The No-Till Growers Podcast Network

On today?s episode Alex Ball of Old City Acres sits down with Hannah Weber & Michelle Brosius (½ of the management team) from Green Things Farm Collective in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Green Things was interviewed several years ago by farmer Jesse AND farmer Jackson and since then they have radically increased the scale of their no-till production and local food distribution. We discuss how they build and manage their no till beds at scale, train & build up their workforce, distribute all of their produce, and the power of collective work.

Follow Green Things on Instagram

Check out the Green Things FarmSite

Mentioned in the show...

AirTable, their data management platform

Slack, their communications platform

Folks who support the show...

Harnois Greenhouses for controlled environment agriculture innovation, partnering with market gardeners and farmers across North America to deliver comprehensive, turnkey, commercial greenhouse solutions.

Farmhand is the all-in-one software platform and virtual assistant built by and for independent farmers. Instantly offload admin tasks, automate your CSA, update your website, and sell more to your customers. Learn more at farmhand.partners/notill

Local Line is the most comprehensive sales software built for farmers and food hubs. Increase your sales and streamline your processes with features including e-commerce, inventory management, subscriptions, website builder, online payments, point-of-sale, and more! Receive a free premium feature for one year using our coupon code, NOTILL.

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming workshops & conferences...

Imagine the theme music from Masterpiece Theater? a former oil & gas accountant leaves his lucrative career and travels by bicycle to a walled garden. Mimi Casteel speaks with her friend Tim Phillips from Charlie Herring Wines in the UK. If you do nothing else, check out his website?beware the litany of web warnings!?for a darlin illustration of his farm and incredibly entertaining blog. He not only does a lot of innovative things, but also uses a lot of old school methods, and he?s our people, people. Enjoy.

The Charlie Herring Winesite

Follow Tim on Instagram

Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast...

High Mowing Organic Seeds for 100% organic, Non-GMO Project Verified vegetable, flower and herb seeds trialed for optimal performance in organic growing systems.

High Country News provides unique on-the-ground reporting on the land, water, wildlife and communities of the region, with dedicated coverage of climate, environmental and Indigenous issues.

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming workshops & conferences...

Farmer Jesse recently got the chance to speak with Daryl Ward of Sow Right Seeds about starting and running a small seed company. In particular, how seed businesses like Sow Right are dealing with new genetically modified varieties that are hitting the shelves. We also talk about home gardening, the business of selling seeds, and more. Full disclosure, Sow Right is not only a sponsor the No-Till Growers YouTube channel, but also the podcast, helping us keep it free for growers everywhere.

... and, as always, our work is also powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Farmer Jesse is back this week with Kyle Forest-Burns of Burns Blossom Farm, which he runs with his partner Mel, in Chico California. They discuss farming with a debilitating disease, nutrient management, and tips for new farmers. A very cool and wide-ranging talk that we?ve been waiting to have for several years. If you want to SEE the conversation, along with some pictures that illustrate what they are talking about, head over to the No-Till Growers PODCAST YouTube channel!

Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast...

Join Organic Growers School for their Spring Conference in Western North Carolina March 8-10, 2024, with 60+ workshops organized into 13 themed tracks. Plus, I (Jesse Frost) will be there leading half-day workshops.

High Mowing Organic Seeds for 100% organic, Non-GMO Project Verified vegetable, flower and herb seeds trialed for optimal performance in organic growing systems.

Since 1972 Ohio earth food has been the go to source for the highest performing and most cost effective granular and liquid fertilizers, seed starting soils, foliar sprays and disease and insect controls. Feed your soil and let your soil feed the plants. Visit ohioearthfood.com.

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming workshops & conferences...

On today?s special episode of The No-Till Market Garden Podcast, Alex says goodbye to his old farm and embraces the change to running and setting up a brand new no-till site for Old City Acres. We chat with two special guests, co-founder Farmer Jackson, and first year farm partner Seth Torkelson-Regan, all about renting -vs- owning (can you afford it), setting up new beds, the emotional toll of owning your own land, and making hard business decisions on the farm with regard to your finances, time, and lifestyle.

Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast...

Join Organic Growers School for their Spring Conference in Western North Carolina March 8-10, 2024, with 60+ workshops organized into 13 themed tracks. Plus, I (Jesse Frost) will be there leading half-day workshops.

High Mowing Organic Seeds for 100% organic, Non-GMO Project Verified vegetable, flower and herb seeds trialed for optimal performance in organic growing systems.

Since 1972 Ohio earth food has been the go to source for the highest performing and most cost effective granular and liquid fertilizers, seed starting soils, foliar sprays and disease and insect controls. Feed your soil and let your soil feed the plants. Visit ohioearthfood.com.

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming workshops & conferences...

Pirate radio with Mini Casteel.. keeping your nuts dry with "nutter" Justin Holt of the Asheville Nuttery. Justin has been a part of the agroforesty world since 2011--part of the Nutty Buddy Collective--he also leads tours and consulatancy around agroforestry and foraging. You going to want to listen to this one, it's quite the nut to crack.

Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast...

Join Organic Growers School for their Spring Conference in Western North Carolina March 8-10, 2024, with 60+ workshops organized into 13 themed tracks. Plus, I (Jesse Frost) will be there leading half-day workshops.

High Mowing Organic Seeds for 100% organic, Non-GMO Project Verified vegetable, flower and herb seeds trialed for optimal performance in organic growing systems.

Since 1972 Ohio earth food has been the go to source for the highest performing and most cost effective granular and liquid fertilizers, seed starting soils, foliar sprays and disease and insect controls. Feed your soil and let your soil feed the plants. Visit ohioearthfood.com.

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming workshops & conferences...

Organic Growers School in NC

Today, we are doing a podcast special with Farmer Jesse and Max Epstein of Krautgaart in Luxembourg, discussing his no-dig, pay-what-you can, collaborative CSA model and a whole lot more! To see a VIDEO version of the conversation with additional photos, check it out on YouTube!

Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast...

Join Organic Growers School for their Spring Conference in Western North Carolina March 8-10, 2024, with 60+ workshops organized into 13 themed tracks. Plus, I (Jesse Frost) will be there leading half-day workshops.

High Country News provides unique on-the-ground reporting on the land, water, wildlife and communities of the region, with dedicated coverage of climate, environmental and Indigenous issues.

This February, join thousands of farmers like you from across the U.S. for three days of community building and farmer-led learning at the 35th annual Marbleseed Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

High Mowing Organic Seeds for 100% organic, Non-GMO Project Verified vegetable, flower and herb seeds trialed for optimal performance in organic growing systems.

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming workshops & conferences...

Organic Growers School in NC

One of the things that I, Natalie, love about doing this podcast is the freedom to talk to just about anyone and you may have noticed that I'm pretty agnostic when it comes to getting good information. I think you can find wisdom and knowledge from farmers, scientists, EVEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. For this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Candace Williams Anthony and Laura Starr who both work in the Soil Health Division of the NRCS. We focus on soil health practices in this conversation, but there are many MANY ways NRCS can work with you...

