Growing For Market Podcast

Tilth Soil composts millions of pounds of food waste every year, and we’ve got their soil guy Josh Kruszynski on the pod this week to talk about how to build soil including not just compost, but also microbes, micronutrients, Ph and everything else we’re learning about how to encourage healthy soil.  We talk about the markers of healthy soil as a starting point for evaluating our own soil and figu...

Growing up in Brooklyn with a career as an attorney, Diane Aboushi of Halal Pastures farm did not follow the most traditional path to becoming a farmer. However, researching how to provide the healthiest food for their kids prompted Diane and her family to start a meat business that eventually led to moving out of the city and adding vegetable farming to the mix.   In this conversation with host K...

Though their family has been farming in Ontario for over 200 years, success looks different in the 2020s than it did in the early 19th century! Hear how the Coopers changed their family farm in order to steward it into the future by becoming early adopters of the CSA model.  Learn how the business has evolved over the years and how they manage a diverse range of products, both on the farm and the...

On this week’s podcast Megan Ayers shares what she learned as she built Unvarnished Farm from a series of urban gardens into the farm in southeastern Indiana that it is today. A first-generation farmer, Megan focused on regenerative practices and soil health as she scaled her farm. She and host April Parms Jones discuss concepts that apply to farms of any size, including the ideal carbon to nitrog...

Linley Dixon discusses some of the challenges facing organic farming, particularly the issues of greenwashing and the need for maintaining organic standards in this week’s podcast interview. Linley is the Co-Director of the Real Organic Project (ROP), in addition to running her own Adobe House Farm in Durango, Colorado. She emphasizes the importance of transparency in agricultural practices and th...

Planning and siting have a lot to do with the success of a greenhouse project. Whether building your first or your fifth greenhouse, learn best practices for site prep, drainage, snow and wind management and more with Tomm Becker of Nifty Hoops. The company began as a community initiative to support local farmers in Michigan and now offers to build any of the greenhouses they fabricate entirely fo...

Whether you already grow mushrooms or are looking to diversify your market offerings, Erin Hamilton of The Mushroom Conservatory tells us about the varieties and methods we should consider for mushrooms that can be cultured and grown for market. Erin, an expert mushroom grower and agricultural educator, shares her passion for mushrooms and their ecological significance, including how spent mushroo...

Dave Chapman tells us about the origins of the Real Organic Project, and why preserving organic standards is important for all growers whether certified organic or not in this week’s podcast. Dave is the co-director of the Real Organic Project (ROP) and owner of Long Wind Farm in Vermont. The ROP is active in preserving the standards of the National Organic Program (NOP) in the face of lobbying by...

Diane Szukovathy of Jello Mold Farm tells host Rebecca Kutzer-Rice how the need for standards for floral crops at the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market (SWGM) led to the creation of the new book Floral Standards: A Practical Guide for Harvesting and Delivering Professional Quality Products. They also discuss Diane’s journey in flower farming, the establishment of the Seattle Wholesale Growers Marke...

Started in the late 1980s by Sandy and Paul Arnold, Pleasant Valley Farm in Argyle, New York, helped innovate and share winter growing techniques that lengthened local food season on many market farms. After decades of selling at farmers markets, during the pandemic they switched to online sales only out of necessity. Listen to this interview with their son Robert Arnold to find out how they made...

Farm Action is a nonpartisan agricultural watchdog organization led by farmers, and Research and Policy Development Director Sarah Carden joins host April Parms Jones to discuss how they provide food-system accountability for farmers. Farm Action advocates for a fair and sustainable food system that empowers farmers and rural communities by focusing on holding large corporations and the government...

In this interview Ana Ljubojević and Nikolina Kovačević tell us how they grew Mali Plac, an innovative food hub in Slovenia that connects farmers directly with consumers. They discuss the mission of Mali Plac, how it helps people “find their tribe,” their customer demographics, the logistics of operations, and the pickup model that allows farmers to interact directly with customers. The conversati...

