Schaffer Farms

JOSEPH SCHAFFER says he started collecting seeds when he was seven, maybe six. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve collected seeds. I just started cramming them in my pockets. Later I saved them in recycled yogurt containers. I knew the shapes and colors of the seeds, so I never had to label them.” Joseph was born and raised in Skull Valley. His dad farmed conventionally on a ten-acre arm with tractors, growing mixed vegetable crops, including asparagus, broccoli, beans, corn, cucumbers and more.

By age nine Joseph was skipping school to work with his older brothers at a Prescott plant nursery. “School,” he tells me, “was boring.” He continued to educate himself with all the books he could lay his hands on. He did a good job, because Joseph is one of the most astute and knowledgeable people I’ve come across. The vegetables he grows now are all from seeds he’s saved, originating from the family farm, from the early days at those nurseries, and from many other sources along the way. All this experience and insight is evident at the Farmers Market.

Joseph doesn’t just save seeds, he selects them. He explains, “plants are always trying to revert to their wild selves.” For example, carrots will produce some seed that hearkens back to their ancestor, Queen Anne’s Lace, which is stringy tough, bitter and small. To avoid that, Joseph first selects the best of the best carrots — he says those with blunt ends are the sweetest — and grows out their seeds. He repeats the process with successive generations, reinforcing desired characteristics and weakening the undesirables.

To grow your own carrots from select seeds, take the best open-pollinated carrot you can find. Pull off the green top. Then cleanly cut off the top inch. Put this is a shallow pan of water, not totally submerged. The plant tissue at the place where the leaves once appeared will sprout again. Within a week you will see new green leaves. Make sure they get water and sunshine. After about two weeks this emerging plant can be put in soil, in a pot or in the garden. With light and water the top will continue to grow, flower and produce seeds for nearly identical carrots. Plant them. Grow great carrots. Select the best to sprout for seed. Repeat this process every year and the resulting carrots will manifest more and more of the characteristics you want: sweet, tender and large.

Joseph follows a similar selection protocol for all his crops, including wheat, arugula, lettuce, potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, and many more, even apples. He selects for flavor, vitality, disease resistance and success in the cold microclimate spot he farms. Schaffer Farm is in a low spot in Paulden, just where cooler air flows out of Williamson Valley Wash. It’s regularly 10-20 degrees cooler here than Chino Valley or Prescott, making it a tough spot. He describes that as “high radiation, high winds, and cold, with a 50-100 day growing season, depending on the year.” To the good he has excellent groundwater, standing at 60 feet in his well and testing clean of all contaminants. Both the air and the water run down and pool around and under the farm, as BNSF freight trains pass right by several times a day. It’s the same train that passes through Skull Valley, the one that Joseph loved as a kid.

The Schaffer Farm location is difficult for growing food, but Joseph has tamed it with appropriate crops and cold frames (soft-sided greenhouses). He says “cold frames pay the bills.” Joseph and his family derive all their income and most of their food from the farm, selling at the farmers markets in both Prescott and Sedona.

Schaffer Farms, known for quality, variety and attractive price points, sells strawberries, asparagus, spinach, kale, peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, squash, carrots and much more in season. At the markets he draws a devoted, steady clientele.

Joseph continues to select for the future. “I’m always looking generations ahead, thinking about the plants, the water, the soil, the people into the future.” He’s selecting seed and developing crops to withstand change. He says, “I want to support the farm into the future so that after I’m gone, the water, the soil, the seeds, the farm continue.”

One more question I can’t resist, “What’s your advice for beginning gardeners?”

First, he says, “Build a plan based on what you like to eat. Stick to three varieties. Start small. Do the research. Be precise and observant. Keep records. And remember, failures are education.”

Second, he adds, “Don’t take advice from someone who is growing in another climate. Learn your microclimate. Keep it simple!” 

Joseph Schaffer is available with garden advice and fresh vegetables every Saturday at the Prescott Farmers Market and every Sunday at the Sedona Farmers Market.

Chef Molly Beverly is Prescott's leading food activist and teacher. Photos by Molly