Out with the old and in with the new

Here is another perfect strawberry photo. They seem to go on and on which is not something to complain about. The Chandlers are wonderful. Large, sweet and the poor things have endured quite a bit of rain and grit this season with little trouble. There are lots of berries to enjoy now!

And if that June-bearing Chandler ever starts to slow down in production, not to be worried because here comes the everbearing Seascape you all remember from previous seasons. Strawberries seem to be one of those crops that Lee and Wayne have mastered over the years, in addition to many others.

Fresh snap peas finally made their way into the fresh product inventory this last week and I highly suggest all you folks take advantage of their limited season. It will get too hot for them and NOW is the moment to enjoy. A large quantity will be harvested for the first CSA box of the season next week so the farm stand could have limited supplies. That is one of those benefits of being a CSA subscribers; often the best stuff gets saved for those of you who have committed, given us your trust, and paid ahead.

And here is what the end of fava season looks like. A little more yellow than the beginning of the season as they mature and dry out a bit. Still very edible and flavorful although less tender, the fava will go on for another week or two. Then that is all until next season. Last chance opportunities!

Where did the asparagus suddenly disappear to? Well, it is out there in the middle of the field as it will perennially be as long as the farm goes on, but it is now left to flower and feed itself for future seasons. Wayne and I calculated the duration of harvest and decided it was time to let it alone for the health of the crop. A fine time to transition as many early summer crops are starting now. I was impressed to see the large loads of asparagus move out of the farm stand this season. We sure do have some spear lovers out there. Sweet as they are, this is quite understandable.

Greenhouse Review

Sunday, April 18th, was our Greenhouse Open House Event. Drop in guests from across Chalk Hill Road to as far away as San Francisco dropped in throughout the day, some familiar with the farm and all it does, others simply curious about topics of growing and seeking an opportunity to engage in discussion. Many people went home with a plant or two to stick in their own gardens and a taste of the well known chile jams.

I feel horrible that I came away from this day with no group shots! Next time! I was able to document the plants as usual and will provide a short visual tour of what I saw this season in the greenhouse. As my first visit to the place in 2010, I was overly impressed with how well managed things seemed in there. Meet Zeni, Lee's number one right hand woman in the greenhouse and all things that occur to assist the farm at the Chalk Hill Road property.

Zeni goes about her midday watering responsibility after helping prepare for the Greenhouse Event last Sunday....Lee's pup, Cloudy, has a thing for water and water wands in particular. This complicates the watering process somewhat as it becomes a game and a job all at once.


Baby chiles here. This is a small fraction of the bigger picture.



Baby basil with a steaming camera lens. Many visitors were chased right out of some of the more heated areas of the greenhouse on Sunday as it was such a beautiful day....it was also one of the warmer days yet in the greenhouse. Others enjoyed and basked in the hot and humid climate that could be found in the specialty structure.


Corn. Tierra grows sweet corn, popcorn, flour corns, hominy corn. Which one is this? I'm not sure, I never asked Lee. My guess it that this is a flour corn that takes a long time to mature. The greenhouse start gives it a boost to ensure it matures before cold weather comes in fall and that pests do not damage baby seedlings in the field as often happens when things are direct seeded in spring.



Chiles....Ancho specifically. I think these are my favorite. The immature green Poblano will do, but a sweet and spicy, ripe, red Ancho is perfect for everything. I could eat a roasted Ancho a day and maybe I will when their season rolls around this summer/fall. Looks like there will be lots as usual!


Overview of red malabar spinach (a heat loving green that grows like a vine), first year asparagus seedlings (to plant out in 2011), previously described corn and a mix of basil and chiles.


Close up is either cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower....I think cabbage based on the leaf shape. These will go out to the farm field immediately, maybe today or tomorrow. They are ready and we just need the weather to allow access into the field. Behind is a sea of other brassicas and tomatoes and lettuce. All ready for a life in the great outdoors.


One more look at the forest of tomatoes and lettuce ready to go out. You could eat a salad right out of the greenhouse right now. Lee is masterful at bringing plants to a healthy and mature state before putting them outside. This approach gives them all that much more ability to survive the unexpected conditions that could impact them once exiting the greenhouse including weather, pests, soil, water, whatever!

A big thanks to everyone who came out to appreciate some the work that goes on behind the scenes on the farm. We hope you learned something new and look forward to seeing your faces again at our next gathering this season and at the farm stand, CSA, or farmer's market all season long.

