What do you do when you don’t have a tractor, your van lights on fire, and it rains 68 inches a year?! You can learn from today’s guests how to find the humor in it all and persevere!
In this episode, we’re happy to be hosting Ellen Scheffer and Ashley Wilson, Founders of Frisky Girl Farm, located in North Bend, Washington. These delightful guests help us learn a valuable lesson of farming, and that is finding the humor in the challenges.
Ellen and Ashley joined forces in 2016 to run City Grown Seattle. And now these two are growing big with Frisky Girl Farm!
Frisky Girl Farm believes in growing healthy food to build healthy bodies. They strive to bring the freshest sustainable produce to all of their members and want everyone to enjoy eating tasty food grown with the earth in mind. And they do it all with a great sense of humor, which helps sustain them through the inevitable challenges that come with farming.
Join us today to hear all about how Ellen and Ashley run a thriving farm and have a great time doing it!
In This Episode:
How Ashley and Ellen got started in farming 1:42
Determining the name for the farm 4:58
How Frisky Girl Farm goes about marketing 5:45
What they do to ensure the survival of the farm’s tunnels 18:14
How they found the property to farm on 23:49
Frisky Girl Farm salad fest 28:47
Growing and selling flowers at Frisky Girl Farm 38:31
How Ellen and Ashley divide roles on the farm 42:12
Why 2020 was a rough start for Frisky Girl 50:19
Ellen and Ashley’s favorite farming tools 52:35
Ashley and Ellen’s advice to aspiring or newer farmers 54:51
About the Guests:
Frisky Girl Farm is an 8-acre, woman owned/operated vegetable and flower farm in North Bend, WA entering its fourth growing season. They use sustainable growing practices to grow fresh, healthy food for their community. Farmers Ellen and Ashley, along with a small but mighty team, grow over 40 varieties of vegetables and 20 varieties of flowers for their 200-member CSA, restaurants, the North Bend Farmers Market, and their roadside farm stand. They believe in growing food that is good for people and the planet. They never use any synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers, and they practice organic techniques such as composting, crop rotation, and cover cropping. This season, they are adding an additional 3 acres of growing space where they plan to operate a U-Pick sunflower patch and pumpkin patch.
Resources:
Website: https://www.friskygirlfarm.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FriskyGirlFarm
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friskygirlfarm/
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And if you want to keep the conversation going, join us in our Facebook Group to connect with us and other farmers looking to grow their business!
Free E-Guides
We also have six free eguides to help you be more effective on your farm (Winter Growing, Pastured Poultry, Washing Shed Efficiency, Profitable Farmers Toolkit, What to Look for in a Farm Property, etc), which you can download here.
The Thriving Farmer Podcast Team would like to thank our amazing sponsor!
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