Growing For Market Podcast

Martín Lemos tells us how his background in farming helps him evaluate the impact of projects Dirt Capital Partners is considering funding from the farming side of things. It is their goal to invest in regenerative agriculture projects, for example helping a farmer expand with a bigger farm. He tells us how they do investment for and with farmers, with making farmer ownership the goal.

We discuss how farmers may only buy a farm once or twice in their lifetimes, so Dirt Capital Partners brings expertise to that transaction on behalf of farmers. He tells us how he works as a liaison between farmers and investors- not just looking at the financials but also looking at the potential impact of projects and the feasibility on the farming side. If you’re interested in trying to finance a farm project, we talk about eligibility criteria, how to get ahold of Dirt Capital Partners and so much more in this episode of the Growing for Market Podcast!

Connect With Guest:

Website: dirtpartners.com

Podcast Sponsors:

Huge thanks to our podcast sponsors as they make this podcast FREE to everyone with their generous support:

Nifty Hoops builds complete gothic high tunnels that are easy to install and built to last.  Their bolt-together construction makes setup straightforward and efficient, whether it's a small backyard hoophouse, or a dozen large production-scale high tunnels- especially through their community build option, where professional builders work alongside your crew, family, or neighbors to build each structure -- usually in a single day.Visit niftyhoops.com to learn more.

If you grow for market, you know performance is everything. That’s why so many farmers are turning to Burpee’s Farmers Market. Dedicated to professional growers, Burpee is now offering non-GMO seeds in larger quantities – bred and selected for standout flavor, strong yields, and the kind of visual appeal your customers crave. Burpee’s been doing this for 150 years, and they’re still creating new varieties with growers like you in mind. You can check out the full lineup at Burpee.com/FarmersMarket.

Farmhand is the all-in-one platform built for direct-market farms — CSA, farmers market, and farmstand growers who'd rather be in the field than juggling five different apps. Online store and subscriptions, delivery and pickup routing, SMS and email marketing, waitlist management, and now farm events: sell tickets to u-picks, tours, dinners, and workshops in minutes, with capacity caps, QR check-in, and SMS/email confirmations built in. Every ticket also puts a name, email, and phone on a list you keep. See how farmers are growing direct-to-consumer sales and set up a free account at farmhand.partners/gfm

For more on veg and flower market farming, subscribe to Growing for Market Magazine!

August’s Harvest was Canada’s first meristem clean seed garlic program providing virus and pathogen clean planting stock to North America. This week, we talk with Warren Ham and Roshan Ghimire of August’s Harvest in Ontario about how they started with the meristem clean seed program after it became clear there was a lot of pest and disease in commercially available seed garlic in North America after the 2013 season. This is the same technique that has been used for decades to produce pest and disease-free seed potatoes. 

We talk about which garlic pests and diseases to keep an eye out for, and how being vegetatively propagated makes it easier for pests and diseases to catch a ride from generation to generation. We also discuss the feasibility of planting garlic bulbils, and how this could decrease the amount of seed garlic growers would need to save, increasing the amount they could sell. We also talk about phenotypic plasticity in garlic and how it can mean garlic looks different depending on where it’s grown, plus growing and lots of other great info in this week’s podcast!

Connect With Guest:

Website: augustsharvest.com

Instagram: @augusts.harvest

Podcast Sponsors:

Huge thanks to our podcast sponsors as they make this podcast FREE to everyone with their generous support:

Nifty Hoops builds complete gothic high tunnels that are easy to install and built to last.  Their bolt-together construction makes setup straightforward and efficient, whether it's a small backyard hoophouse, or a dozen large production-scale high tunnels- especially through their community build option, where professional builders work alongside your crew, family, or neighbors to build each structure -- usually in a single day.Visit niftyhoops.com to learn more.

If you grow for market, you know performance is everything. That’s why so many farmers are turning to Burpee’s Farmers Market. Dedicated to professional growers, Burpee is now offering non-GMO seeds in larger quantities – bred and selected for standout flavor, strong yields, and the kind of visual appeal your customers crave. Burpee’s been doing this for 150 years, and they’re still creating new varieties with growers like you in mind. You can check out the full lineup at Burpee.com/FarmersMarket.

Farmhand is the all-in-one platform built for direct-market farms — CSA, farmers market, and farmstand growers who'd rather be in the field than juggling five different apps. Online store and subscriptions, delivery and pickup routing, SMS and email marketing, waitlist management, and now farm events: sell tickets to u-picks, tours, dinners, and workshops in minutes, with capacity caps, QR check-in, and SMS/email confirmations built in. Every ticket also puts a name, email, and phone on a list you keep. See how farmers are growing direct-to-consumer sales and set up a free account at farmhand.partners/gfm

For more on veg and flower market farming, subscribe to Growing for Market Magazine!

