Caledonia farmer likes to ‘shake things up’ by testing vegetables
Amy Wallner is one of the farmers who enjoy digging up data for the University of Wisconsin’s Seed to Kitchen Collaborative.
Over the last several years, she has grown and evaluated carrots, beets, tomatoes, potatoes, lettuces of all types and winter squash, growing them alongside her regular rotation of vegetables on the “two-ish acres” she farms at Amy’s Acre in Caledonia, where she has a 20-acre property.
“For the trial, there is a desire to have the crop treated just like you treat all your crops. It’s linked to more realistic results if you can just grow the trial crops right in the mix with everything else,” she said.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in horticulture and soil science, she learned through the Department of Horticulture website about the collaboration, which aims to come up with delicious vegetable varieties that grow well in the Upper Midwest.
“The big reason that I wanted to be part of the trials was that I like the idea of working on varieties that are developed for our climate in our region, so that agronomically they perform really well for me,” she said. And, she said, it’s useful “for plant breeders and scientists at the university to get feedback from people on the land growing the vegetables.”
Some of the trial vegetables are in early development. A UW-Madison graduate student once sent Wallner seeds that were simply identified by the numbers assigned to the parents.
“I didn’t know what it meant, but obviously the student did,” she said during a recent telephone conversation.
And, yes, farmers are busy, but Wallner finds that the SeedLinked app used in the trials means “data entry is not that taxing.”
Another plus, as she sees it, is having the chance to “shake things up,” to try new veggies without “investing extra money on seed costs on a variety that’s totally unknown to me.”
Because her customers are willing to try new things, she says, she can afford
to grow niche vegetables such as radicchio or heirloom tomatoes, which wouldn't make economic sense for larger-scale operations.
One of her favorites from the trials is the Damsel tomato, a pink beefsteak bred by EarthWork Seeds, a small company in Florida committed to producing seed in the United States.
“Damsel is a tomato I was not aware of, but it's really a good one, really nice flavor,” she said.
During the growing season, the 34year-old Wallner sells her produce — including some Seed to Kitchen veggies — directly to restaurants and at the Fox Point and Shorewood farmers markets.
She also has a farm stand at 8318 6 Mile Road, Caledonia, that's open all year; eggs are available in the winter, but no produce. Also, look for an Amy's Acre consumer supported agriculture subscription; signup is already underway.
Check the website for information or to register: amysacre.com/farm.