Episoder
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We don’t typically dive into business topics on this podcast as I like to keep the focus on regenerative growing practices. But today we’re going to go off theme a bit for a special guest. Many of you already know Scott Shepherd, the host of The Flower Podcast.
Scott has such a unique position in our industry. He studied horticulture under the likes of Dr. Allan Armitage. His day job in the three decades since has been working in sales at wholesale houses, first in Georgia and now in Tennessee. In that role, he’s touched every facet of the global import market. He’s also had a long-standing side hustle as a grower of specialty stems like hellebores. And as a podcaster, he’s had many in-depth discussions with both florists and flower farmers.
Scott recently interviewed me about regenerative farming for his own podcast. At the end of that chat, I asked him if I could switch seats with him, so to speak, and ask him so long burning questions I had about selling flowers through a traditional wholesaler. I don’t know about you, but it’s always felt a bit mysterious. Exactly how does one go about approaching a big wholesaler? What quantities do you need to bring to the table? What kind of prices could you get? What was supposed to be just a brief chat turned into a lengthy and very enlightening conversation I thought you’d all like to hear.
In addition to this episode here on No-Till Flowers, you can catch another piece of my conversation with Scott on a new podcast I’m currently hosting called Floral Guild Radio. Yep, you read that right! There’s now a second podcast where you can hear me talk about flowers. Floral Guild Radio is much more geared towards the business side of flowers, particularly selling to florists. I’d love to have you tune in there too!
As always, a big shout out to members of the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network who, through their membership, so generously support the making of this podcast! If you’re not a member but you’d like to join, it’s just $20 a year. Lots of detailed articles, podcast transcripts, and a community chat are available on RFFN. If you’ve ever had follow up questions to episodes here, that’s the place to go to ask!
Many of you may be in hiring mode for your farms right now. I’d love to help you be less intimidate by hiring and find a better flow to managing a crew that doesn’t consume all your brain space and time. I have an online short course called CREW that is focused on the best practices of hiring, training, and managing farm crews. If this sounds like something you could use, head to the show notes to grab the link.
Others of you may not be ready to hire, but could use a helping hand with decision making and trouble shooting this season. I host a monthly small group cohort for regenerative growers on RFFN and would be happy to field all your questions there. Look for the link to that in the show notes as well!
Additional places to find Scott Shepherd:
The Flower Podcast Instagram feed
The Flower Podcast YouTube channel
The Pansy Appreciation Society Instagram feed.
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There are some incredible nuggets of pure gold in this episode. You will definitely want to have a pen and paper handy!
Joining me today is Dr. John Dole, cut flower researcher and professor at North Carolina State University. As you’ll hear in the episode, John has been immersed in flowers since he was just 8 years old, planting gladiolas at a neighbor’s farm in Michigan. Over the decades, he’s been a keystone leader for the floral industry, serving farmers and florists alike with his valuable research projects.
John is well known for his work with the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers, which is where I met him years ago. My friendship with John is an example of how priceless a membership in the Association can be. If you are not already a member of the ASCFG, you’ll want to click the link above right now to join. While John and I were talking here for the podcast, I was reminded how much I have learned over the years from him and others who have generously shared their knowledge through the ASCFG.
For flower farmers, John, along with his posse of awesome graduate students, has done a lot of studies on what we call "post harvest handling" of cut flowers. Basically, what are the best practices growers can implement after harvesting to get the longest vase life out of their crops. You can be a dynamite grower, but if you don’t know how to handle your flowers after they’re picked, you won’t have happy customers or a sustainable business.
In this episode, John and I talk about a handful of key crops and how to handle them after harvest. You are going to be shocked by what he has to say about storing peonies and tulips! For peonies, the ideal temperature for dry storage is 31F, for up to 16 weeks. For tulips, leave the bulb on and dry store at 31F for up to 8 weeks.
We also go down a rabbit hole about water quality and flower food. To be honest, I hadn’t planned to pick John’s brain about those, but I’m so glad the topic came up because it was really informative! I’ve long been anxious about using flower food and holding solutions because there are no organic certified options on the market. I assumed they were full of harsh chemicals that I wouldn’t want to dump out into my farm’s ecosystem. John sheds some light on this subject and I think you’ll find it reassuring to hear.
