Shows
Growing For Market PodcastThe art of growing uncommon flowers organically with Matt Dell of Treadlight Farm in New York StateIn this conversation, host Rebecca Kutzer-Rice speaks with Matt Dell, co-owner of Treadlight Farm, about their journey into organic flower farming, the transition from retail to wholesale, and the unique challenges and strategies involved in scaling their business. Treadlight Farm focuses on uncommon flower varieties, and Matt discusses how they built relationships with wholesalers, and the techniques they use to manage production effectively. This covers quite a transition since Treadlight Farm started with hand tools and a small greenhouse, and they now manage about 20 acres with a number of greenhouses.Matt talks about how being certified organic...
2025-01-141h 11
Growing For Market PodcastMaximizing the storage life of vegetables with Sam Knapp of Offbeet Farm in Fairbanks, AlaskaIf you store vegetables for any length of time, you’re going to want to hear this interview with Sam Knapp of Offbeet Farm. Sam has practiced “storage farming” for years, growing during the summer for off-season sales from stored crops deep into the winter. In this interview, he tells us about how he figured out his own best practices along the way, as there was little available information on modern veg storage techniques that would keep produce in top shape over an extended period of time.The product of all this learning is Sam’s brand-new book, Be...
2024-11-261h 31
Growing For Market PodcastGrowing seeds for sale or for your own farm with Dan Brisebois of Tourne-Sol Cooperative FarmDan Brisebois has over 20 years of market farming and seed growing experience as a founding member of Tourne-Sol Cooperative farm in Quebec, Canada. In this interview and discussion of his new book, The Seed Farmer, we hear how his interest in seed growing goes all the way back to the beginning of his farming career. Now, he can tell us from experience what it’s like to grow many seed crops, since roughly half of the farm income derives from seed sales, with the other half coming from a 500-member CSA.This interview and Dan’s book cove...
2024-11-191h 14
Growing For Market PodcastOptimizing your online sales and marketing with Nina Galle, co-author of Ready Farmer One: The Farmer’s Guide to Selling and MarketingGood marketing makes your web presence stand out so customers can find you. Nina Galle, co-author of Ready Farmer One, The Farmer’s Guide to Selling and Marketing, and head of marketing at Local Line, discusses how to optimize your farm’s online sales and marketing so you can reach a wider customer base and increase sales. Galle shares how online sales can also help boost in-person sales at farmers markets, CSAs and food hubs. She discusses the importance of offers and incentives to attract and retain customers, the role of visual assets in building brand...
2024-09-101h 11
Growing For Market PodcastNina Planck on replacing the industrial food chain with local foods valuesNina Planck tells us about doing farmers markets as a kid growing up on Wheatland Vegetable Farms in Northern Virginia in the 70s and 80s, and how that experience led to her starting a series of farmers markets in London, England. We talk about how growers can optimize their own farmers markets, emphasizing the need for them to expand their offerings beyond fruits and vegetables to include meat, dairy, seafood, wine, and anything else produced locally.We also talk about how ideas and recipes from some of Nina’s books, including The Farmer’s Market Cookbook and The...
2024-09-031h 28
Growing For Market PodcastAdvocating for the rights of farmers to sell directly to the public with Alexia Kulwiec, Executive Director of the Farm-To-Consumer Legal Defense FundThere are a lot of regulations that cover farm products, and running afoul of them can be costly or even put you out of business. Alexia Kulwiec, Executive Director of the Farm-To-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) is on the podcast this week to talk about how her organization protects the rights of farmers to sell directly to the public. This is especially important since, with a patchwork of state and federal regulations, sometimes the wrong regulations have been applied to farmers, or been applied improperly.The FTCLDF is helping farmers proactively, by working to influence state and...
2024-08-2754 min
Growing For Market PodcastHow growers are using Farmhand, the first virtual assistant built for farmers, with Carolyn Givens of Something Good Organics, Melanie Cunningham of Shakefork Community Farm and Ari Memar of FarmhandVirtual assistants have been around for a while in fields like business and marketing, but until recently there hasn’t been a VA built specifically for farmers. Farmhand changed that, with a combination of automations and a team of humans streamlining operations and doing many of the things a back-office staff would do for farmers.We were curious how farmers were using Farmhand, so we invited back Ari Memar, founder and CEO of Farmhand, along with Carolyn Givens of Something Good Organics and Melanie Cunningham of Shakefork Community Farm, to hear how they are using Farmhand on th...
2024-08-061h 09
Growing For Market PodcastDesigning with dried flowers with Hannah Muller of Full Belly FarmDried flower arrangements are one of the best ways of ensuring a year-round supply of domestically-grown blooms, as gaps in the harvest season can be filled in with dried flowers. Hannah Muller just published Designing with Dried Flowers, a gorgeous and practical book written from her experience as farmer/florist on Full Belly Farm, one of the nation’s largest certified organic flower farms, among other crops. An additional benefit of using dried blooms is that flowers that don’t make the cut for fresh use can often be used for dried flower arrangements and wreaths. Hannah share...
2024-07-231h 02
Growing For Market PodcastFlexible CSA logistics: Alex Ball of Old City Acres in Michigan on out-of-home delivery, website customization, last mile logistics and so much moreAlex Ball started his farm when he was 14, so he’s had a lot of opportunities to refine the model over the years! He shares how and why he has moved the farm many times, and how he landed on the flexible CSA model he’s now using. This model allows for flexibility for the farmer by sourcing some of the produce from other growers. Plus, the credit-based system allows a wider group of people to participate, who might not otherwise be able to commit to a full box of food every week.We also talk about what...
