This guide can be used by trainers who want to assist pre-literate and/or English- as a second language-speaking farmers with including cover crops in vegetable production and other crop rotation schedules. It covers three major types of cover crops (mustards, legumes, and ‘other’), and the potential benefits and costs of cover crops. It leads farmers through the process of identifying what they want to accomplish via cover cropping, assists them with identifying opportunities within their production schedule for insertion of cover crops, and assists farmers with selecting the cover crop or mixture of cover crops which best match their needs and goals. Some data is specific to the Southeast region of the United States, but links to resources where data appropriate to other regions can be accessed are provided. This teaching resource was developed by Lauren Bailey of The Nashville Food Project in Nashville, TN in partnership with the Institute for Social and Economic Development (ISED Solutions). 

This series of six workshops covers a range of topics related to crop planning. Farmers will be introduced to the concepts of harvest windows, succession planting, and days to maturity. Multiple sessions help farmers learn how to use calendars and tables to plan their growing season. One session teaches participants how to handle orders from customers and restaurants, and plan cropping and harvest schedules accordingly. Most of the workshops are appropriate for beginning- to intermediate-level farmers.

This is module 4 in a series of 8 modules in the New Roots Micro-producer academy.Understanding the difference between personal and commercial production. Growing techniques (as well as farm rules) to maximize production and timing production based around the markets they hope to sell at. Farmers will draft a planting and harvest calendar for the market crops they have chosen, and they will draw a potential succession planting map for one crop. This teaching resource was developed by International Rescue Committee in partnership with the Institute for Social and Economic Development (ISED Solutions). Refugee farmer training programs across the country provided feedback on this lesson, which is now integrated throughout the guide.

This is module 3 in a series of 8 modules in the New Roots Micro-producer academy.This is an introduction to the concept of market gardening or farming, and to selecting crops that fit the market channel that producers anticipate using. This teaching resource was developed by International Rescue Committee in partnership with the Institute for Social and Economic Development (ISED Solutions). Refugee farmer training programs across the country provided feedback on this lesson, which is now integrated throughout the guide.

This tool aids gardeners in working with a calendar and knowing the planting dates for various crops. A large format (3’x 4’), laminated 2-month blank calendar is used (purchased from office supply store). Throughout the season, the months and dates are filled in with whiteboard marker. Laminated pieces are taped onto the calendar to show last and first frost dates, last and first dates to plant different crops, last dates to plant winter cover crops, etc.

This Bed Planning tool is used to assist farmers in knowing which crops to plant in each bed and when to plant them. Each bed marker is filled out either by staff ahead of time, or by farmers in a class session using their crop calendars and crop rotation plot maps. The bed markers are then placed in each bed at the farm. This tool was developed to increase farmer independence through simple tools, as farmers were not consulting their notebooks weekly and/or had difficulty reading their crop calendars throughout the season. You can add cover crop rotations, succession planting, and multiseason planting. Using these tools allows farmers to quickly look at the upcoming dates, prepare their beds, and plant their seeds in the right bed and at the right time. They are laminated and tape is used for writing in permanent marker (on top of tape), so that they can be recycled and used year after year.

This is a resource designed to provide farmers with readily accessible, technical information and cultural practices for organic vegetable production without relying on advanced English literacy skills. This manual can be introduced in pre-season crop planning settings and subsequently used throughout the planting season. Though the practices and suggested planting dates presented are specific to our New England growing season, the icons can be easily modified to represent practices and timing suited to your farm and locale.

This guide covers essential components of crop planning. Participants will learn how to fill out and complete a production plan, determine transplants needed, complete a seed order using the seed calculator tool, and weigh and bag direct-planted or direct-seeded crops. At the end, farmers will be prepared with all their seeds for spring and summer planting and the crop production information needed for the upcoming year. This teaching resource was developed by Transplanting Traditions in Chapel Hill, NC in partnership with the Institute for Social and Economic Development (ISED Solutions). Refugee farmer training programs across the country provided feedback on this lesson, which is now integrated throughout the guide.

This document shows what you might receive your CSA share, by season.

This record keeping template is meant to help you plan out timing and location of crops on your farm.  It also helps you record actual field data once crops have been planted or seeded.