Mentioned in the show...

The Web Soil Survey

The USDA Urban Ag Initiative

The NRCS EQIP (high-tunnel) Program

Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast...

High Country News provides unique on-the-ground reporting on the land, water, wildlife and communities of the region, with dedicated coverage of climate, environmental and Indigenous issues.

This February, join thousands of farmers like you from across the U.S. for three days of community building and farmer-led learning at the 35th annual Marbleseed Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Local Line, the all-in-one sales platform for farmers and food hubs. Start your free trial today and get a free premium feature for a year using our coupon code: NOTILL

High Mowing Organic Seeds for 100% organic, Non-GMO Project Verified vegetable, flower and herb seeds trialed for optimal performance in organic growing systems.

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming workshops & conferences...

Dallas Innercity Growers Summit

Organic Growers School

Mimi has another 'charming accent' interview, this time with Nicole Masters of Integrity Soils and author of For the Love of Soil. She a world leader in soil health, a very accomplished educator, and is focused on an outcomes-based approach to improving soils. She also has a joyous way of being and looking at the world, and is a delight to listen to.

Mentioned in the show...

Nicole's educatoinal organization Integrity Soils

Her Book, For the Love of Soil

The Soil Learning Center Online Courses

Jodi Roebuck's Robuck Farm

Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast...

High Country News provides unique on-the-ground reporting on the land, water, wildlife and communities of the region, with dedicated coverage of climate, environmental and Indigenous issues.

This February, join thousands of farmers like you from across the U.S. for three days of community building and farmer-led learning at the 35th annual Marbleseed Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Local Line, the all-in-one sales platform for farmers and food hubs. Start your free trial today and get a free premium feature for a year using our coupon code: NOTILL

High Mowing Organic Seeds for 100% organic, Non-GMO Project Verified vegetable, flower and herb seeds trialed for optimal performance in organic growing systems.

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming workshops & conferences...

Dallas Innercity Growers Summit

Organic Growers School

Today, Alex Ball sits down with Kat and Kolin of Startty Ridge Farm in Petersburg, NY. They dig deep into successfully carving beds into the sid eof rocky hills, building a farm business with family, and marketing a diverse selection of local products to the community.

Mentioned in the show...

Follow Starry Ridge Farm on Instagram

Follow Alex Ball & Old City Acres on Instagram

Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast...

High Country News provides unique on-the-ground reporting on the land, water, wildlife and communities of the region, with dedicated coverage of climate, environmental and Indigenous issues.

This February, join thousands of farmers like you from across the U.S. for three days of community building and farmer-led learning at the 35th annual Marbleseed Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Local Line, the all-in-one sales platform for farmers and food hubs. Start your free trial today and get a free premium feature for a year using our coupon code: NOTILL

High Mowing Organic Seeds for 100% organic, Non-GMO Project Verified vegetable, flower and herb seeds trialed for optimal performance in organic growing systems.

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming conferences...

Marbleseed Organic Farming

Dallas Innercity Growers Summit

Organic Growers School

Farmer Jesse here with an interview of my own, this one with Mr. Eric Nordell Of Beech Grove Farm in PA. Eric and his wife Anne are LEGENDS in the small farm community. I first learned about their work on the Farmer-to-Farmer Podcast, but they have been organic farmers for forty-odd years. Today's topic... low/not-till farming with horses! We get into everything from weed management, to garlic production, and a whole lot more. You can read more about their farming on their blog-here-and they also have a timeless booklet you can check out called Weed the Soil, Not the Crop.

Mentioned in the show...

The Beech Grove Farm Blogsite

The Weed the Soil, Not the Crop Booklet

The garlic video mentioned by Eric

Beech Grove on The Farmer-to-Farmer Podcast

The Real Organic Project

Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast...

High Country News provides unique on-the-ground reporting on the land, water, wildlife and communities of the region, with dedicated coverage of climate, environmental and Indigenous issues.

This February, join thousands of farmers like you from across the U.S. for three days of community building and farmer-led learning at the 35th annual Marbleseed Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Local Line, the all-in-one sales platform for farmers and food hubs. Start your free trial today and get a free premium feature for a year using our coupon code: NOTILL

High Mowing Organic Seeds for 100% organic, Non-GMO Project Verified vegetable, flower and herb seeds trialed for optimal performance in organic growing systems.

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming conferences...

Marbleseed Organic Farming

Dallas Innercity Growers Summit

Organic Growers School

Natalie talks with LEGEND Will Bonsall and we?re really excited to bring this conversation to you! Will is legendary for his seed saving efforts, the Scatterseed Project, as well as his radical homesteading in western Maine. He is the first to admit that he is not a market gardener and some of the things he does on his homestead aren?t feasible if you?re trying to make a living selling food, but many of them are! I love his approach to what he calls ?eco efficiency? and there is a lot to learn with how Will has designed his systems to use plants to their maximum capacity and make the most of his land.

Mentioned in the Show...

Will's Wikipedia Page

The Scatterseed Project

Will Bonsall?s Essential Guide to Radical, Self-Reliant Gardening

Farmers of Forty Centuries by F.H. King

Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast...

Farmers Friend for well-designed, quality tools, tunnels, and equipment for small-scale farms and gardens.

Local Line, the all-in-one sales platform for farmers and food hubs. Start your free trial today and get a free premium feature for a year using our coupon code: NOTILL

High Mowing Organic Seeds for 100% organic, Non-GMO Project Verified vegetable, flower and herb seeds trialed for optimal performance in organic growing systems.

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming conferences...

Marbleseed Organic Farming

Organic Association of Kentucky

Dallas Innercity Growers Summit

Organic Growers School

On today?s episode of the No-Till Market Garden Podcast, Alex of Old City Acres LITERALLY sits down for a very special live and in-person conversation with Devon Wilson of Sunlight Gardens located in downtown Battle Creek, MI. They discuss starting an urban farm in shared community lots and backyards, developing his on-site farm & natural convenience store,  and using social media to connect with his local community. 

Mentioned during show...

Sunlight Gardens farmsite

Sunlight Gardens on Instagram

Michigan double-up food bucks

Follow Alex of Old City Acres on Instagram

Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast...

Johnny's Selected Seeds for vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.

RIMOL Greenhouses for high-quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Certified Naturally Grown a grassroots, peer-to-peer, holistic certification.

Farmers Friend for well-designed, quality tools, tunnels, and equipment.

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming conferences...

Marbleseed Organic Farming

Organic Association of Kentucky

Utah Food and Farm Conference

Dallas Innercity Growers Summit

Organic Growers School

Natalie is back with dear friend and soil scientist--and national soil judging champion!--Deirdre Griffin LaHue. Deirdre's work in Washington state has led to some incredible long-term soil health projects. They also discuss the how she transitioned from studying nutrition to soil health, the current science of biodegradable mulches, and unconventional crops in the state.

