Down Yonder: Knopp's Farm and Greenhouses at Eastern Market

(Knopp Farm)

It has been a little over a year since I started this project. When I started, I was not sure how I would measure success. What would happen if I did my job right? How would I know?

Then, in late March of this year, Eastern Market farmer Mr. Robert "Bunk" Knopp, Jr., of Knopp's farm and greenhouses, came down to my stand, complimented me on a post on my grandfather (who had also been a farmer) and invited me to come to his farm.

Now, an invitation from a farmer to come to his farm, take up his time, and at the height of the growing season in late July: that is what my grandfather would call "living in high cotton." In terms of success, that invitation has been my highest praise.

(Robert Knopp Sr. speaks on a life time of farming)

Robert "Bunk" Knopp, Jr., was born in 1951. His great grandfather came to Maryland from Germany in 1889 on a boat called the Dresden, landed in the Fells Point area of Baltimore, and eventually brought 200 acres in Severn, Maryland. Mr. Knopp is still farming this land today.

"Bunk" is a name given to him as a baby as to not confuse him with his father, Robert Knopp Sr. The K in their name is pronounced. "Bunk" finished high school and enrolled in community college, but he says it was just not him, adding that his father had a strong presence in his life and wanted him to become a farmer, so he did. However, Mr. Knopp, Sr. did tell me that "Bunk" played in a band professionally for eleven years and is a very accomplished musician. Think the Big Band era, and think Benny Goodman (not polkas), when I tell you that "Bunk" is a master of the accordion.

In numerous conversations over the last couple of months, mostly with Robert Knopp, Jr. ( and on one occasion with Mr. Robert Knopp, Sr.) I asked about the life of the modern American small family farmer.

The elder Mr. Knopp, who is eighty-two years old, began farming as child in the late 1930's. In his day the "cash crops" for the Knopp farm were tobacco, vegetables and sweet potatoes. They also had "milkin' cows", pigs, chickens and steers for family consumption. He introduced modern farming practices to the land starting in the 1960's and went into the retail end of farming with a road side stand around 1961-1965. Mr. Knopp recalls a time when he would go to a produce merchant's stand to sell his corn for twenty five cents for a dozen ears, but the merchant to whom Mr. Knopp had brought the corn could get fifty cents a dozen when the merchant sold it to the public. So Mr. Knopp started his own roadside stands, and also started going to farmers' markets to sell his produce to the public. One of the first Markets at which he sold was the market at the RFK stadium in Washington, D.C.

He also introduced modern methods of farming and growing. For example, at that the time, overhead irrigation systems (and, later, drip irrigation systems) were vast improvements for insuring that crops received water during crucial stages in the growing seasons rather than waiting for rain. Greenhouses, which he also introduced to his land, provide an even more controlled environment. Mr. Knopp further introduced the modern method of planting through plastic sheeting, a technique which heats up the soil for early spring crops as well as reducing the need for chemical use by suppressing weeds growing into the plants' root systems. Thus the plants produce higher yield at regular intervals.

(drip irrigation under plastic sheeting)

The elder Mr. Knopp says, of his son's staying on and farming with him "...if he had left I would have had to leave (farming) and get a job." He adds "...you got to be gifted a little bit..." to farm.

"Bunk" Knopp said of his own son, Steven, staying on and farming, that about ten years ago, Steven was not "up to it", so "Bunk" told him to go out and get a job. I asked "Bunk" what he meant by "not up to it"; well, Bunk said, Steven would come to the greenhouse...late. I raised an eyebrow: late? He replied rather sheepishly, "he would show up at the greenhouse at 9:00 a.m." "Bunk" gets up at four a.m. and is in the fields or greenhouses by five. Now, though, his son is his right hand, who allows "Bunk" to get paperwork done, sell at other markets, and get off the tractor. He pointed out to me a repair in the irrigation system that he had pointed out to his son the prior day--already fixed. Steven had been out in the fields and and returned by the time I arrived at the house for my second visit around 9:15. Steven Knopp not only works on the farm and works the Farmers' Markets ,but is also a commercial crabber. I was told this by both father and grandfather.

