Put yer Hoes Down!

Last weekend, I had the absolute pleasure of attending the 23rd annual Hoes Down Harvest Festival at Full Belly Farm in Yolo County, CA. There are so many amazing things to point out about this particular event. Established in 1985, Full Belly farm was one of the first (if not, THE first) organic farms in California. Today, they have 400 acres of mind blowing biodiversity. In addition to crops ranging from tomatoes and peaches to walnuts and wild flowers, the farm boasts an extensive livestock collection including pigs, chickens, bees, lamb, sheep, llamas, and goats!



Two of the four owners/ farmers of Full Belly were featured in book called Farmer Jane. It's definitely on my must read list, and I think it should be on yours, too!



Now on to the party...Every year, the farm hosts the now famous Hoes Down festival. Attended by thousands of yuppies and hippies alike, the primary goal of the celebration is to educate people about agricultural arts and sustainable rural living. There is an abundance of good food, music, dancing, arts, crafts, sustainable farming talks and demonstrations. There are also countless activities for the kiddies...petting zoo, bobbing for apples, pumpkin carving contests, making wildflower crowns, weaving wool, etc etc etc. With so much going on, it is no wonder that many families make the choice to camp out in the orchard over night.



In addition to promoting agricultural education, the fest is a fundraiser benefiting many community organizations like EcoFarm, Future Farmers of America, Yolo Land Trust, and their local 4H chapter.



So, whether you want to make pine nut bracelets, shop for handmade candles, gaze at the blacksmiths in wonder, play in the creek, or enjoy a hayride through the farm, there is a little bit of something for everybody.

Our First Tomato

Most San Francisco gardeners lament the fact that it never quite gets hot enough to grow a perfect tomato. This could be one advantage that the hotter East Bay has over the city, but I still won't give up my spot in the Mission. Despite the naysayers, we decided to give tomatoes a shot this year. We planted one vine each of two varieties: Roma and Champion.

The roma has been slow to mature with lots of blossoms but very few actual tomatoes. There are a couple of tiny guys on the plant right now, but they are no where near maturity.

The Champion vine seems to be doing slightly better in this climate. It is chock full of fruit, but we probably will not see the half pound beauties that the descriptive tag promises. Instead, it appears that we are growing a whole bunch of cherry sized tomatoes...hmmm...well, maybe they are quite tasty anyway. I harvested the first sample today, but it wouldn't be fair to eat the whole thing (read: mouthfull) before Ben gets home. So, I will wait, and we will divy our tiny tomato amongst the two of us. Heck, I'm just happy that even one ripened!

Can't Get Enough...Shiitakes!

One might say that we are obsessed, but how could you not be? Growing mushrooms is the easiest project I have ever taken on. This time, we are trying out a mini shiitake farm from Far West Fungi. Larger, it will yield many more mushrooms than the BTTR ventures version. Far West Fungi inoculates a large block with spores and everything they will need to grow to maturity. The block is contained inside a plastic bag, sealing in the moisture and maintaining damp environs. Our farm yielded more than 10 shrooms in only a week. The vendors claim that it will re-grow 2-3 crops -- not bad for less than $20. I'm headed up to Sonoma County for some R&R with friends -- hoping to contribute these babies to our dinner. I'll post pics when I do!

Growing More Mushrooms

Earlier, we reported on our mini mushroom farm, provided by BTTR. Once we returned from the hoopla that was our last trip to Chicago, we busted open the second side and revisited the life of mushroom farming. This time, I photo documented the growth starting on the first day that they really began to resemble mushrooms. It only took 4-5 days before they were enormous! This batch yielded two giant caps and a few smaller. We harvested the larger ones and left the others to grow to maturity. We'll see how it turns out. The process is really fascinating and well worth the initial investment of only $15. Pick one up for the kids this summer; I guarantee they will be fascinated!

Before & After

Tonight is a monumental night in the Boehm-Goodnick "unprocessed" house...we harvested our first non-herb crops! (Yes, folks, that's right, it's the little things.) Thanks to the Berkeley based urban mushroom farming venture BTTR (Back To The Roots), we grew pearl oyster mushrooms in our bedroom! (They require little light, and it is our shadiest spot. I promise you that we don't have some kind of sick mushroom fetish.) BTTR uses recycled coffee grounds from Peet's - claiming to divert 7000 pounds of grounds from landfills weekly -- instead using them as the "soil" for the fungus. 10 days with daily misting and voila, a hefty bunch of meaty shrooms.

We gave the fungi a quick toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and popped them in the oven for a few minutes. Then, we spooned them over a bed of mesclun lettuce harvested from the farm on the deck. All in all, a fabulously unprocessed meal.