GFF 2020 Crops Revealed (First Draft)

The surveys are in and we have had additional time to research other outlets for product and lay out or initial farm plans for 2020.  There is still much more for us to figure out and plenty to share as we set up our 2020 growing season.  This post will focus on two things.

We Will Grow Food For You in 2020
We intend to raise veggies, poultry and some flowers in 2020.  Our products will be made available to you using pre-purchased credits.  Consider it a flexible CSA share that easily works around your travel schedule and allows you to spend your money on any of our products in whatever volume suits you.  We will flesh this out in future posts.

We can't quit - when would we get photo-ops like this one?

Our First Draft of Our 2020 Grow List
We have our first draft of the crops we intend to grow in 2020 and here they are!

Tier One - Yes, we're growing these!
When we put our survey out, we had already selected crops that we felt would be a sound basis for the 2020 season.  We selected these for several reasons.  In general, these are crops that typically either grow very well on our farm, are easy for us to sell and/or are crops we really enjoy raising.  In other words, if our situation forced us to grow only these vegetables, we think we could do fine.

********************IN**********************
asparagus, green beans, broccoli, carrot, cauliflower, garlic, lettuce, onion, bell pepper, sweet pepper, curly kale, tomato, snack tomato, cherry tomato, butternut squash, tan acorn squash, zucchini, potato (red and blue flesh)

Also, not on the list, but going to happen at some level in 2020 - poultry (eggs and meat).  And, we do have various fruit (mulberry, black raspberry, raspberry, wild plum, apple) that depend entirely on the year and our inclination to harvest and offer.  These are perennial plants already on the farm, so they are harvested as opportunity allows.
********************IN**********************


We can talk about these more in a later post, but suffice it to say, this list has not changed, though the amounts of each are yet to be determined.  We do intend to grow a sizable amount of onions, lettuce, squash and tomatoes.  There will be varying amounts of the others.  Our broccoli and cauliflower, while they grow very well for us, will be cut down to about 40% of last year's plans to line up with the demand levels we are experiencing.  But, it seems wrong to give up on a crop that likes our farm and soil as much as they do.

Tier Two - We'll grow some of these.
Before I go too far here, we would like to remind all of you, but especially those of you who participated in the survey, that this is NOT a democracy.  It was a chance for you to convince us to change our minds and some of your voting did, in fact, influence us.  But, even if there was relatively strong voting for a particular crop, we may not have found it to be convincing enough to keep it on the grow list.  We are, of course, sorry if you are unhappy with these choices.  I suppose I could tell you we are growing them and then just inform you there was a crop failure later?  No?  Ok, let's take the high road here and unveil those that made the cut and those that did not.

1. We're good at these AND people want them

********************IN**********************

• Spinach selected by 75% respondents
• Snow Pea 56%
• Cucumber 56%
• Beets 52%

Spinach and peas were in question because they can be labor intensive with the harvest.  But, we are pretty good at growing these AND people seem to select them when we have them.  By reducing some of the other crops from our grow list, we should be able to absorb the additional labor to do these well.  Snap peas were separate from snow peas and received a slightly lower vote count.  We have space in our growing plan for one - snow peas it is.

Cucumbers are a special case.  They usually grow very well for us.  The problem has been finding homes for all of the cucumbers AND keeping them picked is also labor intensive.  Frost rarely kills these plants - it's the fact that we can't keep them picked, so they terminate with fruit that has gone to seed before the frost has a chance.  We also received feedback that we might be able to have a bit more of an outlet for our cucumbers beyond CSA members, that helps it get to the grow list.

Beets?  Well, there were some who wanted gold, some who wanted striped and some who wanted red.  We'll grow some beets because they help balance out our crop rotation and they can be stored.  A crop that stores allows us to take a lower demand and spread it out over time.  They are easier to clean than many root crops as well, so it suits our needs.

2. Never Mind

********************OUT**********************

• Buttercup squash 20%
• Tatsoi .04%
• Romanesco 12%
• Lima Beans .08%
• White flesh potatoes  28%

Rob loves limas, but if we're growing them, they belong to him and only him!  Bwa ha haaaaa!  We also love our buttercup squash, but they fail nearly every season.  There isn't enough interest to fight the battle, so we'll take the frustration off of our grow list.  Tatsoi grows just fine - but if no one wants it - and we do not need it to fill a share - then it is off the list.  Romanesco can be a bit testy some years and the seed costs more than most, so we're not crying here either.

The white fleshed potatoes have not been as happy with us since Rio Grande disappeared and became unavailable.  Again, we gain something by removing an item with insufficient support to encourage us to take on the struggle.  Maybe sometime in the future they could return.


3. We'll have that because there are other reasons to grow it

********************IN********************** 

• Basil 40%
• Herbs 24%

We love having basil as a companion crop and for pollinator attraction on our farm.  We'll be planting basil and it isn't so hard to pick a few stems when people want them.  If no one asks for them, we still grow them because they smell great!

The herbs fall into the same boat and many of them are perennial plants that are already established.  We'll have them.  What we should do, it seems, is offer them to people a bit more often.  Maybe it will work better to offer them and the people who love them can get all they want through the new program.  It's a different ballgame than when we felt we had to have a bundle for every share (not knowing who really wanted them and who knew what to do with them).  

4. We want to grow a few and if there are extra, you can have some

*****IN - ish, OUT - ish***** 

• Watermelon 12%
• Pie Pumpkin 16%
• Papricka pepper 16%
• Romano Beans 20%
• Roma tomatoes 32%
• Hot peppers 16%

These are probably mostly *OUT* for all intents and purposes.  If we have space and inclination, we'll plant some.  If time is short and something has to go, these will go or we will only plant enough plants to satisfy our own needs.  Most likely to survive in that instance are the Romano beans and the Papricka peppers. 

5. Reduced Availability

*************IN (reduced availability)************ 

• Eggplant 24%
• Yellow flesh potatoes 40%
• Melon 44%
• Napa Cabbage 42%
• Summer squash 24%
• Komatsuna 16%

The Minnesota Midget melons from the high tunnel are consistently good producers and they rarely go begging for attention, but the days of growing an additional 800=1600 row feet of melons are over.  We'll grow a few of our favorite field varieties in the field and share as they are available.  Summer squash have some other demand other than individuals in the CSA, but we don't see a reason to be pushing quite so many of them at people.   Komatsuna stays because it provides an opportunity for something green when there is very little else, but we won't push its season outside of that window as we have in the past.

