Organic Farm Specializes In Rare Crops

Organic Farm Specializes In Rare Crops CROPS New Crops Larry Kandarian grows crops by the hundreds and even thousands if different varieties are included Most are on his 65 acres of niche crops His advice to new growers is to avoid growing the same crops as everyone else in your market “Find a niche crop and build demand ” says Kandarian “Go to specialty stores in your area and look for rare and unique crops they carry and find things that will grow where you live African crops are growing in popularity Explore them ” Kandarian has explored such options throughout his life including selling weed seed to government and industry researchers in the 1980’s see Vol 11 No 6 One of his niches today is fennel pollen By harvesting cutting it back and allowing it to regrow he gets as many as 3 crops per year “It’s used by chefs as the Italian saffron ” says Kandarian “I dry it and sell it through Amazon and at farmers markets as well as co-packing it for several companies who also sell it ” Currently he is working to introduce and expand awareness of dryland or upland rice Kandarian is growing out 35 different varieties as he searches for the best flavor and most productive for his area He grows the rice in low tunnels and reports harvesting 5 lbs per 25-ft row “I have 6 or 7 that are good producers they grow fast and overpower the weeds ” says Kandarian “I am teaching others how to grow and harvest ” Kandarian sells the rice at farmers markets “I sell it to home gardeners by the gram and give it to food bloggers to share with their audience ” he says “There’s room for more and larger producers ” As was true of ancient grains Kandarian recognizes that if rice is to take off new low cost machinery is needed He points to the popularity of flour mills with home breadmakers He plans to import small dehulling machines that sell for around $59 each They use an abrasion process to dehull the rice Generally if he can’t find the right machine he builds it “We grow Black Emmer which like many ancient grains has a husk ” says Kandarian “We have our own machines to remove it ” Kandarian has made a specialty out of ancient grains In addition to the Black Emmer he raises certified organic quinoa millet flax teff chia Ethiopian Blue Tinge farro and nearly a dozen more His innovation also extends to field equipment He uses a 4 000-lb home-built drag to help control weeds in his ancient grains Four heavy well casings with beads on top and bottom mounted in a frame scrape most weeds away leaving the crops to grow He has developed novel ways to plant and harvest several trios of his crops in the same field The key he says is to match up grains with different seed sizes that can be separated at harvest or after When possible he matches up a nitrogen-fixing legume with one or more small grains He plants a perennial wheat grass While the same genus and species as Kernza he can’t use the name which is trademarked “I’ve been growing it for 20 some years and I sell it as medium tall wheat grass ” says Kandarian “I’ve had the soil under it tested and it is some of the best in the U S It will soak up 20 in of rain in an hour ” Getting the seed needed to start with a niche crop is often the biggest challenge Rare seed can often be obtained from the U S Seed Repository “Contact them and if they have the seed you can get a few seeds and grow it out ” he says “Keep expanding until you have enough to do something with ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Kandarian Farms 1288 #1/2 2nd St Los Osos Calif 93402 ph 805 528-4007; orders@kandarianorganicfarms com; www kandarian-organic-farms shopify com

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