Chile Crop Status Report

The topic of this photo is in the back drop, in the foreground you see the mature foliage of the Chandler strawberry crop (soon to be finished with their June-bearing annual life cycle).

The background contains the chile and pepper crops, inching their way along to maturity. It won't be long now as initial fruit set has begun on many of the varieties and heat has finally kicked in around the county. At this time Lee usually begins harvesting many of the early fruits to promote more flowering and then more production down the road. If you are lucky this week you may have run into a green chile or two if you intercepted one of Lee's market days. Again, one of those special surprises you can never quite predict around your local farm.

Strawberry Side By Side Comparison

The larger berry on the left is the Chander, our June-bearing selection. This is the moment of the season when the berry on the right, Seascape, comes on at the same time. The result? Lots of strawberries! Also, a chance to compare the two varieties for a few weeks before the Chandler disappears for the season.

Physical characteristics include a difference in shape. The Chandler often produces a large and bulbous berry...perhaps less of a perfect strawberry heart shape whereas the Seascape seems to be coming out almost to perfection in little heart shape size.

Flavor? I prefer the Chandler for the moment. Apparently this changes as time wears on, but for the moment there is a maturity to the Chandler berry that just seems to produce a sweeter flavor. The Seascape is still just beginning to ripen.

Come to the farm stand and ask to try both. Compare for yourself before it is just Seascape for the remainder of the season.

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.

Field Operations

Farm work is busy. When there are things to do (which is almost always) there are tons of things that need to be done at once. Priorities are a MUST and we wander about picking and choosing out battles all day long on the farm. A Saturday afternoon project yesterday was to apply row cover to newly planted and emerging seedlings. I think it was arugula the guys were trying to save from insect damages. It typically gets munched into a doily full of holes by flea beetles. Other plants like cucumbers and squash are attacked by cucumber beetles, and the list goes on and on. When is it worthwhile to spend the time and energy to save a crop from these pest damages? Wayne and Jesus work together in the above image to attach a large roll of brand new row cover to the tractor for application. Tis the season of insect pests and if we want to have certain crops they will need protection in the form of exclusion.

Once the tractor is rigged to apply the row cover it can actually drive itself while the guys follow along and cover the edges so that it will not blow away. All of this extra time and labor and the resources are good examples of why farming organically can be challenging and costly in the broader scheme of food production techniques. These row covers will be re-used around the farm again and again until they out live their life cycle and a full of holes and tears. The guys will have to remove the covers in order to harvest and once the crop is done. It is a lot of extra work, but lets the crop thrive without the damages of our local insect pests.

Meanwhile, Roberto got called off of field operations to go pick more strawberries! He is our number one berry man when the time comes around to re-stock inventory throughout the sales day. We try to pick enough for everyone while also not over-picking. But it is trivial because we never know hen a large strawberry order might hit a the end of a day. You can often see Roberto out filling boxes of sweet berries from out the back of the farm stand. I'm certain he loves his sweet job as he was probing and calling for months as we anticipated the first berries of the season. I never find hesitation is asking for MORE berries AGAIN.

Harvest morning spring field tour

Head lettuce transplants....things are getting set in the ground one after another right now as it is likely frost has passed and beds have finally dried out enough to access much of the farm. Here are upcoming heads of lettuce, the butterheads are covered to keep off leafhopping insect pests that might eat your lettuce before we ever got to harvesting it out of the ground.

Strawberries with grit. We have had to rinse the berries a bit with the initial harvest as they had not yet been given their straw mulch and much of this rain has splashed dirt back on them....we might have prevented this by laying out a plastic mulch when planting, but Tierra simply does not appreciate having to do things like use up acres of plastic that will simply turn into garbage at the end of a season and seeks alternative methods of mulching and cultivating that are less resource intensive.

Jesus. The youngest of our field crew, but has also been with us for many years, Jesus is the go-to guy for many details around the farm. Always available and willing to respond to your needs and ours, he does an incredible job day in and out. Here he drives in your Saturday morning harvest-on time!

Swiss Chard will go to seed soon. Planted in fall it then starts to flower and set seed when too much heat kicks in. It is still harvesting beautifully for the time being and thank goodness for it when all else runs out at the end of the day in the farm stand. It's days are numbered though. Savor it while it lasts.

Here is the fall onion crop. Utah Jumbo or something similar. A big storage onion that will hopefully take us into the depths of winter. We still have to harvest and enjoy our fall planted onions before we even get close to harvesting this crop, but it is out in the field to enjoy it's season of maturity now. Go find it!


Snap peas coming along wonderfully! This will be a sweet delicacy when it finally comes to harvest...although back breaking for the harvest crew.

