In March, part of the No-Till Growers team went to the Organic Growers School in NC and held a roundtable with Erin of Cedar Chest Farm and Lyric and Noah of Wild East Farm about scaling-up from homestead to full-fledged farm business. We get to hear the stories of how both farms started on a very small scale and smartly grew their operations, plus tips, lessons, and helpful thoughts on business startups. Check out Organic Growers School Follow Wild East Farm on Instagram & YouTube ...

Got a BONUS Farmer Jesse episode this week with Ari Memar, founder of Farmhand, a personal assistant for growers. It may not surprise you, Farmer J is not the most tech-savvy guy, so we’re excited to chat with Ari about the easy-to-use program they’ve built at Farmhand to save admin time and get farmers farming more, plus how the tech world and gardening world--from his parents to his own life--have influenced his path. Farmhand is the all-in-one software platform and virtual assistant built...

There is nobody who does more awesome headlines than the British. Especially the tabloids, so good. They can even manage to talk about things like compost in a way that almost brings tears of joy… “Posh compost that’s entry level.” -The Times “Luxury manures, the sweet smell of success.” -The Times “Twenty pounds for a tiny bag of poo? What really goes into luxury compost?” - The Guardian Don’t be put off by “luxury compost” because our guests today are quite down to earth. Today, Mimi is...

On today’s episode Alex Ball of Old City Acres sits down with Hannah Weber & Michelle Brosius (½ of the management team) from Green Things Farm Collective in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Green Things was interviewed several years ago by farmer Jesse AND farmer Jackson and since then they have radically increased the scale of their no-till production and local food distribution. We discuss how they build and manage their no till beds at scale, train & build up their workforce, distribute all...

Imagine the theme music from Masterpiece Theater… a former oil & gas accountant leaves his lucrative career and travels by bicycle to a walled garden. Mimi Casteel speaks with her friend Tim Phillips from Charlie Herring Wines in the UK. If you do nothing else, check out his website—beware the litany of web warnings!—for a darlin illustration of his farm and incredibly entertaining blog. He not only does a lot of innovative things, but also uses a lot of old school methods, and he’s our...

Farmer Jesse recently got the chance to speak with Daryl Ward of Sow Right Seeds about starting and running a small seed company. In particular, how seed businesses like Sow Right are dealing with new genetically modified varieties that are hitting the shelves. We also talk about home gardening, the business of selling seeds, and more. Full disclosure, Sow Right is not only a sponsor the No-Till Growers YouTube channel, but also the podcast, helping us keep it free for growers everywhere. ...

Farmer Jesse is back this week with Kyle Forest-Burns of Burns Blossom Farm, which he runs with his partner Mel, in Chico California. They discuss farming with a debilitating disease, nutrient management, and tips for new farmers. A very cool and wide-ranging talk that we’ve been waiting to have for several years. If you want to SEE the conversation, along with some pictures that illustrate what they are talking about, head over to the No-Till Growers PODCAST YouTube channel! Folks who...

On today’s special episode of The No-Till Market Garden Podcast, Alex says goodbye to his old farm and embraces the change to running and setting up a brand new no-till site for Old City Acres. We chat with two special guests, co-founder Farmer Jackson, and first year farm partner Seth Torkelson-Regan, all about renting -vs- owning (can you afford it), setting up new beds, the emotional toll of owning your own land, and making hard business decisions on the farm with regard to your finances,...

Pirate radio with Mini Casteel.. keeping your nuts dry with "nutter" Justin Holt of the Asheville Nuttery. Justin has been a part of the agroforesty world since 2011--part of the Nutty Buddy Collective--he also leads tours and consulatancy around agroforestry and foraging. You going to want to listen to this one, it's quite the nut to crack. Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast... Join Organic Growers School for their Spring Conference in Western North Carolina March 8-10,...

Today, we are doing a podcast special with Farmer Jesse and Max Epstein of Krautgaart in Luxembourg, discussing his no-dig, pay-what-you can, collaborative CSA model and a whole lot more! To see a VIDEO version of the conversation with additional photos, check it out on YouTube! Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast... Join Organic Growers School for their Spring Conference in Western North Carolina March 8-10, 2024, with 60+ workshops organized into 13 themed tracks. Plus, I...

One of the things that I, Natalie, love about doing this podcast is the freedom to talk to just about anyone and you may have noticed that I'm pretty agnostic when it comes to getting good information. I think you can find wisdom and knowledge from farmers, scientists, EVEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. For this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Candace Williams Anthony and Laura Starr who both work in the Soil Health Division of the NRCS. We focus on soil health practices in this...

