Whitewater Gardens Farm

January 19, 2024

Here we are smack in the middle of winter and now working on the second seeding of native forbs for the 2024 season. We begin seeding in December and will continue through February as a lot of natives need special treatment to germinate. Mostly in the form of cold, damp stratification, and this takes time and is probably the reason you don't see more farms growing native forb plants.

This year we again are trying out new varieties as well as seeding plenty of more basics for those of you who are just beginning your journey into native pollinator and beneficial plantings. We'll be putting up a new list soon, but remember, availability is always iffy at the beginning of the year as we don't know how well our seedings will germinate.

Something new that we will have available this year at all of our sales and at Farmers Market is a handout on the Lawns to Legumes program. In this program you can apply with the State of MN for small grants to help you get started with your seed and plant purchases as well as bed prep. We are an approved plant vendor for this program and if you receive one of these grants, we can help you get your planting started.

Stay warm on these cold winter days and dream of beautiful native flowers bussing with bees and fluttering with butterflies and humming birds! Spring will come again!

June 8, 2023

A huge THANK YOU to all of you who attended our various on-farm and off-farm plant sales this year! They were all a huge success thanks to your support. We look forward to providing you with more plants again next year and wish you much success and happiness in your plantings, both beneficial beds and herb and vegetable gardens. We will still have a good variety of natives available throughout the summer as they still be planted through September.

Our own vegetable plantings have been interesting this year. First we were so wet we couldn't get into the fields and now it is bone dry. Some of our fields are so hard and dry that we won't work them until we get some rain to soften the ground, as well as not wanting to let open ground bake in the sun. Other fields have been planted but need constant watering. So thankful for drip irrigation!

We invite those of you who have purchased native plants from us over the last couple of years to send us pictures and updates of your plantings. We would love to post your pictures and experiences to encourage those potential new native plant buffs to take the leap and plant their own beneficial plantings. You notice that I don't just say "bee" or "butterfly" or "pollinator" gardens. These plantings are beneficial to so many more wee creatures that we depend on. And there is the added plus of these benefical's aiding in pest control as well as pollinating your vegetable gardens. Native plants encourage native insects - and that is a very good thing!

March 17, 2023

New and exciting things are happening on the farm this year! You'll be hearing a lot about the biggest project we'll be working on here, and on the website and on our Facebook and Instagram pages. Beginning as soon as the weather permits, we'll be working on a research grant comparing three no-till vegetable treatments and comparing them with regular tillage. All treatments will be watching soil health, monitoring mineral content and availability, organic matter, and soil biology. We will also track soil temperature, compaction, weed and pest pressure, yields and labor involved. This is a two-year project and treatments include deep compost mulch, cut and carry mulch and living mulch, as well as control beds using regular cultivation. Late in the summer this year and next year we will be hosting field days where you can come and see the project and discuss our findings. We'll keep you posted on those!

This is a SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education) Farmer Rancher grant project and is meant to build off of other research and farmer needs and provide information to other farmers, ranchers and growers.

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2/17/23

Here we are in 2023 and we have been very busy seeding, not only native plants, but early vegetables for markets, Co Op and restaurant accounts. We are looking forward to a bountiful year and are excited to enter into spring with lots of new plans and projects.

One of the first things we want to do is update our native plant list and provide more basic planting information for you. We are adding a lot of new varieties this year and plan to have two plant sales on the farm again, as well as selling plants at a couple of additional sales. More info to come on those. We should have the new information on the products page soon. If you have any questions beforehand, please feel free to contact us.

6/15/22

We want to thank everyone for attending the great on-farm sales that we had in May! They were a huge success and we are extremely grateful for your interest, support and purchases!

You will probably notice that variety is dwindling on our native plants. Even so, there are many to choose from to either start your pollinator garden, or to expand or add to an existing one. The great thing about native perennials is that you can plant them any time throughout the summer and into fall! We will gladly visit with you to discuss ideas and options, and don't forget to check us out at the Rochester and Winona farmers markets. We'll have plants there for the next several weeks or can let you know what we have available at the farm.

Thank you!!

1/10/22

It's almost mid January and we're working diligently on getting native seeds into flats and stratified, preparing them for germination. Many natives need their seed exposed to cold temperatures for 30 up to 120 days before they will germinate, so we have to plan and decide quite early on what to grow and when to grow it.