2024-06-041h 27
Growing For Market PodcastThe rise of selling local food and flowers online with Cole Jones, founder and CEO of Local LineCole Jones tells us how he went from selling potatoes from local farmers out of his car for chefs to founding Local Line, which now helps thousands of farmers sell food and flowers online. Though Local Line was founded in 2015 as a matchmaking service connecting local farms with chefs, we discuss how the COVID-19 Pandemic accelerated their business overnight as farmers tried to cope with disrupted markets. Cole tells us how most of the farmers who went online during the pandemic have maintained their online storefronts post-pandemic, because selling online has opened up so many more opportunities for local...
2024-05-281h 33
Growing For Market PodcastGoing from dairy farming to vegetable farming with humor, wisdom, grit and lots of good farm advice with Jaymie Michelle Thurler of Rutabaga Ranch in OntarioJaymie Michelle Thurler tells us how she went from a dairy farming background to start Rutabaga Ranch, a certified organic bio-diverse market garden in Brinston, Ontario. At Rutabaga Ranch, they have a farmstand, sell at two farmers markets, have a CSA and sell to local restaurants. Jaymie conveys a lot of farm wisdom with humor, including advice on how to find a farm, how to stay married, and how some peculiar local ag laws led to them starting their on-farm store in a silo, which ended up being much more successful than they ever imagined. H...
2024-05-211h 13
Growing For Market PodcastImproving access to fresh food and farming in Chicago with Joshua Hughes of the Urban Growers CollectiveThis week we hear from Joshua Hughes, who is the Fresh Moves Logistics Coordinator for the Fresh Moves Mobile Market, one of the many programs of the non-profit Urban Growers Collective in Chicago. Host Katie Kulla talks with Joshua about the UGC and their work in general, but more specifically about how the organization is working to “close the food access gap.” Expanding access to food is something we’ve talked about before on this podcast and it’s something that motivates many farmers and organizations to think outside the box when it comes to marketing and distributing produce — UGC and th...
2024-05-0756 min
Growing For Market PodcastA fresh update on micronutrient fertility from the sea that was decades in the making with Michael Sileck of Sea-90 Ocean MineralsGrowers have long used deposits from ancient seas as a source of micronutrients- and over 50 years ago, Dr. Maynard Murray started researching the use of minerals- naturally dried and derived from mineral-rich seawater- as a source of micronutrients. Today on the podcast we talk with Chief Mineral Officer Michael Sileck about how Sea-90 Ocean Minerals continues the work of Dr. Murray today, through their naturally-dried, unprocessed and unrefined soil amendments. We talk about how the benefits of sea minerals were discovered and established, where SEA-90 is made in the original location in the Sea of C...
2024-04-301h 08
Growing For Market PodcastStreamlining the REKO ring model of pre-selling to the public with Tyler Taggart of REKO HubREKO rings gained popularity during the pandemic as a way to keep selling direct to the public when markets were shut down. One of the obstacles to more widespread adoption of the REKO system- reliance on closed Facebook groups to communicate with customers- has been eliminated by Tyler Taggart and REKO Hub. They have developed software to facilitate REKO rings without using Facebook, plus the software is free for producers to use. Instead of charging producers, a small fee is charged to customers when they place an order through REKO Hub. In case you aren’t a...
2024-04-2352 min
Growing For Market PodcastCreating community around food and farming with Brian Campbell and Crystine Goldberg of Uprising SeedsOn this week’s pod we talk with Brian Campbell and Crystine Goldberg. They own Uprising Seeds, the Certified Organic, farm-based seed business in Bellingham, WA. Brian and Crystine started as fresh market growers in 2004, growing specialty produce for local restaurants, food coops, and farmers markets. During that time they also started one of the country's first food-stamp based CSA programs. Brian and Crystine launched Uprising Seeds in 2007 as a small threefold catalog of primarily farm-grown seeds and eventually transitioned entirely to seeds as their market crop by 2011. Now in their 17th year, they maintain and...
2024-04-021h 09
Growing For Market PodcastBecoming the face of your farm and breeding the Floret Originals varieties with Erin Benzakein of FloretErin Benzakein pioneered connecting with people who want to support local farms through social media. In this podcast we talk about how to use your own story to connect with potential customers. Read more in an article she wrote for Growing for Market Magazine called “Become the face of your farm,” linked in the show notes.We also talk about the years of work that went into breeding the first round of seeds for Floret Originals that were released this winter, including dahlias, celosia and zinnias. We discuss the mechanics of breeding, including converting many of Erin’s hoop...
2024-03-261h 15
Growing For Market PodcastHow rootstocks increase yield and disease resistance in grafted tomatoes with breeder Martijn van Stee of Enza ZadenGrafting tomatoes onto vigorous, disease-resistant rootstocks is one of the biggest advancements in tomato production ever. We’ve been getting lots of questions about grafting and rootstocks lately, so we leapt at the opportunity to get some answers straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, by interviewing Martijn van Stee of Enza Zaden seeds about what makes tomato rootstocks so vigorous and disease resistant. Martijn has worked on breeding rootstocks for years, and we really enjoyed this conversation from the Netherlands, where Enza is based (zaden means “seeds” in Dutch). Tune in to find out...
2024-03-121h 27
Bootstrap Farmer Radio8 Profit Crops for Greenhouse GrowingThe Greenhouse and Hoop House Grower's Handbook What crops make the most money in a Hoop House? What options do farmers need when growing year-round? What are ways big growers leverage every square inch of protected culture? Andrew Mefferd, the author of The Greenhouse and Hoop House Growers Handbook, discussed his motivation and observations in writing the required reading growing manual for any market gardener. https://growingformarket.com/ ************************************ Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:30 Origin of The Greenhouse and Hoop House Grower's Handbook 08:50 Increasing Yields 11:00 Tomatoes 59:31 Cold We...
