When asked by my son, what do you want for Christmas, I sent him a link to your website and told him, "The Living Soil Handbook", and if you have the cash, "The Seed Farmer". Both were neatly wrapped and under our tree. I am 63 now. I have 11 acres but feel it's beyond my capabilities at this stage in life to begin farming now. So i listen to your podcasts, apply as much as i can to our garden, and contemplate what i might have attempted if i had your podcast 30 years ago. Thanks for your innovative solutions, advice, and witty humor! May many more younger men and women take advantage of the knowledge you share to solve our dependency upon corporate farms.
I can’t say thank you enough for getting this knowledge out to the world! I too was a farmer hitting burnout and frustration and then I found your podcast. It encouraged me to go a different direction on our farm and we took the plunge. We still have loads of Canadian thistle and bindweed, but are making progress. After many years of not being able to even direct seed crops because of this weed pressure, I started doing so again using cardboard/paper and then 8-10 inches of deep compost. Game changer! I’ve been market gardening since 2003 and I feel renewed in my passion to feed our community. I encourage everyone who listens and benefits from this great show to please become a patron. Thanks for updating us on the changes. I’m sure it’s been a hard decision to make, but change and innovation in our industry is inevitable. Keep up the great work Jesse! 😊
Pivoting is necessary, building sustainability is what you each have worked so hard to instill in us , I’m glad you are making decisions to support your future.
This farm kid grew up to be a cell biologist partly due to my dad's microscope. Looking at samples through the scope piqued my interest in science and led to an interesting career, a goodly portion of it working with light, fluorescent, and electron microscopes. The everyday farmer probably doesn't need one, but I'm sure glad my dad did.
I love the daily format! It's become a part of my morning routine. The information you provide is so appreciated and your vibe helps motivate me to get outside and take care of my daily chores. Thanks for the help and good dad jokes.
Thank you for all these years of excellent and free content. It's changed the way I farm, and I'm continuing to learn from you, Jesse! Good for you modeling how we can continually learn and tweak our operations so we can keep doing what we love to do.
Love you work and your passion for this profession, Farmer, Jesse! I have your book and I'm on my fourth reading, still learning and yet still want to know more. Small half acre garden in your information is tremendous. Best!
Dr Elain Ingham videos pointed me to try a microscope so I found a $5 garage "kids toy" that could hit 350-400x and it worked to see it all the soil features. Got the teenager here involved in mapping the field, scientifically collecting and preparing samples, and when done the bluntly insightful teenager said "you can look at the ground and the plants to know if the soil is any good". And they were right. So yes, a scope is fun to experiment with and see differences, but throwing seeds in the ground will tell you the same thing without a "big expensive" garage sale microscope. You might test compost juice before spreading it but some compost is generally better than no compost so the garden will tell you.
Few more simple format, kind of telegraph that things were getting a bit simpler and perhaps tighter financially. Like so many others I can’t express how grateful I am for you sharing your knowledge and experiences. I copied your method of planting carrots last year and it worked fantastically! So I have you to thank for that. I will do my best to support you even more given that you are providing very effective experience and methods for low and no till regenerative farming. This is a critical transformation of agriculture and you have a lot of experience and expertise that can help and has helped so many others. As a longtime follower, the more you can show active farming, harvesting techniques and crop planning will add to the success of those who are following you who will then be able to support you even more. As I focus on my local region. I find that you offer a larger national community that supports regional communities. That is a structural model I can get behind both financially and in practice. Wishing you and all your compatriots every bit of success and fulfillment.
Thanks for sharing. Thanking all growers breeders cultivators lovers of the master plant. She breeds passion and homeostasis cb2 receptor inhibits sars2. Ganja is a medicinal treasure trove. Support your local farmers peace and love.
Okra: yeah, I top my okra. Not sure if it increases yield, however being short in stature I do it to help with that. Topping does set the production back a couple of weeks, and I really space them out in preparation as they do get quite bushy and wide. I may have mine a foot between plants, and often plant cowpeas or some other legume on either side of them down the row. I've had stalks so thick a small chainsaw is needed to cut them down, but don't remove the roots. Fopr As for seed, check out "2 seeds in a pod" for turkish varieties. For those who have read "The Whole Okra", the unanimous winner for taste was "Yalova Akkoy" and 2 seeds in a pod, at that time was the sole supplier I could find.
I started topping my okra three years ago. When the plants get about 6/7 feet high (sorry I don't know how many days) I'll cut them down to 3 feet. They branch out nice and start yielding again in about 2 weeks or so. I'm growing for myself so I get more than enough to put up.
