Hothouse artwork

Hothouse

54 episodes - English - Latest episode: 11 months ago - ★★★★★ - 32 ratings

Hothouse is a podcast about design, ecology, and the way we garden now. Host Leah Churner sits down with experts and enthusiasts to talk about permaculture, the urban landscape, and how plants sometimes give us the feels. A meeting of the minds for plant people and the horticulture-curious, Hothouse is a different kind of gardening show: less of the how-to and more of the who, what, where, when, and why.

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Episodes

Horticulturati: The Phosphorus Paradox (Part 1)

May 07, 2023 20:58 - 1 hour - 101 MB

On this episode, we’re tackling Phosphorus – an element, crucial to life on earth, which exists in both abundance and scarcity. We cover how humans got hooked on P fertilizers, the political and environmental impacts of mining and pollution, and what might be done about it.  Mentioned in this episode:  City of Austin Algae Mitigation;Toledo Junction Coalition Interview; Points North Podcast; US EPA explanation of phosphorus processing waste product storage; Florida Public Radio story...

Horticulturati: The Multilayered Magic of Sheet Mulch

March 25, 2023 14:36 - 1 hour - 98.3 MB

On this episode, we’re gettin’ down and dirty with sheet mulch. Sheet mulching is a no-till, no-dig gardening practice of removing unwanted vegetation and building fertile soil by layering organic matter and letting it compost in place. While the layers suppress weeds by blocking sunlight, subterranean soil biology goes to work to break down the layers into new soil. The beauty of this simple practice is that you can do it at any time of year with materials you have on hand (like cardboard, ...

Horticulturati: Fruit Tree Care with Susan Poizner

March 14, 2023 14:33 - 1 hour - 94.4 MB

"Fruit trees need hands-on care." That's the motto of our guest, Susan Poizner of OrchardPeople.com. Susan is an urban orchardist, teacher, journalist, and filmmaker. She is the author of Growing Urban Orchards (2014), cofounder of the Ben Nobelman Park Community Orchard in Toronto and the host of the Urban Forestry Radio podcast. She also teaches fruit tree classes on her website. Colleen was eager to interview Susan after taking her online courses. Susan gives us the basics on why fruit tr...

Horticulturati: The Art of Graphics with Lisa Nunamaker and Amy Fedele

December 23, 2022 15:51 - 1 hour - 102 MB

In this roundtable, we talk about drafting and drawing with Lisa Nunamaker, of Paper Garden Workshop, and Amy Fedele, of Pretty Purple Door, two fabulous garden educators who offer online courses in landscape graphics. Leah took courses from both instructors this year -- Lisa's Garden Graphics Toolkit and Amy's Great at Procreate.  We discuss why the fundamentals of hand-drafting remain so valuable to the design process; the role of digital design programs like AutoCAD; and how tablet apps...

Horticulturati: Thorny Common Names

November 03, 2022 13:48 - 56 minutes - 77.3 MB

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but some of the common names we use for plants downright stink! In this episode, we're diving into problematic colloquial names. Some common names are geographically misleading (“Jerusalem artichoke”); others are xenophobic, racist, or antisemitic ("wandering Jew"); while still others are an unfortunate combination of both (“Turk’s cap”).  While it's probably too much to expect everyone to start using Latin names for plants, we can adapt new c...

Seed Swap!

October 24, 2022 18:29 - 2 minutes - 3.22 MB

Attention plant lovers! Central Texas Seed Savers is hosting a Seed Swap at the Austin Central Library (710 W. Cesar Chavez St) on Saturday, October 29 from 11-1pm. This event is free and open to the public.  Bring seeds to share! Or just come get some seeds! For more info, visit https://www.centexseedsavers.org and https://library.austintexas.libguides.com/seedsandsustainability

Horticulturati: Humble History of the Flowerpot

September 03, 2022 16:29 - 1 hour - 94.5 MB

In this episode, Colleen unearths as much as she can about the largely unwritten history of plant pots. When did humans start growing plants in containers? How did innovations in materials and technology lead to the domestication of plants, plant collecting, and the growth of the nursery industry? Why are plant pots so overlooked as a facet of industrial design? (We can rattle off several iconic chair designs, but flowerpots? Not so much.) Why don’t the standardized names of nursery ...

