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Free Online Training with Urban Farming Expert

Free Urban Farming Tutorial

My friend Greg Peterson is an urban farmer in Phoenix, Arizona.  He’s an educator and longtime food-­grower.  And he’s offering a webinar coming up soon called 3 Simple Steps To Grow Fruits And Veggies For A Healthier Life (click here for more information: Free Urban Farming Webinar).

Greg has dedicated his life to learning how to grow healthy, nutrient­-dense food and transforming the global food system.  He is one of the leaders in the Food Revolution and I absolutely love what he does.  Below is an article that he wrote about a day on his farm:

Cultivating a Diverse Urban Harvest

There is something to eat in my yard every day, 365 days a year.

Last Thanksgiving it was a wonderful salad that included: six different greens such as nasturtium leaves and sorrel (a surprise find growing in the back ‘wild’ area); ruby red pomegranate seeds; an incredible citrus called limequat that was sliced up skin and all for a tangy/sweet sensation; and a little bit of the herbs tarragon and fennel, with a smidge of that pretty little three­leaf clover you see growing in some yards called sour grass.

The flavors were so diverse and striking that I chose not to add any dressing at all.

Urban Farming Takes Dedication

I have spent a large part of the past 27 years integrating edible plants into my landscape, from the Thanksgiving salad and my farm soup, to the occasional snack as I work through my weekly urban farmer tasks.

All the hard work and experimentation has netted an incredible, edible yard and a hard­knock education about how and what grows best in my yard.

How I Became an Urban Farmer

When I was in the eighth grade my family moved into a home with a very large yard where the back 1/3 ­acre became our garden.  We planted, the seeds grew and a spark ignited inside of me…  I decided to be a farmer.

Over time, my dream became farming 200 acres out there somewhere, and when I went back to school for my bachelor’s degree I was required to write a vision for my life.  In that vision, “farmer” showed up, but with a twist…

Instead of 200 acres, The Urban Farm was born on a 0.4­ acre property in Phoenix, AZ – and I was a farmer.  My gardening hobby of 10+ years was in reality urban farming, an incredible canvas on which to paint my dream.

Cultivating an Edible Landscape

One outlet for my passion has been to re-­landscape my entire yard with the notion that everything that I grow is either edible, or supports the plants that are edible.  Over the past 27 years I have planted trees that produce edible fruits, nuts and beans such as mesquite; perennial herbs including basil, rosemary and oregano that I use a hedge trimmer on periodically; along with the standard annual vegetables – broccoli, snow peas, and cucumbers to name just a few.

Because of our name, visitors to The Urban Farm have an expectation that they will see long rows of corn and beans, and a full working traditional farm.  To the contrary, much of what we have accomplished lives in standard garden beds, and if a person visiting did not know any differently they would just see a nicely landscaped yard.

Learning through Observation

Magic happens when I stand back and watch the natural processes that exist in my yard.  A couple of decades ago I was fighting a basil plant – ­ it wanted to bloom, I wanted the basil leaves ­ – as if I KNEW what was best for it.

After a long battle, which I finally learned that I could not win, I gave up and let the basil bloom, and boy did it bloom.  What happened next was one of those secrets that nature only whispers if you stand back and watch. The bees arrived by the hundreds, and since then pollination has not been a problem on The Urban Farm.

Sharing My Passion for Urban Farming

My job these days has become helping others transform their outdoor living spaces into edible wonderlands.  Offering a plethora of classes on a diverse list of topics is the most natural way for me to express my passion.  Over the years topics such as vermiculture (cultivating worms for their manure), desert gardening, edible landscaping, fruit trees, and the always popular “Keeping Chickens in Your Yard” have begun to reconnect Phoenix residents to the roots of where our food comes from.

Now I’ve expanded my reach to the global community by offering online classes, both free and paid, to inspire and empower people from around the world to grow their own healthy, organic food and join the food revolution.

