Barn Construction Photo Tour, Early June

The second story is going up, the barn is getting its full vertical girth...it won't be long now. The further along the construction goes, the more tangible the use of the barn seems a reality. Viewing perspectives and spaces as they are brought together on site is like a dream manifested and it is wonderful to come along for periodic barn tours with Wayne. This view is what you might see coming towards the farm from the Fulton/Airport intersection, it is the "front" as you would pull into the farm.


A similar perspective as above, but further back. Omit the weeds in the foreground....the rhubarb and nopales never seem to get quite the attention as other needy annual crops.


With early spring brassicas and the Chandler strawberries in the foreground this is another look at the "front" of the barn. The left parallels Airport and the cluster of trees left of the barn is where the existing farm stand is located. Following completion of the barn, the farm stand will move to the right exterior of the barn. This will be a timely migration for the farm stand as freeway construction will impact the historic location when Cal Trans makes it up here to the Fulton/Airport phase of their work.


Another close up of the front. Again, the farm stand/sales area is planned to be on the lower right where you see dirt piled in this image. The central portion of the barn is designated for CSA packing and other work spaces. Up top, storage! This farm could never have enough of that! Grains, onions, garlic, winter squashes, you name it! A "lift" will be employed to get these crops up through a second story entrance on the opposite side. The large harvest bins will then stack and store crops, safe from rain, thieves, pests, etc...


Another front view...I hope one day I can squeeze some flower crops into this front crop area. It would look nice!


And this is the opposite perspective finally. Facing to the southeast, nice spring crops frame the foreground of this image as the tractor passes by the barn on it's way to pick up plants for transplanting. Soon it will travel no further than the barn where the primary activity area will be concentrated.

And here are the views from within...this is looking out towards the area the previous photo was taken from. This is where the upper level will have a doorway for "lifting" crop bins. The broader frame you see around the existing window cut out will become a larger opening, allowing large white harvest bins in for long term storage. Additionally, a small exterior patio space will be added, allowing for optimal human vantage point of overall farm views to the north.


Another of the same opening, head on. In the foreground of the farm field below are strawberries and tomatoes...chiles to follow. Well planned this season to have the cash crops and customer favorites nearby!


This interior perspective is a look into where the farm stand will "store" itself overnight and on rainy days. Sales will be conducted for the most part on the exterior of the barn here, but the set up of the sales operation will now be able to pack away on this lower east side of the barn rather than the storage shed at the existing stand that has honestly become a sentimental archaeological investigation of the last ten years of business operations and farm fun!

A lot of changes lie ahead! It is exciting for everyone involved and the support throughout the process has been so greatly appreciated. This could not have been possible without the help of so many, a truly magnificent example of the community coming together to support their local farm. Soon it will be time to indulge and enjoy this grand new tool, shelter, storage and work space.

Good thing it didn't get demolished, huh?

Foundation poured

Good weather equals busy times for everyone....planners, farmers, operators, and farm dogs alike. The foundation for the barn created a lot more work for everyone than initially anticipated...

Note the sweet pea trellis made out of recycled drip tape in the foreground. A great re-use of old plastics around a farm...I love it when Pablo does this. I'm sure it will be beautiful!

Creating a foundation

Dry weather permits dirt work, thank goodness for that little false spring that occurred for the second half of January. Otherwise, this farm turns into a marsh, very rarely permitting vehicle, tractor not to mention heavy equipment onto it's heavy and rich soils. Now a foundation is being built for the barn skeleton that resides in patience nearby, ready for reassembly. Lost is it's old home, now a construction site for Sutter Hospital so changed I would not recognize the location where I wandered about picking blackberries last summer if I did not know better. We are changing history and landscapes right now....pay attention.

Barn Migration

The barn is migrating it's way down the road to the Airport Blvd destination in pieces now....piles of old redwood layered more recent refurbishing=quality structural materials waiting to be reconstructed on site. Cross your fingers the field dies up enough to allow a foundation to be established for all this business! As usual, a farmer's life revolves around weather.

Christmas Field Status

Flowering cabbages and kales are the way to ensure off season floral influence in a winter garden. Lee planned this splash of color back in summer time when she first sowed their seeds....rewarding now during the season of puddles, plants frosted to death and carpets of green grass. When the sun hits the purple of these plants, not even a rainbow could draw your eyes away from their deep purple glow. Immediately to the right of the plants in this photo is the recently graded foundation area for the upcoming barn re-construction....chances are the purple cabbages could be in danger if they fall in the path of construction!

Broccoli frosted! Sometimes it gets too darn cold out here in Sonoma County even for the cold hardly crops. Brassica family plants tend to take the frost with more ease than their flowers....that portion which we so desire as edible including broccolis and cauliflowers. A frosted floret may turn translucent, brown or yellow, and quite simply ugly and for the most part inedible. Eventually it will rot and die off. It is unfortunate that many of the tasty brassica florets have been hit by frost, but others have not. This is where the benefit of crop diversity kicks in. Some lose and others win.

And sweet peas have emerged in time for the Christmas Farm Report. Thank goodness care was taken to sow them at the appropriate moment in fall...exactly when this was I am unsure as I was absent, but perhaps late October to early November? These tiny seedlings are located front and center right out the backside of the farm stand for easy harvest access and full consumer appreciation. A second spring sowing will occur right next to them for an extended harvest and bloom time. I think many of us fell in love with the sweet flowers last spring if we weren't already. I know I certainly cut and sold a ton and look forward to seeing what the season to come will bring. We did save the seeds from last season's crop, of course, so variety and beauty ought to be comparable to last season.