Eggplant are an odd case.  Those who love them want a nice batch of them on a semi-regular basis.  It's not so hard to put 30 plants in the ground to cover that demand.  We also have heard that the longer "pintung' style eggplants are favored, so we will drop the larger Italian style purple eggplant from the grow list and stick with the variety people have said they prefer.

Then, there are the Napa cabbages (Chinese cabbage/Korean cabbage, etc).  They grow fairly well for us and they store for a long time in the cooler.  When you consider there is a devoted group of people who want Napas, you have to consider keeping them in.  In fact, this might be one crop that will increase over the past year's production numbers, but they are unlikely to reach the heights of three to four years ago.

Tier Three - Chopping Block List
We presented this list as those items we were inclined to drop unless we were swayed otherwise.  Items appeared here for various reasons including the possibility that our farm is not all that good at growing them.  Another option is that we felt as if the labor demanded for the crop in question was more than we could expend unless demand were much higher.

1. Okay, okay... we'll THINK about it.. Maybe someday, but not today 

********************OUT********************** 

• Brussels sprouts 28%
• Delicata squash 24%

We weren't overwhelmed by the responses here, so we aren't growing them next season.  For our production system, Brussels are a bit of a pain.  Not only that, when we did grow them, we were left with an awful lot that did not go to homes.  We can't eat that much Brussels sprouts.  Delicatas seem like we could grow them, except they just don't produce well enough for the space they take.  If the response were higher, we would investigate a way to improve production by trialing cultivars to see which ones like us the most.  But, it wasn't.  So, we won't!

2. Done thinking... just no

***********OUT, OUT, OUT, OUT************ 

•  Bunching onions, arugula, leeks, dinosaur kale, rutabega, spaghetti squash, okra, flat-leaf kale, pok choi, radish, turnip, mustard greens, parsnip, collard, daikon

None of these even came close enough to make us consider changing our minds.  Our apologies to those who did select them.  But, here is the interesting thing - EVERY veggie listed got at LEAST one vote.  The other interesting thing?  We HAVE grown every item on this list at some point during our career.  Some, like parsnips and rutabega, have been off for a while with no complaints that we know of.  Parsnips are hard to grow on our farm and rutabegas were hard to find homes for.  Each of the other items have been grown as recently as 2018/2019.  Some, like the radish and arugula, take more labor than we can afford to spend on them for the limited reward they might bring.  Others, like pok choi, bunching onions, flat-leaf kale, turnips and mustard greens, are useful for making sure we can provide CSA shares with enough quality items for the entire season.  We know they are not people's absolute favorite, but they gave us all something fresh during times of the year when other items just weren't available.  Leeks take forever to clean for sale/distribution.  Okra have given a rash to other harvesters other than Rob and Rob has too much else to harvest that is more popular.  Etc. etc.

In short, they all have good reasons for being off the grow-list.  

3. They might appear by accident

*************OUT, unless they aren't************ 

• cilantro
• parsley
• rhubarb
• swiss chard
• dry bean
• watermelon radish 
• turnip

Mostly out means they're still somewhat in.

It is possible that we will grow some cilantro or parsley as companion and habitat plants and they could show up as an offered 'herb' in the future.   We also use dry beans as a companion or to fix some nitrogen in the soil.  That will be the focus of those plants and any available dry beans will be a side effect of that.

We do have rhubarb plants, but they do not particularly love our soil.  If they recover this Spring and do well, we'll offer rhubarb.  If they die or do poorly?  Oh well.  They will then be entirely out.

We know we said "no" to turnips, but we have a BUNCH of seed.  Maybe we'll plant them out for a Fall batch.  If we do, we'll offer them.  They could be incorporated into a cover crop mix in the Fall where the main purpose is to cover the soil and prevent erosion.  The same might be said for the watermelon radish and Tammy likes to eat one or two of them in the Fall.  Once that seed is gone, we likely won't spend money for more.

We both prefer swiss chard to kale and we'll probably put a couple plants into a high tunnel for the late Fall.  If they exceed expectations, we can offer some.

4. The "Surprise!" group

***************IN - limited************** 

• Cabbage 20%
• Kohlrabi 16%

Both are not hard for us to grow.  Both store well.  Both can handle cooler weather.  Now, don't expect us to grow as much of these as we have in the past, but I expect we'll meet the anticipated demand we will have for them without an issue.

Veg Variety Winners 2019

Every year we attempt to identify the top varieties that were grown on the farm during the year.  Criteria include production, quality of fruit, taste and plant health.  Additional factors that may increase the rating for a variety might be performance as compared other varieties of the same type or one that surprised us by doing far better than anticipated.  You might also note that we will give a tie break to a variety that has not been awarded a top slot over one that has.

For those who want to see what has gone before:

• 2018 Winners
• 2017 Winners
• 2016 Winners
• 2015 Winners
• 2014 Winners
• 2013 Winners
• 2012 Winners
• 2011 Winners
• 2010 Winners
• A review of 2007-2009

About 2019's Growing Season
As part of my pre-writing work for this yearly post, I review the prior year's entry to balance my response to the current year.  The summary for 2018 was among our most difficult that we've experienced at the Genuine Faux Farm.  Unfortunatley, 2019 was more difficult for us than 2018.  We saw it coming.  Record moisture starting in the Fall and continuing into the Winter and Spring resulted in planting dates four to five weeks behind schedule.  The saturated soil prevented plants from getting the nutrients they needed and kept them from putting down much more than surface roots.  The weather encouraged more herbicide use over a longer period of time than normal in the region.  Then, things got wet all over again this September and October.  It hasn't been fun.

And yet - here I am with a list of veggie varieties.  Why?  Because we still have our successes every year - believe it or not.  It gives me hope that perhaps we aren't bad farmers and perhaps there is still hope for things to come back around.

The list this year may have even more significance for the future as we look to reduce the number of varieties and crops we grow in 2020.  It makes no sense to continue as we have, so we'll be making changes.  Stay tuned for more on the future in this blog.

