Fresh Pickings with Jan Sanderson of Sanderson Gardens
Sanderson Gardens had a self-checkout long before Walmart and Target and Jan still updates his telephone hotline with garden patch conditions and produce availability. Just call 605-693-4871.
Meet Sanderson Gardens owner, Jan Sanderson, the “Rhubarb King” and developer of the Sanderson Red rhubarb variety.
Jan joins us in this week’s Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens podcast episode, Season 2 Episode 25. Listen in Spotify (below) or wherever you get your podcasts.
Where else can you have a business where people put money in your ammo box and then thank you? That’s out of this world, and you know you’re in a blessed place if that’s your situation. And a day doesn’t pass I don’t count my blessings because I’ve got it pretty good.
Jan sanderson
Sanderson Gardens
For nearly five decades, generations of families have come to Sanderson Gardens for asparagus, strawberries, rhubarb, raspberries, aronia berries, pumpkins and more. It’s a mostly U-pick commercial garden, but they try to make some pre-picked produce available in the mornings.
In this episode, we talk about how technology has changed the way he gets the word out about what’s available and how you can best pick/harvest strawberries, rhubarb, asparagus, raspberries, pumpkins, and aronia berries in the U-pick patches. Whether you live in the area or not, you’ll probably like following them on Facebook because there’s aways something interesting to see.
You’ll learn what Jan’s dad and an experimental rhubarb patch being plowed up at South Dakota State University had to do with the beginning of Sanderson Gardens.
He also shares an interesting story about how he expanded his rhubarb crop in a way that people in a 3-state area had a hand in—in what is now one of the largest rhubarb patches (5-6 acres) in the Midwest.
Visit and U-pick
A visit to Sanderson Gardens on the I-29 corridor just four miles east of Brookings, South Dakota, can mean a quick stop for a pail of strawberries, or hours long in the pumpkin patch letting the kids find the perfect jack-o-lantern and play on the playgrounds, taking fall family photos and enjoying a picnic in the cool fall air.
Sanderson Gardens supplies fruit to a handful of local wineries and rhubarb roots and horseradish to most seed catalog companies in the country, like Gurney’s Seed and Nursery.
Jan is a three-time state champion high school wrestler who earned a full-ride scholarship to University of Iowa. He was coached by NCAA national champion, world gold medalist and Olympic gold medalist, Dan Gable. Jan was a team co-captain and a two-time all-American and two-time Big Ten individual champion.
After graduating, he went on to coach wrestling and teach special education in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. So why did Mr. Sanderson trade the wrestling mat and his classroom to run his own South Dakota, mostly U-pick, commercial gardens 47 years ago? Tune in to Jan’s episode of Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens to find out.
Where to Find Sanderson Gardens
Learn more about Sanderson Gardens on their website and follow them on Facebook.
Jan Sanderson, Owner 47657 US Highway 14, Aurora SD, 57002
- Website https://sandersongardens.com
- Hotline: 605-693-4871
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SandersonGardens
- “The Johnson Family” story that Jan wrote https://www.facebook.com/share/p/VMEpzBU5JcU86rFp/
- Facebook Video of the tiny stalk on rhubarb: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/Cekkea4DREDTcozP/
- Facebook video of Jan picking rhubarb https://www.facebook.com/share/v/sQaoCJBiyxrEXhwQ/
- Facebook video of Jan’s brother Dell picking asparagus https://www.facebook.com/share/v/Tz9cQMotrAg9v8kC/
Recipes
In this podcast episode, Jan mentions being brought up on homemade rhubarb custard pie. He shared this recipe with us.
A couple of years ago I wrote, 8 Reasons to Pick Strawberries at Your Local Patch, and included a link to a recipe for a magnificently delicious strawberry pound cake.
And here’s a recipe for strawberry apricot jam from Sydney Andera.
Another way I like to use fresh strawberries is layering them in Italian tuxedo trifle.
One last recipe…the way Lauren Schroeder makes her green beans with bacon and butter is also how we like to cook our asparagus. (green beans pictured)
I hope you enjoy getting to know Jan as he shares his story in Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens season 2, episode 25. And if you’re in the area, you have lots of growing seasons to stop in and pull rhubarb, snap asparagus, pick pails of strawberries and raspberries and load the back of your car with pumpkins and gourds. Happy pickings!
Sweet wishes,
