I like to look for the best varieties and grow these varieties in the best environment and with the best methods I know how. This makes for exceptional flavor and quality. For example:
- Some varieties of cucumbers yield 3-5x more than other varieties, have great disease resistance, are very uniform and have great taste.
- We grew 18 varieties of watermelon last year to find out which grew the best and more important tasted the best.
- We have trialed 35 varieties of tomatoes and have picked 6-8 varieties that work really well in this climate and for our markets.
- I have experimented with lots of varieties of hot peppers - Jalapeno, Poblano, Anneheim, etc. Some are larger or have more heat than others. Some dry well and some smoke well.
- There are lots of carrot varieties out there and we have tried a bunch to narrow it down to candy carrots that we sell at the market. (We still have 500 lbs by the way.)
- Spring mix varies seasonally, but we have experimented with dozens of varieties of lettuces and other greens to get the best mix for the season, flavor and shelf life.
- Garlic is a great specialty crop but there are many varieties, some of which are great and other not so great. We pick the best to serve our customers. Our garlic is very hardy in Minnesota, easy to peel and tastes great.
- Green beans are the mainstay of the summer garden. We like the long pencil thin variety with no strings.
When we serve our customers well and grow exceptional varieties, more customers will follow.
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