Over 12 years ago I moved to California with hopes of following my passion for local food systems and working in the field of agriculture. I started off creating edible gardens for restaurants and private estates. I hung around farmers…
Friends, I have some news. I’ll be taking a sabbatical from Quarter Acre Farm in 2018. After 10 growing seasons, it’s time for a little step back to dream, plan, and strategize about the future of my farm. I’m so…
The smoke has started to clear here in Wine Country. My home and farm were not damaged by the wildfires but that seems, to just be by luck or a random change in wind. These wildfires have been devastating, I…
Lately it seems like everyday is a race. A race to pick as many tomatoes as possible before it gets too hot. My race day starts the night before, I load the truck with boxes, pint baskets, snacks, and water.…
What can I say, I’ve just be picking tomatoes since we last spoke. It’s true my days are measured by how many flats of this tomato variety or that tomato variety I have harvested. I shuffle through the tomato rows…
Like most farmers I build on my experience from year to year with the hopes that this year will be better than the last. So I tend to grow many of the same crops and varieties that performed well in previous…
This week I had the chance to attend the California Climate and Agriculture Summit. The day was filled with farmers, scientist, and policy folks. The various workshops and panels dealt with the effects of climate change and strategies to improve…
This time of year is all about crop planning. I start by determining how many pounds per week I would like to harvest of each crop. From there I can determine exactly how many seeds I will need for each…
Last week I returned from a cross country train trip. My husband and I hopped on the California Zephyr train in Davis and rode for three days to Chicago. Then switch over to the Capitol Limited train which took a day…
Except for bagging up popcorn, I have not been doing much farm work. This time of year the labor does not involve heavy lifting. It’s the end of the year and I’m spending time reflecting on this growing season. Thinking…