Farm News & Tom’s Reflections

Longtime members might still remember “Peanut” the Pony, the first animal we adopted when we started Live Earth Farm. Peanut was wonderful with children, letting them ride bareback and always searching for treats in their hands and pockets. He passed away at a healthy age of 27, about 7 years ago.  Little did we know that our daughter Elisa would be so passionate about horses that we would end up with a pony again.

For the last three years Elisa has enjoyed exploring the equestrian world riding a bay pony, named Star, at Belmont Training Stables which is conveniently located at nearby Montevista Christian School. Elisa’s bond to Star, her first pony, has grown so close that when it was time for her to move up to ride a bigger pony we decided to bring Star to the farm to retire.  Not only that, but Constance and Elisa also conspired to breed her one last time.

Horses go through an 11 month pregnancy, or gestation period, and according to our calculations Star was due the middle of May, in approximately two weeks. Last Sunday night however, Star decided it was time and birthed a beautiful baby colt. Mother Nature knew exactly what to do, and both mother and her foal are healthy and adorably cute. Pictures (below) will tell the story better than any amount of words.

Next time you visit the farm, during the upcoming Strawberry U-harvest on May 31 or the Summer Solstice Celebration on June 21,  make sure to pay them a visit in the pastures above the Discovery Garden.

Next on the birthing schedule are our goats, sometime at the end of the month …??  Spring is in full swing, and the dance of life is rich with new and unexpected variations.

Have a great week!

Star with her one day old foal, Clover.

Clover, one day old.

Clover with friends, Elisa (left) and Grace.

Last year in late Spring, Anthony Suau, a Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist, stopped by the Farm on an assignment to document and experience first hand the work of organic farmers in this country. Mr Suau has released a video, ORGANIC RISING, a summary of what he documented up to this point. He explores how the “Organic Farming Movement” has matured into a healthy alternative to replace today’s unsustainable food and farming system.

The next phase is to produce a full-length educational documentary of how Organic Farming is creating a more abundant and nutritious food supply where consumers and farmers participate in creating a sustainable food system. With the release of Organic Rising, Mr. Suau is requesting donations to fund this next phase in his work.

Having met Mr. Suau I am convinced he has the integrity, courage and expertise to take on this challenging subject.  I encourage everyone to support him by sharing the video and donating to make this promising endeavor a success.  We all eat and sit at the same table to figure out this important challenge, maybe the most important one of our time – healing our current unsustainable relationship with nature. Our food decisions are meaningful ways to make a difference, whether joining a local farm’s CSA, shopping at the farmer’s market, making locally sourced menu choices at a restaurant, or simply cooking and sharing a meal at home, these are simple but interconnected food solutions that contribute to a healthier local and regional food web.

Check out the video (below) and see if you recognize some familiar Live Earth Farm sites and faces!

Once again the Earth’s fertile embrace is irresistible – the farm is alive; from the soil up, everything is bursting with Spring energy.  As we start our 19^th CSA season, we extend a heartfelt welcome to all our members, both returning and new ones. Thank you for joining us on another tasty and nourishing journey through the seasons.

The food we grow not only reflects the passion, experience, and care of all the people who live and work here, it also carries the taste and nourishment unique to the climate, soil, and surrounding landscape the farm is situated in.  We invite you to see the farm as a resource, a place for all to enjoy and celebrate. As E.F. Schumacher once said: “the farm is a place where people matter, the land matters and where the love for our work brings forth from the earth health for us all.”

The recent rains, albeit not enough to reverse this winter’s rain deficit, did saturate the farm’s topsoil enough to help the covercrops reach full maturity and quench the thirst of our fruit trees – just in time to support the new growth of roots, shoots, flowers, and fruits.

The covercrop in this field is now over the head of Tom’s daughter, Elisa.

We are especially excited about what looks like another abundant set of Blenheim Apricots. For those who haven’t tasted Blenheims, you are in for a treat (late June/early July) – these are probably the best tasting apricots around. The Santa Rosa Plums are also showing a nice set and the apple orchard is just starting to put on its beautiful flower dress, with Galas and Pink Pearls “showing off” first.

The young apricots shown here have benefited from the warm dry weather which helped with fruit-set. It’s going to be an abundant apricot season again. 🙂

Beautiful blossoms mean tasty apples in about 6 months.