Horticulturati: The Full Monty Don

August 05, 2022 16:41 - 1 hour - 92.3 MB

We're back with a salute to Monty Don, beloved British gardening expert, author, and fashion icon, whose infectious passion for plants is boosting our spirits through this bummer summer.  Though little known in the US, jaunty Monty is a big celebrity across the pond, as the host of the BBC's Gardener's World, Big Dreams, Small Spaces, and Around The World in 80 Gardens. With his soothing temperament and sharp insights, he's a bit like a cross between Anthony Bourdain and Mr Rogers.  We d...

Horticulturati: Conservation Design

June 12, 2022 17:31 - 1 hour - 99.7 MB

On this episode, we dive into ecologist Douglas Tallamy's books Nature's Best Hope (2019) and The Living Landscape (2014, with Rick Darke). Tallamy's work takes native plant gardening and wildlife gardening to another level by focusing not just on species diversity, but on diversity of species interaction to promote ecological conservation. According to Tallamy, "native" plants are those which have "evolved in a given place over a period of time sufficient to develop complex and essential re...

Horticulturati: Pocket Prairies with John Hart Asher

May 14, 2022 17:02 - 1 hour - 119 MB

We sat down at the picnic table with John Hart Asher, host of Central Texas Gardener and Cofounder/Senior Environmental Designer at Blackland Collaborative to talk about pocket prairies. What’s a pocket prairie? It’s a very small prairie. What’s a prairie? It’s a community of native grasses and forbs wildflowers that have evolved along with microbes, plants, and animals over millennia. This "disturbance-driven ecology" historically relied on periodic fire and low-frequency, high-intensity g...

Horticulturati: Botanical Horror!

February 19, 2022 19:12

The Horticulturati is two years old! To celebrate, Colleen announces the release of her new BOOK and Leah brings you to the dark side of the plant kingdom with sinister tales of the horticultural uncanny. Journey with us to “Flytrap Gulch,” the Alnwick Poison Garden, and a greenhouse full of googly eyes. In the words of Michael Pollan: “A garden should contain all the colors of human emotion, even the very darkest.”  Order Colleen's book here. Want to support the show and get 20% off the b...

Horticulturati: Designing for Maintenance & "The Soul of a Farmer"

January 07, 2022 16:42 - 39 minutes - 54.7 MB

Happy New Year! We’re back from vacation with a discussion of a book that is very much in the Horticulturati wheelhouse, The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden. Author Roy Diblik, a Wisconsin-based designer and plantsman, argues that anyone can build a “design-magazine-worthy garden at home” by thoughtfully combining perennials to form functional plant communities that need little more than an annual mow – almost no irrigation, mulch, or hand-pruning required. This low-maintenance method co...

Horticulturati: Growing a Vision with Barton Springs Nursery

November 30, 2021 18:35 - 1 hour - 95 MB

If you have a passion for plants, you probably love plant shopping. Our local garden centers are more than just a place to source nursery stock; they’re a designer’s trove of botanical information and inspiration. After untold hours spent perusing the grounds of Barton Springs Nursery, we finally sat down for a chat with two of the new owners, designer Amy Hovis and horticulturist Willy Glenn.  Founded in 1986 by Bernardine and Conrad Bering, Barton Springs Nursery is an Austin institution...

Horticulturati: Garden Design Part II

October 29, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 100 MB

A year ago, we recorded a long and rambly episode on garden design. Now we're making it an October tradition! Revisiting the subject, we realize our approaches to design have changed, but we're still hell-bent on questioning basic tenets. How important is color? Are foundation shrubs necessary? Should we flip the script on "seasonal interest?" Does "timesharing with plants" really work? Join us at the picnic table as we parse out some jargon (form, texture, verticality), swap tips, and get h...