Have you ever thought of a project that would be perfect for your farm, except that it’s not profitable? It might be possible with a for-profit/nonprofit partnership! In this episode we explore these partnerships with Amber Lambke, cofounder and CEO of Maine Grains. We’ll hear how such a partnership helped her start a gristmill in a repurposed Victorian-era jailhouse, which has spurred the revival...

With a background in management and education, it wasn’t always obvious that Tyrean Lewis would become a farmer. But after taking stock of how few options there were for healthy food in his area, he decided to start a farm in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. Coming from a long line of farmers, Tyrean is the fifth generation of his family to farm. In this interview with host April Parms Jones, Tyre...

Tomatoes are the biggest income generators on a lot of market farms, so this week we’re nerding out on how to get the most out of your greenhouse tomatoes. We talk with Guillaume Lambert, co-founder of Orisha greenhouse automation, about how to get more from your protected tomatoes, ranging from low-tech options that don’t require heat, to some more high-tech solutions that require heat and automa...

Kelley Rajala of Clear Lake Gardens in Aitken, Minnesota, shares what it was like to start a farm in California and then relocate to Minnesota in this interview with host April Parms Jones. Hear about moving the farm, and the differences between market farming in the two areas, with the new Minnesota location being much more rural than where they started out in the Santa Rosa area of California (e...

Kristin Graves shares her journey as a fifth-generation farmer in Alberta, focusing on her passion for garlic and the importance of female representation in farming. She discusses her transition from a career in healthcare to farming, growing garlic and other crops in Alberta, and her new book, 'The Garlic Companion,' which combines growing advice with recipes. Kristin emphasizes the significance...

Bevin Cohen of Small House Farm shares his unexpected journey into seed production, the importance of rare and unusual seeds, and some of the unusual value-added products they take to market, including seed oils and apothecary products. The discussion with host April Parms Jones highlights the connection between seeds and community, the significance of regionally adapted seeds, and the value of gr...

Mark and Kristin Kimball pioneered the full-diet CSA model when they founded Essex Farm back in 2004. Now 20 years later, they reflect on where they’ve been and where they’re headed with host Katie Kulla. Katie is especially well positioned to ask them about the joys and challenges of a full-diet CSA, since she transitioned her farm from a more traditional CSA model to a full-diet CSA for a few ye...

With thousands of farmers dealing with the uncertainty of the federal funding freeze, we wanted to hear from farmer Gale Livingstone about how the freeze has affected her farm, and some strategies she’s employed to deal with the disruption. She’s been able to leverage her CSA network and extended farm family through her farm store and email newsletter which are managed by Farmhand. Ari Memar, foun...

Having started several farms before their current Lovin’ Mama Farm in Amsterdam, New York, we hear from Corinne Hansch and Matthew Leon what they learned from their previous farms, and what they did differently this time. They discuss their journey from California to New York, the challenges of adapting to a new climate, and ways they are trying to find work-life balance on a busy, year-round farm...

This week we hear from Sarahlee Lawrence, who runs a full-diet CSA plus events like longtable dinners on the farm she grew up on in the town of Sisters, Oregon. She took the livestock elements her parents pioneered, and added vegetables and more, so they can fill out the menu year-round for their full-diet CSA members and farm-to-table dinner events. Which is all the more impressive due to the fac...

This week we hear from Graham Christensen about the wide range of regenerative practices he’s using on his family’s farm in Nebraska. Graham and host April Parms Jones discuss the importance of ecological farming practices for profitability as well as sustainability, the legacy of family farming, and the methods he is implementing on his family’s 800-acre farm that was founded in 1867. He shares i...

Jacqueline Jackson, owner of Mattie's Garden, shares her journey from a successful banking career to establishing an urban farm in Birmingham, Alabama. She and host Katie Kulla discuss how Jacqueline started thinking about growing food instead of banking, and the careful planning that led to her leaving her job and starting her own farm. They also talk about the sustainable growing practices she u...

How farmers can integrate solar panels with growing crops, so they can effectively harvest the sun in two different ways, is the subject of this week’s podcast with Elise Couillard and host April Parms Jones.  They explore the benefits of solar for farmers, including financial savings, sustainability, and the ability to create microclimates that may improve the growth of certain crops. Elise share...