The crisp of iceberg or romaine lettuce… There is nothing like it. And while salads are really common, it is pretty unusual to visit a lettuce farm. That’s why a tour with Jonathan Dinsmore (@TheFarmerJon on Instagram) of Yuma, Arizona hit the spot.
Jonathan farms with his dad and took some time out of the field to interview for one of the initial episodes of the Grounded by the Farm podcast. And if you have listened to that episode, you may remember us mentioning the shop where we sat at a picnic table to do the interview. Here’s the selfie we promised! Before we did that interview, Jon gave me a bit of the tour of the family’s farm in Yuma, Arizona and the video follows… We hope the video really adds to the podcast experience — hopefully some listeners will enjoy seeing the farm. You’ll also get a great feeling for Jonathan’s personality… he’s a great guy.
Lettuce Farm & Mountains?
Driving around Yuma, you see some rather rugged looking mountains on the horizon. Though Jon jokes a lot of people would say they just are hills, they look like the mountains in western movies. This recent photo of Jon’s will show you what he means.
View this post on InstagramBlack Friday special on the farm. Fresh air, muddy roads, and beautiful views. #thefarmlife
A newly planted field of romaine was planted the day before we visited. The crop is planted six lines/rows on a big bed or two rows on small beds. He explained that the seed takes 5-6 days to produce a plant that can emerge from the soil and be harvested a couple of months later. And lettuce can also get from the farm to customers in 2 days to a week.
The Dinsmore farm some land they own but have also been working with a range of landlords to lease more than half of the land they farm. And they frequently work out a cropping plan that allows them to rotate with other farmers.
Photography and Family
Jon has enjoyed taking photos since he was a kid — he loved capturing the moments and found that he really enjoyed some of the mess ups with double exposures, etc. It wasn’t until his grandpa passed away that Jon realized it was also a bit of a family legacy. As he tells the story, I have to say the passion is palpable!
Pairing that love of photography with social media — especially Instagram — has been a great fit for him. He loves the give and take and has built a network that he never expected including people in his hometown, farmers at great distances and more. He shares his farm and family, this recent photo shows, the combination delivers!
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