Horticulturati: Dividing & Multiplying Plants

October 04, 2021 04:15 - 1 hour - 96.6 MB

When you have too many plants, it's time to make more! That's gardener logic for you. Fall is a great time to divide perennials and save seeds - but how? We dig into these methods of backyard propagation and again give you permission to be ruthless and/or lazy in the garden. Go ham on that root ball! Let the veggies bolt! Plants can handle it. Up first: Leah has a design question and Colleen scours the streaming platforms for Monty Don.  Please join the Horticulturati on Patreon!  Mentio...

Horticulturati: Cleveland and the Cuyahoga River Fires

September 02, 2021 21:59 - 1 hour - 96.9 MB

Fresh off a hometown visit to Cleveland, Colleen brings us the story of the Cuyahoga: a river once so polluted with industrial sludge, it burned. At least thirteen times. While the largest and most damaging conflagration occurred in 1952, it was the 1969 river fire that made national headlines, thanks to Mayor Carl Stokes. As one of the first Black mayors of a major American city, the charismatic and media-savvy Stokes connected the dots between economic inequality and environmental degradat...

Horticulturati: A Gardener's Guide to Honeybees (Part 2)

August 17, 2021 04:00 - 56 minutes - 77.2 MB

At long last, here's the second installment of our bee-stravaganza! Leah interviews beekeeper Tara Chapman, owner of Two Hives Honey, about the intricate connection between bees, plants, and weather. Then, your hosts discuss how to be a good steward to honeybees--and native bees and other pollinators as well. Even if you're not a beekeeper, there are many things you can do (or not do) to be a friend to the bees!  Mentioned in this episode:  Instagram's @mr.mrs.beeRescue and @theinnocentg...

Horticulturati: Gardener's Guide to Honeybees (Part I of II)

July 19, 2021 17:30 - 50 minutes - 69.7 MB

Enter the hive with us for another classic critter topic: BEES! We recorded so much on bees that we have to split this bee-nanza into a two-parter! In part one, Leah suits up for a tour at Two Hives Honey in Manor, Texas, and investigates honeybee ecology. In part two, we’ll focus on how, as a gardener, you can support our honey-making friends (along with native bees and other pollinators).  What are honeybees? Why do they live in boxes? And how did Apis mellifera, just one of tens of thou...

Beyond Permaculture with Cassiopeia Farm

June 03, 2021 21:41 - 1 hour - 94 MB

Welcome to Hothouse Season 2! If you follow any flower farmers on Instagram, the romance may be all too tempting: picture yourself quitting the city, fixing up an old farmhouse, and spending your days harvesting flowers and arranging bouquets on a ten-acre homestead. Now imagine doing that in a fire-prone, flood-prone, deer-pressured, rapidly developing portion of Austin without access to well water or an agricultural property tax exemption. Sam Eberhardt and Dan Poole are farming on the raz...

The Horticulturati: Owl Hours

April 23, 2021 16:31 - 1 hour - 90.6 MB

Springtime is owl time. Owlets be hatching. Fledglings be fledging. Owl  cams be streaming. Enter, with us, the kingdom of the night, as we celebrate these mysterious and beautiful birds. Drop us a line at www.horticulturati.com or call the Hotline at 347-WAP-HORT. Please join our Patreon!  Mentioned:  Merlin and Minerva's website, Instagram, and live Twitch stream; Austin Birds on Facebook; “Why is the owl considered a wise bird in the West and a symbol of foolishness in India?” (Tim...

Horticulturati: Hot Takes on Cold Hardiness

April 06, 2021 18:14 - 1 hour - 124 MB

We're live from Zone 8b with a tell-all about the "epistemological quandary" that is the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. What is hardiness? How is it quantifiable? And how useful is the USDA's classification system for gardeners grappling with extreme weather? Listen to find out.  First up, some tree news -- some of it shady. Last but not least, we get our first-ever call to the Horticulturati Hotline! Thank you Misti from The Garden Path Podcast for your sharing your Big Tree journeys.  ...