Mentioned in the show...

The Washington State University Soil Health Website

The Mulch Matters Podcast RSS feed (also on Apple & Spotify)

The Healthly Soils State Legislation Map

Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast...

Johnny's Selected Seeds for vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.

RIMOL Greenhouses for high-quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Certified Naturally Grown a grassroots, peer-to-peer, holistic certification.

Farmers Friend for well-designed, quality tools, tunnels, and equipment.

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming conferences...

Marbleseed Organic Farming

Organic Association of Kentucky

Utah Food and Farm Conference

Dallas Innercity Growers Summit

Organic Growers School

I don?t even know where to begin. Today, I?Mimi?interview Pat Crowley of Chapul Farms in my own state of Oregon. One of my neighbors. If you?ve been one of the many thousands who have viewed THIS video of black soldier fly larvae production, this is THAT, but on steroids. Pat describes Chapul: ?In 2019, I launched Chapel Farms as a way to continue growing the regenerative potential of insects to bioconvert food and ag waste into healthy foods and microbial-rich soil. We work with selected domestic and international insect farms to scale their operations and provide the highest quality insect products to B to C and B to B markets? we are developing some of the world's largest insect farms focused on uncompromising sustainability metrics.? It?s all true. If you?re interested in any aspect of insect agriculture, this is going to be one for you?

Follow Chapul on IG, check out the farmsite, and watch this super rad mini-doc.

Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast...

Johnny's Selected Seeds for vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.

RIMOL Greenhouses for high-quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Certified Naturally Grown a grassroots, peer-to-peer, holistic certification.

BCS America for two wheel tractors + implements, on sale through the end of the year!

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming conferences...

Marbleseed Organic Farming

Organic Association of Kentucky

Utah Food and Farm Conference

Dallas Innercity Growers Summit

Organic Growers School

Hope you?re wearing your PPE for this one! Mimi Casteel of Hope Well Wine is speaking with Miguel Altieri, one of the modern pioneers of agroecology. He has written more than 330 publications, including a book: Agroecology, the Science of Sustainable Agriculture & Biodiversity? Miguel is a hero to many of us who have practiced in the field and his bio is very extensive. In addition to being a professor emeritus at UC Berkley, he also served as a scientific advisor to the Latin American Consortium on Agroecology and Development and general coordinator to the United Nations Development Program in Sustainable Agriculture, Networking, & Extension. He?s worked in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and is now farming in Columbia.

Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast...

Johnny's Selected Seeds for vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.

RIMOL Greenhouses for high-quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Certified Naturally Grown a grassroots, peer-to-peer, holistic certification.

BCS America for two wheel tractors + implements, on sale through the end of the year!

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming conferences...

Marbleseed Organic Farming

Organic Association of Kentucky

Utah Food and Farm Conference

Dallas Innercity Growers Summit

Organic Growers School

Jackson's GoFundMe for tornado damage

Today, we sit down with Dan Fillius of Iowa State Extension and Alex Ball of Old City Acres to discuss the role of the university extension agent in supporting farmers, both organic and conventional. We dig deep on the multiple facets of Dan?s farming experience as an organic grower and extension agent duties including working with Amish growers, helping growers identify pests/diseases, and how he connects with farmers using social media and his own podcast: ?What in the Weather.? Dan is a treasure chest of information and is doing the good work on the ground by keeping folks educated and connected with up to date relative agricultural information.

Mentioned in the show...

Check out Dan's awesome Instagram feed!

Organic vegetable production conference

Midwest Veg Growing Guide

What in the Weather? Podcast

Jackson's GoFundMe for tornado/giant damage

Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast...

Johnny's Selected Seeds for vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.

RIMOL Greenhouses for high-quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Certified Naturally Grown a grassroots, peer-to-peer, holistic certification.

BCS America for two wheel tractors + implements, on sale through the end of the year!

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming conferences...

Marbleseed Organic Farming

Organic Association of Kentucky

Utah Food and Farm Conference

Dallas Innercity Growers Summit

Organic Growers School

Hey nerds, Farmer Jesse here, and we're going to break from our regularly scheduled podcasting to bring you a special bonus episode--a roundtable with three living legends: Helen Atthowe, David Blanchard, & Lou Johns. These have been three huge inspirations of my own and I wanted to get them together to discuss living pathways and how they manage them on different acreage and in different systems. This is a very long and in-depth conversation and we cover: how to manage living pathways, strip tillage, mowing walkways, establishing paths, best tillers for strip tillage, and a whole lot more. We hope you enjoy this roundtable as much as we did and we hope to do more of them soon! 

Mentioned in the show...

The Ecological Farm: A Minimalist, No-Till, No-Spray, Selective-Weeding, Grow-Your-Own Fertilizer, System for Organic Agriculture by Helen Atthowe

If you want to see photos of their respective farms during the conversation, check out the YouTube version of the roundatble on The No-Till Growers channel

Folks who have supported our work for many years, please support them...

Johnny's Selected Seeds for vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.

RIMOL Greenhouses for high-quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

BCS America for two wheel tractors + implements, on sale through the end of the year!

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming conferences...

Organic Association of Kentucky

Utah Food and Farm Conference

Dallas Innercity Growers Summit

Organic Growers School

Bonjour, it?s Mimi, and I?m keeping it real international for my second tour on the podcast. Today we are going to chat with Charles Lachaux from Burgundy, France. He?s a sixth generation vigneron at Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux. If you?re a person who drinks, appreciates, thinks about wine, you know Burgundy, as these are wines that have a long history, but in the recent past since his return they have been given critical acclaim. One of the things that sets Charles apart in the region is his conversion to regenerative and no-till practices. The regulations and cultural traditions around viticulture in France are very strong, so it makes a big impact when someone breaks tradition and starts doing things differently. For Charles, however, this has given his work and wine a cult appeal. His wines are very hard to get your hands on, but if you truly want to blow someone?s mind, seek them out.

Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast...

Johnny's Selected Seeds for vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.

RIMOL Greenhouses for high-quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Certified Naturally Grown a grassroots, peer-to-peer, holistic certification.

BCS America for two wheel tractors + implements, on sale through the end of the year!

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming conferences...

ACRES Eco-Ag

Organic Association of Kentucky

Utah Food and Farm Conference

Dallas Innercity Growers Summit

Organic Growers School

Today we?ve got a LIVE and very special episode, Alex sits down with the one and only Ben Hartman of Clay Bottom Farm to discuss his third and newest book, The Lean Micro Farm. They dig deep on small farming systems, the importance of proximity to the end-consumer, and the power of empowering and being surrounded by a strong team. When visiting farms like Clay Bottom, we?re always reminded by the power of small.