15.  Tasty Evergreen Tomato
    
I thought I would start this year's list out with a bit of a surprise.  We have had Tasty Evergreen tomatoes on our grow list since about 2008, but we limited the number of plants every season because it is extremely difficult to get nice tomatoes, like the ones you see below, without splitting or other issues.  On the other hand, Tasty Evergreen is one of the best tomatoes if you like a compliment to the taste of real mayo on your sandwiches.  Fruit size starts at medium slicer range and can get as large as 0.8 pound.   The center is, in fact, green when the tomato is ripe and the skin starts to yellow, as you can see below.  The trick is to learn how a ripe tomato FEELS and then you can figure out when to harvest this one.

Tasty Evergreen is quite picky, but we finally found a balance in our high tunnels this year.  We only grew our typical four plants, but we had fantastic production and great taste this year.  Since we actually had a successful season with this tomato, we thought we would honor it with a listing.

14. Scarlet Kale

Scarlet (left) and Vates (right)

We've given kudos to our green curly kale varieties in the past (Dwarf Blue Scotch, Vates and Westlander) and they did fine for us again this season.  But, this year it is time to give one of our red varieties some love.  Scarlet has done well for three years in a row at the Genuine Faux Farm and we intend to continue growing it - even if we are looking at other varieties of red curly kale.

Usually, we don't start with the negatives of a veg variety winner, but that's what we're going to do with this one.  Scarlet plants tend to get fairly tall, but their stems often do not bulk up sufficiently to keep the plants upright late in the season.  There is also a fairly wide variety of characteristics in the strain we grow, so it is not uncommon to get an off-plant or three.  Also, Scarlet really does prefer extra fertility and will under-perform if you don't do some things to keep it happy.  But, if you manage to give it what it needs...

The beautiful color of the leaves run from a deep maroon to a deep green with red tones.  Leaf texture tends to be a bit softer than most green curly kale and the taste is a bit milder which makes it accessible to people who aren't as fond of the stronger taste the harder, green kales have.  I find the plants to be very easy to harvest (until they fall over late in the season) and the leaf stems don't tend to break when bundling.  If there are some flaws from pest or storm damage on the leaves, it tends to hide it better than the greens.  And, pests seem to prefer a variety like Westlander rather than Scarlet.  Scarlet is a heritage variety maintained by Seed Savers and is worth finding a spot in your garden if you would like to add some color to your kale salads.

13. Amazing Cauliflower

Goodman, Amazing, Mardi

We ran a Practical Farmers of Iowa vegetable trial for three varieties of cauliflower this year and were pleased with both Amazing and Goodman.  Mardi, on the other hand, didn't really perform as we hoped.  Goodman has been on our top veggie list before and it continued to provide us with excellent taste, bright coloring and its characteristic slightly fuzzy texture.  Mardi gave us the most bulk, but it had more problems with the wet conditions than the other two.

But the winner was Amazing this year.  The size tended to land between the other two and Amazing handled the late, wet conditions the best of the three varieties.  Amazing features the classic cauliflower taste, so you won't be surprised by what you get from this variety in that area.  But, if you like cauliflower, you will be pleased.  Heads showed no tendency towards ricing or early bolting in our fields.  We do not blanch any of our cauliflower varieties and Amazing does fine without that process.

We are pleased that Amazing is an open pollinated variety, which fits with our farm preferences and farm mission.  If there is a knock on Amazing, it might be that the window for maturity is a bit more diverse than a commercial grower might like.  For example, if I wanted 100 heads to mature during a given week, I might need to plant 75% more to make sure I met that goal.  Don't get me wrong, the window isn't unmanageable since 85% of the crop will be mature in a 14 day period.


12. Nyagous Tomato
You can usually tell what sort of a season we had if the farmer says he doesn't have a picture of something.  I don't have a picture of Nyagous.  Perhaps it is because Nyagous is shy?  Well, we will likely get another chance at catching it in a photo next year because its re-introduction to the farm in 2019 to the high tunnel environment was a complete success. 

Nyagous was first introduced to our farm in 2006 and has the honor of being among the first 'purple/black' heirlooms we grew.  These tend to range in size from large snack/salad size to small slicer, averaging about 1/3 pound.  The deep burgandy color can get a bit darker in warmer periods and the taste is rich and has the tiniest hint of brown sugar to it!  Production levels are not as high as some of our snack tomatoes such as Jaune Flamme and Wapsipinicon Peach, but there are hints that an earlier planting could produce on a level that would exceed this year's production.  Like our other 'purple/black' tomatoes (Black Krim, Paul Robeson, Black Cherry) Nyagous loves the high tunnel environment.  We were able to avoid splitting and other losses for the most part.  We have noted that Nyagous likes a little extra nutrient boost prior to fruit set.

11. Roma II Romano Bean
In the past, we have grown Gold of Bacau, an heirloom pole romano that has fantastic taste and texture.  Unfortunately for us, we often have trouble finding the labor time to set up the trellis for pole beans, leaving us to rely on bush beans for much of our production.  Yes, yes, I know this postpones the labor to the picking end of things, but our labor bottlenecks are NOT the focus of this post!

We actually tried Roma II on a whim this past year.  Tammy and I usually allow ourselves to select two items each that we just want to try and one of my choices was Roma II.  (For the record, one of Tammy's was Nyagous.)  Plants were small, but they were covered with beans making it fairly easy to harvest.  The season did not allow us to observe a second fruit set, but we were quite pleased with a single harvest yield.  The responses for the taste of these beans were overwhelmingly positive.  The hard part was getting some folks to try these flat beans after they'd been enjoying some quality green beans.  

10. Touchstone Gold Beet
Our Chioggia beets did fairly well this year and I thought I might put them on the list for 2019, until I reviewed the numbers and accounted for one planting of Chioggia that failed to germinate - while both Touchstone Gold plantings produced.

Frankly, I am not heartbroken by this.  I like both beets for taste and still credit Chioggia with getting me to actually eat and appreciate beets.  But, I prefer the Touchstone Gold for a taste that is fantastic roasted with a little melted butter.  For those of us who love our green beans, we find Touchstone Gold to be our beet of choice.

