Category Archives: Content

Our Farm to Institution Committee hosted a Farm to School workshop at Santa Rosa City Schools last October. With over 70 food service staff and farmers in attendance the event was a huge success. I harvested kale and winter squash especially for some of the demonstration recipes, which were served for lunch. After a series [...]

Analy’s Eco Action class came out to work on the farm today. I was amazed by how much 30 high school studens could get done in an hour. The potatoes we harvested will be served mashed in the cafeteria next week. Students dug about 5 boxes of potatoes and hoed about 1/8th of an acre [...]

I’ve been experimenting with using fresh chicken manure on veggies, and the results have been remarkable. In the past I have only used composted manure, but I am now convinced that fresh manure is just as useful, if not more so. Providing enough nitrogen to veggies is difficult when farming organically. Fresh manure is full [...]

One of the most beautiful hikes in Sonoma County runs from Pomo Canyon Campground to the ocean just south of Goat Rock. About 6 miles, this hike makes a steep climb through a majestic redwood grove before meandering into open meadows and chapparal to the coast. Last weekend we were treated to a phenomenal wildflower [...]

We built a bio swale in Ragle Park today. This dry creek bed will filter runoff from the nearby gazebo, recharging the aquifer, and providing habitat for native plants and animals. The project was a collaboration between the Sonoma County Parks Department (spearheaded by Jenny and Eliza) and Three Leaf Farms (my sisters and I). [...]

Over the past week Robert Kelly and I have been converting (hacking) an old box scraper into a raised bed former. We’ve been making modifications, and then doing field testing to see how our design ideas work and might be improved. The idea is to build a tool that will be specifically suited for our [...]

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 [...]