Farming on Heavy Wet Clay + No-Till Lessons Learned with Jesse Frost
Release Date: 12/29/2023
10 Late Season Flower Crops for November Sales with Dave Dowling
The No-Till Flowers Podcast
Dave Dowling is back for this episode. He’s a fan favorite and if you haven’t already listened to the Everything Tulips episode and Everything Ranunculus episode here, be sure to go back to grab those. Dave is well-known in the flower farmer sphere for his wealth of knowledge and decades of experience in farming and sales. I asked Dave back so he could help me hash out what flowers are viable crops for November sales. I’ve heard more and more growers talking about skipping summer production in favor of focusing on the shoulder seasons, myself included. The summer heat...
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How Farmers Can Improve Plant Health with Endophytic Microbes: A Conversation with Dr. James White
The No-Till Flowers Podcast
I’ve long followed the fascinating research of of in New Jersey. He is a plant pathologist with a PhD in mycology. His specialty is "symbiosis research", particularly the impact of endophytic microbes in plant development and behavior. The nerdiest among you will rejoice at a science-rich episode in which Dr. White helps us understand how bacteria and fungus enter a plant as endophytes to help plants defend against stress, diseases and pests as well as provide the nutrients they need for growth and development. Turns out plants are farmers too! And in many ways we...
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Regenerative Flower Farming with Jennie Love: A Replay from The Flower Podcast
The No-Till Flowers Podcast
In today's episode, we are replaying an interview that originally aired on , where host Scott Shepherd interviewed yours truly, , about regenerative flower farming. This seemed like a great conversation to include in the archives here on No-Till Flowers. Deep gratitude to Scott for sharing it with us! Be sure to follow for more great flora-focused conversations. And there are new fresh episodes coming soon! A few guests got hit with the flu and it's pushed back our production schedule. But we're getting everything rescheduled and...
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Organic Seed Breeding with Will Hazzard
The No-Till Flowers Podcast
In this episode, we’re digging into organic seed production. Seed saving and breeding are all the rage in the flower farming world at the moment, which is an exciting way to dive even deeper into the world of flowers and get even nerdier. And we all love getting nerdier, don’t we? :-) Today's guest, Will Hazard, is the zinnia breeding project lead at the University of California, Davis. Through the SCOPE program -- which stands for Sustainable Crop Production and Enhancement, Will and his team of fellow research students have been breaking new ground in flower...
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Feeding Our Own Biomes with Functional Medicine
The No-Till Flowers Podcast
Welcome to Season 5 of No-Till Flowers! It's good to be back!! We’re starting off with a fairly personal episode as I share what’s changed for me and my health in 2024. This past season was my 17th season farming and selling flowers. There has been a lot of wear and tear on my body, mind and spirit along the way. I would wager heavily that no small business owner understands what they are signing up for at the beginning. Or even many years into it. The first 10 or so years are just holding on for dear life. The highs and lows of this rollercoaster ride lurch...
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Tips for Wholesale Flower Sales with Scott Shepherd
The No-Till Flowers Podcast
We don’t typically dive into business topics on this podcast as I like to keep the focus on regenerative growing practices. But today we’re going to go off theme a bit for a special guest. Many of you already know . Scott has such a unique position in our industry. He studied horticulture under the likes of . His day job in the three decades since has been working in sales at wholesale houses, first in Georgia and now in Tennessee. In that role, he’s touched every facet of the global import market. He’s also had a long-standing side hustle as...
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Storing Peonies and Tulips + How to Handle Cut Flowers After Harvest with Dr. John Dole
The No-Till Flowers Podcast
There are some incredible nuggets of pure gold in this episode. You will definitely want to have a pen and paper handy! Joining me today is , cut flower researcher and professor at North Carolina State University. As you’ll hear in the episode, John has been immersed in flowers since he was just 8 years old, planting gladiolas at a neighbor’s farm in Michigan. Over the decades, he’s been a keystone leader for the floral industry, serving farmers and florists alike with his valuable research projects. John is well known for his work with the s, which is where...
