PILLAGER-The farm sits along Highway 210 just after a bend as the pavement winds through Pillager.
Shayne Johnson is the third generation to farm the land, continuing a legacy started by his grandfather and then continued by his mom and dad. Both Johnson, who works for the DNR in Baxter, and his wife Louise, who operates her own landscaping business, rise early for their day jobs and then work the farm at night.
The Johnson's have 4 acres under cultivation at the Pillager farm site, where they have Grampa G's Gardens, Greenhouse, Good Eats and Gifts. The entire farm is about 140 acres. Grampa G's is named after two men in Johnson's life, his grandfather George Gerrels and his father Grant.
As part of their continuing the family's farming heritage and sustainable practices, the Johnsons do the lion's share of their work by hand. They minimize using the tiller, instead opting to do much of that work with hand tools to make less of an impact on the organic matter and microorganisms. They don't use herbicides or synthetic pesticides. They water and harvest-all by hand.
"We're really reducing the carbon footprint of the operation," Johnson said. "It's a lot of work, but it's well worth it."
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Natural resources
Earlier this month, Johnson spoke at the Sprout Growers & Makers Marketplace grand opening. The marketplace, in the former Crestliner building in Little Falls, is an indoor, year-round market for locally produced food and art. Johnson credited Sprout for reaching out to the community and trying to get fresh produce to people who need it.
Johnson said more and more people want to know where their food is coming from and how it was raised.
"It seems like a really good trend," he said.
The Johnsons' greenhouse is one of two pilot research sites in the area with a solar high tunnel. The other spot is The Farm at St. Mathias in Crow Wing County. The research projects, using grants from Region Five Development Commission in Staples and Rural and Rural Renewable Energy Alliance in Backus, are looking to see if the growing season can be extended. Data is still being collected, but Johnson said it has extended the growing season by two weeks in the spring and again in the fall. The solar panels allow the farm to tap into the sun's power for underground heat.
Johnson said another source that may be underutilized by farmers also provides grant dollar to help growers. Three years ago, the Johnsons worked with the National Resources Conservation Service for an Environmental Quality Incentives Program grant. It assisted with pasture mixes, fencing, water and irrigation. The EQIP program provides financial and technical assistance to agriculture producers with conservation practices to improve natural resources on farm land and non-industrial private forestland.
"They are a wonderful organization, they really are," Johnson said of NRCS in Baxter. "I don't know if farmers use them that much."
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Work for a purpose
The Johnsons sell starter vegetable plants they grow from seed and also sell their produce at the farm and other outlets. The third-generation family farm is nearing the century mark and has been farmed continuously since the barn was first erected in 1919. They are continuing the sustainable farming culture they inherited and plan to expand the farm they love.
"Louise and I have been diligently putting the pieces together, so this will be a comfortable and sustainable way of life for our children and their children," Johnson wrote in an excerpt from Grampa G's website. "We love to work for a purpose, which makes all this hard work seem tolerable.
"We were not the first to realize this, my grandfather and grandmother worked this land for over 80 years. Then it was my dad and mom's turn to work the same land for another 20 years. That passion and respect for the land and all that is supported by it has made a lasting impression on both of us and it is our privilege to continue the legacy into the future for the next generation."
The Johnsons' vegetables are sold at farmers' markets in Pine River and Crosby and go to the Pillager School for its summer program. Their vegetables also go to the grocery department at Gosch's Store in Randall.
Johnson is counting down the years before he'll be able to retire and farm full time. At Grampa G's, the Johnsons grow 60 different varieties of vegetables. They've also been planting fruit trees, about five to 10, each year. Shayne and Louise Johnson do the work themselves but said they are looking to hire additional help.
"It's really hard work, but it's really a mind-relaxing kind of thing," Johnson said. "It really is a relaxing, good atmosphere. I just love it.
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"You get a good night's sleep-that's for sure."
Plants to try
Looking for a prolific tomato for a container garden?
Johnson recommends a Mexican midget tomato. It produces small half-inch tomatoes that are described as deep red with a rich tomato flavor. Use a container and a trellis so the plant can climb. Keep it pruned and it will produce a ton of nice, little tomatoes, Johnson said.
Want to try a new cucumber variety? Johnson grows a Suyo long cucumber that is essentially seedless. The cucumber grows about a foot long and has seeds in the last 2 inches on one end. "It's a really nice seedless, burpless cucumber," Johnson said. The only drawback may be the recommended hoop house growing conditions.
Johnson also grows a straight eight cucumber, which he says is also a good variety. It is known for its straight shape and flavor. It grows about 8 inches long and is considered a top slicing cucumber. For pickling cucumbers, Johnson likes the National Pickling cucumber, described as a high yielder that grows fruit on vigorous, medium vines. It can be picked at 2 inches for pickles or grown to 4 inches for slicers. "You can't keep up once they start," Johnson said of the little cucumbers.
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RENEE RICHARDSON, associate editor, may be reached at 218-855-5852 or renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com . Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Dispatchbizbuzz .