Touchstone Gold has performed in the field and in the high tunnel, preferring the finer soils in our Southwest fields and Eden (our smaller high tunnel).  Beets can easily reach a pound each in size and still maintain a pleasing taste and texture.  Inconsistent moisture can result in a few 'Frankenbeets,' but even these maintain a good eating quality (just harder to clean). 

One of the characteristics we are looking for in varieties that will stay on our farm in 2020 (and perhaps beyond) is a track record for success on our farm.  If you look at some of our prior lists, you will find Touchstone Gold.  Another key characteristic will be the ability of the vegetable variety to stand out from typical offerings provided by other growers.  We will happily allow others to grow red beets while we focus on the "specialty" beets like Touchstone Gold.

9. Silver Slicer Cucumber
This was not a good season for cucurbit crops on our farm.  Yet, here we are with a cucumber on the list!  After having an excess of cucumbers with no place for them to go over the past couple of years, we cut down our production numbers significantly and... of course, the season decided to make growing any cucumbers a challenge!  Happily, after a slow start, Silver Slicer and Marketmore 76 picked up the slack and filled our bins with as many as we were able to move.

Silver Slicer has a great fresh-eating taste that makes our local cucumber taste expert (Tammy) very happy.  Silver Slicer seems to be fine with a late season or early season start and doesn't seem to have a tendency to grow the cucumbers too large, having what seems to be a top size at about 8 inches.  We like to harvest them around six inches, but the size doesn't seem to impact the taste or texture too terribly much.  Like many open-pollinated varieties, quality has more to do with age on the vine than actual size of the fruit.  In 2019, a single succession of Silver Slicers produced for the entire season, eliminating the need for planting multiple successions.  We do not expect this every season, but it is a quality for us to assess further.

8. Wapsipinicon Peach Tomato
This season's list is going to be a bit heavy on the heirloom tomatoes that came from our two high tunnels (Eden and Valhalla).  The reasons are fairly simple.  Many of our field crops struggled in 2019 and one of our feature crops in the high tunnels is tomatoes. 


Once again, Wapsipinicon Peach tomatoes make our Vegetable Variety list for the season.   Their taste is extraordinary, but beware the juice!  More than one happy person has had to wear a little Wapsi Peach juice on their shirt after biting into one of these sweet snack tomatoes.  The fruits tend to be softer and have a fuzzy feel.  Many people are tempted to discard these tomatoes as too soft, but when encouraged to try them they find they were mistaken.  What absolutely astounds us is that there are people who have ignored the Wapsi Peaches we offer for years only to try them and tell us they love them.  We don't rave about much, but this is one thing we have been praising for a long time.  We expect to continue to grow them in the future.

7. Jade Green Bean
Here is another repeat selection variety for the Genuine Faux Farm.  Perhaps we are seeing more repeats this year because we were already beginning to focus on fewer crops in 2019 as a response to increasingly difficult growing conditions. 

Jade has the best taste of all of our green beans, though we won't say "no" to a nice pot of steamed Provider or Black Valentines.  Jade has a bit more of a 'gourmet' taste and they have a more continuous production window rather than heavy 'flushes' like the other varieties.  This is perfect for our high tunnel production where we want to maximize what we are able to get in a smaller space.  We tried a single row rather than our traditional double row in the high tunnel this year and we're not sure if we liked it or not.  Production was, of course, lower due to the smaller plant count.  The reason for going single row had more to do with ease of harvest.  I suspect we will go back to double row in 2020.

6.  Bergam's Green Lettuce

Lettuce has a distinct disadvantage in 2019 because our late crops went nowhere while our Spring crops did just fine, thank you.  Since we write this post at the end of the season, it is not uncommon for me to overlook some of the early season successes.  As it was, there were several good lettuce varieties this year and I decided to select one from a batch that included Magenta, Bunte Forellenschus, Bronze Arrowhead, Red Romaine, Crispmint, Paris Island Cos, Nevada, Kirabati Pulse, Forellenschus, Grandpa Admires and others.

Bergam's stood out in large part because of the size and ability to bulk out quite quickly during all types of weather.  There is very little waste on this loose-leaf and the taste holds fairly well, not getting too strong in the warmer months.

5.  Dolciva Carrot
We have been fans of St Valery for orange carrots and Dragon for the purple carrots for some time.  In recent years, we have had more issues with carrot germination and we were looking for some options.  One of our preferences was to go with an open-pollinated variety if we were able to do so.  Most who grow carrots commercially tend to opt for the F1 hybrids, but we maintain the belief that traditional breeding methods can also create viable strains for production such as ours.

Dolciva in bin closest to the camera

The selling points for trying this carrot were that they are "well-adapted and versatile for bunching or storage."  The versatility is nice because we don't necessarily want to store ALL of our carrots, nor do we want to be forced to move them all at once.  This variety touts both as a possibility.  The 'well-adapted' part implies that while the seed was developed in Europe, it has shown proper resilience and has been productive away from the region of development.  If you take that implication further, it might be read to say that it should grow well in many other conditions/regions.  Since we were looking for carrots that would store to allow us to spread out distribution, this one caught our eye as storing extremely well.  The final selling point?  It came in pelleted seed.  Given the tendency for wet conditions for our farm, pelleting seed expands the window for direct seeding of carrots into our soil.

The good news?  Dolciva grew well for us, though we put it in some of our best field beds.  The carrots grew long and straight and held well, waiting for us to find the time (and weather conditions) to pull them.  They did store well and they had a great flavor (for those who love carrots).  Given the wet soil conditions we have been dealing with, we have not been able to use our 6 row seeder for carrots.  Thus, the pelleted seed provided us with the chance to get the carrots into the field in late April to early May.  We've found that is our best possible field seeding period if we want a reliable carrot stand on our farm.

4. Minnesota Midget
Minnesota Midget melons did well enough in 2018 to win the prize for top honors and were pretty close to a repeat in 2019.  Once again, these were only grown in our high tunnels and they provided us with plenty of melons to fill the demand we had for the season.


Fruit size can be variable, though a consistent watering program can reduce that variability.  The hard part is trying to reduce water prior to ripening so the fruits set more sugars for a better taste.  The net result is that later sets may be smaller in size due to the reduced watering regimen. 

It is important to note that Minnesota Midget has its growing slot for production.  It does not particularly like to be pushed early or pushed late - believe me, I've tried both.  But, they do love their location in our high tunnel.  Plants can be trained to climb on Hortnova trellis and they do not tend to get so large that they can't be contained to that trellis.


