Cherry Rock Farms marks first century

Marco Patzer’s great-grandfather started selling fruits and vegetables that he had grown himself about seven years after emigrating from Genoa, Italy.

Apple trees that his grandparents planted in what now is Cherry Rock Park still bear fruit every summer.

His father took over the family operation, which had relocated between the Big Sioux River and Split Rock Creek south of Brandon in the mid-1980s, after his grandparents retired.

And 11 years ago, Marco Patzer and his wife, Laura, assumed ownership and operation of Cherry Rock Farms when his father decided to retire, uprooting their lives in Ohio for the chance to continue a family business that marks its 100th anniversary this year.

John Picasso. Bob and Esther Picasso. David Picasso. Now, the Patzers. Those are deep, deep roots that have fed ripe tomatoes, sweet corn, onions and so much more to customers through the annual changing of the seasons, from 1925 to 2025.

It provides a sense of connectedness that might be seen in families who raise corn and cattle but is rarer among specialty producers.

“We’re at 100 years of specialty crop farming,” Laura Patzer said. “There’s generational farming for a lot of our row-crop friends, but specialty crops like fruit and vegetables, it seems as though they’re few and far between for that many years.”

The family history becomes tangible when the Patzers take their children, Carson, 15, Griffin, 12, and Clara, 11, on bike rides through Cherry Rock Park in central Sioux Falls. The city kept a handful of the trees when the land was converted from a vegetable and fruit farm, where a produce stand stood for more than a half-century.

“We’ll point out that those are the trees your great-grandpa planted, and they’ll grab an apple,” Laura Patzer said.

Giovanni “John “Picasso settled in Sioux Falls in 1905 when he was about 15 years old and worked in local greenhouses before setting out on his own. He died in 1969, followed about 10 days later by his wife, Lela.

“He decided he could do it on his own. He came from an agriculture background in Italy,” Marco Patzer said. “His family back then did fruits and vegetables mostly in orchards. He had a sense of what he was doing; he kind of knew the ropes so to speak. In the mid-1920s, he found some land. That’s when he branched out on his own and decided to make a go of it.”

By the time of John and Lela Picasso’s death, Bob and Esther “Toots” Picasso were the faces of Cherry Rock Gardens. They had married in 1941 and moved to Sioux Falls in 1961, the year they took over the business.

The Picassos knew even then that things were going to change. For several years, city officials had indicated a strong interest in purchasing the farmland and produce stand, turning it into a park.

“They had land up and down the river,” Marco Patzer said. “They had about 25 acres down there, and they leased land here and there. Finally in 1969, my grandpa purchased this farm. My grandparents fought the city for years and years, and finally when they were about to retire, they came to an agreement. They sold the buildings and sold the land, and in 1985 or 1986, they moved out here and built this house.”

Bob Picasso officially retired in 1991, and his son David, one of his three children, took over operations of what today is known as Cherry Rock Farms. Esther died in 2000, Bob in 2006. In turn, David Picasso decided to retire about 11 years ago. That’s when the Patzers decided to move from Ohio, where Laura grew up, and take over the operation.

Laura Patzer admitted that she originally was unsure about the move. She had been raised in a metropolitan area and had lived in Chicago before returning to Ohio. That’s when she met Marco Patzer, who moved to Ohio where a sister and his best friend lived.

After marriage, on periodic trips to see family in South Dakota, “every time we’d leave, I’d say, we’re not doing that,” Laura Patzer said. “But I slowly learned I can’t say we’re not doing that anymore. It was a tough decision, but now at 11 years, I can’t believe I was losing sleep over it. We said some prayers, and here we are.”

Marco Patzer knew about the family farming operation through weeks spent there in the summer. He grew up in Pierre with three sisters, his mother and stepfather, who adopted him. Childhood memories include a grandmother who fawned over her grandchildren and a grandfather who would scoop them onto a tractor and take them into the fields.