2024-03-071h 49
Growing For Market PodcastGrowing a bioregionally adapted seed system with Don Tipping of Siskiyou Seeds in OregonDon Tipping stewards over 700 open-pollinated varieties of seeds at Siskiyou Seeds in Oregon, and we discuss the importance of having a bioregionally adapted seed system, and how farmers can get involved in their regional seed system in this week’s podcast. We also talk about Don’s North Star vs. his mission, and how farmers can clarify their goals by understanding the difference between the two. Siskiyou varieties are selected for resilience to pest and disease pressure, and we discuss how market farmers can decide whether or not seed growing is something they should add to th...
2024-03-051h 18
Growing For Market PodcastMaking flowers accessible with a CSA, home delivery and more with Tracy Yang of JARN Co. Flowers in Washington StateThough she comes from a flower growing family, Tracy Yang of JARN Co. Flowers wasn’t always planning on following in the family business. Now, Tracy and her family farm four acres of flowers in Monroe, Washington, located about 45 minutes northeast of Seattle. Hear about how she decided to grow flowers for a living and the process of establishing her own farm, which involved clearing raw land and a lot of blackberries. Starting her own farm included some new strategies, like a steadily growing flower CSA and home delivery. JARN Co. Flowers sells 80% of their flowe...
2024-02-271h 24
Growing For Market PodcastBreeding local food systems that are more resilient to climate change with Chris Smith of The Utopian Seed ProjectUltracrosses and tropical perennials grown as annuals are just two of the many innovative breeding strategies being used by Chris Smith and the Utopian Seed Project to help make local food systems more resilient in the face of climate change. Based in western North Carolina, they are pioneering unusual breeding strategies that can be used by farmers and breeders anywhere to help develop varieties that can adapt to our changing climate. Underlying their work is the fact that many vegetable varieties are bred for specific regions, and need a high level of inputs for them t...
2024-02-201h 37
Growing For Market PodcastA lifetime of organic farming and activism with Jim Gerritsen of Wood Prairie Farm in MaineJim Gerritsen of Wood Prairie farm is a legend not only for his over four decades of organic farming, but for his activism. As the founder and president of The Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA), a national non-profit membership organization committed to protecting, promoting, and developing the organic seed trade and its growers, he was part of the group that sued Monsanto in 2011 challenging the validity of Monsanto's transgenic/GMO patents and seeking court protection for innocent family farmers who may become contaminated by Monsanto seed.He's also been involved in defending the integrity of or...
2024-02-131h 44Bootstrap Farmer RadioWhat Do Farm Nerds Talk About After Hours?A family reunion of sorts, Bootstrap Farmer welcomes Andrew Mefferd, publisher of Growing for Market Magazine and author of The Greenhouse and Hoop House Grower's Handbook, to the studio, along with Bootstrap Farmers Director of Sales Randy Cummings & Customer Service Specialist Kari Danial. Host Nick, Randy, and Andrew have known each other for close to 12 years and have worked on many projects in the small ag space. This in-person meet-up was long overdue, and this conversation covered many topics related to small farm producers. Here you go if you want to know what farm nerds talk about after hours...
2024-02-071h 50
Growing For Market PodcastQuitting the corporate life to build Mount Liamuiga Farm in Colorado with Keshaun JosephThe path from accountant to farmer is not the most commonly taken one, so hear how Keshaun Joseph came to reconsider the corporate life and start Mount Liamuiga Farm in Colorado on this week’s podcast. The first year of the farm included a car accident, negotiating water rights, and hungry packs of rabbits, all of which made this self-described “recovering perfectionist” slow down, ground himself, and build resilience and plan for the next year. Keshaun and host Katie Kulla discuss his family background in farming, growing unusual crops like hibiscus, the farm he worked on before starting Mount Liamui...
2023-12-261h 26
Growing For Market PodcastGrowing a profitable flower farm with Lennie Larkin of B-Side farm and author of Flower Farming for ProfitNo one gets into flower farming because they love business analytics, however if you don’t know how to make sense of your business and make a profit, you’re not going to stay in business for very long. Luckily we’ve got Lennie Larkin of B-Side Farm to help us cut through the clutter and tell us how to plan to make a profit in our own flower farm businesses. She’s on the pod this week, telling us about her new book, Flower Farming for Profit, which will be out in January. We talk abou...
2023-12-051h 29
Growing For Market PodcastThe best idea in local farming you’ve never heard of: the “farm stop” with Kathy Sample & Bill Brinkerhoff of Argus Farm StopOne perennial problem for market farmers is how to make local food and flowers available to customers every day, without having to spend seven days a week standing behind a table or giving up most of the value to a wholesaler. The farm stop is the most innovative answer to this problem we’ve heard of in years, and Kathy Sample & Bill Brinkerhoff of Argus Farm Stop are on the pod this week to tell us about it.Billed as a “year-round, everyday farmers market,” it isn’t a replacement for farmers markets, but a complement to them. In...
2023-11-281h 23
Growing For Market PodcastThe farmer’s office: business skills you need to run a profitable farm with Julia ShanksNobody gets into farming for the spreadsheets, however almost no one will stay in business if they don’t get good with the business of running a farm. Even with farm businesses we are passionate about, it’s important to do more than just survive from year to year. The difference between gardening and farming is making a profit, and that’s necessary to pay everyone including the farmer, plan for retirement, and have a little extra for a “rainy day,” like when the tractor breaks down, someone gets injured, or the farm needs to grow. Luckily...
