Zero Input Agriculture

Damon Zumbroegel left behind a successful career in architecture in the USA to find the living roots of civilisation in rural Burma and the mountains of Nepal. We discuss how he inspired the locals to revive an exhausted piece of land on the banks of the mighty Irrawaddy river, the design principles behind monasteries and high end hotels, and the diverging fates of Nepal (whi...

In my second solo episode I explore the potential for floating aquatic plants to produce staple carbohydrates, fat and protein in a way that could create a new kind of integrated agricultural package. I also had fun imagining the impact these crops could have in a warm and watery corner of the world in the not too distant future.

What novel domestications should I explo...

Tanja Eskildsen fell in love with plants in chilly Denmark but unleashed their potential through low-input experimental farming on the sunny island of Majorca. We retrace her path learning to trial, select and breed crops for her challenging soil and extreme climate.

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Peter Watts is a notorious science fiction author with a fascination of the outer edges of biology, fractured minds and a taste for the dark and confronting. We dive into the lessons the living world and our own nature can teach us when contemplating the destiny of this civilisation, our species and the fate of the planet.

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Associate Professor Ryan Huish is an experienced ethnobotanist with experience in both North America and the South Pacific, who also runs his own experimental low input farm in the mountains of Appalachia. We explore the lessons from historical and traditional cultures' relationships to plants and landscapes and how that has influenced his own efforts to develop a truly susta...