Tending Seeds: Adventures in Gardening, Homesteading, and Herbalism

Sara Neil
  • 5.0 (60)
  • Home & Garden

Follow along on our journey of living off-grid on our 42 acre homestead in western Colorado as well as running a regenerative herb farm and creating seasonal herbal products to meet the needs of our community. Other topics discussed will include planning and goal setting for your best life, the importance of community building, and tons of DIY projects for the farmstead. Help keep the show going by checking out our online farm store at NordicFoxFarm.com. We appreciate your support so, so much!

  1. 2d ago

    Regenerative Living with Joanna Sweeney

    Hey there, and happy fall! Things here are as busy as ever but I'm happy to report we survived another season of farmers markets! Now we have a little two week lull before we jump into holiday markets so we're trying to rest and reset and start gearing up for those. You guys know it never really stops around here so even though some things have wrapped up, there are always another half dozen things clamoring to take their place on our calendars and to do lists. As we wrap up this growing season, it's always nice to do some reflection on how things went and think about adjustments we want to make for the future. One thing we've been talking about the past couple of months is how to build more rest and downtime into our schedule in an effort to find more balance in our lives. And this actually segways really nicely into the interview I'm sharing with you today! My guest today is Joanna Sweeney. Joanna is a farm-ess, performing artist and lecturer at the Atlantic Technological University (ATU), Sligo Ireland. Her newest book, Wildcrafting Pathways: Transformative Wisdom for a Regenerative Lifestyle is a practical and philosophical roadmap for those craving simplicity, freedom, and a deeper connection to nature through sustainable living. Wildcrafting Pathways is a cumulation of the last 25 years of teaching, studying, reading, attending courses, self-directed learning, Joanna's own life experiences as well as many interactions through philosophical conversations & interviews within eco and regenerative movements globally.  I absolutely loved this book and it has stirred up a lot of interesting conversations for us here at the farm about how we're structuring our lives now as well as planning for our future. One of the biggest things that pulled me towards homesteading and farming was a desire for a simpler and slower life, but that hasn't turned out to be our reality and we seem to just go nonstop. This book was a good reminder to reassess back to our initial priorities and get back to our initial principles. I hope you enjoy what Joanna has to share today and that you'll pick up her book so that you can dive in further! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Connect with Joanna: Visit Joanna's website Find Joanna on Instagram Get her book! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Our farm shop is full of goodies for you! Grab a jar of our Pumpkin Pie Spice Seasoning to win at holiday baking :) Want to get stocked up on tea for winter? Get 20% off all teas when you buy 4 or more bags (mix and match for as many types as you like). Use code TEATIME at checkout. Follow Nordic Fox Farm on: Instagram * Facebook * TikTok Coming through Hotchkiss, Colorado? Swing by our in-person farm store at 148 E Bridge St!  Thank you for your support of the podcast! Please share it with a friend so we can reach more like-minded people.

  2. Oct 1

    Hunting for Food and Freedom with Christie Green

    Hey friends! I hope you've had a great summer! We have been busybusybusy but we are still here and I have some awesome interviews headed your way! Today's interview is with Christie Green, the author of Moonlight Elk: One Woman's Hunt for Food and Freedom. Christie is a landscape architect, artist, clothing designer, and sole proprietor of radicle – a design-build firm that combines landscape, art, ecology, and activism. She lives on her homestead in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Moonlight Elk is a collection of deeply personal essays sharing Christie's experiences across many areas and eras of her life, but the common through line are the stories of her hunting adventures. Christie writes with such a wonderful voice and in such a compelling way; you truly feel like you are right alongside her on so many of the pages. In our conversation today, Christie shares what first pulled her towards wanting to learn to hunt and how it felt like a natural progression from already growing much of her own food in her garden. She shares about working at a hunting lodge in Alaska and then getting to go on her first hunts in the Southwest. We talk about the big leap of transitioning from hunting with others to hunting alone, and how vitally important having that time by herself has become. We also talk about the return home after a hunt and the shared community that often sprouts up to honor a successful hunt. And Christie shares some of the future hunting experiences she still hopes to have. This is one of my favorite conversations that I've had here on the podcast. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. ~*~*~*~*~*~ Connect with Christie Green: Visit Christie's website Find Christie on Instagram Resources mentioned in the episode: All the Powerful Invisible Things by Gretchen Legler Search for your state's department of game and wildlife and/or parks department, for opportunities to learn how to hunt Women on the Wing (part of Pheasants Forever) ~*~*~*~*~*~ Our farm shop is full of goodies for you! Grab a jar of our Pumpkin Pie Spice Seasoning to win at holiday baking :) Want to get stocked up on tea for winter? Get 20% off all teas when you buy 4 or more bags (mix and match for as many types as you like). Use code TEATIME at checkout. Follow Nordic Fox Farm on: Instagram * Facebook * TikTok Coming through Hotchkiss, Colorado? Swing by our in-person farm store at 148 E Bridge St!  Thank you for your support of the podcast! Please share it with a friend so we can reach more like-minded people.