Some useful resources related to this episode:
Chrysal (post-harvest flower products)
Waypoint Labs (for water testing)
All of John's Research Publications
Postharvest Handling of Cut Flowers and Greens (reference book written by John)
Govee thermometers
WANT TO LEARN MORE? Join the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network! It's just $20/year and you'll have access to lots of articles, videos, online courses and live Q&As -- all related to regenerative farming and sustainable business practices.
On-demand Short Courses for Farmers available on the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network:
Foliage for the Win Successful Flower CSAs and Subscriptions CREW: Hiring and Managing A Guide to No-Panic Marketing Woodies: Playing the Long Game (coming in spring 2024)*Note: You'll need to become a RFFN member in order to register for the online courses.
Past episodes for further listening include:
Episdoe 12: The Everything Tulips Episode with Dave Dowling
Episode 20: The Everything Ranunculus Episode with Dave Dowling
Episode 36: Cool Flowers, Native Headerows and Frost Cloth with Lisa Mason Zeigler
Episode 38: Plant Tissue Testing Explained with Bryant Mason
HAVE IDEAS AND FEEDBACK ABOUT THE PODCAST? Share your opinions in this brief survey.
As always, if you appreciate this podcast and all the education it provides, please take a moment out of your day to rate and write a review for it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you are listening to it.
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Manglende episoder?
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Welcome to Part 2 of a recent interview host Jennie Love had with guest Bryant Mason of Soil Doctor Consulting.
If you haven’t already listened to Episdoe 37 or Episode 29, stop this one now and go back to listen to those first. In this segment, Bryant helps listeners understand what plant tissue testing is and why it is so valuable for farmers to do. Bryant walks us through a tissue test for stock grown at Jennie's farm, explaining how to read the various nutrient values and make decisions for future fertilization.
If you'd like to see the tissue test result sheet Bryant and Jennie discuss in this episode, along with other test results from Jennie's crops, join the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network (RFFN) to have a look at those.
Two labs that Jennie has used for tissue testing flower crops are:
Logan Labs Waypoint AnalyticalAt the end of this conversation, we also get a nice list of resources listeners can use to increase their knowledge of organic and regenerative growing. Here are links to most of those:
The Nature and Properties of Soils textbook The Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants textbook Nigel Palmer's book The Regenerative Grower's Guide to Garden Amendments Nigel Palmer's interview on this podcast Bryan O' Hara's book No-Till Intensive Vegetable Culture Shaping Fire podcast Regenerative Agriculture podcast ATTRA Voices from the Field podcast Priming for Production podcast Tractor Time podcast Field Lab Earth podcast Cannibas Cultivation and Science podcast Decode 6 podcast No-Till Growers podcastThis conversation with Bryant was broken into two episodes since it was full of so much information. So be sure to go back and listen to the first half in Episode 37.
Follow Bryant on Instagram @soil_doctor.
Bryant has developed an easy online tool to help you directly to interpret your soil tests and choose natural amendments accordingly. Click here to learn more.
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On-demand Short Courses for Farmers available on the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network:
Foliage for the Win Successful Flower CSAs and Subscriptions CREW: Hiring and Managing Simple Steps to Better Marketing (coming in late January 2024) Woodies: Playing the Long Game (coming in February 2024)Tap into the above courses and resources any time you need. These are available on-demand through the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network.
>>> FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY, GET 3 SHORT COURSES FOR $300.
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Guest Bryant Mason of Soil Doctor Consulting returns to the podcast for another lively conversation about organic nutrients with host Jennie Love.
If you haven’t already listened to Episode 29 in Season 3, stop this one now and go back to listen to that one first. In Episode 29, we introduced Bryant to the flower farming community and we had a dynamic conversation about nutrient balancing in living soils. Bryant, a certified agronomist for organic growers and an orchardist living in Colorado, has an exquisite knack for making complicated sciency topics sound simple and do-able.
In this whirlwind tour de force we cover:
Gypsum applications Analysis of WCA (homemade calcium input in Korean Natural Farming) Foliar Feeding Best Practices Detering Pests by Choosing the Right Organic Fertilizer EC/Salts Amino Acids and other Nitrogen Sources Orchard establishment and management Soil Paste Testing A Recipe for Biannual Soil Drench to supercharge your cropsThis conversation with Bryant was broken into two episodes since it was full of so much information. So be sure to come back for the second half in Episode 38.
Follow Bryant on Instagram @soil_doctor.
Bryant has developed an easy online tool to help you directly to interpret your soil tests and choose natural amendments accordingly. Click here to learn more.
