Farm Small Farm Smart

Farmer Michael Bell from Texas joins me to talk about running an urban farm on the side while maintaining a full-time job as a teacher, and a father. Connect with Michael on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mbell971/ Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Dan Brisebois of Tourne Sol Farm joins me to talk about small scale vegetable seed growing. Dan has grown seed on his farm for over 10 years and sells that seed via his own seed company and to other seed retailers. It's a lucrative business model that might just be a fit as a side business or an add on business for a small farm. Dan Brisebois: Dan's PV3 presentation on Growing Seed Dan's Farm Website Dan's book on Crop Planning Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Microgreen grower Chris Thoreau joins me to talk about the importance of soil in growing microgreens. Learn how Chris grows microgreens in his online course: http://www.permaculturevoices.com/microgreens Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Daniel Garcia joins me to talk about his journey into farming - why he started and how he evolved his farm. He also discusses tips for selling at the farmers' market and gives his thoughts on selling to two online grocers - a model that seems very promising. Garcia's Gardens: Website: http://garciasgardens.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garciasgardens/ Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Yosef Camire of Ahavah Farm joins me to talk about some of the challenges and successes he has had starting a farm at an elevation 7000 feet in Colorado. His farm uses "different" techniques such as woodchips in the beds and a pay what you can farmers' market model, and it works. Ahavah Farm: Website - https://www.ahavahfarm.com/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ahavahfarm Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Darren Vollmar of Ledgeview Gardens in Green Bay, Wisconsin joins me to talk about why they grow vegetables hydroponically and what it takes to do so. Ledgeview Gardens: Website - http://www.ledgeviewgardens.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ledgeview_gardens Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ledgeviewgardens/ Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Microgreen grower and local seed advocate Chris Thoreau and I talk about local seed - the challenges of it, what that means, and how practical it is. Learn how Chris grows microgreens in his online course: http://www.permaculturevoices.com/microgreens Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

AJ Zaycheck of Spin Cities Farm joins me to talk about what his first year in farming was really like. He also shares a lot of tips on what helped make the farm profitable in year one - from selling to time management. Follow AJ on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spincitiesfarm/ Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Jodi Roebuck of Roebuck farm discusses how he has incorporated Grow Biointensive practices into his market garden. Techniques include compost, mulching with tarps, and the importance of deep soil. Follow Jodi @ http://www.instagram.com/roebuckfarm Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Benny and Courtney Pino join me to talk about their journey into small scale vegetable farming and why that journey shifted to growing flowers. Follow Loblolly Farm on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loblollyfarm/ Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

We all have this great chance to go great places. Yet we all don't take it. Today's episode is a look at the opportunity and why some people squander it, and why some people don't. A replay of Season 2 Episode 14 of The Urban Farmer. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Brent joins me to talk about the challenges of growing in hot and wet Southeast Texas. It's forced him to adapt and modify things he has seen on other farms for his own context. Today you'll hear what he's doing and how he's doing it. View the show notes for this episode and all previous Farm Small, Farm Smart episodes. Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter.

Chris Thoreau has grow microgreens for over 10 years, but he recently reached the point where he Chris realized it was time to do something else and move on. Find out what changed and why Chris is changing with it. Chris's Online Course. View the show notes for this episode and all previous Farm Small, Farm Smart episodes. Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter.

Michael Kilpatrick joins me to talk about some of the issues that he sees on farms that struggle with post harvest processing and how most farms can improve that part of the process. He will also touch on the role that new food safety regulations will play on vegetable farms and how famers can start preparing for that. View the show notes for this episode and all previous Farm Small, Farm Smart episodes. Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter.

Farmer Jenny Quiner of Dog Patch Urban Gardens in Des Moines, Iowa talks about farm startup, growth, and unique ways to sell your product. View the show notes for this episode and all previous Farm Small, Farm Smart episodes. Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter.

Shawn Kuhn joins me to talk about selling to restaurants, growing a lot of greens, season extension, and trying to be more regenerative. View the show notes for this episode and all previous Farm Small, Farm Smart episodes. Learn how to start a microgreens business in Chris Thoreau's Build Your Microgreen Business Workshop. Keep learning with these two great audiobooks: The Market Gardener by JM Fortier The Urban Farmer by Curtis Stone Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter.

