Andrew, the farm manager, uses a standard bed preparation technique in which he stakes the beds out at 30 inches wide with 18-inch centers. This gives them plenty of space to go down with a wheelbarrow and allows for super intensive cultivation. Nothing ever goes empty, and classic lettuce rows are cut and come again. Andrew harvests lettuce rows by hand using a knife, and they cut super clean and ready to rock and roll.
Behind Andrew, there are some overwintered carrots that are starting to explode. They were put in in November and are a little later. These carrots are of a nice shape and are super sweet with a crunch. Andrew likes these carrots because they take only 55 days to mature, and they can be harvested at pencil size.
Andrew built all the rows himself when he first came to the farm. He expanded a little bit every year and keeps adding little chunks to utilize his space as much as possible. When he started out, he used a lot of mineral dust and composted everything because the soil was drained out and rocky. He uses about 30 yards of compost every year. Every bed flip gets a whole new compost layer of about an inch, and it gets composted maybe twice or three times a year.
Andrew’s biggest inputs besides water are compost and a true organics pelleted fertilizer, which is a 757 all-purpose slow release. Andrew uses a direct seeding technique for everything, including arugula, mescaline, carrots, and beets. He has a small greenhouse at his house, where he starts tomato seeds and other plants.
Andrew uses a unique system to support his tomato plants. He ties one in, loops it, and has six different strings. He comes in and just does another loop every six to eight inches. Andrew doesn’t look at it as necessarily a cover cropping system, but it definitely does add to the soil’s health. Every week, the top two-thirds of plant matter are sold off, and the bottom one-third is left to decay.
Andrew tests the carbon to nitrogen ratio of his compost and cares about the diversity of his inputs. He switches his supplier based on input availability and creates more diversity instead of loading in a bunch of phosphorus. Andrew uses SPV soils for all of his raised bed stuff.
Harvesting Process
The farm’s harvesting process is done entirely by hand. Andrew, the farm manager, uses a knife to cut and come again, especially with head lettuces. The classic lettuce rows are harvested for the market every weekend. The overwintered carrots are also hand-harvested and are ready to be sold in the market. Andrew cultivates a little over an acre of land with 165 50-foot beds. The beds are staked out at 30 inches wide with 18-inch centers, which gives them plenty of space to go down with a wheelbarrow. The farm’s standard badge is super intensive, so nothing ever goes empty. Andrew adds compost to every bed flip, which gets emptied and gets a whole new compost layer about an inch layer on there every single time. The farm uses a true Organics pelleted fertilizer, which is a 757 all-purpose slow-release fertilizer. The farm’s biggest input besides water is compost. Andrew uses about 30 yards of compost every year. The farm’s soil is rocky, so Andrew had to load up compost right from the beginning. Andrew built and expanded the rows year by year. He started with 20 rows and added 20 more rows the next year. He keeps adding little chunks every year to maximize the farm’s space.
Overwintered Carrots
Andrew, a farmer who manages his farm all by himself, has overwintered carrots that are starting to explode. These carrots were planted in November, and they are smaller in size compared to other types of carrots. However, they have a nice shape and a super sweet taste with a crunchy texture. The variety used for these carrots is called “Mokum Snapped,” which takes only 55 days to grow. Andrew prefers this variety because he can harvest them when they are pencil size. This is unlike other carrots that take a lot of time to grow and may get funky.
Andrew harvests the carrots by hand using only a knife. He can burn through the lettuce row with the knife, and they all cut super clean and are ready to be sold at the market. Andrew has a standard badge that he stakes out at 30 inches wide, which is the market garden. The badge has 18-inch centers, which gives them plenty of space to go down with a wheelbarrow. Andrew uses a super-intensive planting method, so nothing ever goes empty. He uses classic bed prep, and everything is direct-seeded, including arugula, mescaline, carrots, and beets.
