I’ve written in the past about how one of the fun and challenging parts of farming the way we do is finding new and better varieties of crops to grow. For most farmers, this mostly boils down for finding crops that grow well for them, produce the most income with the least expense, and meet the demands of their buyers — who are usually not consumers. In fact, this rubric could be called “consumers come last” and most of us are very familiar with some of the outcomes.
A few examples of food crops that don’t take consumers’ preferences into consideration that you are probably familiar with? Crunchy and flavorless peaches, mealy tomatoes, and GMO everything.
There have been some bright spots in the last ten-plus years, though. The variety and availability of salad greens has exploded. Seedless watermelons, driven entirely by consumers’ desire for convenience, now dominate the market. And the “Tomato” section of most grocery stores has exploded with numerous sizes, shapes and types of fruit where once just one or two types dominated. Quality is still variable, but overall it is easier to find a tasty tomato outside of farmers markets than it used to be.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of peaches and nectarines, nor of cantelopes and other muskmelons. The vast majority of peaches and nectarines sold in stores are types that are “non-melting” and “low-acid”, which is industry code for “rock hard” and “flavorless”. With melons, the term is “long-shipper”. The goal is not producing a piece of fruit that is enjoyable for the consumer, but rather one that can be quickly and easily picked and packed without bruising, and which can sit on the shelf of the supermarket for months.
The short-sightedness of this endeavour is breathtaking. Even many of the farmers growing these varieties of fruit are aware that they simply don’t taste good, and over the long run will reduce demand from consumers who don’t find them enjoyable. Luckily, the plant breeders continue to create “traditional” varieties (translation: “Varieties that taste good”) and nurseries and seed companies continue to sell them. At this point, there is a multi-million dollar “niche” market for these varieties, which help small farms like Terra Firma differentiate their offerings.
For me it’s not just a business opportunity — I truly enjoy finding, growing and selling tasty varieties of fruit. But it makes me sad that for many if not most people, they are unattainable. More and more shoppers simply eschew spending money on produce that is simply going to disappoint them. And millions of young people will never experience the joy of eating a perfectly ripe peach or cantelope.
The challenge comes in finding great tasting varieties that are also profitable to grow. Seed catalogs are filled with tasty varieties of fruits and vegetables that don’t make the cut for growing commercially. They may not produce much yield, or the crop has a very short shelf life. They may be highly susceptible to insect damage or disease. Every year we trial promising new varieties, but only a few make the cut. We are also looking for specific qualities that go unnoticed by consumers, such as corn that tolerates cold soil or carrots with big tops that make harvest easier.
We have a few new varieties this summer that you probably won’t find from too many other farms. One of them is in all your boxes today: it’s a unique Peach-Plum cross with a smooth reddish skin and flesh that is white streaked with pink. Called “Spice Zee”, it has a nice flavor balanced between sweetness and acid with uniquely floral notes. If you think you don’t like white nectarines because you’ve had tasteless, overly sweet ones, I would urge you to give these a try (also, they’re not technically nectarines).
And in our heirloom tomato field this year, we will be harvesting a new variety we found last year called “Mushroom Basket”. It’s a large, ruffled pink beefsteak with meaty, sweet flesh and few seeds. Our heirloom planting has just started to kick in this week, and by next week you’ll be seeing more variety of tomatoes in your boxes.
Thanks,
Pablito