We couldn’t have timed the start of CSA deliveries any better; we expect nice warm weather all week which means the strawberries will ripen just in time for everyone to get a sampling. Beyond the seasonal bounty of fruits and vegetables, we encourage you to visit and enjoy the farm by participating in any of the numerous events we host throughout the year.

In March we kicked-off the Spring season with our 5^th Annual Sheep-to-Shawl Fair – it was loads of fun and a great success with over 300 visitors attending. Our Non-profit Live Earth Farm Discovery Program (LEFDP) offers an amazing range of hands-on educational programs, farm tours, farm dinners, kids camps and workshops enjoyable for all ages – make sure to check out their schedule on our website. In addition, don’t miss out attending our monthly Community Farm and U-Pick Days (last Saturday of every month May-October) and to join us for our fun-filled and popular Solstice and Harvest Fests in June and October.

Welcome to all! We hope to see you here on the farm!!

Farmer Victor harvesting Savoy Cabbage.

Farmer Juan using the flame weeder to control weed growth in the field.

Farmer Clemente removing protective row covers now the seedlings under them have become established.

Farmer Luis washing carrots, harvested in the morning, before the afternoon pack.

Farmer Leobardo weeding beds of recently transplanted cauliflower.

Join us for the best Food and Farm Experience this Season!

As we wrap up our Winter CSA deliveries this week, it always feels like a special accomplishment to have successfully navigated the unpredictable off-season weather patterns (freeze, drought, record warmth, and finally some rain) and more challenging growing conditions. We are grateful to all our loyal CSA members, customers, and friends for their commitment to purchase our farm’s produce through the winter months, which allows us to continue farming year-round and provide our workers and staff with stable employment – You make a difference, and thank you on behalf of the entire Live Earth Farm team!

The next 4 weeks we are busy getting ready for spring; as the earth awakens once again, we prepare the farm for another season of growth and nourishment. On April 7th we will resume our CSA deliveries as we celebrate the beginning of our 19th Growing Season.

All around us signs abound that the dormant season is over. The apricot and plum trees have burst into bloom, the strawberry plants look healthy and strong, and many are already flowering and starting to set fruit. I am predicting an early April harvest of both Albion and Chandler strawberry varieties as we resume our CSA deliveries.

The Apple and Pear trees are almost all pruned, only our young grafted apple trees are taking a little longer as they require special training.

Much of our spring plantings are sown or in the ground –peas, fava beans, onions, green garlic, turnips, lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, kale, kohlrabi, potatoes, leeks…and more. We are off to an amazing start in the field, which translates into wonderfully diverse and abundant CSA shares come April – so, now is a great time to renew or subscribe for this Season’s 2014 Live Earth Farm CSA.

 Your CSA membership is the best way to receive the freshest, highest quality organic, in season, fruits and vegetables available. You can’t get it any more local, no middleman, directly grown by us, your Live Earth Farmers.

This Season, for the first time, we are also offering what many CSA members have always wanted – More Choice.  Now, with a Choice Share Membership you get to pick and choose what you want us to pack into your shares from the Farm’s weekly harvest list. Of course, if you don’t mind the surprise factor by letting me choose the weekly share content, our Traditional Shares (Regular and Small) are the way to go.

At Live Earth Farm, we not only love to grow food but also celebrate and enjoy the season together with our community. Jointly with the Farm’s Discovery Program, we host numerous farm tours, events, celebrations, workshops, summer camps, and community u-harvest days.  So renew your CSA membership, invite your friends to join; it’s the best way to experience farming first hand. We welcome everyone to come to the farm, celebrate and taste the seasons directly from the land where your food is grown.

This year we’re kicking off the Spring Season with our 5th Annual Sheep-to-Shawl Fair on March 22nd. Then throughout the Main Season, we’ll host Community Farm Days on the last Saturday of every month (April-October, check our calendar for more details). These days typically include u-harvests, family field activities, farm tours, and educational hands-on programs. And of course, we want everyone to join us for our two main seasonal celebrations, the Summer Solstice Celebration on June 21tst and Fall Harvest Festival on October 25th.

Oh, what a surprise, I didn’t expect them to be that sweet and juicy. During my field walk checking on two-spotted-spider mites in the strawberry patch, I got completely distracted sampling what must be one of the earliest strawberries I have ever had. The plants are still young and putting most of their energy into growing leaves and roots, but some developed an early set of flowers that have turned into surprisingly nice fruit. Under “normal” winter conditions, these early strawberries tend to be misshapen and blemished and are pinched off.  This year, though, they are worth snacking on.

