All the news that's fit to eat
House cuts will hurt farmers By Judith Redmond, courtesy of Capay Valley Farm Shop On June 17th, the House of Representatives passed its proposal for fiscal year 2012 agriculture spending. In the agricultural ‘discretionary’ budget, the House voted to cut nearly $3 billion from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the FDA. Combined with [...]
By Heidi Lewis How many people say “worth two in the bush!” when they enter the town limits of Bird-in-Hand in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania? We don’t know, but FruitGuys buyer Jessica says it when she heads to Bird-in-Hand to talk with Kauffman’s Fruit Farm about their summer fruit. Kauffman’s Fruit Farm was started in 1911 by Amos Kauffman [...]
By Heidi Lewis “In the hierarchy of healthy vegetables, heirlooms are at the top,” says Shyryn Joy. She explains this statement by adding that “they’re closest to their natural order and have the most integrity.” Vegetables from heirloom plants are true to their seed, as opposed to hybrids—when planted, an heirloom seed will give the same results every time. They’re [...]
By Roxanne Crittenden, courtesy of Capay Valley Farm Shop If oven-roasted new potatoes are the antidote to fast food French-fries, what is the antidote to our global (and local) economic woes? On Sunday June 12th, twelve businesses and non-profits gathered at Fort Mason with the hope that there may be a simple solution: invest in [...]
By Judith Redmond of Full Belly Farm, courtesy of Capay Valley Farm Shop Despite heavy rain, a surprisingly large group of people turned out for the Full Belly Open Farm Day. While we couldn’t sample the strawberries as in years past, we were able to walk around and enjoy the muddy farm. Several families showed [...]
By Karla Milosevich & Rebecca North Rodents, such as gophers and voles, eat the roots of the fruit trees which can damage or kill the trees, so rodent control is a big issue for farmers. Owls are predators that can control rodent populations in orchards naturally without the use of pesticides and chemicals. So how [...]
By Reed Adam, Capay Valley Farm Shop At first glance, the almost-completed Manas Ranch Old Style Custom Meat Market, located on Highway 16 just east of Esparto, appears identical to the packing houses and storage sheds that dot this rich agricultural landscape near Yolo County’s Capay Valley. Only the sign, which adorns the front of [...]
Mythical Mycologists Bare All By Heidi Lewis, photos by Rebecca North The Garrone family has been growing specialty mushrooms for more than 25 years. They chose the cool, fog-dampened central California coast to locate the massive mushroom lab for their company Far West Fungi. The 60,000 square foot facility at Moss Landing (Monterey County) uses [...]
By Jeff Main of Good Humus Produce Oh, my, and what a week it has been. Sometimes, we come to a moment that is so scary that all we can do is stop, sit down and eat ice cream. The mind is numb, really numb, and it feels like the best protection because we really [...]
By Annie Main of Good Humus Produce I went for a bicycle ride to Esparto on Sunday, Jeff and I had breakfast at Zach and Nicole’s house. I took my camera and stopped for some photos. I took one just down our road a bit from us looking at the hills, and a field [...]
By Karla Milosevich On a sunny Northern California morning in April, volunteers gathered at picturesque Baia Nicchia Farm in Alameda County to plant heirloom tomato seedlings. When the tomatoes are ready to eat, we’ll enjoy knowing that we had a hand in the process, as well as eating them. Baia Nicchia is a small farm and nursery [...]
By Heidi Lewis Definition: hive [haiv] n. A large group of people buzzing about everything bee related, swapping hints and tips, rubbing elbows and listening to expert entomologists with great reverence, concern and interest for the world’s bee population. The Fifth Annual Bee Symposium, held in March in Sebastopol, CA (Sonoma County), was a hive [...]
By Nina Andres Why so much asparagus these days? There’s been asparagus in the boxes for the last month and we’ve all had asparagus recipes on the brain. The answer lies in this particular little plant’s growing season. The asparagus season in the Capay Valley area generally runs from early March through late May, depending [...]
by Paul Muller of Full Belly Farm There is an infusion of springtime powering the life force of bees, goats, people and plants intent upon being fully alive in spring-moment. Full Belly Farm this week is alive with color and bursting with flowers everywhere. There are fields of bright yellow mustard, white sprays of arugula [...]
By Judith Redmond of Full Belly Farm Visitors to Capay Valley farms often get a lesson in the advantages of crop diversity: there are dozens of vegetables, fruits, nuts, herbs and flowers growing in the valley, not to mention the conservation plantings where one native shrub or another is in bloom almost any time of [...]