Mentioned in the show...

Ben's newest book, The Lean Micro-Farm
How to Get Small, Embrace Local, Live Better, & Work Less

The Lean Farming Masterclass

The McGill Big Three for Core Stability

Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast...

Johnny's Selected Seeds for vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.

RIMOL Greenhouses for high-quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Certified Naturally Grown a grassroots, peer-to-peer, holistic certification.

BCS America for two wheel tractors + implements, on sale through the end of the year!

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming conferences...

ACRES Eco-Ag

Organic Association of Kentucky

Utah Food and Farm Conference

Dallas Innercity Growers Summit

Organic Growers School

Today's episode is about a not-so-obvious climate adaptive farm strategy, tree syrups. I, Natalie, know this might be only tangentially related to your production system, and I have yet to be told by Jesse and the team to reign it in, but I love the idea of wild foods that can be sustainably harvested. Selfishly, I just wanted an excuse to learn more about this topic. David Moore is a researcher at the University of New Hampshire and he has been looking at different tree syrups for his dissertation. Because I'm a huge maple syrup fan, I did force him to talk about maple syrup production, but we also get into some of the other trees he's been tapping.

Mentioned in the show...

The Crooked Chimney Syrup Website for more sap & syrup information.

Let us know your guest recommendations!

Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast...

Johnny's Selected Seeds for vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.

RIMOL Greenhouses for high-quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Certified Naturally Grown a grassroots, peer-to-peer, holistic certification.

BCS America for two wheel tractors + implements, on sale through the end of the year!

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming conferences...

ACRES Eco-Ag

Organic Association of Kentucky

Utah Food and Farm Conference

Dallas Innercity Growers Summit

Organic Growers School

It's three-hundred-million volts of shocking the system with... earworms. You'll see what I did there in just a second. It's Mimi and I'm really stoked to be with you, again. Today, were going to have a look into the worm world, secifically invasive jumping worms, with Dr. Lee Frelich. He's a professor of forest and landscape ecology at the University of Minnesota and is a leading researcher and is widely cited in disturbence ecology and succession in forest ecosystems. This episode may be a somewhat controversial and polarizing, but it's a fascinating look at some of these organisms we see everyday.

Mentioned in the show...

Green Again Madagascar

Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast...

Johnny's Selected Seeds for vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.

RIMOL Greenhouses for high-quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Certified Naturally Grown a grassroots, peer-to-peer, holistic certification.

BCS America for two wheel tractors + implements, on sale through the end of the year!

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming conferences...

ACRES Eco-Ag

Organic Association of Kentucky

Utah Food and Farm Conference

Dallas Innercity Growers Summit

Organic Growers School

Farm Lot 59 is an urban, year-round, no-till vegetable and flower farm located in sunny Long Beach, California. Farm Lot 59 was founded in 2010 by Sasha Kanno and a founding board of community members as a place to fight local food insecurity, teach the community about agriculture, and incubate and inspire folks to go rural and start larger farms. Using a unique combination of an on-site farm stand, events, and local food donations, they?ve built a year-round food project that feeds their local community, employs local farmers, and helps to grow the local food movement through important policy work.

Mentioned in the show...

Farm Lot 59?s Farmsite & Instagram

Food Finders: Rescuing Food, Reducing Hunger

Take the No-Till Growers survey for 10% off your next order!

Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast...

Peaceful Heritage Nursury for hardy and resilient fruit trees, berry plants or pawpaw trees. Use code NOTILL for 10% off your first order!

Johnny's Selected Seeds for vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.

RIMOL Greenhouses for high-quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Certified Naturally Grown a grassroots, peer-to-peer, holistic certification.

... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Find Farmer Jesse at these upcoming conferences...

ACRES Eco-Ag

Organic Association of Kentucky

Utah Food and Farm Conference

Dallas Innercity Growers Summit

Organic Growers School

Hey nerds, Farmer Jesse, welcome back to another season (six!) of The No-Till Market Garden Podcast. Just wanted to say hello, talk about the upcoming podcast season, and give you little farm update before Alex, Natalie, and Mimi take over for the season.

Pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook from No-Till Growers to support keeping our work FREE

Let us know what you think. Take the No-Till Growers Survey, get 10% off merch. Win-win.

Check out our FREE Growers Forum for more market garden, seed saving, business growing, and compost making nerdiness

When I was at the US Compost Conference last winter, I met Lisa of Juneau Composts and my 'cool gal' radar went off. Her vibe shouted competent. Lisa is the real deal, collecting food scraps and making compost with very little support in the tough climate of Alaska. It was fascinating to talk to Lisa about the struggles of composting in this harsh environment and her ingenuity. I've been following Juneau Composts for a few years, back when it was a one-woman, scrappy enterprise and I swell with pride every time I see a post about new employees or record collection amounts.

Contact Jayne at [email protected]

Follow Earth Care Farm on Instagram and YouTube

Folks who make this show possible...

Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Viably. Use our link here to learn more, get a consultation, and let them know we sent you.

The Culinary Breeding Network's Variety Showcase for plant breeders, seed growers, farmers, chefs, comsumers, and more, on October 16th in NY. GET TICKETS HERE!

High Country News is an independent, non-profit, publication covering the land, wildlife, and communities of the Western US for over 50+ years. Check them out using our link here.

The Marbleseed 5th Organic Farming Conference (formerly known as MOSES) is February 22-24, 2024. 

James McSweeney, of The 131 School of Composting and author of Community-Scale Composting, and I jammed so well about what The 131 School is about?particularly the compost operators certificate program?his book, and his vision of composting in the future. James then turns the tables on me and asked me questions about Austria?s model of composting. At some point, we forgot we were being recorded, the conversation just flows until we remember we had prior engagements. Classic. I can?t get enough of the knowledgable composting community. We are learning so much from one another.

Contact Jayne at [email protected]

Follow Earth Care Farm on Instagram and YouTube

Folks who make this show possible...

Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Viably. Use our link here to learn more, get a consultation, and let them know we sent you.

The Culinary Breeding Network's Variety Showcase for plant breeders, seed growers, farmers, chefs, comsumers, and more, on October 16th in NY. GET TICKETS HERE!

High Country News is an independent, non-profit, publication covering the land, wildlife, and communities of the Western US for over 50+ years. Check them out using our link here.

The Marbleseed 5th Organic Farming Conference (formerly known as MOSES) is February 22-24, 2024. 

When Austria banned organics from the waste stream in '92, Ursula was--in part--tasked with how to divert organic waste from going to the landfill. In '96, she conducted an analysis of the waste stream. Yes, she personally dawned gloves and sorted through many samples of trash. 24% of her community's waste was organics (or what she calls "Biowaste"). Once she showed that data, and could project the savings that could be had, she had to figure out how to implement a plan to compost it. You'll get to hear how upper Austria has some of the cleanest streams of biowaste heading to farm composters, with Gerald and Karen, composting on a family farm.