Horticulturati: Thawing Out

March 02, 2021 02:36 - 1 hour - 128 MB

On this Horticulturati, we return from hiatus with tales of the Snowpocalypse -- or  Snowmageddon, Snowvid, whatever you want to call it -- to document the record-breaking winter weather that broke Texas' electric grid and ushered in a scary new climate reality for the plants and people of the Lone Star State. Your hosts discuss personal trauma, a jumble of conflicting post-freeze plant advice, and a bunch of anecdotes about what worked and what didn't in preparing our gardens and ourselves ...

Virtual Flora & “Tree Lady” Margaret Hoffmann

December 23, 2020 22:03 - 1 hour - 92.8 MB

On this episode, we discuss virtual foliage, time travel, and big trees. Colleen looks into how video games might play a role in curing plant blindness, and Leah shines a light on the remarkable life and legacy of Margaret Hoffmann (1925-2012), whose 1970s “Think Trees” campaign introduced Austinites to a majestic urban forest hidden in plain sight. As a City Council member, Hoffman advocated for the preservation of heritage trees, spearheading a contest to locate our city’s biggest and old...

Virtual Flora & “Tree Lady” Margret Hofmann

December 23, 2020 22:03 - 1 hour - 92.8 MB

On this episode, we discuss virtual foliage, time travel, and big trees. Colleen looks into how video games might play a role in curing plant blindness, and Leah shines a light on the remarkable life and legacy of Margret Hofmann (1925-2012), whose 1970s “Think Trees” campaign introduced Austinites to a majestic urban forest hidden in plain sight. As a City Council member, Hoffman advocated for the preservation of heritage trees, spearheading a contest to locate our city’s biggest and oldes...

Horticulturati: Virtual Flora & “Tree Lady” Margret Hofmann

December 23, 2020 22:03 - 1 hour - 92.8 MB

On this episode, we discuss virtual foliage, time travel, and big trees. Colleen looks into how video games might play a role in curing plant blindness, and Leah shines a light on the remarkable life and legacy of Margret Hofmann (1925-2012), whose 1970s “Think Trees” campaign introduced Austinites to a majestic urban forest hidden in plain sight. As a City Council member, Hoffman advocated for the preservation of heritage trees, spearheading a contest to locate our city’s biggest and oldes...

The Horticulturati: Kate the Chemist on Chemicals in the Garden

December 14, 2020 20:47 - 1 hour - 83.2 MB

Fertilizers...oxidizers...explosions! We’re still trying to wrap our brains around Ammonium Nitrate over here, so we called on science superstar Dr. Kate Biberdorf, aka Kate the Chemist, to help us out. What is Ammonium Nitrate, and why is this volatile chemical so ubiquitous? What are the conditions that create fertilizer explosions? Is synthetic fertilizer safe? We ask these questions and more, then find ourselves back down the philosophical rabbit hole: questioning our assumptions about o...

The Horticulturati: Five Seasons Total Landscaping

November 29, 2020 18:10 - 52 minutes - 72 MB

Autumn has come to Texas at long last! To celebrate, we watched the documentary Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf (2017) by Thomas Piper, and we're now officially card-carrying Piet stans sporting Dutch accents, asymmetrical haircuts, and scythes. We discuss Oudolf’s “mathematics” of design, seasonal ambience, and the art of garden editing. How might we translate Oudolf's temperate palate to the not-so-temperate climate of central Texas? Drop us a line at horticulturati.com or a lea...

Horticulturati/One To Grow On crossover

November 07, 2020 17:25 - 58 minutes - 80.5 MB

Crossover alert! This Horticulturati episode is a twofer. In part one, we check in about the busy fall planting season over chocolate bread and mulled wine. After many months of Zooming, we’re back to in-person, social-distance recording from Colleen’s backyard! As we test out our new remote podcasting equipment, the conversation drifts from orthopedic inserts to bulb-mania to the monk parakeets of Austin. Part two is our guest appearance on an episode of another great planty podcast, One To...