By Heidi Lewis In 1961 Robert Moog invented a voltage-controlled synthesizer keyboard that would change our auditory landscape forever. The Beach Boys played with it in 1966, two years later Wendy Carlos transposed Bach for it, and by 1972 the electronic song “Popcorn” became a global hit. “Popcorn” stayed on the charts in Europe indelibly leaving a fingerprint on EuroPop [...]
The FruitGuys in the Dirt: A Farm Steward Story By Amanda Pineault On Saturday, March 12, 2011 a small contingent of FruitGuys joined Cub Scouts from Santa Rosa and participants from the Volunteer Center for Sonoma County at Gabriel Farm in Sebastopol, CA (Sonoma County). The theme for the day was pollinators! Before we could [...]
By Heidi Lewis Broccoli Shortcake. Mmmm, can you picture it? Golden cake, florets of green broccoli, and a cloud of sweet whipped cream… What? Doesn’t sound appealing? Do you prefer Strawberry Shortcake? But broccoli is what’s going to save strawberries from fungicides and other creepy chemicals. Organic farming practices produce luscious, great tasting berries—without the [...]
By Judith Redmond of Full Belly Farm With a little warm weather, the fields are drying out and plants have all started growing remarkably suddenly as if a switch just turned over to ‘ON’. Now they’re in a race to catch up with the spring. In one week we saw more growth in the asparagus [...]
By Judith Redmond of Full Belly Farm This morning, the weather makes it feel more like winter than spring, even though it’s the end of March. It’s pouring down rain, it’s cold and there’s a howling wind on the loose. Cache Creek is raging. Wet fingers are numb in just a few minutes of bunching beets or digging carrots. No one relishes [...]
By Hallie Muller of Full Belly Farm Last weekend, our small community celebrated a 96-year old tradition: the official crowning of the Almond Queen. In a valley rich with history, this is a standing room only event because it gives our community the chance to celebrate the talented and successful young women living among us. This year, six seniors at Esparto High School vied [...]
By Heidi Lewis Recently we asked avocado farmer Noel Stehly of Stehly Farms Organics in Valley Center, CA: Q: If an avocado were an animal, what would it be? A: It would be a jaguar because it is sleek and beautiful. That’s quite fitting for an avocado, as it is an ancient fruit of the [...]
From a satellite view, Northern California’s Capay Valley looks like a green quilt caught between the folds of the Coast Range. This makes it good for farming with plenty of clean water from Cache Creek running through its protected crèche shape. The valley floor is ideal for row crops and the canyon hills for grazing [...]
Have you ever seen a carrot on a bicycle? We have. As proponents of healthy workplaces, The FruitGuys is thrilled to be working with FreeWheelin’ Farm in Santa Cruz, CA. They are a bike-powered farm operation that supplies delicious vegetables for our TakeHome case. FreeWheelin’ Farm is a Community Supported Agriculture farm, or CSA. CSAs [...]
Farmers Tracey Vowell and Kathe Roybal came to farming after careers in the restaurant world. Tracey was managing chef at Frontera, a Rick Bayless restaurant in downtown Chicago, where she helped shape the cuisine and find local sources for produce, including her garden. But after 18 years inside of kitchens, she and Kathe decided to [...]
What does winter weather mean for you? A change in work wardrobe from grey to black? From seersucker to faux fur? Maybe a change in your bike commute? We contacted two of the farmers we work with to find out how the approaching winter affects their work. On the west coast, we spoke with Torrey [...]
The FruitGuys Philadelphia team helped green urban West Philadelphia by sponsoring a fall planting at the Walnut Hill Community Farm through POP (Philadelphia Orchard Project). The farm was reclaimed from the urban landscape this past spring through a partnership between The Enterprise Center Community Development Corporation (TEC-CDC) and Philly Rooted, led by farm managers/directors Nic [...]
The FruitGuys Farm Steward mission is to promote sustainable farming practices that have no negative impact on the environment and add long-term social and economic value to the farm and farming community. To this end, we wanted to let you know about a once in a lifetime fund raiser for Capay Farmshop at Full Belly Farm. [...]
In foodie author Michael Pollan’s first book Second Nature, he rethinks our relationship with nature. He tries to keep up with his lawn, battles a contrary woodchuck, and, upon discovering an abandoned town covered in forest growth, observes with great poignancy how nature abhors a vacuum. Thankfully Mr. Pollan became a writer and not a [...]