Mentioned in the show...

Photos (via Google Drive)

Folks who make this show possible...

Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Viably. Use our link here to learn more, get a consultation, and let them know we sent you.

The Culinary Breeding Network's Variety Showcase for plant breeders, seed growers, farmers, chefs, comsumers, and more, on October 16th in NY. GET TICKETS HERE!

High Country News is an independent, non-profit, publication covering the land, wildlife, and communities of the Western US for over 50+ years. Check them out using our link here.

The Marbleseed 5th Organic Farming Conference (formerly known as MOSES) is February 22-24, 2024. 

On our International Solid Waste Association study tour on decentralized bio waste recycling?or just the compost scene?in Austria, we visited 3-er Hof Farm, Farm 3, and spoke with second generation composter Verena. Her families farm is an inspiring mix of compost production, crop production, and social connection with people of all abilities and ages. Instead of an interview, I recorded the lecture given at Farm 3. You?ll hear from Verena about Farm 3 and then from Florian, who organized the study tour, about how compost collection works. It?s a system of collecting and processing that works well in a semi-rural area.

Find out more about Earth Care Farm and follow Jayne's work...

Guest/topic recommendations -> [email protected]

Follow Earth Care Farm on Instagram

Subscribe to Earth Care Farm on YouTube

Mentioned in the show...

Folks who make this show possible...

Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Viably. Use our link here to learn more, get a consultation, and let them know we sent you.

The Culinary Breeding Network's Variety Showcase for plant breeders, seed growers, farmers, chefs, comsumers, and more, on October 16th in NY. GET TICKETS HERE!

High Country News is an independent, non-profit, publication covering the land, wildlife, and communities of the Western US for over 50+ years. Check them out using our link here.

The Marbleseed 5th Organic Farming Conference (formerly known as MOSES) is February 22-24, 2024. 

Most of you all know and love Karl Hammer from Vermont Compost (IG VermontCompost) already. If you?re looking for a concise ?how-to? guide on how Karl makes his awesome compost, and even better known potting soil, this is not that interview. Karl is known for his verbose and winding stories that mostly answer the question given, but always entertain. There is a richness in speaking with someone like Karl with a lifetime of experience. So, prepare yourself for a deep and fertile conversation full of expert level nuggets

Find out more about Earth Care Farm and follow Jayne's work...

Guest/topic recommendations -> [email protected]

Follow Earth Care Farm on Instagram

Subscribe to Earth Care Farm on YouTube

Mentioned in the show...

Farmers of Forty Centuries by F. H. King

The Physics of Agriculture by F. H. King

The 131 School of Composting

The Bionutrient Food Association

Folks who make this show possible...

Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Viably. Use our link here to learn more, get a consultation, and let them know we sent you.

The Culinary Breeding Network's Variety Showcase for plant breeders, seed growers, farmers, chefs, comsumers, and more, on October 16th in NY. GET TICKETS HERE!

High Country News is an independent, non-profit, publication covering the land, wildlife, and communities of the Western US for over 50+ years. Check them out using our link here.

Xsense provides home safety and environmental monitoring products for your peace of mind.

Today, I'm in Austria, joined by Dr. Martin Wellacher. Martin is uber committed to the environment, as most of us in this industry are eco-conscious, but he is next-level. He doesn't even own a car. So, he needed to plan to meet, traveling by bus and by bike just to get to us. After a tour of the Komptech facilities and a tasty locally-sourced lunch, we had a rich conversation about his 30 years in the compost industry, starting out just when legislation was passed requiring household organics to be separated back in '92, where many states are just starting right now. At the time, he worked with universities doing research and with Komptech developing technology and research for the compost industry. He now has his own engineering and consulting firm. Not everywhere has a layout like Austria, where the highly populated urban areas are very close to the farms, but there are a lot of places that are like that, like where I am in New England. There is a lot that we can learn from Austria's last 30 years that we can glean and apply to our own homes and towns and states.

Folks who make this show possible...

Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Komptech. Use our link here to learn more, get a consultation, and let them know we sent you.

The Culinary Breeding Network's Variety Showcase for plant breeders, seed growers, farmers, chefs, comsumers, and more, on October 16th in NY. GET TICKETS HERE!

High Country News is an independent, non-profit, publication covering the land, wildlife, and communities of the Western US for over 50+ years. Check them out using our link here.

Xsense provides home safety and environmental monitoring products for your peace of mind.

Robert Rynk and Matthew Cotton, who you may recognize as the authors of The Composting Handbook, just came back from a tour giving composting workshops to Australian farmers. They had an intensive nine workshops over twelve days, about 1,600 miles travelled! Although a tiring trip, for sure, they seem to be even more optimistic about the future of composting. Let's listen in to what they have to say in retrospect.

Mentioned in the show...

The USCC Compost Operator Training Course
October 23rd - 27th, in San Marcos, TX

Folks who make this show possible...

Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Komptech. Use our link here to learn more, get a consultation, and let them know we sent you.

The Culinary Breeding Network's Variety Showcase for plant breeders, seed growers, farmers, chefs, comsumers, and more, on October 16th in NY. GET TICKETS HERE!

High Country News is an independent, non-profit, publication covering the land, wildlife, and communities of the Western US for over 50+ years. Check them out using our link here.

Xsense provides home safety and environmental monitoring products for your peace of mind.

Steven Wisbaum, of Champlain Valley Compost Co & CV Compost, has been growing organic food and making compost for over 30 years. Today, we talk about water management on the compost farm. He provides custom composting services to farms and makes his own premium manure-based compost. In addition writing a variety of compost related articles and guides, Steven has also become the largest distributor of ComposTex compost covers. Through these, he has helped composters around the world make a better compost using less labor and fuel. I use Steven?s ComposTex covers to cover our finished compost piles and they?ve made a big difference with the quality of our product.

Folks who make this show possible...

Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Komptech. Use our link here to learn more, get a consultation, and let them know we sent you.

Vermont Compost Company for premium living soils, composts, and potting mixes. Invest in your soil!

High Country News is an independent, non-profit, publication covering the land, wildlife, and communities of the Western US for over 50+ years. Check them out using our link here.

Xsense provides home safety and environmental monitoring products for your peace of mind.

Brenda Platt is the director and life-force behind the Composting for Community Initiative of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. ILSR has a vision of thriving, diverse, equitable communities. To reach this vision, they build local power to fight corporate control. They are a national research and advocacy organization that partners with allies across the country to build an American economy driven by local priorities accountable to people and the planet. Today, we?re going to talk about one of the institutes five key initiatives: the Composting for Community Initiative is advancing local composting to create jobs, enhance soils, protect the climate, and reduce waste through advocacy, training, research, demonstration sites, and coalition building.

Mentioned in the show...

The wealth of resources provided by the ISLR on composting

Folks who make this show possible...

Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Komptech. Use our link here to learn more, get a consultation, and let them know we sent you.

Vermont Compost Company for premium living soils, composts, and potting mixes. Invest in your soil!

High Country News is an independent, non-profit, publication covering the land, wildlife, and communities of the Western US for over 50+ years. Check them out using our link here.

Xsense provides home safety and environmental monitoring products for your peace of mind.

Michael Martinez is the founder and executive director of LA Compost. He has chosen compost as a way to show his care for humanity and build a healthy community. His work has been incredibly impactful. LA Compost now has a diverse network of 41 community composting locations across LA county. I heard Michael speak at the US Compost Conference last Winter. He often brings people to happy tears as he speaks from the heart about his love of compost. Hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did.

Editorial note, we had some technical difficulties and are only able to publish the last half of our wonderful talk. Please take a moment to learn more about the amazing work Michael and LA Compost are doing!

Folks who make this show possible...

Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Komptech. Use our link here to learn more, get a consultation, and let them know we sent you.

Vermont Compost Company for premium living soils, composts, and potting mixes. Invest in your soil!

High Country News is an independent, non-profit, publication covering the land, wildlife, and communities of the Western US for over 50+ years. Check them out using our link here.

Xsense provides home safety and environmental monitoring products for your peace of mind.

Hey Composters and compost lovers, it?s Jayne Merner of Earth Care Farm! Episode one of season two of The Composter will air Monday, August 21st, and continue with a new episode every Monday for ten weeks. We have an awesome lineup, chatting with composters behind many compost facilities like LA Compost, Vermont Compost, Champlain Valley Compost, and more. And, I?ll be headed to Austria to tour compost facilities in late-August. Expect some news from me from the country that composts the most organic matter in all of Europe. I?m hoping to bring back some tips for all of us to adapt. It?s going to be a rich, fertile season two. If you love compost as much as me, join me!

Paul and Sandy Arnold of Pleasant Valley Farm in upstate NY are seasoned expert winter growers. They have been involved with winter growing since they first purchased their 60-acre property 35 years ago. With three large RIMOL high-tunnels, numerous caterpillar and field tunnels, dedicated wash/pack, and climate controlled storage facilities, they have honed their year-round systems on three cultivated acres and have achieved financial stability for themselves and their family. Until recently, 90% of their sales were from farmers markets. Due to the initial impacts of COVID, they transitioned to almost all online sales without missing a beat. As they are approaching retirement, their farm business is in transition and they are considering how best to keep the land actively farmed. Their two children, Robert and Kim, Followed in their footsteps and each have their own farm businesses, Smart Farm Innovations and Pleasant Valley Flowers, respectively. Both Sandy and Paul offer an incredible wealth of knowledge and experience with winter production and farming for the long haul. It was truly and honor to speak with them for the last episode of this fourth Winter Growers podcast season.

Folks who make the show possible...

Vermont Compost Company premium living soils, composts, and potting mixes. Invest in your soil!

SeedTime Planner crop planning tool for home gardeners and market farmers. Get your free account and $5 seed coupon ->> seedtime.us/notillpodcast

Johnny's Selected Seeds vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.

RIMOL Greenhouses quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Joy Longfellow is a flowers trial technician on the flowers team at Johnny?s research farm. I invited Joy to speak about their overwinter flower trials and the info they have gathered over the past few years. The Johnny?s research farm is 200+ acres acres in size with 60+ acres in crop production that includes both field and greenhouse growing for plant breeding, seed production, trialing, and cover crop rotation. The overwintering flower trials focus on cool season annuals, and a few perrenial, biannual, and bulb crops. Everything is grown for research purposes. Using unheated high-tunnels and meticulous record keeping, they're able to determine the best timing of the top five flower crops to grow in an over-winter tunnel for northern climates. All of their work is a great free resource for farmers interested in getting early high quality flower crops without having to do the time consuming and often costly experimentation on their own. Joy offers a wealth of of information about growing, selecting, and managing overwinter flowers and her expertise is an excellent resource for winter growers.

Folks who make the show possible...

SeedTime Planner crop planning tool for home gardeners and market farmers. Get your free account and $5 seed coupon ->> seedtime.us/notillpodcast

Vermont Compost Company premium living soils, composts, and potting mixes. Invest in your soil!

Johnny's Selected Seeds vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.

RIMOL Greenhouses quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Located in the Pacific Northwest, Brian and his partner Chrystine first started as a fresh market farm is 2004, producing their first seed catalog in 2007, and then transitioned entirely to seed production in 2011. Uprising Seeds is WA fist 100% certified organic seed company, producing over 70% of the seeds they sell with the rest being sourced from a network of regional family farms. Brian is passionate about exploring the relationship between grower security and open pollinated seeds and the ability to seasonally adapt varieties to climactic conditions specifically through seed work. Brian is also involved with a collaborative project between Uprising Seeds, The Culinary Breeding Network, and northern Italian vegetable breeder Smarties to further establish radicchio as an anchor crop for the fall and winter seasons in North America. Overall, a great conversation for better understanding how seed production and selection can effect winter crop production.

Mentioned in the show?

Brian?s favorite tool, the Winnow Wizard by Luterra

Lane Selman and The Culinary Breeding Network
(A podcast with Lane on Collab Farm about CBN)

For more on seed production, check out The Seed Growers Podcast with Dan Brisebois

Folks who make the show possible...

SeedTime Planner crop planning tool for home gardeners and market farmers. Get your free account and $5 seed coupon ->> seedtime.us/notillpodcast

Vermont Compost Company premium living soils, composts, and potting mixes. Invest in your soil!

Johnny's Selected Seeds vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.

RIMOL Greenhouses quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Erin and Sam started Long Season Farm in Ulster County, NY, in 2014 as a winter-only operation, but have since expanded to year-round production and market the majority of their produce at two year-round farmers markets. With seven acres in production, they have four 30' x 96' unheated high-tunnels, plus a prop house, multiple cat/ tunnels, a moveable tunnel, and a large heated greenhouse that includes their wash station. Unheated winter tunnel crops have been very successful, especially when coupled with a diverse array of storage crops. Erin is also very active in her local community and was elected to the town board in 2019. While they both appreciate the year-round cash-flow and access to new markets that winter production allows, the farm revenue only covers expenses, and they've found it challenging to save meaningfully while also avoiding the burnout that can come from year-round farming. I enjoyed hearing about their experiences and insights and what motivates them to continue farming year-round.

Folks who make the show possible...

RIMOL Greenhouses quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Johnny's Selected Seeds vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.

SeedTime Planner crop planning tool for home gardeners and market farmers. Get your free account and $5 seed coupon ->> seedtime.us/notillpodcast

Vermont Compost Company premium living soils, composts, and potting mixes. Invest in your soil!

