How to Recover When a Bad Season Nearly Ends Your Market Garden
By Jonathan Dysinger and John Dysinger
Updated on
Show Transcript
0:00Hi guys, Jonathan here with Farmers Friend and I'm at Bountiful Blessings Farm with my dad John and we're reviewing a response that we got from
0:07one of our customers regarding a question that we posed which was how are you feeling about the upcoming growing
0:14season. So Lance reached out to us and he said, "We are working to recover from what was almost a career-ending season
0:21last year. We had major temperature swings and crazy weather in general. It all but wrecked the second half of the season. We were in complete recovery
0:30mode following that. We disappointed a lot of CSA members, restaurants, and wholesale clients. We're currently taking action now to mitigate that risk
0:39somewhat this growing season. Thanks for all you do and the wonderful products you provide. So, Dad, you know, you you've been farming for a long time. So,
0:48I'm sure you've felt these these same feelings in previous years. So, what what advice would you have for Lance as he's gearing up for this season?
0:58Yeah. Well, we can I can feel your pain,
1:00Lance. We've certainly been there on more than one occasion.
1:06Uh, you know, to me, the the good part of this this comment is that he says,
1:13"We disappointed a lot of CSA members, restaurants, and wholesale clients." So,
1:19to me, that tells me you've got a lot of loyal customers. Which I think is wonderful. I just want to make sure
1:26you're viewing that as the asset that it is. Your customers, loyal customers are
1:31your best asset. And um more than once our customers kind of rescued us from a
1:39bad situation. We had a particularly bad year 2003 when we lost our whole
1:46strawberry crop pretty much because of it rained for weeks. And since at that point we were
1:56just a strawberry farm, that was a pretty devastating loss. Uh so your customers are there for you if you're
2:04there for them. You know, it's not a card you want to pull too often because they might get tired of that if they
2:11hear it too often. But if you've built a loyal customer base, they will they will be there for you when
2:20you're in trouble. So, that's the first thing I would say. Um, other than that, it
2:27sounds like you're working on this, but weatherproofing your farm as much as possible. And obviously we know we can't do that totally.
2:37Um nature and weather is bigger and more powerful than anything we can do. But
2:44tunnels, you know, we we keep putting up more tunnels on our farm because it's a way to weatherproof. Obviously hail and tornadoes will do a number on tunnels,
2:57but um keeps the rain off. could put a shade cloth over it to kind of keep temperatures down. So, anything you can
3:06do, the other thing that I feel like is important for weather proofing is irrigation. You know, making sure you're
3:14getting all the water that those plants need. And I feel like those are the two biggest things for
3:23um tempering the weather. You're not gonna change it totally, but you can
3:29temper it. Yeah. I mean, the other thing w uh trying to control the the elements
3:36or at least be be able to kind of control your growing environment to a certain extent could be using silage tarps even just to cover a a field plot.
3:46Like say you're preparing for a planting or something and you got a bunch of rain coming, you can just cover it and then that keeps the water off of it and you
3:54can pull it back and Yeah. and still be able to plant you without just being in mud or whatever. So I know you've done stuff like that. I I remember talking to
4:02a farmer up in the the Northwest where they get a lot of winter rains and um that's what they would do for their
4:10early spring plots is just keep them covered and when they were ready to plant they'd pull it off. Yeah. Yeah.
4:18So, well, there's one thing for sure and that is growing market farming is not for the faint of heart. And anybody
4:27who's been doing it for long enough knows that you have to pick yourself up,
4:31you know, by your bootstraps and keep going. And so I'm confident, Lance, that you'll figure it out. And, you know,
4:39look to your customers for support and uh we're here to help in any way we can.
4:44So reach out to Farmers Friend customer support. We'll help with any of our products uh and and help answer any questions that we can. Anybody else
4:52watching this, if you have questions that you would like us to review in a conversation like this, click that link down below and submit your question and maybe we'll review it in a future video.
5:02Until next time, happy growing.
A devastating season doesn't have to be a career-ending one. Your loyal customers are your most valuable asset — they'll support you through a bad year if you've been there for them in good ones. To prevent it from happening again, weatherproof your farm with tunnels, stay on top of irrigation, and use silage tarps to keep field plots plantable through heavy rain. You can't control the weather, but you can temper its impact.
A customer named Lance recently shared something that hit close to home: "We are working to recover from what was almost a career-ending season last year. We had major temperature swings and crazy weather in general. It all but wrecked the second half of the season. We disappointed a lot of CSA members, restaurants, and wholesale clients."
If you've been market farming long enough, you've been where Lance is right now. The specifics are different every time — it might be weeks of rain, a late frost, a hailstorm, or temperature swings that wreck your crops — but the feeling is the same. You've let your customers down, your income is gone, and you're questioning whether this is sustainable.
My dad, John Dysinger, has been farming at Bountiful Blessings Farm for 27 years. He's been in Lance's shoes more than once. Here's what he'd say.
Your Customers Are Your Greatest Asset
The first thing my dad noticed in Lance's message wasn't the weather damage — it was the list of people Lance felt he had let down. CSA members, restaurants, wholesale clients. That's a lot of loyal customers.
And that loyalty is an asset. A huge one. More than once, Bountiful Blessings Farm's customers have rescued the operation from a bad situation.
In 2003, weeks of rain wiped out nearly the entire strawberry crop. At that point, the farm was still primarily a strawberry operation, so losing the crop was a devastating financial blow. But their customers showed up for them. Loyal customers who had been buying from the farm for years understood what had happened and stuck around.