Farmer-Beekeepers Count the Ways Honey from bees is quite the miracle. Why does it taste so good? And why does it have so many healing properties? Many scientists have studied the organization of beehives and the behavior of bees, but it is philosophers such as Rudolf Steiner who give us a clue to the answer: [...]
Only two out of ten Americans have ever tasted Asian pears, those round apple-looking pears, according to Tom Sacks, the general manager of Subarashii Kudamono Farms in Coopersburg, PA, the east coast’s premier Asian pear farm. That may change thanks to the efforts of Mr & Mrs Joel Spira, the visioneers behind Subarashii Kudamono, and West coast [...]
The seed packet instructions say, “Store in a cool dry place.” How about the North Pole? The Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway’s Arctic Svalbard archipelago is one of the world’s largest depositories of our planet’s genetic plant record in the form of seeds. There copies of seeds from other seeds banks around the globe [...]
The Gravenstein Apple is dear to many apple lovers for its tart taste and superior juice, sauce, and pie abilities, but it is especially dear to the residents of Sebastopol, CA (Sonoma County) where the apple is grown in the U.S. The Gravenstein was the main apple crop for decades in this corner of Sonoma [...]
West Coast customers – enjoy locally produced heirloom fruit, farm crafted specialty foods and a special “Do It Yourself” Slow Food project in this unique monthly offering. SlowFood Victory Garden Crate Learn more and order at www.fruitguys.com/slowfood. The FruitGuys have partnered with Slow Food San Francisco in a fundraising project to benefit the Schoolyard Gardens [...]
Introducing Preservation Harvest – produce that makes a difference. Buying plums can help save a farm and make healthier land. Learn more at www.preservationharvest.com. West Coast customers, get a box of 25 refreshing Black Amber Plums from our crop farmed in Exeter, California. They have a smooth, crème colored inner flesh and tart purple skin. Put [...]
A limited time offer for California residents brought to you by The FruitGuys and Slow Food San Francisco. This unique box includes a selection of very special heirloom and Ark of Taste produce, locally-sourced artisan food items, and an easy “do it yourself” kitchen project kit. June’s box features honey from Torrey Olson’s Gabriel Farm. made by the [...]
PHILADELPHIA—My commute: therapeutic, thought provoking, calming, and centering. Is such a commute possible? You bet! I am one of the estimated 10,000 Philadelphia residents who bikes to work each day—weather permitting. My time in the saddle provides me with the fresh air that I need to feel energized for the day. Biking was not always [...]
Warm spring weather is waking up the farmer in me. I suddenly have the urge to sink my hands into the soil and grow greens, tomatoes, potatoes – you name it. A new resident of Philadelphia, I was not sure how to go about finding a way to satisfy my urge to farm. I turned [...]
You can tell from the photos that the owls are feeling very much at home in the owl boxes that The FruitGuys installed at Kauffman’s Fruit Farm in Bird-in-Hand, PA. We hope that we will soon be sharing pics of little owlets. Stay tuned. Read more about our donation of owl boxes to Kauffman’s and [...]
Alex Godbe started The Hungry Owl Project in 2002 to raise awareness of the danger that rodent poison poses to owls. Alex had been an intern for Wildcare, a Bay Area wildlife rehabilitation and education center, and was struck by the number of sick raptors and other hunting birds that ended up in the facility [...]
It’s quiet at Kokopelli organic berry farm except for the occasional proud exultation of a laying hen. Farmer Dr. Shepherd Bliss loves it that way; the quiet gives him peace after his own post-traumatic stress disorder from joining the army during the Vietnam era. Dr. Bliss grew up in a famous military family (the same [...]
Look who’s on candid owl camera! Picture of Northern Barn Owl taken this week on The FruitGuys Owl Cam at Kauffman’s Fruit Farm in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania. Read more about our owl box installations here.
The Bee Beat: an occasional series on our friendly pollinators “Go native.” That was the position taken at a recent Bee Symposium in Sebastopol, CA hosted by BeeKind and The Partners for Sustainable Pollination. The symposium hall was filled to capacity with beekeepers and wanna-bees. Lectures by apiary luminaries Dr. Robbin Thorp, Randy Oliver, Serge [...]