Andrew’s farm has a little over an acre of land, with 165 50-foot beds. He expands his farm every year by adding little chunks here and trying to utilize his space as much as possible. Andrew uses compost as his biggest input, roughly 30 yards every year. He also uses a true Organics pelleted fertilizer, which is a 7-5-7 all-purpose, slow-release fertilizer. Andrew’s routine involves composting every bed flip if it gets emptied and putting an inch layer of new compost every time. He also uses water and compost as his biggest inputs.
Andrew’s soil had to be composted heavily in the beginning because it was a drained-out rocky area. Andrew used mineral dust and composted everything to improve the soil quality. He also tarp composted his soil to let the roots decay in the soil. Andrew prefers to use a chicken farmer up north to get a chicken compost base to add more diversity to his soil. Andrew does not care about the NPK account but cares about the diversity and the carbon to nitrogen ratio in his soil.
Initial Land Preparation
When Andrew first arrived at his farm, he had to build all the rows himself. He started with 20 rows in the first week, and then added another 20 rows the following week. Year by year, he kept adding little chunks of land to utilize the space as much as possible. He now manages a little over an acre of land with 165 50-foot beds.
Andrew’s standard bed is staked out at 30 inches wide, which is the market garden, with 18-inch centers. He practices super-intensive farming, so nothing ever goes empty. Andrew uses compost as his biggest input, around 30 yards roughly every year, and adds an inch layer on every bed flip if it gets emptied. His soil is mineral dust and composted to improve the quality of the soil. Andrew also uses a true organics pelleted fertilizer, which is a 757 all-purpose slow release.
Andrew’s routine is efficient, and he does it all himself in less than 35 hours a week. He practices direct seeding for everything, including arugula, mescaline, carrots, and beets. Andrew also uses a small greenhouse at his house for starting and transplanting some of his plants. He uses a unique system for his tomato plants, where he ties one in, loops it, and has six different strings. He then comes in every six to eight inches and does another loop.
Andrew’s need for inputs has not gone down yet, but he has seen a decrease in certain rows. He looks for quality in his soil, particularly the carbon to nitrogen ratio, and values diversity in his inputs. Andrew plans to switch his supplier based on input if he can’t get it from one place.
Soil Amendments
The farm manager, Andrew, uses a variety of soil amendments to maintain the quality of his soil. In the beginning, he used a lot of mineral dust and composted everything extensively due to the rocky and drained out soil in certain areas of the farm. He uses about 30 yards of compost every year and adds a new inch layer to every bed flip when it gets emptied. Andrew also uses a true Organics pelleted fertilizer, which is a 757 and a slow-release, all-purpose fertilizer.
Andrew’s routine involves composting his soil twice or thrice a year and using water and compost as his biggest inputs. He also adds diversity to his soil by switching his supplier based on input and using different types of compost, such as chicken compost. Andrew checks the carbon to nitrogen or carbon nitrogen ratio of his soil and cares more about the diversity of his soil than the NPK account.
Routine and Work Hours
Andrew manages his farm all by himself while working 35 hours a week and grossing over six figures a year. He cultivates a little over an acre of land, with 165 50-foot beds. His standard bed is staked out at 30 inches wide and 18-inch centers, which is the market garden. Andrew’s routine involves super-intensive cultivation, so nothing ever goes empty. He harvests lettuce rows by hand, especially the head lettuces, which he likes to cut and come again.
Andrew has overwintered carrots that are starting to explode, and he usually puts them in around November. These carrots are littler guys, and he likes them because they are super sweet and have a nice crunch. Andrew expands his farm year by year, adding little chunks here and trying to utilize his space as much as he can. He uses a lot of mineral dust in the very beginning, composts everything, and uses 30 yards of compost roughly every year.
Andrew’s biggest input besides water is compost, and he uses a true Organics pelleted fertilizer, which is a 757 just a nice all-purpose slow release. Andrew’s routine involves direct seeding almost everything, and he has a small greenhouse at his house. He direct-seeds things like arugula, mescaline, carrots, and beets. Andrew starts his tomato starts by himself and then transplants them. He ties one in and has six different strings, and he comes in and just does another.