You may have realized the winter carrots ran out this week...a tragedy when Tierra is without carrots, but not for long. This is the current status of the upcoming spring crop and I am certain it will be presented for sales ASAP! A couple/few more weeks. Have patience, enjoy strawberries in the meantime.

Strawberry Raffle Results and the First Harvest

Here is the first harvest of strawberries for the season. Jose is holding the berries with Jesus on his right, stopping to smile over the occasion. It took these guys some time to gather up this many berries, but they went ahead and did it because otherwise the next round of oncoming rain could just rot whatever berries were sitting out in the field. So, this harvest was a little rushed by the weather, but so is farming one way or another for the most part. We revolve around weather before all else.

Here is Wayne (you can recognize the barren feet) giving the grit ridden berries a rough washing....water is often sparse around the farm as we run on a generator. This round of berries has endured some weather and not many came out free of a good layer of dirt from recent rains. They weren't all super red and perfect either, but that did not rob them of true, sweet strawberry flavor. These early berries beat the shipped in grocery store varietals on any day of the year. It was such a treat to have berries to snack on again....a huge benefit of operating the farm stand.

Despite the white edges seen in the photo, for the most part these berries were quite sweet and full of flavor. I think the cardboard and flavorless grocery store options might train us to shy away from a berry that does not look perfect, but the truth is that a home grown berry is just all around better. We are able to grow strawberries that do not require shipping and hence have better flavor qualities in exchange for durability....this is the usual issue with local versus commercial food choices. Trade in your Costco and Trader Joe berries for local ones, it is time to enjoy a quality product from your local farm. As a side note, the folks who stand on the corner of Fulton and Airport and sell flats of berries do not come from the farm....they just hang out on our corner and next to our sign, coincidentally.

And here is my first strawberry sale! Nancy; a committed weekly customer, friend, supporter of the farm and all the people and products involved; gathered up the first pickings of berries to take home and savor this week. She has some rhubarb too....also in season right now. For those of you who need strawberries and rhubarb together that time is here. Before expecting too much from the strawberry crop, let's wait and see what this coming rain does first. It won't help the berries, but hopefully they won't get damaged either and we might have more this coming weekend.

And finally, here is Sara. Dropping in after her morning run, Sara got lucky as I had just tallied up the results of the Strawberry Raffle. Instead of leaving her recycled strawberry basket with me, she got to refill it with the first berries of the season at no charge. Sara was one of three winners in the raffle who came closest to guessing the first harvest date. You never know what surprises you might find when you drop in at you local farm. Unpredictably, it might not have the grocery store selection you are seeking, but there is always something and very often something new, exciting and unexpected as we wait for seasonal treats to come to fruition.

More Strawberries

I signed for the Seascape strawberry delivery the other day. They came from Nor Cal nursery out of Red Bluff. 4 boxes worth seems to be enough to supply us all for the season...now we just need the right weather to come back around so we can get them in the ground. Wayne also had to obtain some replacement parts for the transplanter which is the optimal equipment for getting the strawberries in the ground. Now that we have parts and plants, as usual, we are just waiting for the rain to subside.

The Chandler crop is already in the ground from last fall and somewhat producing (see previous post). Candlers are a June bearing crop versus the ever-bearing Seascape. This is kinda like a determinant versus and indeterminant tomato. June bearing berries ripen for the most part all at once whereas the ever-bearing types ripen over a longer period and fewer at a time. The Seascapes in these boxes are the ones we will be eating in summer and fall and they will go on and on until rain and frost rob us of their sweetness some time in the late fall.

VERY early berries

It looks like this could be the end of the strawberry raffle...we decided this does not count though. These berries were the very first and they took Wayne a good long while to collect, walking hundreds of feet up and down every single row of berries. The quality and quantities do not qualify as the first basket of true, good berries signifying the onset of a continuous strawberry harvest that our farm stand strawberry raffle boasts.

But these berries were very good. They needed a good washing as the rain had splattered them with a lot of grit and they weren't entirely red, but in comparison to no strawberries, they were delightfully sweet. Now the rain is upon us again which is no benefit to more harvests like this, but there is not frost either which is a benefit. Perhaps it will be an early strawberry season this year....I promise to keep you posted.

Strawberries and previous week's frost effects

Good berry on left, burned berry on right.

Remember just days ago when there was a thin layer of frost covering all things in the morning....not this dry and breezy early spring heat wave we have now evolved into, tricking us into thinking strawberries are already ripe for the season. This is the current reality of the Tierra June-bearing strawberry crop. Some berries frosted the other week, some did not. There will be a lighter crop of early berries than if it has not frosted and it COULD still frost again before these make it to red and sweet status. Cross your fingers.

