Alan LePage has been an organic vegetable gardener in central Vermont for over thirty years–long before anyone cared much about organic farming–long, long before words like ‘sustainable’, ‘local’, ‘artisinal’ started being used, ad nauseam. His family has farmed the same piece of land since the civil war. Alan is also an expert mushroom forager, mentor, activist and philosopher. He has a voracious mind and he’s impossible to categorize, except perhaps as an event. I had to interview him twice. I hope you enjoy this interview. I sure did.
You can hear Alan LePage every Sunday morning on WGDR, 91.1, from 6:00 – 9:00 AM. The show is called The Curse of the Golden Turnip. You’ll hear music, and endlessly great advice and stories about agriculture, foraging, and agricultural policy.
[Amazing] photos are by Josh Larkin. Link to more of his work below.
Possibly Related Episodes
LINKS
| Josh Larkin Photography |
| WGDR |
EPISODE MUSIC
| TRACK NAME | ARTIST |
| The New Year | The New Year |
| Jesse Atkins | Jesse Atkins |
Loved it! Anxious to tryagainnext year, to overcome drought then flood and then try again…it is the joy of the first blossom or fruit that brings you back. Yea Alan!
A wonderful episode. I wonder if we can get his radio show in Burlington.
He’s a very special guy, and a lucky one. Thanks for the additional pictures, by the way (Josh).
How many of us find the very thing we were meant to do? Clearly, Alan had farming in his blood before he went off to the big city to try something else but the something else didn’t feed his soul. Happily he recognized this and returned to the farm that informed his purpose in life.
What a beautiful interview. There’s a trove of wisdom intimated here. Thanks, Erica, for your insightful and gifted work. Thanks, Alan, for sharing what matters to you, with all of us. You should trust we’re all made better by it.
Kris
Stories. Life is about stories, and the gift of hearing others tell them. Alan LaPage is a farmer, a philosoper, and a story of Vermont, life and us. Thank you Erica for this show. It was fabulous!
Alan is one of my favorite people in the world. I was blessed to work with him for years in the early 90’s and I’m still so grateful for his wisdom… it goes far beyond gardening!
I know I’m about 9
Years late getting to the party on this interview but listening to Alan really blew my mind in a beautiful way. I didn’t want the 40 minutes to end. His passion & wisdom shouted out to me across the seas to the Middle East. Listening to Rumble Strip has made me feel like Vermont is the richest & deepest place in the world!
Alan is amazing. I should go back and talk with him again. In fact I should drag Forrest Foster over to Alan’s and record a conversation btw the two of them because they both know so much about soil. I love hearing passionate people talk about soil.