Freshman Farmer | New Organic Farms Set Roots

Looking Into The Valley

December 25th, 2009
Four Frog Farm | Blog

Yesterday, Andrea and I drove through the CA Central Valley; south though Sacramento, Stockton, Modesto, Merced, and to Fresno.

As a younger person, drives like this were not impressive; stip-mall towns and cities mixed with flat farmland…about as far as the eye could see (or until the smogg stops you from seeing).

As an older young person, after immersing myself in farming the last 4 years, I see the valley differently. The flat farmland is a luxury my eyes soak in. I long for it. I also long for solitude, clean air and water - all of these things the valley has forsaken. Here’s what I learned on our 4 hour trip south:

1. Some farmers actually cover-crop their land in the winter - this is a step that I am pleased to see. However, most don’t, and the muddy fields, slashed by disc imprints point to an irresponsible land stewarship that we as a people should not tolerate. My thoughts point to the fact that we won’t be able to apply magic chemical fertilizer every spring in perpetuity and expect the plants to grow with vigor.

2. The valley is smogg-ridden. Deisel tractors, trucks, pumps and gasoline everything is turning this place into a very bright place (read: the glare of the sunlight off the smogg makes you squint). Those things, and a little wintertime inversion layer compromise everyone’s health.

3. 99% of agricultural products in the nation are conventionally farmed. I wouldn’t hesitate to say that the percentage in CA is similar. That’s a lot of chemical usage, and, observing the city-dwellers here, I’d say the effects are dramatic and evident. I know it’s not just the agriculture and the resulting pesticide residues, but as our agriCULTURE goes, so goes the rest of the CULTURE and vice-versa - ie, its a sick culture and we’re masking it with anti-depressants, cholesteral regulating drugs and others (ie herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, etc). It’s weird for me to see the parallels (and maybe I’m reading into this a little bit

4. California is huge and the amount of arable land is immense. We are so lucky to have this…let’s be aware of this and be thankful for the bounty.

Happy holidays,

Andrew

Tags: CA, Sacramento, Stockton, Modesto, Merced, Fresno, agriculutre, pesticides

1 Comments. Add a comment?

Paperwork, some fieldwork

December 18th, 2009
Four Frog Farm | Blog

First of all, I am so, so sorry for falling behind on the blog here. I just got addicted to using facebook…you can check out all of the pics I’ve been posting by becoming a fan of Four Frog Farm on facebook. It’s actually pretty sweet.

Facebook is pretty manic-it’s all about the one-liners because our society has fallen into ADHD as our default-mode. Whatever…I guess if you can’t beat them, or change em, then I’ll just join em. And, I’m hoping, people will follow the farm to find out what’s going on every day, and what we’re taking to the Farmers’ Markets at any given time. Since people get these feeds from Twitter and Facebook on their cell-phones nowadays, they’ll know instantly if we’re taking turnips (or not) to the market (pretty hot stuff). And, since I know you’re all dying to know about our turnip supply, this is enhancing your life in ways previously unthought-of (note: I’m being a little sarcastic).

Anywhoo, Logan and I are engaging in marathon paperwork sessions. We’re getting very precise about all of our crops this year. We can do that now, because we know, after a this previous year, what our local markets are like, and how much of everything we can realistically sell. So far, we know how much of and what we’re growing for the spring and summer, but not yet for the fall. Once we plan out exactly where in the field this is all going, we will be money!

If anyone is interested, when we’re done with this, I can hook you up with our complete cropping plan. I’ll probably post it here on the blog or on facebook -give me some feedback if you’re interested. I guess we should be selling it…but not yet -this year it’s free and maybe it’ll help someone become profitable, or at least contribute a bit. Anyway, it’s a good example of one farm and what we’re doing, if nothing more.

Lastly, I’m going to make an effort to post twice a week here. The posts will be longer than they have been - if you want ADD posts, then become a fan of Four Frog Farm on facebook.

Happy last night of Chanukah,

Andrew

Tags: farmer's market, facebook, twitter, paperwork

5 Comments. Add a comment?

The Mail Has Come! Our Farm is Saved!

December 7th, 2009
Coyote House Farm | Blog

That’s a little dramatic, especially for a community that actually likes to watch the grass grow. But yeah. We had some trouble locating OMRI approved gypsum. My dad, who works alongside us, rolled his eyes at this. “Organic calcium? You have got to be kidding.” Peaceful Valley used to carry OMRI-listed gypsum, but the manufacturer no longer packaged it in bags. Our dear friends there special ordered a pallet of the Righteous Powder and we were very grateful. We rented a BCS walk-behind tractor… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: basil, cover crop, gypsum, tractor, OMRI, dry farmed tomatoes, Alaska

4 Comments. Add a comment?

Cold Snap

December 7th, 2009
DeepSeeded Community Farm | Blog

My farm is only 4 miles from the ocean on the north California coast, so it never gets really cold… but it’s been pretty cold lately. We’ve had numerous frosty mornings in a row and this morning it was 24 degrees. I’m used to being able to leave the hardier crops uncovered through the winter, using row covers just for winter lettuces and other tender stuff, but these temps had me covering up carrots and bok choi as well. I’m hoping the plants fare alright; I still… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: freeze, frost, row cover, thaw, neoprene gloves

No comments yet. Add a comment?

Busy in a busy way

December 6th, 2009
Hand Sown Homegrown Heritage Farm | Blog

My dad inspired this post out of me when I received an email from him asking what a Sunchoke was after I included him on one of our farm fresh sheets that we’ve been emailing out to our customers. The fresh sheets have met their highest item count by now though, as we’re getting hard frosts each night. The lettuce that was covered with Remay have received a death kiss from Jack Frost! Strange, my mom just told me that she’s never eaten Kale before. I’m so stoked about getting… Read the rest of this article »

No comments yet. Add a comment?

The Winter CSA has Begun!

November 28th, 2009
DeepSeeded Community Farm | Blog

This year at DeepSeeded Farm, we’ve decided to keep the harvest coming for a few weeks into winter. I planted an acre or so of crops that would mature in the fall and provide harvest a ways into winter. Though it is possible to harvest something from the garden all year long in this climate, I decided to keep the winter CSA to just 6 weeks for a couple of reasons. One, it’s great to get a break from harvest at some point in the year. Secondly, after a while into winter the diversity… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: winter CSA, variety, oakhill organics, mendocino organics

2 Comments. Add a comment?

Out with the Flu - Great to have good help!

November 28th, 2009
DeepSeeded Community Farm | Blog

In general, the farmers I know are the type of folks who don’t get sick very often. It’s extremely hard to be out of action when the harvests are demanding, and you already have a giant backlog of work. I managed to make it clear to the end of our mainseason CSA harvests, but by the end of last Friday, I was out. I had a fever and couldn’t do anything for 5 days, and finally felt better just in time for Thanksgiving (yes!). During that time, though, the farm still had to bring… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: harvest, help, illness

No comments yet. Add a comment?

Not Farming…Using Faceboook!!!

November 26th, 2009
Four Frog Farm | Blog

I’m up in Eugene with my family, and my brother has successfully convinced me to sign up for a facebook account, for Four Frog Farm. I’m really not into it at all. But, shoot, everyone I’ve ever met, talked with, or even heard about in my life is using the cursed system. Logan and I are taking most of the week off. We’ll be back at work on Monday. It’s nice to take 5 days from the farm and not worry about anything out there. I’m getting techy for the farm… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: facebook, twitter

No comments yet. Add a comment?

Harvesting in the rain

November 22nd, 2009
Four Frog Farm | Blog

Friday: Logan and I arrive later to the farm than desired. We get in a couple of hours of harvesting before the rain picks up. Then, the mild downpour ensues for about 5 hours. As soon as we’re done harvesting, the rain ends! Admittedly, I was pretty miserable. I’ve grown soft in these last 25 years of life. I guess this is what farming year-round is like -it shows you where you’re soft. Anyway, not harvesting wasn’t an option: we had big order from the co-op and… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: farmer's market, thanksgiving, harvest. rain

3 Comments. Add a comment?

My first blog photo!!!

November 19th, 2009
Four Frog Farm | Blog

Read the rest of this article »

2 Comments. Add a comment?

« Older entries

Two farms are starting from scratch.

They are turning the dirt and hoping to be successful enough to turn a profit, and to become a valuable part of their communities as suppliers of organically grown food.

Peaceful Valley is giving them a head start by offering them special pricing as part of this Freshman Farmer program.

The Farm Blogs

Freshman:
New Farms Coming Soon!
Sophomores:
	Laughing Duck Farm Newcastle, CA
	Starbright Acres 12575 Polaris Dr, Grass Valley, CA
Graduates:
	Coyote House Farm Palermo, CA
	Daily Grace Farms Crescent City, CA
	DeepSeeded Community Farm Arcata, CA
	Driftwood Farm Fort Bragg, CA
	EarthDance Farm St. Louis, MO
	Ellwood Canyon Farms Goleta, CA
	Freestone Family Farm Vernal, UT
	Hand Sown Homegrown Heritage Farm Poulsbo, WA
	Home Plate Organic Farm Orleans, CA
	Honey in the Heart Farm Nevada City, CA
	Willow Springs Farm Penn Valley, CA
	Wise Moon Farm Redding, CA