Mentioned in this episode:
Logan Labs Nigel Palmer's Mineral Amendment Analysis DatabaseJoin the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network (RFFN) for just $20/year if you'd like to continue the conversation on topics covered in this episode.
Foliage for the Win Successful Flower CSAs and Subscriptions CREW: Hiring and Managing Simple Steps to Better Marketing (coming in late January 2024) Woodies: Playing the Long Game (coming in February 2024)
On-demand Short Courses for Farmers on RFFN:Tap into the above courses and resources any time you need. These are available on-demand through the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network.
>>> FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY, GET 3 SHORT COURSES FOR $300.
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Today’s guest needs little introduction in the flower farming world. Lisa Mason Zeigler of the Gardener's Workshop is an author, teacher, industry leader, flower farmer, podcaster, and also a good friend of mine. With 25 years of growing under her belt, Lisa brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to everything she does.
Lisa has a new book, The Cut Flower Handbook, coming out in a few weeks, which prompted this conversation. But we cover several topics in our chat, including:
Changing hardiness zones How cool flowers are even more important in farm resilience and profitability in the face of accelerating climate change Her new book's content Tips for growing Bells of Ireland Establishing natural hedgerows Mulching for soil health Using Frost Cloth for Season Extension
Mentioned in this Episode:Join the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network (RFFN) for just $20/year if you'd like to continue the conversation on topics covered in this episode.
Foliage for the Win Successful Flower CSAs and Subscriptions CREW: Hiring and Managing Woodies: Playing the Long Game (coming in February 2024) Simple Steps to Better Marketing (coming in January 2024)
On-demand Short Courses for Farmers on RFFN:Tap into the above courses and resources any time you need. These are available on-demand through the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network. Current RFFN members shoud follow this link to access the Short Courses at the discounted member rate.
If you enjoyed this episode, you might also want to listen to:
Episode 28: Seed Starting, Regenerative Style with Lisa Mason Zeigler
Episode 24: Farming to Heal the Ecosystem with Dr. Doug Tallamy
Episode 31: Beneficial Insects and Natural PEst Control with IPM Expert Margaret Parks of Evergreen Growers Supply
Lisa's great podcasts: Field & Garden and Seed Talk
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Follow @notillflowers on Instagram for more content.
HAVE IDEAS AND FEEDBACK ABOUT THE PODCAST? Share your opinions in this brief survey.
As always, if you appreciate this podcast and all the education it provides, please take a moment out of your day to rate and write a review for it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you are listening to it.
Thanks for tuning in!
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Today’s guest needs little introduction in the small farm no-till world. Jesse Frost of Rough Draft Farm in central Kentucky has helped so many of us learn about soil health and diversified small scale production through the No-Till Growers YouTube channel, the No-Till Growers podcast, and his book The Living Soil Handbook.
If you’ve struggled with heavy clay, boggy or compacted soils at your farm or in your garden, this is the episode for you! Frequently I get asked about my recommendations for clay and poorly draining areas, but I actually have no experience with those conditions myself. Jesse does. And I eagerly picked his brain for you all. You're welcome! 😉
We talk a bit about cover crops for clay soils, including tillage radish, phacelia, sorghum sudangrass, vetch, and winter rye.
Also in this episode, Jesse and I take a stroll down memory lane to consider both of our paths as regenerative growers. As you’ll hear, five or six years ago, there was only a trickle of guidance available for smaller farms looking to implement no-till practices on a production level. We both had to do a lot of experimenting on our farms and still do today. We mention the Singing Frogs interview on the Farmer To Farmer Podcast back in 2018, a key catalyst for both of our no-till journies. Also Andrew Mefferd's book The Organic No-Till Farming Revolution, which was published in the spring of 2019. Both are highly recommended if you haven't already discovered them.
Also Mentioned In This Episode:
The Regenerative Growers COHORT with me, Jennie Love, is a year-long, small group coaching program for those that need a little help learning how to apply all the concepts and practices talked about here on the podcast. To learn more, click here.
Foliage for the Win Successful Flower CSAs and Subscriptions CREW: Hiring and Managing Woodies: Playing the Long Game (coming in February 2024) Simple Steps to Better Marketing (coming in January 2024)
Other On-demand Short Courses for Farmers:Tap into the above courses and resources any time you need. These are available on-demand through the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network. Current RFFN members shoud follow this link to access the Short Courses at the discounted member rate.
