California Climate & Agriculture Network (CalCAN) recently completed a case study on our farm. "You would be hard pressed to find a better model of biodiversity and climate resilience than Live Earth Farm," was their conclusion. Click here for a PDF of the full profile
April and May are the months when many crops are seeded or transplanted in preparation for the upcoming main season. There are also many crops on the verge of being ready for harvest. Take a walk with us through the fields to see what's coming up. Italian Parsely seedlings break up the brown soil [...]
Potato seeds (one of my favorite crops) arrive next week, and the “itch” to prepare the soil and plant is returning once again. Tomatoes, peppers, leeks, basil, and a long list of brassicas are on a staggered sowing schedule to ensure a consistent and regular harvest throughout the year. Due to the dry weather many [...]
Still no rain! With the long-term forecast looking dry and relatively warm it is with some measure of unease that we are sowing our winter covercrops. Usually the first rains arrive in October and supply enough moisture to ensure good germination. This year we might have to assist with supplemental irrigation to prevent the germinating [...]
“...Nature, lying all around, with such beauty and such affection for her children; and yet we are so early weaned from her breast to society, to that culture which is exclusively an interaction of man on man.” - Henry David Thoreau October is here and so are the kids. It’s a popular time of year [...]
Not much time to sit down, reflect and write - all our energy is focused on keeping up with the pace and intensity of the farm. It is as if Mother Nature is aware that these are the final weeks of summer. Galas are hanging ripe for the picking. The first block of winter squash [...]
Our three Tomato U-Pick events have been inspiring and fun. An estimated 500 people visited the farm and picked well over 2 tons of tomatoes – that’s an impressive 4,400 pounds. The seasonal abundance was enjoyed by all, as families explored the farm beyond the tomato patch to pick and taste other seasonal favorites such [...]
Bare root strawberries waiting to be planted. We did it! Yesterday, almost all of the 80,000 bare root strawberry plants got planted by late afternoon, beating the arrival of this week’s anticipated rainstorms. All of us felt a sense of relief and well deserved accomplishment now that next season’s strawberry crop is safely [...]
The farm's winter fields are a patchwork of cover crops and winter veggies. Take a walk through them with us and see all the changes. Click on the highlighted text to reach related previous posts. It seems strange to have to irrigate in January yet there were only a couple of brief rain storms [...]
“Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders.” - Henry David Thoreau, The Dispersion of Seeds. Warm weather, last weekend’s replenishing rain, and days getting noticeably [...]
