- [Narrator] Taste Makers
was funded in part by:

(thoughtful music)

- [Announcer] It all comes down

to creating something unique.

It's important to take
pride in one's work,

and share expertise.

(thoughtful music)

Edward Jones is proud to
support the craftspeople

who define the maker movement.

(cheerful music)

- The average head of
lettuce travels 2,000 miles

to make it to your
grocery store.

So what if we wanted to
reduce the carbon footprint

of our food by growing
produce in urban farms.

In this episode of Taste Makers,

you're going to meet Matt Lebon,

who is building
permaculture foodscapes

across the City of St. Louis.

(cheerful music)

- I'm Cat Neville, and
for the past two decades

I've been telling the
story of local food.

In that time American
food culture has exploded

in tiny towns and big
cities from coast to coast.

In Taste Makers, I
explore the maker movement

and take you along for the
journey to meet the makers

who define the flavor
of American cuisine.

(thoughtful music)

You may want to
grow your own food,

but where exactly
should you begin?

Building a successful
garden takes expertise,

and so here in St. Louis,

Matt Lebon is
building permaculture
sustainable foodscapes

for everyone from churches
to chefs to schools,

and even folks just like you

who want to eat just a
little bit closer to home.

(thoughtful music)

- I would define permaculture
as nature inspired design.

It's an ethic, and it's
a design methodology.

The ethic is about
taking care of the Earth,

taking care of people
and sharing of surplus,

and the other component of that

is a lot more ecological
minded and it says,

well how is nature solving
a lot of the problems

that it has to manage?

Ultimately we have to
be ecological engineers.

We have to figure out
all the workarounds,

'cause obviously we're not
getting rid of the city,

so how do we create
the same pattern,

and permaculture is
so much about patterns

and looking at the
patterns of nature,

how do we create
patterns that mimic it

to the greatest degree possible?

I started custom
foodscaping mostly because

I felt like I had been so
interested in the food,

farming and permaculture
world, and I just felt flooded

with all of this interest
in people wanting to create

what I call, Food
Producing Landscapes.

From small raised
bed vegetable gardens

to bigger food forests

through regenerative
agriculture farms.

People needed help,
and I thought, well,

St. Louis has nobody
doing this and I feel like

this is such an opportunity
to create something new

in our community that
would address this demand

that I'm seeing for people
to have somebody who is

at the table who actually knows
about farming and gardening

when planning their
farm and garden, which,

I feel like so often is
not necessarily happening.

(cheerful music)

We are here in South
City, St. Louis, Missouri,

and we're just on a city lot

in what we call the
urban food forest.

So, 5,200 square foot lot,

that is primarily made
up of edible plants

and native flowers, rain
gardens, rainwater catchment,

and everything that
we can do to try

to live close to the land
and grow our own food

in the middle of the city.

(cheerful music)

- We're deep in the
heart of the city,

and when I think about
these types of backyards,

like a lot of you at
home probably have,

it seems like by
default, it's grass,

and a few trees and some
shrubs that you picked up

at the local store.

How long did it take
for you to build this?

This almost seems
completely daunting

to the average person to
aspire to, essentially.

- We're in year four
at this site here

and it really has
taken four years

for us to get to this point.

Like any big project,
it was a phased plan.

It starts out with,
okay, what's goal one.

In permacultures, goal one
is usually water management.

So, the very first
think we did on the site

is figure out how are we
gonna keep water on the land

and sink it in, and so,
that's why we've gotten

more and more into the
idea of rain gardens,

and rain gardens
can actually absorb

thousands of gallons of
water in a small space.

It's a hole in the ground
that fills up with water

that comes from a higher place,

whether that'd be higher up
in the landscape on a hill,

or off of a house.

So then it has a
chance to sink in.

The plants that we
plant in rain gardens

are very adept at
utilizing all that water

and helping move it through
their root systems and then

evapotranspiring it
into the atmosphere,

where we want all
that water going.

