher, Jesse has learned to embrace her hardships and built a life and business full of light and inspiration.

Tune in today for a brief check-in from Mary & Emma on the progress of the Lady Farmer 2022 Slow Living Challenge, and to discuss this week's focus theme.

Step back in time with living history fellow and historical baker Justin Cherry, founder and owner of Half Crown Bakehouse, as he shares his love for nutrient rich ancient grains and 18th century bread baking methods. With his 18th century reproduction clay oven in tow, Justin travels to historic sites along the east coast of North America sharing his expertise on period correct methods and flavors, as well as, educating his patrons on the history and evolution of ancient grains and their uses. A maker deeply committed to his craft, Justin started Half Crown Bakehouse out of a deep love for heritage grains and landrace grains and an awe and respect for this naturally slow process.

Tune in today for a brief check-in from Mary & Emma on the progress of the Lady Farmer 2022 Slow Living Challenge, and to discuss this week's focus theme.

Rewild the land and yourself by farming in harmony with nature and leaning into regenerative practices that create habitat connectivity. Our guest today, Lynn Cassells, alongside her partner Sandra Baer, owners of Lynbreck Croft, had a shared dream of living closer to the land. And while the pair never meant to be farmers, they found themselves called to the task of stewarding a 150 acre croft in the Highlands of Scotland in 2016. Seized by a vision of farming in collaboration with nature, rather than against it, they began their mission of creating a place that honored not only their desire to grown their own food, but also the needs of the land and the animals, all working and thriving in a collaborative community.

Tune in today for a brief check-in from Mary & Emma on the launch of the Lady Farmer 2022 Slow Living Challenge, and to discuss this week's focus theme.

Heal and connect with seasonal locally grown food and learn how to participate in a system that sustains our local economy, provides food access, food security and mitigates food waste. Our guest today, Liz Reitzig, saw that responsibly sourced food had the power to heal her family and community. She started a buying club consisting of high quality foods from sustainable and regenerative local farms and artisans for consistent and convenient access and to provide an alternative choice to the unsustainable industrialized system. Liz knows that access to shorter supply chains means not only supporting fair living wages for farmers and high quality conditions for our food but ensures our own food supply in the event of a larger scale supply chain disruption.

Join the minimalist movement, and design a simple, sustainable lifestyle that provides freedom from debt, consumerism, and cultural expectations. Our guest today is Ryan Mitchell, creator of The Tiny Life, who started his minimalist journey by challenging the American dream and having the courage to ask, what does the life I really want to live actually look like? He began by moving into his self built tiny house in 2012, sharing his journey along the way and connecting with other like-minded tiny house enthusiasts. This passion ultimately created a business that sustained his dream of an independent, pared down, low cost life – one deeply rooted in an understanding of slow living and the power of conscious choices.

Where does land stewardship and regeneration, natural wine production, sustainable farming practices and local community collaboration come together? On today’s episode of The Good Dirt, Mary and Emma talk with sisters Lisa Hinton and Ashli Johnson of Old Westminster Winery in Westminster, Maryland.

Transform you microbiome and you life with cultured foods, and learn how the simple practice of food fermentation can promote mind and body healing. On today’s episode of The Good Dirt, Mary & Emma sit down with the founder of Cultured Food Life, Donna Schwenk. Donna introduces us to the sacred trilogy that is fermented foods, kombucha and kefir while explaining how to rebuild your gut and reframe your mindset around bacteria, generously sharing her abundant wisdom on cultured foods and on life. She knows when people feel good, they do good.

You can begin healing the planet, improving your health and mitigating climate change right outside your door! On today’s episode of The Good Dirt we sit down with Justin West, the creative entrepreneur behind Thrive Lot – a marketplace platform on a mission to create food abundance by combining agroecology, landscape design and technology.

Today we're talking to Cookie Washington, an African American quilting muralist and fourth generation needle worker, who addresses issues of race and social equality while celebrating the contributions of her African ancestral heritage and the Divine Feminine in her work. Cookie is the first in this long line of needle workers to take up art quilting, yet she feels her connection very deeply to her foremothers and her African-American history whenever a needle and bit of cloth is in her hands. Her passion for quilting is a way of communicating the African American woman’s experience.

Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where we speak with Dr. Sara Marie Massee about the field of living history and textile production at Mount Vernon, where Sara is a lead interpreter and works with the historic trades department, teaching and actually doing many of the skills and trades that were being practiced during Washington's lifetime there. In today’s episode, Dr. Massee shares anecdotes and stories that give us a glimpse into the life and workings of Mount Vernon in George Washington’s time, particularly with regard to the textile industry, and how they operate today as a living history museum. Tune in to learn more!

Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where today we will be kicking off the holiday season with a special Slow Friday episode! Join us as we share a bit about our own experiences with gift giving as well as how we can be mindful with our spending and purchasing behaviours during the holiday season. We will also be taking a step back to shed light on the environmental and social damage of Black Friday. It is important that we find gifts that are not going to be harmful to the planet or yourself, your own health or anyone else involved in the supply chain or the production of it. It’s time to stop before you shop and ask yourself: Do I really need this? Is there a more sustainable option?

Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where we we will hear from twin sisters Jess Boeke and Sarah Pottle of the Rust Belt Fibershed. This dynamic duo works as a team promoting ethical fashion and the use of natural dyes through their project, Drift Lab Textile Co. Additionally, they share this information with Rust Belt Fibershed — a bioregional textile community growing hope and resilience through local fibers, local colors, and local labor. Today we will learn more about how we can enable societal transformation by focusing on our relationship between people and the Earth, exploring the impact of the clothing and textile industry on the environment and reimagining the priorities of our current educational system. We will also speak to Sarah and Jess about what they envision for the future, their hopes and aspirations, and the healing potential of regenerative education for individuals and society.

Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where we speak to Skylar Saba about her sustainability company Happy Earth Habits. Her love for social media, including sharing sustainability products on TikTok, launched her on a journey engaging her community in small, fun, and meaningful ways. Today we learn more about incorporating sustainable habits into our everyday lives, how perfectionism isn't necessary to live a low-waste life, as well as ways to share your favorite eco-friendly tips and tricks on social media. We will also be speaking to her about her hopes for the future and how we can take steps at the individual level to connect more deeply with the natural world.

Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where we speak to Tierney Monahan, writer, beekeeper, and MBA candidate at Georgetown University, about the importance of beekeeping. Bees have always been a part of Tierney’s life, and her fascination with them has been well-documented in her new book Beyond Honey. She weaves together beautiful stories about the economic, entrepreneurial, and environmental impacts of bees on our society. Join us on this week’s episode as we learn more about the importance of pollinators in ensuring our planet’s biodiversity, how to support local beekeepers and the global impact of Colony Collapse Disorder due to habitat loss and climate change. We will be speaking to her about her personal experiences in beekeeping, how it has enhanced her life and the lives of others, and how we can take steps as individuals to ensure the survival of these essential creatures.

Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where we speak to Heidi Hannapel about conservation burials and alternatives to conventional death practices. As the co-founder of Landmatters, a multidisciplinary consulting firm committed to healthy communities in sustainable landscapes, and Bluestem Conservation Cemetery, she works to educate individuals on conservation solutions that allow for economic opportunity, environmental health, cultural heritage, and human wellbeing. Join us on this week’s episode as we learn more about conservation burials, their advantages and disadvantages, as well as how green burials can lessen our generation’s impact on the environment and encourage land conservation. We will also be speaking to Heidi about her work with Landmatters, including the coaching services that she offers for nonprofits and community members. Stay tuned to learn more!

On today’s episode of The Good Dirt, we’re chatting with Angela Ferraro Fanning of Axe and Root Homestead, a six-acre farm in central New Jersey. Angela shares how she got started with homesteading, balancing motherhood and farm life, and all the highs and lows of living off the land. We also discuss her and her family’s decision to follow a vegetarian diet, and what it means to be a modern homesteader. Plus, Angela gives us details about her exciting side projects, like a cookbook, children’s book series, and podcasting.

Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where we chat with lady farmer, Liz Riffle. Liz and her husband Jimmy are the owners and operators of Riffle Farm, a small grass-fed bison operation in West Virginia. The Riffles are dedicated to providing humane and sustainable bison meat to their community. We discuss everything from the trials and tribulations of starting a small farm, how regenerative agriculture helps mitigate climate change, and what to do when a 2,000-pound bison starts running your way (hint: get comfortable with jumping over fences). We also discuss how to be a more informed consumer by knowing the source of your food, the farmers growing it and the methods used in its production. Tune in to this week’s episode to learn more about regenerative farming and all things bison with Liz Riffle.