His father’s offer appealed to Marco Patzer. With a background in flooring contracting, he was accustomed to hard physical labor. Add to that the siren call of the family business.

“It was Dad either selling the farm or me taking over,” he said. “For me, it wasn’t hard at all. I kind of wanted to do that for a number of years.”

Cherry Rock has changed over the years. Bob and Esther Picasso split their business into thirds: wholesale, shipping regionally to grocery stores; bedding plants and flowers; and vegetable sales at the market in Sioux Falls. At one point, they raised about 200 acres of vegetables. Now, the Patzers plant 45 acres.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever be that big a deal again,” Marco Patzer said. “We’re dipping our toes into things. We’re not trying to do it all at once. It’s hard to staff. Seasonal work is hard work, and as you grow, you need more and more competent people.”

Added Laura Patzer, “We’ve worked really hard to build the farm back up. We have 100 acres that are leased out to another farmer, and the hope is sometime in the future we do farm those 100. Then, we can get back into wholesale. Restaurants want our stuff.”

Plant sales this May have featured vegetables from A (acorn squash) to Z (zucchini) with more exotic garden produce such as celery, tomatillos and a wide variety of peppers. Customers will find a petunia or two, but the Patzers don’t intend to compete with the flower nurseries that dot Sioux Falls every spring. The Patzers also tried strawberry plants this year.

Depending on weather, the produce stand will open in late June or early July when the plants the Patzers have raised from seed and planted in the ground begin to flourish.

Everything at Cherry Rock Farms is herbicide- and pesticide-free. They are transitioning to being certified organic, Marco Patzer said.

Tomatoes and sweet corn are customer favorites.

“People can’t resist a good homegrown tomato,” Laura Patzer said.

The Patzers plant vegetables that they know will be successful in South Dakota. If they can grow it, Marco Patzer said, the average gardener can too.

Sometimes, however, as in any farm operation, the Patzers have no control. Last year, the Big Sioux River and Split Rock Creek both overflowed, decimating the Patzers’ hopes for the planting season. During the off-season, the Patzers flip houses, and Laura puts her accounting background to use; that helped get them through.

While their offerings were limited, customers didn’t forget Cherry Rock Farms.

“The best part about it was you walk through a tragedy, and the community came alongside us so much,” Laura Patzer said. “We didn’t have a normal season, but we still found a way to get vegetables in people’s hands. We’d have mini markets. People were still willing to drive across town even though they didn’t know what we were going to have.”

When the Patzers moved to Cherry Rock Farms, their children were 3 years old, almost 1 year old and 10-week-old Clara. That limited the time Laura Patzer could help. Now, she is what her husband calls “the brains of the operation,” overseeing business operations, marketing and payroll and whatever “my grower husband needs.”

David Picasso, now 76, can still be found helping at Cherry Rock Farms, repairing and driving the tractors. In April, Laura Patzer sat next to her father-in-law while they planted potatoes and he shared family stories.

Even the equipment at Cherry Rock has family history. A tractor purchased new in 1953 recently returned after being “in exile.” It was the first full-size tractor ever used at Cherry Rock. Another piece of equipment, once pulled by horses, now is hooked up behind a tractor.

“It still works, and to be able to put it to use,” Marco Patzer said, his words trailing off. “The idea of producing vegetable crops that people will utilize for their sustenance to feed their families, producing it with the same equipment my great-grandfather used.”

After 100 years, Cherry Rock Farms is woven into a lot of family histories. Some of their customers once worked there; others recall their grandparents taking them to Cherry Rock Gardens when it was still in Sioux Falls.

“That’s one of the coolest things from when I first moved here. I had little tiny kids, and I came to the market when I could,” Laura Patzer said. “Customers came in talking about their first jobs here, picking rocks and bucketsful of weeds and picking beans.”

“My grandparents would pay 5 cents for a bucket full of weeds,” Marco Patzer said. “I hear lots and lots of stories like that. And we’ve hired quite a few people in 11 years. Those same people will come in, in the years to come.”