- Rather than into
the storm drains,

you're capturing that
resource and using it

for what nature intended
it to be used for.

- [Matt] Exactly, yeah.

- [Cat] So, for people
at home who want to maybe

baby step into
something like this,

what are some small
things that people can do

to start to make a difference
at their own house?

- Yeah, I think there's a
few different strategies

that make a lot of
sense for most people.

The first is thinking
about their fence edges

and just the edges
of their property.

So, think about planting some
kind of edible hedge, or,

even a linear food forest
where maybe you put in

a few fruit trees and some herbs

around those
different fruit trees.

It's so easy to grow herbs,

and it's such a
beautiful introduction

into all the flavors
and the smells

that we're used to just seeing
already appear on our dishes,

and I think that's a really
great place to get started.

- It's a good introduction.
- Mm hmm.

- [Cat] So, tell me
about this roselle plant,

because its blossoms
are pretty interesting.

- So many of the plants that
we put in are perennials,

and then when we design
these landscapes,

we put in annuals to fill
in space and look beautiful.

So the roselle is actually
a hibiscus family plant

so if you've had hibiscus tea?

- [Cat] Mm hmm.

- It makes these
gorgeous flowers.

But if you grab them
before they actually

make a huge flower, the
calix, which is the area

that kind of encases the
flower before it opens up,

in the case of roselle it's
kind of tangy and crunchy

and it lends itself well to
tea or being candied by chefs

or putting it on
all kinds of dishes.

- I mean, you can go down
the rabbit hole on just

all the different amazing
things that you could plant.

This is the kind of thing
that you could apply

no matter where you live,

no matter what your
environment is.

You just have to find
what thrives locally.

- Absolutely.

- Earth Dance is an
organic farm school

that is located right in the
heart of Ferguson, Missouri.

Matt was the farm manger
here for about five years

and he built these
permaculture orchards

that continue to
thrive and teach people

about this unique
style of agriculture.

(thoughtful music)

Give me an overview
of what you do here.

- At Earth Dance we teach
people from all walks of life

where healthy food comes from
and how to grow it themselves.

This is the oldest organic
farm west of the Mississippi

in continuous organic
production since 1883.

- [Cat] So, Matt Lebon, he
was the farm director here

for five years, and he kind of
left this lasting impression,

literally, on the school.

- Matt is deeply beloved here.

He conceived the idea for
a one acre pear orchard

to start off with
because who's growing

organic pears in the Midwest?

And, the idea expanded
and grew until

it became a dispersed orchard,

interspersed with our mixed
vegetables, all across the farm.

Over 200 fruit trees,
so many different kinds.

- Well, and I love the fact
that what he built was perennial

and it really is this kind of
legacy that he leaves behind

where you can continue
to teach people

the principles of
this type of growing

which as our resources become
more and more stretched,

water in particular,
it a way for people to

grow sustainable
gardens at home.

(thoughtful music)

So, obviously this
is a farm school,

but beyond teaching people
about organic farming practices,

what value does the farm have
particularly for Ferguson?

- I think that it
is a point of pride.

I think that being able to
say that something special

like this happens here and
it's completely the opposite

of the media image of
Ferguson, #Ferguson.

And then, we have
neighbors that come by

and pick some food sometimes.

We sell at the Ferguson
Farmer's Market.

We employ Ferguson
youth, and increasingly,

we're looking to donate
produce and partner with

other organizations in Ferguson
that are doing good work

to provide them with good food
to further their good work.

(thoughtful music)

- One of the advantages
of growing your own

is that chefs and makers
are not restricted

by what they can get from
their produce distributor.

Here at Confluence
Kombucha in The Grove,

they pull from co-owner
Julie Villarini's back yard

to supply the kitchen with
some pretty unique items,

so let's get inside
and check it out.

(cheerful music)

Tell me about your
approach to kombucha.

There are a lot of folks who
are making kombucha these days

and what makes yours a
little bit different?