Join the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network for just $20/year if you'd like to continue the conversation on topics covered in this episode.If you enjoyed this episode, you might also want to listen to:
Episode 14: Breaking Down Compost with Jesse Frost
Episode 33: Cover Cropping Basics for Small Scale Regenerative (Flower) Farms
Episode 13: Improving Poor Compost with Ellen Polishuk
Episode 28: Seed Starting, Regenerative Style with Lisa Mason Zeigler
Episode 12: The Everything Tulips Episdoe with Dave Dowling
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Follow @notillflowers on Instagram for more content.
HAVE IDEAS AND FEEDBACK ABOUT THE PODCAST? Share your opinions in this brief survey.
As always, if you appreciate this podcast and all the education it provides, please take a moment out of your day to rate and write a review for it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you are listening to it.
Thanks for tuning in!
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We're back with Season 4 of the No-Till Flowers Podcast! In this solo episode, host Jennie Love talks about regenerative spraying and how to boost the health of your crops with foliar feeding. Learn about the phyllosphere and what easy homemade inputs you can use to reduce pests and diseases with weekly foliar sprays.
Mentioned in this episode:
Join the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network if you'd like to continue the conversation on this topic.
Jennies on-demand short courses for fellow farmers:
Foliage for the Win Successful Flower CSAs and Subscriptions CREW: Hiring and Managing Woodies: Playing the Long Game Simple Steps to Better Marketing Regenerative Farming CohortTap into the above courses and resources any time you need. These are available on-demand through the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network. Current RFFN members shoud follow this link to access the Short Courses at the discounted member rate.
How to make WCA, a homemade calcium foliar feed.
How to make LAB, a homemade input for boosting good biology in the phyllosphere
My4Sons Backpack Sprayers
Quorum Sensing TED Talk on YouTube
If you enjoyed this episode, you might also want to listen to:
Episode 15: A Little Goes a Long Way in Regenerative Farming with Tony Gatez
Episode 21: The Magical BRIX Number that Stops Pests with Dr. Tom Dykstra
Episode 23: Bokashi & Worm Farming with Matt Arthur
Episode 30: JADAM Basics, Making JMS and Other Natural Inputs
Sign up for our newsletter so you'll be the first to know about special events and other opportunities.
Follow @notillflowers on Instagram for more content.
HAVE IDEAS AND FEEDBACK ABOUT THE PODCAST? Share your opinions in this brief survey.
As always, if you appreciate this podcast and all the education it provides, please take a moment out of your day to rate and write a review for it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you are listening to it.
Thanks for tuning in!
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Curious about cover crops for a flower farm? Host Jennie Love walks listeners through a clear and concise overview of cover crops suitable for a small regenerative farm and why cover crops are such a valuable tool in the summer time for weed management. Included is a list of favorite cover crops for a small flower farm.
Mentioned in the episode:
Cover Crop Solutions Chart from Peaceful Valley
Deer Creek Seeds
Kings Agriseeds
Peaceful Valley
The Regenerative Flower Farmers Network
(find a transcript of this episode there as well as lots of other helpful resources)If you enjoyed this show, you will also enjoy listening to these past episodes:
Episode 26: No-Till Basics: Bed PReparation Using the Deep Mulch System Episode 18: The Ins and Outs of Intercropping with Denise Richter Episdoe 17: Exploring the Science Behind Natural Farm Inputs with Nigel Palmer Episode 15: A Little Goes A Long Way In Regenerative Flower Farming: KNF and JADAM with Tony Gaetz of Bare Mountain FarmSign up for our newsletter so you'll be the first to know about special events and other opportunities.
Follow @notillflowers on Instagram for more content.
HAVE IDEAS AND FEEDBACK ABOUT THE PODCAST? Share your opinions in this brief survey.
As always, if you appreciate this podcast and all the education it provides, please take a moment out of your day to rate and write a review for it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you are listening to it.
Thanks for tuning in!
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Here's Part 2 of my chat with Margaret Parks of Evergreen Growers Supply, an Oregon-based supplier of beneficial insects and microorganisms. If you haven't already, be sure to listen to Part 1 to get an introduction to using beneficial insects in your grow operation.
Some important links to go along with this conversation:
Evergreen Growers Supply
dmvbeneficials.com
Cucumber Beetle Trap
Japanese Beetle TrapJOIN ME for a FIELD DAY AT MY FARM in Philadelphia THIS SEASON.
Register for the April 14th Field Day here.
