Karen Holmes: Shots of my trellised pumpkin plant

I met Karen last Tuesday evening as I was handing out cards and promoting this Day in the Life event. She’d recognized me from hanging out at the the wine library.

Karen sent in this submission on Saturday evening:

Hi, Jennifer. I introduced myself to you at the Plaza on Tuesday, having seen you at the Wine Library…

Here’s my submission: Shots of my trellised pumpkin plant.

I’d noticed a pumpkin plant trained to climb up a pole in someone’s yard on First and Matheson Streets last summer. I’d never seen that done before. The beginning of June my wisteria, that had so beautifully covered my trellis, succumbed to Crown Gall Disease. It seemed so bare there after it was removed. Then I remembered the pumpkin plant on First Street from last year, and so planted my own at the base of the support for the former wisteria trellis. The pumpkin plant is growing about 2″ a day and seems to love to climb up. Today my husband made a little sling to support the biggest pumpkin. We’ll see how that works.

Thanks!
Where: Garden on Almond Way
When: Around 1:00 p.m. on Saturday the 19th
How: Canon PowerShot A620 digital camera

See more shots of the trellised pumpkin in the flickr photo stream (we’re still working on sorting and uploading the pictures).
Learn more about the wine library

What a Day!

Wow. What a day. I only have a few moments, but to summarize so far:

Up at 5AM.

One audio recording of the birds in my neighborhood.

2.5 hours helping start the Healsburg Century Bike Tour.

• Five brown thermos containers of coffee
• Two trays of cinnamon bread
• Too many Odwalla juices to count
• 1500 or so bikers (will have to get the exact number from Briana over at the Chamber)

Back home to regroup and refresh a bit.

Update the A Day in the Life column on this website. Shana IMs me to say she’s started a twitter stream: #hburgmag.

Out to meet Julie at Cousteax (missed her but met her later at the Farmer’s Market).

Quick stop at Fideaux to make sure the girls there take a picture (I took one–just to be sure).

Farmer’s Market (lots of people there today, including Shana and another Healdsburg local: oenophilus).

Met Laurel Cook and some other Literary Guild members who were serendipitously releasing a BOOK entitled: A Day in the Life of Healdsburg.

It was the 30th anniversary of the Farmer’s Market this week. Think I’ll be getting some more interesting photos from Mike Haran later.

Up and down the street to a few shops (will have to wait until I sort out my pictures).

Through the Plaza.

Over to Oakville Grocery, Rosenblum, and Selby tasting room.

Back through square to meet Shana for lunch.

Lunch at Willi’s Seafood. Bartender was Carl. Have to write up his drinks for the Two-Drink Minimum column. Oysters (delectable).

Back through to ParkPoint Health Club to ask about their memberships for out-of-town visitors. Have a summary I can post later.

I’m exhausted.

Head home for a snooze.

Head out to run an errand, but was just too exhausted to stay out.

Back home. Check email (four unexpected submissions for event — Thank You!!! I’m expecting more though. I know they’ll come in as the week progresses).

Check the twitter stream (two new friends on Twitter–(hi Rob and macgenie). Special shout out to Shana Ray for starting that off this morning–an unexpected social media contribution.

Call my new friend Randy over at Mateo Granados Catering to make sure he sends in his perspective. He sends it from his iPhone (will link later when I’ve got the pictures sorted).

Check the Flickr group. One new member: local photographer Craig Clemment-hope to that you’re going to submit a photo or two Craig. I’d be honored.

Quote of the day from Shana, “It made me happy!” for almost every picture she took and posted to twitpic.

It’s 11:33 right now. I have to get up early again tomorrow.

Thanks for everything everybody who participated. I look forward to your submissions.

Stay tuned!!

Two-Drink Minimum: A Challenge

Two weeks ago, I met Shana for drinks at Ravenous before KC Mosso’s The Situation opened for Langhorne Slim. We were talking about this magazine and ideas that we had and she was introducing me to people she knew. It was all very exciting. I ordered a beer (a safe drink, I know). She ordered a mojito. We were just talking and laughing and meeting people while we waited for the music to start and we came up with this idea: Two-Drink Minimum.

