Articles by Farmer Paul Betz

  1. Our Top Secret Trials

    We bring new varieties to our catalog through a number of different sources. We work with some seed companies that provide finished varieties available for us to buy and bring to our customers. We also work with independent breeders and some universities where we can license and then produce new or existing varieties that we feel meet our customer’s needs...
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  2. Go Till Farming

    We are living in a time when lots of forces are coming together to reshape our approach to agriculture. It will take more and more land to feed a growing population, and access to land is also an increasing stress point. There are many approaches to address our future, and relying on only one philosophy will leave us with an...
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  3. When Maple Season Gives Two Blessings

    When we moved to VT in 1995 we knew a little about how the maple season works. For those who don’t, when the daytime temperatures rise above freezing and the nighttime temperatures fall below freezing, this gives the sign to the trees to begin the work preparing for the upcoming spring. Sap is pumped up to the upper branches, and...
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  4. Companion Planting: Planting New Memories

    There’s something to be said about those feelings and experiences from your younger days that lock a moment in time. They can hold a spot within us where everything was a little easier, or you were with a special person, or at a special place. They can also take all forms and flavors. For me, lots of my special moments...
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  5. Winterizing the Farm

    As the season comes to a close, it can be hard to find the motivation to properly shut down the farm.  Steps taken in the fall to organize and protect tools, equipment, and supplies will be rewarded with more efficiency when getting started in the spring.  While all farms and gardens are unique, there are many commonly used systems and...
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  6. How to Grow & Harvest Your Own Organic Corn Syrup

    Home-grown organic corn syrup. In the farming season, I find that when a customer asks me what my favorite vegetable is I often answer with whatever has just ripened and is freshest at that moment. In early spring, it’s bok choy; in June, snap peas; in July, I love summer squash (but only because I’m not sick of harvesting it...
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  7. Putting the “Farm” Back in Pharmaceuticals

    I hate to be the one to the let the cat out of the bag, but now seems as good a time as any: One of the dirty little secrets of organic agriculture is that it runs on coffee and Ibuprofen. They’re two of the most critical things we farmers need in order to operate day-to-day, and yet also two...
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  8. Finding the Best: Our Endless & Endlessly Satisfying Work

    Finding the right varieties for the catalog happens in the field. We keep our growers in mind when we make our selections, ensuring the varieties we add bring value to professional and home growers alike. While our Early Jalapeño works well as an open-pollinated variety, we had been given the task of finding a hybrid variety that would bring more...
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  9. Pelleted Versus Raw Seed

    Over the last several years, innovations in seed production and packing have succeeded in easing the daily tasks of the farmer. One of the modernizations I personally find the most useful is pelleted seed. I utilize pelleted seed every day in the early spring during the high season of sowings; I find it increases my efficiency, and even my enjoyment...
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  10. Storage Carrots: A Fall Planting Guide

    Here in Vermont, it feels like we just finished talking about how much wood we have left to heat the house, and now it’s time to be thinking about storage carrots? It just doesn’t seem fair. I realize that there is still a lot of the season left, but keeping fall crops on the screen is important. So much of...
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