And one more view. Good berry on left, burned berry on right. This is how many of the plants were effected which is fascinating-why did one get hit and not another right next to it?

Otherwise, the plants look great!

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.

Why Tierra?

Sometimes we make assumptions that people know why what we do is special. Just in case you did not already know, here is my overview of those themes I am continually trying convey to some unknown audience though this blog forum.

Grains. While only scratching the surface of this array of possibility, Tierra has expanded to produce somewhere near 20 varieties of dried beans and 3 varieties of corn for corn meal and polenta. Lee and Wayne are interested in expanding and diversifying the grain component of the farm as land, specialized equipment and demand motivate that evolution.

100% from the farm-local. This is at least one place you go where you do not have to wonder where you food has come from. Emphasis on the farm stand and CSA as distribution locations ensures your vegetables have gone no further than from the farm to your table. There is no supplementary product brought in from distributors or other local farms even. Tierra produces plenty of food on their own and has creatively found ways to expand the season of production in the form of hearty varieties, storage crops and value added products.

Sweetest carrots and strawberries in town. This is the truth and if you do not believe it is worth it just to come shop from us for these items, you are invited over for a sample. Fertile soils and expert growing experience has ensured you will encounter the highest quality of product with character unique to this farm. These are not just carrots and strawberries, but Tierra Carrots and Strawberries.

The vast array of chiles and chile products. Undoubtedly one of the farms specialty crops, Tierra grows chiles and peppers of all sorts with origins and traditional uses that are scattered across the globe. Not only will you find these unique items in fresh form during chile season only (approximately late July-early Nov), but creative methods to store these crops have resulted in a diversity of products all year long including dried chile powders, chipotles, hot sauces, jams and more.

That is all. Tell your family and friends. The farm looks forward to another busy season as the start of spring is now upon us all.

Strawberry Lantern Jam

New Jam Flavor!
We have here the Paper Lantern hot chile, hot in the same family as the fruity and sharp Habanero. A new sweet and spicy jam mix has been created this season that consists of a fusion of the two key ingredients you see in the above photo. This is similar to the Strawberry Chipotle recipe, but lacking the smokey flavor found in the chipotles and emphasizing more of a fruity spice. You all must make your way to a sampling table to try, of course.

These are some extra tiny Paper Lanterns that hang down off the top of the plant. This is the prime moment in the season to gather up lots of small and hot chiles like this for drying and storing as they have reached their maximum maturity level prior to any frost hitting our area and destroying them for the season.

Seasonal Produce: STRAWBERRIES and Striped Romas

A perfect strawberry. There are many of these right now. I highly recommend them. I know most of you already know how good these berries are, but as someone who has access to various sources of berries in my little internal farming world, I can assure you, these strawberries are the best! And right now there are lots. If you want to preserve, the time is now. Let Evie make you a deal. In my opinion, it is best to get much more than a basket. This is easily rationalized. If you have children, the basket will not make it out of the parking lot. Two baskets might make it home. If you get a small box, there could be some for now and a few for later. Just realize....the more you go away with the more each member of the family has a chance to be a strawberry glutton for the seasonal moments that this activity is available.

Now this strawberry does not look perfect....it has visible evidence of over-ripeness. This is a far superior strawberry to me. I would take it first if selecting for myself. It is the sweetest of the bunch by far and it calls to be eaten first by it's limited shelf life. I'd much rather be dealing with these considerations than a white, shippable, tasteless grocery store variety of questionable sourcing. Please enjoy this time of strawberry paradise at Tierra Vegetables. Make special trips to the farmstand for berries, Evie and I are hoping you will come and enjoy these treats along with us.

One last highlighted product. The Striped/Speckled Roma/n tomato. It goes by various names, I think our seeds were Striped Roman. Anyhow, the important thing is the look and flavor of this grand tomato. Please try at least one if you have not already. I discovered them about three years ago and was delighted by the deep red color that you find inside most every time. They are interesting to look at too so if you are entertaining-even just your family-it is something to talk about. As a grower, these tomatoes have presented blossom end rot challenges many times for me. To see such a great stand of them coming out of the Tierra fields is satisfying and something to enjoy. Maybe it is one of many signs of fertility and good practices on that farm.

The long, drawn out arrival of summer vegetables

Many of you have come by the farm stand seeking tomatoes, strawberries, corn, beans, etc.... I think I can confidently say it is all available now. It always seems to take to the end of July before abundant quantities of things we wander around waiting all season for, like tomatoes, actually arrive. Variety is still on hold as heirlooms take a bit more time to mature often, but tomatoes are ripe! Strawberries are available in some limited numbers...they aren't lasting all day long as supply hardly keeps up with demand, but there are lots now. Corn is just beginning to harvest from the first crop this season, please keep coming to try and get your hands on some.

