Ep. 71 Eggplants and The Virtue of Patience: Chris Sanford, Yonder Hill Farm

Christopher and Maggie Snow run Autumn Prairie Pumpkins out of their 1/14th of an acre backyard in Newton, Kansas. They started farming as a contrast to their jobs in cybersecurity and project management because they wanted to see the physical fruits of their labour. They are in their second year as seed farmers and have chosen to focus exclusively on Moschata squash. In this episode, Christopher, Maggie and I talk about why they chose Moschata squash as the foundation of their seed business. (Of course we also discuss whether the say Moskata or Moshata). We explore how they engineer their urban space to withstand harsh climate challenges like hailstorms and severe heat waves. And we discuss how they have launched their online seed company. In the deep dive, we focus on growing squash for seed. We get into how to keep a bunch of different squash varieties of the same species from crossing together which leads into discussing squash hand pollination then tagging and tracking hand pollinated fruits. We get into how to evaluate squash maturity and talk about how Christopher and Maggie extract seeds from their squash. Enjoy the conversation! Support the Seed Farmer Podcast

Growing good seed isn't just about harvesting what happens to bolt in the field; it is about building practical systems that work alongside your regular vegetable and flower operations. Whether you are looking to diversify farm revenue, streamline contract seed growing, or run your own seed company, the Seed Farmer Mentorship lets you take the next step in your seed journey. Enjoy the minisode! Find out more about The Seed Farmer Mentorship https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com/mentorship

Kate McEvoy and Ben Gabel run Real Seeds in Pembrokeshire in west Wales.

Julia Shanks (from the Farmer's Office) joins me on today's minisode to talk about our soon to be published book The Profitable Farmer: Strategic Business Planning for Profit, Purpose, and Quality of Life. We get into the importance of running a farm that sustains you and doesn't burn you out, the four pillars that support your farm, and we peek behind the scenes at all the steps that happen between submitting what you might think is the Final Manuscript to get to the actual Final Final Final version of the book. We also talk about how to get the 3 bonus case studies we've put together for everyone who pre-orders the book. Each case study is designed around a Cost of Production budget. One for a vegetable crop, one for a cut flower, and one for a seed crop. Enjoy the conversation!

Lane Selman is the founding director of the Culinary Breeding Network based in Portland, Oregon. She is also a professor of practice at Oregon State University and the co-author of the brand new book Radicchio: A Celebration of the Beloved Italian Vegetable. In this episode, Lane and I talk about the origin story behind the Culinary Breeding Network. We get into the importance of connecting plant breeders and farmers with chefs. And we talk about the importance of good open pollinated varieties in a shifting landscape where your favourite hybrids can suddenly disappear. And then it is Radicchio time: we unravel the confusing nomenclature that surrounds this deliciously bitter vegetable, the precision of planting dates to get these plants to head up the right way, and the art and science of forcing Raidicchio. I also gush quite a lot about Lane's new book. I really loved reading it and it answered so many chicory questions that I've had for the longest time and so many questions I hadn't even considered formulating. Enjoy the conversation! 🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱 The Seed Farmer Mentorship is back. You can get all the details and register at https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com/mentorship