I've passed it more than a dozen times, peering into the valley below from the perilous coastal Highway One heading down into Stinson Beach. It beckoned like a beautiful quilt. This is Green Gulch Farm at the San Francisco Zen Center in Muir Beach. I will write more about it soon, but right now, words fail me. (Click to enlarge: I am making the thumbnails very big deliberately.)
A mish-mosh of a post, with lots of information about some happenings.
First of all, if you are fortunate enough to love farms, love bicycling, and live near Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, or Sebastopol, then you might be interested in the Tour d'Organics (their site is currently down, but I'm sure it will be up soon) taking place over the next three months. The Santa Cruz county event will take place on July 23: read this article in the Sentinel about the day. Riders can choose 35-mile, 65-mile, or 100-mile options, touring the county and visiting small farms. (The farms are the rest stops.)
All routes begin at Cabrillo College. I've mapped out all the locations over at Platial: 2006 Tour d'Organics Farms: Santa Cruz.
Despite some difficult circumstances in our family right now, I am very aware of the blessings. The word that comes to mind is "connections." Pictured at left, George (1/2 of "George and Weezy," a pair of Jersey cow twins that came to TLC Ranch from Ron Garthwaite at Claravale Dairy) bestows a bovine benediction on Bob Thorson, of Deep Roots Ranch.
Logan and I were at TLC Ranch yesterday, bringing with us another young chef, this time Ben Howard from Gabriella Cafe. Inspired by Michael Ruhlman's book, The Making of a Chef, Ben went to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, and had worked on a CSA in Poughkeepsie whenever he could.
Jim's wife, Becky, gave us a peek at of the brand-new (two-day-old) baby chicks that had escaped their confines, and were scattering like two-inch tumbleweeds among the larger poultry (which includes 35 Bourbon Red poults, and hundreds of other pastured chickens). They are speedy, but their legs are tiny, and it was easy and fun to scoop each of the little powderpuffs up without hurting them.
First of all, warmest welcome to readers of Megnut, and many kind thanks to Michael Ruhlman for the kind words on his introductory guest blog piece over there. I felt compelled to get a new post up here, though I am slammed with work for a restaurant. Which leads me to Reno, where I traveled last week.
I was visiting 4th Street Bistro, with chef Natalie Sellers and her front-of-the-house partner, Carol Wilson. Natalie was amazing, and (God bless her forever and ever) took me to two farms, one of which grows exclusively for her. The other, about 45 minutes to the west, was located near Beckwourth, in the heart of the highest alpine valley (once a lakebed) in the Northern hemisphere. This is Sierra Valley Farms, owned by the Romano family since 1936.
I'd met farmer Gary Romano in January at the Eco-Farm Conference. His operation fascinated me: he is clearly the New Farmer whose job description far outstrips last century's farmer's. No longer are brute strength, frugality, and good organization enough to succeed in farming. No, now you have to be a networker and more. Gary and his wife, Kim, have a diverse and visionary operation, which began back in 1989, when he bought the 65 acres that remained from his grandparents' original 900-acre ranch.
Since it's nearly 5000 feet in elevation, the farm is limited in what it can reliably produce: a mere sixty frost-free days a year put quite a damper on your hopes for tomatoes and peppers and other heat-loving crops. On the other hand, the custom mixed greens that Gary grows enchant both the eye and the tongue, and it's no wonder that a chef would drive almost an hour to get them, fresh-picked that day, for her customers. (And no wonder, with that kind of dedication to her ingredients, Sellers' restaurant celebrated its sixth anniversary earlier this month, with a steadily growing business and enviable customer loyalty.)
The first thing I noticed about beautiful La Milpa Organica, farmed by Barry Logan in Escondido (north of San Diego) is the patchwork quilt of greens that grows in the center of the farm. I arrived when Barry was jogging back and forth from a cooler, filling the back of his van with boxes he would be delivering to the chefs who prize his crops, but Barry took time to give me a tour of his farm. (Pictured at left, Santiago is Barry's ace harvester, filling a box to order.)
We stood surrounded by twenty-some kinds of salad fixings, ranging in color from spring green and chartreuse to deep reds and purples. Barry said wistfully, "I'd make more money if I only sold those," sweeping his hand toward some tiny green plants. "But I'd lose all this beauty, and I just can't bring myself to do it." I could understand, completely, and his yearning for beauty is certainly one of the keys to the soul of this farmer, who left the corporate world to live his dream of farming just three years ago.
Finally! A story I've been eager to tell since I attended the Family Farm conference last month, about a two-acre farm in urban Milwaukee. Pictured above, tilapia at Growing Power. (I'm making the thumbnails smaller than usual so I can get in more photographs.)
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It's miraculous, really: fish fertilize the water. The water feeds the plants, The plants filter the water. The fish swim in the water. You can eat the fish (tilapia, yum), you can eat the plants. You can't eat the worms, who are also part of this equation, but they've got work to do. It is the innovative combination of composting, aquaponics/hydroponics, and vermiculture that has brought national attention to a very special spot in urban Milwaukee.