Something I would find handy is when I see someone on UA-cam recommend a tomato or vegetable to also please post where I can get them. Jesse you have taught me some about cover crop and I am testing a few and liking the results Thanks
Good afternoon. I live in Ontario Canada and I have two greenhouses on my small garden/farm area. I use what is called a “roof rake” to remove the snow. I like it because it has handle extensions that come with it. For me this works quite well. I believe that I purchased it from my local hardware store
I am definitely bummed that things are changing but I understand and look forward to hearing what everyone is up to when that is possible. Thanks to Jesse, Jackson, and everyone else who have helped make this what it is and all the best to all of them in 2025.
Cue wild speculation about Jesse saying he'll use those seed sources "after" the podcast. [And that's before I reached part 3; best of luck navigating this market contraction] In slightly more seriousness, props for getting the edit to 20 minutes on the dot!
Most states will have a free pathology ID service where you can send in pictures of sick plants, or even soil or plant samples. These are generally run through the state Extension services through the Land-Grant universities. In my state, they serve everyone who asks them to, even a homeowner who just has a sick houseplant. They have a collection of microscopes and trained professionals who can even point you in the right direction if the issue is something like frost damage or a nutrient deficiency. A scope is a big investment for someone who is going to mostly use it for their own pathology work, and the average person will have quite a learning curve with microscopy. This is a case where I would not do it myself, but I would use the Extension service.
What else does anyone have to do in January but research and makes lists of seeds and where to buy them😆. I’ve been going through seed catalogs looking for what I want. This year I’ve been comparing pricing. It is interesting how some seeds are very close in price and others vary a lot. My favorite catalogs for home gardeners include Totally Tomatoes, Pinetree, Terratorial, Jung, Johnny’s, and Vermont Bean.
Nice video. You are a real one. I also got a microscope a while ago for the aquaponics now it for compost teas. i am wondering about your fundamental view point on technology and how we use it to interact with food production. After hitting the hill on the head with the microscopy.
Advice for keeping hands warm. I start working and my hands get cold. No gloves. Then I will bring my hands in my jacket or go in for a short break just long enough for my hands to get warm again and head straight back out to work. Still no gloves. After that my hands just stay warm as long as I'm using them. Try it.
On cold hands - I wish I could find a solution. I don't generally suffer from the cold, I don't feel it badly, in fact, I'm really cold-tolerant,, but my body overreacts in shutting circulation down to my feet and hands. Gloves and socks only work if there is heat to retain - and my hands and feet just aren't generating any! It doesn't matter how warm the rest of me is. It just never gets to my hands. Feet don't bother me, I don't feel it, but do need to watch I don't get chilblains. My hands go numb and unusable :-(. It doesn't need to be very cold at all, especially if it's damp and/or windy (pretty much always is!). 10C will be enough to cause problems. As a British motorcyclist, sailor, cyclist and now a N German gardener, this is really really annoying. My father has Raynaud's, I expect I do too. I am always shocked at how warm other people's hands are, especially in cold outdoor situations, it's like voodoo witchcraft or something. 😂 Heated socks and gloves with rechargeable batteries are a thing, and I use them - but you can't do everything in gloves. I haven't been able to do any garden work for weeks right now, due to chilly, windy and sunless days :-( . I'd recommend eating enough - it really makes s difference. For me, the old Scottish standby of porridge works best! And frequent tea breaks to warm hands on the mug.
You could use the microscope to take video of your samples as a means of data collecting. If you take note of environmental conditions to go along with your sample videos, then over time you may be able to distinguish patterns in the species of ecology as a whole, and perhaps this may prove useful in farming practices. You might be able to use AI to help you identify names of species. You could eventually potentially learn to steer the microbiology to your favor. And so even if it rains by the time you figure out what your sample is, over time, with enough notes, you might recognize the patterns… I dunno just a thought. Like, take a sample, log environmentals, date, make a video. Archive the video. Use AI at some point or someone qualified to help you identify. Observe over time. Like you say tho, it’s a lot of time… thanks for your incredible insight! It’s such important stuff, and is so so helpful.
Wouldn't removing snow and ice be better done from the inside, I use a sponge mop to gently push on my car shelter which is basically built the same way.
When asked by my son, what do you want for Christmas, I sent him a link to your website and told him, "The Living Soil Handbook", and if you have the cash, "The Seed Farmer". Both were neatly wrapped and under our tree.
I am 63 now. I have 11 acres but feel it's beyond my capabilities at this stage in life to begin farming now. So i listen to your podcasts, apply as much as i can to our garden, and contemplate what i might have attempted if i had your podcast 30 years ago. Thanks for your innovative solutions, advice, and witty humor! May many more younger men and women take advantage of the knowledge you share to solve our dependency upon corporate farms.