In this episode Brian Bates of Bear Creek Organics joins me to talk about greens production, employees, and learning from big farms. View the show notes for this episode and all previous Farm Small, Farm Smart episodes. Learn how to start a microgreens business in Chris Thoreau's Build Your Microgreen Business Workshop. Keep learning with these two great audiobooks: The Market Gardener by JM Fortier The Urban Farmer by Curtis Stone Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter.

Utilizing his experience as a chef Evan Chender has set out to produce niche crops for chefs such as edible flowers and more exotic cultivars and types of vegetables. It's this niche approach which has given him an edge in his market place. While a lot of other farmers just grow salad mix, Evan stands out because he produces crops that others don't. Today's episode was brought to you by Audible. Sign up for Audible's 30 Day Trial and get a FREE audiobook download. View the show notes for this episode and all previous Farm Small, Farm Smart episodes. Learn how to start a microgreens business in Chris Thoreau's Build Your Microgreen Business Workshop. Keep learning with these two great audiobooks: The Market Gardener by JM Fortier The Urban Farmer by Curtis Stone Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter.

In this episode Ray Tyler of Rose Creek Farms will talk about how his farm has dealt changes on the farm as it evolved. He'll also talk about how they tackle farm problems and deal with season extension. It's a practical look at what happens behind the scenes - because things always don't go as planned and that tool that you bought, doesn't always work as well as expected. View the show notes for this episode and all previous Farm Small, Farm Smart episodes. Learn how to start a microgreens business in Chris Thoreau's Build Your Microgreen Business Workshop. Keep learning with these two great audiobooks: The Market Gardener by JM Fortier The Urban Farmer by Curtis Stone Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter.

Farmer and consultant Michael Kilpatrick joins me to talk about improving farm productivity and profitability through better processes. View the show notes for this episode and all previous Farm Small, Farm Smart episodes. Learn how to start a microgreens business in Chris Thoreau's Build Your Microgreen Business Workshop. Keep learning with these two great audiobooks: The Market Gardener by JM Fortier The Urban Farmer by Curtis Stone Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter.

Author and farmer Ben Hartman talks about his farm and his book, The Lean Farm. View the show notes for this episode and all previous Farm Small, Farm Smart episodes. Learn how to start a microgreens business in Chris Thoreau's Build Your Microgreen Business Workshop. Keep learning with these two great audiobooks: The Market Gardener by JM Fortier The Urban Farmer by Curtis Stone Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter.

The benefits of building a microgreens business, and how to keep improving it. View the show notes for this episode and all previous Farm Small, Farm Smart episodes. Learn how to start a microgreens business in Chris Thoreau's Build Your Microgreen Business Workshop. Keep learning with these two great audiobooks: The Market Gardener by JM Fortier The Urban Farmer by Curtis Stone Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter.

Today we are going to Ojai California to talk to a farmer who's more than just a farmer. Max Beecher was inspired into farming by Joel Salatin and Joel's entrepreneurial spirit inspired Max to get created when ti came to his farm based businesses. Max started out his farm journey in 2013 with wife. At the time they weren't farmers though, they started out as aggregators... He describes the experience as "one where we sold produce from a few different local farms to a local customer base we were working on building. This started by selling #2 produce from a local farm I was volunteering at, and the farmer let me split the gross with him, since he would have thrown the product away otherwise. Our idea was to make money up front by selling other people's produce, and to build a customer base so one day we could sell our own product through it. We have continued to grow that webstore business, and it remains a core feature of our business, with a list of almost 300 customers, generating over 100 orders per week. We now source from around 15 local farms, and have a ready market for our own products, including the micro greens. Because of building this webstore before we started farming, marketing what we grow has never been a problem, and we throw little to no product away due to over production." That business has continued and evolved today to become a full-fledged online store generate over $100,000 a year in sales at a decent profit. It's a thriving business and an integral part of Max's farm, and it's one that started by selling someone else's waste. Learn more at http://www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart

