Neversink Education

Compost is the decomposed matter of living organisms. Farmers intervene in this system and replicate the process to efficiently create compost to use on the farm as the primary input into a living soil system.

This module will walk you through the process I use to create the best possible compost.

Subjects - Materials, Sourcing, Equipment, Turning, Making Piles, Transporting

• Conor covers how to balance your soil both physically and chemically. All soil is deficient in some of the required elements. Conor explains how to find out what they are and how to solve it. 

• Creating and maintaining your most valuable resource - your living soil is covered here.

Compost 

• Making Compost from Start to finish
• Using both ingredients found on the farm and purchased locally.
• Benefits of compost and how to make the best for your farm 

Whether you use a BCS, tractor or are going no till, beds and fields must be created and managed. This module details those steps with lessons on the following;

• Conor goes over the reasons he has forgone tractors both large and small while delving into his No Till, surface cultivation only, bed systems. 
• Turn a field of weeds into a clean and fertile bed for growing efficiently.
• Step by step instructions for going from one crop to another
• The Neversink farm efficient permanent bed system
• Keeping soil layers intact
• Managing employees performing the bed tasks
• Keeping beds in place through the year
• Options for quick no till turnovers - moving from one crop to the next

• Using very simple tools, I discuss the command center of Neversink farm which is how I distribute, manage and record all the tasks being done on a daily basis. I break it all down for you and include all the paperwork used at the farm for getting everything done. It took years to create these standard operating procedures that you are able to download as part of the course.
  

A very in-depth module that covers planning your field and house plantings. Also how to create and manage healthy starts. Made of 12 lessons covering the following subject areas;

• Building and outfitting both a starting and the ideal propagation house
• Crop Planning
• Vegetable varieties
• Managing the prop house
• Propagation trays
• Filling and seeding paperpots, winstrip and 1020 trays
• Using a gravity seeders
• Grafting Tomatoes
• Managing your vegetable starts
• Getting great germination
• Keeping everything watered well and efficiently

Getting plants into the ground efficiently and productively using transplants, paperpots, and direct seeding is detailed here along with many PDFs you can take with you for quick reference.

Lessons in this module cover;

• Working vegetable by vegetable, I give tips on spacing and best choices for getting your produce started in the field.
• Direct Seeding - Using both high and low tech seeders, I cover all aspects of getting your seeds in the ground quickly and with the best chance of success.  
• Paperpot - Every step of paperpot production is covered from filling to stretching, from gravity seeder to seed plates, and finally using the transplanter as well as the zipper to transplant the crop. I also go over which vegetables are best for this system. You will also have access to discounted supplies.
• Hand Transplanting - I use this system a lot at Neversink, and if done right can be very efficient and profitable.

• Complete water infrastructure intensive, from drilling the right well to drip and overhead watering, and specialty systems. I cover when and how to best irrigate your crops for maximum production.
  

Pest and diseases on an organic farm is mostly about prevention through healthy balanced, well maintained soils and reduced weed pressure. Problems do occur though and here I discuss what works in preventing and fixing these issues.

Lessons in this module cover

• Beneficials and how to use them to control many of the common pests
• Common diseases - prevention and treatment
• Building a deer fence
• Mouse and vole proofing your house
• Managing large pests (mice to raccoons)
• Common pests - Prevention and treatment

Managing weeds will move most farms to profitability. It is the number one thing that blocks most farmers from creating an efficient and profitable organic farm.

Subjects covered by the lessons in this module

• Stale seed bed
• Tarps
• When and why or why not to use certain techniques
• Cultivating tools
• Flame weeders both large and small
• Cultivating schedule and technique
• Identifying different weeds

Harvesting techniques for every vegetable grown at Neversink Farm along with every piece of equipment for fast and efficient production.

Lessons in the module cover

• Washing and Packing Vegetables
• Every piece of equipment needed
• Pack house design
• Vegetable storage times and temps
• Vegetable processing
• Cold room design
• Packing supplies, bags, totes, scales....everything
• Workflows for every group of vegetables
• Bubbler DIY setup
• In depth on food safety regulations
• Wash station cleanup plus checklists
• Harvesting tools

• Once you grow it, you need to sell it. Conor is not only  great at growing vegetables but getting them sold. Making over $250k per acre at Neversink Farm required expertise in this area and Conor lets you in on all the techniques for maximizing profits.

