As we sit here watching our third round of snow melt, with 2022 now underway, it seems like a good time for a farm update. It's been a while since we have done one.
We will start with 2020. What a crazy year for everyone! We started off the year finally able to realize one of the goals we had when we started this farm: to fund some of Dustin's mountain bike racing on the national Pro circuit. He races professionally with very little support from sponsors. Building up the farm cost more than we expected, but we could see the potential to fund his racing going into 2020. That finally happened in March just before the COVID pandemic arrived. Some equipment issues drained the race budget before the season even started, but the funds from the farm were enough to at least get Dustin out to Phoenix for the first national-level mountain bike event of the year. Unfortunately, heavy rain caused the race to be postponed by a week, then canceled as the pandemic shutdowns began. Talk about bad timing. At least he got in some training time in the desert sunshine and was able to ride the course to prepare for any future trips to the Cactus Cup. The trip also provided an opportunity to ride the course for National Championships that were scheduled for later in the year in Texas (also ended up being canceled due to COVID).
Trail for the Cactus Cup race outside of Phoenix
Some of the trails in Texas in colorful Palo Duro Canyon where Nationals were scheduled for in September
As the pandemic worsened and shutdowns ground our economy to a hault, we expected our sales to tank. Had we not already bought everything for our growing season and planted all of our veggies, we probably would have cut back the size of our plots instead of making them bigger. It started off as expected with our biggest pepper buyer having to cut way back. They sell to restaurants which were forced to close due to pandemic restrictions. At the same time, the panic over food availability caused a rush on canning supplies making it very difficult to get jars and lids for our jams and jellies.
But to our surprise, new buyers emerged and online sales increased. We were shocked to not only be making sales, but to well surpass the previous year. We moved our fresh pepper sales to our online stores in an attempt to sell what we had expected to send to our biggest buyer and it turned out to be a huge move for us. All the time we have spent studying the best way to pack and ship fresh peppers finally paid off. We grew more peppers than in 2019 and still we sold all of our fresh ones despite the cutback from our big buyer. We couldn't believe it! Dried peppers continued to sell well. We sold out of almost every variety of jam and jelly. We added ground pepper powders and FL Datil Pepper Hot Sauce, both of which sold out. We more than doubled the amount of seeds we offered in 2019 and nearly sold them all out too. We not only survived the pandemic, but the farm thrived! We knew after 2020 that if we can keep getting this kind of business we can realize the dream of funding not only Dustin's bike racing, but also other aspiring bike racers who could use some financial help.
Veggies from 2020
Our hot pepper selection keeps getting better
This simple wash rack we built not only saved our backs, but significantly reduced the time required to clean our produce
We added three fresh pepper options for sale online in 2020
2020 saw even higher quality dried peppers
We figured out a good Carolina Reaper Pepper Jelly recipe in 2020 that brings out the flavor of the Reaper while taking the heat down enough to make it edible.
This apple pie jam was one we kept to ourselves until 2020.
Our raspberries finally produced enough in 2020 to be able to make Raspberry Habanero Jelly, another sweet & spicy option.
Ground pepper powders
The discovery of the Datil pepper has been huge for us. The pepper was suggested to us and we were able to secure some seeds. We had no idea this pepper would taste so good and have such a big following! We plan to use it in many ways over the coming years, ensuring it will be a staple on the farm for a very long time.
FL Datil Pepper Hot Sauce
When 2021 arrived, we were excited to say the least. Some changes with our jobs following the pandemic left us with a little more time to focus on growing the farm and extra motivation. The funds from 2020 were used to get more grow lights and tools to help work the farm, like a dump cart for our mower. We increased the number of pepper plants yet again in an attempt to keep up with demand. Not only did we plant more plants, but we produced more per plant. We started off in our early years measuring the amount of peppers harvested by the number picked. Then it turned to buckets and now in 2021 we moved into measuring by pounds. Lots of pounds! We finally achieved our goal of going 100% organic throughout our vegetables and herbs. It's hard to do with some veggies because of the amount of pests in our area, but we were able to make it happen this year.
Pepper plants soaking up the rays under an additional grow light that is larger and more efficient than our previous light.
A piece of the pepper patch in early summer
We added a milder variety of Scotch Bonnet peppers to our fresh pepper options for 2021
Devil's Tongue peppers were very popular in 2021 due to their fruity flavor that compliments their heat. We will continue to expand on these pepper in 2022.
Our wash rack was full 3-4 times a week this year.
New additions in 2021: Chocolate Habaneros and Jamaican Scotch Bonnets.
Our tastiest Jalapenos yet came in 2021
The Cayennes were killer too.
Our Peach Ghosts this year were amazing!
Giant Habaneros being giant.
Huge Carolina Reaper harvest in '21.
Some new jam/jelly combo packs were added this year to try to help reduce fees and shipping costs to our customers.
Our first ever passion flowers came in 2021
Garlic in the ground to grow over the winter
Fall in the garden
Online sales went well with some new bulk buyers coming on board in 2021, but all was not as positive as last year. Our largest buyer that was reduced in 2020 was shut down completely in 2021. Their customers continue to be closed due to COVID restrictions as some parts of the country continue to keep harsh regulations in place on restaurants. Of the five main restaurants that ended up with products containing our peppers, three have shut their doors for good, while the other two are closed still attempting to wait out the pandemic capacity restrictions. Canning supplies continue to be difficult to find. We had to choose between some flavors this year due to a limited jar supply. Mint Jelly kept getting pushed off for this reason and wasn't produced at all in 2021. Shipping prices have drastically increased and online selling fees have increased too. It is getting harder every day to make a profit. We have tried hard to not raise our prices, but it has been forced upon us due to increased expenses. Sales of jams and jellies have been much lower this year. Fresh peppers sales were good, but dried has been low thus far. Hopefully, seed sales will be good again. This is the first year since we opened that we have not increased our sales. The additional plants and increase in production made for long hours of picking and maintaining in the Fall. We were exhausted and didn't have a lot of sales to show for it. With all of these challenges and new tax regulations on small businesses, it's no wonder we, and many other farms, are worried about our future. We were unable to contribute to Dustin's racing in 2021, but we hope to be able to get him back to racing across the country in 2022. We did, however, have enough income to help out some local farms struggling due to the pandemic and donate a bit to the American Red Cross as they work hard to help with tornado recovery in our area after several nasty storms did major damage in December.
Rest assured, we will be pushing ahead in 2022 no matter what happens with the economy. We already have our seeds ready to plant for another productive pepper season. High-quality peppers will be coming your way for another year! Seeds will be available very soon and floral jelly season is just around the corner. We will keep doing our jams and jellies until we run out of our canning supplies.
Wild Rose Petal Jelly was added in 2021 by customer request. It was delicious!
Thank you to all of our customers across the United States! We could not have built this farm to where it is today without your help! We have now sold to the entire continental U.S. with the exception of North Dakota. If you know anyone in North Dakota that would enjoy any of our products please let us know and we will add in something special for helping us complete the lower-48! We will do the same for anyone in Hawaii and Alaska. Likewise, if you or anyone you know needs some fresh peppers, dried peppers or jams/jellies we would be happy to provide our peppers to them in 2022. We hope to get new t-shirts made this year so you can rep our farm when out and about. Let us know if you want one!
Check out our Facebook page here for more regular updates. Hope to see you at the farm, or send you something from the farm, real soon!
