plotsField notes
Notes from the field, the greenhouse, and the back office.
More Than a Farm: Turning Your Fields Into a Classroom
A working farm is one of the few places a kid can watch a squash go from flower to fruit, catch a bee doing its job, and pull a carrot out of the ground with dirt still on it.
By the PlotsFarm team
farm finance · 5 min
The Question Most Growers Cannot Answer: What Is My True Margin Per Bed?
Ask a grower how the farm did this year and they'll tell you the top-line: total sales, whether it was a good year or not. Ask them which bed made money and which lost some, and the room goes quiet.
invasive species · 6 min
Pulling the Invaders: Mechanical Control of Mimosa, Privet, Ivy, and Princess Tree
What invasive plants share is the reason they are a problem: they spread by prolific seed and by root or runner, and they shade out and replace natives fast.
soil health · 6 min
Organic or Synthetic: What Actually Feeds Your Soil and Your Crop
Synthetic fertilizer feeds the plant. Organic fertilizer feeds the soil, and the soil feeds the plant. Once you see it that way, the choice becomes a matter of picking the right tool for the job.
market gardening · 6 min
Write It Down: Turning Field Notes Into Better Decisions Year Over Year
The notes worth keeping are the ones you will hold up against each other next year
csa · 6 min
CSA, Farm Stand, or Wholesale: The Real Economics of Where You Sell
A CSA is a promise, and the promise runs both ways. You owe a full box every week whether the hail took your lettuce or not, and a season of thin boxes loses you members you spent years earning.
native plants · 6 min
Plant Natives, Plant Cover: Where to Buy and How to Get It Growing
Buy natives from nurseries, society sales, and reputable seed houses. The seasonal sales run by a state or regional society are often the best value and the best genetics you will find anywhere.
weather · 6 min
Give It Four Seasons Before You Judge It
A bed that underperforms in year one doesn't mean the crop is wrong; it may mean that bed floods in April, bakes in July, or sits in a frost pocket. You only get that lesson if you pay attention
agritourism · 6 min
Open the Gate: Why U-Pick Is Working Again for Small Farms
A family will spend three hours in a strawberry patch and leave having paid, thanked you on the way out, and picked more cleanly than a rushed crew, because it is their afternoon and their berries
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