Farmer Tom taste testing the first of the strawberries.

Lots of strawberry blossoms and hidden gems under them.

The farm has sprung alive with the Apricots and Santa Rosa Plums in full bloom. The tractors are busy turning under winter-fields of kale, broccoli and cabbage while preparing new fields for transplanting and sowing of spring crops – English peas, spring onions, spinach, kohlrabi, fennel, potatoes and bok-choi – to name a few.  As we are about to turn the seasonal corner into spring I recognize this familiar feeling of both eager anticipation and intense anxiety. There is a huge amount of work that looms ahead and grows with the lengthening days: field preparations, seeding, cultivating, planting, pruning, harvesting, equipment repairs & maintenance schedules, deliveries… my to-do list is growing, and I worry already how all the tasks will be accomplished in a timely manner.

While the strawberries are off to an early start, the apricots trees are just getting into their full bloom – about two weeks later than last February.

Of course I am always excited about how new ideas, crops, innovations, and experiments will reveal themselves throughout the season, whether it’s the new transplanter, the plantings of new crop varieties, or the pruning and training results in the apple orchard. Ultimately, what truly brings this farm alive is not only the turning of the season but the wonderful community of people – our CSA members, customers, and friends who care about the farm, the land, the animals, and all of us who work here. Thank you for supporting this farm – and now: Just let it rain!

Could it be we’ll have strawberries at the beginning of the Main Season in April? Have you signed up for a share yet?  Don’t miss out!  Sign-up today!

One of my favorite things to do during the winter months is pruning our apple orchards. Last season I wrote how pruning is like having a conversation of sorts. Well, as with all relationships the conversation always continues, especially with the young, not fully developed trees. As I mentioned last time, I only get one opportunity at pruning every year, and with every tree one needs to take a short pause to understand what kind of pruning cuts to make to assure it’s long-term well being and productivity. The trick is to strike a balance between the vegetative vigor of the tree – growing roots, shoots, leaves and branches – and its fruitfulness – capturing the sunlight to grow plenty of fruit.

Pieces of bamboo are used to spread the branches so they grow further apart, allowing more light to penetrate into the center of the tree.

It’s been two years since I decided to graft an entire acre, almost 300 trees of mature mid-sized Newton Pippins, to add 7 new varieties (Honey Crisp, McIntosh, Pink Ladies, Pink Pearl, Braeburn, Jonagold, Arkansas Black) to our selection of apples. It’s fascinating how quickly the new grafts have developed into small trees.

On this tree, you can see both the grafts and the pruning marks.

The trees in the near row have been pruned, while the trees in the next two rows haven’t been.

The two basic pruning cuts are called heading and thinning cuts. They can be used in different ways depending on the age and health of the tree, triggering corresponding and different growth responses.  Thinning cuts are meant to remove a branch that is no longer desirable (typically because they are dead, diseased, damaged or disoriented) and heading cuts are typically made across a year old branch to help shape a tree, manage its vegetative vigor and maximize its fruiting potential.

When it comes to working with young trees not fully shaped, each one is unique and it is an art to visualize how a tree will mature. For an experienced grower it will almost be intuitive what cuts to make.  I still proceed slowly, often hesitating. As is so often the case one learns best from a mentor, and I have been very lucky that some of the most experienced organic apple growers in Watsonville have taken the time to pass on some of their expertise and advise as I proceed with caution and lots of questions. The best way I learn is to walk the orchards with them, while I listen and learn to engage in this unique ongoing conversation. The longer I am pruning, I realize there is no right or wrong way but always more to learn.

The trees in this picture have not yet been pruned. There are lots of small branches and shoots visible.

While these trees have been pruned. Notice how neat and tidy they look compared to the trees in the picture above.

The trees pictured here are starting to take shape as the pruners go up and down the row.

The rain was wonderful – slow, gentle, and steady. With 2.5” inches of heavenly moisture sprinkling the farm over the last 4 days the soil surface feels saturated. Let’s hope we get some more since the deeper layers of the soil profile, where trees anchor their roots, are still dry.  Our thirsty soils absorbed the rain like a sponge, causing little to no runoff.  The little water that did end up accumulating in some of the dried up farm ponds was just enough for the frogs to start their symphony of calls. I have missed their music this winter and I am glad they are back – ‘ribbit, ribbit’…

Many of you know how important it is for me to farm in balance with the native landscape and wilder environments surrounding us.  One side of me loves the sight of weed free “linearity” in the fields. It gives a pleasant sense of controlled organization, and straight rows are testimony to a job well done.  The other side of me, of course, recognizes that in nature the general pattern is overflowing with curves, corners, knots, and unpredictable twists and turns.

