Farm Small Farm Smart
Insights for vegetable farmers and market gardeners who earn, or want to earn, a living growing vegetables profitably. In each episode, I talk with a beginning or experienced farmer, diving deep into their story to find out what makes their market farm successful. I focus on in-the-field farming. Soil preparation, weed management, post-harvest processing, appropriate technology, farm tools and equipment, and growing crops. Hosted and produced by Diego Footer's Modern Grower Podcast Network.
Cover Crops, Biomass, and Nutrient Cycling - Gardening Beyond Basics 75
In this episode, soil specialist and consultant Dr. Jim Hoorman of Hoorman Soil discusses how increasing above-soil biomass plays a role in nutrient cycling.
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Year-Round Farming on 1.5 Acres (MFB 48)
When Taylor Mendell moved from California to Vermont, she made every mistake possible: spent their entire budget on irrigation during the wettest year on record. By year three, everything felt out of control. Then they built something remarkable: a year-round CSA grossing over $200,000 on just 1.5 acres of growing space.
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The Exact Math Behind $250 of Lettuce a Week
How many beds of lettuce do you actually need to hit $250, $500, or $1,000 a week? Using production data from Ray Tyler's Rose Creek Farms in Tennessee — a farm that's done over $400,000 in sales on ¾ acre — here's the exact math.
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Replacing Lost Nutrients in the Soil - Gardening Beyond Basics 74
In this episode, soil microbiologist and founder of The Soil Food Web Dr. Elaine Ingham talks about how farmers can go about replenishing soil nutrients for future growing.
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The Planning Habits that Turned a Farm Profitable (MFB 47)
Taylor Mendell was drowning. Nothing was working on Footprint Farm until she discovered something unexpected: brain science and habit formation could fix her farming chaos. What started as a desperate loan application turned into an annual planning system that transformed their operation.
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Market Gardening Explained: Can You Actually Make a Living on Under 2 Acres?
Most people hear "farming" and picture tractors and hundreds of acres. Market gardening is different: under five acres (often under two), vegetables grown intensively, sold directly to customers at retail prices. A well-run market garden can return over $100,000 per acre.
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The Conventional Pushback on No-Till - Gardening Beyond Basics 73
In this episode, Dr. Gabe Kenne of the University of South Carolina talks about conventional farmers' concerns on no-till growing.
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Why Better Products Lose to Worse Competitors (MFB 46)
Drawing from Harvard, MIT, and McKinsey research, Diego breaks down why farmers with superior produce lose to competitors with worse products.
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How Profitable Is Market Gardening? (The Real Math)
Revenue per acre in market gardening ranges from $20,000 to $400,000. Same crops, same square footage, 20x different results. After 10 years interviewing hundreds of farmers, the difference isn't luck — it's six factors working together.
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Weeds in Soil Health - Gardening Beyond Basics 72
In this episode, Dr. Paul Zorner of Locus Ag Solutions sheds light on the role of weeds in maintaining soil health and in soil succession.
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7 Steps to $160,000 Growing Lettuce (MFB 45)
After years of failed crops and poor germination, farmer Ray Tyler cracked the code on consistent lettuce production. Now growing 400 pounds weekly at 75% profit margins, he shares the complete system that generates $160,000 annually from lettuce alone—on less than half an acre.
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Our Understanding of Humus - Gardening Beyond Basics - 71
In this episode, Dr. Johannes Lehmann of Cornell University talks about how our knowledge of soil and humus evolved through decades of research.
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Making $500,000 on Lettuce (MFB 44)
Ray Tyler rejected the race-to-the-bottom pricing that destroys most small farms. Instead, he discovered customers willing to pay $10/pound for premium lettuce—5x what big farms charge. With 75% profit margins and weekly harvests creating constant cash flow, Ray built a farm that supports his family plus 4 employees on just one acre.
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Nitrogen & Soil Cover - Gardening Beyond Basics 70
In this episode, Dr. Bruno Basso of CIBO Technologies how keeping the soil covered can help keep nitrogen in place.
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Why 90% of Farms Fail and How to Avoid It (MFB 43)
In this episode, Diego talks about uncomfortable financial questions any aspiring farmer MUST answer before starting their farm business.
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Ex-Chef Makes $2,100/Week Farming: No Farming Experience, No Degree
Michael Russo spent 20 years as a chef — 80-hour weeks, sometimes 100. Seven weddings in a single day. Then he looked at the executive chefs above him: seventies, still working 100-hour weeks, miserable. He walked away at 40 with no farming experience, no degree, and no business background.
First real growing season: $2,100 in his best week ($600 restaurant, $1,500 farmer's market). Even off weeks with groundhog damage, he pushed $1,000.
Click here to learn more about Chef Mikey and Chef's Harvest.
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Agricultural Practices vs. Agricultural Principles - Gardening Beyond Basics 69
In this episode, Research Associate Professor Dr. Buz Kloot of Soil Health Labs talks about the difference between practices and principles and how one principle can have many different practices for execution.
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Which Farm Products are Worth Your Money (MFB 42)
Stop buying hope. Start making informed decisions.
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7 Revenue-Per-Bed Benchmarks Every Market Gardener Should Know
How much should a market garden bed generate? After analyzing numbers from hundreds of farmers, the range is massive: $300 per bed to $1,500+ from the same bed size and season. This episode breaks down seven per-bed revenue benchmarks by crop, from the $500 baseline that keeps you alive to the $1,500+ hero crops that keep your farm profitable.