By Bridget Meigs Owls can play a crucial role in rodent control on organic farms. Instead of traps or poison, owls are natural predators that can help control populations of rodents like meadow voles that can girdle and kill the fruit trees. Many owl species reside in forested habitat, but the North American Barn Owl [...]
FruitGuys Karla and Bridget visited one of Philabundance’s Fresh-for-All sites in Upper Darby, PA with clementines, pears and apples in tow on March 19th. We enjoyed chatting with folks who were picking up free produce, as well as Fresh For All Program Manager Tunisia Garnett, Kelly Hile, Director of Direct Service, and our host, Elizabeth [...]
Owl box and owl camera installation at Kauffman’s Fruit Farm! Kauffman’s Fruit Farm Bird-In-Hand, PA March 18th 12:30pm To learn more about this project, please contact bridget@fruitguys.com.
Join us for our first Farm Steward Project of 2010 on the west coast at E&M Farm, growers of sweet and delicious nectarines and peaches, in beautiful Vernalis, CA. Come help us install six owl boxes while you learn about the owls in the area and the important role they play in rodent control. If you [...]
The FruitGuys GoodWorks Project includes our Farm Steward and Community Outreach programs which have donated thousands of pieces of fruit to charitable organizations nationwide. Our Farm Steward program donates trees, bee hives, and bat and barn owl boxes to farmers to support sustainable agriculture practices. Since 2008, generous FruitGuys customers have donated more than 200 fruit [...]
The first time I went to a Scion Exchange I didn’t know what to expect—was it a science fiction convention? As I drew nearer I saw people entering the building with little sticks under their arms—was it some sect of Wicca? The Wicker Wiccan maybe? But no, a Scion Exchange is where farmers and home [...]
Auntie Amerika pushes up the sleeves of her purple patchwork dashiki and stirs a large pot on the stove, her granny glasses steaming up as she leans over to catch a whiff. She deftly grabs an unlabeled jar of spice from her collection and sprinkles some into the veggie stew. The kitchen is warm and [...]
Everyone has been touched by the dramatic weather this past month and some got clobbered. A watery deluge that thankfully began filling California’s cisterns also brought waves of mud and coast-thrashing surf. The Mid-Atlantic is digging out from a blizzard that was advertised to be the-storm-to-end-all-storms, however another Eastern front is on its way. On [...]
Oroville, CA – Oroville is a gold rush town in Butte County, CA. Oro means gold in Spanish, and during the Gold Rush prospectors stampeded over the area in a greedy frenzy. When Del Chaffin came to the area, he was looking for riches of a different kind—a valley where he could grow crops year-round. Del [...]
Closed for the holidays? Why not give something back to those in need. Instead of putting your order on hold, our Donate-A-Crate program lets you send your fresh fruit to a worthy non-profit organization in your area serving those less fortunate than ourselves. In 2008, FruitGuys clients donated more than 180 crates to food-banks and programs [...]
Just as plants employ the cycle of photosynthesis and respiration to convert light, air, and water into energy and back again into CO2, so go the cycles of farming seasons. Seed to sprout to fruit to compost to soil to seeds again. Every culture’s agricultural calendar takes into account times of abundance and times for [...]
Congratulations to our fabulous farmer friend and environmental steward, Allen Harthorn of Harpo Organics, who grows succulent organic Valencia oranges in Ventura County. Allen Harthorn and wife, Pamela, have transitioned his grandfather’s ranch into a certified organic farm. In addition to being on the board of California Certified Organic Farms, Allen has served as president [...]
How many people say “worth two in the bush!” when they enter the town limits of Bird-in-Hand in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania? We don’t know. Benn, The FruitGuys’ East Coast buyer, is headed into Bird-in-Hand to talk with Kauffman’s Fruit Farm, a 5th generation orchard and market, about their sweet yellow peaches. They have hundreds of [...]
Congratulations to longtime friend and farmer Lee Walker. Lee is being awarded the “Lifetime Contribution to Sonoma County Agriculture” by the 2008 Sonoma Harvest Fair. The Harvest Fair is an annual showcase of Sonoma’s diverse agricultural bounty and an award from the Fair is consider quite a hallmark among the locals. Lee has been farming [...]
Four hives and five months ago, The FruitGuys brought forth to Gabriel Farm a prodigious gift of pollination, conceived in the spirit of Farm Stewardship and dedicated to the proposition that all fruits must be fertilized equally or an orchard cannot endure. Dedicated though we are to the ideals of supporting sustainably grown local agriculture, [...]