2023-11-211h 06
Growing For Market PodcastThe Nourishing Asian Kitchen (and Farm!) with Farmer/Author Sophia Nguyen EngSophia Ngueyen Eng was a successful marketer in Silicon Valley, in March of 2020. When the world shut down Sophia immediately realized the importance of food security. She quickly expanded her garden and even ventured into raising chickens. As Sophia's connection to the land grew so did her connection to her heritage as she tapped into traditional Asian gardening practices. Within years she and her family adopted the homesteading lifestyle and moved away from the city and on to 7 acres. Now, she pursues her passions for sustainable farming and nourishing Asian cuisine on her farm i...
2023-11-141h 01
Growing For Market PodcastThe Lean Micro Farm with Ben Hartman of Clay Bottom Farm in Goshen, IndianaLearn how Ben Hartman cut his farm down to 1/3 of an acre from an acre without taking a pay cut on this week’s pod. Ben Hartman is well known for adapting LEAN principles from manufacturing to his farm in order to cut out waste and maximize efficiency; that is the subject of his previous two books, The Lean Farm and The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables. However, even after LEANing up his previous two farms, he found he was working too much at the expense of family, friends and community. So he and his...
2023-11-071h 20
Growing For Market PodcastTwo decades of farm collaboration with Lyn Jacobs of La Finquita Del Buho and Polly Gottesman of Pumpkin Ridge GardensSometimes we can be stronger when we collaborate, and on this week’s pod hear from two growers with over 20 years of experience working together. Lyn Jacobs @la_finquita_del_buho and Polly Gottesman @pumpkinridgegardens each run their own vegetable CSA farms, and they’ve been collaborating to sell vegetable and flower seedlings, fresh cut flower bouquets, dried flowers and wreaths since 2002. This episode is packed with lots of great ideas and growing info, including how to keep your flowers distinctive at markets with other flower growers, how they manage the cooperative business arrangement between their two farms, and how...
2023-10-311h 17
Growing For Market PodcastPFAS contamination of farm soil with Caleb Goossen, Organic Crop Specialist at MOFGAPFAS are toxic chemicals that are widely used and have accumulated to dangerous levels in agricultural soils in some areas. On tomorrow’s pod we talk with Caleb Goossen, an Organic Crop Specialist at MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association) about why Maine may be the canary in the coal mine for this type of contamination, and how farmers in other areas can know whether their properties are at risk for contamination. As the Organic Crop Specialist for MOFGA he has been helping farmers deal with the repercussions of PFAS contamination, and we talk about the effects on hu...
2023-10-241h 19
Growing For Market PodcastSpreading risk through crop diversity on a new farm with Noah Poulos of Wild East FarmDiversity of crops is one way to spread the risk in farming, and on this week’s podcast we talk about what Noah Poulos of Wild East Farm grew in this first year on his farm outside of Asheville, North Carolina. In addition to vegetables, crops include pastured meats and agroforestry, and we discuss how the short-term crops help them get into farmers markets and generate income while the longer-term crops grow. We also discuss their unusual lease that was set up to keep the property in farming, recap how the first year on the property went, what he le...
2023-10-171h 30
Growing For Market Podcast70 sustainable plants that will change the way we eat, with Kevin Hobbs and Artur Cisar-ErlachPodcast host Katie Kulla illustrated a new book! In this episode she interviews Kevin Hobbs and Artur Cisar-Erlach, the co-authors of the book, "Edible: 70 Sustainable Plants That Are Changing How We Eat." Over half of the modern diet is based on just a few plants, however with a rapidly changing climate, plants that can thrive under more challenging conditions will become more important in ensuring food security. This interview focuses on the crops from the book that have commercial potential and could be grown by market farmers, with the added bonus for growers that the c...
2023-10-101h 36
Growing For Market PodcastUrban flower farming with Mimo Davis and Miranda Duschack of Urban Buds City Grown FlowersMimo Davis and Miranda Duschack grow flowers at Urban Buds City Grown Flowers in the city of St. Louis, Missouri, and we love this interview where we talk about rehabbing a legacy farm property including an old glass greenhouse, what it’s really like to grow flowers in the city, and what their markets are with so many potential customers nearby. We talk about how to get the most out of a small area, favorite floral crops and growing tips, why they keep growing ginger along with all the flowers, the impact of urban farms, and so much more!...
2023-10-031h 24
Growing For Market PodcastBalancing farming on Whidbey Island and teaching farming in Seattle with Eli Wheat of SkyRoot Farm and The U of WAEli Wheat is both a farmer and a teacher, splitting his time between SkyRoot Farm on Whidbey Island, WA and teaching at the University of Washington. On this week’s podcast, we get to hear how he balances both, taking the ferry back and forth between the island and the city, and how different the University of Washington urban farm is from his farm! We love this interview where Eli and host Katie Kulla talk about how working with new people has shrunk the farm’s footprint to roughly half of what it was without reducing revenue, how going no-t...
2023-09-261h 06
Growing For Market PodcastThe Winter Market Gardener with Catherine Sylvestre of Ferme des Quatre-TempsHarvesting vegetables all winter long is what we discuss on today’s podcast with Catherine Sylvestre of Ferme des Quatre-Temps, in Hemmingford, Quebec, Canada. Catherine is an agronomist and director of vegetable production and leader of the market garden team at the farm. She is also the co-author of a new book, called The Winter Market Gardener, along with JM Fortier. She develops, implements, and teaches best practices for cold season growing, specializing in crop protection and greenhouse production for northern climates. We talk about how to time plantings as growth slows in the winter, how to use a va...
2023-09-191h 22
Growing For Market PodcastStaying healthy through a lifetime of farming with Cynthia Flores of Labor-MovementFarming can take a toll on the body, and this week’s podcast guest Cynthia Flores founded Labor-Movement to help farmers stay healthy through many seasons of farming. That’s because after 20 years of farming herself, she has felt the toll it takes on the body, and decided to do something about it! As a certified personal trainer and licensed massage therapist, we have a lot to learn from her about how to stay healthy through seasons of farming, including how to move to reduce injuries, how to recover from injuries, and how to get stronger in the off-season. Podc...
