Podcast

REKO 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.

This week we talk with Hannah Rose Weber and Nate Lada, two of the owners at Green Things Farm Collective in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Green Things is a majority women-owned farm business that has evolved out of several businesses. Nate and his wife Jill first started Green Things farm in 2011 at a local farm incubator program. Then they purchased 64 acres where the farm is now settled. In 2020, Green Things joined with Ann Arbor Seed Company and the Land Loom to expand production, share management of running a diverse farm business and develop a model of sustainable, cooperative, and responsible farming. They offer seasonal vegetables and flowers to their local markets through various channels as well as beef.

We step back and look at the big picture in this wide-ranging conversation with Jean-Martin Fortier, talking about the systemic barriers to local food and farmers and strategies to overcome them. We also talk about Jean-Martin’s many projects, including the recently-released Heirloom farm planning software, and his forthcoming podcast. We also catch up on his other projects, including the Old Mill farm-to-table restaurant in Quebec, which was named one of the top ten new restaurants in Canada, the Market Gardener Masterclass, Growers and Co. tool and clothing company, and how he works with a team to keep all those plates spinning!

On 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. 

Erin 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 hoophouses to net houses, and filling the net houses with flies for pollination. In addition to details about how you can breed and save your own seeds, Erin will be releasing a free seed saving mini-course this summer!

Fish fertilizer is one of the oldest natural fertilizers out there. On this week’s podcast, hear how it’s made, and what sets hydrolyzed fish fertilizer apart from fish emulsion. Ann Molloy of Neptune’s Harvest in Gloucester, Massachusetts, tells us how her dad realized waste from the fishing industry that was being thrown away could be made into natural fertilizer.

Grafting 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).

Don 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.

Though 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.

Ultracrosses 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.

Jim 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.

On this week’s podcast, we draw on Lisa’s years of flower farming experience to talk not just about growing flowers, but the business and practical tips needed to grow a profitable flower business. Lisa’s new book, The Cut Flower Handbook, is full of information on the growing side, and in our interview we talk about how to put it all together to sustain the passion with a profitable business. We discuss workhorse flower crops, when to harvest, how to ensure the best vase life, and the practical tips that will build a cut flower business and keep it going.

We go deep on greenhouse control and automation in this second conversation with Guillaume Lambert. The first time we talked it took us a whole episode to cover the basics, but season extension is so important to market farmers, we decided to have him back to make sure and get to advanced greenhouse growing. We discuss how to use automation to control pests and diseases, how to use automation to conserve heat and save money, and how to use climate control for vegetative/generative steering of vining/fruiting crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and eggplant.

Angela and Paul Neufeld have been farming vegetables and flowers in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, for 18 years. As Kingfisher Farm Market, they have been committed to regenerative, sustainable farming practices from the beginning. They’ve been slowly building up their farm business on land they share with other families. In a recent newsletter, Angela shared that in 2014 they made $977.50. Fast forward to 2023 and they made their main livelihood off the farm.

Guillaume Lambert is one of the founders of Orisha, a company that is democratizing greenhouse systems control through software that growers can manage from a smartphone or computer. By bringing the cost down and increasing the precision, Orisha is making high-level greenhouse control accessible to smaller growers. In this interview, we discuss how systems including temperature, irrigation, fans, roll-up sides and more can be automated.