Rebecca Wiepz Launching First Full Season as Head of Research Station
One can only wonder how many visitors heading up or down the bayside of the Door Peninsula miss an interesting stop while searching for one of the region's signature fruit stands or pick-your-own orchards.
Sitting relatively inconspicuous along the east side of state Highway 42, in the rural outskirts of Sturgeon Bay, is a fruit-tree think tank that helps local growers keep Door County’s world-famous cherry industry – and other orchard bounties – profitable, delicious and plentiful. It is one of the secrets behind the cherry pies, preserves, ice cream and other treats found at Door County's roadside markets or at bakeries and grocery counters everywhere.
The anonymity of the University of Wisconsin's Peninsular Agricultural Research Station is surprising considering its near-century of presence at what is a bumper-to-bumper tourist traffic area much of the year. Most of the offices and outbuildings are wood and corrugated steel painted a simple and academically sterile white with utilitarian designs. Similarly workmanlike greenhouses make up the rest of the indoor spaces.
The lone outdoor splashes of aesthetic color and brilliance come seasonally as the cultivated trees bloom out and accumulate fruit or inside the hidden paradise of the Garden Door, a one-acre showcase garden on the site created and tended by the Door County Master Gardeners Association. Judging by their queries, many of those travelers who do pull over seem unaware of the goings-on and purpose of the facility.
“People show up with a question and realize that (their concern) is not what we do here,"” said Rebecca “Becky” Wiepz, who was named station superintendent in June 2020. “We get a lot of questions about (lawn) turf management and backyard trees.”
But the staff understands why they get asked and isn't standoff-ish about it. In fact, they offer group tours by appointment of the trees they do know best (cherry, apple and grape) or show you to the Garden Door.
They also work closely with county agricultural agents to share the practical information that emerges from their studies or to help the inquisitive home gardener or riding-mower captain.
“There are things to do outside here, so they come to Door County for the cherries and the beautiful landscape. It’s mind blowing the job (the growers) did to make sure people could still come and enjoy their product.” — Rebecca Wiepz, UW Peninsular Agricultural Research Station
THE EXPERIMENT FARM
Long referred to as the “experiment farm,” the station does excel in carrying out a wide range of research and field trips to aid area fruit growers from preseason and in-season “scouting” to gauge pests and diseases making the rounds; to finding the best-practice control measures for those critters; or trial tests of how various fruit varieties fare given the local climate and soil.
Think Cortland vs. Macintosh being subjected to a literal apples-to-apples comparison.
“We're part of a couple of national (benefit) projects, too,” Wiepz said. “We're one of many locations, partly funded by the USDA, looking at rootstocks on apple and cherry and what works best in their regions.”
The farm, an arm of UW’s agricultural sciences department, lies at ground zero of Door County’s cherry-ripe landscape.
Just south of the station is where Swiss immigrant Joseph Zettel planted Door County’s first orchard to apples in 1862. His ensuing career of high yields and prize-winning quality piqued the interest of UW horticulturist Emmett S. Goff, who joined southern Wisconsin grower A.L. Hatch in establishing test plots of apples, plums, pears and cherries nearby in 1892. Exactly three decades later, the university’s partnership with Door County was formally sealed with christening of the research center, which originally dabbled in dairy, peas and small grains as well as fruit study.
Door County, the geographical “thumb” of Wisconsin, produces about 5 percent of the nation's cherry crop and, in the Midwest, only the western Michigan lakeshore offers a similar perfect climate for the ruby fruit.
The rest of the country’s cherry harvest comes from northern California, the Pacific Northwest, Utah, New York and Pennsylvania. When the Peninsular station faced the prospect of budget cuts in 2011, the Door County Board rose up with a resolution defending its central role in area agriculture, 12 percent of the county workforce at the time, and in supporting fruit growers whose sales accounted for $5 million annually. Not to mention the bucks spent elsewhere in the economy by travelers making day or weekend trips for apple and cherry picking.
“It’s invaluable, right?” Wiepz said. “It’s staggering the number of people (the orchards) bring in, and that plays into both the economics and the identity of this area. People thought the tourism would crash (with the pandemic), but all the people I talked to said it went up.