A Fuji apple orchard is in the foreground while beyond, the farm’s lower fields are bordered by willow and scrub oak that create wildlife corridors.

Live Earth Farm is a place where we balance both the cultivated and native landscapes – both patterns live side-by-side. Our ponds, woodlands, grasslands and hedgerows are the home of many birds, insects, frogs, and larger animals such as coyotes, deer, rabbits, snakes, as well as many native plants, perennial shrubs, grasses and flowering plants. Although creating wilderness habitat doesn’t necessarily fit into a financial equation, I know we feel nourished and strengthened when it surrounds us and removed, starved, and cut off when it’s lacking. Studies now show that these wilder areas play an important role in reducing pest and disease problems among the crops we grow, and researchers are measuring these benefits to justify them economically.

This is a pond next to the farm’s upper fields. In January it was empty. Now, from a combination of pumped groundwater and the recent rains, it has just a bit of water in it.

Last week I spent an entire day developing a new Food Safety Plan for the Farm – a requirement under the recently passed Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA).  The challenge was to figure out how to  integrate the many diverse and ecosystem friendly practices we have and still meet the broad generic government requirements developed to fit mostly larger scale, single-crop farming operations. It’s more paperwork – heaps of it – and it’s easy to get cynical and frustrated. My hope is that by participating in the process we get an opportunity to voice our concerns and demonstrate how, at our scale, the burden of the regulations can be detrimental, making it more difficult to build a strong and healthy farm ecosystem that supports sustainable growing practices for all members in our community.

Two organizations who have stepped up to make sure the voices of conservation and the realities of smaller scale organic family farms are heard are Community Alliance of Family Farmers (CAFF) and the Wild Farm Alliance (WFA); both have proactively developed guidelines and are providing training and free consulting to farms like ours to meet the sometimes onerous requirements of the new law.

To farm organically should not be dictated by meeting more government rules such as the ones proposed under the latest food safety laws.  It seems to me that farmers should be encouraged to integrate more of nature’s ecological patterns, welcoming the “wilder” biodiversity we find in our surrounding native landscapes rather than being overburdened by more red-tape and inspections. For now we’ll have to keep balancing to meet man-made laws while never loosing sight of learning from the wisdom offered by “Nature’s Law” all around us.

One of the farm’s Wild Farm Alliance hedgerow projects is on the left side of the road across from an apricot orchard.

We invite you to join the Live Earth Farm Community on another “food and farming journey” with our upcoming Main Season to experience the thrills, mystery, and pleasures inherently associated with growing your food. Nature’s bounty is abundant but fleeting which means that in farming, timing is everything. Like with any dance, in farming one tries to anticipate the dynamic conditions Mother Nature has in her repertoire. Staying one step ahead is never easy.

With the unusually dry and warm weather this winter we are doing all we can to keep up with the orchard pruning as we are expecting the trees to bloom early. The plums and apricots are ready to flower, and the flower buds on the Braeburns – an apple variety that typically doesn’t bloom until March – are starting to swell.

We are also gearing up in the greenhouse, where Laura keeps a close eye on sowing and transplant schedules and the health and development of thousands of small and vulnerable baby plants. Now is the time to not fall behind, make sure we don’t have too many mishaps so that transplants are healthy and strong come time for Spring Planting. Late Winter and Early Spring, the gamble with the weather is probably the riskiest since rainfall and temperature swings are unpredictable, affecting germination and the healthy growth of crops.

With Pest and Diseases one always needs to keep a watchful eye.  While aphids are the most usual and challenging of the pests, lately we are trying to figure out what is nibbling on the young strawberry plants in one of our fields. This morning we found the culprit –cutworms. These earthen colored creatures have sharp enough mandibles and easily cut through the tender shoots of young plants. For us the challenge is that these creepy crawlies come out at night and hide underground during the day.  In addition, the plastic sheet “mulch” that covers the strawberry beds makes it even more difficult to detect and control them.

Aphids taking up residence in the leaves of winterbor kale.

The dreaded cutworm.