I had met farmer Will Allen at the Growing Power booth at the Family Farm Expo in Chicago a little less than a month ago. It was impossible to miss him: at six feet and seven inches, he towered over everyone in the room. One solid handshake from him, with a "come and visit us—it will change your life" later, and I found myself making plans to visit the Growing Power center in Milwaukee, where I coincidentally would be spending Saturday night before flying home late on Sunday.
The FamilyFarmed.org 2006 Expo was a joyous and fascinating event for me. I'll cover more of the details soon, as well as post about the urban farm I visited in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Sunday.
This post is devoted solely to the resources presented from our panel, "The New Grapevine: Connect Your Farm to a Greater Community with New Media." I took some notes during the conference, and those thoughts are included in the information here.
First of all, I have not covered EatFeed's presentation on podcasting, which was extensive and fascinating). You can obtain information by e-mailing Mia Littlejohn, their marketing director. (She will perhaps post them at the EatFeed site. I'll let you know.) The host of Anne Bramley gave such a nice presentation—it was wonderful to meet her and hear her voice. EatFeed is offering a wonderful partnership for small farms to build a network via their site. (I'm sorry I can't post more details. Trust me: if you have a small farm, check it out.)
Today's farmers need to be versatile in their work: no longer is back-breaking hard work enough to guarantee the success of your small farm. Happily, however, technology that didn't exist a few years ago can help you promote your farm, by getting your name and brand and identity into the world. If you ask me, it's all about the faces and places. That, and that alone, is the reason I love farms so much, and the reason I blog.
As Paul pointed out, one thing to consider about blogging is that the effort you put into producing a newsletter could instead go into building a blog.
Newsletters are a one-way street. Blogging is collaborative: your customers can put their recipes into the comments section, and then you have built a body of work that sustains not only your clients, but yourselves, as farmers. Your clients can come and "visit" you, and you'll get some feedback that is instantly shared with your whole community.
Successful farming is requires community and networking. Blogs and Platial maps enhance the experience mightily. Read on.
This weekend in Chicago, the FamilyFarmed.org EXPO will happed at the Chicago Cultural Center. Friday and Saturday, March 10-11, workshops, speakers, and over 50 exhibitors will present information about organic and sustainable food and farming, as well as showing two important films: "The Future of Food" (produced, written and directed by Deborah Koons Garcia, widow of Jerry) and "The Real Dirt on Farmer John," which I've seen twice and written about here on my blog.
Anne Bramley, producer (and the woman with the great voice) of the EatFeed podcast, invited me to be part of a panel called "The New Grapevine: Marketing with the New Media," which will focus on blogging, podcasting, and other new media tools online to help promote small farms. Another very well-known food blogger, Paul McCann of KIPLog's FoodBlog, is also on the panel providing technical know-how for farmers who want to learn to blog.
I am really looking forward to being in this wonderful city, and maybe hitting a farm or two on Sunday. We'll see if the weather cooperates.
Farmer John himself will be in Los Angeles on March 10 (I think, though it's not indicated on their site any longer).
After the conference, I will post a list of resources from our presentation.
Continue reading "FamilyFarmed.org EXPO in Chicago and IACP Awards" »
First of all, my farm-loving friend, Susan, at Farmgirl Fare, sent me the sweetest assortment of Christmas cookies, and I just want to thank her publicly for her incredible kindness. Also: these are probably the best Christmas cookies I've ever had. I am not a cookie fan, particularly, being more of a savory than sweet kinda gal. But. But. But these cookies are so good. The gingersnaps in particular had the perfect crunch and bite. The butter cookies were fabulous. Bob and Logan love love loved the peanut butter drops with the big chocolate chip in the middle. (I gave mine to Bob, since he's wild for peanut butter cookies.)
You will notice that I am writing in the past tense. These cookies are history. I haven't had them all yet, but I am not sharing that chocolate biscotti with anybody. I think I better hide them, in fact.
Farmgirl, you are such a gift in the blogosphere. Thank you for your photos, which inspire me constantly, and let me know when you open your bakery.
And now, a good one from the letter bag...
When it's time to get the hell out of Dodge, Reno seems as good a bet (pardon the pun) as any. Bob is constantly receiving offers from the Siena hotel for free stays. The beds are as comfortable as the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco and, as Bob likes to say, "It's out of town." Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and traditionally I cook a 22-pound turkey. (That's it, pictured at left, about ten years ago..and the lighting is wretched--the bird wasn't that dark. But I was that slender. Do you think I look psycho? You try holding a 22-pound bird while someone sets up their camera. "Take the picture! Take the picture!" Audrey Hepburn fans unite.)
This year, we just wanted to escape.
The drive through the San Joaquin valley was beautiful. The November sky was moody and grey, and we passed dozens of vineyards that held golden-green leaves on their vines. One pretty little farm, on the banks of the Mokelumne River, just outside the Sacramento County line, caught my eye: orchards, rice paddies, beautiful trees grown up around the farm house...I've been Googling for hours, trying to find out more about it. I wonder if this could be the place.
Continue reading "4th St. Bistro in Reno & Other Tasty Tidbits" »
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