Jamila Norman of Patchwork City Farms in Atlanta, GA, is a first generation daughter to Caribbean parents whose history is rooted in agriculture. After a career in environmental engineering, she founded Patchwork City Farms in 2010, an acre+ urban farm with one 30'x96' high-tunnel and four caterpillar tunnels that supplies two farmers markets, a couple of local restaurants, and a farmstand. I reached out to Jamila in January after an arctic blast with lows in the teens hit Atlanta and decimated 90% of her winter crops and severely impacted local winter crop availability. I wanted to see if I could offer any help or suggestions in preparing for future extreme cold weather events not normally experienced so far south, but what I learned from Jamila was just how difficult it is to prepare for extreme unpredictable cold unless adequate infrastructure, like high-tunnels, are already in use, which are not typically needed for winter hardy crops in the south. We also talk about her television series, Homegrown, on Magnolia Network, which just launched it's third season. The series focuses on helping families in the Atlanta area transform their outdoor spaces into beautiful and functional backyard farms and gardens. It can be streamed on HBO Max. Jamila is a warm-hearted leader and resource for the urban farming community and I truly enjoyed this conversation.

Mentioned in the show?

Homegrown from Magnolia Network on HBO Max

Folks who make the show possible...

Vermont Compost Company premium living soils, composts, and potting mixes. Invest in your soil!

SeedTime Planner crop planning tool for home gardeners and market farmers. Get your free account and $5 seed coupon ->> seedtime.us/notillpodcast

RIMOL Greenhouses quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Johnny's Selected Seeds vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.

In 2015, Amy Frye and Jacob Slosberg of Boldly Grown Farm in Bow, WA, started a one-acre farm at an incubator farm shortly after meeting and working on their university farm. Now, in their ninth season, they?ve purchased their own farm property and currently cultivate 30 acres of vegetables, a couple acres of grains, dry beans, seed crops, and flowers. Winter crops have always been the focus from the beginning. Eighty percent of sales are through wholesale channels including distributors and food hubs, plus they operate a 250+ member winter CSA and recently opened an on-site farmstand. Amy and Jacob?s story is a great example of rapid growth of their farming goals combined with mechanized and scaled winter production, while simultaneously raising a family and anchoring their farm business and home on permanent land.

Mentioned in the show?

VIVA Farms farm incubator, listen to their conversation on Collab Farm here

NOLS Leadership Course, Year in Patagonia

Folks who make the show possible...

RIMOL Greenhouses quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Johnny's Selected Seeds vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.

SeedTime Planner crop planning tool for home gardeners and market farmers. Get your free account and $5 seed coupon ->> seedtime.us/notillpodcast

Vermont Compost Company premium living soils, composts, and potting mixes. Invest in your soil!

Order The Ecological Farm: A Minimalist No-Till, No-Spray, Selective-Weeding, Grow-Your-Own-Fertilizer System for Organic Agriculture by Helen Atthowe

Hey, Farmer Jesse here, and we've got a special treat for you today. We are re-releasing the interview I did with Helen Atthowe from back in 2020, some of you may have heard it, some may have not. There are a couple reasons for the re-release: First, this was one of those early episodes we got a ton of positive feedback on because it's just a great episode all the way through, but second and more importantly, she just released a new book through Chelsea Green called The Ecological Farm: A Minimalist No-Till, No-Spray, Selective-Weeding, Grow-Your-Own-Fertilizer System for Organic Agriculture

It is super excellent and extremely nerdy and, as the reader, you get to dive even deeper into the details of the systems Helen describes in this conversation we're posting today. Honestly, I think every serious ecologically-minded grower should own a copy of this new book.

Mentioned in the show...

Studies: 

https://eorganic.org/node/14129

https://eorganic.org/node/15582 

Jillian and Ross Mickens of Open Door Farm in Cedar Grove, NC, work collaboratively with previous podcast guests Vera and Gordon of Ten Mother Farm to fill CSA boxes with many of the land intensive crops like potatoes and winter squash. With 5 acres under cultivation, and eleven seasons under their belt, they recently made the transition to winter-only sales from mid-August to the end of March, while using the main-season to tend to storage and root crop production, as well as rest during the hottest months of the year. Both the focus on winter-only sales and the collaborative relationship with neighboring farms creates an interesting farm business model that we get to better understand the opportunities and challenges of as a potential approach to growing in a warmer winter climates of the South.

Folks who make the show possible...

RIMOL Greenhouses quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Johnny's Selected Seeds vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.

SeedTime Planner crop planning tool for home gardeners and market farmers. Get your free account and $5 seed coupon ->> seedtime.us/notillpodcast

Vermont Compost Company premium living soils, composts, and potting mixes. Invest in your soil!

Rebecca and her husband, Mark, started Moonshot Farm in East Windsor, NJ, in 2019 after relocating from New York City to begin their dream of growing year-round cut flowers in a northern climate. In just four short years, they have built their 3.5 acre flower farm to include four high-tunnels, two of which are heated by a geothermal heating system, and they sell at two year round farmers markets, manage a 130 member CSA bouquet-of-the-month club, and an on-site farmstead. Just this year, they were able to quit their off-farm jobs to work full-time on the farm. Also, in the last four years, they had two children, Rose and Violet!

We talk extensively about their geothermal heating system which allows them to offer customers blooms 12 months of the year. I learned a ton about flower production from our conversation, she offers such great info for anyone looking to add winter flowers to their farm.

Follow Moonshot Farm on Instagram

Mentioned in the show?

The Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers

NRCS EQIP High-Tunne Grant Program

Rural Energy for America Program

Folks who make the show possible...

RIMOL Greenhouses quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Johnny's Selected Seeds vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.

Farmers Friend for caterpillar tunnels, harvest equipment, tarps, & more! Get free shipping through ->> farmersfriend.com/notill 

BCS America for two wheel tractors + implements.

Today my guest is John Dindia of Lakeview Hill Farm in Traverse City, MI. John and his partner Bailey designed and built their farm from the ground up beginning in 2017 on a 58-acre property with 10 acres of available farmland and a 35-acre woodlot. Now, with 2.5 acres in production, they have five 30? x 148? heated greenhouses, a dedicated propagation house connected to a production barn, and seven 20? x 148? caterpillar tunnels. Plus, their farm is 75% powered by solar and they are committed to utilizing renewable energy in all aspects of their farm. Seventy percent of gross sales are dedicated to wholesale, including grocery stores, restaurants, and a growers cooperative CSA, all within 15 miles of the farm. The rest comes from an on-site farm stand that they are expanding into a full service farm store later this summer (?23).

John and Bailey have been full-time on their farm since the beginning, plus they have five year-round employees with four staff on salary. John and I dig into the details of the heating and lighting systems he uses to maintain productivity during the cold grey winters of Michigan, as well as the support he and Bailey access to finance the startup and growth of their farm business, including loans through the FSA. John offers a ton of expertise and experience for farmers looking to improve their winter growing systems and mindfully grow their farm business for the long haul.