If you liked this episode, you'll want to also listen to:
Episode 21: The Magical BRIX Number That Stops Pests with Dr. Tom Dykstra
Episode 25: The Power of Pusle Watering with Emma Horswill of Earthenry Farm
Episode 29: Nutrient Balancing in Living Soils with Bryant Mason, the Soil Doctor
Join the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network for more resources and Q&As with podcast guests.
HAVE IDEAS AND FEEDBACK ABOUT THE PODCAST? Share your opinions in this brief survey.
As always, if you appreciate this podcast and all the education it provides, please take a moment out of your day to rate and write a review for it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you are listening to it.
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I’m joined in this episode by Margaret Parks of Evergreen Growers Supply, an Oregon-based supplier of beneficial insects and microorganisms. We begin by discussing the big picture pieces of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as they relate to small scale flower farming. Then we dive into spider mite control with three fantastic beneficial insects. We also touch on banker and trap crops as well as the importance and fundamentals of scouting.
Some important links to go along with this conversation:
Evergreen Growers Supply
Margaret’s Critter Links
The mite predators Margaret mentions are:
Amblyseius / Neoseiulus fallacis (pronounced "fuh-LASS-iss")
Hypoaspis miles / Stratiolaelaps scimitis – (pronounced "stratio-LAY-laps")
Phytoseiulus persimilis – (pronounced "per-SIM-ih-liss")
Margaret offered a great pro tip during our conversation I thought I’d put here in the show notes so it’s easy to reference. Add site:.edu after google search terms to find university and extension publications quickly without having to weed through all the companies sell stuff.
Because Margaret had so much great info to share, I’ve split my conversation with her into two parts. Tune in again for Part 2 where we talk about a few more specific pests, like cucumber and Japanese bettles, as well as a natural product Evergreen Growers offers to combat gall.
If you liked this episode, you may want to also listen to:
Episode 8: Dahlia Pest Management with LeeAnn Huber of Coseytown Flowers
Episode 15: A Little Goes a Long Way in Regenerative Flower Farming KNF and JADAM with Tony
Gaetz of Bare Mountain Farm
Episode 21: The Magical BRIX Number That Stops Pests – An Exciting Conversation with Dr. Tom DykstraHAVE IDEAS AND FEEDBACK ABOUT THE PODCAST? Share your opinions in this brief survey.
As always, if you appreciate this podcast and all the education it provides, please take a moment out of your day to rate and write a review for it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you are listening to it.
Margaret Parks of Evergreen Growers Supply
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Host Jennie Love walks listeners through a clear and concise discussion of what natural farming is and how to begin making natural inputs like JADAM Microbial Solution (JMS). If you've been intimidated by the host of natural inputs talked about in Korean Natural Farming (KNF) and JADAM, this is a great introduction that will demystify the process and get you started.
Mentioned in the episode:
Registration for the CREW virtual seminar to help you find and manage a great crew for the coming season.
The JADAM book
The JADAM YouTube channel
The Regenerative Flower Farmers Network where you'll find the transcript for this show and several related articles to making natural inputs for your regenerative farm (you must be a member to access it)
If you enjoyed this show, you will also enjoy listening to these past episodes:
Episdoe 17: Exploring the Science Behind Natural Farm Inputs with Nigel Palmer Episode 15: A Little Goes A Long Way In Regenerative Flower Farming: KNF and JADAM with Tony Gaetz of Bare Mountain FarmPlease remember to rate and review this podcast! Many thanks!
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Guest Bryant Mason of Soil Doctor Consulting in Colorado joins host Jennie Love in a lively conversation about nutrient balancing and soil testing, including key nutrients for better flower production and stem quality. Follow Bryant on Instagram @soil_doctor.
Bryant has developed an easy online tool to help you directly to interpret your soil tests and choose natural amendments accordingly. Click here to learn more.
Covered in this episode are:
The Different Forms of Nitrogen Calcium Phosphorous Magnesium Soil pH Soil Paste Test and Soil Testing in General Tissue Testing Water Management Testing Natural Inputs for Nutrient LevelsResources mentioned in this episode are:
Biomin Cal-Boro (calcium boron feed) Infiltration Ring Chart for Mode of Nutrient Uptake in the Root Zone Logan LabsPast episodes for further listening include:
Episdoe 25: The Power of Pulse Watering with Emma Horswill
Episode 17: Natural Inputs with Nigel Palmer
Episode 15: Korean Natural Farming and JADAM in Flower Farming with Tony Gaetz of Bare Mountain Farm
Episode 4: Soils Testing 101 with Ellen Polishuk
HAVE IDEAS AND FEEDBACK ABOUT THE PODCAST? Share your opinions in this brief survey.
