Project Description
We started working with LarryVille Gardens about 8 years ago. Larryville is owned and operated by Michelle Cannon, a market farmer who grows vegetables for sale at her onsite store The Source , as well as at farmer’s markets in the area. One thing that distinguishes LarryVille is that all their crops are Certified Naturally Grown, which means they don’t use any synthetic herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, or genetically modified organisms.
We met Michelle at a farmer’s market. It was during this first encounter that we discussed our work as custom formulators of soil & plant health products. Michelle told us that she had difficulty getting organic liquid inputs that worked consistently. This was the basis from which we started to work together. Here’s what she had to say about how GreenQuest’s products and approach support her mission:
“Mike and GreenQuest have been a big part of my journey to healthy soil! My farm’s soil was a severely neglected hilltop and side that had been farmed conventionally forever. It was my goal to regenerate it and return it to as close as its created health as possible. At this point, I am getting closer every year to my goals, and the food I grow tastes better, grows better and stores better with each season! I also grow in high tunnels year-round, having them in continual production for 12 years now. They are seriously wonderful soils!”
“I have learned that soil needs to be approached from many angles to achieve a visible, definable increase in quality. Soil actually wants to improve, but environmental, weather and historical soil use patterns mean that it’s not once, but continual improvement that’s necessary. I began to see plant health improve after the first use of Mike’s system. It gives my plants a boosted start and improves them considerably after each application. It is formulated to fill a couple of hard to improve elements and micronutrients. I use at transplant time, at the beginning of fungal and insect problems, both in soil as transplanting as a drench and as a foliar. I also use it to keep transplants healthy if they need to wait to be planted out. It gives plants a healthy boost to withstand the conditions they are faced with.”
A central aspect of our formulation work for LarryVille and others, is that we use the same liquid inputs we make to grow our own vegetables. We are our own first customer. This onsite ground truthing allows us to get direct feedback from our own vegetables. Our formulations are wrapped in our direct experience.
Soil Soft Trio is the current outcome from many seasons of trial & error by ourselves and our local growing network, including LarryVille Gardens. Soil Soft Trio is a water conservation product approach for Horticulture and Agriculture, consisting of separate A, B and C formulations. When used in combination, they assist in improving the moisture status of soil. This trilogy reflects the opportunity to optimize the pairing of ingredients and chemistries.
Soil Soft Trio is formulated with well documented phytogenic and biogenic ingredients that can function as humectants or surfactants. Mother Nature provides a wide range of ingredients to choose from.
Soil Soft Trio is a living formulation, thus there will be ongoing work to improve these formulations. Like Mother Nature, we are life-long learners and always evolving. Let’s see what we learn this growing season!
Working with LarryVille Gardens provides opportunities to innovate and create. We very much appreciate this working relationship.
Since our first meeting with Michelle, we have used GreenQuest’s “3-E Approach” to formulate different organic liquid inputs that were Effective, Economical, and Executable. The recipes we crafted have evolved over time based on feedback we received from Michelle.
Effective was defined by Michelle. We can produce an effective input, but in this case, only Michelle can define it. For Michelle healthy soil is her mission. Healthy soil feels vital, retains moisture and promotes an environment for healthy vegetable growth.
Economical was defined by Michelle. She provided us a budget of what she wanted to spend on organic liquid inputs. With this fiscal information in hand, we continued to fine tune our ingredient choices to meet price targets. One ingredient pairing that we have embraced fully over time is a wood ash/char combo. Michelle heats her greenhouses in the winter with wood. Thus, at the end of winter, Michelle is able to provide us with all of the wood ash/char material she produced. We take this wood ash/char material and craft it into a liquid product that she uses to grow her vegetables. This example of the circular economy directly and positively effects Michelle cost of production.
Executable was defined by Michelle. Part of our initial learning process was to see what type of equipment she uses to apply liquid inputs. Once we knew how and when she applied liquid inputs, we developed formulas that were convenient to execute. We did this by customizing the dilution factor on liquid inputs so that they were easy to use given the specific tank size and frequency of application. Growers should never have to do crazy dilution math!