Posts tagged Compost/ Soil Health
Beau Baker

beau.kindling@gmail.com

208-596-9614

A recent transplant to Fort Collins, Beau began his farming trajectory through WWOOF in Quebec back in 2010. He moved to Montana shortly thereafter to take a farm apprenticeship in the Bitterroot Valley. The following season, Beau served as the PEAS (Program in Ecological Agriculture and Society) Farm Caretaker for the Missoula-based non-profit Garden City Harvest. During a two-year stint in Maine, he worked for a number of farms in various capacities and trained as a MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association) Journeyperson. He also briefly worked for Johnny's Selected Seeds. Beau returned to Montana in 2015 and started a neighborhood-based micro-farm on less than an acre, experimenting with companion planting, pollinator "engines" and yield potential. Grad School and work in public radio sidelined Beau from farming for the last few years (except for some farmer's market moonlighting and the occasional gig as a contract weeder), but his ultimate goals and principles remain based in small-scale, diversified vegetable production and food security. He is eager to get involved with LCFA.

Behind farming, there's a few other things in life that bring me absolute joy: cooking, riding a bicycle (yay Fort Collins!) and digging through used records.

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Farmer Feliz

focomightymicros@gmail.com

FoCO Mighty Micros / www.focomightymicros.com

We are a multi-generational urban farm located in foothills of the Rocky Mountains here in Fort Collins, CO (aka FoCO)! That's right, we grow delicious superfoods in our home basement year round. We are committed to only sourcing non-GMO seed, and we never use any pesticides or synthetics on our microgreens! Ever! We believe in farming with organic practices from the living soil for uncompromising flavor. We have a passion for the next generation and the environment. We do everything we can to be a Green Company by reducing, reusing, and recycling. Our clam-shell containers are 100% plant based and can be composted in a commercial composting facility in 3-4 months time. Our root masses from the microgreens are then fed to our worms for vermicompost to be used in other gardens as fertilizer, making our farm sustainable with a closed loop system.

We are passionate about organic, non-GMO superfoods and we are excited to share that with our community!

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Bernard Hamblin

bernard@lalagardens.com

816-550-5506

LaLa Gardens - (970) 567-9890

I'm continuing a 30-year journey toward self-sufficiency, which lead me to off-grid, homesteading. In 2019, I quit my job of 15 years, divested myself of the useless "stuff" I'd collected over the years, and I've been trading work for homesteading experience since that time. I'm trained in Natural Farming techniques by Chris Trump and Tina Trout. I found an ideal situation for my needs, with LaLa Gardens, in January 2020.

Currently active on one acre, domonstration homestead, North of Terry Lake, built upon permaculture, natural farming, biomimicry, various crops.

Compost/ Soil Health

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Leandra Arellano

leandrarae@icloud.com

720-676-3441

Backyard Farm backyardfarmnoco.com

Learning in Lyons, CO to ranch, garden food crops, and forage, I moved to Fort Collins in 2019 to manage a private fruit, veggie, and bird farm. Now, I am partnering up with local horticulturist and gardeners in Northern Colorado to bring the gift of clean, fresh, produce, to the backyards of busy families through unique partnerships.

Backyard Farm, LLC is a unique gardening service that offers partnerships with busy families who dream of growing their own produce. From amendment to mid summer harvesting, and end of season wrap up, Backyard Farm horticulturists and gardeners will make backyard dreams come true.

Homesteading, Compost/ Soil Health, Seed Saving, Food Preservation, Permaculture, Butchery, Orchard Care, Greenhouse Management

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Lasha Guillen

lashaguillen@gmail.com

Hello! I am excited to connect, learn and grow with all of you. I have a big love for this planet that we live on and look forward to growing in this community!

A little about me // I grew up working on cattle, horse and hay farms in the Midwest. My interest in land management and preservation began in college when I did research under an entomologist who studied Midwest crop pests. I continued work after college in marine life conservation- studying humpback whales with the The Whale Center of New England and then interning with the National Park Service at Cape Lookout Seashore where I got a taste of politics and land management issues- specifically with the free ranging horses on North Carolina's Shackleford Banks. I switched gears after that and began my studies in yoga, cooking and healthy living where I spent three months on a bio-dynamic farm in Ecuador. While my experience in organic vegetable production is small, my passion for well-being and contributing to the health of our planet has led me to care deeply about healing/regenerating our land, bodies and food system. I am committed to learning and would love to share in any way I can. I have experience in the kitchen brewing kombucha, quick pickling, dehydrating fruit and international cuisine. I am always looking for new ways to cook or eat a vegetable. Food is the sustenance of life and cooking is both an art and daily ritual for me! This is a very exciting year for me as I join the team at Native Hill Farm. I look forward to a future in local, organic food production!

Currently, I am a backyard gardener and this will be my first year working in production on a bigger scale.

