The Winter Growers Podcast No-Till Market Garden Podcast

Over the last 14 years, Ray Tyler of Rose Creek Farms has been passionate about developing growing systems to successfully grow and sell certified organic produce fifty-two weeks a year in western Tennessee. Along with his wife Ashley and six homeschooled children, he is committed to creating a family-focused farm that allows for a sustainable and healthy work-life balance. Using a meticulous system of eighteen caterpillar tunnels on one acre, Ray is able to supply three farmers markets and a farm stand. His market displays are called "the salad bar" and they are always stacked high with bunches of carrots, radish, celery, lettuce heads, and a varied assortment of greens. The early years, however, were a challenge for Ray, and we speak about how he and his family persevered with a lot of trial and error to become the successful farm and business they have today. Ray is an inspiring example of a passionate farmer who is committed to the health and well-being of his family, his business, the community, and the land.
Folks who make the show possible...
RIMOL Greenhouses quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.
Johnny's Selected Seeds vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.
BCS America for two wheel tractors + implements.
... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat

Paul and Sandy Arnold of Pleasant Valley Farm in upstate NY are seasoned expert winter growers. They have been involved with winter growing since they first purchased their 60-acre property 35 years ago. With three large RIMOL high-tunnels, numerous caterpillar and field tunnels, dedicated wash/pack, and climate controlled storage facilities, they have honed their year-round systems on three cultivated acres and have achieved financial stability for themselves and their family. Until recently, 90% of their sales were from farmers markets. Due to the initial impacts of COVID, they transitioned to almost all online sales without missing a beat. As they are approaching retirement, their farm business is in transition and they are considering how best to keep the land actively farmed. Their two children, Robert and Kim, Followed in their footsteps and each have their own farm businesses, Smart Farm Innovations and Pleasant Valley Flowers, respectively. Both Sandy and Paul offer an incredible wealth of knowledge and experience with winter production and farming for the long haul. It was truly and honor to speak with them for the last episode of this fourth Winter Growers podcast season.
Folks who make the show possible...
Vermont Compost Company premium living soils, composts, and potting mixes. Invest in your soil!
SeedTime Planner crop planning tool for home gardeners and market farmers. Get your free account and $5 seed coupon ->> seedtime.us/notillpodcast
Johnny's Selected Seeds vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.
RIMOL Greenhouses quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Joy Longfellow is a flowers trial technician on the flowers team at Johnny’s research farm. I invited Joy to speak about their overwinter flower trials and the info they have gathered over the past few years. The Johnny’s research farm is 200+ acres acres in size with 60+ acres in crop production that includes both field and greenhouse growing for plant breeding, seed production, trialing, and cover crop rotation. The overwintering flower trials focus on cool season annuals, and a few perrenial, biannual, and bulb crops. Everything is grown for research purposes. Using unheated high-tunnels and meticulous record keeping, they're able to determine the best timing of the top five flower crops to grow in an over-winter tunnel for northern climates. All of their work is a great free resource for farmers interested in getting early high quality flower crops without having to do the time consuming and often costly experimentation on their own. Joy offers a wealth of of information about growing, selecting, and managing overwinter flowers and her expertise is an excellent resource for winter growers.
Folks who make the show possible...
SeedTime Planner crop planning tool for home gardeners and market farmers. Get your free account and $5 seed coupon ->> seedtime.us/notillpodcast
Vermont Compost Company premium living soils, composts, and potting mixes. Invest in your soil!
Johnny's Selected Seeds vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.
RIMOL Greenhouses quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Located in the Pacific Northwest, Brian and his partner Chrystine first started as a fresh market farm is 2004, producing their first seed catalog in 2007, and then transitioned entirely to seed production in 2011. Uprising Seeds is WA fist 100% certified organic seed company, producing over 70% of the seeds they sell with the rest being sourced from a network of regional family farms. Brian is passionate about exploring the relationship between grower security and open pollinated seeds and the ability to seasonally adapt varieties to climactic conditions specifically through seed work. Brian is also involved with a collaborative project between Uprising Seeds, The Culinary Breeding Network, and northern Italian vegetable breeder Smarties to further establish radicchio as an anchor crop for the fall and winter seasons in North America. Overall, a great conversation for better understanding how seed production and selection can effect winter crop production.
Mentioned in the show…
Brian’s favorite tool, the Winnow Wizard by Luterra
Lane Selman and The Culinary Breeding Network
(A podcast with Lane on Collab Farm about CBN)
For more on seed production, check out The Seed Growers Podcast with Dan Brisebois
Folks who make the show possible...
SeedTime Planner crop planning tool for home gardeners and market farmers. Get your free account and $5 seed coupon ->> seedtime.us/notillpodcast
Vermont Compost Company premium living soils, composts, and potting mixes. Invest in your soil!
Johnny's Selected Seeds vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.
RIMOL Greenhouses quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Erin and Sam started Long Season Farm in Ulster County, NY, in 2014 as a winter-only operation, but have since expanded to year-round production and market the majority of their produce at two year-round farmers markets. With seven acres in production, they have four 30' x 96' unheated high-tunnels, plus a prop house, multiple cat/ tunnels, a moveable tunnel, and a large heated greenhouse that includes their wash station. Unheated winter tunnel crops have been very successful, especially when coupled with a diverse array of storage crops. Erin is also very active in her local community and was elected to the town board in 2019. While they both appreciate the year-round cash-flow and access to new markets that winter production allows, the farm revenue only covers expenses, and they've found it challenging to save meaningfully while also avoiding the burnout that can come from year-round farming. I enjoyed hearing about their experiences and insights and what motivates them to continue farming year-round.
Folks who make the show possible...
RIMOL Greenhouses quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.
Johnny's Selected Seeds vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.
SeedTime Planner crop planning tool for home gardeners and market farmers. Get your free account and $5 seed coupon ->> seedtime.us/notillpodcast
Vermont Compost Company premium living soils, composts, and potting mixes. Invest in your soil!

Jamila Norman of Patchwork City Farms in Atlanta, GA, is a first generation daughter to Caribbean parents whose history is rooted in agriculture. After a career in environmental engineering, she founded Patchwork City Farms in 2010, an acre+ urban farm with one 30'x96' high-tunnel and four caterpillar tunnels that supplies two farmers markets, a couple of local restaurants, and a farmstand. I reached out to Jamila in January after an arctic blast with lows in the teens hit Atlanta and decimated 90% of her winter crops and severely impacted local winter crop availability. I wanted to see if I could offer any help or suggestions in preparing for future extreme cold weather events not normally experienced so far south, but what I learned from Jamila was just how difficult it is to prepare for extreme unpredictable cold unless adequate infrastructure, like high-tunnels, are already in use, which are not typically needed for winter hardy crops in the south. We also talk about her television series, Homegrown, on Magnolia Network, which just launched it's third season. The series focuses on helping families in the Atlanta area transform their outdoor spaces into beautiful and functional backyard farms and gardens. It can be streamed on HBO Max. Jamila is a warm-hearted leader and resource for the urban farming community and I truly enjoyed this conversation.
Mentioned in the show…
Homegrown from Magnolia Network on HBO Max
Folks who make the show possible...
Vermont Compost Company premium living soils, composts, and potting mixes. Invest in your soil!
SeedTime Planner crop planning tool for home gardeners and market farmers. Get your free account and $5 seed coupon ->> seedtime.us/notillpodcast
RIMOL Greenhouses quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.
Johnny's Selected Seeds vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources.