Lisa Munniksma

Hobby Farms Presents: Growing Good is a twice-monthly podcast about small-scale farmers who are also working in the food system. I interview folks involved with building a local fibershed, introducing kids to farming, dismantling stereotypes, educating others and opening new market opportunities for more small-scale food producers.

Kevin Espiritu's new book, Epic Homesteading, instructs readers how to build a modern, high-tech homestead on a modest urban lot—or anywhere they may be living. I was contributing editor for this 2024 release.

There’s hardly a city, town, or suburb that doesn’t include a subdivision or shopping complex named after the farm that once stood there. Protecting open space is an imperative for all land owners. This article talks about conservation easements with private land trusts as one way to do that.

This video, produced for the University of Kentucky Community and Leadership Development Extension Department, highlights the work of Dr. Julie Zimmerman, of the Department of Community and Leadership Development and the Department of Sociology.

This is one of the first personal essays I've had published, showcasing the creative-nonfiction nature essays I've been working on thanks to a Kentucky Foundation for Women Artist Enrichment Grant.

I take the other side of the desk in this interview with Holly and Chrisie on the Coffee with the Chicken Ladies podcast. We talk about the Hobby Farms Presents Growing Good Podcast, food systems, the state of small farming, giant chickens in Belgium and more.

Woodstoves are among the least expensive forms of home heating, enabling self-sufficiency and comfort that other heat sources don’t provide. They’re not without their share of work, and even the most seasoned woodstove users will run into operation issues now and then. This article summarizes four common woodstove problems and their fixes.

CSA is community supported agriculture, a partnership between farmer and consumer. Consumers—called shareholders or members—pay upfront for a share of the season’s farm products. The intention is for members to share in the risks and the rewards of farming. If the farmer has a great year, shareholders get an abundance. If the farmer has a less-great year, shareholders might receive less. If CSA makes sense for vegetable producers, why not chicken keepers, too? In this article, learn the basics of egg CSAs and decide whether this could help your hens pay for themselves.

Curious about heating with wood? Here's what you should know, from buying a woodstove to installation requirements and more.

This video, produced for the University of Kentucky Community and Leadership Development Extension Department, highlights the work of Dr. Kenneth Jones, Director of Program and Staff Development for the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service and Extension Professor in the Department of Community and Leadership Development.

Root vegetables are among the stars of the farm as the weather turns cooler. Our summer vegetables—tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, peppers—are only designed by nature to grow in summer. It’s pretty great that nature designed other plants to feed us during other parts of the year. Here's what to expect from an organic farm in Kentucky.

This video, produced for the University of Kentucky Community and Leadership Development Extension Department, highlights the work of Daniel Kahl, Ph.D.