("Bunk's" son Steven Knopp cleans off the planter and tractor after and early morning visit to the fields before heading out again)

Mr. Knopp, Sr. said the best thing that helps farmers is "being honest: what you see is what you get". The elder Mr. Knopp is very happy with his decision years ago to start selling to the public, commenting that "...profit is better, you can grow less and make just as much when you sell to the general public." However, Knopp Farms also sells its tomatoes and sweet potatoes wholesale; for generations the Knopp farm has been one of the largest producers of sweet potatoes in Maryland.

(Knopp sweet potato, just dug up)

I visited the Knopp family farm twice; the first time was for the "Fifth Annual Watermelon Fest." Bunk's guests for this event were longtime customers from two of the eight farmers' markets at which the Knopp farm sells. One came from the Market in Baltimore--Mr. Harold McCray, a software designer and photographer--and the other from Eastern Market--Mr. Hollie West, who has known the Knopp family for almost twenty years from their days at RFK stadium market. Mr. West is a journalist who over his long career has worked for the Washington Post, New York Daily News, the Detroit Free Press and CBS News. These were men like my brother and myself, raised in cities but with our roots firmly planted in the south from the long summers on our families' farms.

(The 'Fest' folk Mr. Hollie West and Mr. Harold McCray, taste testers)

(Watermelon Fest' 2010 Bunk in the patch cuttin' open some gooduns')

Mr. McCray recalled stories of his summers with his uncle in Albertine, Georgia, while Mr. West spoke fondly of growing up in Wewoka, Oklahoma and I of summers in Humboldt, Tennessee. We discussed the correct "southern" manner of watermelon consumption, our thoughts on this new-fangled notion of watermelons "without seeds" (Knopp farms grows some of these modern usurpers) and the delicate art of spitting seeds at our siblings. "Bunk" chimed in that his seedless variety were excellent and challenged us ol' timers to give them a try. We met at the "preparation shed" (where"Bunk" and others pack the fresh picked vegetables into crates and baskets for the markets) and proceeded to the fields, knives in hand. But alas, we had no salt, a loss to true grandchildren of the south. This is not the mortal sin of eating fried catfish without hot sauce, but....

"Bunk" went "out yonder" and cut three melons from the vine...and the sophisticated taste test was on. Some used a knife to cut the melons into small cubes while others cut a wedge (and some used teeth.) Yes, the seedless melons were sweet and fine, but somethin' just ain't right when you ain't got no seeds to spit.

Of course, melons were picked by all ,and we were even invited to take "all the tomatoes we could carry." I was eyeing the rows of zinnias and sunflowers with a lecherous eye, but as I had one or three things in my hands and was already wondering how those watermelons were going to fit into my demi-fridge, I remained silent on the flower issue.

On farming:

Knopp Farms is not certified organic; their type of farming is called Integrated Pest Management. The goal of this method of farming is to diminish and eventually eliminate the use of pesticides (for more information http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/food/imp.htm . The farm is in the Nutrient Management and Soil Conservation programs. Soil conservation includes crop rotation and uses cover crops such as clover and rye (plowed back into the soil at the end of a season) to add nutrients to the land. To that end one can observe experiments in growing on the Knopp Farm that will aid in the effort to eliminate chemicals in their farming practices. One experiment that intrigued me was Steven's tomato greenhouse, in which plants were set in the ground, but in which the sides were rolled up to allow pollinators like birds, bees and butterflies to access the plants in controlled growing environment that reduced the need for chemicals. "Bunk" was impressed with his son's work and the yield of the crop and will do more of this kind of growing next season.

(Steven Knopp's greenhouse tomatoe experiment)

In conversations with "Bunk" Knopp, the orchestration needed to run a farm becomes clear. I pointed to a single plant, and he told me when he had started it from seed in the greenhouse, when he had planted it in the field, its variety, around how many weeks until it would be ready for picking, the expected yield from that one plant and which farmer's market was more likely to buy more of that vegetable. He showed me several rows in various fields, where he, his brother, his son and/or other farmers he knew were experimenting with new vegetables (ask him to tell you the story of the "cotton plant" and how he came about obtaining the seeds.) He is growing a few just for fun. He told me of the Korean sweet potatoes that are purple on the inside and are delicious to eat. As he spoke, his passion, knowledge and love of farming were manifest.

