2021 Spring Update
Hello Berry Lovers! Welcome to the 2021 TCBC Spring Farm Update. I’m going to try to do 2 of these a year; one before and one after every field season. In this post I want to offer a preview of the 2021 farm plot and outline all of our returning and new products this season!
Here is an overhead shot of our main production plot, planned for 2021. The biggest change from previous years is that we no longer have any open field production of strawberries. My 2-year comparative trial of open field vs. netted production showed that inside the net we had considerably higher total and marketable yields of strawberries while drastically reducing the need for sprays. It seems like a no-brainer both financially and environmentally, and as our climate continues to change I suspect we will need even more protected culture for a steady, consistent supply of local small fruits in MN. In fact, the net will be the least protected culture we have at TCBC this year!
The high tunnel is back with more raspberries (see main photo above), but those four smaller ‘cat’ labels you see are for our newest infrastructure addition, caterpillar tunnels. Caterpillar (Cat for short) tunnels are similar to high tunnels but are typically a little smaller and do not have baseboards or hipboards running along the length of the structure:
I’m hoping these will be able to move with our rotation every year, and will be modifying them soon for 100% pest exclusion by adding endwalls made of netting. I will be comparing these tunnels vs. the net over 2 years to see if the extra cost of the tunnels will be paid for by an increase in yields.
I am also continuing to trial strawberry production in a raised gutter system in collaboration with the University of Minnesota. This year I will be hanging the gutters inside the high tunnel to make better use of that space. It will be great to see strawberries growing at chest height and raspberries growing underneath them!
This year TCBC will be returning to Mill City Farmers Market on Saturdays, and also expanding to Nokomis Farmers Market on Wednesdays! I’m very excited to add a mid-week market to the regimen. Fresh, organic strawberries and raspberries will of course be available, along with the jams and leathers from last year. However in 2021 I am pleased to announce a brand new product, fruit shrubs! Shrubs are a sweetened, fruit-infused vinegar drink that are most commonly used as mixers in cocktails and mocktails. I spent all winter perfecting the recipe and methodology for 3 shrub flavors this year: strawberry, strawberry rhubarb and wildberry!
Find all of our products at Mill City and Nokomis Farmers Markets beginning in July. While these blog posts only come once or twice a year I am very active on our social media pages (Instagram @twincitiesberry, Facebook and YouTube ‘The Young Berry Farmer’,) so make sure to catch me there for more updates and photos!
Finally, I was honored and excited earlier this year to find out that I had been selected as Compeer Financial’s 2021 Groundbreaker of the Year, an award for young and beginning farmers striving to better their communities through agriculture. I am particularly excited to have been the first non-traditional farmer to have received the award. Additionally, I recently found out that TCBC has been selected as a semifinalist for the 2021 MN Cup, a program that provides young businesses with free mentorship and professional development opportunities, all while competing for prizes. In this program I will refine my business plan, clarify the future direction of TCBC and network with professionals I wouldn’t have otherwise had access to. It’s only June but things are ramping up fast! It’s gettin’ late early, as they say. Time to get back out there.