SPIN stories

"The best thing I have to say about SPIN was that it gave me a whole new way of thinking about farming. That is, farming with an eye to real income without needing the investment of large numbers of acres and huge debt. As a long time grower for my family and friends, I never thought I was "big" enough to be a farmer. SPIN was my "aha!" moment."

-Barb McKillip, Mountain View Meadow Farm, Elbert CO

"The SPIN system has given a lot of young people the opportunity to return to their roots....or start a whole new career in agriculture! Speaking for myself I can say that SPIN has giving us the opportunity to continue doing what we love...being stewards of the land...We had hit a wall with traditional agriculture, but now we have found our way again through SPIN!"

-Tim Schultz, The Green Ranch, Osage SK

"I've been reviewing tons of how-to materials that might have even a remote relevance to my sustainable commercial urban farms (SCUFI) program. Whoa, have I waded through vast tonnage of imprecise and generalist chaff looking for kernels of wheat. But not a problem with the SPIN guides. They have virtually zero chaff. Using the SPIN guides as solid intros for people with little or no familiarity with commercial urban organic farming as a business I just don't know anything better."

-James Kalin, CEO, Virtually Green, San Francisco CA

"I have used your guides this year to direct my farming goals and production plans. These guides are a great help to new second career farmers, as well for farmers like myself who grew up on a big monoculture crop farm."

-Bob Balloch, The Fresh Veggies, Brampton ON

"Your guides are excellent!!!! This should really help out our local initiative."

-Bill Gardiner, District Conservationist, USDA-NRCS, Salida CO

"I'm creating an urban farm network that's neighborhood based and makes fresh, healthy food accessible to everyone. One of the primary goals is to bring back the job description of "farmer" and recreate it as a profession to city dwellers. As a non-profit, Urban Patchwork can create programs that pay and teach interns who then go and run their own urban farms throughout the city. It's structured so that the parent non-profit organization supports and reduces costs for the individual neighborhood farms so they can hire farmers and pay a living wage. That will add 50-100 farmers to Austin's demographic! SPIN was a wonderful find because I was in the middle of "inventing" the same such concept and set of materials. It was a neighbor and now fellow SPINner who introduced me to it (thanks to Michael!) and it shaved at least six months off my farm development and formation."

-Paige Hill, Urban Patchwork Neighborhood Farms, Austin TX

"I just had 20 yards of organic compost dumped on my driveway this morning – there is no going back now! Thank you for developing such a user-friendly method for people – it is so much easier to get started this way! I also work for county government in workforce and economic development; I can see how these methods could help to address critical community-wide issues such as local jobs, entrepreneurship, food security, poverty, environmental issues, etc. Food security is going to become an ever larger issue and you have created a very accessible way for people to get in the game in a way that greatly increases their chance of success."

-Geniphyr Ponce-Pore, Program Manager, Larimer County Workforce Center, Ft. Collins CO

"We're SPINing in a community garden setting. One thing I've learned about SPIN is that it's adaptable. You can fit what you learn from the guides and the email group to your unique situation. There have been lots of great discussions over the past year; people frequently post that this is one of the most helpful lists they've ever been associated with and I heartily agree. So, I just wanted to welcome you, encourage you to spend some time in the archives and have a blast adapting SPIN to your situation."

-Julie Gahn, Community Garden Coordinator, Tahlequah OK

"We started our SPIN farm to support our neighborhood 650 sq. ft. grocery store, really shortening the distance from field to plate! So far, so good! Customers love the salad mix. We can't wait to introduce more as the season progresses. The grocery is modeled on one that existed 100 years ago... The original grocery would have supplied locally-grown food so we're happy to support this growing interest in going back to "human scale" food as it relates to walkable neighborhoods."

-Katie McCaskey & Brian Wiedemann, co-owners, George Bowers Grocery, Staunton VA

"This is our third year SPIN-Farming, and we do this as a part-time operation. We would love to expand, as we have more market opportunity than we have time to grow for. We are considering looking for a partner for next season as we have opportunity in new markets and also have had requests to start a CSA. At present, we rely on community garden plots as our primary land base. I love the SPIN guides. They've been incredibly helpful."

-Chad Butler, Butler Family Farm, Aurora IL

"My business is Waste-Not Gardens, Inc. I am helping my city establish a local food system using the SPIN method. I also am proposing to the city that I will be utilizing a raised-bed, zero till or minimal till method (lasagna gardening). My business is a zero-waste concept. They are very interested and I am moving forward. I am currently communicating with the zoning director as they are willing to make exceptions to the zoning ordinances to accommodate the small scale production. They understand the importance of establishing a sustainable, local food system. I am hoping to accomplish many things with my operation. I can't thank you enough for the development of the SPIN farming method!"

