February 2019 - 37

FARM MARKET & AGRITOURISM
from a neighbor. " We partner with
a neighbor who grows excellent,
excellent sweet corn, " Wenzel said.
The neighbor also grows watermelon.
The Wenzels can take 40 melons to a
farmers' market and sell out by 10 a.m.
Customer demand for vegetables
moves in cycles throughout the
summer. Sweet corn is tremendously
popular for a while and then
customers look for something else.
" Every year what people want for
produce is a little different, " Wenzel
said. " We've been surprised by the
popularity of spaghetti squash. "
" Every year what
people want for
produce is a little
different. "
− Don Wenzel, Donnie
Appleseed Orchard
The flavor of freshly-dug potatoes
is a surprise to many visitors. " People
like their fresh potatoes, " he said.
" This is another one of those learning
curves. You can't beat a fresh potato
right out of the ground compared to
one that has been transported through
the food chain and on the shelf for a
while. When you sell it the day you
pick it, the flavor is different; the
texture is different. "
Donnie Appleseed Orchard
recently had its first farm tour. " I
didn't think many people would
come, " Wenzel said, but there was a
good turnout.
" I was really surprised about the
number of people who asked really
good questions - what we do and
who we are, " Wenzel said. " People
want to know how you grow apples. "
" There are a lot of people out there
who really don't know the different
apples - their tastes and uses - what
makes a good pie, but they want to
learn. Educating them is a lot of fun
for us, " Wenzel said.
The orchard grows a few trees of some
unique apple varieties, like Haralson
and Arkansas Black. " Arkansas Black
is a good conversation starter, " Wenzel
said. " It is a really dark, dark red apple
that's harvested late in the marketing
year - like November. " It has a very long
shelf life when refrigerated.
Plans include erecting a building
on the farm for direct marketing. The
goal is to get more of the customer base
coming out to the orchard. It may also
give the Wenzels more time to talk to
their customers.
" People want to know about the
food and they want to know about
us, " Wenzel said. " They want the
whole package. They want to know
about me and Wendy. They really
want to know who's growing their
food. " VGN
Tom Pagels
NJ, PA, DE, MD, VA, LI
609-247-7140
Randy DeMay
New York
585-747-3379
George Dobson
New York, MA, CT
585-734-7214
Karen Grybko
NH, VT, ME, MA, RI
603-654-5362
Tom Jacobs
MI, OH, IL
616-307-4322
Ken Wagner
IL, IN, MO
317-409-3445
Stokes Seeds Trial Evaluation
Researching the best for
our customers since 1881.
Specter
95 day. F1 hybrid. Medium
round 9-12 in/23-30.5 cm
white pumpkin with large,
firmly attached handles.
Uniform shape and size and
semihard shell that keeps
color longer. High yield
potential. Intermediate
PM resistance.
miniwArtS
110 day. This frighteningly
warted variety is perfect for
pumpkin patches and
roadside stands. Orange
6x6 in/15.25x15.25 cm shell
with green warts, strong
handle and a very uniform
shape and size. Some
resistance to PM, ZYMV.
KrAtOS
OrAnGe
SUnriSe
100 day, medium size 14 in/
36 cm, 25-30 lb/11-13.5 kg
rounded dark orange ridged
pumpkins. Intermediate PM
resistance.
Early maturing 12-18 lb/5.58
kg precocious pumpkin.
Good deep orange color
with a nice round shape.
Intermediate resistance to
Powdery Mildew.
Tom Dauria
NJ, PA, DE, MD, VA, WV, LI
908-489-4896
- Quality Seed Since 1881 -
T: 1-800-263-7233 │ www.StokeSeeds.com │ Box 548 Buffalo NY 14240-0548
Carol Korey
New York
845-258-0172
Tim Clark
WI, MN, IA
608-609-5884
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February 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2019
