Videos

The following videos will provide insight into life on the farm. A few best practices and how-to tips are intermixed!

Connoisseur of Fine Foods

October 19th, 2009
EarthDance Farm | Blog

Last year when deciding that I wanted to make it my mission to preserve the small historic farm that I am now working on, I talked my dear friend Rebecca Rivas into capturing some stories from the farm on film with me.

We interviewed Caroline Mueller, the now-90 year old woman whose husband’s grandparents settled the farm in 1883. We dug up old newspaper articles heralding the health benefits of the organic produce that was unique to the Mueller Farm in the 1950’s (when the other farmers at the market would mock the Muellers). We found old photographs of the mules that pulled the plows even into the 1980’s. We interviewed lots of neighbors of the farm and residents from the Ferguson community who worked on the farm during the summer as teenagers or shopped their on-farm farmstand year after year.  We heard stories from Andy Ayers, a local restauranteur that started buying fresh produce from local farmers such as the Muellers to his patrons’ delight long before it was vogue. We even had a little jam session in Caroline’s kitchen with Curtis and Dennis Buckhannon, two brothers who grew up on the same block as the farm and who first started playing folk music with Al Mueller (Caroline’s husband) on their property and now have a popular bluegrass band in St. Louis.

The documentary is 14 minutes long, so unfortunately the whole thing isn’t on YouTube, but here’s a little teaser for it:

Connoisseur of Fine Foods - the short version of our farm documentary

(It’s named after a sign that Al used to have posted on a tree on the farm for customers to see as they were leaving the farm: “Thank you for being a connoisseur of fine foods!”)

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Missed a market…

Wondering if there were any customers in Bainbridge Island  searching for me today, as I didn’t vend at that market.  I felt that this weeks tomato harvest was a bit too small to divide.  We keep a lot back from the markets in order to give our CSA the best of our efforts.  I look forward to the year that we’re working along side others farming.  After re-reading the blog about the Tomato Taste Off, I am sorry to say that I didn’t state that I wish I would of had more time to do a better job with the contest.  A bit bummed on how it went down, this year has been a very busy one for us.  Today our sales in Poulsbo jumped up quite a bit from last week.  Many market vendors and workers purchased from us today.  It’s inspiring to be apart of a such a wonderful market and community. 

Side thought.  The tomatoes are leaving us real soon.  Lots of plants down and out.  All of our outside tomatoes are done.  Dispite the nice growth of the plants, their health turned south during my time away on tour.  The pacific northwest,  I was told received lots of rains earlier this month along with low nighttime temperatures.  I got home to diseased plants but not before we finished up a fifth or sixth round of harvesting off of some of the heirloom varieties.


Honey Harvest

September 2nd, 2009
Honey in the Heart Farm | Blog
We finally harvested the honey from the frames I took out of the hives about a month ago, and it’s the most delicious honey I’ve ever tasted!  I love honey because it’s such a sweet distillation of the land I live and work on.  There’s a lot of blackberry in there, because the farm is surrounded by blackberries, but there’s so much else as well.  It has a complex flavor that is a mix of wild and cultivated nectars.  I only harvested six frames, because I had to leave… Read the rest of this article »
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EarthDance IN THE NEWS

May 7th, 2009
EarthDance Farm | Blog
Oh yeah, one more thing from the last few weeks: we made it onto a major news outlet in St. Louis! A video reporter from STLTODAY.COM (online version of the St. Louis Post Dispatch) came out for an afternoon and interviewed us. http://videos.stltoday.com/p/video?id=3859950 Read the rest of this article »
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2 Days and the Camera

Here is the breakdown for Tuesday and Wednesday. **ALERT** Our Kodak M883 is down.  2nd time this year.  Looks like this 3 year old digital dude can’t handle being in the hands of a farmer.  Stinks.  We will see what comes of this.  Sorry for the lack of pictures, now we need to research how to fully use the Flip video device Peaceful Valley loaned to us.  Please be fore warned, I have footage! Tuesday is the day that we take a mini break from farming and go do… Read the rest of this article »
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Part 5 - Money Matters

April 30th, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog
A few people have noted that while they appreciate and agree with the basic challenges that young farmers face nowadays, they wonder why and how Andrew was able to find land to start a farm, how did he afford it? Is he secretly a millionaire? He answers that question in this video. He also talks about how he plans to fund the farm for the rest of the season, and for the seasons to come. [display_podcast] To view the video larger, either download it to your computer, or click here to watch it on YouTube Read the rest of this article »
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Part 4 - Checking In On The Farm

April 7th, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog
[display_podcast] Andrew’s farm has really begun to take shape. Irrigation is laid out, tomatoes are in the ground, and he is starting to talk about the first boxes… yum! As it takes shape, it is great to realize that the challenges are all worth it, and are a vital part of farming. To view the video larger, either download it to your computer, or click here to watch it on YouTube Read the rest of this article »
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Part 3 - Challenges

April 2nd, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog
[display_podcast] Part 3 of the video series out at Andrew’s farm was fun to make. And it was difficult. I feel that it is important that we not romanticize the job of farming to much. As we highlight Andrew’s journey into the healthy, positive role of local CSA farmer, it is important to let everyone know: 1. It is not easy to grow food 2. There are many lessons to learn along the way! Andrew has already run into several issues which he talks about in this video. I hope that this will… Read the rest of this article »

Young Farmers and Old Farmers - Part 2

March 15th, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog
One of the big challenges facing small farms these days is the lack of young farmers filling the gaps left by an older generation. It’s a complex issue, and certainly not black and white. But there are reasons that this matters. Watch the video to hear Andrew’s take on the issue. Lee Dickerson, general manager of Peaceful Valley also joins in the discussion. [display_podcast] Read the rest of this article »
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Getting Started - Part 1

March 14th, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog
In mid-February I went to Andrew Meyers’ farm in rural Nevada County.  We talked about the Freshman Farmer project and how it was going to work. We also talked a lot about his plans, the crops he would raise, and his hopes for his CSA. Please watch the video to see what this program will be all about! [display_podcast] Read the rest of this article »
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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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Stories From Peaceful Valley

Tips on growing and pruning raspberries & blackberries February 2, 2012
Charlotte from Peaceful Valley
Growing Raspberries & Blackberries February 2, 2012
GrowOrganic
Planting & Growing Rhubarb January 31, 2012
GrowOrganic
Planting & Growing Horseradish January 30, 2012
GrowOrganic
Fruit tree pruning—specialized advice January 27, 2012
Charlotte from Peaceful Valley
Planting and Growing Artichokes January 24, 2012
GrowOrganic
EGG Demo January 20, 2012
Stephanie from Peaceful Valley
Envirocycle Demo January 20, 2012
Stephanie from Peaceful Valley
Mr. Soaker Hose Demo January 20, 2012
Stephanie from Peaceful Valley

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