Mentioned in the show...

USDA/FSA Farm Loan Programs

USDA/NRCS Grants, Programs, & Initiatives

John uses Nolt's Greenhouse Supplies & Total Grow LEDs

Folks who make the show possible...

RIMOL Greenhouses quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Johnny's Selected Seeds vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.

Farmers Friend for caterpillar tunnels, harvest equipment, tarps, & more! Get free shipping through ->> farmersfriend.com/notill 

BCS America for two wheel tractors + implements.

Two quick things: first, we are welcoming back another exciting season of the Winter Growers Podcast with Clara Coleman--super cool--and second, you are going to notice there is a lot more activity on this feed than usual and the reason is from here on out all of the shows we produce are going to appear in this feed as The No-Till Growers Network?

Welcome back to the Winter Growers Podcast! In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Niki Jabbour, who is an award-winning author, radio show host, educator, and gardening expert on year-round growing in a northern climate. Niki is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, zone 5b at the 44th parallel. She enthusiastically maintains half an acre of raised beds in her back yard using a combination of a high tunnel, low tunnels, cold frames, she grows over 30 veggie crops for winter harvest, including: lettuce, scallions, parsley, kale, carrots, leeks, and arugula. In addition to her books on year-round gardening, Niki also offers online courses on her website savvygardening.com and free educational videos on her YouTube channel and Instagram. I loved speaking with Niki, she is an excellent resource for home gardeners and small-scale growers looking for tips and techniques for successful year-round vegetable production.

Mentioned in the show?

Niki?s website, savvygardening.com

The Savvy Gardening Instagram, YouTube channel, and online courses/resources

BOOK// The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener: How to Grow Your Own Food 365 Days a Year, No Matter Where You Live

Folks who make the show possible...

RIMOL Greenhouses quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Johnny's Selected Seeds vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.

Farmers Friend for caterpillar tunnels, harvest equipment, tarps, & more! Get free shipping through ->> farmersfriend.com/notill 

BCS America for two wheel tractors + implements.

Hi again, it's Natalie, and this is my last episode, THE last episode, of the fifth season of The No-Till Market Garden Podcast! I want to thank Farmer Jesse and the whole crew of the podcast for giving me the mic and so much freedom. It's been fun, and if you've learned even a fraction of what I have then I'll call it a win.

I am thrilled to bring you my conversation with Tatiana Schreiber of the Rich Earth Institute. We focus mainly on her work there regarding the social aspects of dry sanitation systems. Translation, how do people feel about using urine as fertilizer. You might be thinking, how could I even broach this topic after devoting a whole episode to PFAS and how the use of biosolids has lead to the contamination of soils that we are only beginning to understand. I encourage you to listen to this one. Not all human waste is created the same and if we care about big picture sustainability this is something we really need to talk about.

Check out their research and findings here

SUPPORT OUR WORK ON PATREON

On today?s episode of the podcast I, Alex Ball of Old City Acres, sit down with Jonah Sloven of Sweet Hollow Organic Farm in Victor, Idaho, a small valley town of only 2,000 people with a thriving local food scene. Jonah operates his farm on land directly connected to a housing development forming an agrihood and increasing the connection between community members and where their food is produced. The farm was also involved with a SARE grant to trial no-till deep mulch systems to combat pervasive bindweed. We also chat about building farm infrastructure in a high wind and snow load environment as well as using two wheel walk behind tractors and the value in choosing appropriate technology and systems for your individual and unique farm situation. 

Mentioned in the show...

Follow Sweet Hollow Farm on Instagram & check out their farmsite

Jonah's SARE research on bindweed and no-till production

Using Tilmor cultivation equipment

Folks who make the show possible...

RIMOL Greenhouses quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Certified Naturally Grown grassroots, peer-to-peer, holistic certification.

Farmers Friend for caterpillar tunnels, harvest equipment, tarps, & more! Get free shipping through ->> farmersfriend.com/notill 

BCS America for two wheel tractors + implements.

... and, as always, our work is powered by the folks who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers, you can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our brand new forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Today I, Mimi, am speaking with my good good friend Abby Rose of Vidacycle, a farmer, physicist, and soil health advocate. She is the co-founder of Vidacycle Tech which makes easy to use web applications that support farmers on their regenerative path wherever they are. I've used these apps, spent a lot of time with her, think the world of her, and I feel this episode is part two of where we left off with Jim of Red Shirt Farm where we exposed the tender underbelly of the systems we're all working in and trying very hard to keep our heads above. In this conversation, Abby and I also talk about her other work on an AWESOME award-winning podcast, Farmerama Radio, if you haven't heard of it already go find it wherever you listen to podcasts. Specifically, the LANDED series. Her experience in working with an international cadre of farmers and stewards on their respective regenerative journeys has given her a keen perspective on the lay of the land regarding what we're up against when it comes to making space for holistic systems in a global economy that is working against it.

Mentioned in the show...

Abby's farm in Chile, Vidacycle Farm

The web-based apps from Vidacycle Tech

Listen to Farmerama Radio on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts
Link to the LANDED series with Col Gordon

Folks who make the show possible...

RIMOL Greenhouses quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Tilth Soil amazing compost-based living potting soils and soil blends.

Orisha for wireless greenhouse+ automation, get 15% off with code "No Till Grower"

Real Organic Project for a whole farm certification program to distinguish crops grown in health soils.

... and, as always, our work is powered by the folks who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers, you can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat, subscribe our growing YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our brand new forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Buckle up for another NERDY episode of the podcast. For this one, I--Natalie--spoke with Andrea Jilling, an assistant professor of environmental soil chemistry at Oklahoma State University. It's just coincidence that this one follows so soon after Mimi's interview with Dr.  Cotrufo, as it's a nice continuation of that conversation about organic matter and carbon, but extending it to nitrogen, Andrea's area of research. Nitrogen is HUGE, it's in the air as both an inert gas and a greenhouse gas, it's in the soil as organic matter and inorganic molecules, it's even in some rocks. It's constantly changing and shifting in ways that are regulated by microbes, plants, humans, even lightning! In other words, it's complicated. There are economic and environmental implications regarding nitrogen management, and not just for farms spreading inorganic fertilizer, but for everyone. I can't promise that this conversation will help you create a fertility plan for you farm... in fact I'm pretty confident it won't. But, I think it provides an important link between thinking about carbon management and nitrogen management.

Mentioned in the show...

Andrea's Journal Articles

Folks who make the show possible...

Certified Naturally Grown grassroots, peer-to-peer, holistic certification.

Johnny's Selected Seeds vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds.

BCS America for two wheel tractors + implements.

RIMOL Greenhouses quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

... and, as always, our work is powered by the folks who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers, check out our weekly YouTube videos, pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our brand new forum at notillgrowers.community.chat