3. Tolli Sweet Pepper
Tolli Sweet keeps moving up our list (sitting at number 9 last year) which is a little bit of a surprise for me.  Once again, we put in our normal batch of Tolli Sweet plants into Eden.  We had added a bit of compost prior to this growing season and they apparently liked that extra boost.  Fruit size tended to be a bit larger and more consistent in 2019 than they had in prior years.  However, fruit harvest numbers remained essentially the same. 

Tolli Sweet Peppers are a carrot shaped pepper that is best when it is allowed to turn red.  The fruit size can be variable and the pepper wall is fairly thin.  Persons who have some trouble with digesting peppers may find that Tolli Sweet is much more tolerable to them and they are good for fresh eating, sandwiches, salads and nachos.  The plants are small in stature and prefer not to have wet feet, which makes them perfect for high tunnel production.  Fruit do not hold on the plant particularly well either, so you want to keep them picked at early to mid stages of ripeness.  Waiting too long tends to result in splits or issues with the fruit. 


2. Black Cherry Tomato
If you look at the photo to the right of this text, you will see the walking path between our cherry tomatoes (left) and our snack tomatoes (right).  Sweet alyssum plants can be seen peaking out at the base of these plants.

We had a late start for everything on the farm in 2019, including our high tunnel tomatoes.  Rather than waste time recounting all of our 'woes' lets stick with the positives that led us to put Black Cherry near the top of our 2019 Veg Variety list!

We favor cherry tomatoes that are larger simply because the small varieties are a real pain for us to keep harvested.  Black Cherry is the largest of the 'black/purple' cherries that we have tried and it mixes well with Tommy Toe and Hartmann's Yellow Gooseberry.  It isn't terribly difficult to pick these and get the stems off of them as long as you stay with the harvest on a regular basis.  If fruit get a bit over-ripe you are going to have more difficulties. 

Production levels for Black Cherry plants are typically a bit lower than the red and yellow varieties, but that is easily solved by planting 4 plants for every five of the other types.  These plants are often a little bit smaller and wispier in form, but they are still cherry tomatoes, nearly reaching the top of the high tunnel this season.  But, the real reason we grow them is simple: they taste amazing.


1. Redwing Onion

Redwing onions after cleaning

Oh look!  An onion!

Yes, we did increase our onion production in 2019 with the anticipation that we would expand sales outlets for this crop.  In the process, we tried a couple of other red onion varieties just to make sure we were not missing anything.  It turns out that we were not missing much since Redwing blew the competition out of the water EVEN after it was insulted by being planted later than the rest.  We are sorry Redwing, you showed us, yet again, that you belong among the most honored of veg varieties at the Genuine Faux Farm.

Our Redwings easily averaged a half pound with some coming in just under a pound.  Redwing has shown over time that it likes our soils and it can tolerate the wetter soil conditions we have been experiencing over past several years.  Redwing can tolerate a little weed pressure, but like all onions, it won't size up if you give competing plants an equal footing.

Redwing tends to 'fall-over' within a period of ten days with maybe 1% refusing to fall.  For those who are not as familiar with onion production, we like to wait for the stems to weaken just over the bulb and we consider them ready to harvest when the stems are lying on the ground for 90% of the bed.  Redwings are decent storing onions and they maintain their quality well into January - sometimes February.  We usually don't have any left by the time we get into mid-February so we can't say much more about that.

Thank you!
We appreciate all those who read our blog and consider what we have to say about the things we grow.

What Makes Us Tick?

Over the years I have been working on exercising my 'gratitude muscles' in hopes that I can use them in moments when the last thing I want to do is give thanks.  What I have found is that these muscles are just like so many other things that require effort to build up - it only takes a little bit of time to tear them down.  When that happens, there is only one way to respond.  Build them back up again.

synonyms for gratitude:

gratefulness, thanks, appreciation, recognition, acknowledgment, credit, regard, respect, grace, honor, praise, responsiveness... thanksgiving

A silly trick that high school extemporaneous speakers used when faced with a topic for which they had only thirty minutes to prepare a seven minute speak was to look in the thesaurus for inspiration.  It didn't always work, but sometimes it provided useful ideas.  Since I was having trouble figuring out how to write our Thanksgiving post this year as I was 'fresh out of ideas,' I went ahead and gave that old trick a try.  The result?  Well, you see some of the words above and I was actually a bit surprised by some of them.  But, once I thought about each word a little bit more, I saw exactly why they were a synonym.  I also saw clearly why gratitude, and the concept of thanksgiving, is something Tammy and I find so compelling for our lives.  Gratitude is something that 'makes us tick.'

It Takes Recognition to Be Grateful
If you're going to recognize something or someone, you need to actually observe that which goes on around you in a meaningful way.  It is so very hard to find the energy some days to look around and see the good things that are happening, especially when there are so many bad things grabbing our ears, eyes and minds and stealing our attention from worthy acts, natural beauty, kindness and love.

We have to take the time and make the effort to recognize those things that deserve our gratitude.  The good news is that this is one thing that gets easier with practice.  Did you recognize a piece of music that really moved you today?  How about the design some ice crystals on the window pane made recently?  Did you notice when a total stranger held the door open so you could go through with both arms full of groceries?  Have you considered how much effort people who run food banks or community meals put forth on a regular basis?  What about the small group of people who take on the responsibilities for those organizations you like to participate in when it is convenient for you?

Take a moment to recognize the things that are worthy of your gratitude and you might be surprised by how much you take for granted.


Slow Down for Appreciation
Recognition, by itself, is an imperfect synonym for gratitude because it only represents your own awareness that a good thing exists.  For example, here are some pretty flowers.  You can walk by them from location A to location B and a part of you will recognize that they are pretty.  But, that doesn't mean you actually appreciate their beauty.

You see, appreciation takes a little bit of your time.   And, sadly, time is something so many of us feel we have so little of.  As a result, we barrel madly through our lives from place to place, trying to get it "all" done.  When we finally do slow down, it is often because something bad has happened and we dwell on negative things.  It is no wonder that we all struggle so much to balance out our struggles with something wonderful.. or even something that's just kind of nice.  How can we expect to have a life balance if we are unwilling to take the time to appreciate the good stuff and we are too willing to wallow in self-pity or glory in the faults of others?

