While visiting family over the holidays I had the opportunity to go to the National Agricultural Library in Maryland. The National Agricultural Library is one of four national libraries of the United States and houses one of the world’s largest…
Friday was my last farmers’ market for the year. The time has flown by since March when I arrived at the market with spring vegetable seedlings and green garlic. As the year progressed the vegetable seedling selection expanded and contracted; tomatoes…
Last week I planted garlic. In addition to my favorite garlic variety California Early White, I have also planted an heirloom variety Inchelium Red garlic. I’m excited to see how this new variety grows and taste compared to my old favorite.…
Music helps a farmer whether it is driving to the farm, working on paperwork or completing a mundane field task like weeding. So this holiday season think about getting that farmer in your life some sweet tunes and yes many of…
Thanksgiving night the sky was crystal clear, the wind howled and the temperature was near freezing. The wind was so loud and the moonlight so bright that I had to get up and look out the window to make sure…
The popcorn crop is not ready for popping yet, it was all harvested weeks ago but the wait continues. Most years I’m eating bowls of fluffy popcorn by the second week of November. I shouldn’t be surprised as I stare…
Early last week I left a warm and balmy Sonoma for a week in Austin, Texas to attend the wedding of one of my best friends. When I returned to Sonoma I felt like I had been gone from the…
I spent the week picking pumpkins, cornstalks, and gourds for both the farmers market and my house. My jack-o-lantern is carved and hanging out on my porch awaiting Halloween visitors. One of the many things I love about autumn is…
There is not much left in the field. The winter squash has all been harvested. It was a small yield this year because the ground squirrels found out how sweet and tasty butternut squash and all his friends are. They…
I have been harvesting pumpkins and gourds since mid-September, but I’m pretty sure that last week was my biggest harvest yet, not in number of pumpkins but in weight. Most of the pumpkins weighed around twenty pounds each. I felt…
Last Saturday I drove out to Bolinas to the beautiful Mann Family Farm to attend Fibershed’s Grow Your Own Jeans event. The event was the debut of jeans made of organic cotton and indigo grown in the Capay Valley, then woven…
The morning light starts a little later and the evening sunset shows up earlier everyday. The air is crisp and clear, autumn is here. The crops all know that summer is over. The tomato plants are still producing but the…