A Bird's Eye View

From the Fields — Farm News, January 9th

In the distance, the sun hangs over the grape vines that now look dead as they rest during winter before turning the sun's energy into fruit for the next season. Most of their leaves have fallen off exposing the vines that have grown crookedly on the trellis. These vines will soon be pruned off for the new season.

Today they remain, giving the vineyard an authentic, rustic feel. From these vines hang dead, dry leaves that the wind and gravity have not yet brought to the ground. The floor of the vineyard is scattered with all of the other leaves that have dropped from the vines.

Growing through these brown leaves are lush, green clover and fava bean plants that were seeded as a cover crop in fall. The colors scream out fall, despite it technically being winter. The leaves are brown. The vines have a deep red tint. The brown earth is still visible between the newly sprouted cover crops. The hills are still dark yellow in the background and the sky is a crisp blue. Hidden beneath the ground cover in the vineyard are little rodents that are not easily or often seen by the human eye.

This is what the hawk is for.

He patiently sits on a post in the vineyard watching the floor. He is not scared of the passing vehicles. This is one of his favorite spots, but I have seen him on the other side of the driveway perched on a road sign and sometimes on the top of the persimmon trees that line the driveway. Most often though, he is seen sitting on this post in the vineyard. I stop to take a close look, his head slowly turns to meet mine; his dark, round eyes stare me down. I am close enough to see the sharp point on the end of his beak.

His feathers match the colors in the vineyard, red and brown on top and speckled white breast. The feathers that go down his legs ruffle in the wind. His attention leaves me and is focused back to the vineyard floor. In a fluid motion, he falls from his perch, glides between the rows of the grapes and sinks his talons into what I imagine is a field mouse. On the ground, he turns his head to look at the surroundings before starting his meal.

Amused, I begin driving slow down the drive way toward the farm office.  The ecosystem on the farm is one of its most precious resources.

Winners Announced - Share Your Farm with Friends Giveaway!

Thank you to everyone who both shared our service and their comments in our Refer-A-Friend program and Share Your Farm With Friends Giveaway!  We were extremely honored by the comments received and hope that you take a moment to enjoy some of the stories. 

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FARM FRESH TO YOU T-SHIRT
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Heidi Gallegos

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Green Garlic

From the Fields — Farm News, December 12th 

Farming always requires a good measure of patience. I am constantly reminded of this. Today, we will finish pulling the weeds out of our current crop of garlic, which has a little story of its own.

Last fall, I decided to plant garlic because I love it, and it is an enjoyable crop to grow, but it was tough to find seed at the time we wanted to plant. After weeks of searching we found a little, bought it, and planted a half acre of it — over a year ago. By spring, it had grown up nicely and the seeds had matured. We pulled the heads out of the ground, dried them out a bit, put them in cold storage, and were eager to plant them back in the ground in the fall.

The summer passed with the garlic stored in bins, and we were careful to keep it dry and cool to prevent any rot or early germination.

A few months ago when the weather cooled down in September, we decided it was time to plant our precious seeds. We planted them in a field that we irrigated and cultivated twice in order to germinate and kill some of the weed seeds that inevitably accumulate in the soil and threaten to out-compete our little garlic plants.

One morning, the barn was filled with the mouth watering perfume of freshly cracked garlic heads. The crew wears gloves when cracking and striping the heads. Can you imagine how intensely your hands would reek after shucking two tons of garlic? Each clove was separated from the bulb and planted by hand to fill a three-acre field. We are pleased with the growth of our original half-acre investment.

GARLIC FIELD - BEFORE

As I am writing this, over two months after we planted it, the first cultivation of the garlic field is almost complete. We started by dragging the tractor cultivator sled through the field to cut out the easy weeds, but the real work was done by hand. Our crew has spent the past five days hoeing and tugging out the dense grasses that sprouted up between the garlic shoots.

GARLIC FIELD - AFTER

In the spring, we will harvest the bulbs and bunches of tender green garlic leaves, and they will make their way to you. Every vegetable has a story!