Animal Husbandry, Compost/ Soil Health, Food Preservation

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April Shelhon

april.shelhon@gmail.com

970-221-0163

I am currently a horticultural content marketer and outreach coordinator for a nationwide garden seed company where I create branded content, across multiple platforms (web articles, blogs, newsletters, social media, video, and print), for home gardeners of all skill levels. My background is in horticulture, organic CSA and market farming, teaching organic agriculture, as well as wildlife biology and agricultural research.

I grow a decent amount of our own food on a residential lot in Fort Collins.

Veg Crops, Compost/ Soil Health, CSA, Tractoring, Seed Saving, Food Preservation

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Andrew 'Drew' McMahan

mcmahanaj@yahoo.com

970-482-4540

Historic Cherry Mill Farm

My partner BT Huntley and I became the latest stewards of the historic Cherry Mill property 6 years ago. We currently operate a medium-sized garden plot (~40x60 feet), with the aim to grow and preserve (we can, freeze, dry) a large proportion of our yearly vegetable needs....lots of tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, onions, brassicas, green beans, etc. We have room to expand and plan to expand as we get our water situation figured out. Although we grow produce essentially just for us, we do sell vegetable seedlings ("starts") in the spring, and have been doing so for longer than we've been here. We have approx. 5 acres of good arable ground, much of it currently in decent smooth brome pasture, on which we raised a couple of beef steers 3 years ago. We raise 4 dozen "head" of poultry and sell eggs. In the late 1980s to 1991, I co-owned one of the first certified organic farms in fort Collins: Inch By Inch Vegetables and Bellwether Farms. We had 5 acres of production in annual veggies, and 1/4 acre "under glass" for year-round production of culinary herbs. I have a BS degree in soil science and an MS in ecology, both from CSU. We have a small home-made hoop-house, and have tentative plans to construct a small "production-level" greenhouse. I am a former beekeeper, currently have no working hives, but have equipment for at least 8 hives. We are open to discussing learning and possible "cooperative employment" opportunities with anyone who might want to help us here develop various aspects of our farm, particularly with respect to : improving our well and irrigation systems; developing bee hives, establishing a hop-growing operation, establishing larger-scales (e.g. 1/2 - 1 acre) vegetable production.

Currently at Historic Cherry Mill Farm, 200 Gregory Rd, Fort Collins, CO 80524. Northeast corner of HWY 1 (Terry Lake Rd.) and Gregory Rd. 6.25 acres including buildings.

Veg Crops, Animal Husbandry, Chickens, Compost/ Soil Health, CSA, Food Preservation, Greenhouse Management

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Thomas Hickey

tjhickey32@gmail.com

734-660-5348

I graduated from CSU May 2019 with a degree in landscape architecture. This program led me to focus on urban agriculture, and eventually to research energy efficient specialty crop growing systems. In the fall I will be going back to the grad program at CSU to study horticulture and ecology. I plan to research net-zero growing systems (open-field, high tunnel, greenhouse) by incorporating solar energy, geothermal and thermal mass components into the design.

I am a gardener moving towards homesteading in the Old Town neighborhood. I hope to turn the neighborhood into a food forest one vacant / underutilized plot at a time. I have only been growing in Fort Collins for 4 seasons so I am open to all tips and suggestions. Currently gardening / homesteading in the Old Town neighboirhood (Loomis/Laporte). We have 3 chickens and a small vegetable plot. With permission, we are starting to convert our neighbors underutilized plots to crop production.

Veg Crops, Chickens, Compost/ Soil Health

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Ryan Ericson

wellfedfarmstead@gmail.com

970-214-9562

Well Fed Farmstead

I have been farming for 6 years, have managed several operations all over the country, and have started my own business at the beginning of 2020. My experience is mostly with veg crops, microgreens, fruit trees, and chickens. Currently active in microgreens, veg crops, at micro scale in Fort Collins.

Veg Crops, Chickens, Compost/ Soil Health, Tractoring, Orchard Care

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Bryce Schaetzel

H.U.G.S.theland@gmail.com

970-698-1099

Homeland Urban Gardening Systems LLC: website = hugsfortheland.com: contact H.U.G.S.theland@gmail.com

Hi my name is Bryce, I've lived on the front range most of my life. I have been an active practicing veggie grower for over 30 years now. In 2015 I went professional and started H.U.G.S. LLC while finishing my education at CSU. H.U.G.S. was born out of the concept that a home garden can produce far more than what the household can consume in a season but the home owner is often to busy with life to hit their gardens full potential. Thus I figured, why not co-op a group of like mined homeowners together, give them the support they need to get the potential yield from their yards and sell the excess at local markets or fill in for other community needs (a.k.a. Fort Collins Mission and Food Bank). H.U.G.S. is not a certifiable organic producer but does adhere to organic and permaculture practices. Using only natural fertilizers and low impact integrated pest management techniques. H.U.G.S. LLC grows in 8 northern Fort Collins locations, most are backyards but one is a vacant lot and a few victory gardens on small acreage farms. Generally a jack of all trades but master of none; specialty food crops, fruit, veggies flowers, soil care, composting I've dabbled in all.

Veg Crops, Chickens, Homesteading, Compost/ Soil Health, Seed Saving, Permaculture, Greenhouse Management

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