Horticulturati: Garden Design

October 07, 2020 15:52 - 2 hours - 166 MB

On this mega-episode of the Horticulturati, we’re tackling garden design--our approaches, our anxieties, and our gripes about “expert” sources of mystifying advice and misleading photography. Garden design books are rife with the jargon of art theory. How well does this translate to the living medium of plants in the landscape? Google Image Search puts pictures of every plant imaginable at our fingertips, which is great...but also not so great. Hashing it out at length, we agree on some basi...

The Horticulturati: Ammonium nitrate

September 19, 2020 23:37 - 1 hour - 94.3 MB

Why are we putting explosives on our plants? On this episode, Colleen charts the history of ammonium nitrate, the synthetic fertilizer that propelled the rise of industrial agriculture in the 20th century--cheap to manufacture, but spectacularly costly in terms of lives lost. This highly explosive compound has caused some of the worst industrial accidents of all time (Oppau, 1921, Texas City, 1947, Toulouse, 2001, West, Texas, 2013, Tianjin, 2015, and Beirut, 2020) and was the terrorist weap...

The Horticulturati: Armadillos!

August 23, 2020 18:53 - 1 hour - 107 MB

Turtle rabbit. Shell possum. Roadkill. Whatever you call it, the nine-banded armadillo is a mysterious, ancient, and unfairly maligned mammal. Find out everything you ever wanted to know (and more) about this Texas icon. Leah traces the armadillo’s bizarre migratory history, its role in medical research, and its rise as a symbol of the Austin music scene. We’ll bust some armadillo myths, meet some famous champions (including naturalist Roy Bedichek and artist Jim Franklin) and discuss the in...

Horticulturati: Bad Seeds

August 08, 2020 19:38 - 31 minutes - 43 MB

Yes, it's another cross-posted episode! On this Horticulturati, we dive into the "seeds from China" story and discuss the implications and ramifications in the context of the political moment, which brings us back to an endlessly debatable question: is garden "nativism" xenophobic?  Please subscribe to the Horticulturati feed to get all the episodes! For more info or to drop us a line, visit our website.  Mentioned in this episode:  Central Texas Seed Savers; Press release from texasa...

The Horticulturati: Crap(e) Myrtles & Cushaw Squash

June 26, 2020 22:45 - 1 hour - 110 MB

Hothouse is returning from hiatus! From here on out this podcast feed will be all Hothouse, so if you want to keep hearing The Horticulturati, please subscribe to that feed HERE (for Apple Podcasts) or HERE (for Spotify).   Crape myrtles are blooming all over the place and Leah is DISGUSTED. What’s triggering this Lagerstroemiaphobia? Perhaps it's not about the crape myrtles at all, but rather the lingering demons of her past in exurban hell. Next, Colleen reports on a storied gourd that ...

Horticulturati: Compost Clues & Urban Foraging

June 08, 2020 17:31 - 1 hour - 120 MB

Please donate to The National Bail Fund Network! On this Horticulturati, Colleen teaches us the best way to build a compost pile. Leah forages far and wide and lives to tell the tale.  Visit our website for images from this episode.   Mentioned:  The City of Austin’s Home Composting Rebate Program; Mantis Compostumbler; Soil, a novel by Jamie Kornegay; The Telluride Mushroom Festival; The WIld Wisdom of Weeds by Katrina Blair; Turtle Lake Refuge in Durango CO; Stalking the Wild A...

Horticulturati: Metamorphosis & Victory Gardens

May 17, 2020 16:43 - 1 hour - 76.6 MB

On this Horticulturati, we bring you stories of adaptation and change. Leah has been studying up on butterfly holometabolism -- that is, complete metamorphosis -- with assistance from her niece, nephew, and Vladimir Nabokov. Colleen describes the history of Victory Gardens, from World War I to the present day, and outlines three ways to start a “pandemic garden” of your own. But first: we revisit the sleeper masterpiece that is the Secret Life of Plants doc (1979), which is only available in...

Horticulturati: The Mulch Episode

April 30, 2020 14:30 - 1 hour - 98.4 MB

What’s the deal with mulch? Why do we do it? Where does it come from? Mulch is a noun, a verb, and--for many--a pile of mystery. On this episode, we delve into mulch's history, weigh in on the bag vs. bulk debate, and call into question the whole dang practice. Roll up your sleeves and grab a shovel, because your hosts are here to deliver many, many cubic yards of mulch facts!  Mentioned in this episode: Austin Resource Recovery Recycling Center (currently closed due to COVID); Rodale's Ho...

