May 1, 2016

There are many reasons why plants might benefit from physical protection in the summer: cold weather, hot weather, insect pests, small mammals and wind damage. Mechanical and Physical Controls are one part of Biointensive Integrated Pest Management. We have tried various shade cloths, row covers and insect meshes, and methods of fastening them, some more […]

Jonathan and Megan Leiss bought land in Hurdle Mills, North Carolina, in 2013 to start Spring Forth Farm, a flower and vegetable farm. After 100 years of tobacco farming on the red clay, the soil organic matter registered a mere 0.5 percent. Improving the soil was their top priority. No-till practices, the couple decided, were

If you are growing plants, eventually you will have pest and disease problems. Here is the list of things that I guide my clients to have on hand for both scouting and preparing for the inevitable. Tools for scoutingAs I mentioned in my previous article (GFM, March 2016) and was reiterated in last month’s magazine

Excerpted with permission from their book Deadhead: The Bindweed Way to Grow Flowers. If I took you back in time to show you how Jeriann and I became flower farmers, you wouldn’t believe we would ever be making a living, much less a good living. Our knowledge reservoir didn’t register empty but came close—I’d grown

Getting a farmers market started from the ground up isn’t an easy task. It takes lots of coordination between market stakeholders, your municipality and other vested parties to create bylaws, establish rules, regulations, find a suitable location, and of course find farmers to sell at your market. Once your market is established, the work doesn’t