Dzen Farm and Pell Strawberries Enhance Strawberry Production
TRANSITION GRANT IN ACTION
DZEN FARMS AND PELL STRAWBERRIES ENHANCE STRAWBERRY PRODUCTION
The Farm Transition Grant Infrastructure Investment category provides matching funds to CT Farmers in need of critical infrastructure to increase farm production. Two strawberry producers, Dzen Farms and Pell Strawberries in recently completed projects to increase their production of CT Grown strawberries.
Dzen Farms was awarded a 2023 Farm Transition Grant to purchase equipment to transition their primary growing method for strawberries from the matted row system to Plasticulture. The need for this adjustment was initiated due to the extreme weather conditions experienced for the last several years. By forming raised beds covered with plastic and installing drip irrigation, the farm has more control over the amount of water gets that reaches the root zone.
Though the Plasticulture system requires additional hand weeding and detailed maintenance, Donald Dzen reported that, “It is amazing to see such a full and healthy field of strawberries during a year with so much rain. In the past with the matted row system, we would be seeing plant decline and death going into the fall from root diseases caused by excessive rainfall.”
Pell Strawberries was awarded a 2021 Farm Transition Grant to purchase supplemental LED lighting in their greenhouses. The addition of supplemental lighting would allow for an extended growing season, with continued production of strawberries through the Winter.
The supplemental LED lighting has allowed for year-round strawberry production, and Kevin Pell reported that, “Year-round production will further increase the yield of the strawberry plants. A longer season and greater production will sustain the farm into the future.”
The FTG is a competitive matching reimbursement grant for Connecticut agricultural producers and agricultural cooperatives. The Farm Transition Grant is provided through the State of Connecticut Farm Transition Grant Program, established in 2005 through Public Act 05-228, An Act Concerning Farmland Preservation, Land Protection, Affordable Housing, and Historic Preservation.
