A Note From Farmer Sam: Eyes on 2021

After the tomatoes plants are mulched and ground to a pulp, and after all the winter squash is harvested and cured, I always start thinking about one thing, and one thing only: “What are we going to grow next year?”

Creating the next year’s planting schedule is one of the most tedious tasks on the farm, but admittedly my favorite. #nerdalert

Filling up Excel sheets with row after row of data that will soon be row after row of seeds and plants in the field fills me with so much excitement and anticipation! Typically, our team spends a combined 50 - 60 hours creating the following year’s schedule, and it will continue to change and evolve over the next year.

On average, we will plan out nearly 1,500 plantings to every last detail; from variety to spacing to harvest dates to seed quantities to projected yields. There is so much planning that goes into in every step of each planting. This attention to detail is essential, so that we can plan out everything from our seed purchases to our expected revenue and cash flow throughout the year, in order to make the best decisions on where to appropriately invest our time and dollar.

Next year we are making some huge investments in our cut flower program, including a big dahlia planting, which will be a Spade & Plow first! You’ve already caught a whiff (pun intended) of what we’re slowly working towards with our seasonal blooms. We are also looking at planting new varieties carrots, cucumbers, turnips, and, of course, tomatoes.

Although no planting schedule is ever perfect, the planting schedule serves as the blueprint for “the perfect storm.” It’s great to have something to base our year off of, especially as weather and mechanical issues always seem to make their ways into the fold.

What do you want to see in next year’s planting schedule? We are always looking for new ideas of what to grow next and want to hear from you!

There will be lots of big announcements in the coming weeks and how it pertains to our planting schedule and farm for 2021. Stay tuned!