From the Field
The Fincabout Blog
Stories from the soil, science behind the seeds, and hard-won wisdom from farmers who've been there. Grab your coffee and dig in.
Vegetable Variety Selection for Climate, Market, and Disease
Good vegetable variety selection is part seed shopping, part weather planning, and part knowing your customers. This guide walks through climate fit, disease resistance, market needs, seed types, and simple on-farm trials so you can build a dependable variety list season by season.
Small Orchard Planning: Site Selection, Tree Spacing, Varieties, and the First Five Years
A small orchard can feed a household, support a farm stand, fill a cider press, or anchor a mixed homestead system for decades. Good planning before you plant is what separates a productive orchard from a patch of frustrated trees.
Seed Starting Calendar: When to Start Vegetables Indoors and Transplant Outside
A good seed starting calendar is built around frost dates, crop timing, and local growing conditions, not one-size-fits-all calendar dates. Learn when to start vegetables indoors, which crops are better direct seeded, and how to time spring, fall, and succession plantings with more confidence.
High Tunnel vs Greenhouse: Which Fits Your Farm?
High tunnels and greenhouses both extend the growing season, but they differ in cost, labor, permits, climate control, and crop fit. This guide gives you a practical side-by-side comparison, worksheets, and maintenance tasks to help choose the right structure for your farm.
Crop Rotation Planning: How to Build a Rotation That Improves Soil and Reduces Pest Pressure
Good crop rotation planning is less about making a perfect chart and more about giving soil, pests, and plant families enough time and variety to stay in balance. This guide walks through practical rotation models for raised beds, market gardens, and field blocks, with cover crops and recordkeeping built in.
Understanding Soil pH and How It Affects Every Crop You Grow
Learn how soil pH controls nutrient availability, why most gardens need adjustment, and exactly how to fix it for optimal crop growth.
Succession Planting: How to Harvest Continuously All Season
Master succession planting techniques to eliminate feast-or-famine harvests and deliver a steady supply of produce from spring through fall.
Integrated Pest Management: Reducing Chemicals Without Losing Yield
A practical guide to integrated pest management that cuts pesticide use by 50-80% while maintaining or improving crop yields through biological controls.
The Economics of Organic Certification: Is It Worth It?
A detailed cost-benefit analysis of organic certification with real numbers on fees, yield changes, price premiums, and breakeven timelines.
Cover Crops: The Secret Weapon for Soil Health Between Seasons
Learn which cover crops to plant, when to seed them, and how to terminate them for maximum soil health and fertility benefits.
Tropical Agroforestry: Growing Coffee Under Shade Trees
Learn how multi-layer agroforestry systems produce better coffee, healthier soil, and diversified income from a single plot of land.
Companion Planting: The Science Behind Why Some Plants Thrive Together
Go beyond folklore to understand the real science of companion planting: allelopathy, nitrogen fixation, and biological pest control.