Removal of roof and walls

Barn Moving

This big, white barn will one day down the road house storage, an improved farm stand and much more for Tierra Vegetables. The first step have finally been taken to disassemble the barn for transport from it's current site on Mark West Springs/River Road all the way down to the farm field at Airport Boulevard (really just a few miles north, but a long ways for an entire barn to travel). Stay tuned as the excitement and progress continues!

Barn Moving

I'm not sure of the age of this barn, but am very curious. It is old, historic, perhaps not relevant enough to have made it onto the National Register of Historic Places, but certainly worthy of preservation and functional for continued use....if it can be saved from the fate it currently faces.

The location is off River/Mark West Springs Road, east of the freeway over pass on the south side of the road. This is the property that you might pass as you enter the Wells Fargo Center for events, it is a property where one day in the future you may visit for appointments and emergencies at Sutter Hospital who will be moving in on this site starting this fall. It is a property that once served as a historic agricultural center in Sonoma County, this barn being one of the few features left of these classic early days. While the use of the land is certain to evolve and serve the modern needs of the community and local health care....the barn is up for negotiation.

Sutter has gifted this barn to Tierra Vegetables. It is ours....if it can be moved. It CAN be moved, experts have consulted and agreed. Skinny roadways and power lines are negotiable, the most likely route being the stretch of 101 between River and Fulton exits, but Old Redwood and Fulton could be alternatives. You never notice all the low power lines until you have occasion to notice...

Wayne, Evie and myself dropped in a chit chatted with a couple of guys working at the barn for the Wells Fargo Center yesterday. They were supportive, intrigued and excited over the possibility of salvaging the barn versus the demolition that could result if nothing is done. It is a community resource and no one wants to see a structure of our past like this destroyed. It has value that is sentimental, aside from all the aesthetic and utility value.

For the farm, the possibilities are endless. Coincidentally, the farm is in a time sensitive need for an ungraded structure to house the on site farm stand. While nothing is wrong with our current stand, the location will be taken from the farm by Caltrans as road work continues on the highway 101 and Airport Boulevard upgrades and expansions. We need a nice barn....and look, there is one right down the road that needs a new home. Isn't it nice when all the pieces fall in place?

On the right Wayne enthusiastically describes to Evie how the barn would sit in the field and the many uses it spaces would provide to the farm. Improvements a building like this would offer to the farm include an indoor/outdoor farm stand where we could set up shop and lock the door at the end of the day (versus the daily assembly and dis-assembly the stand currently requires each day). This would save so much time and labor. The barn would have indoor work space, a space for use for events, storage for grains, onions, potatoes and other important storage crops that we feed you with (many of these are carted up to Lee's place on Chalk Hill Road still, causing transport and resupply needs regularly). We could have office space right on the farm, telephones and computers on site. Currently, our office operation is located on Shiloh Road along with the commercial kitchen. An on site office would be a huge benefit for customers calling in orders and questions, farmers making critical decisions that are best done on site, time saving consolidation of daily business and farming operations, etc...

It is all of these benefits and dreams for what could be better that keep Wayne, Evie, Lee and all us surrounding folks pushing for this to go through. Suddenly, the time line is upon us. Perhaps we ought to have acted sooner, but upon consulting with the Sutter contact, the barn needs to be gone within weeks. Before September 1st? More or less. In recent days Wayne has consulted with moving experts, approved the idea with engineers, Sonoma County Open Space representatives, leaving only the formality of dealing with permits and utilities (a significant hurdle). Then there are the financial concerns....at somewhere around $100,000 in estimated costs, this is not necessarily a "sustainable" effort for a small farm. While in the long run the function and utility will serve and benefit the farm, it will also upgrade our service to the community, salvaging and restoring a historic resource and improving and upgrading what we are able to offer as a local farm. We are seeking help via any outlet possible. Please contact us if you have any ideas, input or resources to spare.

The story of the barn is a long and evolving one, Wayne has been talking about it pretty much all year. I'm sure I have omitted interesting details but this is a pretty good overview of what is happening right now. The bottom line is that our farm stand is soon to be gone, this barn is right there, and it just makes sense to act on the changes confronting us. Please support our efforts, if only in your thoughts. It is a pooling of community resources that assists grand projects like this one and we welcome anything you might have to offer.

How can you help us? It is quite simple, we realize our average customer is not sitting on a pile of financial resources waiting to be invested in a barn moving event to support their local farm (although we would not turn you down, were that the case). Instead, we ask that you come and shop. We could use your money, but not for nothing. We do, in fact, have plenty of fantastic fresh vegetables to trade as is always the case and it is under these circumstances that we put out and extra call for your business. This alone will contribute to the finance of our efforts. If you want to let us know that your interest in helping is why you have dropped into the stand that day, please let us know. It is satisfying to know we are working together to execute a project that is so monumental. So please take that extra step to drop by once more per week, grab a few extra carrots when you are at the farm, or just spread the word and tell a friend or two who you always thought would enjoy our produce and/or would appreciate what we are doing. We thank you in advance and look forward to seeing your faces.