Seedlings for Sale
Yesterday I returned to the Sonoma farmers’ market. The last time I was at the Friday market it was a grey cold day in December, I only had pumpkins and popcorn for sale. A lot has changed in four months, the…
Tag heirloom
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…
Garlic in the Ground
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
Tomato Love
The tomato harvest is slowly starting to roll in. The various cherry tomato plantings are all starting to ripen. Even though, back in January when I was working on my crop plan I scheduled the plantings to be weeks apart…