From Jordan Marr – Unearthed Organics

What went well at Unearthed Organics this year was some support from a colleague that led to the best crop of dry beans I’ve managed so far.

In my transition to small-scale organic dry bean production from organic mixed-veggies, my efforts to learn how to control weeds with mechanical cultivation have been adventurous. 2024 was no highlight; despite many hours in my field on my walk-behind cultivation tractor, my field was tangled mess by harvest time. Over the winter I reached out for advice to my friend Andrew Budgell at Laughing Crow Organics, who speculated that a tine weeder would make a big difference for my bush bean weed management. His help didn’t stop there; Budgie (nobody calls him Andrew!) lent me a tine weeder setup he had lying around so that I could try before buying. He even convinced his colleague Ryan at Thiessen Tillage to send me a couple extra parts that the setup was missing.

The tine weeder made a world of difference, and by the 2025 harvest my acre of beans was as close to spotless as this slipshod farmer is ever going to realize. Farmer-to-farmer empowerment for the win! Thanks Budgie.

Jordan Marr