Take some time to smell the iris and listen to the goldfinches express pleasure that you planted sunflowers and left the stalks with seeds for them to explore and consume during the colder months. Take another good look at the shelves your Dad built for you some years ago that continue to serve the farm well.  Read that passage in a good book just one more time.

Acknowledgement of Those Things You Appreciate

Gratitude is meant to be given and shared.  If there is no acknowledgement of the things for which you are thankful, then you are missing out on a key part of the process.  Certainly, some things a person might appreciate are not going to respond to your acknowledgement.  However, Tammy and I have been known to actually applaud our fields on Frost's Eve (for example).  In that case, it isn't so much for the plants, soil and critters that worked with us to produce tasty food as it is for us.  It does not hurt for us to remind ourselves at that moment that we didn't do ALL of the work to cause our plants to grow and productive.  We can't do it without pollinators, soil micro-organisms and Russell the Cucumber Frog (among others).

Our farm would not exist if it were not for the people who actually purchase vegetables, eggs and poultry products from us.  Our farm would have difficulty producing these products if we didn't have local suppliers for feed (Canfield Family Farms) and seed (Seed Savers).  We might not even raise poultry for meat if we didn't have a local processor we trusted (Martzahn Farms).  Rather than make a super-long list here, please believe us that we recognize those who help make this farm work and we do our best to acknowledge what they have done to help us succeed.

It's About Respect

I have come to realize that respect is an important part of what makes us tick at the Genuine Faux Farm.  Respect for other people.  Respect for nature.  Respect those who have gone before and those who follow.  Respect for the creatures that live on and around our farm.  Respect for our crops.  Respect for all of the crafts that surround our professions. Respect for our professions.

And even some respect for ourselves.

Showing gratitude for the good things - and even some things we aren't feeling so good about at the time it happens - is part of showing respect.  I am not talking so much about the small 'thank you' so many of us (myself included) have been trained to share with others either.  While these are important in their own way, it is the practice of real gratitude for acts, things or people that deserve to be shown the respect that gratitude brings along with it.

Respect implies effort.  Respect implies integrity.  Respect implies quality.  Respect implies growth and learning.  Respect and gratitude walk hand in hand, but they can be demanding companions.  No wonder we need to exercise our gratitude muscles!

Grace and Courtesy

Grace and the courtesy it entails are necessary because it is difficult to show true gratitude when there is a lack of civility.  Grace implies tolerance for differences and acknowledgement that we don't hold all of the answers.  I shudder to think how bad things would be if it were all left up to me.  This is not just about manners, even though good manners are a good place to start.  This is about offering understanding and forgiveness and accepting understanding and forgiveness offered.

Happy Thanksgiving
Once again, we are approaching our favorite holiday - Thanksgiving.  Most years, we try to write a thoughtful blog post that either reflects our gratitude or encourages us to exercise our gratitude.  In fact, there are some very good posts from prior years out there that might be worth a read on your part - I know they have already done me some good as I worked to figure out what I should say this time around.

Tammy and I are grateful to our friends and family for their unconditional support.  We cannot repay, we can only give thanks.

To all of the people who have supported us in this farming endeavor in big and small ways since its inception in 2004, we acknowledge your gift and hope that we have shown respect for those gifts by simply trying to do our best to do what seems like the 'right things' on our farm as best as we are able.

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There is actually a TWO part post in 2014 that featured those things we were particularly thankful for at that time (many of which we are STILL thankful for now!).  I have found writing the Thanksgiving post a bit more difficult some years, even neglecting to write one last year!  It has nothing to do with being ungrateful and everything to do with wanting to do more than list things we for which we should be thankful.   In 2015, I was struggling with some of the negative things that were going on in the world and found myself asking "What am I going to do about it?"  That post is still one I make myself read every once in a while when I feel like I can't make a difference.  The take away is that all of us have more power to make a positive difference than we give ourselves credit for.  But, when I found myself feeling pretty down about the time Thanksgiving was rolling around again two years later (2017), I came to the realization that gratitude requires real effort but that effort is truly worth the reward.

The Pipeline

Like many things in life, there is an ebb and flow to the writing on our blog.  Sometimes, I have much to say and energy to try to find ways to say it.  Other times, I have much to say and no real desire to try to communicate it.  And, there are also times where I feel I have nothing really to add to whatever noise might be in your lives right now.  For much of this year we have been trying to figure out our new directions at the Genuine Faux Farm.  There has certainly been much to say, but the energy to say it has been low AND we're not always entirely sure what it is that we want to share.

What I can tell you is that we have a whole bunch of posts sitting in the pipeline waiting to be completed.  Perhaps the farmer needs to get off of thinking these need to be 'perfect' before they are shared.  Nonetheless, I thought I would share a little bit of what is coming your way.  Teasers - if you will!

The GFF Solar Project
 Putting up a solar array in 2019 was a very big deal for us and we did share a little bit about our motivation in July on this blog post.  There is actually so much more that we wanted to share regarding this project, but it isn't an easy writing task because I want to be sure I get things put down accurately and clearly.

So, how tall is the farmer.  Here is a clue.

 We have now had a few electric bills since the array was connected to the grid.  We can happily report that we have only been paying the service fee for the electrical connection since that point in time.  I'd say Eagle Point Solar did a nice job of calculating what we needed to cover our electricity use.

More on Mulch
Earlier in the year, we put a post out there about some of our approaches to using mulch with our crops.  Since that time, I have been asked to present at the Practical Farmers of Iowa conference in January about some of our mulching practices.  In preparation for that event, I will likely use the blog to put some of my thoughts on the topic together.  The work on those posts has started, but it qualifies as a 'bigger' project that I want to 'get right,' so it might take a little time to put it out there.

Paper mulch was still evident in November

One of the things on my mind right now is how some of our mulches are behaving at the end of a wet season at our farm.  I am particularly pleased by the paper mulch from Sunshine Paper Company.   I am also pleased with the grass mulch we put down for select crops.  Just writing this little teaser has me wanting to work on the bigger project - that's a good sign.