This might be the best comment I've ever read. Thank you. May your soils be fruitful
I can’t say thank you enough for getting this knowledge out to the world! I too was a farmer hitting burnout and frustration and then I found your podcast. It encouraged me to go a different direction on our farm and we took the plunge. We still have loads of Canadian thistle and bindweed, but are making progress. After many years of not being able to even direct seed crops because of this weed pressure, I started doing so again using cardboard/paper and then 8-10 inches of deep compost. Game changer! I’ve been market gardening since 2003 and I feel renewed in my passion to feed our community. I encourage everyone who listens and benefits from this great show to please become a patron. Thanks for updating us on the changes. I’m sure it’s been a hard decision to make, but change and innovation in our industry is inevitable. Keep up the great work Jesse! 😊
Pivoting is necessary, building sustainability is what you each have worked so hard to instill in us , I’m glad you are making decisions to support your future.
This farm kid grew up to be a cell biologist partly due to my dad's microscope. Looking at samples through the scope piqued my interest in science and led to an interesting career, a goodly portion of it working with light, fluorescent, and electron microscopes. The everyday farmer probably doesn't need one, but I'm sure glad my dad did.
Thanks so much for all you do! It's a true service and labor of love. The revolution is not happening behind a paywall.❤
I love the daily format! It's become a part of my morning routine. The information you provide is so appreciated and your vibe helps motivate me to get outside and take care of my daily chores. Thanks for the help and good dad jokes.
Thank you for all these years of excellent and free content. It's changed the way I farm, and I'm continuing to learn from you, Jesse! Good for you modeling how we can continually learn and tweak our operations so we can keep doing what we love to do.
Love you work and your passion for this profession, Farmer, Jesse! I have your book and I'm on my fourth reading, still learning and yet still want to know more. Small half acre garden in your information is tremendous. Best!
Dr Elain Ingham videos pointed me to try a microscope so I found a $5 garage "kids toy" that could hit 350-400x and it worked to see it all the soil features. Got the teenager here involved in mapping the field, scientifically collecting and preparing samples, and when done the bluntly insightful teenager said "you can look at the ground and the plants to know if the soil is any good". And they were right. So yes, a scope is fun to experiment with and see differences, but throwing seeds in the ground will tell you the same thing without a "big expensive" garage sale microscope. You might test compost juice before spreading it but some compost is generally better than no compost so the garden will tell you.
Few more simple format, kind of telegraph that things were getting a bit simpler and perhaps tighter financially. Like so many others I can’t express how grateful I am for you sharing your knowledge and experiences. I copied your method of planting carrots last year and it worked fantastically! So I have you to thank for that. I will do my best to support you even more given that you are providing very effective experience and methods for low and no till regenerative farming. This is a critical transformation of agriculture and you have a lot of experience and expertise that can help and has helped so many others.
As a longtime follower, the more you can show active farming, harvesting techniques and crop planning will add to the success of those who are following you who will then be able to support you even more. As I focus on my local region. I find that you offer a larger national community that supports regional communities. That is a structural model I can get behind both financially and in practice.
Wishing you and all your compatriots every bit of success and fulfillment.
Thanks for sharing. Thanking all growers breeders cultivators lovers of the master plant. She breeds passion and homeostasis cb2 receptor inhibits sars2. Ganja is a medicinal treasure trove. Support your local farmers peace and love.
Okra: yeah, I top my okra. Not sure if it increases yield, however being short in stature I do it to help with that. Topping does set the production back a couple of weeks, and I really space them out in preparation as they do get quite bushy and wide. I may have mine a foot between plants, and often plant cowpeas or some other legume on either side of them down the row. I've had stalks so thick a small chainsaw is needed to cut them down, but don't remove the roots.
Fopr
As for seed, check out "2 seeds in a pod" for turkish varieties. For those who have read "The Whole Okra", the unanimous winner for taste was "Yalova Akkoy" and 2 seeds in a pod, at that time was the sole supplier I could find.
I started topping my okra three years ago. When the plants get about 6/7 feet high (sorry I don't know how many days) I'll cut them down to 3 feet. They branch out nice and start yielding again in about 2 weeks or so. I'm growing for myself so I get more than enough to put up.
Something I would find handy is when I see someone on UA-cam recommend a tomato or vegetable to also please post where I can get them.
Jesse you have taught me some about cover crop and I am testing a few and liking the results
Thanks
Good afternoon. I live in Ontario Canada and I have two greenhouses on my small garden/farm area. I use what is called a “roof rake” to remove the snow. I like it because it has handle extensions that come with it. For me this works quite well. I believe that I purchased it from my local hardware store
I am definitely bummed that things are changing but I understand and look forward to hearing what everyone is up to when that is possible. Thanks to Jesse, Jackson, and everyone else who have helped make this what it is and all the best to all of them in 2025.
You’re a huge inspiration!
ALWAYS great videos that you share. Quite sure that these changes will all pan out for the better!
Cue wild speculation about Jesse saying he'll use those seed sources "after" the podcast. [And that's before I reached part 3; best of luck navigating this market contraction]
In slightly more seriousness, props for getting the edit to 20 minutes on the dot!
