Goat Wrestling

Thursday, February 4, 2010:

Those of you are already familiar with our farm have probably heard all about "The Girls." Our two Nubian goats, Shoshanna and Isabella, were Jeff's gift to me on my birthday this past June. I have what I consider to be a very healthy appreciation for the goats. I like them, I think they're cute, funny, and I definitely think they add an authenticity to our farm that only farm animals can. But when the goats are yelling in the middle of the night or when they start eating the crops, I see them for what they are - goats.

Jeff, however, is a very proud Papa. Since the day he got them, he's been over the moon for his girls. The goats' first night at the farm was undoubtedly unnerving for them and they, like most babies, expressed their fear by making A LOT of noise ALL NIGHT LONG. Jeff decided that it would be best for us to sleep in their barn with them...on the floor. Despite our presence, the goats still cried. Jeff's patience was unfailing until they went to the bathroom...on him. I think he started understanding the limited intelligence that accompanies that sweet and goofy demeanor of goats. Since then, we've developed wonderful relationships with the goats. They are treated like princesses. They play, eat, jump, and have the run of the place.

Today, however, they had to get their hooves trimmed - a necessary, but rather awkward exercise. First, we bribed them with grain laden with molasses and other goodies. Then we tried to get them to calmly stand still so that Jeff could trim their hooves. But despite my petting and coaxing and Jeff's gentle touch, the goats did not want to be messed with. I don't think I can describe how strong a full grown goat is. When a goat wants to move, it moves - even if there's a full sized human trying to hold her. In the end, I used my weight to bear hug the goats into submission and Jeff laid on the barn floor trying to get an angle from which he could work.

Even though the goats acted like we were trying to kill them, once we were done, they were happy and seemed to have forgotten the whole ordeal. Goats are clearly masters of forgetting and forgiving. And therein lies the moral of today's story: no matter what uncomfortable ordeals we must face, once we make it through them, make like a goat and just forget it ever happened.

Website and Hoes

Monday, February 1, 2010:

Nope, you're eyes don't deceive you...I really am posting two days in a row. I'm trying to write a bit each day so that everyone out there in reader land can understand what we do as modern day urban farmers.

So, on to the days happenings. This winter, I've been determined to be more organized and on top of things. Deciding to be more administratively thoughtful when in the midst of picking 8 hours a day and then planting and selling to boot doesn't work well at all. This winter has been my time to get stuff straight - we have calendars, files, post its, envelopes, and fliers everywhere.

Also on my list was to finally build a website. This blog was a start, but we really need a website to make our business more efficient and visible. So, I put on my computer pro hat and built us a website! It's nothing fancy, mind you, but it gets the job done for now. It will undoubtedly grow as the season progresses, so look for amazing things to come. The address is www.redwoodempirefarm.com. Catchy, right? Well, today I worked out some website kinks and put it up in its most complete form yet.

The other item on my agenda was to order myself a new hoe. This time of year it is a constant battle to protect the onions and garlic that are growing from the weeds. I've been using an ancient hula hoe, but it's heavy, unwieldy, and I find it to be incredibly awkward to handle. So, I bought myself a fancy little hand hoe doodad that they claim is like an "extension of your own finger nail." That sounds like a good deal to me! Because right now, I'm so dissatisfied with my hoeing performance that I usually end up using my real fingernails to dig the weeds out of the dirt.

Only in Sonoma County...

Sunday, January 31, 2010:

One of the reasons that Jeff and I get along so well is that we both like to go on adventures. He does the driving, I do the navigating, and off we go. Today we decided to take advantage of the sunshine and head a little north to Lake Sonoma. Lake Sonoma is one of our favorite spots to visit, regardless of the season. Although it's not too far away from Santa Rosa, it seems wild, uninhabited, and man, is it beautiful!

Today we were interested in visiting the fish hatchery to see how many fish have returned to the hatchery so far this year. If you haven't visited the hatchery, you should definitely check it out. The Lake Sonoma Visitor's Center is full of interesting history/information about the area and, the fish hatchery is a great way to learn more about the lifecycle of the fish that spawn here in Sonoma County.

All the rain we've had did wonders for the creeks and rivers, so the fish are having a ball running inland. Even though the water was murky, we still saw numerous Steelhead jumping up the fish ladders and spawning in the creek at the hatchery. Watching fish spawn in a natural habitat is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. It's like seeing something from the Discovery Channel or National Geographic happening right in front of you in your own backyard. Steelhead are BIG fish and they look somewhat out of place in our relatively small streams. Then they start doing their spawning dance, which is awesome! I don't know if it makes me strange or not, but there is something definitely seductive about the way that the males and females introduce themselves, line up side by side, and then, in perfect time, propagate.

Fish watching is another activity that Jeff and I share. He took me to see spawning Steelhead in a very local and secret creek on Valentine's Day when we had just started dating. (I know, it was very romantic. He's a regular Don Juan!) The creek is somewhere I had been many, many times, and yet I had never even thought to look for fish. I had always assumed there was nothing in the water to look for, fish or otherwise. But Jeff merely had to point out the first fish and, suddenly, they became clear to me, like a lense on my world had been changed and now there were fish in my creeks! Seeing the fish and understanding how they live, what they do, and why they are such an important indicator of the overall health of the earth, made my understanding of nature much more complete.

Wow, that was quite a fish tangent. Hopefully my passion will be a nudge to go see the fish for yourselves. If you have kids, visit a farm and see the animals and then go see the fish - I'd bet that your tykes will be eager to be outside for at least a while afterwards.