As always, if you appreciate this podcast and all the education it provides, please take a moment out of your day to rate and write a review for it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you are listening to it.
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It’s seed starting time! I’d venture to say this is what we growers are live for! Watching seedlings grow in the depths of winter is the best mood lifter. Those of you in the Southern Hemisphere are likely gearing up for your late summer sowings for cool annuals too. So it seemed like a great time to do a deeper dive into seed sowing with my old friend and seed starting pro, Lisa Mason Zeigler from the Gardener’s Workshop.
Lisa literally wrote the book, called Cool Flowers, on starting seeds for early spring crops. She’s been flower farming for 25 years and runs a seed supply house. She’s also the host of the Field & Garden podcast, which you should check out if you haven’t already.
In this episode, Lisa and I talk all about seeds. Everything from seed storage tips to creating a living soil with natural inputs to even a bit about sowing by the biodynamic calendar.
If you’d like to get my written out Regenerative Seed Starting Mix Recipe, join the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network (RFFN) to download that today.
Lots of links to share with this episode:
The New Organic Grower by Eliot Coleman
Seed Germination Theory and Practice by Dr. Norman Deno (free download)
Biodynamic Calendar (make sure to set your specific location for accurate days)
A study about the importance of the first few days of a seedling’s life and how they develop
Maxicrop (kelp product)
WCA (calcium input)
LAB (video on how to make it)
A study on worm castings enhancing germination
A study on worm castings improving disease resistance
TED talk on how bacteria “talk” with autoinducers
Past episodes mentioned in this conversation for further listening include:
Episode 21: BRIX with Dr. Tom Dykstra
Episode 15: Korean Natural Farming and JADAM in Flower Farming with Tony Gaetz of Bare Mountain Farm
Episode 16: Biodynamics with Erika and Ken from Teton Full Circle Farm
Episode 23: Bokashi and Worm Farming with Matt Arthur
HAVE IDEAS AND FEEDBACK ABOUT THE PODCAST? Share your opinions in this brief survey.
As always, if you appreciate this podcast and all the education it provides, please take a moment out of your day to rate and write a review for it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you are listening to it.
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Guest Laura Beth Resnick of Butterbee Farm in Maryland joins host Jennie Love again to discuss building and rebuilding a successful farm business over the past decade.
Covered in this episode are:
- Finding land to farm
- Pros and cons of renting versus buying farm land
- Funding sources for land and infrastructure
- Making infrastructure decisions
- Bringing goats to a flower farm
- Finding peach of mind and courage in the face of big change and wintertimeMentioned in this episode are:
The Regenerative Flower Farmers Network
Jennie's upcoming virtual farming cohort where she'll coach a small group of flower farmers throgh the spring.
Laura Beth's previous episode here on No-Till Flowers.
Laura Beth's online class about building a farm, including more details about funding.
A past episode on farmer burnout and mental well-being with Amelia Ihlo.
The "goat moat" fig guy, Three Fold Farm in Mechanicsburg PA (they have an earth battery green house too).
Farm Service Agency (FSA) for farm loans
Please take a moment to rate and review this podcast wherever you are listening.
Find No-Till Flowers on Instagram @notillflowers
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Host Jennie Love walks listeners through a clear and detailed description of how she has prepared no-till beds at her farm over the seasons. She goes into particular detail about the "deep mulch system" that many smaller diversified farms use for no-till bed preparation. Jennie also discusses her own journey to getting started with no-till farming back in 2018. Water and weed concerns related to no-till beds are also disucssed in this episode.
Mentioned in this show:
Registration for the 2023 No-Till Flowers Farming Cohort is now open and you can sign up here.
Andrew Mefferd's book, The Organic No-Till Farming Revolution
Join the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network to read detailed articles on and see lots of photos of no-till bed preparation.
If you enjoyed this show, consider listening to these related episodes:
Breaking Down Compost with Guest Jesse Frost Improving Poor Compost with Guest Ellen Polishuk Talking All Things No-Till Flowers with Guest Tony Gaetz from Bare Mountain Farm Pulse Watering with Emma Horswill from Earthenry FarmPlease rate and review this podcast wherever you are listening so we can grow the auidence.
