Growing for Market in partnership with Johnny’s Selected Seeds has created a library of expert information about growing and selling vegetables and flowers. Links in the article will take you to johnnyseeds.com. Subscribe to Growing for Market for more great ideas about growing and marketing! For more topics in the series, click on Market Farming […]
Diversification strategies for market farms Read More »
Each season a handful of new varieties make the cut and gain permanent residence here on the farm. Making “the list” requires meeting a pretty strict set of criteria. First, the item must grow somewhat easily and vigorously in my climate. This means no heroic measures, toxic chemicals or complicated procedures are required to produce
2011 trials yield new favorites Read More »
We’ve been growing 8-10 acres of vegetables for farmers markets and CSA since 2000, and added in a flock of egg-laying chickens in 2004. We think chickens can work well on a vegetable farm with the right management. On our farm we make a small profit and get a lot of side benefits from our
The economics of eggs on a veggie farm Read More »
As farmers, we sometimes feel as though we have fallen into a technological time warp each time we venture into town for the farmers’ market. Touch-screens, smartphones, and iPads can seem like urban toys with limited practical use on the farm. Yet after repeated prodding from several friends and customers, we splurged on an iPhone
Recently I was trying to figure out what was in a particular field on the farm seven years ago. I didn’t have my paper records handy, but I had my photos on a computer in front of me and so I started a search of photos of the farm from that year. Sure enough, there
Digital photography for recordkeeping Read More »
The first digit is the last digit of the year (so for 2011, the first digit is a 1). The next three digits are the day of the year (for January 31, this would be 031). After that comes a “step” number. Harvested product that hasn’t been handled further has a step-code of 1. Finally,
Lot numbers: How we create codes and what we can track with them Read More »
There is a new crop on the scene and the Wiedigers just HAD to get on the bandwagon! The new crop is ginger. That’s not new, you might think. But wait, this is not the same as that fresh ginger you bought at your favorite produce counter — ginger with a tough outer skin and
Pink A new color for a new food crop Read More »
Chickens in the greenhouseIn response to the October article about keeping poultry in the greenhouse in winter, a reader advised that growing crops at the same time could present food safety hazards. Although the article clearly states that the chickens were fenced into a corner of the greenhouse, she suggested that the dust they kick
Readers raise safety issues from Oct. articles Read More »
Most of us grow food out in the world, where groundhogs frolic in the carrots, deer wander out of the woods, and people pick and pack the produce. It’s a world of sunshine, rain, dirt, green stuff, bugs, and poop. In this environment, food safety is pretty basic. You do what you can to keep
