Carrot Country

‘Gentleman Farmer’ Growing Carrots, Tomatoes and More

Carrot Country
Fall 2007

Alan Schwartz, Lawrence, Mass., is what could be described as a “gentleman farmer.” He works all day as a librarian for the Boston Housing Authority and then spends his spare time operating a small farm growing carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, wax beans, winter squash and melons. Lawrence is a small mill town outside of Boston.

Schwartz has been growing carrots and other vegetables for sale to schools, roadside stands and other customers for around 45 years. His first exposure to growing vegetables was from an uncle -- also
living in Lawrence -- who grew a “tiny garden plot in the back of his tenement house.”

Biggest and the Best
“His were the biggest and best looking tomatoes and cucumbers you ever saw,” Schwartz recalls. “At the time, he worked for AMP, an Eastern grocery chain. Every spring, its stores would sell vegetable
seeds in packets. At the end of the season, he would give me the leftover seeds.”

Today, Schwartz farms only two acres, a fourth acre of which is in carrots of different colors and varieties. He is always searching for new and unique carrots to trial – colored carrots and carrots that are
sweet and taste good.

“Growing the colored varieties can be diffi cult,” he admits, speaking from experience. “I’ve grown Rainbow, Purple Haze and many others. The climate here is not always good for growing carrots. Last
year, we had way too much moisture, but other times it is dry and hot.”

Schwartz’ seed is purchased from a variety of sources: Rupp, Stokes, Seedway, Bejo and others. There are challenges marketing carrots, the part-time grower acknowledges.

“Carrots are one of those vegetables that you either love or hate,” Schwartz points out. “Many of my customers are happy to have home-grown anything but will say, ‘I’ll take anything you grow,
but don’t give me carrots.’ And I’ll reply, ‘Well, you’ve never tasted a really good carrot.’ Many carrots in the stores today either have very little taste or have a strong taste that turns people off. Unless I
can get my customers to taste what I have, many won’t even consider purchasing any of my carrots.”

When area schools start up in the fall, however, Schwartz has had no trouble getting rid of all of the carrots he can grow. He plants two crops per year, one a little later in the season, just right to be fresh and
ready for lunch time when school begins. One of the challenges that “gentlemen farmers” such as Schwartz have -- and there are others such as him in his community -- is planting, cultivating and harvesting, often with antiquated equipment. There are frequent breakdowns, and finding spare parts can be difficult.

“Right now, my cultivating tractor is on the fritz, and I’ve been trying to fi gure out how to fix it for two weeks,” he smiles. “It’s a struggle to find spare parts because there is no infrastructure here. The
businesses that once sold the tractors and other equipment parts are now catering to home owners with lawn and garden equipment. There is still one place in New Hampshire where I can usually fi nd parts, but it’s getting to be a more diffi cult challenge each year.”

Finding enough time to keep up with caring for the crops can also be a challenge, Schwartz admits. During the production season, he averages 20 or more hours per week. It takes time to plant, control
weeds, fi ght insects and harvest and market the crop. Finding reliable part-time help can be a challenge.

“I use IPM,” the grower notes. “I’ve had few problems with insects attacking my carrots, although one year I did have trouble with carrot weevil. My biggest challenges have come with potatoes – there are plenty of potato bugs – and with corn. I stopped growing sweet corn because the insect challenges were just too much for me to control without spraying almost every day. If you missed one spray, you
would lose your crop.”

Tomatoes are an important part of his crop portfolio. Most years will find him with around 200 plants in production, all heirloom varieties.

Love Those Tomatoes
“People can’t get enough native tomatoes,” he smiles. “Here in New England, everyone waits for that fi rst tomato, just like the first ear of corn. They talk about it all winter long.”

Another of his crops popular with locals is waxed Italian beans. Very few people grow them, and you never see them in the grocery stores. But taste them, and you will “always come back,” Schwartz
smiles.

Like many of his neighbors with full-time jobs and part-time farming operations, Schwartz has no plans to give up the hassle of holding down two jobs. He’d love to farm full time if only the money were
there.

“You have to have another income,” he admits. “I have friends here farming that are truck drivers, do construction work and teach. All are doing something. As much as we all love farming, it’s difficult
to make a living from these small acreage operations. The money is just not there.”