Bring on the Heat!

We have had an incredibly mild (& cool) Spring. In spite of the fact that we were hovering around 100 degrees a few weeks ago... Nature has decided to throw another curve ball and make temperatures unseasonably cool. And while it feels wonderful to be outside working ~ it's quite confusing to the plants in the field & the fruits of the orchards! Especially the tomatoes & peppers! They just don't seem sure of themselves at the moment.

Good news on the horizon... weather patterns will shift to a more suitable heat and we should get a big push of growth in the fields! Can't wait... We planted several new varities of heirloom tomatoes this year. There are several hundred to choose from! So~the task of choosing can be a little daunting because they all sound incredible! Here's a peak at the growth stages in 1 area of the tomato field:

We decided to get the tomatoes out in the field a little later this year than last. We actually held off until almost mid-April. And it's ok. With this crazy Spring weather... there was a killing frost in early April that caused a lot of crop damage in Solano & Napa counties. So ~ I was probably spared some disappointment by waiting a bit. But now I'm so excited about what we'll have coming in! There are about 35 varieties of heirloom tomatoes out there - large, mid & cherry! Just to name a few.... Black Cherry (one of my FAVORITES), Yellow Pear, Green Grape, Marvel Stripe, Lemon Boy, Green Zebra, Mr Stripey, Berkeley Tie Dye, Ferris Wheel, Red Boar, Boxcar Willie, Pineapple, Cherokee Purple, Rosalita, Black Krim & several more!

We're also anxiously waiting the arrival of lots of peppers!... Golden Bell, Chocolate Beauty, Ivory, Purple Beauty, California Wonder, Thai Hot, Jalapeno & again... many more. I love peppers. Especially hot peppers. And eggplant! A nod to my Meditteranean heritage...

Since we are certified organic ~ we look for ways to increase the beneficial insect population. I have found that having our lavender fields near our row crop fields, orchards & vineyards has really helped to boost the bee population! I know there's a bee crises in the world right now and that can have major implications for future food production. Very scary. So - I feel incredibly grateful for the colony of bees we have buzzing around our farm. I took a few shots yeterday of a beautiful bumble bee hard at work & seemingly enjoying himself immensly in the lavender field!

CRAZY BUSY!

I've been super busy since my last post. Tons going on with the farm, weather, preparing for a wedding celebration, etc. etc.

Last Sunday, we had an absolutely beautiful wedding here at our farm. There's a lot of work that goes into holding an event of this magnitude and we take it very seriously. We work very hard to make sure that the property is mowed & cleaned up as much as possible. And for a certified organic farm - this means cultivation/mowing, etc. The results look pretty spectacular.

Aubrey & Aaron are the darling couple who chose our farm for their big day. The weather ultimately cooperated and they had a stunning event. As a result of this beautiful wedding, I met some really talented & fun people! Two incredible photographers covered this celebration:

gene higa & ann hamilton! They've posted some fabulous photos on their own blogs of their coverage. Definitely worth checking out! http://www.genehiga.net/ and http://www.annhamilton.com/ We were also fortunate to have met another big talent ~ anton lorimer! http://www.lorimerworks.com/ He creates inspiring video works with the eye of a true cinematographer. And the woman responsible for making sure the bride was perfection for each photo.... Maria Chang! http://www.professionalmakeupartistry.com/ (PMA). Flawless work and a super-sweetie to boot!

The day was planned and orchestrated by Brandy Cabrahl of Bliss Event Productions http://www.blisseventproductions.com/ . It was the first time Brandy had coordinated a wedding at our farm and she did a brilliant job. She is a consummate professional and incredibly easy to work with. She did her best to make sure everything ran beautifully and smoothed over any problems that Mother Nature threw in our direction... rain? no rain. Strange weather this year...

Gorgeous flowers by http://www.lushfloral.com/ and another artfully presented and well executed menu by Rolando at http://www.alexscatering.com/ !

