Over the last 10 years or so, the use of black silage tarps on small farms has become more and more common. This growing popularity of using tarps can largely be attributed to Jean-Martin Fortier from his book, The Market Gardener. JM was, and is, a huge proponent of the benefits of tarping when it comes to weed management and no-till soil preparation for new plots. Occultation is the term for...
Listen to more episodes of Carrot Cashflow Episode Summary One of the reasons why small-scale market farms work is because of its direct-to-consumer model partnered with high-turnover crops like salad greens. That said, such a model can become quite labor-intensive. What if you have the scale and would like to cut down on labor costs while still making good margins? In this episode of Carrot...
A 30” wide bed is the most common standardized width in the world of market gardening today. It’s an easy width to straddle for most body types, doesn’t hyperextend the back when reaching into the center of the bed from the pathway, and most tools and supplies are built to accommodate this size. If such is the case, it would seem that it would be counterintuitive for a grower to deviate...
Listen to more episodes of Carrot Cashflow Episode Summary When business is booming through your online store, how do you streamline the logistics behind guesstimating your harvest, updating your inventory, packing up the right orders, and delivering them to your customers’ homes? Where can you cut down on time and energy to operate more efficiently? In this episode of Carrot Cashflow, Trey...
Listen to more episodes of Carrot Cashflow Episode Summary When people are looking to buy something, most of the time, they go over their options and see which one is of the best quality. But when all their options are of equal quality, how do they decide then? They look at you, and whether or not they resonate with you, your values, and what you’re doing. In this episode of Carrot Cashflow...
For those of you who have worked with a BCS walk-behind tractor, you have learned that the heavier your implement is, the harder it is to turn the machine around at the end of a bed. The Power Harrow, for example, is an extremely heavy implement. In order to turn the tractor at the end of the bed, the operator will typically disengage the PTO for safety, lower the handles for leverage, and then...
In the market gardening world, permanent raised beds generally refer to beds that are raised 4-6” above the pathways, creating a mound. The mound is then leveled off to create a nice “tabletop” surface for planting crops, typically 30” wide. Pathways are often 18” wide. The 18” width is not only for the convenience of allowing a comfortable space for harvest totes and wheelbarrows, but it also...
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