“There are things to do outside here, so they come to Door County for the cherries and the beautiful landscape. It’s mind-blowing the job (the growers) did to make sure people could still come and enjoy their product.” Lying between the waters of Green Bay and Lake Michigan makes Door County a natural air conditioner, shortening the fall frost season while also delaying blooms until after the freezes of early spring are mostly over. Wiepz and her crew also work heavily with apples and grapes, vineyards being a fairly new sight as Door County’s well-established wineries try their hand at growing their own supply or obtaining it locally.
While all 12 UW research centers concentrate on a regional ag specialty, the full breadth of subjects being put under the lens is varied and numerous. The university owns 120 acres on the property, a little more than half of it tillable and about 15 acres currently in production. Cherry trees take up about eight acres, Wiepz said, while five acres are devoted to apples and another two to grapes.
“We’ve collaborated with researchers at the university on various other crops,” Wiepz said. “We had someone growing a perennial wheat, and this summer we're going to be doing some rye research and cover crops. We currently have a variety trial for hard cider production, and I had someone contact me about variety trials for plums.
“It’s really ‘all of the above’ dictated by what (scientists) are interested in and what researchers have money for. Trees are not cheap.” The facility also boasts a global reach. It houses the world’s largest potato seed bank, storing and reproducing about 5,000 samples from 150 wild and edible species.
The gene bank would serve as an ark if a worldwide catastrophe like global warming were to send us to the caves or make us drastically alter how we get food. While that’s the worst-case scenario, the repository can and has helped out if a localized or short-term apocalypse were to strike the potato crop. In the early 2000s, for example, researchers used seeds from the Peninsular station to develop an immune variant when a fungus called late blight ravaged U.S. potato fields, according to the Door County Advocate.
And during peacetime on the food-crisis front, scientists worldwide use the Door County facility as archives from where they can obtain material for experimentation. Potatoes are increasingly seen as a famine solution for Third World or overly dry regions of the globe, given their adaptability, comparably low water needs and high nutrition value.
Properly safeguarded against Covid, some of the Research Station crew apple picking, from left, Becky Wiepz, Josie Kielar, Dan Kielar and George Nooyan. Contributed photo.
AN EXTENSIVE BACKGROUND
A southern Wisconsin native, Wiepz’s own academic background includes two seasons at the Peninsular station while working toward her degree in horticulture from UW. She studied wine grapes here and also did those out-in-the-community pest hunts, or scouts.
Her further education included five more months of grape research in New Zealand and master’s studies on apples at Penn State. Additionally, Wiepz worked as an assistant extension specialist in viticulture (grape cultivation) through Cornell University.
Her expertise is in crop load management, or seeking non-chemical ways to avoid the volatility of a bumper crop one year and bare trees the next. At Penn State, she looked at the feasibility of cutting out some of the trees’ fruiting buds with the thinking that less is more – a process called spur extinction.
“Apples tend to set a lot more fruit than they should, but those large yields tend to produce small apples that don’t ripen efficiently,” Wiepz said. “So the thinking behind this practice is that if you break off whole clusters of flowers before or right after the bloom as the buds open up, you’re setting the crop load very early in the season. I was looking at how much labor that takes and if it is reasonable.”
Wiepz laughed when reminded that she is just the fifth superintendent in the station’s 99-year history, adding that she has heard repeatedly from local folks that the job tends to create lifers.
“I'm excited to be here and recognize the effect that (my) predecessors have had on the industry. I look forward to making my own impact during my tenure,” she said.
The back-to-back, quarter-century- plus tenures of Dr. F.A. Gilbert (1946-82) and Richard Weidman (1982-2011) spanned nearly a full life expectancy and kept that job mostly off the radar of UW's HR department.
But if Wiepz is here for the long haul, she has plenty to occupy her – even in February when the interview was conducted.
“The trees are covered in snow, and it’s very pretty, but not much is going on in the fields right now,” she said. “We do our equipment maintenance and the guys are doing their seasonal prep on their traps for scouting. Next month we’ll start pruning the trees.
“And there’s always lots of reports to write, meetings to plan research for the next year, grants to write. There’s always something to do."
Even if all that busyness does fail to get the attention of the campers flying by.
