Looking Into The Valley
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
Paperwork, some fieldwork
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
The Mail Has Come! Our Farm is Saved!
Cold Snap
Busy in a busy way
The Winter CSA has Begun!
Out with the Flu - Great to have good help!
Not Farming…Using Faceboook!!!
Harvesting in the rain
My first blog photo!!!
Three 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: | |
 | Daily Grace Farms Crescent City, CA |
 | Freestone Family Farm Vernal, UT |
 | Wise Moon Farm Redding, CA |
| Graduates: | |
 | Coyote House Farm Palermo, CA |
 | DeepSeeded Community Farm Arcata, CA |
 | Driftwood Farm Fort Bragg, CA |
 | EarthDance Farm St. Louis, MO |
 | Ellwood Canyon Farms Goleta, CA |
 | Four Frog Farm Penn Valley, CA |
 | 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 |
Blog Topics
About the Farms
| 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 |
| Four Frog Farm Penn Valley, 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 |
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