Today's episode is a different type of episode. It's a consult style episode with new grower Eddy Gilmore and long-time microgreen grower Chris Thoreau. The first part of this episode will be Eddy and I talking about what's going on with his farm, and then later in the episode Chris will join us to answer some of Eddy's questions about growing his microgreen business. Eddy's at a point in that business that you may find yourself in. He's growing his microgreens at home in his house, but he's running out of space and wondering where to from here. Find out how Chris would handle and approach the business expansion. For Eddy microgreens weren't the first farm business from day one. They came about from necessity. In Eddy's words... "We were freaking desperate over here. I have a wife and two kids, and I was all in on Tiny Farm Duluth. Less than two months ago it seemed as if all was lost. The land was being sold where the vast majority of my farm was located. It was owned by an institution, and I had no idea they were thinking of selling until just before it went on the market. Then, after it sold, I learned that the new owners weren't open to a 7,000 square foot market garden on their property. Just two hours after I received this devastating news, our 2008 Toyota Prius blew both the engine AND transmission. Total, absolute chaos. Our lives were completely upended." Given that Eddy's life was upended, how did it end up? Stay tuned to find out. Learn more at http://www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Chris's Growing Your Microgreens Workshop: http://www.permaculturevoices.com/microgreens

Given summer heat growing certain crops can be really tough, especially greens. Given the tendency of the normally cool weather lettuces to bolt quickly, turn bitter, and have their foliage burn, many growers simply pass on trying to grow summer greens. The challenges are too great and the returns are too low. But not for all growers. Over the past few weeks I talked to a lot of growers and I tried to track down farmers who were growing greens exceptionally well in some very adverse hot conditions. For today's show I got a group of those growers together and asked them all how their doing it, growing greens during the summer heat. And not just growing them, but growing them very successfully. In today's episode you will hear how their doing it and what goes into growing the greens from establishment to harvesting to storage. There are some similarities in their strategies and some differences. There's a lot in here. The Farmers: Elliot Seldner of Fair Share Farm in Winston Salem, NC. Brandon Gordon of Five Acres Farms in Pleasant Plains, AR Erich Schultz of Steadfast Farm in Queen Creek, AZ Ray Tyler of Rose Creek Farms in Selmer, TN Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VK

Sam's taken a perspective that he gained on hiking the Appalachian trail and he has used it to help navigate the equally hard journey into being a full-time vegetable farmer. Like the trail, Sam's career as a farmer has spanned a lot of land going from 1/8 of an acre in town to two fenced acres a few years later. Today Sam and I will talk about some of the challenges of growing crops on two acres, how Sam has to design his market streams to his land base, working with limited labor, and the trade-offs between growing niche crops and a wide variety of CSA crops. We'll also touch on some of Sam's big takeaways from his days on the trail and how that's helped him as a farmer. Increase farm efficiency 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 Podcasts by Diego Footer: Microgreens: https://apple.co/2m1QXmW Vegetable Farming: https://apple.co/2lCuv3m Livestock Farming: https://apple.co/2m75EVG Large Scale Farming: https://apple.co/2kxj39i Small Farm Tools https://www.paperpot.co/

For today's show we are going down to the State of Arkansas to talk to Brandon Lyons of 5 Acre Farms. Brandon is someone who transitioned into farming from the nursery trade way back in 2010. Since then he's grown his farm to 1.25 acre, and during that same time he's also grown his family getting married and having kids. It's a farming journey that started out with a single farmer who could put in crazy hours on the farm to make it work, but one that's now changed to a husband and father farmer, who absolutely can't put in crazy hours on farm. As a result Brandon is now focusing on crop selection, seasonality, and processes to make the hours he does spend on the farm pay, and pay well. One of the processes that Brandon has focuses on over the years to help save time and labor is no-till. He's employed that strategy on his farm seeing great results both in terms of soil and reduced weed pressure. In this episode we'll find out why he did it and how he did it, today it's all about running a high intensity vegetable operation in rural Arkansas with farmer Brandon Gordon. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart

Everyone enters the world of farming for different reasons. Reasons spanning from environmental concerns to bringing high quality food to their local market to creating a path to a more independent future… For my guest today, Travis Schulert, farming became a mode of a change, because prior to farming Travis described his situation as… "I was stuck in a dead end lifestyle, living in a trailer park, no savings, no plans, and between 24 and now (28) I started a CSA on leased land, funded the infrastructure of the farm and gave myself the money to build a tiny home. My wife and I lived in the tiny home and saved what we could, started doing markets and learning to sell and grow. " Farming has been a means to get Travis and his wife out of that lifestyle which wasn't working. But it hasn't all been smooth sailing. Between production issues, CSA issues, and trouble with land tenure, it's been a bumpy road. Travis has been able to navigate that road so far and is now in his 4th year of farming, but one which is also a new beginning as he starting his first season on a new plot of land currently dominated by grass. As you'll hear in this episode, like all things in farming, Travis is taking it in stride and doing his best with it, and now realizing "farming is only romantic until you start doing the work." Today it's all the trials and tribulation of slowly scaling a farm on the side with farmer Travis Schulert. Learn more at http://www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at http://www.permaculturevoices.com/support

