FarmHER Kate Hitchcock specializes in growing Sweet Baby Broccoli in California’s Salinas Valley, known as “The Salad Bowl of the World.” She works alongside her dad and brother to bring Sweet Baby Broccoli—a newer variety of one of American Farms‘ staple crops, broccoli—to consumers who can’t get enough of this “sweet” and tender-stemmed brassica.
Kate is also an Ag InnovatHER and an early adopter of new planting techniques and mixed growing methods that increase crop yields and reduce labor costs for some of their operation’s most delicate crops, like sweet baby broccoli and romaine lettuce.
Oh, Baby! Celebrating “Sweet” Success
Kate takes pride in how far the crop has come and expresses gratitude to the customers who have embraced sweet baby broccoli as a beloved commodity. She’s been working with Syngenta Vegetable Seeds since 2010 to produce sweet baby broccoli, planning as far as two years ahead to ensure seed production meets demand.
“I’m so proud,” Kate told Kirbe. “I’m very grateful for all our customers. I’m grateful that this as a commodity has really taken off.”
The Delicate Process of Planting
Part of Kate’s daily routine involves driving around Salinas Valley to check on different crops. Their farm, like many in the area, is spread out, which benefits crop diversity by providing a variety of microclimates for growing. However, Kate said, driving around does decrease efficiency—and puts a lot of miles on her truck!
However, Kate has found innovative techniques to conserve in other ways, including becoming an early adopter of the plant tape method three years ago. This method helps reduce steep, “precious” labor costs. So far, she’s utilized it successfully for their Sweet Baby Broccoli and Romaine lettuce crops.
From Seedling to Soil
Kate also took us on a tour of the local nursery where her Sweet Baby Broccoli starts its journey. The nursery uses a mix of conventional plug planting and the plant tape method.
The plants are grown for around 30 days (or 60 days in winter) before being transplanted. Kate emphasized the importance of preparing the plants to be sturdy enough to handle transplanting without damage.
Later, Kate walks us through how her operation grows and harvests sweet baby broccoli — taking it across the food chain, from the field to the consumer. Workers cut and bunch the broccoli, then pack it into boxes before it’s sold. As Kate explains, the team carefully forecasts how many boxes will be produced from each field, hoping to achieve four or five harvests.
Tune in to FarmHER this Tuesday to learn more about Kate Hitchcock and the process behind growing sweet baby broccoli, from planning to planting to harvest. Watch the episode when it premieres on Tuesday, September 24 at 9:00 PM ET only on RFD-TV!
You can also catch encore airings on Fridays at 9:30 PM and Sundays at 10:00 PM ET. Binge all episodes and past seasons of FarmHER and RanchHER on-demand at any time with your annual RFD-TV Now Subscription.