Why does it take so long? In a grower's world there is something called a heat unit, also called Degree Days, when looking at things scientifically. This concept can be hard to grasp if you aren't used to thinking this way, but basically is the amount of heat that occurs each day above a certain benchmark temperature. These heat units are what contributes to growth. It may refer to growth of the vegetable plants and the progress in their vegetable production or is also used to determine life cycles of certain farm pests, say for instance, when the tomato hornworm is going to arrive on your beloved plants for the season, chewing away at the plant in camouflaged ecstasy.

Sonoma County is a great place to grow in general. There are many cold nights and foggy mornings that do not contribute to the seasonal progress of warm season vegetable production, limiting the heat units per day. If you go looking for it, you will find your warm season favorites shipped in from southern California and the Central Valley far sooner than your local community is able to provide these items. This makes it all the more special when that time is here and that time is now! No shipping involved, harvest season is here, get ready to preserve and enjoy the bounty of 2009.

Enjoy your veggies. Summer harvest season is on at your local farm.

A Peek Inside the CSA Box for June 18th, 2009

Lee and I were enjoying the look of the packed box this week as she was preparing to depart with the deliveries that go to Benton Street and Yulupa Ave. in Santa Rosa on Thursdays. The palette of colors was full in the selection this week from deep red berries to pink and green buttery lettuce and the mixture of basil, the white flageolet beans, the standard orange color of carrots, and hiding in this photo is a great purple/red onion and a surprising nopal or cactus paddle hidden inside the old piece of newspaper. What diversity of colors and textures and possibilities. We were both inspired for a few more photos for our on-going collection.

End of Spring-Start of Summer Field Tour

I left town again for a little more than a week, plenty of time for change to occur in the farm fields. I walked the fields yesterday to catch up on what is suddenly in season and how recently planted seeds have come along. It is really hard to get past the strawberries though.

Strawberries are in season!!

They are so sweet and available in abundance. The CSA is lucky to have enjoyed them once already and there seems plenty to go around. I really hope you are making the trip to the farm stand to gather your share of early berries this season. I know road-side cherry vendors can be tempting (wherever in the Central Valley they are being imported from), but these berries are the local fruits of your farm's labors and what grows well here. Bring your family to get some sweet and fresh treats right out of the ground with no question of growing practices and no need or worry of washing. Sonoma County is so lucky to have such a reliable source of such incredible edibles!

Lettuce remains perfect. How can you pass up salads on a nightly basis when there are ingredients like this at hand? Lettuce is harder to maintain throughout the summer months and must be planted again and again to beat the heat or else it will quickly become bitter and flower. The time is now for perfect lettuce, but I know the farm will work hard to keep it around as long as possible and all season if possible. It is unlike Tierra Vegetables to not have something available if it is at all possible to grow it in our region.

Spinach is coming to a close for the spring. I hate to see the yellowing leaves that indicate a spinach crop is near the end of it's time and the heat it taking it out until the next fall. This particular spinach I found in the field yesterday was a second spring sowing and is doing quite well. It's time is limited as summer approaches, but for now, it is something to take advantage of for the next week or two. There is something about the flavor and texture of spinach leaves that it is one of my favorite things to munch right out of the fields. I always diligently check for bugs first, of course (this is a good practice I got into after eating a fig with a beetle surprise in the middle last season).

Sugary snap peas! This is another one to enjoy before it is too late. Many people come looking for "vegetables" and don't see all the bounty at a time of year like this. Squash, tomatoes, beans, corn....all this summer stuff is great, but look beyond into all the things that are only spring, winter and fall products. That goes for radishes too. Here are two perfect ingredients for your spring salads with the abundance of lettuce and spinach. I'm already overwhelmed by the possibilities and abundance of food this season. An incredible benefit of working in the world of farming is access to so much great stuff to eat all the time....from this point on it will be hard to decide what to opt for each meal from amidst the bounty of the harvest.
Beets and carrots are ready to go too. Sweet roots ought to be a kitchen staple. The quality of root production on this farm is near perfection in my opinion. Big, sweet and full of nutrition with deep dark purples and oranges infusing your body with it's needs for healthy survival. It is now time to keep up with your weekly ration of sweet candy carrots.


And, in closing for this post, a tease for what is to come. This is literally one of five Sungolds I saw out there, but one of these days the plants will be covered. We are now just weeks and days away from a sweet cherry tomato season. Meanwhile, enjoy your beets, carrots, peas, radishes, salads, greens and strawberries....that is plenty of flavor and texture to hold you over until tomatoes emerge for the season.