(a single plant) {planted between irragation lines and through plastic sheeting}

(Mr. Robert "Bunk" Knopp in on of his new tilled fields speaks on farming)

We also talked dollars and cents (and sense.) The Knopps' most profitable crop is heirloom tomatoes; they spend five thousand dollars a year in seeds alone, and one greenhouse cost four thousand five hundred dollars for the structure alone. Mr. Knopp Sr. told me "... it is impossible to buy this land (today)..." When I looked around at all the farm equipment, greenhouses, helpers, tractors, and so on, the expense of farming was very clear. Many pieces of equipment had been passed down and maintained for several generations. I realized that small family farmers live in a different world then those of us who buy their products.

Three generations make the rounds at the Knopp farm today. The elder Mr. Knopp gets around the farm in a motorized cart; though he had a massive stroke a few years back, he can still be seen surveying the land and picking vegetables for his table and for friends. Robert "Bunk" Knopp, his wife Cindy, his son Steven, his younger brother Dan, and various seasonal helpers run the daily operations. The Knopp Stand is at Eastern Market on Saturdays and has been at the market for six years. He says that now he feels that the customers at the Market know him and enjoy his produce. He inquires regularly what they would like to see on his stand and what they would like him to grow.

(Robert Knopp Jr and Sr. getting around the farm on the carts)

(knopp farm land at the height of the growing season late July 2010)

As I mention above, Knopp Farm is one of the largest sellers of sweet potatoes in Maryland, but they sell many other vegetables in endless varieties as well. Here are some of the varieties of the produce they grow:

Sweet Potatoes

-covington

-Beaureguard

-Red Mar

-White Hayman, Ol' Henry ( the white varieties)

TOMATOES:

(Knopp stand at Eastern Market with varities of tomatoes for sale)

-Fabulous

-Mt. Fresh Plus

-Rocky Top

-Celebrity

WATERMELONS

-Stargazers (seeded)

-Gypsy, Leopard and Ecstasy (seedless)

Knopp Farms further grows flowers, including fresh-cut ornamentals like the zinnias and sunflowers and flowers for the garden, as well as many other wonder vegetables--onions, squash, green peppers, greens, eggplant, hot peppers, basil, okra, et cetera.

(Knopp Farm and Greenhouses' stand at Eastern Market)

When I was invited to visit the Knopp farm and greenhouses, I wondered what I would see. My knowledge of farming was "ancient", dating to the mid 1980's on my granddaddy's farm in Tennessee, or the farms all around my undergraduate college in Southern Maryland.

After my second visit to the Knopp farm and several conversation with"Bunk" Knopp, I was left with many questions regarding the urban and suburbans population's view of farming. We want to "eat local", but live further from cities causing suburban sprawl. We want to "eat organic," yet the largest retailer of food--Wal-Mart--is buying up farm lands to build its"mega stores", at which most Americans are more than willing to shop. Many of us will shop at farmers' markets, yet most of those are filled with "produce merchants", not local growers. Mr. Knopp told me that of the eight farmers' markets at which he and his family sell, only two have anyone whose job it is to visit farms and certify that the seller is also the grower. Yes, we want...but how often do we wonder what the farmers' needs are, if they are to keep doing and produce what "we want"?

What does it mean to be a small family farm in 2010? What are the types of farming being used today? What are the effects of suburban sprawl on the small family farms and or farming in general? Considering the many and elaborate bureaucratic hoops through which a farm must leap to be officially certified organic, how many "organic farms" are really "agri-businesses" contributing to the disappearance of actual family farms? For more information on the numerous requirments for organic certification contact http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop And what commonsense steps can the general public take to ensure that we eat healthy locally grown produce (such as that produced on the Knopp Farm), meats, fish, poultry, and breads?

In the late 19th century, the Knopp Farm was two hundreded acres; today it is thirty-three acres. The elder Mr. Knopp's house faces land that was once in the family and is now suburban sprawl. When asked about this, he said "...people cannot afford not to sell their land."

(Mr. Robert Knopp Sr. house)

Once Knopp family farm land, now suburban sprawl, this is the view from Robert Knopp Sr's front yard.)

The Knopp farm and Greenhouses in Severn Maryland is open to the public from April through the end of June.

One of "Bunk" Knopp's fondest wishes is that his son Steven (the fourth generation of Knopp farmers) will one day be able to sell on Sundays at Eastern Market.

Witnessing,

Sonda T. Allen

Turtle's Webb

(Mr. Robert "Bunk" Knopp selling his farms produce to a customer at Eastern Market August 2010)

The present day Eastern Market (constructed in 1873) was built to support local farmers like Robert "Bunk" Knopp and his family.