When it comes to this world of farming small, what is this world? Is it a bunch of small farms each operating independently? For the most part, I think the answer is yes. Given that, what's the next step. Is it more small farms operating independently or is those small farms growing to be larger small farmers. Now I am not talking 1.5 acre farms scaling to 100 acres, I am talking about 1.5 acre farms scaling to 10 acres. If small farms do that, what does that look like, both for this world of farming small and for each independently operated farm? Is that scale manageable on a people powered biointensive level? Or does this style of farming not scale? It's a question being asked by one of the leader in this movement, JM Fortier. A few years ago JM Fortier left his 1.5 acre farm behind to start working on an experimental 10 acre farm to test the idea and validity of scaling these types of farming methods. It's project which has produced some answers, but one which has also produced a lot of questions, some of which are the focus of our show today. It's all about the future of market gardening in this episode with farmer JM Fortier. Get JM's audiobook version of The Market Gardener at www.permaculturevoices.com/audiobook

What's the organic inspection process really like? It's probably a big hassle, right? Let's find out straight from the source, in this episode with independent organic inspector Laura Murray Last episode with Scott Murray covered the topic of why organic and what goes into getting certified. Today's episode builds on that episode and we go a rung higher on the ladder taking on questions such as: Once the inspector shows up on your property the first time, how does that process unfold? What should you have in order when you have the inspector show up? Explain the annual inspection process? Would a property ever be inspected more than once a year? To answer these I am going straight to the source to talk to someone who deals with this every day. I'll be talking with independent organic inspector Laura Murray. Laura does organic inspections of all over the country for organic certifiers. Her inspections span all types of farms and all types of organic product production facilities. She's seem a lot over the years, and today she shares what the inspection process is really like both for the initial inspection and annual inspections. If you were thinking about getting certified by the inspection process made you a little uneasy, maybe that will change after you hear what it's really like. This show is brought to you by CoolBot. Get a discount coupon for CoolBot at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Looking for more? There are over 100 episodes in the archive at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart

Organic certification. We all know what that is, seeing that green stamp on products in the grocery store and on signs at the farmers market. But, is it worth it? Is it only for large farms? I use organic methods, do I need the stamp? What goes into getting certified? Should I get certified organic? These are all common questions that I hear being asked with the small scale farming community. They are also questions that my guest today Scott Murray gets a lot, and helps a lot with. Scott's a 40 year organic farming veteran who's been around the organic farming movement since the beginning, before it was a big thing. Today he will share his knowledge of what he's learned about the organic movement and how he views organic certification in terms of who it's right for, when it makes sense to get, and what goes into getting it. If you were thinking about getting certified, but had some reservations, this episode will address those common reservations and leave you with a clear idea of what's involved in the process. And it just might not be as expensive or cumbersome as you think it is after all. This show is brought to you by CoolBot. Get a discount coupon for CoolBot at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Looking for more? There are over 100 episodes in the archive at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart

When you are only growing a 10 day crop, how much of an affect does light quality and temperature have on the crop? A lot. Chris is in Vancouver where he sees day lengths change from 8 hours at the winter solstice to 16 hours at the summer solstice; a large change which affects how much light crops get to grow. Less light in winter means slower or no crop growth. If you are a farmer, you get this. It makes sense, at least for field crops. But what about microgreens? Crops which spend only half of their life in the light, a life that might only be 5 to 8 days. Does seasonality really affect those crops over those 5 days? Yes, and more than you think. In this episode Chris will talk all about the change of the seasons and how it affects microgreen crop growth - specifically the effects of changing temperatures and light conditions. Two factors which can dramatically affect crop growth, yield and quality. How to Grow Better Microgreens All Year - Adapting for Changing Seasons, Temperature, and Light Conditions with microgreen grower Chris Thoreau. DOWNLOAD the show notes at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart and CLICK on Episode 101 Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

To celebrate episode 100 I take a look back at the 100 combined episodes of The Urban Farmer and what is now Farm Small, Farm Smart focusing on the highlights, some backstory, and where the show is headed in the future. See some of the highlights from the first 100 episodes at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support Thanks for listening!