- So, we make kombucha I
think in the most traditional,

authentic way possible,
very small batches,

all by hand, all done in glass,

and then we infuse the kombucha

with a lot of local ingredients.

- Which is exactly why we're
standing here, because,

not only local but actually

stuff that's coming
out of your back yard.

You bought this house in the
Shaw Neighborhood of St. Louis,

and it's a total redo.

The yard is
completely overgrown.

You had an idea of
what you wanted, but,

how to actually make
that come to life,

that's kind of what
Matt helped you with.

- [Julie] Right, we got
together and we said

what can we do to
transform this space

into things that we
could use in the kombucha

or in the restaurant.

- And so, why did you
do that at your house

and not just, you know,
work with a farmer?

Why did you want
it to be at home?

- Seeing something
from the ground up,

seeing it every
day, living with it,

seeing it transform
from a shoot to a flower

to a berry to a kombucha,
it was just something

that I felt was a
way for me to connect

and for us to connect more
deeply with our products.

- Fantastic.

You have this vegetable that
Matt planted called fuki?

- [Julie] Mm hmm.

- [Cat] So, tell me
about what fuki is.

- So, fuki is a Japanese
stemmed vegetable.

So, we use the stems to pickle.

It can also be steamed,

that's the traditional
Japanese way to make it,

but the leaves of
the fuki can be used

kind of like a banana
leaf to wrap and steam

fish or rice, things
like that, so,

when he told me that it
grows well in St. Louis,

in our climate, in our soil,

I was really excited to
have it in my back yard.

- Definitely, and now you're
able to give your customers

something totally unique

that they've probably
never had before,

and that's what I
love about it, too,

is that I think there's
a lot of fulfillment

for the person who is growing
and managing the garden.

But, you're able to
translate that to education

and more inspiration for people
who kind of like have these

a ha moments when they come
in and taste something here.

(cheerful music)

Foodscapes at a restaurant
or even in your back yard

are a no-brainer, but
what about at a school?

Here at Principia
School in St. Louis

there is a permaculture orchard

that serves as a
living classroom

and students learn about food
as well as sustainability.

(thoughtful music)

- We were doing field
trips around the area,

and we went and visited
Earth Dance farms in Ferguson

and met Matt Leban, and
he taught us all about

what permaculture is and we
were able to see and witness

permaculture
agriculture in practice.

- Principia, they
got turned on to

this idea of permaculture, and,

that led them to Earth Dance,

where they went on a field trip.

They learned more
about permaculture,

which is all about
regenerative landscapes,

and perennial plants,
unique planting schemes that

aim to both provide
food and habitat.

- Students were able to
take that information in

and essentially they came
back to class and said

we wanna build this, we
want this here on campus,

and here, we're able
to garden, essentially,

create food for
people and the planet

in a way that works
seamlessly with nature.

- I worked with them to
help find a spot on campus

that was suitable,
and it turns out that

the same kind of land
that is pretty unsuitable

for a lot of activities is very
much suitable for orchards,

which, in this case is,

sloping land that is
kind of hard to manage.

Fruit trees love growing
in those environments.

(thoughtful music)

- Why is something like this
beneficial in a school setting?

Like, why do you think
maybe other schools should

think about putting in
some sort of a garden

or a permaculture landscape?

- I think it's a really
good way of teaching kids

where their food comes from,
which might or might not

change their mind on where
they get their food from,

make them more efficient
with that, which,

I mean, it's somewhat
of a little thing but

those little things add up

and help us improve
our climate for sure.

- This orchard is
all about having

organic kind of
products for us here,

and it's really about how to
have a sustainable lifestyle

and what we can
have here and then

bring it to our kitchen to use
basically every single day.

You're not just
sitting in a classroom,

you're being hands-on
and it gets students

to be more energetic
and actually wanting

to come into that class.

- For the betterment of
humanity is what we're about

at this school and so
having students be able to

understand what the
challenges are of today

wherever they are on their
interest level is so critical,

so critical to next
steps for our world.