2023-09-121h 05
Growing For Market PodcastStrategies for farming in clay with Nella Mae Parks of Nella Mae’s Farm in Cove, OregonNella Mae Parks went from a farm with lots of topsoil to one with lots of clay, and in the subsequent decade she has learned a lot about clay! Nella Mae’s Farm is in Cove, Oregon. Podcast host Katie Kulla and Nella Mae talk about the advantages that clay can provide (high water and nutrient holding ability), as well as the disadvantages (can be hard to work with, can turn into a brick if worked at the wrong time).They also discuss how to open up clay soil whether you till or not, how to deal wi...
2023-09-051h 08
Growing For Market PodcastPart 2 of Managing your wash/pack system for safe, clean produce with Billy Mitchell, Chris Callahan and Andrew ChamberlinIn this episode of the Growing for Market podcast, host Andrew Mefferd invites guests Billy Mitchell, Chris Callahan, and Andrew Chamberlin to discuss efficient systems and organization for packing sheds. We discuss the principles of good flow in a wash/pack situation and how to optimize cold storage in post-harvest handling. The guests emphasize the significance of creating a comfortable and efficient work environment by considering factors such as walking paths, space, lighting, and ventilation. They provide practical tips to improve work flow, such as identifying bottlenecks and rearranging workstations or introducing hanging shelving. The e...
2023-08-2957 min
Growing For Market PodcastManaging your wash/pack system for safe, clean produce with Billy Mitchell, Chris Callahan and Andrew ChamberlinStrategies to create a clean wash/pack environment that guarantees good food hygiene and workflow is the topic of this week’s pod, and for the first time ever we have three guests! With three guests and such an important topic, it’s no surprise this became the first of a two-part episode, with the second part following next week. In addition to getting produce clean and safe from pathogens, a good packing shed will facilitate workflow that keeps the produce moving and people comfortable. In this episode, we have the privilege of hosting Billy Mitchell, Chris Callahan, and Andr...
2023-08-221h 00
Growing For Market PodcastOvercoming adversity with Anthonie Conner of 4A Market Gardens in Torrington, WyomingAdversity is something all farmers will have to overcome at some point in their careers, and on this podcast episode we talk with Anthonie Conner of 4A Market Gardens in Torrington, Wyoming, for a dose of inspiration. Anthonie overcame alcohol addiction, then threw himself into starting his market garden during the pandemic, in addition to holding down an off-farm job as a welder. We talk about perseverance, and how to stay motivated when you have weeds as tall as you are. We also talk strategies for building a farm business in a lightly populated rural area, including working with...
2023-08-151h 18
Growing For Market PodcastBreeding more flavorful vegetables with Culinary Breeding Network founder Lane SelmanThe Culinary Breeding Network helps plant breeders to develop the kind of varieties that market farmers want to grow, i.e. vegetables that taste good. While it might seem obvious that vegetables should taste good, a lot of the effort that goes into vegetable breeding focuses on traits like yield, shelf life and looks, without considering flavor.In tomorrow’s episode of the Growing for Market Podcast, we talk with Lane Selman, creator and director of the Culinary Breeding Network. Lane grew up on the citrus farm her Sicilian great-grandparents planted in 1919 in Florida. She studied agronomy an...
2023-08-081h 25
Growing For Market PodcastBuilding a honey farm business with innovative marketing, agritourism and education with Tara Chapman of Two Hives HoneyJust your typical CIA to honey farmer story on this podcast! Tara Chapman of Two Hives Honey talks with host Katie Kulla about starting and scaling a honey business, with education and agritourism as important parts of the plan. After a decade of working for The Agency, Tara quit her government job to work for a beekeeper in East Texas, and was inspired to start her own unique honey business.Two Hives Honey sells raw honey direct to consumers through its online store and a monthly subscription program. They also offer multiple education opportunities through on-site honey t...
2023-08-011h 10
Growing For Market PodcastFarm stress: strategies and resources for dealing with the mental health repercussions of farm-related stress with Anne Schwartz and Rachel Van BovenFarming can be very stressful, and as we’ll discuss today there are recent studies that back this up. Chronic farm-related stress can lead to or exacerbate existing mental illnesses, and mental health care is harder to find in the rural areas where many farmers live. This is a huge topic, one that the USDA and others are actively tackling through multiple arms, and in this episode, host Katie Kulla has on two guests who can provide us some specific insight into farm stress, farmer mental illness and resources.Anne Schwartz is a lifelong farmer. In 1979, she start...
2023-07-251h 09
Growing For Market PodcastPlanning and planting for the flower holidays with Dave DowlingFlower-giving holidays can generate a month’s worth of revenue in a day. In this episode, we discuss planning and planting for the flower holidays with Dave Dowling of Ball ColorLink and The Gardener’s Workshop. We talk about which crops can be grown for which holidays, planting timing, color palettes, and how to hold flowers if they are ready too early. Dave brings years of experience from his own cut flower farm to helping growers make the most of Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. We also discuss the Growing for Market Magazine...
2023-07-181h 08
Growing For Market PodcastGround lease farm transfers and much more with Jeremy Barker Plotkin of Simple Gifts FarmIn today’s episode, we discuss an innovative farm sale method that keeps the land in farming called a ground lease transfer with Jeremy Barker Plotkin of Simple Gifts Farm in Amherst, Massachusetts. Simple Gifts Farm is currently up for sale via a ground lease transfer, and we talk about how this method works. We also discuss his experiences over 17 years at the farm, including several SARE grants, innovative no-till systems, nutrient balancing greenhouse tomatoes to control aphids, and sales growing 6X over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Shop Talk with Neversink Farm, we cha...