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Welcome to Season 3 of the No-Till Flowers podcast! Emma Horswill from Earthenry Farm in Tasmania joins host, Jennie Love, for a lovely chat that hits on several important regenerative farming practices.
The primary focus of this episode is irrigation, particularly an approach to it called "pulse watering". Other topics include cover cropping, fertigation, quickly imporving poor compacted soil using regenerative methods, creating a flower farm that's very asethetically pleasing for a you-pick operation, and converting a horse farm to a flower farm.
Links mentioned in this episode are as follows:
Earthenry Farm on Instagram
Dahlias in Australia: The Winkie Way (the book Emma used to originally learn about pulse watering)
The Regenerative Flower Farmers Network where members can download Emma's fact sheet on pulse watering.
Steve Solomon's "Complete Organic Fertilizer" recipe.
Daniel May's book The No-Till Organic Vegatable Farm
ARC Centre for Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture (Australian think tank for future proofing our farms)
Teeming with Bacteria by Jeff Lowenfels
Please rate and leave a review for this podcast as it helps us tailor the podcast even more to your needs and helps other listeners find it. Follow @notillflowers on Instagram for more content and conversations. And become a member of the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network to access additional detailed resources and live Q&A events as mentioned throughout the podcast.
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Do you view your farm as a production space? A landscape that should generate x number of stems in x square feet for x amount of dollars each season? Many farmers do. In this episode, host Jennie Love encourages listeners to look at their farms as whole ecosystems that serves millions of lives, not just your own goals. Jennie is joined by author, Dr. Doug Tallamy, a professor in the University of Delaware’s Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology. For years, Dr. Tallamy has studied how insects interact with plants and how those interactions impact the food web, right up to us humans. He’s authored several books, including Nature’s Best Hope, which is the main focus of this episode’s discussion.
Farming is the single biggest land-use category on this planet! With nearly 50% of the earth’s land being used for agriculture, every single farmer HAS to be part of the solution as we face down the 6th great extinction our planet has seen. Some of the actionable steps that Doug and Jennie talk about are to:
stop spraying pesticides of any kind plant native plants increase diversity of plants, particularly trees leave your weeds alone and stop manicuring your farm and let it get a little loose and wild.If you enjoy the content you hear on this podcast, consider joining the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network (RFFN), a community of like-mind growers who put the ecosystem at the forefront of their farms. It's less than the price of a fancy latte to join for the whole year! Members get special access to podcast guests and other exclusive content, including an article with 15 favorite tried-and-true native plants for cutting.
Please rate and review this podcast on whatever platform you are listening. It only takes a minute and your review helps spread the word about this podcast and its important message so we can effect even more positive change for our earth and our community. Many thanks for your help with that!
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In this episode, host Jennie Love is joined by farmer Matt Arthur of BLH Farm to dive into bokashi and worm farming at a scale that can actually provide a large volume of high-quality compost and castings for a small farm.
If you've struggled with making compost on your farm or finding well-aged, herbicide-free compost locally, bokashi could be the solution you've been searching for! An anerobic fermentation process, bokashi does not require a carbon source and takes a fraction of the time to produce finished compost that the more widely-known and used areobic compost pile does. Listen as Matt explains why and how. Originally farming flowers, Matt has diversified his business in recent years to include a paid food waste collection service for his local community to support his larger-scale bokashi operation.
And that bokashi operation produces high-quality feedstock for his worm operation! He sells castings and worms locally and nationwide. Matt's inspirational system is very do-able for just about any farm and requires no large equipment.
Find Matt on Instagram @blh_farm and at his website: https://blhfarm.com/
In this show, Matt mentions 96 gallon "rollers". Here's a link to a video showing how to convert one for bokashi as well as where to buy the components.
Matt also mentioned EM-1. Here's a link to where to purchase it: https://tinyurl.com/musry4hh
Coming up on October 28th, 2022, there will be an in-person No-Till Flowers Field Day at Jennie's regenerative flower farm in Philadelphia. Click here to register.
If you enjoy the content you hear on this podcast, consider joining the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network (RFFN), a community of like-mind growers who put the ecosystem at the forefront of their farms. It's just the price of a fancy latte to join for the whole year! Members get special access to podcast guests and other exclusive content. Matt will be answering questions about bokashi and worms live on RFFN in November.
PLEASE RATE AND REVIEW THIS PODCAST WHEREVER YOU ARE LISTENING: this helps us grow our aduience!
