About the Farm

I want to mention and thank Arnold Raymond "Nap" Napoleon for starting this farm with me in 2012. I am also forever grateful to his wife Hetty for her support.

The Farmer
Green Dog Farm is owned by Karl Talbot and his wife Dana. Prior to moving to Fort Collins Karl was teaching Special Education and Dana was working in high end fashion in Minneapolis.

Looking for a change of pace and the meaning of life, they moved to Fort Collins to start a family. Dana pursued her love of massage, yoga, and Thai massage and opened Be Here Now Massage and Yoga studio.

Karl pursued his interest in agriculture and the CSA model by working for local nurseries, farms, and CSAs to learn more about the local movement and growing practices. In 2012 Karl decided to start Green Dog Farm CSA.

The Farm

We practice sustainable farming methods including crop rotation, companion planting, and on site compost and manure management. Our produce is organically grown and pesticide free. We have never used permethrin products that would kill our bees. We limit the amount of packaging we use by having the members pick up at the farm, straight from the cooler! We also use only reusable woven ground cover rather than black plastic that is thrown away each year. Our lean-to greenhouse has an earth battery using the earth beneath as a sort of "thermal battery" storing excess heat. This allows us to grow 12 months of the year and start our spring crop without additional heat. The electricity we do use is offset by solar panels.

In 2018 the farm acquired more land in Laporte with 4 mature apple trees and a field with ditch rights for water. We also added low-line Aberdeen/Angus beef cattle to the front pasture of the farm, just blocks from city park. The cattle are free range on untreated grass pasture. During the winter they have access to a barn and fed additional grass hay from our field and daily pumpkins.

Green Dog Farm has been in operation for over 8 years, sold at the Larimer County Farmer's Market for 2 years and ran a self serve farm stand that ran on the honor system in 2015 and again in 2017. The farm now supports over 40 families and has provided local produce to Beaver's Market, Ft. Collins Food Coop, Uncles's Pizza, Enzio's Italian Eatery, Surf Side 7, Tasty Harmony, Restaurant 415 and multiple weddings and events.