My dad's advice: view your customer base as the asset it is. If you've been there for your customers in good times — providing quality product, building real relationships, showing up consistently — they will be there for you when things go wrong. It's not a card you want to play often, because people will get tired of hearing it if it happens every year. But in a genuine crisis, your community will support you if you've earned that trust.
Be honest with your customers about what happened. Don't hide from it. Most people understand that farming is at the mercy of weather, and they'll respect you for being transparent rather than just quietly disappearing.
How Do You Weatherproof Your Farm?
You can't control the weather. Nature is bigger and more powerful than anything we can build. But you can temper its impact — and that's where your recovery investment should go.
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Put Up More Tunnels
This is the single biggest thing you can do to protect your farm from weather extremes. Tunnels keep rain off your crops, moderate temperature swings, and give you a controlled environment to fall back on when outdoor plantings fail.
At Bountiful Blessings Farm, my dad keeps putting up new tunnels every year — and it's specifically because of experiences like Lance's. This spring, without the tunnel coverage they have, the farm would have been in serious trouble from weeks of relentless rain. The tunnels were the difference between a productive season and a lost one.
Hail and tornadoes can still damage tunnels, and nothing is completely weather-proof. But for the vast majority of weather events — heavy rain, temperature swings, late frosts, early freezes — a caterpillar tunnel or high tunnel gives your crops a fighting chance when outdoor plantings don't survive.
If Lance doesn't already have tunnel coverage, this is the highest-impact investment he can make to prevent another devastating season.
Stay on Top of Irrigation
When weather swings bring heat and drought between the rain events, consistent irrigation is what keeps your plants alive through the stress. Plants that go into a weather event already water-stressed are far more vulnerable than well-hydrated ones.
Make sure every growing area on your farm can be irrigated by turning a valve — not by dragging hoses. Permanent irrigation infrastructure is the kind of investment that pays off most dramatically in the worst seasons, when you need to respond quickly to changing conditions.
Use Silage Tarps to Protect Field Plots
Here's a practical tip that a lot of growers overlook: if you have a planting coming up and heavy rain is in the forecast, cover your prepared beds with a silage tarp before the rain hits. When the storm passes, you pull the tarp and your beds are still dry and plantable — not waterlogged mud.
My dad knows a farmer in the Pacific Northwest who does exactly this for early spring plantings. The winter rains there are relentless, so keeping prepared beds covered until planting day is the only way to stay on schedule. It's a simple technique that can save an entire planting from being delayed by weeks of wet weather.
You can also use shade cloth over tunnels to moderate temperature spikes during heat waves, keeping the growing environment closer to the range your crops need.
How Do You Mentally Recover from a Bad Season?
This part doesn't get talked about enough. A catastrophic season isn't just a financial hit — it's emotionally exhausting. You put months of work into crops that are gone. You feel like you've failed your customers. You wonder if this is worth continuing.
My dad's perspective is simple and honest: market farming is not for the faint of heart. Anyone who's been doing it long enough has had to pick themselves up by their bootstraps and keep going. That's not a weakness — it's the reality of an occupation that depends on forces beyond your control.
The farmers who survive long-term aren't the ones who never have bad seasons. They're the ones who recover, learn from what happened, and invest in systems that reduce the odds of it happening again. Every tunnel you build, every irrigation line you install, every tarp you put over a bed before a storm — it's all insurance against the next bad year.
And remember: you already have the hardest thing to rebuild. Your customers know you, trust you, and want you to succeed. That foundation took years to build and one bad season doesn't erase it.
The Takeaway
A devastating season is painful, but it's not permanent — as long as you use it as motivation to weatherproof your operation for next time.
Invest in covered growing space. Get your irrigation dialed in. Use tarps to keep beds plantable through storms. And lean on your customer relationships — they're stronger than you think.
Every successful market farmer has a story about the season that almost broke them. The ones still farming are the ones who got back up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Start by being honest with your customers — loyal customers will support you through a rough year if you've built genuine relationships. Then invest in weatherproofing: tunnels for rain and temperature protection, permanent irrigation for drought resilience, and silage tarps to keep beds plantable through storms. Focus your next season on the most reliable, high-demand crops to rebuild revenue and confidence.
The biggest impact comes from covered growing space — caterpillar tunnels or high tunnels that protect crops from rain, temperature swings, and frost. Permanent irrigation infrastructure ensures plants stay hydrated through heat events. Silage tarps can cover prepared beds before storms to keep them dry and plantable.
Yes. Transparency builds trust. Most customers understand that farming depends on weather, and they'll respect honesty more than silence. Explain what happened, what you're doing to prevent it next time, and how you plan to make it right. Just don't rely on this card too often — customers are understanding, but repeated failures without visible improvement will erode trust.
As many as you can afford without sacrificing quality. Bountiful Blessings Farm adds new tunnels nearly every year because each one provides additional insurance against weather events. Even a single tunnel dramatically changes what you can produce through adverse conditions. Start with what you can afford and expand as revenue allows.
Yes. Covering prepared field beds with a silage tarp before a rain event keeps the soil dry and plantable. When the rain passes, you pull the tarp and plant on schedule instead of waiting days or weeks for waterlogged soil to dry out. This is especially valuable in regions with unpredictable spring weather.
Unfortunately, yes. Nearly every long-term market farmer has experienced at least one season of devastating weather, pest pressure, or market failure. The farmers who succeed long-term are the ones who recover, invest in better systems, and lean on their customer relationships. A bad season is painful but not permanent.
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