Farm-Grown Reviews Of 'Best In Show' Products For The Farmer And Gardener

Supplying the US and Canada

Bootstrap Farmer. I first ran across Bootstrap Farmer when I was searching for hoop house parts. I have the hoops to build another hoop house but I need the connectors and hardware.

Bootstrap Farmer is a farm and garden supply store serving small and large growers in the US and Canada.

They offer everything from grow bags, micro-green & seed trays, plastic film, shade cloth, row and vacuum seeders, and of course  - hoop house kits.

They focus on US-manufactured products and offer free shipping to the lower 48 on orders over $49. Returns can be made on most products within 30 days of purchase.

If you are getting tooled up for spring, they are worth a look. You can also read my detailed review of their hoop house kits here

SeedsNow has a great selection of organic seeds

SeedsNow. One of the reliable seed houses mentioned in the book is SeedsNow. Great selection, excellent customer service, free seeds with purchase, and free shipping (last time I looked, not sure how long that is on). You can also download their free Organic Gardening Grow Guides eBook. 

And if you are upping your herbal game this year (like I plan too, I want to know more about working with medicinal herbs) SeedsNow has a pretty good selection of all-in-one herbal seed banks for both medicinal and culinary uses.

Johnny's Selected Seed. Johnny's has a 50-year history of providing seeds and supplies to home and market gardeners in the US and Canada. Along the way they have won a number of awards for their plant breeding program. I buy about half my seeds from them every year.

They became 100% employee-owned in 2012, and continue to feature the greatest selection of organic and natural seeds, seeding tools and supplies, and the most extensive grower library I've yet discovered. Highly recommended.

William Dam Seeds. William Dam is a family run company located just outside of Dundas, Ontario, Canada, supplying small farmers and gardeners in Canada with seed for food, flowers and soil building.

This is the seed house I buy the most from after Johnny's. I also buy my plastic film mulch and row cover from them. If you are on my side of the border, William Dam is a highly recommended source of untreated and organic seed.

Bonus, you get to say 'I just ordered my Dam seeds'!

Territorial Seed Company. Territorial has been family owned since 1979. They operate a dedicated 75-acre trial, research and production farm featuring organic-certified seed. They also have a free-to-use (you have to create an account) garden journal app that can help you keep track of important details about your garden operations. Great selection and service.

Bear Essentials Survival is a Michigan-based, veteran-owned small business established in 2020. All their products are made in the USA, with a shelf-life of up to 25 years. They take a little different approach to survival food supplies, providing basic staples like beans, rice, pasta and rolled oats that can provide a pretty complete diet and also supplement the goodies from your garden.

You can read my detailed review of their 15-day Food Supply Box here

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If you have ever thought about creating additional streams of income on your farm, SBI! is the place to start.

You can read my detailed review here.

I had a question from a reader earlier this year, which inspired me to search out software that supports CSA Farms (other than my own of course).

Local Food Marketplace provides an easy-to-use e-Commerce storefront and a lot of great options for CSAs and small farms of all kinds. LFM can help you streamline your operation from start to finish – including planning production, harvest lists, packing lists, invoices, and payments.

This is the software I wish I had when I launched my first CSA garden back in 2005. Check it out if you have or are planning a CSA market garden. Great complement to my book too.

NAD+ Liposomal Anti Aging Supplement Complex AEON with Nicotinamide DUO™

PERPETUA.LIFE offers a range of state of the art supplements, but as a farmer of a *certain age*, this is the one I've been using for more than a year, and honestly I don't want to do without it.

Before I found this product I had hacked together a bunch of individual supplements like NMN and NR, trans-resveratrol, L-Theanine and a B-complex for energy metabolism support.

AEON provides all that and more in one easy-to-take formulation. You benefit from the synergistic effect of these ingredients designed and dosed to work together.

Naka Herbs & Vitamins Ltd. is a leading Canadian manufacturer and distributor of premium quality herbal products for the health food market.

I just recently discovered the benefits of nattokinase, an enzyme (protein) found in natto, a traditional Japanese dish made from fermented soybeans.

The literature says Nattokinase may help to prevent blood clots, lower blood pressure, and have a role in treating Alzheimer's disease. Nattokinase may also have neuroprotective effects and may help to prevent stroke.

I've been taking this one for about 6 months and my cholesterol and blood pressure stats have both improved.

Free shipping in Canada on orders over $50, also ships to the US.