Follow @notillflowers on Instagram for lots of content about regenerative flower farming.
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Welcome to the first in a short summer series of episodes dedicated to farmer well-being. This is my 14th season flower farming and running a small business centered around such a stunning and stressful product. Every season brings its own set of challenges, most entirely out of my control. This year I broke a bone and strained a tendon in my left foot in late February that has impacted my physical and mental health immensely. I entered the intensity of spring planting season feeling hugely ineffective and burnt out. I’m used to those feelings in August each year, but never before had I felt that way in March.
Acknowledging burn-out and its source and making space for it is the first step to recovery. So I started talking about it with close farmer friends at first and then more publicly. As I did, I heard echoed back to me all the same feelings of exhaustion, anxiety and physical pain. I am definitely not alone. Nor are you.
My guest in this episode, Amelia Ihlo, is also a friend, which made this would-be heavy conversation flow easily. It’s proof that talking to a friend can be a huge step forward when you feel burnt out. We both share our stories of and strategies for farmer fatigue. Amelia, the founder of Rooted Farmers, brings a uniquely powerful tactic to the table: collective selling. She talks about how flower collectives – or co-ops or hubs or whatever you want to call them -- have the capacity to snuff out burn-out. Maybe you’re like me and had never thought about collective selling as a defense against burn-out, but it really makes sense once you start thinking about it in that way.
On the Rooted Farmers blog, Amelia and her team have put together a couple great post on farmer burn-out and health. Check those out here.
Two other resources are:
Young Farmers Coalition
Rural Health Information Hub
Neither I nor Amelia are mental health professionals. Rather we are two experienced flower farmers and business women having a candid conversation. If you need support for a well-being crisis or are worried about someone else who does, please call or text 1 800 273 8255 to connect with a trained crisis counselor.
If this episode makes you feel seen and you want to join a deeper conversation on farmer well-being, consider joining the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network, or RFFN for short. Over the past year, RFFN has developed into a safe harbor away from social media where all questions and scenarios are welcome, connections are made between farmers and experts, and experiences are shared so all members contribute to growing the knowledge of the group. Within that framework, we have a special space dedicated to discussing and supporting farmer well-being. Please join us there!
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In this episode, host Jennie Love is joined by Dr. Tom Dykstra, an entomologist with over 25 years of experience in academic and field research. Predominantly, he has studied insect olfaction (how insects smell) from the standpoint of bioelectromagnetics and has proven a new theory based on the fusion of biophysics and neurophysiology. Dr. Dykstra has long been involved in the field of agriculture and pest control. He brings a unique perspective to the table that flies in the face of conventional agriculture's penchant for liberally applying pesticides. Turns out pesticides kill far more than the pests -- but we regenerative farmers already knew that, right? Still, it's great to hear a lauded scientist explain why pesticides are the undoing of healthy plants.
In this episode, we go into more detail about BRIX and how this easy measurement can be so meaningful to pest management. Through all his years of research with myriad crops and pests, Dr. Dykstra has found a magical BRIX number where, once that threshold has been reached, pests will not be a problem anymore! Listen in to learn what that number is!
In this episode, a few links are mention. Here they are for easy reference:
- Previous interview with Dr. Dykstra on the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast wtih John Kempf
- The refactometer model Jennie uses at her farm to take BRIX readings.
- The Wikipedia article on bioelectromagnetics for those who are curious to have a brief intro to the idea.
A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT THE EDITING OF THIS EPISODE:
We're so grateful to Dr. Dykstra for sharing all his nerdy knowledge. That being said, he did get super nerdy for a bit early on in this interview. Like super duper nerdy! We thought we'd loose a lot of you in the weeds if we started the episode with that. So you'll be jumping into the middle of the interview when you start listening to this episode. Keep listening alllll the way to the end to hear a lot of detail about how Dr. Dykstra has determined insects "smell".
Dr. Dykstra currently works as a consultant for Advancing Eco Ag if you'd like to pick his brain more.
This show is brought to you by the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network (RFFN). Your membership in RFFN will go to support the making of more podcasts here on No-Till Flowers. Join RFFN today to read dozens of great articles on regenerative practices as they specifically relate to flower farming. On RFFN, you'll find a more information about regenerative practices for pest control and a nerdy community to talk more about BRIX.
PLEASE RATE AND REVIEW this show wherever you are getting it. It really helps us grow!
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Thanks for tuning in!
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