There's one event that happens in many people's lives which instantly changes their life forever. Overnight, instantly, everything is different. Your life, your approach to life, how you view life, and how you go about living life all change. It's an event that some people aren't ready for and one that others are ready for, but one where no one is ever REALLY ready. It's the birth of a child. A beautiful event that instantly makes live more worth living and richer, but one which also makes life harder and more challenging, especially for entrepreneurs. If you thought running a business or starting a farm was hard without kids, try doing it with kids, because it's exponentially harder. Curtis is a brand new parent experiencing some of those challenges first hand. Today, we'll explore what those challenges are like in terms of life and farming, and how Curtis is dealing with them as a brand new inexperienced father, while being a seasoned experienced farmer. It's never easy, and as you'll hear it's always a balancing act. But it is one Curtis, me, and most other fathers wouldn't trade for anything else in the world. Get the audiobook at www.permaculturevoices.com/audiobook Download the show notes at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart and click on Episode 99.

While the prospects of starting a small market farm that grosses over $100,000 is lucrative and attractive, it's not for everyone or possible in every location. And that's the topic of today's episode with Blake Cothron of Peaceful Heritage Farm.... A lot of what you hear about in the small scale farmer movement are the uber-successful small farmers that are grossing 1, 2 or $300k per acre. They are inspiring stories, but those stories all share one thing in common, their markets. Typically small farmers grossing big dollars are able to do that by selling their produce into larger, higher end urban market streams - market streams which will pay top dollar for microgreens, salad mix, and baby root veg. What if you don't live near one of those large urban markets? What if you don't have high end farmers markets and restaurants to sell product too? What do the prospects of your rural farming career hold? Today, I am talking to a farmer who faced that exact problem, making farming work in very rural Amish Kentucky without high end restaurants and with a sleepy farmer's markets. In this episode Blake Cothron of Peaceful Heritage Farm located in very rural Crab Orchard Kentucky will share his story. It's an inspiring story about a husband and wife making a small farm work, by approaching farming in a very smart way. A necessity, when your local customer based is used to buying vegetables at prices like 3 for $1 or $1 per dozen sweet corn. If you're interested in farming, but you are nowhere near a large city, then this episode is for you. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Today I'm talking to a grower who's admittedly "I'm a little bit obsessive about growing high quality produce." It's an obsession that's fueled his farms growth, and an obsession which is a bit necessary to fuel the farm's growth to bring his fiancé onto the farm full-time. And while Elliot Seldner of Fair Share Farms' obsession may be on growing high quality produce, it's not only on growing high quality produce, because Elliot realized the importance of work life balance and the need to have a time and place to enjoy the other things created on the farm. Today Elliot is going to talk specifically how they do that, in part by focusing intentionally on making the farm more efficient through appropriate technology, no till, and optimizing equipment. Elliot's also going to talk about how he and his fiancé are approaching farm transition. Because she's current employed a schoolteacher, a necessary step in their farms evolution, but one that's only a step, where the long term goal is to get her onto the farm full time. Looking into the future, it's the farming methods that Emma and Elliot use which will make this all possible, a farm that provides multiple incomes on just over half and acre... Let's get into it, with one of the masters of farm efficiency, Elliot Seldner. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

