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

Supplying the US and Canada

Best Hoop House Kits: 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.

Many of their products are unique and are of very high quality. Their hoop house kits  include everything you need right in the kit, from galvanized hardware, to ground posts and a pre-made door, at the price that’s listed–– no hidden fees. 

The kits come with a instruction and owner's manual for simple construction. I've put up half a dozen hoop houses for myself and for neighbours, the Bootstrap Farmer kits are a solid choice.

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

Best Supplier For The Home Grower: 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.

My main seed supplier

Best Grower Library: 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.

Best value seed kits

Best Heirloom Seed Kits: Gardeners Basics.

If you’re looking to embrace self-sufficiency and foster resilience in your own home, the Gardener's Basics Survival Seed Kits are a good choice. These kits are thoughtfully assembled, with a great selection of heirloom, non-hybrid, non-GMO, and open-pollinated seeds. 5 years or more shelf life, and they offer free shipping on orders $20 and over.

15-day food supply in a box

Best Value Survival Food: Bear Essentials Survival

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

Tun your passion into profit!

Best e-Commerce Tool Kit: SoloBuildIt!

Every farm needs an e-commerce website.  You can promote products solely through social media or your blog, but the real power is driving traffic to your website so you can capture contacts for followup (see Best List Management Software below). This content and my whole website is brought to you by SoloBuildIt! I've been using this e-commerce website builder for almost 2 decades, and they keep adding more value each year.

My website is a very productive 'side hustle', generating income from sales of my books and courses and affiliate products (like this page)

The latest cool tool from SBI! is the integration of an AI-app to help you research and generate context. Just about everything I know about content marketing, search engine optimization, affiliate marketing and building a website that 'gets the clicks' and generates income, I learned from SBI!.

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.

email list management at a great price

Best List Management Software: mailerlite.

I recently wrote an article about farm side hustles. . Once you have permission to contact your website visitors,you can follow up indefinitely with messages promoting your farm products or your affiliate programs. The money is in the list. This means you need good email management software to manage opt-in and opt-out to your list, and distribute your messaging. This is the one I use, simple to learn  but also has advanced features that you can employ as your experience grows.

A powerful platform for your products

Best e-Commerce Storefront: Local Food Marketplace

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. It's a great complement to my book too.

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

Best Anti-Aging Supplement: AEON.

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.

Enzyme support for health

Best Cardiovascular System Support: Nattokinase by Naka

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.

Follow one simple rule for fat loss

Best Weight Management Plan: Eat-Stop-Eat

I grow a lot of good food. I also cook and EAT a lot of good food; my dad was a cook and I learned to make meals starting around age 10.

I have a pretty healthy diet overall, but too much of a good thing is still too much.

I've been on Noom, I was a Weight-Watcher, and Robert Atkins' book is sitting in my library.

This is the only system that has ever helped me keep my weight under control long-term.

Eat-Stop-Eat is the original “2 day diet.” Learn why dieting every day will ruin your fat loss. And how a simple nutritional strategy with only ONE rule is the key to rapid fat loss and lifelong weight management.

It's a cheap investment in your health.