There’s a type of heater setup that delivers heat right where you need it and can offer some important advantages over forced air heat, but we don’t see many of them in the field. We think lack of knowledge about the technogy is the limiting factor, and it turns out there is also some customization involved, so we got ahold of John Wells at Rimol Greenhouse Systems to break it down for us. The tech we’re talking about is called convection tube heating, and it has as much to do with how the heat is delivered as the specs of the heater itself. 

The big difference from most heaters is that hot air goes into a plenum (like a manifold) that channels the hot air into multiple separate ducts that are attached to big, perforated plastic tubes that distribute the heat evenly through the greenhouse. The tubes typically run down pathways, and in vining crops they have the advantage of heating the air at the base of the plant, where disease tends to start, and rises from there warming the whole plant. In winter greens crops, it means growers can run the tubes under row cover and only heat the area under cover- meaning you only need to heat the fraction of the greenhouse where your crop is. Listen to this episode to learn about the specs needed to run such a system- plus best practices for cooling the greenhouse with shade cloth. 

Connect With Guest:

Website: rimol.com

Instagram: @rimolgreenhouse

Podcast Sponsors:

Huge thanks to our podcast sponsors as they make this podcast FREE to everyone with their generous support:

Farmhand is the all-in-one platform built for direct-market farms — CSA, farmers market, and farmstand growers who'd rather be in the field than juggling five different apps. Online store and subscriptions, delivery and pickup routing, SMS and email marketing, waitlist management, and now farm events: sell tickets to u-picks, tours, dinners, and workshops in minutes, with capacity caps, QR check-in, and SMS/email confirmations built in. Every ticket also puts a name, email, and phone on a list you keep. See how farmers are growing direct-to-consumer sales and set up a free account at farmhand.partners/gfm

BCS two-wheel tractors are designed and built in Italy where small-scale farming has been a way of life for generations. Discover the beauty of BCS on your farm with PTO-driven implements for soil-working, shredding cover crops, spreading compost, mowing under fences, clearing snow, and more – all powered by a single, gear-driven machine that’s tailored to the size and scale of your operation. To learn more, view sale pricing, or locate your nearest dealer, visit BCS America.

Nifty Hoops builds complete gothic high tunnels that are easy to install and built to last.  Their bolt-together construction makes setup straightforward and efficient, whether it's a small backyard hoophouse, or a dozen large production-scale high tunnels- especially through their community build option, where professional builders work alongside your crew, family, or neighbors to build each structure -- usually in a single day.Visit niftyhoops.com to learn more.

If you grow for market, you know performance is everything. That’s why so many farmers are turning to Burpee’s Farmers Market. Dedicated to professional growers, Burpee is now offering non-GMO seeds in larger quantities – bred and selected for standout flavor, strong yields, and the kind of visual appeal your customers crave. Burpee’s been doing this for 150 years, and they’re still creating new varieties with growers like you in mind. You can check out the full lineup at Burpee.com/FarmersMarket.

For more on veg and flower market farming, subscribe to Growing for Market Magazine!

The Draft Animal Power Field Days are coming right up from October 2-4, and horse farmers Becky Frye and Donn Hewes tell us how they farm cooperatively thanks to a connection made through the Draft Animal Power Network (DAPNet). In addition to telling us about the ways to learn about horse farming at the Field Days, Becky and Donn tell us what it’s like to farm with horses. They both farm at Northland Sheep Farm, one of the oldest organic sheep dairies in the country which Donn and his wife Maryrose Livingston took over from the original owners.

Becky Frye runs Horsetail Herb Farm, growing certified organic medicinal and culinary herbs and cut flowers on the same property. Donn and Becky tell us how they share the Suffolk Punch draft horses between the sheep farm’s mostly hay-related tasks and the herb farm. We discuss the differences between working with horses and tractors, and how it’s possible to run modern machinery like hay balers and motorized sprayers with horses. So, listen to the podcast, then head over to the Shelburne, Vermont October 2-4 to learn hands-on at the Draft Animal Power Field Days!