• Knowing your customers and what drives them to purchase is covered here.

• Just like at the farm, the right equipment and record keeping is required at the market to maximise sales.

• Whole requires a completely different approach than direct-to-consumer. Conor has been selling through these channels for more than a dozen years.

• Community supported agriculture is a great way to to begin growing a farm. Here Conor explains the different CSA models Neversink has uses and how to best monetize this approach.

• Packed with downloads that Neversink Farm uses like the Employee Handbook, Work for Hire Contract, and Driving Agreement. Cover also shares his secrets for hiring the best employees and Managing employees effectively.

• A three part intensive that covers all the flowers you need to make a thriving side business growing cut flowers. Neversink can earn over 1k per week during the season on flowers alone. It is a must for market farms.
  

Both perennial and annual flowers are covered, including individual lessons on;

• dahlias
• ranunculus and anenomes
• lilac
• tulips
• sunflowers
• lavender
• peonies. 
  

• Creating stunning bouqets is key to maximising your flower business. Lessons in this module cover creating the best possible bouquets that sell well and are easy to make.
  

• Kate, Conors wife, explains how to store flowers for market efficiently as well as using storage to either force or delay blooms.
  

• Every piece of equipment needed is presented and linked. 
  

• Neversink Farm uses an online ordering system for free choice vegetables. This is a hard way to make a profit but we have managed to do it. In this module our system is described in detail.

• Running a profitable on site farm store is very different than a stand at the market. It has great benefits and downsides. I go over all of this and how we have made a successful store over the years. We started with a samll shed and have expanded to include a cafe.

• I love putting on events at the farm and sharing our bounty with the community. Events and a cafe are great ways to do that but these are fraught with legal, zoning and local regulations  that must be navigated.

Lessons in this module cover;

• What are the land characteristics that are deal breakers and which are not?
• What is the ideal property look like?
• How to create a lease? (Sample Lease Included)
• Going from a field of weeds to No Till permanent bed system that has very low weed pressure.
  

• How to layout a new farm and which infrastructure is the most important to start with is covered in this important intensive for growers just starting out.

• Adding a more diverse array of products can add interest to your market and wholesale customers while also increasing profit. I talk about how to do this smartly as well cover tabletop crops like shoots and micro-greens. 
  

• I also cover growing more exotic crops like ginger and turmeric. Some of the other crops in this module are sugar snap peas and early new potatoes with techniques for doing them well and profitably.
  

Lessons in the Module cover;

• Root crops - Radishes, Beets, Carrots, Turnips (Fresh and Storage)
• Greens (Lettuce Mix, Arugula, Cress, Spinach, and other minor salad greens)
• Zucchini, Broccoli, and Celery
• Lettuce Heads
• Onions, Scallions, Garlic and Leeks
• Cooking Greens - Chard, Kale, and Large Spinach
• Fennel, Bok Choy and Celery

• How to best sell the herbs you are growing. 

The most popular herbs are given their own intensive lessons from start to sale.

• Basil
• Parsely
• Dill
• Cilantro
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Thyme
• Chives
• Mint

• Conor use to supply a major grocery with nothing but herbs and he shares how to be successful growing not just the basics but more exotic herbs at scale.
• Oregano, Lavender, Winter Savory, Horse Radish, Lemongrass, Bay Leaf, Lemon Verbena are some of the herbs grown at Neversink Farm. 

• Managing herbs through correct harvest and post harvest treatment is key to profitabilty.

• Herbs have very special post harvest handling requirements.

• Recorded Question and Answer sessions with Conor. For in depth member questions, Conor records video at the farm to give further detail or explanation when members ask.
  

• The forum is a place for members to ask questions of each other as well as ask qeustions directly of Conor. Conor answers these questions personally in this area.

• A section dedicated to offering exclusive discounts to course members from our partners as well as regular special discounts to tools sold by Neversink Farm.

• Inside the course, there is a special page which holds all the resources presented throughout the course in an easy organised way.

• A powerful search function that members can use to find any mention throughout the course of subjects they are interetsed in.

• Technical issues are resolved quickly, five days week, 9am to 5pm EST by our awesome customer service team.