2023-07-111h 09
Growing For Market PodcastGoing from starting farms to editing Growing for Market Magazine with editor Andrew Mefferd: from farmer to editor (Part 2 of 2)In today’s episode, the second of two talking with Growing for Market Magazine editor and podcast co-host Andrew Mefferd, we discuss what he learned from his own farm, and the “green greenhouse” project he was preparing for before taking over GFM. We talk about mistakes made while trying to do too much as a young farmer, why he decided to take over Growing for Market from founder Lynn Byczynski, and why we have to be deliberate as we steward our farms into the future. In Shop Talk with Neversink Farm we chat about new too...
2023-07-041h 41
Growing For Market PodcastGoing from working on farms to running Growing for Market Magazine with editor Andrew Mefferd: From apprentice to farmer (Part 1 of 2)In this episode, we talk with Growing for Market Magazine editor and podcast co-host Andrew Mefferd about going from working on farms in six different states, to starting a farm (twice!) before taking over GFM and running it from his farm in Maine. We talk about becoming aware of the imbalances in the current farming system, what it was like traveling around the country working on farms and starting two, and what he learned doing vegetable trials for seven years at Johnny’s Selected Seeds. In Shop Talk with Neversink Farm, we chat about new too...
2023-06-272h 00
Growing For Market PodcastReflecting on 50 years of Johnny's Selected Seeds with founder Rob JohnstonJanuary 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of Johnny's Selected Seeds, and we talk with founder Rob Johnston about the need the company was born from, developing overseas contacts in the early days when there was little variety in the US seed market, and changes and surprises in the seed industry over the years. In Shop Talk with Neversink Farm, we chat about new tools, old tools, how they can benefit your farm and tips to use them successfully with Conor Crickmore of Neversink Tools, which manufactures tools for farmers.We discuss the years of development w...
2023-06-201h 04
Growing For Market PodcastCreating positive labor experiences for farm owners and workers with Sarah Janes Ugoretz of the FairShare CSA CoalitionFinding and retaining good workers is a perennial issue on farms, and both sides of the labor equation have a lot to gain from getting the relationship right. When farm owners get it right they have loyal, returning workers, and if farm workers get it right they end up having a good work experience and contributing to the farm.Luckily, Sarah Janes Ugoretz is working on the issue of how everyone can have a better farm labor experience with the FairShare CSA Coalition, where she supports the Organic Vegetable Farm Manager Apprenticeship. She also just finished her...
2023-06-131h 26Growing For Market PodcastNew podcast co-host special episode, with Katie Kulla of Oakhill Organics!It's a new host special episode! We’re so excited to be welcoming Katie Kulla to the podcast as one of our co-hosts! You may remember hearing Katie on the podcast back in the winter, podcast episodes 8 and 9, discussing her series of articles about balancing farming and parenting. Well, we enjoyed talking with Katie so much, and she brings so much experience from her own farm to the podcast, that we’re stoked to announce she is joining the podcast as a co-host.We wanted to make sure and record an episode to properly introduce everyone to Kati...
2023-06-061h 29Growing For Market PodcastThe Ecological Farm with farmer/author Helen Atthowe: A Minimalist No-Till, No-Spray, Selective-Weeding, Grow-Your-Own-Fertilizer SystemHear how “The Ecological Farm” author/farmer Helen Atthowe developed a minimalist no-till, no-spray, grow-your-own fertilizer method over decades of research and application on her own farms. Helen has been applying and refining the principles of soil, plant, and whole farm ecosystem health for decades, and we’re glad she finally wrote it all down in one place!This interview is of personal interest for interviewer Andrew Mefferd, as he had the pleasure of visiting her Woodleaf Farm in California 20 years ago when he was a farm apprentice. For farmers who aspire to “close the circle” and stop relyi...
2023-05-301h 21Growing For Market PodcastGrowing cut flowers six stories above the San Francisco Bay Area with Joanna Letz of Bluma Flower FarmIn today’s episode, hear about growing cut flowers six stories above the San Francisco Bay Area with Joanna Letz of Bluma Flower Farm @blumafarm. Hear what it’s like to grow flowers in a bustling metropolis, differences between field and rooftop growing, and some of Joanna’s favorite varieties. We discuss the advantages and challenges (yes, there are weeds up there) of farming on top of a building in the city. As both farmers and cities realize the benefits of urban agriculture, hopefully there will be more opportunities for growing crops on rooves, and we hope this episode will g...
2023-05-231h 24Growing For Market PodcastUnraveling why root maggots may have been worse than usual this spring with Caleb Goossen of MOFGAIn today’s episode, we talk about why root maggots may have been worse than usual this spring with the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association’s Organic Crop Specialist Caleb Goossen. One thing that some growers have noticed this spring is a higher than usual rate of seedlings failing to emerge, or dying shortly after emergence, due to seedling-feeding maggots.We discuss how to tell whether seedlings have succumbed to maggots instead of other causes like damping off; how to reduce seedling maggots next year; and whether it’s important to tell apart the primary culprits: seedco...
2023-05-161h 09Growing For Market PodcastGrowing 15 acres of organic flowers with mother/daughter team Dru Rivers and Hannah Muller of Full Belly FarmIn today’s episode, we talk with mother/daughter team Dru Rivers and Hannah Muller of Full Belly Farm about growing 15 acres of certified organic flowers. Dru is one of the founders of this landmark California organic farm that has been growing since 1984, and she and Hannah manage the flowers, all of which are grown in the field. We cover strategies for keeping farm crew year-round, favorite flower crops and new varieties, the importance of playing hard when you’re working hard, educating wholesalers and customers on the importance of organic flowers, and having big events on the farm.