If customers keep asking if you have certain crop, and you don't, should you grow it? It depends. And that's the focus of today's show: When, How, and Why to Start Producing A New Microgreen Crop Today microgreen grower Chris Thoreau and I are talking about new crops - specifically how do you start growing them? On the surface that may seem like a simple and straightforward question, but there's a lot of specifics involved in answering that questions, and the specifics are where profits are made or money is lost. You have to consider things like can you actually grow the crop - meaning can you get a good yield from in within your system that's already setup to grow other crops; or does the crop's harvest schedule fall in line with your other crops and your current harvest schedule. If you plan on scaling the crop, can you actually buy enough seed? And can that seed be bought at a price that makes the crop profitable. All legitimate considerations which need to be considered, anytime you take on the decisions to grow a new corp. If you are thinking about starting a farm or adding some new crops to the mix, then this episode is for you. Chris will put the theory to reality and talk about his experiences and failures introducing new crops, like basil. What his methodically and thought process was and why. As you'll hear, not everything always works, regardless of how much experience you have, and sometimes some crops are just better off not grown. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Today I'm going to be talking to another small scale farmer who's greatly benefited by growing smaller, not larger. A few years ago, farmer, Alex Bertsch started farming on half an acre. Not a ton of land, but enough to make it hard for one person to manage. Add in the fact that the half an acre was being farmed part-time, and that half an acre seems a little more daunting. Then place that half an acre 40 minutes from where Alex lived, and you now have a hard farm to manage for anyone. It was a situation that was further complicated by growing a large variety of crops. Despite these first year challenges, Alex persevered and came out the first year ahead. Then he did something wise, he accessed the situation and he scaled back. He cut his farm down from half an acre to just 500 square feet and some indoor growing space, and he moved the farm from the remote location to his back yard. Also, as part of his strategy, he dramatically reduced his crops selection down to just salad greens and micro greens. It was a big change of going smaller and simpler that changed everything for Alex. It made his life and his farm more manageable, and it's one that he continues to grow today. Growing Better by Growing Smaller - Going From Half an Acre to 500 Square Feet with Alex Bertsch of Epic by Nature Farm. Stay tuned every Monday, for a new episode at www.permaculturevoices.com/grassfed Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Welcome to the world of Farming Small and Farming Smart, it's The Urban Farmer. When you are starting any new business it can be very overwhelming. You have a lot to do all at once - building infrastructure, creating your brand, marketing, cultivating a customer base, customer service, and of course producing a product. All essentially full-time jobs, but full-time jobs that need to be done all at once, by one person, you. It can be very overwhelming. Where do you start? After all you can't just focus on producing good product without cultivating a customer base or you have no one to sell that product to. And you can't start producing product without having some way to clean and store that product. Given that you really need to start everywhere, doing it all in parallel. For a lot of new farmers this is where analysis paralysis sets in, and it's the topic of today's episode. Here it is Conquering Analysis Paralysis By Starting a Whole Farm at Once in this episode of The Urban Farmer. Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Today it's back to Kelowna and Green City Acres as Curtis and I take a look back at his experiences with inter-planting, planting multiple crops in the same space . It's something that he's done for a few years now, and something that he's doing again this year with his tomatoes. We first stated talking about this subject back in 2015 when we did an episode touching on the subject in Season One, then we hit on it again almost a year ago in Season Two. Today we are going to take a look at what Curtis is doing now when it comes to inter-planting and how that's changed since we first started talking about it two years ago. It's a technique that Curtis has a lot of experience with, but one that's continually evolving as he uses it more. It's a technique that he uses, because it allows him to earn a lot more in the same space over a given year. For are going example he made and additional $1100 last year, by inter-planting Salanova lettuce in with his tomatoes. That's an extra $1100 that most farmers wouldn't captured. That's the benefit of inter-planting. Getting multiple yields out of the same space over the same time period. But be aware going in, this technique isn't for everyone. There's a lot of constraints and complications that come with inter-planting. And it's a technique that doesn't make sense if you have a lot of land. None the less, it's a technique that can be a game changer for those of you who do feel like you have a limited amount of land. For you all, this is just another way to get more crops and more money, without adding land. Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Today I'm going to be talking to another small scale farming making a go of it as we go to Sebastopol, CA to talk to Caiti Hachmyer of Red H Farm. Caiti's a farmer who started out her farming career on the advocacy side of things. She was living the Bay Area advocating for farmers and looking to play her part in changing hte food system. But after a while she felt something was missing. And she felt like she needed to get on the ground and see what life was really like for some of the farmers that she was advocating for. So she picked up her California roots and moved to Minnesota to spend some time working on a production farm. It was step that would change her life forever. Giving her perspective of the on the ground side of things which helped her on the policy side, and one that would give her a nice experience ot have in her back pocket. One that she would need to draw on when she moved back to California and needed work. Caiti's gone on to continue her work on the ground and policy side of things. It's the dual nature of her work that we focus on today. Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Today I'm going up to Vancouver to talk to Microgreen Farmer Chris Thoreau with the goal of focusing in on 10 base principles for growing high quality microgreens. Think 10 things that are critical to growing a good crop regardless of where you are growing them, when you are growing them or how you are growing them. These base principles help ensure that you get a successful crop that is free of disease and of high quality. It's not enough just to go through a successful process without knowing why you are doing what at different parts of the process. Because if you don't know, and a variable changes, you need to be able to know how to react and adapt. While everyone's process is likely different based on the crop that they are trying to grow, today's show it's all about what's the same, the base principles. Learn how Chris grows microgreens in his online course: http://www.permaculturevoices.com/microgreens Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