Andrew’s routine is unbelievable, even though he does it all himself for maybe 35-40 hours a week. He usually has broccoli in his beds, and two weeks ago, he cut them down to the surface and let the roots go in. He later composted on and put a tarp on for a week. After that, he undid it, raked it out, and then he literally just direct-seeded straight into it. Andrew’s routine involves constantly turning his soil, and he does it every single week with arugula salad and mescaline.
Andrew’s need for inputs has not gone down yet, but certain rows definitely have more input on them. He cares about the diversity of his soil and the testing of carbon to nitrogen or carbon nitrogen ratio. The CN ratio is crucial, and he cares about the diversity of his compost. Andrew switches his supplier based on input if he can’t get it from one place, or he creates more of that diversity instead of just loading in a bunch of phosphorus.
Direct Seeding vs Transplanting
Andrew, the farmer being interviewed, explains that he uses both direct seeding and transplanting methods in his farm. Direct seeding involves planting seeds directly into the soil, while transplanting involves starting seeds in a separate location and then moving them to the soil once they have grown into seedlings.
Andrew prefers direct seeding for crops such as arugula, mesclun, carrots, and beets. He also uses direct seeding for overwintered crops like broccoli. For direct seeding, he prepares the soil by staking out the beds at 30-inch width and 18-inch centers. He then plants the seeds at the appropriate depth and spacing. Andrew notes that direct seeding is more efficient for him because he does not have to spend time transplanting seedlings.
However, Andrew also uses transplanting for certain crops like tomatoes. He starts the seeds in a small greenhouse at his house and then transplants the seedlings to the farm. Andrew notes that transplanting allows him to start the plants earlier in the season and to control the spacing and placement of the plants.
Overall, Andrew uses both direct seeding and transplanting methods depending on the crop and his specific needs.
Tomato Cultivation
The farm manager, Andrew, cultivates a little over an acre of land with 165 50-foot beds. He uses a market garden approach with 30-inch-wide beds and 18-inch centers. Andrew employs super-intensive cultivation, so nothing ever goes empty. He harvests lettuce by hand with a knife, and the lettuces are cut and come again. Andrew uses a classic bed prep method, and he stakes the beds out at 30-inch-wide. Behind Andrew, there are overwintered carrots that are starting to explode. Andrew puts in these carrots in November, and they are ready to harvest in 55 days. He harvests them when they are pencil size.
Andrew built the rows himself and expanded a little bit every year. He utilizes his space as much as he can and adds little chunks every year. In the beginning, Andrew used a lot of mineral dust and composted everything. He used 30 yards of compost roughly every year and added an inch layer on every bed flip. Andrew’s biggest inputs are compost and water. He also uses a true Organics pelleted fertilizer, which is a 757 all-purpose slow-release fertilizer.
Andrew uses a tarping method to prepare his beds. For example, he had broccoli in the beds two weeks ago, and he cut them down to the surface, let the roots go in, later composted on, and put a tarp on for a week. After that, he removed the tarp and direct seeded straight into it. Andrew uses a different system to support his tomatoes, which he learned from the guys in the Monterey. He ties in one tomato and loops it. He has six different strings, and he goes up every six to eight inches and does another loop.
Andrew does not necessarily look at his system as a cover cropping system, but it does add carbon to the soil. He takes the top two-thirds of plant matter and sells it off, and the bottom one-third he lets go. Andrew turns his soil every season, and he constantly plants arugula, salad, and mescaline every single week. He cares about the diversity of his soil and the testing of carbon to nitrogen ratio. Andrew switches his supplier based on input and creates more diversity instead of just loading in a bunch of phosphorus.
Row Turnover and Regrowth
Andrew’s farm consists of over 165 50-foot beds, which he manages all by himself while working 35 hours a week and grossing over six figures a year. His standard bed preparation involves staking them out at 30 inches wide, which is the market garden, with 18-inch centers. This gives them plenty of space to go down a wheelbarrow with whatever they need. Andrew’s farm is super intensive, so nothing ever goes empty. A classic lettuce row is cut and come again, which is beautiful and is harvested for the market. Andrew harvests these by hand using one knife, especially with the head lettuces, which he prefers.
