
I had never seen the seeds of a yucca before. It was surprising to see a smattering of jet-black seeds with such a contrast to the bare, dusty, cracked tan soil of our local chaparral. The seeds are beautiful, flat, … Continue reading
A few days ago, my co-worker opened our valves to irrigate, and no water came out. Not having water come gushing through your pipes when you have fields that need water, animals that need to drink, and future produce orders … Continue reading
This past weekend I learned how to make traditional miso paste by hand. A key ingredient in many traditional Japanese dishes, miso is a paste commonly made of fermented soybeans, rice, and salt. As a fermented food, miso is a … Continue reading
While it is unbelievably amazing (and very hard) to work every on a beautiful CA farm everyday, sometimes you come into work to find this on the task board. As a virtual pescatarian for years, I have never slaughtered anything, … Continue reading
This is Capsicum pubescens, a rare chili pepper in North America. Commonly known as Rocoto, Rukutu, Ruqutu, Luqutu, or Locoto chilies, these plants are indigenous to Central and South America. Unlike most other types of Capsicum plants, these chilis are not … Continue reading
I had never seen the seeds of a yucca before. It was surprising to see a smattering of jet-black seeds with such a contrast to the bare, dusty, cracked tan soil of our local chaparral. The seeds are beautiful, flat, … Continue reading
This was the first week of harvest in the field, and first week of our CSA and market cart. There is a lot of anticipation in the air, as we write out the harvest lists and prepare boxes for our … Continue reading
The grains that we consume generally fall into into either cereal or non cereal grains. Cereal grains are categorized in the Poaceae family (grass family). At CASFS, beans and many other large seeded are planted deeply to moisture into pre-irrigated … Continue reading
Leafminer is a significant issue here at the farm is left unaddressed. Leafminer affects the leaves of succulent green leaves. Moths lay eggs on the leaves of our greens, swiss chard, beet greens, etc. When the larvae hatch, they eat … Continue reading
Do you remember constructing dioramas of California missions as a fourth grader? I did, although maybe not quite as elaborate as this one. The curious thing is that the California Board of Education is still perpetuating the lie of what … Continue reading
We’ve just started planting dahlias to sell at cart. Apparently they are one of the most popular cut flowers here at the farm. Originally, dahlias comes from central Mexico. Interestingly enough, the tuber of dahlias is edible, and it a … Continue reading