But what else is going on at the farm??? Well... we're transplanting some new lavender out in the field. This one is Lavandula angustifolia ‘Folgate’Lavender. Folgate is an evergreen perennial, Ht. 60 cm. Short spikes of mid purple blue flowers in summer. Grey, green, aromatic foliage. Compact habit. Medicinal and culinary, add flowers and leaves sparingly to stews, soups and salads. We will be harvesting this for the essential oil qualities as well.

Yesterday we began harvesting our Twickle Purple lavender! This is such a wonderfully aromatic lavender for essential oil, dry herb for cooking and, of course, crafts! I have quite a few friends that like to come out to help with harvesting. This is Kara - she is a huge help and a dear friend.

We hand harvest a lot of our lavender for drying bundles & fresh cut! If we're planning to harvest a particular variety for oil... we have a really cool implement that was designed to harvest green tea in Japan. we use it for lavender & have found it works brilliantly!

But... for the good old fashioned hand harvest technique... we use this little number. it's very sharp & very effective!

Waiting for the Lavender Harvest!

Wow. It's hot today. An especially good thing for the lavender fields just starting to push color. I think it's going to be an early harvest this season! Oh... did I mention we grow lavender??

It's a fun crop! So many things to learn (as always) and so many wonderful ways to utilize the harvest!

We're just going into our 4th year of growing lavender. Right now we have several acres under way. Last year we harvested almost entirely for essential oil & hydrosol. We're getting ready to launch a new line of certified organic & hand processed lavender products. It's been in the works for a long time and I'm really excited about it.

This year - we plan to harvest for oil distillation again. But we also plan to start drying our lavender for other purposes as well as doing some fresh-cut products. Will keep you posted on that. Here are a few shots of the fields in bloom last year:

Since we are a certified organic operation ~ weed control is a big issue. Pictured below are the organic walnut shells from one of our neighboring organic walnut growers. A terrific way to utilize the by-product of walnut processing. And a nice looking solution!

A Girl & Her Tractor

I've been asked sooo many times to describe what my days are like as a farmer. I have attempted over the past five years to keep notes or journal entries of my daily life, but alas, i find the practice a little cumbersome. The art of putting pen to paper has given way to blogging. Since I do actually sit at my computer periodically - i thought I'd just put it out there.

So... how did I become a farmer? I'm going into year five and I'm still amazed at my life change.

Believe me, I didn't grow up imaging that I'd be driving a tractor. But I love it! I remember the first year I learned to disk a field on my new (used) Kubota M9000 tractor (nicknamed...Niko)... A few of my far more experienced farmer neighbors saw me out in one of my fields dragging a disk and basically hacking at the soil. Then one of them decided to stop by and give me a lesson in the proper technique of field disking. I'll never forget it. He actually had me riding on the tractor while he drove along (at a pretty fast clip) so I could really understand the multiple nuances involved in getting the right RPM's (speed engine), disk depth and gear to coax the soil into a decent loft. I don't want to bore you with the micro details - but - I felt like I'd never get it. Five years later, I'm happy to report that I kind of get it and know how to do some pretty nice field prep.

My relationship with my tractor has brought about many opportunities for embracing humility. You see, it's not just a tractor. There are lots of other implements/tools for maintaining the fields and orchards. And since I'm a certified organic farmer... I rely pretty heavily on cultivation practices to keep the weeds under control. I used to say that i hate the weeds, but now, I think I've learned to coexist with these "misplaced plants." Here's a photo of me (taken by fabulous LA photographer & friend, Marc Weisberg www.mwphoto.net) on my beloved tractor, Niko, mowing the vineyards.

I feel very fortunate to live in such a beautiful part of Northen California. We have the most fantastic soil (Class 1 Loamy) for growing incredible produce. One of my absolute favorite crops to grow are heirloom tomatoes! This year I have about 30 varieties in the ground and I'm anxiously awaiting that first yummy tomato of the 2008 season! Here's a photo of one of my mixed heirloom boxes all ready for market from last year.

Nothing says, "Summer is here!" like a peach. We grow several varieties in our stonefruit orchard along with scrumptious nectarines. There is such an abundance of gorgeous fruit on our farm! Here are some other great photos to get you in the mood for summer!