The Dirty Truth About Farm Waste
Disposable materials are a staple in small farming and market gardening. There are times when I am flat out shocked by all of the waste that my own farm produces. From planting in plastic that only lasts one season, to fabric staples that rust and become a safety hazard— one thing that is sure, it takes a lot of materials to produce food.
That is why, today, we are going to discuss waste on the farm—and how we can all take small steps to start eliminating it.
It’ll never be perfect. I don’t know an example of a single farmer that is utilizing a 100% man powered farm with zero amounts of waste, that is actually making money— if you do, send them my way because I want to do an interview.
When I am researching new purchases each year to help me grow I take three variables into account.
What is the price?
I am a market gardener after all, I strive to be debt free. The day I take out one of those fancy USDA microloans to buy the hottest new tool will be the day you all know that I have sold out and am no longer writing this blog or running this business to benefit farmers. I have to work within a budget. I may have to sell something in order to get money for a budget, but I try to start every season with $2000 in my business checking account.
This being said. I am NOT a cheapskate. I do NOT think that cheaper is always better. In fact, I think that you get what you pay for. So if something is more expensive than I can afford, I take into account the next two points.
How long can I use this product?
Single use products don’t have a space on my farm. I learned the hard way my second year of farming that using the cheap, single use, black plastic to control weeds was not for me. Weeds grew right through it and it was a nightmare filled with metal staples to hold it down in this Oklahoma wind. I used to enjoy gardening barefoot and now it is my #1 rule to wear shoes in the garden or risk tetanus.
What is it made out of?
I like to be idealistic and say NO to plastic. I don’t enjoy suffocating wildlife. I prefer reusable grocery bags. I even package my salad mix in glass jars. In the modern world, this isn’t always possible. But if it is made out of a material that I know will one day be tossed and end up in a landfill, I want to at least refer back to point #2 and make sure I get more than one season out of it.
Looking at my own farm I can tell you, there is always room for improvement. Somehow I still end up with a whole bunch of thin plastic pots from transplants that I bought at the store or from other farmers. These things never seem to hold up— and always end up in the trash can.
Who’s heard of Boot Strap Farmer?
I’ve shopped at a lot of the online popular farming stores, this one is by far the best. They don’t charge shipping (not going to name names, but you all know who I’m talking about when I say that I wanted to order something and over $200 is “free shipping” but then there’s $100 in “surcharges”) Not this company. Free shipping. They custom cut greenhouse plastic. They have quite a few cool products.
Their coolest product, by far, are their seed trays.
They’ve got just about every size imaginable. From 200 cells to 1020 net pot trays… all of your growing needs are right here. Not only are their trays reasonably priced,these babies are durable. I hit one with a weed wacker— its damaged but still functional!
Another product that I am waiting to try, their greenhouse kits. They are a fraction of the price of other kits. You bend your own hoops and save tons of money. That sounds like a fair trade off. I’ve heard that it takes some practice to get the pole bending just right— but in this line of work, new skills are always valuable.
This company really seems to understand what market gardeners are all about. I believe in their products so much that I’ve signed up to be an affiliate marketer for them. If you find the topics that I write about useful, I’d ask you to purchase Bootstrap Farm products using my link here. This helps me to continue writing about topics that you need help with!
Alright, enough gushing. The second big tip that I have about reducing farm waste— I’m going to get so much flak for this. Drip tape.
I know, I know. Drip tape saves water. It does! That is very important.
When you’re buying drip tape, don’t go cheap! Single use drip tape is the bane of a low waste farmer’s existence. If you can’t use it again, don’t even bother. You’re not just throwing out plastic, you’re throwing out money.
What else can you think of that you use on a seasonal basis and end up throwing in the trash? Leave some examples in the comments and we can start brainstorming ways to save money and reduce waste!
In the meantime, head on over to Bootstrap Farmer and look at some of those amazing trays!