GARDENING TIPS FROM MASTER GARDENER
IS THIS THE YEAR you finally start a garden? If so, you’ll be taking up one of the most popular hobbies in the country. Estimates show that nearly three quarters of U.S. households have some form of garden fueled in part by a growing interest in harvesting fresh, edible plants.
What should a first-time gardener consider when starting out? Here are some tips:
CREATE A PLAN: What do you want in your garden – flowers, vegetables, herbs? A combination of all three? The plan doesn’t need to be elaborate, but taking time upfront to think through what you want to grow will pay off later.
START SMALL & SIMPLE: Keep things manageable. Be realistic about how much time and money you can spend in your garden. As a start, invest in a few good quality tools – a spade, hoe, rake and trowel. The same applies to the size of your garden. Many recommend starting with a 10’ x 10’ bed. Remember, you can always expand as you gain confidence and experience.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT LOCATION: Available sun is the most important factor in choosing a site for your garden. Most flowering plants and vegetables require six to eight hours of full sun daily to thrive. Watch the sun as it moves across your yard, and pick the spot with the best exposure. Don’t give up if you only have shady locations – there are many great perennials that love the shade.
TEST YOUR SOIL: Preparing the soil before you plant is worth the effort. Consider getting your soil tested. This will help determine existing nutrients and other soil characteristics, so that you know how to improve the soil, if needed, and to select plants that will do well in your conditions. For more information on soil testing, go to https://door.extension.wisc.edu/horticulture/
PLAN FOR WATERING: Plants need water, so locate your garden near an easily accessible water source. Plan for daily watering in the warmer months, in the morning if possible. Water the roots, not the leaves. Fungus can develop on wet foliage in cooler overnight temperatures.
SELECT THE RIGHT PLANTS: Do you want to start from seeds or buy plants from a garden center? Seeds are inexpensive, but can require more time and expertise. Read all the information in the seed catalog or tucked into the plant’s pot at the garden center. Choose plants that are right for your location and conditions.
KNOW YOUR ZONE: The country is divided into USDA Plant Hardiness Zones to help gardeners choose plants that will thrive in local climate conditions. Most of Door County is in Zone 5a. If you want plants to come back year after year, make sure you select ones that are hardy enough to survive in this climate. On the other hand, you can plant annuals that grow naturally in warmer zones to enjoy for just one season.
START EARLY – BUT NOT TOO EARLY: The growing season is short in Door County, so plan ahead. Seeds can be ordered early to ensure you get the ones you want. It’s also possible to start seedlings indoors to get a jump on the season. Remember that plants started indoors will need to be “hardened off” – or moved gradually from a protected location outdoors into full direct sunlight. Most recommend waiting until Memorial Day to begin outdoor planting. Starting earlier may shock your plants and delay their growth.
CONSIDER CONTAINERS: Gardening in containers is a fun way to experiment and gain experience with different kinds of plants. Hanging baskets are a great way to showcase trailing vines and showy annuals. Vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers perform well in containers – just allow enough space. Another option is an herb garden in containers on a deck or even windowsill – allowing for fresh herbs all season.
CUT YOUR LOSSES: Everyone makes gardening mistakes. Don’t be afraid to move a plant that isn’t thriving. It may perk up in another location. At the same time, it’s OK to remove a plant that isn’t going to make it.
CONSULT THE EXPERTS: There is a wealth of information available to the first-time gardener. A good first stop is the University of Wisconsin Division of Extension Master Gardener website mastergardener. extension.wisc.edu/. In addition to the many informative articles, the site has an “Ask your Gardening Question” feature. Another great site for those interested in seed starting and saving is the Door County Seed Library on Facebook at facebook.com/DoorCountySeedLibrary/. Door County Master Gardener Association’s web site at dcmga.org has links to many educational resources.
FINALLY, HAVE FUN: There’s a good reason gardening is so popular – it’s fun! Sure, there’s work involved, but the payoff is highly rewarding. Whether it’s bursts of color from annuals or the unbeatable taste of a tomato ripened on the vine, there are good reasons we keep getting our hands dirty year after year. So, come join us in the garden.
MARY MOSTER – President, Door County Master Gardener Association
