Episode 7: Monica Clark

Episode 7: Monica Clark

Author: Hobby Farms June 4, 2021 Duration: 31:40

Hear from Dig This! radio show host and book author Monica Clark about her work to dispel the myths surrounding food access. Monica speaks honestly about her experience of job loss and homelessness in Seattle and how growing her own food in a community garden sustained her during this time. Listen to an excerpt from Monica's book, "Mentor the Garden Mentor: A 12-Month Gardening Curriculum for Low-Income/Ethnic/Marginalized Communities and the Organizations the Serve Them." 

Monica also tells us about using her own experience of shopping for food with SNAP/EBT (formerly known as food stamps) to help farmers accept SNAP dollars, the same as they would a credit card or debit card. Hear about the nonprofit Cooperative Gardens Commission's founding during the pandemic and the work they've done to help people get started gardening, including establishing and supporting more than 250 seed hubs! 

Be sure to listen to the end of the podcast for the No. 1, most important, gardening advice Monica can offer, which she's polished through decades of experience in gardening across the US.

Monica Clark on Instagram

Dig This! radio program (Saturdays, 2-4 pm Central)

Mentor The Garden Mentor book

Cooperative Gardens Commission


At the heart of Hobby Farms Presents: Growing Good are the conversations that happen over a fence line or at a farmers market, translated into audio. This podcast lives in the space where a personal passion meets practical purpose, featuring the voices of those who cultivate small plots, raise a few animals, or run a sustainable micro-farm. Host Lisa Munniksma doesn’t just interview her guests; she gets into the dirt with them, uncovering the personal journeys that led to a life rooted in the land. You’ll hear how a simple hobby evolved into a thriving side business, how families connect through daily chores, and how these growers are building resilience within their local communities far beyond the harvest. The discussions are grounded in real experience, tackling the challenges of soil health, animal husbandry, and market creativity alongside the profound satisfactions of self-reliance and stewardship. It’s a series for anyone who has ever felt the pull to grow something, whether that’s a backyard tomato plant or a fledgling farmstead business, offering relatable stories and tangible insights from people who are actually doing the work. Tune in for honest talk about the failures, the triumphs, and the quiet motivations that keep this community planting seeds season after season.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 88

Hobby Farms Presents: Growing Good
Podcast Episodes
Episode 88: Mike Ghia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:03
Learn about Mike's family's farming heritage, which came to the US from Italy with his great-grandfather and how Mike grew up with a more diverse farm experience than most of us. Mike's early start in farming served him…
Episode 87: Ron Bittner [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:18
Entomologist and farmer Ron Bittner talks pollinators and soil health This conversation with Ron Bittner will help you make the connection between crop pollination, water conservation and soil health in a way you probabl…
Episode 86: Panha Suon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:41
Cambodian agroecology educator Panha Suon talks with Hobby Farms Presents: Growing Good podcast host Lisa Munniksma about farming in Cambodia, from climate to crops and the challenges that farmers are facing there. Liste…
Episode 85: Lewis Hughes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:17
Lewis Hughes, land steward and local-food distribution pro Hear about Lewis Hughes's journey into farming, from conventional pig and corn farms to international agricultural research to organic farming and cooperative fa…
Episode 84: Nasuha Lenuh [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:24
Small-scale farmer and entrepreneur Nasuha Lenuh — nicknamed R — talks about the tree crops grown in her region, the southern part of Thailand. Hear about her family's tree crops, from rubber to durian fruit, and how R h…
Episode 83: Melissa Stewart [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:02
Military service members and veterans farming program and aeroponic gardening with Melissa Stewart Listen to Melissa Stewart's story about the West Virginia National Guard's Patriot Guardens program — the only agricultur…
Episode 82: Jenny Howard Owen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:12
Flexibility in farming, connecting with the natural world, and the Organic Association of Kentucky with Jenny Howard Owen In this episode of Hobby Farms Presents: Growing Good, listen to Jenny's story of her love of farm…
Episode 81: Robert Frew & Juan Carlos Arango [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:40
The hazards of grants, letting vegetable plants go to seed and lessons in water rights with Robert Frew and Juan Carlos Arango Robert and Juan Carlos practice permaculture and a culture of sharing at Sobremesa Farm, just…
Episode 80: Sara Wittenberg [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:51
Sara Wittenberg on Pollinators and How to Build a Pollinator Garden Pollinator Week is June 17-23, 2024. Without pollinators, we wouldn't have food, making pollinators an essential link in the food system. You, as a gard…
Episode 79: Pattie Baker [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:29
Pattie Baker talks about WWOOFing — traveling to work on farms — gardening and finding hope. Hear about how 9/11 spurred Pattie on to start gardening, from zero interest to a need to plant a seed in the name of hope. She…