Finally, check out this You Tube Video production by one of our guests of the open house, he took it upon himself to do a thorough overview of the structure and has shared his enthusiasm for all to watch and learn.

Spring Crop Field Tour

Here are the strawberries as of early March. These are the Chandlers, the June bearing, first to produce crop....not far down the road the main season strawberry will be planted. I think that one is Seascape, but I'm not sure. The Chandlers here look well! Well weeded, healthy growth habit and just a tad of recent damage by the lights frosts of recent nights.

I reported similar findings last season about this time. These flowers look good to me, but I did see some frosted browned berries that had been working their way to production. This is not Santa Maria, the strawberry capital of the nation that is covered in black plastics and anti-fungals. This is brisk and risky Sonoma County small farming and I think we are doing a darn good job all things considered. Strawberries will return before you know it and we are spoiled with such a lengthy season of sweetness.


The early asparagus spears have also taken a small hit with recent ice layered nights. It is the tiny tender tips that were just poking out of the soil that may now never produce a quality spear. There will be more though...just be patient as the season and the crops cooperate, it will come.

Fava flowers! These are beautiful and do we ever give them due attention? This stage is appreciated for it's cover cropping value...when at the flowering stage fava plants have fixed the maximum amount of nitrogen to their roots and this is the optimal time to turn them under for soil fertility. That is, unless you are growing them for the precious beans. A few weeks off still, the favas are flowering now and fruiting soon.

Overview of just-seeded spring crops.... Yes, it is tough to see much. What you have here is s somewhat crusted soil from all the rain. The beds were hastily prepared between constant wet periods this spring, grassy weeds were turned under, but still visible and present as they did not have time to break down entirely. Despite the uneven seedbed that tiny seeds love, the germination of recently sown seeds had been a great success so far!

I have not yet visited this region of the farm with Wayne or Lee so it is up to my informed imagination about what these crops may be. I know this is one of three things. Radish, mustards or arugula all come up quick and have this similar characteristic appearance. Likely all three are out here someplace.

Here is the spinach, impossible to miss as it waves it's long cotyledons (first true leaves), welcoming a new round of greens. Let's hope the slugs don't get a glimpse and munch it all away before we get to harvesting.

Tiny lettuce. Looks like the heirloom black seeded simpsom variety to me based on the color, but who knows. Salad will return to the farm stand selection soon.

Snap peas! Grown year-round on the central coast, our winters are more challenging. Timing is important to miss the hard and killing frosts that can wipe out a fall or spring planted pea crop. Let's cross out fingers this planting succeeds to maturity so we can all indulging in some sweet snap peas.

And finally, the other sweet pea crop...the floral and scented display that I stumbled into right next to the cardoon near the parking area out front. It is now easy to find as Pablo installed trellising for the successful sowing of sweet peas. I was delighted to find my favorite flower crop had been coming to life all winter long and I had no idea...this should put on quite a show for early summer.

Asparagus and Romanesco

An idyllic image here contains what we all hope to find when walking in to our local farm stand. First of the season (in fact, bonus really early because of perfect weather) asparagus in the foreground. Eggs from Wayne and Evie's chickens flaunting their myriad of colors in the background. These are the precious and hard to find items, much as we'd like to have enough for everyone.

When do you come to find these specimens of perfection? Usually, the target time for the harvest to come in out of the field is 11am, when we open. It seems from then on for another hour or two, some of the harder to harvest or less efficient items start to dribble in to the stand. Things like first of the season asparagus, or last of the season fennel. Whatever the customer has come for and cannot find upon arrival.

And I got Lee to stop in her tracks this week while she was packing the CSA boxes for delivery for a momentary photo opportunity. I had her pose with the precious asparagus first, but then she and I agreed it was something of a meager pile of vegetable to feature. Much more abundant to celebrate this week was the Romanesco broccoli/cauliflower. This seasonal veg served the winter CSA for the month of February on Friday and supplemented the purchases from most farm stand customers.

Cauliflower season is now thoroughly upon us. It seems to correspond with the mustard blooms out there in the fields that surround our green and misty county. Similar plants to the mustards, many of the broccoli, kales, brussels and cauliflowers from the fall planting get closer to setting flowers and seeds as the spring weather pressures them to do so. Hence, flowering cauliflowers seem to kick in right alongside the mustards. This is my annual observation and it seems to make sense with some variability, I'm sure.