Organic Gardener Podcast Introduction

The Day I launched OGP (The Organic Gardener podcast :~))

This picture is of me on launch day January :~))))

 

Welcome to the Organic Gardener Podcast.

I’m your host Jackie Beyer and I’m so excited to be here today.

Way back at the turn of the century I got my first subscription to Rodale’s Organic Gardening Magazine. One issue included an article on how organic gardening could feed the world right now. It talked about the science of organics vs commercially fertilized agriculture. Using the Rodale Institute’s Farming Systems Trial which runs a side by side comparison in Kutztown, PA, they said that the conventional system might excel when all conditions were ideal, but we all know that you never have the perfect amount of rain, or sun, or temperature and in those cases the organics out performed every time. Ever since I have wanted to share their knowledge and promote organic gardening and now the time has come.

My husband Mike is the real organic gardener, who’s been growing vegetables, fruits and flowers for over 40 years. We live in a small cabin on 20 amazing acres in rural NW Montana, although we only garden on about an acre of it. Mike starts broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, and lots of flowers in a makeshift greenhouse on our porch in the spring and then plants the rest outside as soon as he can work the soil. Every year we harvest potatoes, carrots, green beans, beets, and much more. I eat fresh salads topped with radishes, fresh herbs, and nasturtiums all summer long. In 2012 we planted a small orchard of fruit trees including apples, pears, and plums. Every year Mike’s goal is to plant more and more of our own vegetables so eventually we can make it through the year without having to buy any, or at least not many.

In 2010, I bought the Flower Farmer by Lynn Byczynski. This is a great resource about how to grow organic flowers for market. My first summer I planted 75 sunflower seeds and harvested over 200 sunflowers. This year I aim to plant 750 sunflower seeds and harvest over 2000! I like sunflowers because not only are they beautiful in bouquets, but you can eat the seeds and hopefully eventually if I harvest enough maybe someday we can make some biodiesel out of them!

Mike and I are both dedicated environmentalists with a passion for caring for our planet and teaching about the benefits of organic gardening and reducing our carbon footprint. I worked as an elementary school teacher for the last ten years and have coordinated many earth day events in my community. We hope to use the organic gardener podcast to educate the public about organic gardening and how it can help feed the world.

If you visit our website at MikesGreenGarden.wordpress.com you will learn tips to help you in your garden, you can download our pdf on Organic Gardening Basics and you can learn more about our challenges and successes!

If you have any questions you can reach out to us at mikesgreengarden@gmail.com or contact us at the website. We’re here to serve you our audience and appreciate any feedback on what you like, don’t like or would like to hear more of so please let us know! Have a great day and remember grow local!!

About the author, Jackie Marie

I'm an artist and educator. I live at the "Organic Oasis" with my husband Mike where we practice earth friendly techniques in our garden nestled in the mountains of Montana.

1 Comment

  1. spa in pune on November 5, 2015 at 2:36 PM

    I like what you guys are up too. Such intelligent work and reporting! Keep up the excellent works guys I have incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it’ll improve the value of my website :).

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