KANSAS CITY, Mo. – If you watch the Planet Green channel, it’s a good bet you’re familiar with its most “fabulous” program.

“The Fabulous Beekman Boys,” that is.

The reality farming show is unlike anything on TV. A gay couple from New York City — a doctor who used to work with Martha Stewart and an ad man and best-selling author who used to work as a drag queen — buy a weekend place in upstate New York and try to make a go of farm life.

But the simple life, they discover, is anything but. To keep their farm — a near million-dollar home known as the Beekman Mansion on 60 acres several hours north of New York City — they start making specialty soaps and cheeses. Before they know it, a man named Farmer John, along with his 80 goats, joins the fun as their farm manager. They add a pig, some chickens and a temperamental llama.

Cue the hilarity.

The show is not only a hit, it has spawned a national effort to encourage people to plant vegetable gardens. The show’s stars — Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell — appeared at a Williams-Sonoma store in Kansas City, Mo., earlier this month to promote that effort. Wearing their signature mud boots, they also took pictures with fans and signed copies of Kilmer-Purcell’s book, “The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers.” Williams-Sonoma is partnering with them to sell their line of Beekman 1802 heirloom vegetable seeds.

“Is anybody going to grow the vegetables?” Kilmer-Purcell asked.

Many in the crowd raised their hands.

Steven Quade, an Overland Park, Kan., chiropractor, praised the program.

“The whole concept is a reality show, but you have a point to it,” he said. “The closer to the source you are, the more wholesome your food. And for all of us to take responsibility for our health we have to lead lifestyles that promote that health. So what you’re doing is amazing.”

Kilmer-Purcell smiled.

“We really believe in that philosophy,” he said. “But we also see a lot of dogmatic green thinking. When some people decide to go green and go off the grid they get really harpy about it. We wanted to show that you can lead that same healthy lifestyle, and it can be fun.”

As the show starts its second season we thought it would be fun to ask the boys about their newfound rural life in front of the lens. 

Q: How long have you been partners, and how did you meet?

BRENT: Going on 11 years. And we met the old-fashioned way. Online. 

Q: Did you buy the mansion and farm on a whim?

JOSH: Yes. We call ourselves accidental goat farmers. We were going to pick apples when we stumbled on the farm (in Sharon Springs, N.Y.) and purchased it. It was going to be a weekend place. But a week later we got a letter from Farmer John. He was losing his farm, and he had 30 days to find a new place for his goats. 

Q: Your show has been called the gay “Green Acres.” What do you think of that?

JOSH: It’s more serious than that. We’re a couple who took a big chance, and we’re struggling to build a business in tough times. A lot of people are living what we’re living. 

Q: What have you learned from running a farm?

BRENT: It has made us value food more. That’s a real problem today, and why so many small farms are going out of business. People don’t value quality food. We’re taught to want a new flat screen TV and a new iPod. What we don’t realize is that there are families who need to make a living. We need to value that more. Having our own farm and raising our own food does that. 

Q: Have you been surprised by anything with the show?

BRENT: What surprised us is how many wives e-mailed us and said, “We never would have watched a show with a gay couple in it, but now that we’ve seen your relationship it’s just like ours and that’s really changed our minds.” We just wanted to entertain people. We didn’t know it would have a sociological impact. But we’re so glad that it has. 

Q: Tell us about your national garden project.

BRENT: The project is called the World’s Largest Community Garden. It’s a partnership between our farm, Beekman 1802, and Williams Sonoma. We grow 110 different varieties of heirloom vegetables. We’ve packaged 10 varieties of the heirloom vegetable seeds that are for sale at Williams Sonoma. Our goal is to get 10,000 people to grow these vegetables. 

Q: What’s the community aspect?

BRENT: We’re building an online community around the gardens, where people can ask questions not only of us but of other gardeners. And, if you happen to be an expert gardener already, we want you to share your advice. Because we never present ourselves as experts. We’re learners, and we want people to experience that learning process with us.

At the end of the season we are going to ask gardeners to weigh their produce so we can figure out how many tons of food the gardens generated. You can get more information from our website, www.beekman1802.com.