The Horticulturati: Local Food & Living Soil

April 06, 2020 16:45 - 57 minutes - 79.6 MB

How is the global pandemic impacting local food systems? We interview @Hallie_Casey of Sustainable Food Center and On To Grow On podcast to find out. We discuss food supply chains, how local farmers’ markets are adapting, and who counts as “essential” workers during a Shelter in Place Order. Then we dig into a more fun topic: soil!  How do you know if your soil is healthy? What's the role of soil in regenerative agriculture? Lastly, we introduce a segment called the “Gardener’s Gauntlet,” i...

The Horticulturati: Music & Plants

March 22, 2020 17:08 - 1 hour - 101 MB

Best wishes to everyone! Here is a little plantastic escapism to entertain you. [We recorded this episode on 2/28 and added a little corona check-in intro on 3/21. Episode begins around 4:19.] Can plants “hear” music? What would plant-generated music sound like? On this episode, Leah and Colleen attend “The Secret Song of Plants,” the release party for an album of the same name by music therapist Andrea Cortez. Accompanying Andrea is cellist Henna Chou and… a pothos ivy?!?!  Join us as ...

The Horticulturati: Time-Lapse Photography & Arboriculture

March 06, 2020 19:08 - 50 minutes - 69.8 MB

How did the invention of time-lapse photography revolutionize our understanding of plants? Leah checks in with Charles Darwin and Barbara Streisand on this subject. Colleen explains how to get certified as an arborist through the International Society of Arboriculture, and brings us up to speed on some Facebook drama. But first, garden updates: it's been a bad year for the roses. Watch the time-lapse videos from the episode at ww.horticulturati.com. Email us at [email protected]. Our...

The Horticulturati: Xeriscape and the Hundredth Meridian

February 21, 2020 14:29 - 49 minutes - 67.5 MB

Shake off those umbrellas! On episode 2 of The Horticulturati, Austin-based garden designers Colleen Dieter and Leah Churner discuss  Central Texas’ mercurial climate. Specifically, the rain. And the lack thereof. Leah explains how longitude is destiny along the Hundredth Meridian (or is it the 98th?), and Colleen examines how “Xeriscape” became “Zeroscape.” But first, a garden update: Leah’s ripping out landscape fabric and Colleen has a misadventure with a skid-steer.  Email us at info@h...

The Horticulturati: Joshua Trees & Martha Stewart

February 07, 2020 14:28 - 1 hour - 87.2 MB

On the premiere episode of The Horticulturati, Austin-based landscape designers Colleen Dieter and Leah Churner discuss the majesty of Joshua Trees and the thorns of Martha Stewart. But first, it's gardeners' corner: Colleen plants an orchard for wildlife and Leah buries cardboard to build soil.   Future episodes will be posted on the Horticulturati podcast feed, so please subscribe to The Horticulturati so you don't miss an episode!  Email us at [email protected] and visit us at w...

Introducing The Horticulturati: New episode Feb 7!

February 03, 2020 10:00 - 1 minute - 864 KB

Hi Hothouse listeners! Hothouse Season 2 is still in the works, but guess what! I'm launching a spinoff podcast: The Horticulturati!  The Horticulturati is a biweekly gardening talkshow I'm cohosting with my friend, and repeat Hothouse guest, Colleen Dieter. We're a couple of "designing women" here to fill you in on the ups and downs of landscaping life and teach each other about horticultural history and sundry fun plant facts.  Episode 1 is out February 7! Please subscribe to The Horti...