My latest free webinar, 3 Simple Steps To Grow Fruits And Veggies For A Healthier Life, will cover how to choose the right space to plant your edible garden, how to determine what to plant when, why soil is your most important asset and gardening hacks that will make growing your own food easy and successful.

Let’s Create Edible Cities Together

If you are excited to join the revolution and start creating your edible yard or patio but have little to no experience, this webinar was designed for you!  Click here to learn more: https://dd200.isrefer.com/go/3StepsGrow/Wildcraft

Free urban farming webinar

Farming the city spaces around us presents a whole new paradigm for growing our own food and reigniting our connection to nature. The tools are here, and the knowledge is available, you can kindle your desire by getting your hands dirty, taking a chance and spreading some seeds.   The fruits of your labor are much tastier (not to mention cheaper) than what you find in the grocery store and come along with the satisfaction that YOU grew them.

Many people tell me of their “black” thumbs as they admire what is grown on The Urban Farm. I reflect back to them the years of experimenting that I have done, noting the countless plants that did NOT make it under my care… and that is how I learned.

Greg Peterson
Your Urban Farmer
May 2016

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This post was written by Marjory

COMMENTS(15)

  • Joanne says:

    His sign up page has a problem. Only top half visible and unable to move it up to complete form.

    1. Michael Ford says:

      Hi Joanne – Can you try loading the page in a different browser? Let us know if that works for you. Thanks – Michael

  • Debra says:

    This is to leave a comment about today’s email about the non food chemicals that are proliferously placed in our packaged foods.
    I am 70 years old, and this garbage began many years ago when I was a young teenager. On Sunday evenings, the entire family would gather in front of the TV to watch a good, family friendly show called “The DuPont Hour” they had a little saying in their commercials, and I remember it like it was yesterday. They programmed us while we watched TV with their slogan, “Better Living Through Chemicals” OMG! Look what happened to us! Just sayin’ they knew what they were doing over 50 years ago, and we fell for it hook, line, and sinker!

  • Elmer says:

    I tried to sign up but the sign up page would not move and there was no place to submit.

    1. Michael Ford says:

      Hi Elmer – Do you have another browser you can try? Thanks – Michael

  • Michael says:

    The registration site isn’t working. It loads too low on the page to fill it in and when you try to move it up it disappears. Wanted to register for the first@ 6 pm. It wouldn’t let me do it.
    Thank you.

    1. Michael Ford says:

      Hi Michael – Can you try loading the page in a different browser? Let us know if you’re still having trouble – Thanks!

  • katie says:

    have tried to register for webinar but sign on page is not displaying properly – it is cutting off half the page so I can put in my name and e-mail, and just barely choose the 11 am pacific time (which happens to be my choice as I am in the UK – but that’s it -can’t get any further w/ the sign up process. what should I do?
    thanks
    katie

    1. Michael Ford says:

      Hi Katie – Can you try loading the page in a different browser? We’re also going to try to get a recorded version of the webinar up – I’ll let you know.

  • Deaette Dwyer says:

    I have tried multiple times to sign up for the free webinar with no success. It wont let me register 🙁

    1. Michael Ford says:

      Hi Deaette – Several other people are having trouble with the page too. Can you try to open it using a different browser?

  • Liboriopsych says:

    The times are, for the east coast, 8am and 3pm… Those are impossible times… Work; 9 to 5, kids, school and after school activities, traffic, errands, etc… Would a 24 hour, “stream at your own convenience”, work better? Even a 12 hour; noon to midnight event? I’m sincerely sorry I’ll have to miss it, and can’t afford to buy it, when it comes out on DVD.

    1. Michael Ford says:

      Hello – Let me ask Greg if we can get a recorded version to share after the live events are over…

      1. Liboriopsych says:

        Thank You.

  • Corky says:

    I signed up but when I went to listen it said I had the wrong address. How can I hear and or see this webinar? Thanks corky

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