- And now we're stopping
by Vicia here in St. Louis.

We're gonna check
in with Tara Gallina

and talk about how this garden

supplies the kitchen
as well as the bar.

(cheerful music)

We're in the middle
of the Cortex,

the tech hub of St. Louis,

and what I love is that we
have this beautiful garden

just right over my shoulder
and it kind of serves

as this buffer between
the urban core of the city

and this amazing
farm-driven restaurant.

- Yeah, talk about bringing
it right front and center.

Our whole restaurant
philosophy is really about

celebrating local food
here in the Midwest

and particularly in St. Louis.

- [Cat] So, there's the
visual element for the guests,

but there's practical
applications too.

- We've been able to
pretty much eliminate

the bulk herb
ordering we're doing

through our bigger purveyors.

We can get basil, parsley,
thyme, rosemary, lavender,

all these awesome
very flavorful herbs.

Anise hyssop is a big
one that we use, too,

just right from outside.

The cooks get to
be a part of that,

so they get their
hands in the mix,

get to learn about
the plants also,

which I think it's nice to
get them out of the kitchen

even if it's a hot
day like today,

but to be able to
have that experience

every day is really neat.

- So, beyond the herbs, though,

you have a fig tree, you have
tomatoes, you have peppers.

Jujubes even, which are a
really cool native tree.

(cheerful music)

So, what are you guys
gonna make for us today?

- So our tomato salad is
sort of one of our key dishes

that we serve
throughout the summer.

Missouri is very famous
for awesome tomatoes,

especially when we have
this really hot weather,

and they're accentuated
by just delicious herbs

from the garden, so it's as
simple as cutting them up,

harvesting them, scattering
them all over the top

of this bowl of
marinated tomatoes

with fruits like
plums and cucumber

and just really nice and bright,

but the herbs just
make everything pop.

So, everything from mints
to basil to anise hyssop,

it's just so delicious.

- So, you use the garden
obviously in the kitchen,

but you use it behind
the bar as well

and your bar program
is very seasonal,

it's really innovative
and driven by herbs

and fruits and veggies.

- Yeah, so our
botanical beverages
menu is what we call it

and it's really just driven
by all these wonderful plants

and flowers in particular.

So, one drink that I think
surprised me the most

that we've developed is
called the straw flower,

which is something we've planted
because they're beautiful

and I thought they
would be great to use

as floral arrangements
in the restaurant,

and I didn't really think
they had a culinary value,

but it turns out our
bartender, Phil Ingram,

is very talented and he
has been harvesting them

and making a tea out of them.

- Oh, cool!

- And extracting this
really delicious flavor,

it has like a honey
quality to it,

and I never thought we
would get sort of that

second purpose out of them

and now it's almost
like this refreshing

honey iced tea cocktail
which I just love

and is beautiful and I
think is a perfect example

of how you kinda have to think
outside the box sometimes

and work with what you've got.

- Well, and I think
that's one of the things

that is so valuable
about the opportunity

to plant these kind
of foodscapes is that

you can decide
that you wanna grow

ingredients that are
kind of unique to you.

- Yeah!

- So, how did you
decide on the mix?

Did you work with Matt on
kind of designing something

or did you already know
what you wanted to plant?

- Matt really helped guide us
through this whole process,

I mean, he's so passionate
about what he does,

and when he brought us
this first rendering

of how he thought
this was gonna look

I almost didn't believe him.

It's like it can't,
this can't be possible,

and it exceeded, I think,
what we both thought

would be possible here.

(cheerful music)

- Here at Jubilee Community
Church in North St. Louis,

the garden that they built
in collaboration with Matt

feeds not only the
community spirit,

it also provides a much
needed revenue stream

for the church itself.

(thoughtful music)

- If you know anything
about North City

you know there is a lot of
land vacancy out in that area,

and Jubilee Church
is working to do

so many amazing things to
lift up that community.

