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.
Farm Solar Power Planning for Pumps, Barns, and Cold Storage
Farm solar power can be a strong fit for pumps, fencing, lighting, batteries, and cold storage, but sizing matters. This guide walks through loads, storage, inverters, placement, maintenance, and backup planning so your system works when the chores do.
Pasture Renovation Guide: Reseeding, Weeds, and Fertility
Good pasture renovation starts with diagnosis, not a seed bag. Learn how to assess soil, choose the right reseeding method, control weeds, protect new seedlings, and keep your grazing ground productive year after year.
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.
Farm Lease Agreement: What to Check Before You Rent Land
A good farm lease agreement protects both the farmer and the landowner before money, seed, livestock, or sweat go into the ground. Use this practical checklist to review land use, repairs, water, insurance, renewals, and responsibilities before you sign.
Farm Windbreaks: How to Plan and Plant Shelterbelts
Farm windbreaks are one of the most practical long-term improvements you can make to a working property. A well-placed shelterbelt protects soil, crops, livestock, roads, and buildings while adding habitat and comfort to the farmstead.
Livestock Water Systems: Practical Planning Guide
A good livestock water system is more than a trough in the corner of a field. This guide walks through water needs, source selection, trough placement, pumps, pipes, mud control, and backup planning so your animals have clean water where they need it.
Used Farm Equipment Buying Guide: Inspection Checklist
Used machinery can stretch a farm budget a long way, but only if the machine fits your work and you know what repairs may be hiding under the paint. This used farm equipment buying guide walks through tractor and implement inspection, auction bidding, parts availability, safety checks, and true cost of ownership before you buy.
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.
Farm Pollinator Strips: Design, Plant, and Maintain Habitat
Farm pollinator strips can turn field edges, fence lines, orchard rows, and odd corners into working habitat for bees, butterflies, hoverflies, parasitic wasps, and other beneficial insects. With the right site, plant mix, and maintenance plan, they may support biodiversity, strengthen integrated pest management, and fit neatly into everyday farm work.
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.
Chicken Coop Design: Space, Ventilation, and Predator Protection
Good chicken coop design starts with the flock you actually plan to manage, not a pretty picture from the internet. This guide walks through space, airflow, roosts, nest boxes, cleaning, and predator protection so you can build a coop that works in real farm life.
Farm Pond Planning: Site, Size, and Maintenance
A good farm pond starts long before the first bucket of dirt is moved. This practical guide walks through farm pond planning, from choosing a site and sizing storage to permits, safety, water quality, and yearly upkeep.