KNOPP BRANCH FARM— Edna, Texas

  

Knopp Branch Farm, established in January of 2007, is a family operated small farm located 11 miles north of Edna on the Lavaca River.  (Edna is about 95 miles down Highway 59 towards Victoria, all told about an hour and a half drive.)

There are about 4 acres high fenced – to keep deer and feral hogs out – and of that roughly 2 acres are under cultivation. There are also about 20 acres in native grasses on which a neighbor pastures his bulls.

While not certified organic, we use strict organic methods: no chemical fertilizers or pesticides whatsoever. The farm’s soils are very sandy with little organic matter, and have, and will continue to require large amounts of compost, much of which is spent growing medium from Kitchen Pride organic mushrooms in Gonzales, seven 18-wheeler truckloads of it in the last year. We supplement with fish emulsion, compost tea, and certified organic supplements from San Jacinto Environmental.  We mulch our beds with grass clippings mowed from between and around the beds.

And, we do have bugs and insects – lots of them. The cabbage loupers, tomato hornworms, tent caterpillars, and their cousins all get dusted with BT, a naturally occurring bacillus that only affects them and is approved for organic farming. Neem oil is used sparingly on other bugs and beetles and is also sanctioned.  Diluted orange oil works pretty well on fire ants. We tolerate more insects than we might, for fear of affecting our population of lady bugs, mantises and assassin bugs. It’s a delicate balance, and you’ll see more nibbles and bites and holes in our produce – that’s the result of farming organically while not overdoing the insect control.

Our goal is to create a sustainable family farm using organic methods of production and hopefully disprove the statistic that family farms are uneconomical and in decline. It is a full-time job for Donna, and part time for Harry, Anna, Nick and Ernest (and full-time for ranch security – the yellow Labs Abby and Sam).  We generally harvest the latter part of the week, and Donna brings in the produce Friday afternoons for Saturday market at Urban Harvest’s Farmer’s Market (Richmond and Eastside).

We are learning what we can grow and bring to market successfully.  The coming years should see us add varieties of citrus, figs, cut flowers, and other produce. Also, we eat what we grow, and despite being now heartily sick and tired of zucchini, it is with pleasure that we anticipate the next crop to come into season.

Despite the startup being costly, the work hard, and the learning curve steep, we’ve gotten so much support and encouragement from the folks at Urban Harvest, our neighbors and friends, our fellow vendors, and our customers that, by golly, we may just succeed!

We welcome visitors; call or contact us for best times.