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Plant Tissue Testing Explained with Bryant Mason
The No-Till Flowers Podcast
Welcome to Part 2 of a recent interview host had with guest If you haven’t already listened to or stop this one now and go back to listen to those first. In this segment, Bryant helps listeners understand what plant tissue testing is and why it is so valuable for farmers to do. Bryant walks us through a tissue test for stock grown at Jennie's farm, explaining how to read the various nutrient values and make decisions for future fertilization. If you'd like to see the tissue test result sheet Bryant and Jennie discuss in this episode, along with...
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Organic Fertilizers, the Crucial Role of Calcium, Orchard Establishment and Much More with Bryant Mason
The No-Till Flowers Podcast
Guest returns to the podcast for another lively conversation about organic nutrients with host If you haven’t already listened to stop this one now and go back to listen to that one first. In Episode 29, we introduced Bryant to the flower farming community and we had a dynamic conversation about nutrient balancing in living soils. Bryant, a certified agronomist for organic growers and an orchardist living in Colorado, has an exquisite knack for making complicated sciency topics sound simple and do-able. In this whirlwind tour de force we cover: Gypsum...
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Cool Flowers, Native Hedgerows, and Frost Cloth with Lisa Mason Zeigler
The No-Till Flowers Podcast
Today’s guest needs little introduction in the flower farming world. Lisa Mason Zeigler of the is an author, teacher, industry leader, flower farmer, , and also a good friend of mine. With 25 years of growing under her belt, Lisa brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to everything she does. Lisa has a new book, , coming out in a few weeks, which prompted this conversation. But we cover several topics in our chat, including: Changing How are even more important in farm resilience and profitability in the face of accelerating climate change Her new book's content...
info_outlineToday’s guest needs little introduction in the small farm no-till world. Jesse Frost of Rough Draft Farm in central Kentucky has helped so many of us learn about soil health and diversified small scale production through the No-Till Growers YouTube channel, the No-Till Growers podcast, and his book The Living Soil Handbook.
If you’ve struggled with heavy clay, boggy or compacted soils at your farm or in your garden, this is the episode for you! Frequently I get asked about my recommendations for clay and poorly draining areas, but I actually have no experience with those conditions myself. Jesse does. And I eagerly picked his brain for you all. You're welcome! 😉
We talk a bit about cover crops for clay soils, including tillage radish, phacelia, sorghum sudangrass, vetch, and winter rye.
Also in this episode, Jesse and I take a stroll down memory lane to consider both of our paths as regenerative growers. As you’ll hear, five or six years ago, there was only a trickle of guidance available for smaller farms looking to implement no-till practices on a production level. We both had to do a lot of experimenting on our farms and still do today. We mention the Singing Frogs interview on the Farmer To Farmer Podcast back in 2018, a key catalyst for both of our no-till journies. Also Andrew Mefferd's book The Organic No-Till Farming Revolution, which was published in the spring of 2019. Both are highly recommended if you haven't already discovered them.
Also Mentioned In This Episode:
The Regenerative Growers COHORT with me, Jennie Love, is a year-long, small group coaching program for those that need a little help learning how to apply all the concepts and practices talked about here on the podcast. To learn more, click here.
Other On-demand Short Courses for Farmers:
- Foliage for the Win
- Successful Flower CSAs and Subscriptions
- CREW: Hiring and Managing
- Woodies: Playing the Long Game (coming in February 2024)
- Simple Steps to Better Marketing (coming in January 2024)
Tap into the above courses and resources any time you need. These are available on-demand through the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network. Current RFFN members shoud follow this link to access the Short Courses at the discounted member rate.
If you enjoyed this episode, you might also want to listen to:
Episode 14: Breaking Down Compost with Jesse Frost
Episode 33: Cover Cropping Basics for Small Scale Regenerative (Flower) Farms
Episode 13: Improving Poor Compost with Ellen Polishuk
Episode 28: Seed Starting, Regenerative Style with Lisa Mason Zeigler
Episode 12: The Everything Tulips Episdoe with Dave Dowling
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