Our Growing Practices

Our farm specializes in sustainable agriculture which consists of a multi-pronged approach to crop protection using mulch, crop rotation and frequent scouting to minimize the use of pesticides. We do not have a spray program, except for sweet corn because we found that our customers do not like or want worms in their corn on the cob. We scout the fields and apply Dept. of Agriculture approved products if needed for the growing plant. Once the plants are in bloom, little or no spray is used because of the honey bees pollinating. 

Our plants are started in the greenhouse and then transplanted to our high tunnels and fields. The high tunnels extend our growing season by 4 weeks earlier in the spring and 4 weeks later in the fall. We use integrated pest management (IPM), which is good bugs eliminating bad bugs. We mulch our fields with straw bales for weed control. The mulch will get plowed under to add to the next years organic matter in the soil. The use of drip irrigation in the fields helps to conserve water.

The Dillner Family Farms seeds are purchased from Rupp seed, Seedway, Harris seed and Johnny's seed. Seeds are selected for flavor and customer choice. We do not use GMO or genetically engineered seed because we do not have a need to ship or store produce. Sweet corn is picked and sold that same day. These seeds are transplanted or directly seeded in the fields. Several plantings/fields are produced throughout the growing season. The plan is to have a new field coming in so we do not have to maintain one field all summer, we just move into the next field. To keep the animal pressure down, we’ve built an eight foot deer fence that surrounds the farm.