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Fungal Tissue and Their Carbon - Gardening Beyond Basics 68
In this episode, author and educator Peter McCoy of Mycologos breaks down fungi and the carbon they hold.
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Making a Living on an 1/8th of an Acre (MFB 40)
Jill Duncan generates $65,000 annually from just 1/8 acre - smaller than most suburban backyards. With no employees, no electricity on site, no wash station, and working just 40 hours per week during peak season, she's redefined what profitable farming looks like.
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One Crop to Fund the Entire Farm (The Cash Flywheel Crop)
A caterpillar tunnel costs $1,400. One harvest of lettuce at $6/lb produces 400–425 pounds — $2,400 in revenue. The tunnel pays for itself in a single harvest. From that point on, it's free infrastructure.
Click here to learn more about farmer Elliot and Fair Share Farm.
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Mature Compost, Better Quality - Gardening Beyond Basics 67
In this episode, compost specialist and owner of Living Roots Compost Tea Troy Hinke explains why compost that have sat longer are generally better quality than newer composts.
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Making $4,700 Daily on a You-Pick Farm (MFB 41)
In this episode, Diego breaks down the exact tactics, systems, and numbers behind Megan Neubauers's pick-your-own operation over in Texas. Learn how she averages $4,700 per day with 240 customers spending $47 each - all while maintaining 65% gross margins.
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7 Numbers Behind a $240,000 Lettuce Operation
What if one crop could pay your bills 40 to 50 weeks a year? Elliot Seldner at Fair Share Farm in North Carolina built his entire operation around lettuce as a cash flywheel — one crop that funds everything else.
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Creating the Ideal Biochar - Gardening Beyond Basics 66
Biochar expert Kelpie Wilson of Wilson Biochar breaks down how to make good biochar: what feedstock to use and how to char them.
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Anti-Farmer's Market: The You-Pick Model (MFB 39)
In this episode, Diego interviews Megan Neubauer, who transformed her struggling market farm into a $151,000 you-pick operation working just 8 weeks per year by ditching farmers markets and transitioning into a seasonal you-pick farm.
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How Much Does It Actually Cost to Start a Market Garden? (Real Numbers)
The amount you spend starting a farm has almost no correlation with how successful it becomes. Some of the worst outcomes I've seen came from people with the most money to spend.
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Johnson-Su Bioreactor - Gardening Beyond Basics 65
In this episode, microbiologist and co-creator of the Johnson-Su bioreactor, Dr. David Johnson, introduces the Johnson-Su Bioreactor, what it does, and who it's for.
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Really Fancy Salad (MFB 38)
In this video, I break down how Jacki Hinchey of Blue Dog Farm created her signature "Really Fancy Salad" that commands $20/pound (double the normal price) and has become the cornerstone of her farm's success.
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Can You Actually Make $10,000 From a Backyard Farm?
Can 10 beds in a backyard generate $10,000? Diego did the math using real numbers from farmers he has interviewed over the past decade. Farmer Jill Duncan makes $65,000 on ⅛ acre in Ferguson, Missouri. Broxon Berry Farm does $80,000 on ⅖ acre in Indiana. The limiting factor isn't land...it's actually market access and systems.
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Building the Soil 360° Holistically - Gardening Beyond Basics 64
Soil specialist and consultant Dr. Jim Hoorman of Hoorman Soil discusses a holistic way to build the soil...minus commercial fertilizers.
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Farm Dreams vs. Reality (MFB 37)
In this episode, Diego talks about why the low barrier to entry to farming is a trap, why physical endurance is the most underestimated factor in farming success, and practical strategies to avoid burnout.
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7 Things Farmers Buy That Will Never Pay for Themselves
In this episode, Diego runs seven common farm purchases through the $10,000 filter: if it can't generate or save $10,000 over its useful life, it's a luxury, not an investment.
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Biochar and Its Action in the Soil - Gardening Beyond Basics 62
In this episode, biochar scientist and citizen scientist advocate Francesco Tortorici sheds light on what biochar is and how it can affect productivity in soils.
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Reducing Weed Pressure with Cover Cropping - Gardening Beyond Basics 63
Soil microbiologist and founder of The Soil Food Web Dr. Elaine Ingham sheds light on how cover cropping can reduce, if not completely eradicate, weed pressure on production soils.
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Farming Couple Makes $100,000 on Less Than an Acre (MFB 36)
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Farm Small Farm Smart
5 Systems That Saved This Farming Couple's Marriage
Michael and Shannon from Hillview Farms went from two people grinding 65+ hours a week across five farmers' markets to working 40–60 hours at just two markets — while increasing their revenue. The difference wasn't harder work. It was five specific systems.
Check out the full episode on our YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/tsZs3tOzh6Q
Click here to learn more about Hillview Farms.
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From Zero to $110,000 in 4 Seasons (MFB 35)
In this episode, Diego highlights the farming duo that built a $110,000 annual business on only 1.5 acres using strategic crop selection, innovative transplanting techniques, and relentless focus on profitability over production volume.
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The $100,000 Per Acre Farm (That Sells 52 Weeks a Year)
Most farms chase more: more acres, more markets, more crops. Hillview Farms did the opposite.
In this episode, Diego breaks down how farming couple Michael and Shannon Whamond generated over $200,000 in annual revenue farming just 2 acres of clay soil in Lincoln, California. That's over $100,000 per acre — two and a half to five times the average market garden.
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