Stay ConnectedDaily farm and garden talk. All about growing vegetables profitably and efficiently on small farms and in gardens.
Each episode focuses on one specific topic – growing practices, how-to, farming challenges and struggles, sales and marketing, soil preparation, weed management, farm startup, market selection, and work-life balance.
Hosted and produced by Diego Footer’s Modern Grower Podcast Network.
Copyright: © Modern Grower
Today it's back to Kelowna and Green City Acres as Curtis and I take a look back at his experiences with inter-planting, planting multiple crops in the same space .
It's something that he's done for a few years now, and something that he's doing again this year with his tomatoes.
We first stated talking about this subject back in 2015 when we did an episode touching on the subject in Season One, then we hit on it again almost a year ago in Season Two.
Today we are going to take a look at what Curtis is doing now when it comes to inter-planting and how that's changed since we first started talking about it two years ago.
It's a technique that Curtis has a lot of experience with, but one that's continually evolving as he uses it more.
It's a technique that he uses, because it allows him to earn a lot more in the same space over a given year.
For are going example he made and additional $1100 last year, by inter-planting Salanova lettuce in with his tomatoes. That's an extra $1100 that most farmers wouldn't captured.
That's the benefit of inter-planting. Getting multiple yields out of the same space over the same time period.
But be aware going in, this technique isn't for everyone.
There's a lot of constraints and complications that come with inter-planting. And it's a technique that doesn't make sense if you have a lot of land.
None the less, it's a technique that can be a game changer for those of you who do feel like you have a limited amount of land.
For you all, this is just another way to get more crops and more money, without adding land.
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There's a lot to worry about out there in the world right now - climate change, GMOs, the financial system, debt, terrorism, disease, water insecurity, a fragile food system. What if you could insure yourself against some of these worries? And get that insurance through land, land as insurance.. It would be a way to take insurance back into our control and put the fragile dollars into an anti-fragile system - an ecosystem. Today Rob Avis of Adaptive Habitat and I will be discussing the idea of owning land as insurance against disaster in depth. We'll get into models that don't exist yet, and ways that anyone can start to create some anti-fragility in their life now, regardless of where you live and whether you have land or not. I guarantee, this one will get your wheels turning. The Antifragile Property Series with Rob Avis - Part 1 Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/podcast Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support
Today I'm going to be talking to another small scale farming making a go of it as we go to Sebastopol, CA to talk to Caiti Hachmyer of Red H Farm. Caiti's a farmer who started out her farming career on the advocacy side of things. She was living the Bay Area advocating for farmers and looking to play her part in changing hte food system. But after a while she felt something was missing. And she felt like she needed to get on the ground and see what life was really like for some of the farmers that she was advocating for. So she picked up her California roots and moved to Minnesota to spend some time working on a production farm. It was step that would change her life forever. Giving her perspective of the on the ground side of things which helped her on the policy side, and one that would give her a nice experience ot have in her back pocket. One that she would need to draw on when she moved back to California and needed work. Caiti's gone on to continue her work on the ground and policy side of things. It's the dual nature of her work that we focus on today, Here it is Farming For A Change with Advocate Farmer Caiti Hachmyer of Red H Farm. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support
Today I'm going up to Vancouver to talk to Microgreen Farmer Chris Thoreau with the goal of focusing in on 10 base principles for growing high quality microgreens. Think 10 things that are critical to growing a good crop regardless of where you are growing them, when you are growing them or how you are growing them. These base principles help ensure that you get a successful crop that is free of disease and of high quality. It's not enough just to go through a successful process without knowing why you are doing what at different parts of the process. Because if you don't know, and a variable changes, you need to be able to know how to react and adapt. While everyone's process is likely different based on the crop that they are trying to grow, today's show it's all about what's the same, the base principles. Learn more about Chris's course at www.permaculturevoices.com/microgreens Show Notes at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart
"Farming is as much about growing yourself as it is about growing vegetables."
One of the big lessons shared in this episode with farmer Chris Gilbert from Bettendorf, Iowa.
Welcome to world of Farming Small and Farming Smart.
Today I'm going to be talking to another small scale farming making a go of it as we go to Bettendorf, Iowa to talk to farmer Chris Gilbert of Gilbert's Grapes Farm.
Chris's is one that many of share - going from hobby gardener to production farmer. It's a journey that's had its up and it's downs.
As Chris describes it:
"When I first started gardening, it was to supplement the lack of income my family had. It also had been something I had never tried before. I simply started gardening for myself and my family, but ended up producing much more than our family could use from a small 4 X 20 ft. garden.
A lot of cards fell into place in the fall of 2013 and we were able to buy our first home that had an acre of land just outside the hustle and bustle of the city. I had thought of starting a small roadside stand, or selling in the parking lot of several locally owned businesses in the past, but decided I would try to get into a large farmer's market in the area.
Expectations - I had none. I had blind passion. I really wanted to do something on my own and had started several other business ventures such as graphic design, a t-shirt company, and being a musician.
I came into farming naively and childishly almost, and I think that is important. It seems idealism gets rooted in our thoughts and goals, and sometimes ideal goals may not be realistic goals. I think goals are important, but I think it is important not to beat yourself up if you find some challenges along the way and are not able to reach your goal. Every year is a new learning experience and provides new inspiration and knowledge of how to refine your farm and farming plans the next year."
Chris may have stated out naive, but he's no longer naive learning from the school of hard knocks. He's grown the farm over the last few years taking it form a small plot to now farming 1/4 of an acre. And he's grown as a person having to manage the farm while being a father to a growing family and dealing with the challenges that come with it.
It has been a journey where Chris has grown, just as much as some of his vegetables.
Here it is the story of farmer Chris Gilbert.
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Welcome to world of Farming Small and Farming Smart. Today I'm talking to another small scale farming making a go of it, as we go to Omaha, Nebraska to take a look at how farmer Taylor Rogers started his farm. It's an interesting story that takes Taylor from working behind the scenes in a restaurant kitchen to starting up a farm with no experience in a 3rd story apartment. Being on the third floor dealing with all of the steps made for tough go of it initially, but Taylor persisted. In hindsight he didn't start out farming in the perfect conditions or with the perfect setup, but the key was that he started and he never looked back. He back his enterprise in that 3rd story apartment by producing 6 trays of microgreens a week, then leveraging that production and the learnings that came with it to gradually scale up to doing 150 trays of microgreens a week. He currently grows of 20 different crops, and it's that variety that has been one of the keys to his success. In this episode he'll also talk about some of the other things that have made him successful such as growing what chefs want, how they want it, and bringing it when you say you're going to bring it. All keys to his current success and keys he learned before he even got into farming when he saw these problems first hand working behind the scenes in the kitchen. Taylor's going to share a lot of information and insight in this one about working with chefs. Today it's all about growing what chefs want with Taylor Rogers of In Season Omaha. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support
Today is another episode where Curtis and I will be widening the scope, stepping back and zooming out from the tools and techniques and his 1/3 of an acre farm, to take a look at some of the macro issues surrounding agriculture. The focus today is on employees. Curtis will take about his thoughts on hiring employees, and what he looks for in employees. We'll also get into some of the complications that having employees bring to a business owner and what other options other than hiring someone are available. One of the options that we will look at is having fiefdoms or element partners on your land base. An idea that sounds great in theory, but one that has some downsides in reality... Today it's all about getting more done on the farm, by bringing in more people to do the work; it's all about employees...in this episode of The Urban Farmer. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support
When you start your farm business, one think that you need to think about is your business structure.
Sole proprietorships and LLCs are common ways to go, but there are also other options, like co-operatives...
That's how farmer Chris Thoreau of Food Pedalers structure his business, and that's the subject of today's show...
Today I'm going up to Vancouver to talk to microgreen farmer Chris Thoreau about a topic that you don't hear discussed a lot in small scale farming circles - how he organized his business..
Chris initially started his business as a sole proprietor, but as he began to grow, both in the size of the business and the amount of people working in the business, he realized he needed to change that.
After looking at all of the options, Chris decided that he wanted to do something different, something that went more against the status quo, and something that was equitable for everyone involved - so Chris organized his business as a co-operative.
It's an interesting business structure and it's one that most people wouldn't think of when organizing their business.
If your business is growing, or if you are thinking about expanding your team, then a coop structure might make sense for you...
Today Chris will talk about why he chose that structure, the advantages and disadvantages of it, and what it takes to have a successful member-owner business.
Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmartSupport the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support
Today I am talking with Dr. Ross Mars, author of The Permaculture Transition Manual. A book that covers a wide variety of practical topics including: permaculture design principles, soil building, nutrient-dense food growing, and greywater systems. In the book Ross also dispels a number of well accepted permaculture myths, such as comfrey being a dynamic accumulator. I think we have all hear that one before, plant comfrey because its roots mine and accumulate nutrients deep within the soil. A great concept, unfortunately one that's just not true. As Ross found there's no scientific evidence to back that claim up. It's this scientific approach to permaculture that makes Ross's approach unique. In his book and in this interview he talks about what's worked for him and what's scientifically plausible. Today Ross and I will use that practical and realistic lens to take a look at home scale rainwater harvesting and waste treatment. Ross will use his 20 years of industry experience to talk about the insanity of bathtub reed beds, and the need slow water down as it moves through the system. It's all about home scale greywater and blackwater with Dr. Ross Mars. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/152 Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support
This week I'll pick up where last week left off with market gardener Ray Tyler of Rosecreek Farms.
While last week's episode was more inspiration, this week's more of the perspiration side of things as Ray talks about some of his production methods and big changes that he made turn go from grossing $35,000 in 2015 to $120,000 in 2016 on less land.
Ray's going to go talk about some of the big changes that made that huge increase in gross sales possible.
He'll also get into how he controls weeds on the farm, and how he established a market for his product early on given that he only lives in a town of 2000 people.
Today it's all about production and sales, with Ray Tyler of Rosecreek Farms in Selmer, TN.
Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart
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