As well as getting those seeds ready, our veggie and herb seeds have been received and we'll soon be planting some of those in flats in the seedling greenhouse. These will be herbs that need a lot of time to germinate and onions that will go out in the field as early as we can prep beds for them. Some will be greens and early brassicas (cauliflower, broccoli, kohlrabi, etc.) that will be planted in the ground in the big greenhouse and in the hoophouses. Some will also be peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes that will be planted into the ground in those houses sometime in March for early sales.

We're also busy cleaning up the greenhouses and hoophouses getting those ready to receive plants. Some won't be planted until early to mid March, but we want to have the ground ready. The big greenhouse and the biggest hoophouse both have the ability to be heated, giving us the opportunity to grow these veggies. And we'll be trying to get some earlier greens and lettuces growing to get to early markets and the Coop.

Also in the planning stages is our 2nd annual plant sale on the farm. Last years sale was a huge success! There were plans for a fall sale but we weren't able to follow through due to so much happening on the farm (namely our son's wedding!). Let us know if you would like us to have both a spring and fall sale this year. We value your opinion!

7/1/21

Unbelievable that it's already July! We are well into the summer season which should mean lots of goodies on the table at market. But sadly the drought conditions that we're experiencing are setting us behind a little. That being said, we still have a nice variety of native plants for sale.

The nice thing about perennials in general is that you can them right up into fall. As long as the roots have time to get established they should make it through the winter with very little stress. We're also planning to have lots of native available again next spring, so keep us in mind if you are preparing for a new bed next year. Let us know if you have any special requests and we'll see what we can do as we try to keep expanding our selection.

In spite of the dry weather the sweet potatoes are loving the heat. We are also on track for fall carrots, cabbage, cauliflower and winter radishes. And the ginger is looking great too!

05/06/2021

Now the first outdoor markets of the season are under our belts. Planting season is upon us and while we try to get our own crops into the ground here on the farm, we're also very busy getting tomato, pepper, herb and native plants potted and ready to go into your gardens. We're still working on some of the varieties of natives, growing them to a size that's best for transplanting. We hesitate offering plants too early because we want them to grow well for you, so please be patient and keep checking our on-line store. We really do keep adding more varieties for you!

Can you believe it? Outdoor market in both Winona and Rochester begin Saturday May 1! This is as early as it can get, but that's ok because we've been anticipating an exciting and very busy spring season. Most of our plants are ready to go. We'll be adding to the store almost daily as they become ready to find new homes in your gardens, weather they are for vegetables, pollinators or butterflies.

We also have some produce for market and will be adding more items as the spring progresses. Spring lettuces and greens, snap peas, early carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and kohlrabi will be coming your way soon. As you shop for your plants or food either on-line or at market, remember that all of our products are organic. We are certified organic and will soon be certified Real Organic as well. You may wonder why that is important. To us, providing products that have not been treated with harsh chemicals are fundamental to a healthier community and environment. These certifications can help those of you who do not personally know us have confidence in the products that you purchase and know that it was grown with those ideals in mind.

So here are a couple of bits of information that you may find interesting. A lot of potential customers ask if we "spray" our products. Lonny is fond of saying that the wrong question is being asked. Almost all organic growers use some type of sprays. But these sprays are always carefully vetted and must be approved for organic use before we can use them. Please note, though, that we will only use these sprays as a last resort when all other methods have not worked and a major crop is threatened.

Another topic that I would like you to think about is when you are asking a grower if they are organic, they may not be certified, but may tell you that they use organic methods. This may well be the case, and we did that for many years. But there are sometimes little shortcuts that may be taken that you may not be aware of. One of these is not making sure that the seed used is either organic or untreated. Why does it matter if the seed is treated or not? Some seed treatments use the very neonicotiniods that are known for harming our bee population. These pesticides are systemic and remain in the plant as the plant grows. Pollen from these plants can kill the very bees that we are trying so hard to save. If the grower grows out some of their plants from purchased plugs and the plugs are not organic, they may have also been grown from treated seed.

On that note we would like you to know that we start all of the plants that we sell, either from seed or root division. And we never use treated seed!

Keep checking back with us for updates and news from the farm. And please let us know if you have any questions, concerns, or requests. We love hearing from you and we look forward to seeing you at the Winona Farmers Market this spring!

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