Connect With Guest:

Website: draftanimalpower.org

northlandsheepdairy.com

horsetailherbfarm.com

Instagram: @draftanimalpower

@horsetailherbfarm

Podcast Sponsors:

Huge thanks to our podcast sponsors as they make this podcast FREE to everyone with their generous support:

Seven Springs Farm Supply is a farm-based supply company focused on serving market gardeners and has been in business for 35 years. Their catalog includes a comprehensive selection of approved-for-organic fertilizers, pest & disease controls, growing mixes, cover crop seed, and more. They offer custom fertilizer blending and seasonal cooperative purchasing opportunities, and their experienced team is ready to help guide you to the best solution for your farm’s needs. Growing For Market listeners are eligible for an exclusive discount. Visit 7springsfarm.com/GFM or give them a call at (540) 651-3228.

Farmhand is the all-in-one platform built for direct-market farms — CSA, farmers market, and farmstand growers who'd rather be in the field than juggling five different apps. Online store and subscriptions, delivery and pickup routing, SMS and email marketing, waitlist management, and now farm events: sell tickets to u-picks, tours, dinners, and workshops in minutes, with capacity caps, QR check-in, and SMS/email confirmations built in. Every ticket also puts a name, email, and phone on a list you keep. See how farmers are growing direct-to-consumer sales and set up a free account at farmhand.partners/gfm

BCS two-wheel tractors are designed and built in Italy where small-scale farming has been a way of life for generations. Discover the beauty of BCS on your farm with PTO-driven implements for soil-working, shredding cover crops, spreading compost, mowing under fences, clearing snow, and more – all powered by a single, gear-driven machine that’s tailored to the size and scale of your operation. To learn more, view sale pricing, or locate your nearest dealer, visit BCS America.

Nifty Hoops builds complete gothic high tunnels that are easy to install and built to last.  Their bolt-together construction makes setup straightforward and efficient, whether it's a small backyard hoophouse, or a dozen large production-scale high tunnels- especially through their community build option, where professional builders work alongside your crew, family, or neighbors to build each structure -- usually in a single day.Visit niftyhoops.com to learn more.

If you grow for market, you know performance is everything. That’s why so many farmers are turning to Burpee’s Farmers Market. Dedicated to professional growers, Burpee is now offering non-GMO seeds in larger quantities – bred and selected for standout flavor, strong yields, and the kind of visual appeal your customers crave. Burpee’s been doing this for 150 years, and they’re still creating new varieties with growers like you in mind. You can check out the full lineup at Burpee.com/FarmersMarket.

For more on veg and flower market farming, subscribe to Growing for Market Magazine!

There are two sources of inspiration for this week’s interview: one was Rebecca Kutzer-Rice’s article “Why and how we automated our flower greenhouses,” which you can read here. And the other is the 40hr Farmer live greenhouse coaching and video course, brought to you by Growing for Market and Orisha greenhouse automation (it’s also free for all GFM subscribers by the way- get the code to register from the home page when you log in). Now, The 40hr Farmer is currently an in-depth look at greenhouse tomato growing, but in the future we are going to expand it to other crops. 

And since we know Rebecca knows about automating GH flower crops from her article, and that greenhouse flowers can be as profitable if not more so than greenhouse vegetables, we wanted to get her opinion on which flower crops would be most important to cover when we get to flowers. Listen to this interview to hear why Rebecca recommends ranunculus, snapdragons and lisianthus as some of the GH flower crops that might need their own courses, and why growers are so obsessed with their greenhouses. We also talk about the greenhouse set points for these crops, climate settings for reducing disease in flower crops in general, maximizing production, why sometimes it can actually be cheaper and more efficient to grow a crop hotter, and more.

Connect With Guest:

Website: moonshotfarm.com

Instagram: @moonshot_farm

Read Rebecca’s article from the February 2025 Growing for Market Magazine:

Why and how we automated our flower greenhouses

Podcast Sponsors:

Huge thanks to our podcast sponsors as they make this podcast FREE to everyone with their generous support:

Nifty Hoops builds complete gothic high tunnels that are easy to install and built to last.  Their bolt-together construction makes setup straightforward and efficient, whether it's a small backyard hoophouse, or a dozen large production-scale high tunnels- especially through their community build option, where professional builders work alongside your crew, family, or neighbors to build each structure -- usually in a single day.Visit niftyhoops.com to learn more.

If you grow for market, you know performance is everything. That’s why so many farmers are turning to Burpee’s Farmers Market. Dedicated to professional growers, Burpee is now offering non-GMO seeds in larger quantities – bred and selected for standout flavor, strong yields, and the kind of visual appeal your customers crave. Burpee’s been doing this for 150 years, and they’re still creating new varieties with growers like you in mind. You can check out the full lineup at Burpee.com/FarmersMarket.

For more on veg and flower market farming, subscribe to Growing for Market Magazine!