Mimi has another 'charming accent' interview, this time with Nicole Masters of Integrity Soils and author of For the Love of Soil. She a world leader in soil health, a very accomplished educator, and is focused on an outcomes-based approach to improving soils. She also has a joyous way of being and looking at the world, and is a delight to listen to. Mentioned in the show... Nicole's educatoinal organization Integrity Soils Her Book, For the Love of Soil The Soil Learning Center Online...

Today, Alex Ball sits down with Kat and Kolin of Startty Ridge Farm in Petersburg, NY. They dig deep into successfully carving beds into the sid eof rocky hills, building a farm business with family, and marketing a diverse selection of local products to the community. Mentioned in the show... Follow Starry Ridge Farm on Instagram Follow Alex Ball & Old City Acres on Instagram Folks who support The No-Till Market Garden Podcast... High Country News provides unique on-the-ground...

Farmer Jesse here with an interview of my own, this one with Mr. Eric Nordell Of Beech Grove Farm in PA. Eric and his wife Anne are LEGENDS in the small farm community. I first learned about their work on the Farmer-to-Farmer Podcast, but they have been organic farmers for forty-odd years. Today's topic... low/not-till farming with horses! We get into everything from weed management, to garlic production, and a whole lot more. You can read more about their farming on their blog-here-and they...

Natalie talks with LEGEND Will Bonsall and we’re really excited to bring this conversation to you! Will is legendary for his seed saving efforts, the Scatterseed Project, as well as his radical homesteading in western Maine. He is the first to admit that he is not a market gardener and some of the things he does on his homestead aren’t feasible if you’re trying to make a living selling food, but many of them are! I love his approach to what he calls “eco efficiency” and there is a lot to...

On today’s episode of the No-Till Market Garden Podcast, Alex of Old City Acres LITERALLY sits down for a very special live and in-person conversation with Devon Wilson of Sunlight Gardens located in downtown Battle Creek, MI. They discuss starting an urban farm in shared community lots and backyards, developing his on-site farm & natural convenience store,  and using social media to connect with his local community.  Mentioned during show... Sunlight Gardens farmsite Sunlight Gardens...

Natalie is back with dear friend and soil scientist--and national soil judging champion!--Deirdre Griffin LaHue. Deirdre's work in Washington state has led to some incredible long-term soil health projects. They also discuss the how she transitioned from studying nutrition to soil health, the current science of biodegradable mulches, and unconventional crops in the state. Mentioned in the show... The Washington State University Soil Health Website The Mulch Matters Podcast RSS feed (also...

I don’t even know where to begin. Today, I—Mimi—interview Pat Crowley of Chapul Farms in my own state of Oregon. One of my neighbors. If you’ve been one of the many thousands who have viewed THIS video of black soldier fly larvae production, this is THAT, but on steroids. Pat describes Chapul: “In 2019, I launched Chapel Farms as a way to continue growing the regenerative potential of insects to bioconvert food and ag waste into healthy foods and microbial-rich soil. We work with selected...

Hope you’re wearing your PPE for this one! Mimi Casteel of Hope Well Wine is speaking with Miguel Altieri, one of the modern pioneers of agroecology. He has written more than 330 publications, including a book: Agroecology, the Science of Sustainable Agriculture & Biodiversity… Miguel is a hero to many of us who have practiced in the field and his bio is very extensive. In addition to being a professor emeritus at UC Berkley, he also served as a scientific advisor to the Latin American...

Today, we sit down with Dan Fillius of Iowa State Extension and Alex Ball of Old City Acres to discuss the role of the university extension agent in supporting farmers, both organic and conventional. We dig deep on the multiple facets of Dan’s farming experience as an organic grower and extension agent duties including working with Amish growers, helping growers identify pests/diseases, and how he connects with farmers using social media and his own podcast: “What in the Weather.” Dan is a...

Hey nerds, Farmer Jesse here, and we're going to break from our regularly scheduled podcasting to bring you a special bonus episode--a roundtable with three living legends: Helen Atthowe, David Blanchard, & Lou Johns. These have been three huge inspirations of my own and I wanted to get them together to discuss living pathways and how they manage them on different acreage and in different systems. This is a very long and in-depth conversation and we cover: how to manage living pathways,...

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...

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...

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...