Hothouse Season 2 Preview

March 12, 2019 15:31 - 3 minutes - 2.47 MB

The upcoming season of Hothouse is devoted to climate change. I'll be talking to activists, artists, farmers, and journalists about the new normal that we face in 2019. How is climate change already affecting our lives? What can we do to limit global warming? And how are each of us reckoning, in our own personal ways, with the future? Stay tuned and stay in touch! [email protected] "Belview" by C. Scott is licensed under CC BY 3.0  

Houseplant Confidential with Jane Perrone

November 15, 2018 15:41 - 53 minutes - 49.4 MB

On this episode, we’re taking an intimate look at the the most domesticated plants of all: houseplants. My guest, Jane Perrone, is a London-based journalist and the host-producer of the indoor gardening podcast On The Ledge. We’ll discuss Jane’s background, some myths and misconceptions of container gardening, and the human tendency to anthropomorphize our houseplants. At the top of the show, I’ll dive into the revealing history of the Aspidistra elatior, a houseplant once so iconic it was ...

Gone to Seed | Colleen Dieter

September 21, 2018 14:16 - 1 hour - 60.7 MB

Colleen Dieter, co-founder of the the Central Texas Seed Library, talks about how saving, swapping, and sharing seeds can help us build community, reclaim lost agricultural knowledge, and preserve crucial genetic diversity in our global food supply. Thanks to Colleen and a group of other volunteers, a seed library is coming soon to Austin’s fabulous new downtown Central Library. Here, anybody can browse and take home free, open-pollinated seeds to grow in the garden. CTSL is hosting a seed...

Nothing Natural About Capitalism (Part 2 of 2) with Ryan Rosshirt

September 17, 2018 14:05 - 56 minutes - 52 MB

In Part 2 of the series “Nothing Natural About Capitalism,” Leah talks to Austin-based activist Ryan Rosshirt about permaculture design and the challenge of building a society that supports meaningful work. Like so many Americans, Ryan was jolted into political action by the rise of Donald Trump. He quit his desk job before the 2016 election to focus full-time on canvassing for social justice and environmentalist issues. At the same time, he discovered a passion for gardening; a small vegeta...

Nothing Natural About Capitalism (Part 1 of 2)

August 22, 2018 15:50 - 40 minutes - 36.8 MB

Capitalism: Can't live with it, can't live without it! Or can we? And what is the connection between capitalism and what we eat, how we work, and who bears the impacts of climate change? For a lot of us, the ecological consequences of our economic system are clear: factory farming, algae blooms, pollinator decline, and the Trump Administration's evisceration of the EPA. What, if any, are the alternatives? In this two-part series, "Nothing Natural About Capitalism," the Starship Hothouse wi...

Conservation & Identity | Park Ranger LaJuan Tucker

July 07, 2018 05:02 - 1 hour - 68.4 MB

On this episode, we'll examine the relationship between natural history and social history. Join Leah as she sits down with park ranger LaJuan Tucker to talk about the conservation of urban wildlife, and how changing societal attitudes determine how we relate to our landscapes. LaJuan will explain how, in recent years, Austin's Parks and Recreation Department has implemented a new mandate to protect pollinator habitats, even when that means sacrificing the "manicured" look of the park in hig...

From Amaranth to Zinnias | Farmer-Florist Gretchen O'Neil

June 14, 2018 15:13 - 49 minutes - 45.5 MB

Farmer-florist Gretchen O'Neil dishes the dirt on growing cut flowers. Gretchen is the founder of Petals, Ink, a floral design studio, mobile flower truck, and women-run farm in Manor, Texas. She'll tell us about the highs and lows of the farming life -- extraordinary beauty and terrible uncertainty -- and explain how working the land has helped this New England native find a sense of seasonality in balmy Central Texas. Of course, she'll also recommend a whole bunch of varieties you can plan...

Fungal Vision | Daniel Reyes 

May 24, 2018 16:53 - 1 hour - 73.9 MB

On this episode, we venture into the strange and mysterious kingdom of fungi. Join Leah as she sits down to talk mushrooms with mycologist Daniel Reyes, the founder of MycoAlliance, a science and education company that offers classes in mushroom propagation and conducts research at an off-the-grid laboratory in a nature preserve in east Austin. Daniel is a specialist in Mycoremediation, the practice of using fungi to clean up toxic pollution.  We’ll start with some basic fungi facts (What...

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