2023-05-0956 minGrowing For Market PodcastCompost science with Robert PavlisToday we talk about what makes good compost with Robert Pavlis. Robert is a well-known speaker and educator with over 40 years of growing experience. He is the author of several books, including a whole series demystifying important growing topics, including Soil Science for Gardeners, Microbe Science for Gardeners, Garden Myths and Compost Science for Gardeners. He has a background in chemistry and biochemistry which allows him to research topics and explain the underlying science. He uses that understanding to present complex growing topics in an easy-to-understand style that is both informative and fun to read.Robert’s books...
2023-05-021h 10Growing For Market PodcastMaking the move from the military to agriculture with Charley Jordan of Jordan Farms in TennesseeToday we talk with Charley Jordan about making the move from the military into farming. Charley is the owner/operator of Jordan Farms, in Indian Mound, Tennessee. After serving nearly 30 years in the Army, flying Chinook helicopters with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, Charley retired in 2017 and found a new mission in agriculture and has devoted himself to helping other veterans and beginning farmers find their purpose in agriculture. Charley was also in the inaugural cohort of a horticulture therapy certificate program launched at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.Jordan Farms specializes in fresh-cut flowers, forest-grown...
2023-04-251h 11Growing For Market PodcastGrowing good broccoli in a bad climate with Jan van der Heide of Bejo SeedsToday we have the pleasure of welcoming Jan van der Heide to the podcast. He is the Northeast Market Manager for Bejo Seeds, a Dutch vegetable seed company that has breeding stations and distribution all over the world.Jan has a depth of knowledge about brassicas, and we’ve been getting a lot of contact lately here at Growing for Market about how to avoid the many disorders that can cause broccoli and cauliflower to grow poorly. Now, if you are a brassica grower, you are probably all too familiar with the symptoms of messed-up broccoli and ca...
2023-04-181h 06Growing For Market PodcastGetting farm-friendly legislation passed with Sara and Symbria Patterson of Red Acre Farm in UtahIn today’s episode, hear Sara and Symbria Patterson talk about farming in Utah on Red Acre Farm and founding the Red Acre Center for Food and Agriculture. In addition to the challenges of farming at elevation, Sara and Symbria discuss how they have gotten over 15 bills passed through the Utah legislature. They highlight the relationship-building process they have used successfully with legislators to pass pro-local-farm legislation despite sometimes facing skepticism from both sides of the aisle. Sara talks about what it was like to found the farm at age 14, and how Sara and Symbria went on to found th...
2023-04-111h 06Growing For Market PodcastThe origins of Growing for Market Magazine with founding editor Lynn ByczynskiIn today’s episode, hear Lynn Byczynski talk about founding Growing for Market Magazine over 30 years ago in 1992. We’ll talk about how Lynn’s background in writing, combined with the lack of information about market farming in the early 1990s, pushed her to start Growing for Market. While researching solutions for issues on her farm in Lawrence, Kansas, she started publishing GFM as a way to connect market farmers to each other and hard-to-find information. We’ll also hear about her book, The Flower Farmer, passing the magazine on to current editor Andrew Mefferd after 24 years of running the maga...
2023-04-041h 10Growing For Market PodcastFarming and pregnancy: Birth and postpartum healing for the farmer (Part 2 of 2)In today’s episode, the second of two parts, hear Katie Kulla from Oakhill Organics in Oregon talk about how farmers who have just had a baby can smooth the transition into parenthood while keeping the farm running. This conversation is an elaboration on Katie’s article "Birth and postpartum healing for the farmer" from Growing for Market Magazine. Part 1 of the podcast (and the article) discusses how preparations in the lead up to a baby can help get farmers ready for the new arrival, as well as keep the farm running as smoothly as possible.Katie has...
2023-03-281h 05Growing For Market PodcastFarming and pregnancy: Balancing the physical and emotional demands (Part 1 of 2)Today we’re talking about balancing farming, pregnancy & kids on the farm with Katie Kulla, who has written 3 articles on the subject for Growing For Market Magazine & interviewed many farmers on balancing farming & parenting. She brings her own experiences parenting & farming in Yamhill County, Oregon with her husband and two homeschooled kids to the conversation. This episode focuses on preparations before the baby comes, in order to smooth the addition of a new member to the farm family, and keep the farm running at the same time. It is an elaboration on Katie’s article "Farming and pregnancy: Balancing the...
2023-03-211h 06Growing For Market PodcastDemystifying the Guestworker H-2A visa program with Gretel and Steve Adams of Sunny Meadows Flower FarmThis conversation is an elaboration on Gretel's article "Demystifying the H-2A program" from Growing for Market Magazine, which is available to read for free on the website (see link in the show notes below). The H-2A "guestworker" visa is a program of the US government so farmers can hire workers from other countries to fill temporary/seasonal positions on farms when local workers aren't available. In this interview, Gretel and Steve talk about how the H-2A program has worked on their flower farm, where approximately a third of their 24 person crew was H-2A workers this...
2023-03-141h 06Growing For Market PodcastFred Hempel of Artisan Seeds on breeding veg varieties for market farmersToday on the show we talk with Fred Hempel of Artisan Seeds on being an independent vegetable breeder, why most breeders need the support and infrastructure of a larger company to be successful, and breeding varieties that are suitable for market farmers. For almost twenty years, Fred has used his own farm, Green Bee Farm in Sunol, California, to both support his breeding work and act as a proving ground for it. By selling to chefs and wholesalers in the Bay Area, he has been able to get feedback from some of the most demanding c...