One of the things
that they did recently

was purchase that
vacant plot of land

that was behind their church.

So, there's this
opportunity to transform

this barren lot
into something that

creates some real
interest in the community.

(thoughtful music)

We worked with them to actually

design and lay
out a food forest.

The beds and the
plantings were oriented

to keep water on that site,
sink it into the ground.

We are using tons of plants
that are very adept at

going deep into the
soil and breaking up

what decades of compaction
and bricks and rocks

and other things
that are in the soil.

(thoughtful music)

- What is gonna
happen with this food?

Is it going to
serve the community?

Is it going to be a revenue
stream for the church?

How does this impact you?

- It'll be a combination
of the above.

We will definitely
eat it ourselves,

as neighbors in the community
who are working in the garden.

It'll be used for some of
the outreach of the church.

We could sell to restaurants.

Actually the first part of
our harvest from the garden

a couple weeks ago got sold
over at the Food Co-op.

(thoughtful music)

- The value of having a garden
like this in the neighborhood

is that this is
technically a food desert,

people don't have access to
whole, healthy, organic foods,

and so, I bet a lot of
folks, they're probably like,

I've never seen a fig plant.

I probably never have
eaten a fresh fig.

This is giving them
access to something

they would never have the
opportunity to access otherwise.

- Absolutely.

And, it just gets you connected.

When you're picking
weeds in the garden,

or you're picking
vegetables in the garden

or out here in the orchard,
you just talk together.

That creates community.

(thoughtful music)

- I've lived in North
St. Louis my whole life.

At one time, North
St. Louis was booming.

We had everything.

Then, all of a sudden, nothing.

So, we're really a desert
of almost everything,

jobs, grocery stores, furniture
stores, really employment.

There's nothing really
on the north side.

It's gonna open up again,
but it has to take all of us.

I can just as easily leave,

but that's not
something I wanna do.

I wanna stay here, I
wanna help our community,

I wanna be a part
of our community.

People'll come here
and they need food,

and Jubilee has food
inside the church

which was donated to them, and
we give it to the community.

We have this garden which we
wanna share with everybody.

Not just Jubilee, but
the whole community.

All they have to
do is come and ask.

(cheerful music)

- You know, I think that
the most powerful moments

that I've had in my
life are related to

harvesting food
right out of my yard

or out of a neighbor's yard.

Not at some massive farm but

kind of in places that feel
Secret Garden-like, or,

where there's just magic
happening and you say

I had no idea this existed,
I've never seen this plant,

I've never tasted this flavor.

So, I think creating as
much of that as possible

was what I really
sought to design

and what we're still
working towards here.

Foodscaping and permaculture
in ecological farming

can be of great impact
to people on the planet.

We have all these
different mechanisms

to try to get people
inspired and flip the switch

and help them see that we're
so interconnected with all this

and I think that because
we eat three meals a day

and we all get what good food
is about, for the most part,

then, using food
as a tool to create

those light bulb moments

is absolutely what
this is all about.

There's so many really
inspiring things

that are all about
regenerative agriculture

and large scale land re-use,

and changing the food
system completely,

and that, of course,
needs to happen,

but I think it can maybe
most effectively happen

in our back yards.

(cheerful music)

- From the orchard here at
Jubilee Community Church,

to the chef's garden at Vicia,

Matt's foodscapes are
weaving urban agriculture

into the St. Louis landscape.

For more information
on custom foodscaping

as well as all of the
other incredible makers

we cover in this series, just
head to WeAreTasteMakers.com.

Thanks for joining
me here in St. Louis,

and I will see you next time.

Connect with us online
at WeAreTasteMakers.com,

or through social
media on these handles.

(cheerful music)

- [Narrator] Taste Makers
was funded in part by:

(thoughtful music)

- [Announcer] It all comes down

to creating something unique.

It's important to take
pride in one's work,

and share expertise.

Edward Jones is proud to
support the craftspeople

who define the maker movement.