Author Archives: Milo

Les Goodman (sous chef at John Ash) and I presented a miner’s lettuce, arugula, pickled beet and raw milk ricotta salad at USF’s Farmer-Chef luncheon. My sister Sarah and I picked 8.6lbs of miner’s lettuce the day before, mostly at Luther Burbank’s original experimental farm, along with a pound of arugula I grew at zazu [...]

Marc Felton and I helped move Silva Star Farm’s Eggstream trailer from Rose and Thorn to the apple orchard at Rancho Pillow. We will leave the chickens in the orchard for about two weeks, and then move them into another pasture. Sarah Silva will be tending this flock and selling the eggs to Bill’s Farm [...]

I was about to mow a fallow pasture at Macbryde Farm, when I noticed that the soil had been compacted by years of livestock grazing. John and I decided to let the hogs in to root it up instead of mowing. They immediately started turning over the sod, looking for worms and other food sources. [...]

I planted a cover crop of mustard and fava beans at zazu. These fast growing plants provide beauty, food and fertility. They also crowd out weeds and help to control pests like nematodes. Right now, the zazu kitchen staff is harvesting these spicy mustard sprouts and adding them to salads and other dishes. In March [...]

My family and I visited the Bale Grist Mill near Calistoga today. After doing extensive research on an organic grain production project in Oregon, I was fascinated to learn about Northern Califoria’s history of grain growing and milling. In the mid 1800′s the Napa Valley was a prosperous grain growing region, and the Bale Grist [...]

Zazu Farm has teamed up with Felton Acres and will now be managing their 3 market gardens. The produce will supply zazu, the zazu farmstand, the Felton family, and their employees. Marc Felton has decided to focus on raising chickens, turkeys, goats and hogs. Inspired by the Joel Salatin and the Omnivore’s Dilemma, Marc left [...]

I spent two weeks in December studying food aggregation efforts in Oregon. I met with farmers, toured distribution warehouses, and interviewed chefs and other food buyers. The most interesting and effective example of aggregation I found is the Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project. This project was spearheaded by the Ten Rivers Food Web. [...]

My sisters and I hosted the 3rd Farmer’s Brunch at zazu today. The topic of the meeting was the Farm to Institution initiative being sponsored by the Sonoma County Health Department. We welcomed the directors of Santa Rosa City Schools food program, Memorial Hospital Food Program, and their food buyers. Farmer’s in attendance were both [...]

My clutch went out just as I entered 29 Palms today, so I’m stuck here until I can get it replaced. Luckily, there is beautiful desert hiking surrounding this town, which is the main outpost for the largest US Marine base in the world. When camping in nearby Joshua Tree, you can hear loud booms [...]