Family Help
Recently I have had a lot of family visiting. When these visits were planned way back when, I figured we would spend our days sightseeing and occasionally visiting the farm to do some weeding or greenhouse work. But with the farm…
Tag Agriculture
Changing Land
Things have been busy at the farm but not in the normal way of seed starting and greenhouse work that typically dominates February. I have been spending my days looking for land and packing up the farm. Like many first…
An Early Spring
The weather has been so sunny and warm it’s hard to remember it’s February. Here in Sonoma we have gotten very few rain storms this month but it’s not the lack of precipitation that worries me right now, it is…
Regeneration
Last week I was down in Pacific Grove at the annual EcoFarm conference. I find this conference to be almost a pilgrimage, I leave before dawn and travel to a space filled with people involved in sustainable agriculture some I…
Starting the Crop Plan
This week I started working on my crop plan for the 2016 season. This begins by looking at what I grew last year, what sold well last year, and what new things I think I might want to add to…
Popcorn Research
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…
Gift of Music
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…
Waiting on the Popcorn
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…
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…
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…