Author Archives: Milo

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 [...]

The Galina tomato is a yellow cherry tomato that was developed in Siberia, and brought to the US by Bill McDorman. Galina tomatoes were chosen as one of Organic Gardening’s ten best early tomatoes. The gardeners of Siberia made an important contribution to vegetable diversity while the Soviet Union was in power. In the USSR, [...]

At Seed School we are learning about the science, business and magic of seeds. Bill McDorman has been in the seed business for 30 years and is a passionate lecturer. Our first seminar was on the history and future of the seed business, with an introduction to plant genetics and breeding. The School is in [...]

Arizona is home to some of the most diverse and beautiful desert landscapes I have ever seen. I started out in the Mohave this morning. Despite being desolate and poverty stricken, this region looks like a scene from Mars; no wonder the UFO people love it. Next I arrived in Flagstaff, on the Colorado Plateau, [...]

I’m on my way to seed school in Arizona, and I traveled through the Central Valley today. I stopped at Harris Ranch to photograph their industrial cattle operation. The stench is almost overpowering, which makes me wonder how the cowboys stand herding in this manure pit day after day. Harris Ranch is representative of Central [...]