Bonjour, it's Mimi, and I'm keeping it real international for my second tour on the podcast. Today we are going to chat with Charles Lachaux from Burgundy, France. He's a sixth generation vigneron at Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux . If you're a person who drinks, appreciates, thinks about wine, you know Burgundy, as these are wines that have a long history, but in the recent past since his return they have been given critical acclaim. One of the things that sets Charles apart in the region is his conver...
Dec 04, 2023•1 hr 4 min
Today we've got a LIVE and very special episode, Alex sits down with the one and only Ben Hartman of Clay Bottom Farm to discuss his third and newest book, The Lean Micro Farm. They dig deep on small farming systems, the importance of proximity to the end-consumer, and the power of empowering and being surrounded by a strong team. When visiting farms like Clay Bottom, we're always reminded by the power of small. Mentioned in the show... Ben's newest book, The Lean Micro-Farm How to Get Small, Em...
Nov 27, 2023•1 hr 5 min
Today's episode is about a not-so-obvious climate adaptive farm strategy, tree syrups. I, Natalie, know this might be only tangentially related to your production system, and I have yet to be told by Jesse and the team to reign it in, but I love the idea of wild foods that can be sustainably harvested. Selfishly, I just wanted an excuse to learn more about this topic. David Moore is a researcher at the University of New Hampshire and he has been looking at different tree syrups for his dissertat...
Nov 20, 2023•1 hr
It's three-hundred-million volts of shocking the system with... earworms. You'll see what I did there in just a second. It's Mimi and I'm really stoked to be with you, again. Today, were going to have a look into the worm world, secifically invasive jumping worms, with Dr. Lee Frelich . He's a professor of forest and landscape ecology at the University of Minnesota and is a leading researcher and is widely cited in disturbence ecology and succession in forest ecosystems. This episode may be a so...
Nov 13, 2023•1 hr 32 min
Farm Lot 59 is an urban, year-round, no-till vegetable and flower farm located in sunny Long Beach, California. Farm Lot 59 was founded in 2010 by Sasha Kanno and a founding board of community members as a place to fight local food insecurity, teach the community about agriculture, and incubate and inspire folks to go rural and start larger farms. Using a unique combination of an on-site farm stand, events, and local food donations, they've built a year-round food project that feeds their local ...
Nov 06, 2023•1 hr 10 min
Hey nerds, Farmer Jesse, welcome back to another season (six!) of The No-Till Market Garden Podcast. Just wanted to say hello, talk about the upcoming podcast season, and give you little farm update before Alex, Natalie, and Mimi take over for the season. Pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook from No-Till Growers to support keeping our work FREE Let us know what you think. Take the No-Till Growers Survey, get 10% off merch. Win-win. Check out our FREE Growers Forum for more market garden, s...
Oct 30, 2023•6 min
When I was at the US Compost Conference last winter, I met Lisa of Juneau Composts and my 'cool gal' radar went off. Her vibe shouted competent. Lisa is the real deal, collecting food scraps and making compost with very little support in the tough climate of Alaska. It was fascinating to talk to Lisa about the struggles of composting in this harsh environment and her ingenuity. I've been following Juneau Composts for a few years, back when it was a one-woman, scrappy enterprise and I swell with ...
Oct 23, 2023•36 min
James McSweeney, of The 131 School of Composting and author of Community-Scale Composting , and I jammed so well about what The 131 School is about—particularly the compost operators certificate program—his book, and his vision of composting in the future. James then turns the tables on me and asked me questions about Austria's model of composting. At some point, we forgot we were being recorded, the conversation just flows until we remember we had prior engagements. Classic. I can't get enough ...
Oct 16, 2023•1 hr 1 min
When Austria banned organics from the waste stream in '92, Ursula was--in part--tasked with how to divert organic waste from going to the landfill. In '96, she conducted an analysis of the waste stream. Yes, she personally dawned gloves and sorted through many samples of trash. 24% of her community's waste was organics (or what she calls "Biowaste"). Once she showed that data, and could project the savings that could be had, she had to figure out how to implement a plan to compost it. You'll get...
Oct 09, 2023•48 min
On our International Solid Waste Association study tour on decentralized bio waste recycling—or just the compost scene—in Austria, we visited 3-er Hof Farm , Farm 3, and spoke with second generation composter Verena. Her families farm is an inspiring mix of compost production, crop production, and social connection with people of all abilities and ages. Instead of an interview, I recorded the lecture given at Farm 3. You'll hear from Verena about Farm 3 and then from Florian, who organized the s...
