Simple Revelations
An old lesson in refining
Earlier this season I was gifted a small potato digger which I graciously accepted. It just needs a little work, I was told, to be operational. I quickly dug some old potatoes out of a friend’s cooler, planted them, and started looking forward to a full mechanized storage crop we could grow.
That digger has been sitting, untouched, since I dropped it. It probably won’t receive that tlc it needs because I have come to realize, maybe we don’t need to grow potatoes.
We hear it all the time, diversify. This term and mind state is especially prevalent in a new wave of young growers, often first-generation farmers, who are beginning enterprises on small, direct to consumer, scales. In my starting years as a farmer, diversity was an important beacon leading my decision making.
In starting the process of growing vegetables diversity can be very helpful. Crops always fail and by hedging our bets we can reduce chances of catastrophic failure. The lettuce bolted from not being watered enough, but the pigs can eat the spent crop, fattening them for harvest. As I have developed into a professional grower I am finding diversity through different means.
Market gardening is inherently more diverse than a conventional commodity farm. Providing food directly to the public has small growers incentived to offer a range of products. This keeps our customers engaged and interested. However, as you get better at growing some crops will start to stand out. Vegetables that seem to be easier for you to grow whether through personal practices or the land available. Overlap the crops with low personal fail rates, profitability, and ease of sale and you are on a good path.
When I first started farming, I would boast about the plethora of crops we were growing. “Over 50 species!” I would proudly exclaim. Now, I would love for that number to be below 5.
Specialization gets a bad rap. We are fed information that being specialized makes you vulnerable to failure. Lose a crop and you do not have something to fall back on, the rhetoric goes. Our farm is starting to find success through specializing.
Instead of growing everything under the sun I have found the crops that I seem to have a natural knack for, that are easy to sell, and profitable. By focusing on those crops and making a choice to win is the path I am steering towards.
It makes sense on an infrastructure level. If you only grow a few things there are large investments that can be leveraged to amplify the efficiency of production. A few expensive tools that would help boost production or processing can make a huge difference in overall output. Since the farm is becoming more specialized these tools can be used frequently enough to justify the purchase.
Back to vulnerability, how do you build resilience to minimize losses in an unforgiving business? One way I have found is through succession planting. Instead of planting a crop once or twice, we are now planting crops 4 or 5 times in smaller plantings spaced out across the season. An aphid infestation in an early crop causes a loss, but the next round is clean and ready for harvest soon. Multiple plantings allow growers more chances to learn, and thus more chances at success.
But if you are growing a bunch of the same crops, how do you avoid problems of loss of soil fertility, pest infestations, or other production issues? This is where cover crops come into play. Cheap to grow and diverse in nature I think cover crops offer the opportunity to build soil and break-up pest populations. Since the crop doesn’t need to be marketable there is no pressure for perfection. Alternating where cover crops are grown keeps soil vigorous and able to produce beautiful cash crops. These crops can also serve to feed pollinators, break up tough soil, and even provide income (daikon radishes and purple top turnips are delicious and commonly available cover crops).
So, for now, that potato will continue to sit. Let the pros grow the potatoes while we focus on what we do best.
As we look forward to late summer, fall, winter, and even next season I am implementing these plans. Simplicity is key and complicated facets of business are the first to get cut from the production plan. Keep growing Folks.
Farm News
We are excited to announce the opening of our Expanded Winter CSA! The CSA will run from November-March offering prepacked veggie boxes complete with a wide range of delicious winter produce. This is made possible by the a new EQIP funded high tunnel that will help us offer fresh, unheated, greens throughout the cold season.
We are participating in a Farm Tour Event in partnership with the Colorado Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and Larimer County Extension. More info can be found below.
Farm Stand Hours: 10-6pm Wed-Friday, 10-4pm Saturday and Sunday
Hopefully stocked this week:
Colorado Fruit: Donut Peaches, Organic Peaches, Plums, Rocky Ford Cantaloupe and Watermelon
Greens: Hearts and Souls Salad Mix, gem lettuce heads, summer head lettuce, chard, kale, arugula
Roots: Grilling onions, beets, carrots, turnips and garlic
Veggies: Cherry Tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, summer squash, cucumbers, shishito peppers, eggplant, sweet corn
Herbs: Oregano, mint, thyme, sage, parsley, basil
Perennials: Gallons are now $10 each. We currently have columbine, foxglove, sedum, elderberry, elecampane, daisy, goldenrod, gaillardia, lavender, mint, thyme, sage, mountain mint, lemon balm, and echinacea. We also have 4.5” perennials for $5 each! Now is truly the perfect time to plant.
Lehi Ranch, High Point Bison, KREAM Kimchi, Jodar Farms Eggs, Rey Atelier Home Goods, Bread Chic Sourdough, Fox Den Coffee, Owl Tree Farm Worm Compost, Bee Squared Apiaries Honey, Abuelita’s Hot Sauce, Christie Leighton Jewelry, Life’s A Buch Kombucha