Back to our day's adventure...

After the hatchery, we drove out one of the roads by the lake. The weather was great, there was sun and some big, puffy clouds cruising by. But to make everything better, we came around a bend and there were a big herd of wild pigs! There were big ones and little ones, brown and black ones, spotted and solid ones. Jeff wanted to "capture" one, but I talked him down and the piggies escaped to face him another day.

A Picture Speaks A Thousand Words...

This is a picture of our bottom pasture where we raised the last batch of chickens. In the background is our movable chicken pen and in front of it is the strip of ground over which the pen moved while it was inhabited by chickens. I think it is so cool that you can actually see the fertilizing power of the chickens. This is why we want to raise more chickens! Not only are they responsibly raised, but they taste delicious and move our farm one more step toward complete sustainability!

Market News

Just wanted to let everyone know that we'll be back at the farmer's market on Saturday (December 5th). We took last Saturday off in order to recuperate from Thanksgiving, but now we're back to work.

What can you expect to see from us at the market? We have beautiful cut lettuce mix, arugula, chard, kale, broccoli, eggs, and more of our soon to be world famous chile peppers. Also, a note about our eggs. We ARE bringing eggs to the farmer's market these days, so even if you don't see them out on the table, ask if we have them stashed somewhere.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and we'll see you at the market!

It's Raining...It's Pouring...

The first storm of the year inevitably results in mixed emotions. Some love it. Some hate it. Rain can wreak havoc for the vineyards if it comes before harvest is complete. Rain can mean much needed water in our rivers and streams that will allow precious fish to run, spawn, and hopefully thrive. So where do I stand on the rain and what does it mean for Redwood Empire Farm?

Well, personally, I love the rain. After months of dry, dusty weather and rock hard ground, rain provides refreshment, cleansing, and saturation that makes the season's finale much easier. Believe me, tearing out crops is infinitely less tiresome when the ground is moist and soft. The rain also recharges the moisture in the ground, allowing us to grow beautiful greens and winter crops. Recharging the groundwater table is especially important for us because we try to use as little water and irrigation as possible.

What, if anything, does the rain harm? Ripe tomatoes still on the vine are prone to splitting and rot, as are figs. Unharvested winter squash (pumpkins included)needs to be watched that it doesn't start to rot or mold. Everything else, however, does ok in the rain. Some crops, such as kale, chard, lettuce, and other greens, even thrive with a rain bath.

A word of warning, though, for those planning on buying tomatoes after the storm. Smell them! Feel them! Pick them up! For tomatoes to be flavorful, they should smell like tomatoes, they should feel heavy for their size, and feel firm to the touch. Remember, tomatoes picked green and hard will eventually turn color, but they will not necessarily develop delicious flavor. Many tomatoes that you find after the first storm will have been picked green and unripe prior to the rain in an attempt to save them from being ruined. So do yourself a favor and thoroughly investigate your tomatoes before buying them so as not to be disapointed.

Peppers are a crop not adversely affected by the rain - they actually benefit from a gentle rain washing. They emerge from the storm clean and polished, ready for action. And speaking of peppers, I have to share my pepper preparation discovery. I cut our italian roasting peppers lengthwise, drizzled them with a little bit of olive oil, and sprinkled them with salt and pepper. I then put them in the oven at about 400 degrees and let them roast for about 10-15 minutes. Once they're a bit soft and starting to look good and roasted, I put a little bit of herb chevre (fresh, soft goat cheese) in them and put them back in the oven for about 5 minutes. Once the pepper are soft and the cheese is bubbly, take them out of the oven and enjoy!

Hooray for the Farm Stand!

For starters, I’d like to apologize for not updating the blog more often. Despite my best laid plans, finding time to sit down and write about what we’re doing on the farm has been difficult. I have a really good excuse though! Most every moment that I’m not picking, planting, weeding, seeding, or selling at a farmer’s market, I’m working at the Farm Stand. And let me tell you, the Farm Stand is a wonderful way to spend my time! Jeff and I really wanted to open a stand as a way of making the things we grow more accessible to the people and families who live in the neighborhoods surrounding the farm. We expected that it would be fairly successful, but anticipated that it would be slow going in this, it’s first season. Boy, were we wrong! Every day that we’re open, more people stop by and get so excited about what they find. Our clientele is growing quickly and with our growing popularity, Jeff and I are afire with ideas of new things to grow, programs to launch, events to hold.

The Farm Stand has rekindled my enthusiasm for growing food in the way that we do. I am so excited that our farm is becoming a part of the daily lives of people all over Santa Rosa. The thing I enjoy most is that our Farm Stand customers are all different. We have parents shopping with their kids who use the Stand as an opportunity to talk about how veggies are grown and to plan dinner together. We have folks who live in retirement communities and come stock up on tomatoes to share with their friends and neighbors. We have people who are shopping for special dinner parties and people who are simply shopping for that night’s dinner. We have caterers and chefs, the affluent and the not so affluent, those who really care about where veggies are grown and those who stop mostly because it’s convenient. All of these different people have one thing in common though – they all go home with our clean, fresh-picked, delicious fruits and veggies. I love that folks all over Santa Rosa (and probably beyond) enjoy the fruits of our labor. Making healthy, local food accessible and convenient to people from all walks of life is incredibly gratifying and makes all the hard work worthwhile.

So, in sum, THANK YOU for supporting us. Your encouragement, patronage, enthusiasm, and smiling faces are the fuel that we need to keep going and growing. Keep sending the feedback, ideas, and requests, because we’re constantly planning what’s next.