Cutworm damage on a strawberry plant. You can see where the worms have bitten off the stems near the base of the plant.

Strawberry plants that have been damaged by the cutworms leave vacancies in the plastic sheet mulch that covers the rows.

This is just a snapshot of some current field conditions, however like all things in nature they are far more complex. Your relationship to the farm is tied into this dynamic process, and you participation is intimately connected through the food you receive. By participating as a member of Live Earth Farm you have the opportunity to better understand the process involved behind every meal you make and every bite of food you ingest.  Join our CSA today – we look forward to another tasty and exciting season beginning in April.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful people can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” 
-Margaret Mead

More than 30 years ago a small “tribe” of visionary, hardworking, courageous, spiritual, fun, vibrant people gathered here on the West Coast to help kick-start the organic farming movement. Today’s annual Ecological Farming Conference is an offspring from these early reunions and has evolved into one of the largest gatherings of people involved in today’s sustainable food and agriculture movement.  When I first attended in 1994, it was a catalyst that ignited my passion for organic farming and helped me start Live Earth Farm. Last week we hosted the conference’s farm tour, and as I welcomed the 160 or so visitors I vividly remembered how “only” 20 years ago I was an attendee myself – a city-kid on a mission to start farming.

Ever since that first conference, it’s been a tradition for me to make the pilgrimage to “Ecofarm”, held every year at Asilomar, a beautiful Conference Center located right on the beach in Pacific Grove.  It’s a wonderful place to meet fellow farmer friends, build new relationships, and just soak up the atmosphere together with some new information and bits of farming wisdom bestowed on us by the elders in the movement. Organic Farming, once considered a fringe, “back to the land”, hippie movement is today the fastest growing sector in agriculture.

You and me, we are all stakeholders. We all eat and sit at the same table to figure out this important challenge, maybe the most important – healing our current unsustainable relationship with nature. Our food decisions are meaningful ways to make a difference, whether joining a local farm’s CSA, shopping at the farmer’s market, making locally sourced menu choices at a restaurant, or simply cooking and sharing a meal at home, these are simple but interconnected food solutions that contribute to a healthier local and regional food web.

I feel inspired from the Conference but, most importantly, I feel the early signs of the land stirring, waking up, preparing to spring to life. Yesterday I watched my favorite wild plum tree here on the farm starting to show signs of flowering. In the Celtic tradition, now is the midway point between the winter solstice and spring equinox known as Imbolc, the land is awakening and the power of the sun is growing.

Wild plum tree on the road to the Upper Fields.

Once again it’s time to engage in nature’s fertile embrace, to follow her seasonal dance, paying attention to the unique conditions each season offers. The timing of this dance is always tricky, especially with today’s increasingly unpredictable weather patterns. The soils should be saturated from winter rains right now, instead, they are dry.  Let’s pray for some rain to release the soil’s nourishment for life on the surface to grow.

The tree’s blossoms provide food for both bees and songbirds.

After a rejuvenating winter break we are ready to reengage and start once again the harvest for the first CSA shares of the New Year. Normally we should be struggling with cold, wet and muddy conditions, instead this worrisome drought has forced us to keep irrigating, just as we would during the main season. We are in record territory as the driest and warmest winter (this week’s high will climb into the upper 70’s once again) and the long-term forecast doesn’t look good, with predictions of below average rainfall until April.

The short-term benefit is that crops are growing well and abundantly since we are fortunate to have very productive wells giving us ample water for our crops to grow. In the long-term however, all the farms in the Pajaro Valley are sucking water from the same groundwater basin.  With increased demand by both rural and urban residents, the basin is showing signs of being overdrafted. Without the usual winter rains we will further increase the basin’s recharge deficit which will result in lower water tables and the potential for wells to run dry in the long-term.

It will take a concerted effort by the entire community to cut back on water consumption and farmers, being the largest water consumers, will need to cut back by changing their cropping patterns and investing in more efficient irrigation practices.

Here on the farm, we are going to switch to drip irrigation on crops we have traditionally used overhead sprinklers, some land will be left fallow during the driest times of the year, and more careful crop by crop water budgeting by implementing soil moisture monitoring and timing of irrigation will be essential.

Water is our most precious and life giving resource, and we need to learn how to make every drop count. In the meantime, we can only hope the weather pattern will change to send some much need moisture our way.

Pictured here is a pond next to the Upper Fields. This is last year at this time, and you can see the pond is full.

This year, the pond is empty.