Crop Production
Crop production is often a core feature of a small farm, ranch or homestead. Whether you're growing fodder crops for livestock, market crops for sale, saving seed, or simply raising food for your family, we'll share methods, practices and equipment here which will help you succeed.
Click on any of the below categories to jump to that section:
- Garden Production
- Market Crop Production
- Forage Crop Production (for either grazing, foraging or harvesting)
- Heirloom Varieties Production
- Cover Crop Production
- Herb Production
- Sprouts Production
- Wild Harvesting and Cultivation
- Small Forest and Understory Plant Production
- Berry Production
- Orchard Production
- Urban Agriculture
- Hydroponics, Aeroponics and Aquaponics
Garden Production
Some of us differentiate between garden production and field crop production; for others of us it's all one and the same. In either case, the methods used for small area production are often quite different than for field conditions. In the Garden Production section, we'll cover small-scale production methods, whether it's production just for you, your family, your neighborhood or perhaps just production on a microscale.
Market Crop Production
Market crop production, whatever that crop may be, implies growing a lot more than what you and your family might eat in a season or in a year. So this section is devoted to production methods which are larger-scale and less hands-on than the methods described in the Garden Production section above. Instead, this section will feature larger-scale fertilization, seeding, weed control, irrigation and harvesting methods. Some of it will be manual but a lot of it will be mechanical, with either human-powered, tractor-powered or animal-powered implements.
Forage Crop Production
Some of us want to grow forage crops simply to feed our own animals. Some of us want to grow those crops to feed other people's animals. Either way, there are a lot of new options now for forage crop production, harvesting, and storage. We'll go over the best of the options, old and new.
Heirloom Varieties Production
A lot of us are motivated to raise and propagate heirloom plant varieties, whether for sentimental, cultural, economic or biodiversity reasons. That makes heirloom production quite a bit different than growing for market. We'll go over current best practices for heirloom varieties production, harvesting and storage, so that we can save our favorite varieties, whatever they may be.
Cover Crop Production
One of the most potent soil improvement methods we have in our toolbox, is cover crop production. Yet a lot of us have never ventured into this category of farming, for a variety of reasons. Here, we go over all the different variables to help you figure out which cover crops might best serve your purposes, and then we'll go over how to plant and raise those crops, then incorporate them into the soil.
Herb Production
Herbs can be a wonderful addition to the list of produce we offer our customers, but they can also be finicky, demanding, and vexing. While all produce needs to be in top condition just prior to sale, herbs are especially sensitive to poor growing conditions, poor harvesting, and poor handling. We'll go over how to make sure your herbs put their best leaf (or bark or root) forward at market time.
Wild Harvesting and Cultivation
Wildcrafting can be a lucrative addition to your fresh produce table, particularly for those plants which only have a very small harvesting window. While we don't generally plant, weed and till these plants, we can certainly be proactive about encouraging them to thrive wherever they happen to put down roots. We must also be careful about harvesting enough to help educate the public, without taking so much that we endanger local populations. We'll look at all these issues in this section.
Small Forest, Agroforestry and Understory Crop Production
Many of us are gifted with a small woodlot on our property, and we want to make the most of it. Our forests can serve many purposes, from shade to wood products to bedding materials to understory plants and shaded growing areas. We'll go over the various options and issues with forest production.
Berry Production
Berries are another crop category which can be extremely lucrative, but which have their own particular requirements and challenges. We'll look at those challenges and options, and provide you with all the current best practices if you choose to add this category to your own operation,
Orchard Production
One or two fruit trees can be a nice addition to a yard. A whole orchard, on the other hand, is a lot of work. We'll look at varieties, root stock options, spacing, equipment, and other orchard issues. If you want fruit and nut trees in your operation, we'll help you figure out good options.
Urban Agriculture
Urban agriculture used to be extremely common, and it's making a resurgence now in multiple urban areas around the world. As with other specialties, urban ag has its own list of quirky challenges and opportunities. We'll take a look at all of those in this section.
Hydroponics, Aeroponics and Aquaponics
A lot of press has been given to hydroponics, aeroponics and aquaponics in recent years, in terms of how these methods might be able to solve various production problems. And yes, these methods each have some compelling advantages over traditional soil-based agriculture. However, they also have specific challenges. We'll look at the pro's and con's of each approach, and how growers can use these approaches where they can provide a net benefit, without getting sucked into the "they can do it all" hype.
If you are interested in any of the above topics and they don't yet lead to a section on that animal, it simply means we haven't moved that section over yet from the other website. We're bringing information over as quickly as possible but it's a slow process. Please check back soon, or send us a note if you're interested in a particular topic.
Our Successful Farm and Ranching Books
We released our very first self-published book, The Chicken Coop Manual, in 2014. It is a full color guide to conventional and alternative poultry housing options, including 8 conventional stud construction plans, 12 alternative housing methods, and almost 20 different design features. This book is available on Amazon.com and as a PDF download. Please visit our sister website's The Chicken Coop Manual page for more information.
Rabbit Colonies: Lessons Learned
We started with rabbits in 2002, and we've been experimenting with colony management ever since. Fast forward to 2017 when I decided to write another book, this time about colony management. Rabbit Colonies: Lessons Learned is chock-full of practical information, and is available from both Amazon and as a PDF download. Please visit our sister website's Rabbit Colonies page for more information.
The Pastured Pig Handbook
We are currently working on our next self-published book: The Pastured Pig Handbook. This particular book addresses a profitable, popular and successful hog management approach which sadly is not yet well documented. Our handbook, will cover all the various issues involved with pastured hog management, including case studies of numerous current pastured pig operations. If you have any questions about this book, please Contact Us.