Harvest is Slowing Down
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…
Weightlifting Pumpkins
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…
Local Jeans
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…
Autumn Days
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…
Expo East
Last week I returned from Maryland where I was attending the Natural Products Expo East. This huge trade show was packed with over 1,000 companies big and small showcasing natural and healthy living products. I spoke on a panel about sharing…
Still Summer
The days are hot but a change in the season is happening. The sun comes up later, and sets earlier. There is a coolness in the morning with that unmistakable scent of fall. The tomato production is going strong currently at…
Bountiful Bounty
The end of the summer and early fall is a time of great bounty. Summer crops are at their peak and fall crops are just starting to be harvested. Right now I can fill a ten pound box of heirloom…
Handling Heirloom Tomatoes
School might be back in session but the days are still sunny and hot. The farm fields are full of summer bounty, which at Quarter Acre means tomatoes. Big ones, small ones, multicolored ones, and they all need to be…
Cheerful Cherries
I have been spending lots of time with cherry tomatoes. Their red and orange sparkle welcomes me to the farm everyday. I am harvesting the productive plants at least three times a week. This equals many hours in the tomato rows,…
Popcorn Update
The popcorn is growing very well. I can’t wait to pop it on the stove top and eat a huge bowl, but it still has a lot of growing before that happens. This past week the tassels started to appear. Corn produces individual male…
Looking Ahead
The field is looking green and lush, from corner to corner there are crops growing. Some crops like the cherry tomatoes are currently being harvested while others like the dried beans are coming into their final growing stages and will be mature…
Anticipation
Last week I found myself staring at all my crops thinking, why won’t you grow faster! It’s not that the plants stopped growing, it just feels like the popcorn has been thigh high forever and that the large heirloom tomatoes have…