Oct 02, 2023•44 min
Most of you all know and love Karl Hammer from Vermont Compost ( IG VermontCompost ) already. If you're looking for a concise "how-to" guide on how Karl makes his awesome compost, and even better known potting soil, this is not that interview. Karl is known for his verbose and winding stories that mostly answer the question given, but always entertain. There is a richness in speaking with someone like Karl with a lifetime of experience. So, prepare yourself for a deep and fertile conversation fu...
Sep 25, 2023•1 hr 17 min
Today, I'm in Austria, joined by Dr. Martin Wellacher. Martin is uber committed to the environment, as most of us in this industry are eco-conscious, but he is next-level. He doesn't even own a car. So, he needed to plan to meet, traveling by bus and by bike just to get to us. After a tour of the Komptech facilities and a tasty locally-sourced lunch, we had a rich conversation about his 30 years in the compost industry, starting out just when legislation was passed requiring household organics t...
Sep 18, 2023•45 min
Robert Rynk and Matthew Cotton, who you may recognize as the authors of The Composting Handbook , just came back from a tour giving composting workshops to Australian farmers. They had an intensive nine workshops over twelve days, about 1,600 miles travelled! Although a tiring trip, for sure, they seem to be even more optimistic about the future of composting. Let's listen in to what they have to say in retrospect. Mentioned in the show... The USCC Compost Operator Training Course October 23rd -...
Sep 11, 2023•45 min
Steven Wisbaum, of Champlain Valley Compost Co & CV Compost , has been growing organic food and making compost for over 30 years. Today, we talk about water management on the compost farm. He provides custom composting services to farms and makes his own premium manure-based compost. In addition writing a variety of compost related articles and guides, Steven has also become the largest distributor of ComposTex compost covers. Through these, he has helped composters around the world make a b...
Sep 04, 2023•1 hr 5 min
Brenda Platt is the director and life-force behind the Composting for Community Initiative of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance . ILSR has a vision of thriving, diverse, equitable communities. To reach this vision, they build local power to fight corporate control. They are a national research and advocacy organization that partners with allies across the country to build an American economy driven by local priorities accountable to people and the planet. Today, we're going to talk about one...
Aug 28, 2023•41 min
Michael Martinez is the founder and executive director of LA Compost . He has chosen compost as a way to show his care for humanity and build a healthy community. His work has been incredibly impactful. LA Compost now has a diverse network of 41 community composting locations across LA county. I heard Michael speak at the US Compost Conference last Winter. He often brings people to happy tears as he speaks from the heart about his love of compost. Hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did. ...
Aug 21, 2023•31 min
Hey Composters and compost lovers, it's Jayne Merner of Earth Care Farm ! Episode one of season two of The Composter will air Monday, August 21st, and continue with a new episode every Monday for ten weeks. We have an awesome lineup, chatting with composters behind many compost facilities like LA Compost, Vermont Compost, Champlain Valley Compost, and more. And, I'll be headed to Austria to tour compost facilities in late-August. Expect some news from me from the country that composts the most o...
Aug 20, 2023•1 min
Paul and Sandy Arnold of Pleasant Valley Farm in upstate NY are seasoned expert winter growers. They have been involved with winter growing since they first purchased their 60-acre property 35 years ago. With three large RIMOL high-tunnels, numerous caterpillar and field tunnels, dedicated wash/pack, and climate controlled storage facilities, they have honed their year-round systems on three cultivated acres and have achieved financial stability for themselves and their family. Until recently, 9...
Aug 14, 2023•1 hr 21 min
Joy Longfellow is a flowers trial technician on the flowers team at Johnny's research farm. I invited Joy to speak about their overwinter flower trials and the info they have gathered over the past few years. The Johnny's research farm is 200+ acres acres in size with 60+ acres in crop production that includes both field and greenhouse growing for plant breeding, seed production, trialing, and cover crop rotation. The overwintering flower trials focus on cool season annuals, and a few perrenial,...
Aug 07, 2023•1 hr 10 min
Located in the Pacific Northwest, Brian and his partner Chrystine first started as a fresh market farm is 2004, producing their first seed catalog in 2007, and then transitioned entirely to seed production in 2011. Uprising Seeds is WA fist 100% certified organic seed company, producing over 70% of the seeds they sell with the rest being sourced from a network of regional family farms. Brian is passionate about exploring the relationship between grower security and open pollinated seeds and the ...
Jul 31, 2023•1 hr 9 min
Erin and Sam started Long Season Farm in Ulster County, NY, in 2014 as a winter-only operation, but have since expanded to year-round production and market the majority of their produce at two year-round farmers markets. With seven acres in production, they have four 30' x 96' unheated high-tunnels, plus a prop house, multiple cat/ tunnels, a moveable tunnel, and a large heated greenhouse that includes their wash station. Unheated winter tunnel crops have been very successful, especially when co...
