In this episode, Rue Genger interviews Kevin Anderson and Annelie Livingston-Anderson to learn about the reduced tillage systems they use to produce vegetables and flowers at Good Turn Farm, in Pepin County Wisconsin. Kevin and Annelie share their favorite low-tillage production systems, benefits they’ve seen for soil health, and advice for growers who are getting started with reduced tillage methods. We also hear about the Johnson-Su composting bioreactor that Kevin and Annelie are trialing with the Land Stewardship Project.

In this episode, Rue Genger and Liz Dwyer of Dancing the Land, Clearwater Minnesota, mix philosophy and practicality into their conversation about farming, food, and caring for the land. Liz describes the evolution of the several different reduced tillage systems that she and her partner Curtis use on their land, how their livestock are integrated into annual production systems, and the importance of adaptability and observation in developing systems for your farm.

Deep compost mulch systems are gaining popularity among vegetable growers who want to reduce tillage. In this episode, Rue Genger interviews Jimmy Bauman about the deep compost mulch systems used at Farm Farm in Princeton Minnesota. Jimmy describes the path he and his partner Heather have taken to reduce tillage, build soil organic matter, and refine their deep compost mulch system for vegetable production.

In this episode, Natalie interviewed Meg McGrath, a plant pathologist from Cornell, and Jim Jasinski, IPM coordinator at Ohio State University, about using biofumigation to manage soilborne diseases. We discuss how it works and tips for growers who want to try it on their farms.

In this episode we talk to Anna Testen and Bob Philbrun, from Ohio, about a method for directly competing with and destroying soil diseases by encouraging a special group of microbiology, called anaerobes. Like day shift and a night shift clocking in and out, the anaerobes rule with oxygen is removed from the soil, leaving behind a tilthy planting medium wither fewer plant disease-causing pathogens.

How do we build organic matter on farms without over-fertilizing our soils? And what are realistic goals for increasing organic matter? In this episode, Natalie Hoidal interviews Dr. Nic Jelinski, a soil scientist at the University of Minnesota. They talk about soil formation, how organic matter accumulates in soil, broadening our metrics for soil health, and how different practices like compost additions and cover crops contribute to organic matter in the longer-term.

Across the Great Lakes region, we see vegetable farms with very high levels of soil phosphorus. In this episode, Natalie Hoidal interviews four ecologists who study nutrient leaching in freshwater ecosystems to understand how much it matters for vegetable farms to have high phosphorus levels in their soils, and what we can do about it.

High tunnel crops often look great for the first few years, but as tunnel soils begin to build up salts and alkalinity, we begin to see plant health problems around years 3-5. In this episode, Natalie Hoidal interviews Dr. Elsa Sanchez and Thomas Ford from Penn State about trends they've seen in high tunnel soils, and strategies for dealing with common problems.

Ben Phillips interviews three university researchers about corn and bean pests at the Great Lakes EXPO, in Grand Rapids, MI. Originally recorded December 7, 2021.

Ben Phillips interviews three operations that engage in upick agritourism at the Great Lakes EXPO, in Grand Rapids, MI. Originally recorded December 8, 2021.