‘Tis the season for Bela Lugosi impressions, fake blood, and rubber bats dangling from doorways. But The FruitGuys has real bats on its mind. On behalf of our vespertilian friends, this week The FruitGuys Farm Steward Program installed bat boxes at the historic Jelich Ranch in Portola Valley, Ca. FruitGuys Bridget Meigs and Dan Lemley [...]
As Thanksgiving approaches, all of us here at The FruitGuys want to thank you for your business. We are here to help you meet your wellness goals, whether within your company or through our take-home products. We consider ourselves fortunate to work with customers, like you, who share our ideals about health, the environment, and [...]
Food banks in many of our metropolitan areas are facing increased demand and decreased monetary donations this season. One way you can help is to forward your office fruit to people in need if your office is closed, or minimally staffed, during the holidays. The FruitGuys Donate-A-Crate program is an easy way to help others. [...]
As the holidays approach, all of us here at The FruitGuys want to thank you for your business. We are here to help you meet your wellness goals, whether within your company or through our take-home products. We consider ourselves fortunate to work with customers, like you, who share our ideals about health, the environment, [...]
FruitGuys clients love their weekly fruit but many of you were generous enough to forward that fruit to people in need during the Thanksgiving holiday when your offices were closed or minimally staffed. Our Donate-A-Crate Program shipped 71 FruitCrates over to San Francisco’s Family House, Riley Center, City Harvest in New York City, and the [...]
We want to thank all the generous FruitGuys clients who forwarded their holiday crates to those in need through our Donate-A-Crate program. More than 180 crates – that’s 7,300 pieces of fruit – were sent to food-banks and programs for families in need between the Thanksgiving and New Years holidays. Your crates went to The [...]
A hearty contingent of FruitGuys (with friends and families in tow) went to Gabriel Farm in Sebastopol, CA this weekend to help farmer Torrey Olson plant new trees. Part Fresh-Air fund, part Farm Steward project, planting pear trees with Torrey was a great excuse to get out to the country and help a friend. Torrey [...]
Bees and the pollination they provide are essential to growing fruits and veggies but their numbers have mysteriously declined in the past decade, so FruitGuys News has started a Bee Beat to cover these unsung farm heroes. We’ve reported on the FruitGuys Farm Steward beehive program and the Bees vs. Seeds conundrum in Fresno, CA. [...]
Here at The FruitGuys we work with fruit all week, but we still love it on the weekends. For those who haven’t tried it we’d like to recommend a U-Pick outing. East Coast residents have incorporated apple picking into their fall activities for generations. With the growing interest in local farming, the varieties of “agri-tourism” [...]
From the tip of Maine to the Pacific Coast, blueberries are a-popping. July is a month during which we can enjoy fruit harvests across the country, especially blueberries, which are picked from June through August. July has been declared National Blueberry month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The FruitGuys is thrilled that each region [...]
By Heidi Lewis Philadelphia shoppers like Headhouse, Rittenhouse Square, and Passyunk (pronounced Pash-unk) know the “go-to” people for plums is Beechwood Orchards. But Melissa Allen of Beechwood would like everyone to know – they’ve got some pretty special peaches as well. Melissa has told her peach stories from Philly to Ashburn, VA to Baltimore, MD. [...]
Nestled in the Ukiah Valley, sandwiched between the famous Napa Valley and the redwoods of Mendocino County, is Johnson Orchards, a family farm for more than a century and home to some of the tastiest pears in California. They use organic methods and IPM (Integrated Pest Management) to grow their pears. “We are really lucky [...]
Steve Lecklider wasn’t always a farmer, he was a professional clarinet musician playing classical music in South Bend, Indiana. Now he runs Lehman’s Orchard with his parents, both retired teachers. “We’ve all left the farm and then come back,” said Steve, the third generation in his family to run the orchard. Their farm in Niles, [...]
Sebastopol, CA – The good news is the bees are happy at Torrey Olson’s Gabriel Farm, and when the bees are happy, we’re all happy. Bee Beat followers might recall that the original hives installed at Torrey’s Asian Apple Pear orchard as part of The FruitGuys Farm Steward Project did not survive the winter. This [...]
Steve Lecklider wasn’t always a farmer, he was a professional clarinet musician playing classical music in South Bend, Indiana. Now he runs Lehman’s Orchard with his parents, both retired teachers. “We’ve all left the farm and then come back,” said Steve, the third generation in his family to run the orchard. Their farm in Niles, [...]
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