Veg Variety Winners

Every Fall/Winter we publish a post that features the veggie varieties that we feel performed the best on our farm for the past growing season.  This year is no exception as we intend to publish such a list for 2019.  In fact, that post is ALSO in progress (about 40% done).  We prefer to wait until we have enough information about the growing season to be able to give an accurate accounting and I think we are clearly at that point for this year.

So, what's causing the delay, you might ask?

Well, it turns out that the farmer didn't take some of the pictures he thought he was going to take. Or, if he did, he can't find them.  We'll figure it out, of course.  But, sometimes it only takes a bump or two in the road to bring you to a stop.  I suspect if 2019 were a better overall growing season, I might be more excited about pursuing this project.  But, it wasn't all that good, so it takes more energy to write about it.

Now that I've thrown out a downer, let me say this.

Despite a tough year, I have had no problem identifying the fifteen varieties we are going to feature in our post.  That's the thing about our farm - no matter how difficult things have been, we still have our successes.  It is testament to diversity, resilience and persistence.  Now I think I might enjoy working on this post.

GFF Postal History Blog
I certainly enjoy writing about the farm and all of the things related to it.  But, the farmer needs other outlets to keep a healthy balance.  One of those outlets is postal history and some of my writing energy goes to the GFF Postal History Blog.  I use that area to gather resources and my thoughts on various items.  But, unlike this blog, I tend to put my in progress work out there. 

An 1860's piece of mail to Russia from the U.S.

That 'blog' really doesn't have much of anything for readership and I really don't have a schedule or need to publish regularly to it.  But, it has taken some writing time of late.  Why?  Well, I needed to put a little distance between myself and the past growing seasons.  A hobby can be a good place to go to do that very thing.

Re-Imagining the Genuine Faux Farm for 2020 and Beyond
Of course, the thing that has been on my mind the most lately has been trying to figure out how we will re-invent our farm for the future.  It is true that we consider various changes and improvements every year for the Genuine Faux Farm.  But, this off-season might be as close to a 'death and re-birth' situation as any we've been through with respect to the farm.  

We have settled on some overall strategies that we are likely to pursue in 2020, but so much is still very much up in the air.  We hope to share some of the process of reflection, discovery and planning with you on our blog.  That time is coming, but we were wanting to reach the semi-official end to the 2019 season - Thanksgiving - before we do so.

Speaking of Thanksgiving - I think there is a post in the pipeline for that as well!  Sounds like some good reading coming your way.

Disbelief

Every year about this time I take a look at some of the pictures we have taken during the season and this year I was struck by two things.

1. We don't have very many pictures for this season.
2. I found myself saying "That was THIS year?  I don't believe it!" ... a LOT.

Record Snowfall - Winter 2018 / 2019
Yes, really.  that was just this PAST Winter.  Considering the current weather seems like we have already entered Winter 2019/2020, I am guessing you don't want to be reminded about the last one.  But, you know me, I'll just do it anyway!

In a very real way, I find this therapeutic.  Why? 

Well, I've found that I am VERY grumpy about the colder than normal weather and the fact that we've already had multiple snowfalls by November 11.  It's not just because there is still so much to do on the farm before the ground freezes.  After all, if I am completely honest with myself, I am always rushing to get it all done before the ground freezes.  Every.  Single.  Year. 

Picture from atop a drift on the farm in late March.

I am the sort of person that suffers from "Moving Target Syndrome."  My to do list is never done because I keep adding more on to it.  "If I could only get X done before the snow flies" becomes "if I could only get X and Y done" which then becomes "X, Y and Z."  This doesn't mean anything on the list is unimportant.  It is simply a recognition that there is much to do and less time to do it in.

Getting back to the point I was failing to make.  The grumpy feelings may well have something to do with how much we were feeling Winter not that many months ago.  We had drifts at our North bush line that had me standing tall enough to easily see OVER the top of our high tunnel.

Late April snows don't usually help May flowers too much

That's not all of it.  We had late snows again this past year with a measurable snow in late April.  Yes, that snow went away fairly quickly.  But, if you were thinking it was less than half a year between our last snow of one season before we had our first of the next...  you were correct.

This has nothing to do with amounts of snow.  It also has nothing to do with this being completely out of the ordinary.  We know full well that snows can happen in late April and in mid to late October.  But...

It took us until late June before our roads recovered (most of the way) and I was just getting used to the idea that it was ok for me to wear short-sleeved shirts.  Now I am back to wearing enough layers that I have to turn my whole body in order to look to my left or right.  The laying hen flock is already giving me "that look" that they give me when the weather gets cold.  The Outdoor Farm Supervisors (the outdoor cats Inspector and Soup) have already taken to giving me the 'pitiful look' in hopes that I'll let them into the basement.  The Indoor Farm Supervisors (Bree and Hobnob) won't let me sit down to do office work without one or both of them attempting to command lap space so they can feel warmer.

Looking on the bright side.  I got to throw a frozen tomato.  Instead of 'splatting' it kind of cracked apart.    And, I am already looking forward to the forecast that has daily highs in the 30's.  My how quickly we can re-frame for ourselves what 'nice weather' can be!

Now watch this... we'll hit 60's in December.

Downstream

It's only natural.  We curse those upstream from us and ignore those who live downstream from us so they can have their turn cursing at us.  I am not particularly found of curses, so I wonder if that is why this particular tendency bothers me so much.  I am guessing, however, that this is not the reason I am bothered... read on if you want to learn more!

Big Picture Issues with "Sending it Downstream"
When we established the Genuine Faux Farm in 2004/2005 we ushered in a phase in our lives where we were to become ever so much more sensitive to the weather, the climate and the things we all do to our environment in the course of doing whatever it is we do.  I'd like to think that Tammy and I were aware of many of the issues that come with living in the 'commons' that is our world and that we were doing our level-best to not be part of the problem.  And, maybe, just maybe, we were sometimes part of the solution.

"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."  – Maya Angelou


It turns out that we were woefully uninformed and lacking full appreciation for what is going on in our world.  And, oddly enough, I am hopeful that I will continue to experience life and learning in the years to come so that I can say the same about us now at some later point in time.  In the meantime, we'll get by with what we think we know now and we'll continue to do what we can to do the right things in the right ways, whatever we think these actions/goals might be.