  3. Apr 15

    Growing Seedlings and Running Plant Sales w Marla Alexander

    Hey friends! I'm super excited to have my friend and fellow herbalist, Marla Alexander, on the show today! In addition to running an herbal seed library, Marla has been growing plant starts for bigger and bigger plant sales every year for quite a while now. She currently organizes a large Denver-based plant sale every spring and coordinates growing lists for three different growers that provide the plants for that sale. Today we'll dive into Marla's tips and tricks and she'll share TONS of knowledge and advice for how to make sure your plant sale is successful. This is a great potential way to make a little sidehustle income for your homestead, or to just deepen your community connections by offering plants to neighbors, community gardens, etc. In the past, doing a small spring and/or fall plant sale has been an easy way to at least cover the cost of our farm's seed order for the year. Also, after we finished recording the episode, Marla reached out with one more piece of advice for the planning/prep portion of the episode: she suggested having signage for each species of plant being offered, if possible with photos included of the mature plants, to help people visualize what they will look like after growing. Marla said to make sure to laminate your signs for easy re-use the following year! This is especially great because it lets more introverted folks get the info they need without having to talk to you, and it leaves you free to focus on helping people with sales! It might be a bit of work on the front end, but they're reusable so you'll just have to add new signs for any new plants you add to your grow list the next season :) ~*~*~*~*~*~ Connect with Marla on Instagram The herb seed library that Marla started! The plant labels that Marla recommended in the episode. ~*~*~*~*~*~ Our farm shop is full of goodies for you! If seasonal allergies are getting you down, I'd highly suggest our Green Spiral Tea! SPRING TEA SALE!!! Get 20% off all teas when you buy 4 or more bags (mix and match for as many types as you like). Use code TEATIME at checkout. Follow Nordic Fox Farm on: Instagram * Facebook * TikTok Coming through Hotchkiss, Colorado? Swing by our in-person farm store at 148 E Bridge St!

  4. Mar 21

    Latine Herbalism with Josie Castaneda

    Hey friends! Spring is in full swing and we're making lots of headway on some big projects, like our greenhouse build! Today I'm excited to bring you an interview with Ioselleve "Josie" Castaneda, a modern-day curandera or practitioner of Mexican Folk Herbalism. She is the author of Latine Herbalism: A Beginner's Guide to Modern Curanderismo, Healing Plants, and Folk Traditions of the Americas. ~*~*~*~*~*~ Connect with Josie at Curandera Remedies or on Instagram Get a signed copy of Latine Herbalism. Also mentioned in the episode: Episode 61 – Italian Folk Healing with Jill Fazio ~*~*~*~*~*~ Our farm shop is full of goodies for you! If seasonal allergies are getting you down, I'd highly suggest our Green Spiral Tea! Follow Nordic Fox Farm on: Instagram * Facebook * TikTok Coming through Hotchkiss, Colorado? Swing by our new in-person farm store at 148 E Bridge St! We'd love to see you and have a chat over a cup of tea! Use code PODCAST25 at checkout to save 10% on everything in the farm shop!

  5. Feb 13

    2026 Homestead and Herb Farm Goals

    Hey friends! As promised, we're kicking off our 2026 episodes by diving into our goals for both our homestead and our herb farm! We got really focused when writing up our goals for the year and cut the size of our goal list to about a third of what it's been in prior years. In 2026 we are really honing in only on the projects that will truly move our off-grid homestead and farm forward in big ways. Mike and I are super excited about what we have planned for this coming year, and if we truly knock the majority of it off the list then we will be extremely happy campers! We'd love to hear about your big goals for this year as well -- drop us a line on social media if you're so inclined :) ~*~*~*~*~*~ Our farm shop is full of goodies for you! We've got all the great things for winter health -- our Winter Wellness tea, elderberry tincture, elderberry syrup kits, and our broth bags for delicious soups! Coming through Hotchkiss, Colorado? Swing by our new in-person farm store at 148 E Bridge St! We'd love to see you and have a chat over a cup of tea! Use code PODCAST25 at checkout to save 10% on everything in the farm shop! You can follow us on Instagram and Facebook.

