Paul Betz

At my farm, we are growing on 2.5 acres of land. Given that we are land locked, and have little opportunity to expand our acreage, we have very little room for planting too much of any given crop. Over the years, we have developed our farm to reflect the markets that we serve. That approach might sound pretty obvious, but...

It seems that everyone likes eating peas, but the planting and picking part can be a challenge. At my farm, we have decided that they are an important piece of our crop mix, and have found ways to ease their burden and have them week after week for our markets without too much stress. Lots of the problems around picking...

I recently attended the 2011 Florida Small Farms and Alternative Enterprises Conference in Kissimmee Florida. There was lots of excitement from attendees and exhibitors around the programs offered and the local food movement in Florida. There is an on-going increase in the number of smaller farms operating in Florida, and an emerging market for local food is ready to buy...

Every year, more and more people are opening up new ground for gardening, either to create a plot or to expand an existing one. I am a big fan of smaller lawns and bigger gardens, as long as a little space is saved for lawn games like bocce (or croquet). Having planted directly into tilled sod (ground that was previously...

At High Ledge Farm we are growing for a large market and a 25 member CSA. To get the consistency we want week after week, we are transplanting all the time. Having worked on farms that were using water wheels or mechanical transplanters, the benefits of consistently spaced plants are apparent: easier cultivation, improved airflow around the plants, reduced disease...