Conor Crickmore

Neversink Farm in Claryville, New York

Conor Crickmore, the owner of Neversink Farm, runs a high production, small scale farm in New York.  Conor's no till and no tractor methods of farming enable him to grow an astounding amount of product on less than 1.5 acres. He also combines his no till farming methods with incredibly efficient systems. Part of that efficiency is the use of the paper chain pot transplanter which he uses with herbs, lettuce and onions, year-round. Conor is also the creator of an extensive online market farm course where he shares his methods and systems. Learn more about his course at NeverSink Farm.
 

Rachel Hershberger & Ben Hartman

Clay Bottom Farm in Goshen, Indiana

Ben Hartman and his wife Rachel Hershberger own and operate Clay Bottom Farm in Goshen, Indiana, where they make their living on less than one acre growing and selling specialty produce to restaurants, at a farmers market, and through their CSA. Their farm is the feature of Ben's books, The Lean Farm, winner of a the prestigious Shingo Award, and The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables, published in 2017. Since 2015 they switch their growing systems to use the paper chain pot transplanter on nearly all of their crops. Their favorite crops to grow in paper pots are hakurei turnips and multi-leaf head lettuce. The paper chain pot transplanting system reduced their work by eight hours per week during transplant season. A link to “Ben’s paper pot cheat sheet” is here. This guide offers tips on using the paper pots and a crop-by-crop planting guide table.

John Hendrickson

Stone Circle Farm in Reeseville, Wisconsin

Hopefully it does not seem too self-serving to feature our own farm! The fact is, we’ve been using the paper chain pots longer than anyone in North America, starting in 2006 after spending a year in Japan. I cannot imagine farming without this system, especially as I get older. My younger self could kneel and stoop for long stretches but that is not the case today! I certainly would have stopped growing onions for commercial sales long ago if not for the paper chain pots. My favorite crops to grow in the chain pots are shallots, kohlrabi, beets, and spinach. We spent many years growing a wide array of specialty vegetables for restaurants in Chicago, including baby beets, scallions (maybe not usually considered a “specialty” but ours were super long and high quality and fetched a good price), mixed cherry tomatoes, and baby leeks. Today, as our paper chain pot business has grown, we’ve scaled the farm operation back to a small number of crops: garlic, shallots, carrots, beets, Japanese cucumbers, spinach, and hot peppers. Putting crops in with the paper pot transplanter is always a favorite task each season.