  6. 12/30/2025

    2025 Wrapped

    Hey friends! We hope your holidays were great and that you're getting as excited for 2026 as we are. Before we close out this chapter, I wanted to share a wrap-up episode of all the cool challenges and projects that we took on in 2025! It was a super eventful year that saw a TON of growth for us, both on our homestead and for our farm business. I can't wait for next year! Stay tuned in January to hear about our plans and goals to make 2026 even more amazing ~*~*~*~*~*~ Our farm shop is full of goodies for you! We've got all the great things for winter health -- our Winter Wellness tea, elderberry tincture, elderberry syrup kits, and our broth bags for delicious soups! Coming through Hotchkiss, Colorado? Swing by our new in-person farm store at 148 E Bridge St! We'd love to see you and have a chat over a cup of tea! Use code PODCAST25 at checkout to save 10% on everything in the farm shop! You can follow us on Instagram and Facebook. Consider leaving us a positive rating and review -- it really helps! And please share the podcast with a friend so we can reach more fantastic like-minded people!! 3

  7. 06/04/2025

    Market Vending Tips with Sara and Mike

    Today Mike and I are talking about some of the big things we've learned over the last few years of vending at various farmers markets, festivals, craft fairs, and other events. We hope you'll find a lot of useful info here that you can use to level up your own market experience!! Some of the areas we dive into include: -things to think about when choosing markets (and when to leave a market behind) -tips and tricks for making your booth stand out to customers -reducing friction for your customers (aka making it easy for them to buy from you) -improving customer interactions We'd love to do another follow-up episode, so please reach out to us if you have questions you'd like us to answer, or if you have market vending tips that you'd like to share with our audience! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Our farm shop is full of goodies for you! Grilling season is upon us and we have TONS of amazing seasonings and smoked salts to upgrade your meals. I'd highly suggest our smoked garlic salt and/or smoked jalapeno salt for your burgers, and our herbs de provence for some amazing grilled veggies. Coming through Hotchkiss, Colorado? Swing by our new in-person farm store at 148 E Bridge St! We'd love to see you and have a chat over a cup of tea! Use code PODCAST25 at checkout to save 10% on everything in the farm shop! You can follow us on Instagram and Facebook. Consider leaving us a positive rating and review -- it really helps! And please share the podcast with a friend so we can reach more fantastic like-minded people!! 3

  8. 04/30/2025

    Mushroom Foraging with Whitney Johnson

    Hey friends! My guest today is Whitney Johnson, also known as the Appalachian Forager. She's here to talk about her beautiful new book, Go Forth and Forage, which is all about mushroom foraging. We dive into some of the common misconceptions about mushrooms, how to go about identifying mushrooms properly, the debate about whether we should cut or pluck when harvesting, and lots of other hot shroomy topics. Whitney also shares some knowledge about how learning tree identification can really help you when out mushroom hunting and we talk a little bit about other foraging adventures and the joys of seasonal eating. I loved this convo with her and I think you will too! Connect with Whitney: Website - Facebook - Instagram ~*~*~*~*~*~ Our farm shop is full of goodies for you! We have four new teas -- Strength, The Sun, The Moon, and The Star. The Moon is our first caffeinated tea, with a white tea base plus cornflowers, butterfly pea flowers, and more! And The Sun is perfect for this warmer weather, with hints of orange peel and hibiscus. Coming through Hotchkiss, Colorado? Swing by our new in-person farm store at 148 E Bridge St! We'd love to see you and have a chat over a cup of tea! Use code PODCAST25 at checkout to save 10% on everything in the farm shop! You can follow us on Instagram and Facebook. Consider leaving us a positive rating and review -- it really helps! And please share the podcast with a friend so we can reach more fantastic like-minded people!! 3

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About

Follow along on our journey of living off-grid on our 42 acre homestead in western Colorado as well as running a regenerative herb farm and creating seasonal herbal products to meet the needs of our community. Other topics discussed will include planning and goal setting for your best life, the importance of community building, and tons of DIY projects for the farmstead. Help keep the show going by checking out our online farm store at NordicFoxFarm.com. We appreciate your support so, so much!

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