235: Colin Walker on Keys to Growing Nutrient-Rich Food.

Connecting important ecology-centered concepts for producing nutrient dense food.

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Colin grew up in a rural community near Auckland, New Zealand, and learned the basics of growing by helping his grandfather maintain a small flower market garden.  Initially, he went to college to study economics, however after some course changes, he turned to interests a little closer to his roots.  He got involved in and has had leadership roles in several areas of natural agriculture including establishing the Permaculture Institute of New Zealand, taking on advisory and advocacy roles for seed preservation with independent & government organizations, and even served as a national coordinator of a National Organic Advisory Programme.

Colin’s concentrations have been on permaculture, ecology centered design, seed preservation, conservation of traditional/heirloom food plants, garden education and most recently investigating (from an ecology perspective) the essential elements needed to guarantee that the food we grow is actually nutrient-rich.

In This Podcast: 

Previous guest Colin Walker goes further into ecology-centered concepts and describes the key points he has developed to focus on growing better foods.  He has taken years of experience, research, and study and compiled it into six key focal points that will help any gardener or farmer produce healthier, more nutrient rich foods.

Listen in and learn about:

• A review of ecology-centered gardening
• Coping with the toxicity in the world today
• Why the skin of many fruits and vegetables are so full of anti-oxidants
• The assumption on the nutrients in food, the truth of which has changed over the last five or six decades
• How obesity is a symptom of malnutrition
• His concerns about industrial food production, including those grown organically
• Kiwi Gardeners

The six keys that he developed to help grow nutrient-rich food:

1. 1. An ecological view of the world
   2. Genetics
      –How home gardeners can make an impact
      –Open pollenated seeds and why it makes a difference
   3. Nutrients and their movement through the Food Chains
      –Nutrients don’t appear out of the air
      –Commercial compost and what value it has shown through tests to offer
      –Soil life
   4. The environment
      –Photosynthesis
      –Minerals and phytonutrients
      –Water
   5. Using holistic, integrated design
      –Constantly evolving
      –Break into parts to see the relationships
   6. On-going experimenting/research/learning
      –The gardeners journey
      –Bucket science
      –The new gardening community

How to reach Colin:

Website: KiwiGardeners.com

 UrbanFarm.org/KiwiKeys

Check out our other interview with Colin:
Gardening with Ecology at its Heart