♪♪
[ Choir singing ]
Feast your eyes on one of the
most beloved vegetables
in America -- broccoli.
[ Record scratches ]
Wait. What?
That can't be right.
Everyone hates broccoli.
Or do they?
♪♪
If you look at recent surveys,
broccoli has found a nice, comfy
spot on America's dinner plates.
Maybe it's because people have
figured out how to properly
prepare it and couple it with
complementary flavors in a meal.
Farmers have also become experts
at growing broccoli, harvesting
it, and getting it into
consumers' hands quickly.
>> This stuff is picked and
harvested and into the stores
within 24 hours, which is great
for the stores because they're
not throwing nearly the amount
of stuff away.
It's coming in fresh.
It's not three or four days old.
>> This is Northern Ridge
Berry Farms.
They definitely grow berries,
but they also produce loads of
other fresh ingredients, too,
including broccoli.
>> We start planting our
broccoli the 1st of March, and
we go in the greenhouse.
And we plant 2,000 to 3,000
every week.
And then we start putting it in
the 1st of April.
Two years ago, we got some real
hard frost on our early plants
in April, and I thought, "Man,
we just lost 10,000 broccoli
plants."
It didn't seem to bother them.
So, once we start planting the
1st of April, we'll plant every
week -- 2,000 to 3,000 plants
every week -- and hopefully
they'll be staged out so when
the orders start coming in,
we can keep them full.
>> David sells his broccoli and
other produce to local grocery
stores, restaurants, and right
here on the farm.
It's a family operation.
Three generations have farmed
on this land.
It's just part of life
for David's daughters.
>> Oh, probably started around
when I was 10 or so.
And then nonstop since.
>> Harvesting the main head on
the broccoli plant is easy.
>> The best way to harvest it is
just take a knife and make a
nice, clean cut.
>> You can extend the harvest
season by leaving the plants in
the garden after the main head
is taken.
>> A lot of people I've talked
to will cut the head off, and
then they pull the plant,
thinking it's done.
It's not.
The plant's object is to create
seed for its offspring for next
year, so it's going to do
whatever it can to produce more
seed, and broccoli
is great at that.
They'll start throwing off
shoots, and they're little
florets, and the early florets
can get about this big.
And the more you pick them, the
smaller they'll get, and then
all of a sudden, they get too
small -- you don't even want to
bother with it.
>> And those tree-looking flower
buds on the head of broccoli?
Well, if you let them go to
seed, they'll flower in a big
way.
Working in the warmth and
sunshine is a huge bonus for
everyone who works
at Northern Ridge.
But harvesting this much
broccoli does take commitment.
>> This is a little bit more
labor intensive because you have
to plant everything.
You have to keep track
of how it's growing.
Some stuff might not be ready in
the morning, and then later that
afternoon, you go out and check
it, and it'll be ready.
♪♪
>> Northern Ridge Berry Farm is
doing its part to keep
broccoli's reputation strong
one harvest day at a time.
>> It's a proud feeling that
people want to buy our stuff.
You know, makes me feel like I'm
doing something right and
something the community wants.
[ Tractor engine rumbles ]