Andrew has overwintered carrots that are starting to explode. He put these in last November, and they are a little later. They are super sweet and have a nice crunch. Andrew likes them because they are super fast, taking only 55 days to grow, and he can harvest them at pencil size. He uses mineral dust and composted everything in the beginning because the soil in his area is drained out and rocky. He uses about 30 yards of compost every year and adds an inch layer every time a bed is flipped. Andrew’s biggest input besides seed is compost and water. He also uses a true Organics pelleted fertilizer, which is a 757 all-purpose slow-release fertilizer.
Andrew’s routine involves direct seeding arugula, mescaline, carrots, beets, and anything he can. He has a small greenhouse at his house, which he uses to transplant beats and things like that. Andrew started all of his tomato starts and up-planted them. He uses a different tying system for his tomato rows, which he learned from the guys in the Monterey. Andrew turns his rows every single week, and he has turned them for six or seven seasons. His need for inputs has not gone down yet, but he has seen it go down in certain rows. Andrew cares about the diversity of his inputs and the testing of carbon to nitrogen or carbon nitrogen ratio. He also cares about the quality of his inputs, which is why he uses SPV soils and will switch his supplier based on inputs if he can’t get it from one place.
Input Reduction
Andrew, a successful farmer who manages his farm all by himself, has developed methods to reduce input while still maintaining high yields. He cultivates a little over an acre of land with 165 50-foot beds, all of which he manages alone. Andrew’s market garden has 30-inch wide beds, with 18-inch centers, which allow for easy access with a wheelbarrow. His farming methods are super-intensive, and he ensures that nothing ever goes empty.
Andrew uses classic bed prep for his standard beds, which involves staking them out at 30 inches wide and 18-inch centers. He prefers super-intensive farming methods, and nothing ever goes empty. He grows a wide variety of crops, including lettuce, carrots, and beets, all of which he harvests by himself using a knife.
Andrew’s soil is rocky and drained out, so he loads up on compost to improve the soil quality. He uses around 30 yards of compost every year and applies an inch layer of compost to every bed flip. Andrew also uses a true Organics pelleted fertilizer, which is a 757 all-purpose, slow-release fertilizer.
Andrew’s biggest inputs are compost and water. He uses compost to improve soil quality and water to keep his crops hydrated. He also uses a true Organics pelleted fertilizer to provide his crops with essential nutrients.
Andrew’s routine involves direct seeding everything, including arugula, mescaline, carrots, and beets. He has a small greenhouse at his house where he starts his tomato plants, which he later up-plants. He prefers to direct seed most crops due to space limitations.
Andrew constantly turns his soil, and he has turned the soil for six or seven seasons. He sees a need for inputs going down in certain rows, but he still needs to keep on top of others. Andrew cares about the diversity of his soil and prefers a compost base with a good carbon to nitrogen ratio. He is always looking for ways to improve his soil quality and reduce inputs.
Choosing Quality Compost
When it comes to farming, choosing the right compost is crucial for success. Andrew, a farmer who manages his farm all by himself, emphasizes the importance of compost for his crops. He uses compost as the main source of nutrients for his plants and ensures that the compost he uses is of high quality.
Andrew recommends looking for compost with a good carbon to nitrogen ratio (CN ratio). This ratio indicates the amount of carbon and nitrogen in the compost, which is important for plant growth. A good CN ratio for most crops is between 25:1 and 40:1.
In addition to the CN ratio, Andrew also emphasizes the importance of diversity in compost. He prefers to use compost that is made from a variety of sources, such as manure and chicken compost, to ensure that his plants receive a range of nutrients.
Andrew also uses mineral dust and a true organics pelleted fertilizer as inputs, but compost is his biggest input besides water. He applies a layer of compost about an inch thick on each bed flip and composts each bed two to three times a year.
Overall, choosing quality compost with a good CN ratio and a variety of sources is crucial for successful crop growth. Andrew’s farm serves as an example of the importance of compost in farming and highlights the benefits of using high-quality compost for crop production.