Thanks for all your hard work! I just ordered your book!
thank you for your work. i really appreciate it. overgrow the system. look after yourself
Most states will have a free pathology ID service where you can send in pictures of sick plants, or even soil or plant samples. These are generally run through the state Extension services through the Land-Grant universities. In my state, they serve everyone who asks them to, even a homeowner who just has a sick houseplant. They have a collection of microscopes and trained professionals who can even point you in the right direction if the issue is something like frost damage or a nutrient deficiency. A scope is a big investment for someone who is going to mostly use it for their own pathology work, and the average person will have quite a learning curve with microscopy. This is a case where I would not do it myself, but I would use the Extension service.
Thanks for talking about the microscope!
MI Gardner has seeds for $2.00 a pack. If you buy $19.99 of seeds the shipping is free.The shipping is fast and the seeds are reliable.
I love ALL No-Till Growers videos!
love the bird photos!
What else does anyone have to do in January but research and makes lists of seeds and where to buy them😆. I’ve been going through seed catalogs looking for what I want. This year I’ve been comparing pricing. It is interesting how some seeds are very close in price and others vary a lot. My favorite catalogs for home gardeners include Totally Tomatoes, Pinetree, Terratorial, Jung, Johnny’s, and Vermont Bean.
Nice video. You are a real one. I also got a microscope a while ago for the aquaponics now it for compost teas. i am wondering about your fundamental view point on technology and how we use it to interact with food production. After hitting the hill on the head with the microscopy.
Advice for keeping hands warm. I start working and my hands get cold. No gloves. Then I will bring my hands in my jacket or go in for a short break just long enough for my hands to get warm again and head straight back out to work. Still no gloves. After that my hands just stay warm as long as I'm using them. Try it.
On cold hands - I wish I could find a solution. I don't generally suffer from the cold, I don't feel it badly, in fact, I'm really cold-tolerant,, but my body overreacts in shutting circulation down to my feet and hands. Gloves and socks only work if there is heat to retain - and my hands and feet just aren't generating any! It doesn't matter how warm the rest of me is. It just never gets to my hands.
Feet don't bother me, I don't feel it, but do need to watch I don't get chilblains. My hands go numb and unusable :-(. It doesn't need to be very cold at all, especially if it's damp and/or windy (pretty much always is!). 10C will be enough to cause problems.
As a British motorcyclist, sailor, cyclist and now a N German gardener, this is really really annoying. My father has Raynaud's, I expect I do too.
I am always shocked at how warm other people's hands are, especially in cold outdoor situations, it's like voodoo witchcraft or something. 😂
Heated socks and gloves with rechargeable batteries are a thing, and I use them - but you can't do everything in gloves. I haven't been able to do any garden work for weeks right now, due to chilly, windy and sunless days :-(
. I'd recommend eating enough - it really makes s difference. For me, the old Scottish standby of porridge works best! And frequent tea breaks to warm hands on the mug.
A microscope & specific knowledge found in a series of books I've found helps, but basic knowledge is helpful. 😊
Maybe a pool brush with the telescoping handle would work
You could use the microscope to take video of your samples as a means of data collecting. If you take note of environmental conditions to go along with your sample videos, then over time you may be able to distinguish patterns in the species of ecology as a whole, and perhaps this may prove useful in farming practices. You might be able to use AI to help you identify names of species. You could eventually potentially learn to steer the microbiology to your favor. And so even if it rains by the time you figure out what your sample is, over time, with enough notes, you might recognize the patterns… I dunno just a thought. Like, take a sample, log environmentals, date, make a video. Archive the video. Use AI at some point or someone qualified to help you identify. Observe over time. Like you say tho, it’s a lot of time… thanks for your incredible insight! It’s such important stuff, and is so so helpful.
That's a real bummer about the podcasts I don't really listen to podcasts, but I've been listening to all of these podcasts.
What kills me about seed shopping is the different ways the seeds are measured. Grams, packets, ounces, seed count... 😕
Sure would be cool if an A.I. were taught to interpret microphotographs that users submit to it. Bet that would be a valuable prkduct...
Ai has been in use for a few years in some environmental labs regarding spore identification/counts etc...
you are awesome
What the actual frick that ice looks SCARY
I bet driving was a pretty safe activity at that point.
here's to the future!! no-till worldwide.
Idk the ages of your children, but I think that microscope could be amazing for learning enrichment.
Add the http to the support page and patreon so it links.
Is the book real? I'm confused.
Doesn't one nematode look like another?
Root feeding nematodes have significant differences from bacterial feeding or beneficial nematodes.
Digital microscope and AI recognition to identify organisms
Crush on...
Wouldn't removing snow and ice be better done from the inside, I use a sponge mop to gently push on my car shelter which is basically built the same way.