Field Work

on no-till growing

3.19.22

You asked, we answered! Join us for this NEW online class all about Butterbee’s approach to no till flower farming: how we prepare beds, our approach to weeds, and soil care.

What You’ll Learn

This online class draws the curtain back on our no till practices. We will guide you step by step through our bed preparation using occultation. We’ll talk weeds (spoiler alert- our farm is not very clean when it comes to weeds, and we’re cool with it!), pathways, our most used mechanical and non-mechanical tools, cover crop, and compost. We’ll show you how we fold sileage tarps, how we build raised beds, and we’ll share our approach to perennialized weeds. We’ll discuss how we prepare our beds in winter for the spring season, and we’ll share what resources we rely on to ensure the continued success of our farm.

When we started farming, we used shovels and a little walk behind tiller to prepare our beds. Then we discovered no till farming, and enthusiastically jumped on board. We have been proud owners of many a sileage tarp ever since. The transition to tarping and broadforking wasn’t easy; it took us a couple of seasons to understand the timing and incorporate soil care fully into our systems. Not only is no till farming a better fit for our skills and the kind of work we enjoy; we’ve also found that no till farming has increased our flexibility and resilience when it comes to climate change.

Guest speaker Ellen Polishuk from Plant to Profit will teach us how to read soil tests and answer questions about your soils! She makes soil tests fun- we promise, your eyes will no longer roll back in your head when reading your tests after Ellen’s through with you!

We’re keeping this class small, so come ready to ask your questions; we can all benefit from troubleshooting each others’ issues.

Logistics:

Class is Saturday, March 19th. We’ll start on Zoom promptly at 10 am EST. Special guest Ellen Polishuk will join us later in the morning to teach us how to read soil tests and answer your questions. Participants will receive a list of Butterbee’s mechanical and non-mechanical tools, a resource sheet with favorite reading, and a PDF of the class slides. We ask that participants share these with their farm team only. Class will wrap up between 11:30 am and noon.

We are keeping the class small so that everyone can interact with the speakers and get their questions answered. As a result, please note we cannot accommodate cancellations or refunds due to the limited class size. Make sure you check the time change in your area! Participants will receive a recording of the class, so no worries if you can’t make it live. But, we hope you can come to the live version!

Participants will receive a Zoom link to join the class in the week beforehand.

Kind Words about our workshops:

-Laura Beth is a natural teacher! Knowledgeable, patient, nurturing, all come to mind after taking two of her online workshops this season! Laura Beth uses sustainable practices to farm her beautiful, seasonally grown flowers in the Baltimore & DC area. Thank you for sharing your knowledge on growing organically, crop planning, dahlia growing & advice on pest control using beneficial insects, helping to put newer growers at ease! Whether you’re a commercial grower or a backyard gardening enthusiast, Laura Beth will inspire you to be a better grower!

-There's nothing more helpful or re-energizing in the midst of July burn-out than getting to talk shop with your flower growing heroes! 

-Laura Beth energy is contagious and I walked away thinking that focusing on the blooms was far more important than obsessing about a weed-free field. Liberating!

-Laura Beth is so open with everything about her business - the good, the ugly, the nitty-gritty details - which is something you can't get from a reading a book! 

-You cannot put a price on seeing another farmer's operation from the inside. Laura Beth's openness and willingness to share information were invaluable.

About Laura Beth Resnick:

Laura Beth Resnick is the founder and owner of Butterbee Farm, a five acre flower farm in Pikesville, Maryland. Following sustainable, organic practices, Butterbee Farm provides locally grown flowers for florists, flower lovers, and weddings in Maryland and Washington, D.C. Before creating Butterbee Farm in 2013, Laura Beth worked on organic vegetable farms across the northeast. In 2016-18, she served as the president of the Maryland Cut Flower Growers Association. She speaks regularly at conferences and arboretums including the United States Botanical Garden, covering topics from starting a cutting garden to growing great dahlias. She currently serves as the Secretary of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers and writes for their quarterly magazine. A leader in the local flower farming community, Laura Beth is proud to mentor new growers through Future Harvest's Beginning Farmer Training Program. She was recently featured in Baltimore Magazine and on Better Homes and Gardens’ Youtube series.

About Ellen Polishuk:

Ellen is a full time farm consultant and workshop leader. She leverages her 35 years of biological vegetable farming experience to help growers around the country to achieve more satisfaction and better profitability from their farm businesses. 

Ellen was one of three owners of Potomac Vegetable Farms in Northern Virginia where she grew Ecoganic produce for 7 farmers markets, a 550 member CSA and two roadsides stands. Ellen is a co-author of the book Start Your Farm, and writes the farmer-to-farmer profile column for Growing For Market magazine. She lives in suburban Maryland with her husband, where she gardens like crazy.