Iowa has experienced an increased number of excessive rain events since the inception of our farm and the flooding has been setting record after record throughout the state.  Whether you "believe in" climate change or not, we are foolish if we fail to learn from the floods that have been happening and prepare for future floods (or fires or droughts or...  you get the idea).  Failing to plan for the future is the equivalent of sending the problem downstream for someone else to deal with.

“Forgive yourself for not knowing what you didn’t know before you learned it.”― Maya Angelou

And my own corollary to that?  Forgive others for not knowing as well and help them to learn it. 

Let's say for a moment that we all agree heavy rainfalls have happened and that more could certainly happen in the future.  So, what are the things that could be done that might alleviate this situation?  Clearly, our most common solution for far has been to "get the water AWAY from here."  In other words, we are passing the problem downstream to someone else for them to deal with it.  If we really want to be effective, we are going to have to make ourselves a bit uncomfortable and do some difficult things.  Things like taking acres out of row crop production and putting them into hayfields, wetlands and woodlands.  Some solutions that might mean some personal property is lost, production of commodity crops may not be the best option and perhaps even whole communities may need to be moved.  Any worthwhile solution is going to have its painful moments and are going to require some soul-searching and commitment.

But that isn't going to happen until we stop looking for someone to blame - we need to start looking for someone (many someones) to begin the work of adjustment and restoration.

A Personal View of What it Means to NOT Send It Downstream


I want to turn the focus of this post on to the things we think we need to do right now so we are not passing current Genuine Faux Farm problems downstream to a point where the problem is only bigger and badder - or just not "ours." 

1. I don't want to ignore a problem and pass it downstream to a later point in time if I can help it.  A known problem usually doesn't just go away - it tends to get more difficult to solve.
2. I don't wish to pass any of our problems/mistakes on to someone else.  Though I admit to being imperfect, so I am sure we'll make a few mistakes in the process that will result in someone else feeling some pain.  Sorry in advance.
3.  I hope that I can stay alert for unintended consequences that only result in passing things downstream.
4. There comes a point when a band-aid will not work.  If all you can do is a baling wire and duct tape solution, then that's what you have to do.  But, if you have a choice to do better, you should do that - even if it is frustrating, annoying, inconvenient and even ... painful.

Bringing It Home to the Genuine Faux Farm
As many of you know, we found ourselves trying to fix our old farm-kitchen when it became apparent that it was falling apart and it needed to be done soon.  This was not a 'I hate the paint color and want different cabinets' thing.  This was a 'hey look - there's a hole developing in the floor' thing.

We could have 'band-aided' the whole thing by taking out the sink, the lower cabinets on one wall and the offending area of floor and fixing/replacing that.  But, there were a couple of underlying problems that were causing the rot issue.  One was that the plumbing was placed on a cold outer wall over a granite foundation.  The other was that the blown insulation from a prior generation was collecting moisture and causing rotting issues in the walls.  Without going much further into it, there were a host of other problems we could have covered up and passed that issue downstream to either a later version of ourselves or to some future owner.  We opted to do our best now in hopes that our choices were the right ones and there were a couple of times where the irritation of being delayed so we could just do it right was pretty high!

With the kitchen (mostly) done.  We find ourselves looking at some big problems with our farm that we can no longer push downstream.  We realized as this season progressed that we have been applying band-aids for the past few seasons just to continue to serve the demands of our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.  For those who do not know what that means - we have run a subscription program for fresh produce since 2005.  In recent years, we have had deliveries for 32 weeks each season.  That means we have had 64 deliveries where we needed to have a sufficient quantity and diversity of product to supply members with a good CSA product each time.

So, what exactly is the problem with that?

Well, if you are focused on doing whatever it takes to grow produce for the share program, when do you have time to address other issues that crop up over time? (I am not sorry for any puns, intentional or otherwise, that appear in my writing - so there).

This is where we find ourselves after fifteen seasons of running a successful CSA program.  A combination of changing weather patterns, chemical drift issues and declining local food sales are making things difficult.  When you add in mounting crop failures due to the first couple of problems you might understand how this could have an effect on the psyche of the farmers.  It is very difficult to feel successful when you are surrounded by so much failure.


One example of the issue is shown at the left.  This is one of our onion beds that was planted in June(late for an onion crop).  Wet fields forced the delays in planting until we found we could wait no longer if we were hoping to get anything in.  That meant we had to till a bed when the soil was too wet.  This is bad for the overall health of the soil, so we hate to do it.  But, it isn't just bad for that reason.

Take a look at the 'pebbling' in the planted area.  Those 'pebbles' don't break down for most of the season.  The soil contact with the new transplants is inconsistent with this type of soil, so transplant loss is often higher.  Cultivation, if it dries up enough to allow it, doesn't work so well either when you have all of these solid clumps of soil, which means you often have to resort to hand weeding.

The good news - we actually got some nice onions anyway.  Why?  That's a topic for a future post. 

I don't want this post to be all about the negatives, but it is important to get a better idea of the scope of the problem first.  The picture at the right shows one of our fields that had melons and winter squash planted into it.  We put down paper mulch in the planting rows this year, which was one of our responses to the wetter seasons.  If you can't cultivate, try to prevent weed growth with mulch.  And, to some extent this worked.  Until we started noticing our squash and melon plants showing signs of inhibited growth. 

You can argue that some of the issue was the late planting.  You can't argue that the transplants were poor - these were some of the best we've put in over the last several years.  You could also argue that the wet conditions may have contributed to the issue.  But, the variable that may well have got us the most was the extended herbicide application range on the corn/soybean fields in the area.  Remember, dicamba drift does not have to come from next door, it can come from a couple of miles away in the right (wrong) conditions.  To make a long story less long, we harvested no melons from the two eastern plots that held them.  We harvested a single butternut squash and very few other winter squash. 

The signs are there that tell us we have to change.  We can change what we are doing and do something else entirely or we can change how we do what we are doing.  Maybe we can even do a little of both.  But, the reality is that we cannot work to find a solution without getting a bit uncomfortable.  We simply cannot do a CSA program and make the changes we think we need to make next year.  But, even with declining enrollment, the CSA still provides our farm with the majority of its income. 

So, what are we going to do?

We're going to do better.  Once we have a better idea as to what all we need to accomplish in order to do that, we'll let you know.  We just know we aren't sending this downstream if we can help it.