"Farming is as much about growing yourself as it is about growing vegetables." One of the big lessons shared in this episode with farmer Chris Gilbert from Bettendorf, Iowa. Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Today farmer Taylor Rogers talks about how he started his farm and sells to restaurants - his primary market. He currently grows of 20 different crops, and it's that variety that has been one of the keys to his success. In this episode he'll also talk about some of the other things that have made him successful such as growing what chefs want, how they want it, and bringing it when you say you're going to bring it. All keys to his current success and keys he learned before he even got into farming when he saw these problems first hand working behind the scenes in the kitchen. Taylor's going to share a lot of information and insight in this one about working with chefs. Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Today is another episode where Curtis and I will be widening the scope, stepping back and zooming out from the tools and techniques and his 1/3 of an acre farm, to take a look at some of the macro issues surrounding agriculture. The focus today is on employees. Curtis will take about his thoughts on hiring employees, and what he looks for in employees. We'll also get into some of the complications that having employees bring to a business owner and what other options other than hiring someone are available. Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

When you start your farm business, one think that you need to think about is your business structure. Sole proprietorships and LLCs are common ways to go, but there are also other options, like co-operatives... That's how farmer Chris Thoreau of Food Pedalers structure his business, and that's the subject of today's show... Today I'm going up to Vancouver to talk to microgreen farmer Chris Thoreau about a topic that you don't hear discussed a lot in small scale farming circles - how he organized his business.. Chris initially started his business as a sole proprietor, but as he began to grow, both in the size of the business and the amount of people working in the business, he realized he needed to change that. After looking at all of the options, Chris decided that he wanted to do something different, something that went more against the status quo, and something that was equitable for everyone involved - so Chris organized his business as a co-operative. It's an interesting business structure and it's one that most people wouldn't think of when organizing their business. If your business is growing, or if you are thinking about expanding your team, then a coop structure might make sense for you... Today Chris will talk about why he chose that structure, the advantages and disadvantages of it, and what it takes to have a successful member-owner business. Chris's online course Growing Your Profitable Microgreens Business http://bit.ly/learntogrowmicrogreens Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter Small Farm Tools and Microgreens Supplies https://www.paperpot.co/ Support my content while you shop at Amazon: https://amzn.to/32FYCqW

This week I'll pick up where last week left off with market gardener Ray Tyler of Rosecreek Farms. While last week's episode was more inspiration, this week's more of the perspiration side of things as Ray talks about some of his production methods and big changes that he made turn go from grossing $35,000 in 2015 to $120,000 in 2016 on less land. Ray's going to go talk about some of the big changes that made that huge increase in gross sales possible. He'll also get into how he controls weeds on the farm, and how he established a market for his product early on given that he only lives in a town of 2000 people. Today it's all about production and sales, with Ray Tyler of Rosecreek Farms in Selmer, TN. Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

From laid off and in debt to grossing $120,000 on one acre. Ray started out like a lot of people who get into farming, he was inspired by to get into farming by Joel Salatin's You Can farm... He started raising livestock, and then life got real... Imagine yourself as a new farmer running a full time livestock operation raising 50 pigs and a few thousand chickens a year. And then imagine running a two acre market garden on top of that... And along the way the, your 5 year old daughter gets caner... It was a moment that put Ray's farm and life on the ropes... it's the story of Ray Tyler or Rosecreek Farms. Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Today, we are going to start out by taking a look at interns and farms. What's good, what's bad, and what could be improved upon. It's an issue that's really relevant and timely, because it's one that Curtis is dealing with right now, doing something that I never, ever, thought he would do, get an intern. Let's find out why, in this episode of The Urban Farmer. Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Today I will be talking with someone who likely inspired many of you to get into farming, to consider farming, or to farm better, not bigger. I'll be talking to market gardener, Jean-Martin Fortier. We'll start out talking about his days before he farmed and how he figured out exactly who Jean-Martin Fortier was and what he was about. And we'll end up in the fields talking about something that still gets JM excited today, the soil. Growing Your Microgreens Business Course with Chris Thoreau: http://www.permaculturevoices.com/microgreens Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