Farm-Grown Reviews: 'Best In Show' Products For The Farmer And Gardener
Welcome to my resource page for curated assessments of interesting and practical products for the farmer and gardener. I believe both the 'old farming pro' and the aspiring grower will find value in my reviews of products from the world of natural farming and gardening, natural food, and natural health.
Disclosure: I'm an affiliate for some products I recommend here. This means I get a small commission for a product you buy through a link on this page. This doesn't affect the price you pay, but provides me an incentive to keep writing these articles.
I like to find family-owned or employee-owned businesses to promote here. Jeff Bezos does not need any more of our money. Plus it's nice to be able to reach out to a real person when you have questions.
I'm also a fan of suppliers that offer free shipping (usually with a minimum order), like just about all these suppliers
On this page you will find reviews for:
- Farm and Garden Suppliers
- Seed Houses
- Best Gardening and Farming Books
- Survival Goods Suppliers
- IT Tools for the Farmer
- Natural Health Products
When you get through this page, you might want to take a look at my page about micro-farm equipment for more suggestions for the small grower.
And, if you are looking to create some additional income on your small farm, check out farm side hustles.
Bookmark this page check back often, new reviews added regularly.
On with the show!
Farm and Garden Suppliers
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. The market gardener seed starting bundle is al a great deal. The trays are sturdy and reusable.
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
Seed Houses
The seed houses I patronize sell organic and untreated seeds, and typically are family-owned or employee-owned. I usually order from several seed houses each year; I buy particular 'old favourites' from each supplier.
They all have great selections and great service, I've never had a problem with any of them.
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.
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Best Organic Seed Source: High Mowing Organic Seeds The folks at High Mowing Organic Seeds are themselves growers and farmers. They offer an excellent selection of organic seeds and sell in quantities for both the home grower and the market gardener. They ship to the U.S. and Canada. One of my favorites is their pelleted carrot seeds. Pelleting makes for precise spacing of carrot seeds, reducing thinning and making weeding easier. Free shipping on orders over $200. |
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 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.
My personal favorite, and one of the the best values on the site, is this 3-in-1 Seed Vault.
Features 105 varieties of Survival Seed, and Herbs, and comes with a free ammo can for long-term storage.
Add this heirloom seed collection to your food storage and emergency preparedness supplies. It's a bargain at the price.
Makes a great gift for a gardener friend, too.
Best Farming and Gardening Books
Not Dewey Decimal, more like 'Do we know where that book is'?I read. A lot. My personal library of farming and gardening books has over 150 print titles, with a bunch more on my phone.
When I REALLY find a book indispensable, I like to have the print copy on hand. Never know what's going on with the interwebs, and I hope to pass these books down to the offspring one day.
I
haunt used book stores on a regular basis, looking for hidden gems
about farming and gardening topics; sometimes the best books on those
topics are from a few decades ago.
When I buy new, my preferential source is Chelsea Green Publishing. Chelsea Green is recognized as the leading publisher of books on the politics and practice of sustainable living. Their books bring in-depth, practical knowledge and hands-on information related to organic and regenerative farming and gardening, ecology and the environment, healthy food, local economies and resilient communities, and integrative health and wellness.
On this page I've curated the most useful books I've discovered over the years. I'm pushing the hard copies from Chelsea Green, but many of them can be found on that Evil South American River as well.
This book taught me the most about growing for marketBest Market Gardening Book: The New Organic Grower
I've had an edition of this book in my library for more than 20 years. The New Organic Grower is probably the finest guide for small-scale organic farming, ideal for both new farmers and seasoned gardeners. The updated 30th-anniversary edition offers new tools and techniques, stunning photography, and insights from decades of experience. It blends practical advice with sustainable agricultural philosophy, particularly for growers managing 2.5 acres or less. The book's updates reflect the latest developments in organic farming, making it a valuable resource for anyone looking to grow organically and profitably.
Best Book About Organic Farming: You Can Farm
If you have ever thought about a farm of your own, You Can Farm is the best overall guide to the realities of small farming, both good and not so good, that I have found.
And that's a tough call, because Joel Salatin has written more than a dozen books about various aspects of making a living on a small farm. They are all gems (yes they are in my library), but this one is the place to start with his writing.
From envisioning your future on the farm, to the ten best centrepiece farm opportunities, to evolving your model and finding a market, this book is an indispensable guide for the rural entrepreneur or 'want-trepreneur'.
Best Overall Guide for Homesteaders: The Self-Sufficient Backyard
The Self-Sufficient Backyard is an invaluable guide if you're aiming to increase your self-sufficiency, even on a small plot of land. Written by experienced homesteaders, it delivers over 40 years of practical knowledge to help you create a thriving, off-grid homestead on as little as a quarter-acre.
The book covers critical topics like food production, water management, energy systems, medicinal gardens, and a LOT of easy-to-implement DIY projects. Step-by-step instructions show you multiple ways to reduce dependency on external resources and create a sustainable, low-maintenance lifestyle, regardless of skill level. An essential resource for anyone seeking to live sustainably, this is a must-have addition to your library. No-risk 60-day guarantee.
Survival Goods Suppliers
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
IT Tools for the Farmer
Your small farmer has to be tech-savvy as well as tractor-savvy these days. Here's a short list of useful IT tools that can increase your sales, keep you in touch with customers, and potentially create additional streams of income - never a bad thing!
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.
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.
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.
Natural Health Products
Despite living and working on an organic farm, with a cold room and freezers full of my own home-grown foods, I've discovered I still need a few supplements not available from my garden.
This section presents the best of these. I'm not a doctor and this is not medical advice, do your own research into these products and check with your doctor if you have any concerns.
Best Anti-Aging Supplement: AEON.
I believe this one saved my knees. 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.
And, when I did the math, it turned out I could get a more complete supplement mix for less than the cost of buying the individual ingredients. You can buy individual bottles but PERPETUA.LIFE offers two money-saving options:
1 - a monthly subscription that saves you 20% (that's what I have for both Suzie and me);
2 - you have the option of purchasing a full years worth of AEON (12 bottles), at a 30% discount. Just add AEON to your cart, and adjust the quantity to 12. When you checkout, a 30% discount will be applied automatically to your order.
Your heart, lungs and aging joints will thank you.
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.
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.
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