Bonus episode! I was recently invited as a guest on the Slow Food podcast. Slow Food is a global movement dedicated to preserving food biodiversity, supporting small-scale farmers, and connecting people to their food traditions. Being asked to join their conversation was truly an honor.
In this episode with Valentina, I share my journey through 20 years of working on farms and gardens around the world, the spiritual and physical connection we have with soil, and those transformative wow moments that happen when we open ourselves to nature.
We also discuss ancient practices like holding seeds in your mouth before planting - something I dive deeper into with my next guest, Michael Kotutwa Johnson, a 250th generation Hopi farmer and University of Arizona professor. That episode comes out next week on January 30th - stay tuned!
TIMESTAMPS
02:58 - First memory: pulling a carrot at age 4
04:30 - Light bulb moment in the pea field
06:20 - Building community through food
08:36 - Hare Krishna farm in Hawaii
10:30 - Spraying pesticides: the moment that changed everything
12:15 - Wow moments and spiritual connection to nature
20:05 - The chemical connection between body and soil
23:00 - Holding seeds in your mouth before planting
25:47 - Practical gardening tips for beginners
28:53 - Why I started Gardens of Earthly Delight
31:00 - How local farmers led to Italian citizenship
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