Cobinsteinz Farm is an organic vegetable farm that focuses on sustainable practices and growing methods with an emphasis on heirloom and unique varieties. Established in 1996, we were the first to introduce multiple varieties of heirloom tomatoes to the Kansas City area.
Our small garden is packed with more than 15,000 plants consisting of hundreds of varieties. Some are direct seed and some are transplants that we start from seed in our own facilities. Thorough the years, we have grown more than 1000 varieties of tomatoes and each year we “test” 20 to 40 more. Sensibly, we settled on our 100 favorites that we try to keep available each year and we bring back a few past varieties each year too. This year, we will have around 150 varieties to choose from varying in ALL sizes, colors, and shapes totaling over 4000 plants. We believe that quality is more important than quantity so we are not particularly fans of hybrid tomatoes. We will have more than 100 varieties of hot, sweet, and mild chilies and peppers making up around 1200 plants. We will have more than 20 varieties of squash and small melons, not to mention a few thousand string beans of numerous varieties.
Okra is making a big come-back, so we will be planting around 800 plants this year as we only grew 400 last year and sold out every week. To round us out, we will grow around 8000 cucumber vines to keep up with and hopefully sustain the growing demand for our cold packed pickles. If we have any cucumbers left over, we might even try to make some fresh pack pickles for long-term use.
We also make fresh salsa of the green and red types and we had a wonderful response to our guacamole for last year’s premier so it will be back too. If time allows, we hope to introduce another product or two for ready-to-eat enjoyment.
Over the winter, we built and finished a chicken coop and will have around 30 chickens by end of summer and perhaps an emu. If they are prolific, we will have eggs available. If they are not, we will have soup available.
We are in the process of re-purposing our cellar into a small mushroom farm and hope to introduce a few new varieties to the public along with some old favorites… but not buttons. WE love mushrooms so if there are any left, they too will be available publicly.
The farm is owned and operated by me, John Cobine, and my wife helps tell me what to do and where to go otherwise. Since her direction, along with my ambition, has me rather preoccupied, we hired a full-time employee last year. “Uncle Rico” is our garden GM extraordinaire. My daughter, Rachel, likes to help and eat more than help but she does help… eat… well. Dallas, the Dachshund/mini-pin mix and Peppers, the farm cat help with the vermin while Eleanor, the mastiff puppy, likes to destroy everything, dig holes, and must always have something in her mouth.
In the big effort to get all the plants in the ground every spring, we allow volunteers to help and usually hire a couple college students to work over the summer. Together, somehow, we manage to grow a bunch of stuff that tastes really good.