A micro farm in July. Some details about our farm:
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—Almost all of our food sells within 1.5 miles of the farm; we’re at the edge of Goshen, Indiana.
—The growing space occupies 1/3-acre.
—In an effort to simplify, we use just 7 field tools.
—Our CSA (a subscription program) uses no packaging—we just harvest, load a van, and drop food into coolers that customers set out on their porches. (We place greens into Tupperware containers that customers supply.)
—We are far from perfect but we apply the lean system to cut out waste (still plenty on our farm!) as our core approach to growth. Check out our website for more…
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#claybottomfarm #leanfarming #simpleisbest #kaizenfarm #indianagrown #hyperlocal #microfarm
Lovely day for transplanting. Plants are in decomposable hemp paper chains. Crop is Rubygo multi-cut head lettuce, for salad mix.
@japan_agritrading
@nitten_paperpot_japan
#lovelyday #hemp #paperpot #paperpottransplanter #leanfarming
A view inside our 21’x70’ greenhouse this morning. We grow baby greens between tomatoes—these will be covered with landscape fabric in a few weeks, post-harvest, giving tomatoes room to grow.
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Our Lean Market Growing Masterclass is 35% off this month only (just a few days left). I show you step by step how we prepared new ground, built greenhouses and a processing room, and how we acquired our first customers. Hope you can join the Masterclass. See bio for info.
#leanfarming #tomatoes🍅
My first stop in Chile is to the incredible, productive, and peaceful El Borde @elborde_chile, in the Central Valley, tucked in among organic vineyards. I’ve long admired this micro farm. On less than 1/2 acre, Tamara Bogolasky and crew operate a diversified CSA where they deliver directly to customer’s homes. I profiled Tamara in my book Lean Micro Farm because I think she is a real leader and sets an example: bigger isn’t always better.
#microfarming #chile #marketgardening #leanfarming
Getting a jump on spring planting by paper potting plants (cilantro), already 3 weeks old. The advantages with the method: perfect germination, we are ahead of the weeds, and great spacing. Disadvantages compared to direct seeding: takes a bit longer, the cost of the paper chain, and the need to tend seedlings.
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I hope you can join me March 7 at 4-5:30pm EST for a free webinar on how we utilize paper pots, and their pros and cons. Sign up at our website site.
#claybottomfarm #leanfarming #microfarm #springgarden @nitten_paperpot_japan
Some crops we seed as soon possible in the spring/winter. Today we seeded carrots, spinach, and the “elegance” greens mix from Johnny’s. One advantage (especially with carrots) is that, in the cold, there are fewer weeds to compete against. These will go under two layers of row cover almost until harvest. Farming the edges of the season is critical for micro farming.
#microfarming
At Clay Bottom Farm, we sell almost all of our food with 1.5 miles of the farm, using just 1/3 acre. We’ve created a Masterclass showing how it’s done. Join us in October—for 35% off and a free copy of The Lean Micro Farm. Thanks to everyone who’s signed up already.
Our fall garden this year. Here is the simple seeding plan that I used:
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Seed on the “10s” (zone 5b):
—carrots July 10
—turnips and cilantro Aug. 10
—greens (lettuce, baby kale, baby Asian greens) August 10 and weekly through the end of Oct.
—Spinach Sept. 10 (or when it’s cold enough to wear a jacket 3 days in a row)
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Join my Lean Market Growing Masterclass, on sale through October. Learn how to farm smaller, simpler, and smarter, without burning yourself out. The lean system applied to a micro farm. Hope you can join me!
#leanfarming #notillfarming #notillgrowing #leanmicrofarm #growinggreens #fallgarden
Here are some before/after clips of fall lettuce. The tool is a paper pot transplanter, from Japan: @nitten_paperpot_japan. Thanks @tieratlove for helping us get these crops in the ground. 🌞 A few tips for growers:
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—For a fall crop, start seeds in transplant trays weekly July 10-Aug. 10 (zone 5b). Transplant out at 2-3 weeks.
—Germinate cool, under a light in a conditioned room in your house. Or in a fridge set to 68f (with an Inkbird external thermostat).
—6” paper pots work great, with four rows per 42” bed or 3 rows per 30” bed.
—Our beds are all a standard 42”x75’, to accommodate exactly 2 paper chains with no waste. 😊
—We grow “multileaf” varieties that can be cut into salad mix. For us, Intercut yields best.
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#leanmicrofarm #leanfarming #paperpottransplanter #notill #notillgardening #deepmulch #composting
I covered a finished bed of cilantro in my previous post and here a new bed of cilantro goes in (different location). See a full sized bed of cilantro on the left here. These are 6” paper pot chains with 4-6 seeds per cell.
#cilantro
Multigenerational weeding.
A post about how we cut greens, and relax.
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Our Lean Market Growing Masterclass is 25% off through March, our biggest sale.
…The tool: quick cut greens harvester from @farmersfriendllc (long handle version is a prototype)
#marketgardening #leanfarming #spring #springgreenhouse #babygreens #salad #springgarden
The Lean Market Growing Masterclass is 25% off now through the end of October. Be active, be healthy, and grow food. Join students from around the world learning how to farm smarter and smaller. Click on the link in bio for more information.
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This is a summer view of Clay Bottom Farm, Goshen, IN, host of the Masterclass.
#leanfarming #leanfarm #marketgardening #marketgrowing #growingformarket #organicfarming #october #nodig #notill #notillfarming #smallfarm #urbanfarm #leanproduction #globalsmallfarming
A productive farm need not be huge. Here’s a drone’s-eye view of our farm from this summer. Four years ago, a few years after I wrote The Lean Farm, we moved into town and set up this smaller farm, inside the city limits of Goshen, IN. We shrank our production space from less than 1 acre to less than ½ acre and we got rid of a wagonload of tools. Nearly all of our food now sells within 1 ½ miles of the farm. After 15 years of farming, we enjoy a smaller footprint and being closer to our customers—and being small helps us improve faster and stay focused.
The website (link in bio) is newly updated with videos and growing info, and today is the start of our 1-month 25% off sale for the Lean Market Growing Masterclass course. Hope you can join. Happy October!
#leanfarming #leanfarm #marketgardening #marketgrowing #growingformarket #organicfarming #october #nodig #notill #notillfarming #smallfarm #urbanfarm #leanproduction
To mark the Autumnal equinox, we pulled down the shade cloth. Some tips for growers about shading a greenhouse:
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—Shading helps cool tunnels and prevents sun scald issues on fruits like peppers
—In Zone 5b, we shaded this year from mid-July through the equinox. Mostly tomatoes in here.
—50% shade cloth from Noltz’s produce supplies
—To pull on and off the shade cloth, we tied tennis balls to ropes and threw the balls over. Wheee! The balls/ropes are then tied to greenhouse posts or whatever’s convenient.
—We shaded even though this greenhouse has a peak vent.
—Note we used a shade cloth that only covered about 50%—just the top to keep out mid-day sun. This lets some direct sunlight in in the mornings and evenings. Shading crops is always a balancing act between keeping crops cool while not depriving them of light they need to grow sturdy and to ward off diseases.
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Annual fall sale! In October The Lean Market Growing Masterclass is 25% off. Also new free videos and info on the website. Happy fall!