-Suzanne Abrudeanu, Waste-Not Gardens, Inc., Waukegan IL

"This is only my second year with SPINing. I have been using 2x20' SPIN beds (65 total) because it worked best for my space. I would recommend it for you as well, as it would give you more diversity and more rotations. I also think 3400 sq ft would be good for starting out, it is better to start out small and do it well then to do too much and burn out, especially if you are farming part-time. The great thing about selling at a farmers market is you don't have an obligation to bring a certain amount. As a newbie, I assure you that you will have failures and successes, as far as what sells and what grows. I have to say that I am so happy I have started using the SPIN methods, they really work."

-Nate Clark, Good Earth Gardens, Harrisonburg VA

"There is a lot of great information in the guides, and my partner and I look forward to putting it into practice. We are both horticulture graduates, permaculture designers, and enthusiastic gardeners, but it's nice to have some solid technical business information, as opposed to exclusively theoretical or scientific knowledge. I also believe that as idealistic and great as permaculture is, the idea of self sufficiency- for-all is still a long ways down the path at this point in time. Localized food production is the first logical step and since it fits within the capitalist model, it is easy to implement, and the benefits are tangible and immediate. Thank you for providing such a thorough and useful product. I already consider it money very well spent."

-Todd Gesshe, Duncan, BC

"I have wanted to have a small, sustainable organic farm for years. I have done so much research into markets and methods and feel passionate about providing locally grown, pesticide-free produce. I've been a vegetarian for 22 years and have always tried to live a "green" life. I only have two chickens right now, but I want to get several more to use to help improve the soil. I will be using my horse for that as well, and I really love the idea of no or few off-farm inputs. In spite of all of my research and passion, I have felt overwhelmed and clueless when it comes right down to actually doing it—until I came across SPIN. The guides really break it down and provide actual formulas to follow. I am beginning to believe that I will be able to put my dreams into practice at last."

-Dawn Maxson, Dawn’s Dream Acres, Fallon NV

"While searching on the Internet I came across Wally's Market. I was interested because I was growing flowers, vegetables and herbs outside the city to sell at the Farmer's Market. I realized it would be a lot better if I grew my produce inside the city and since my yard is way too small, I thought this was the perfect solution to my problem. Since I have an entrepreneur spirit and 5 grandchildren and feel this will fit my lifestyle perfectly."

-Jackie Partaker, Friendship Garden, Winnipeg MB

"I'm a part-time SPIN'r with about 2,000 sq. ft. of garden. I also operate a PostNet printing franchise, so I do only a Saturday morning market but am there every week. This year, I introduced micro-greens and garlic to the standard SPIN leafy greens line up. So far, green garlic has been my big seller. I offer a little over 4oz. for $3 or two for $5 and typically sell about 25 bunches/week. My next most popular items have been arugula and various micro-greens/shoots. I always sell out of arugula and last week I sold out of all three micro's that I had - sunflower shoots, pea shoots and daikon radish sprouts. I've been doing the shoots and sprouts in 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 oz bags for $3 or two for $5. Spinach demand hasn't been as good - don't know why. French breakfast radish sales have been good $30-$40 per week as has the spicy mesclun mix. I have been using extra micro's and salad mix to create my own unique mix - great way to use up extras and generates $30+ per week. I planted rainbow chard and tatsoi for the first time yesterday and am excited to see how those do this summer. Scallions are ready now, I will be offering more of everything above plus garlic scapes in a couple weeks followed by softneck garlic then finish up the summer with two varieties of gourmet garlic. Total sales year to date are just over $1,200 - not bad for a part-timer that was mowing those 2,000 sq. ft. just a year ago."

-John Yovetich, John's Backyard Garden, Missoula, MT

"I have a small working homestead that helps support my husband and myself, but I want to grow into a micro-farm business to provide healthy food and education to my community. The model you have provided is just what I am looking for. I have educated myself with many of the informative books that are available, but none actually provided a model on how to pull it all together."

-Patricia Coffey, Vincennes, IN

Every SPIN farmer has a story, and these are just a few from the hundreds who generously share their advice and inspiration in SPIN's free online email support group. Once you start implementing SPIN, you're welcome to join them!