Learn more about Bootstrap Farmer and check out their products, HERE!
At Bootstrap Farmer, we want to help you get your small farm, garden or business off the ground. Whether that’s through our equipment line, fertility management services or our blog resources, we are here to help make your project a success.
HOW IT STARTED…Bootstrap Farmer sprung out of my Farm-to-Table Food Truck Model, Veg2Bowl, in Eastern North Carolina. I was growing vegetables & herbs in high tunnel greenhouses which would go right onto the mobile kitchen. Since it’s a certified commercial kitchen, I am able to harvest, prepare and serve it in meals to customers all on the same day with little to no waste.
Some of the foods that I most frequently grow are lettuce, kale, chard, microgreens, tomatoes, peppers, and onions. And of course, a few chickens for pasture raised eggs. I was doing a local & fresh version of Blue Apron, except everything was already prepared ready to eat or ready to be heated, along with private events & festivals.
For better or worse, while I was building the farm for Veg2Bowl, I was noticing tons of things on my little farm that I wish were better or more efficient. After months of research, I had figured out the most efficient way to build a high tunnel greenhouse, because knowing I had to build it myself with savings from living with mom & dad, I was not going to waste a dime. Then while running the farm, I had the tiny idea of making seed trays so durable, I’d stop breaking them myself.
Maybe it was because I had already quit my previous job and left everything behind, I was feeling adventurous? I still don’t know, but, what I did know is that I could provide value to people. From there, there was no turning back. The idea to create an ultra durable seed tray & a better high-tunnel greenhouse kit was the germination of Bootstrap Farmer, which has now grown into something I could have never imagined.
THE EVOLUTION…However… that came at a cost. I was struggling trying to run 2 completely new businesses. I was running a food truck, greenhouses and building an e-commerce business – all from scratch & all by myself (did I mention I also had no previous experience in any of it?) Somehow, by some miracle, both businesses were off to a great start, but it was becoming clear, in order to build either one of them into a long-term business, something had to change.
Check out the rest of their products, HERE!