2023-03-071h 09Growing For Market PodcastThe origins of Neversink Farm with Conor Crickmore, part 2 of 2: The Neversink Farm Course and Neversink ToolsWe talk with Conor Crickmore in the second of this two-part interview about the origins of Neversink Farm. In this episode, we talk about how the Neversink Farm Course and Neversink Tools developed out of the farm. We discuss how early efforts to document the methods on Neversink Farm led to two years of filming to create the Neversink Farm Course. Hear how member feedback is used to continue adding to the course to this day, with lots of tips and market farming ideas along the way. Then we discuss how Neversink Tools developed out of Conor’s need fo...
2023-02-2855 minGrowing For Market PodcastThe origins of Neversink Farm with Conor Crickmore, part 1 of 2We talk with Conor Crickmore in the first of this two-part interview about the origin story of Neversink Farm. We discuss moving from the city and developing the methods that led to a highly profitable farm on a small footprint. In the second part of the interview dropping next week, we talk about how the Neversink Farm Course and Neversink Tools developed out of the farm. Shop Talk with Neversink Farm - we chat about new tools, old tools, how they can benefit your farm and tips to use them successfully with Conor Crickmore of N...
2023-02-2156 minGrowing For Market PodcastJosh Volk on DIY farm tools and compact farm layoutsJosh Volk talks about how his background in mechanical engineering led him to Silicon Valley, and then a valley over to where the vegetables and flowers are to lend his talents to DIY tools and farm design. He talks about the experimental elementary school where he got his start making things, and how he has applied the ideas to his own farm, Cully Neighborhood Farm in Portland, OR, and his two books: Compact Farms and Build Your Own Farm Tools. Josh is one of the most frequent contributors to Growing for Market since the magazine's inception in 1992, with many...
2023-02-141h 00Growing For Market PodcastMeet your host: Megan Robertson!Hear how host Megan Robertson's agricultural journey started out in South Dakota and took her to Kenya, Italy, Boston and Connecticut before landing in California as an organic certifier, inspecting farms in one of the world's most productive and diverse agricultural regions. Meg is interviewed by the other Growing for Market Podcast host, GFM magazine editor Andrew Mefferd. In Shop Talk with Neversink Farm, we chat about new tools, old tools, how they can benefit your farm and tips to use them successfully with Conor Crickmore of Neversink Tools, which manufactures tools for farmers. In t...
2023-02-071h 03Growing For Market PodcastScrum project (and personal!) management with Andrea HeimToday we discuss the Scrum project management framework with certified Scrum Master and recovering farmer Andrea Heim. We elaborate on her article from the May 2022 Growing for Market Magazine, "Increase personal sustainability and productivity on farm teams with Scrum project management." Andrea draws on her experience managing farms to talk about how Scrum can help keep us on track by identifying obstacles standing between us and our goals and how to continuously improve our management so we can strike a work/life balance and hopefully not burn out. Shop Talk with Neversink Farm - we c...
2023-02-071h 06
Farm Small Farm SmartConsider Growing Cukes Umbrella Style (Growing for Market Monday)Consider growing cukes umbrella style by Andrew Mefferd. Read the article: https://growingformarket.com/articles/considergrowingcukesumbrellastyle Learn more about Growing for Market: https://growingformarket.com/ Follow Growing for Market: https://www.instagram.com/growingformarketmagazine
2021-12-1305 min
Farm Small Farm SmartTomato Grafting - Why It's Worth It with Andrew Mefferd (FSFS237)Andrew Mefferd of Growing for Market Magazine joins me to talk about why tomato graft is worth it. Learn more about the magazine https://growingformarket.com/ Make farming easier with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot
2021-11-0545 min
The No-Till Flowers PodcastBrenda and Andrew - Good Hope BloomsBrenda and Andrew of Good Hope Blooms join host Jennie Love to talk biodynamic flower farming in through a multi-year drought, smoke from wildfires, farm store management, and more! http://goodhopeblooms.com.au https://www.instagram.com/good_hope_blooms/ Links: https://www.youtube.com/user/livingwebfarms Pat Coleby book: https://amzn.to/2Y8B1Px https://www.harpercollins.com/products/sand-talk-tyson-yunkaporta?variant=32280908103714 Sponsors: www.growingformarket.com www.farmersfriend.com and http://ascfg.org/ www.notillgrowers.com
2021-01-272h 13The No-Till Flowers PodcastBrenda and Andrew - Good Hope BloomsBrenda and Andrew of Good Hope Blooms join host Jennie Love to talk biodynamic flower farming in through a multi-year drought, smoke from wildfires, farm store management, and more! http://goodhopeblooms.com.au https://www.instagram.com/good_hope_blooms/ Links: https://www.youtube.com/user/livingwebfarms Pat Coleby book: https://amzn.to/2Y8B1Px https://www.harpercollins.com/products/sand-talk-tyson-yunkaporta?variant=32280908103714 Sponsors: www.growingformarket.com www.farmersfriend.com and http://ascfg.org/ www.notillgrowers.com
2021-01-272h 13
Growers DailyAndrew Mefferd - Growing for Market MagazineGrowing for Market editor Andrew Mefferd joins us to talk about his new book The Organic No-Till Revolution: High-Production Methods for Small-Scale Farmers. Book:https://www.newsociety.com/Books/O/The-Organic-No-Till-Farming-Revolution www.growingformarket.com Ray Tyler's ebook: https://notillgrowers--inthefield.thrivecart.com/lettuce-masterclass/5c535378a17ad/ and the lettuce workshop: https://notillgrowers--inthefield.thrivecart.com/lettuce-masterclass/5c535382a17ae/ Farmer Jesse: Venmo: @notillgrowers Patreon Group: https://www.patreon.com/FarmerJesse?alert=2 No Till Growers Site: notillgrowers.com No Till Grower Instagram: https://www.ins...
2019-02-041h 16