Jul 24, 2023•1 hr 35 min
Jamila Norman of Patchwork City Farms in Atlanta, GA, is a first generation daughter to Caribbean parents whose history is rooted in agriculture. After a career in environmental engineering, she founded Patchwork City Farms in 2010, an acre+ urban farm with one 30'x96' high-tunnel and four caterpillar tunnels that supplies two farmers markets, a couple of local restaurants, and a farmstand. I reached out to Jamila in January after an arctic blast with lows in the teens hit Atlanta and decimated ...
Jul 17, 2023•1 hr 23 min
In 2015, Amy Frye and Jacob Slosberg of Boldly Grown Farm in Bow, WA, started a one-acre farm at an incubator farm shortly after meeting and working on their university farm. Now, in their ninth season, they've purchased their own farm property and currently cultivate 30 acres of vegetables, a couple acres of grains, dry beans, seed crops, and flowers. Winter crops have always been the focus from the beginning. Eighty percent of sales are through wholesale channels including distributors and foo...
Jul 10, 2023•1 hr 13 min
Order The Ecological Farm: A Minimalist No-Till, No-Spray, Selective-Weeding, Grow-Your-Own-Fertilizer System for Organic Agriculture by Helen Atthowe Hey, Farmer Jesse here, and we've got a special treat for you today. We are re-releasing the interview I did with Helen Atthowe from back in 2020, some of you may have heard it, some may have not. There are a couple reasons for the re-release: First, this was one of those early episodes we got a ton of positive feedback on because it's just a grea...
Jul 05, 2023•1 hr 17 min
Jillian and Ross Mickens of Open Door Farm in Cedar Grove, NC, work collaboratively with previous podcast guests Vera and Gordon of Ten Mother Farm to fill CSA boxes with many of the land intensive crops like potatoes and winter squash. With 5 acres under cultivation, and eleven seasons under their belt, they recently made the transition to winter-only sales from mid-August to the end of March, while using the main-season to tend to storage and root crop production, as well as rest during the ho...
Jul 03, 2023•1 hr 9 min
Rebecca and her husband, Mark, started Moonshot Farm in East Windsor, NJ, in 2019 after relocating from New York City to begin their dream of growing year-round cut flowers in a northern climate. In just four short years, they have built their 3.5 acre flower farm to include four high-tunnels, two of which are heated by a geothermal heating system, and they sell at two year round farmers markets, manage a 130 member CSA bouquet-of-the-month club, and an on-site farmstead. Just this year, they we...
Jun 26, 2023•1 hr 9 min
Today my guest is John Dindia of Lakeview Hill Farm in Traverse City, MI. John and his partner Bailey designed and built their farm from the ground up beginning in 2017 on a 58-acre property with 10 acres of available farmland and a 35-acre woodlot. Now, with 2.5 acres in production, they have five 30' x 148' heated greenhouses, a dedicated propagation house connected to a production barn, and seven 20' x 148' caterpillar tunnels. Plus, their farm is 75% powered by solar and they are committed t...
Jun 19, 2023•1 hr 32 min
Two quick things: first, we are welcoming back another exciting season of the Winter Growers Podcast with Clara Coleman --super cool--and second, you are going to notice there is a lot more activity on this feed than usual and the reason is from here on out all of the shows we produce are going to appear in this feed as The No-Till Growers Network… Welcome back to the Winter Growers Podcast! In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Niki Jabbour, who is an award-winning author, radio ...
Jun 12, 2023•1 hr 19 min
Hi again, it's Natalie, and this is my last episode, THE last episode, of the fifth season of The No-Till Market Garden Podcast! I want to thank Farmer Jesse and the whole crew of the podcast for giving me the mic and so much freedom. It's been fun, and if you've learned even a fraction of what I have then I'll call it a win. I am thrilled to bring you my conversation with Tatiana Schreiber of the Rich Earth Institute . We focus mainly on her work there regarding the social aspects of dry sanita...
Jun 05, 2023•1 hr 11 min
On today's episode of the podcast I, Alex Ball of Old City Acres , sit down with Jonah Sloven of Sweet Hollow Organic Farm in Victor, Idaho, a small valley town of only 2,000 people with a thriving local food scene. Jonah operates his farm on land directly connected to a housing development forming an agrihood and increasing the connection between community members and where their food is produced. The farm was also involved with a SARE grant to trial no-till deep mulch systems to combat pervasi...
May 29, 2023•55 min