Initially we were going to solicit the general population’s opinion for this new column: What are your favorite two drinks in Healdsburg? Who makes them? We wanted to get people out and about trying new things.

BUT tonight, after dinner with a friend and running a few other errands, I was driving home (twiddling my hair with one hand and driving with the other) and I had THE BEST idea for this column: Make it a challenge–a challenge to the bartenders of Healdsburg to showcase their signature drinks.

Isn’t that an exciting idea? So–that’s what it’s going to be–exactly that. Bartenders, here is my challenge to you:

What are your two signature drinks? How do you serve them? What is the story behind your the creation of the drink?

Think about it. Just think about it for awhile. Let it ruminate. And when you’re ready. WHEN YOU are ready.

Submit it. Submit a picture of the drink. Submit your picture. Submit your story. And we here at Healdsburg Magazine will try to get everybody to come in to try it.

You can submit up to two drinks at a time (hence the title of the column: Two-Drink Minimum). We will need to know your name, where you work, and when you work. I’m creating a completely new email just to take submissions for this column: twodrinks@HealdsburgMagazine.com

How about we just start with that?

PS: You can also take pictures of people enjoying your drink and send them in too. Maybe at the end of it all, we’ll have an event where people can vote on their favorite.

A Day in the Life of Healdsburg: 19 July 2008

A few weeks ago, I was talking to Stephen about promoting the magazine. He immediately had a great idea: Choose a day and have everybody take a picture on that day (anytime during the 24-hour period of the day) and send it in. Then, do a-day-in-the-life-of series.

Isn’t that a great idea? I am so excited. Except, since I’m trying to work with more media, I’m going to ask that people use any form of media for this project. The day is going to be 19 July 2008.

That’s right: 19 July 2008. Mark it on your calendar folks. This is the day that I’m going to ask everybody and anybody who is in Healdsburg, California to record it. Just record being in Healdsburg. Record it how you want to record it. Video it. Photograph it. Blog it. Record it. Voice mail it. Text it. Email it. However you want to do it, just do it.

Here are some guidelines:

If you are in Healdburg on the 19 July 2008 with any form of media, record it.

• If you video it, create a short video of your experience.
• If you photograph it, send in the photograph with details about who, where, when, and how.
• If you blog it, just blog it and send the link to your blog.
• If you use audio, send in your audio clips.
• Or, just call and leave a voice mail. 707-477-2528.

Anytime during that 24-hour period on the 19 July 2008, just record who, what, when, and where.

Then, send in your submissions (contact).

That’s it. That’s all I’m asking for. I’m expecting that it will be a great day.

I’d like to use all the submissions to re-create 24 hours in Healdsburg. How exciting is that going to be?

Let’s see how it turns out.

Tierra Vegetables Farm Stand

I emailed Evie of Tierra Vegetables a few weeks ago to ask if I could write a feature article on their Farm Stand. I wasn’t sure if she’d remember me–because I’d met her through a friend. But of course she remembers and sure I can write an article. She tells me a good time to catch her (or anybody at Tierra Vegetables) is on Tuesdays or Thursday mornings–when they’re packing up the CSA boxes. “It’s pretty hectic and you’d have to be patient but you could get some good pictures and info.” I wonder what the CSA boxes are, but believe I’ll find out soon enough.

I find the Farm Stand off Highway 101 at the Fulton/Airport Boulevard exit and arrive on Tuesday morning around 9h30. Evie’s not there yet so I introduce myself and have a look around to get myself oriented. I offer to help get things ready for the CSA boxes.

Lee sets me up with a few bushels of garlic. She’s very efficient: “I need one hundred bulbs that weigh 3.2 ounces each.” Roxie shows me how to clean them and weigh them.

I start preparing the bulbs of garlic. Roxie is preparing chard and lettuce for the boxes. We start to chat. We talk about what Tierra Vegetables is doing with the Farm Stand and the CSA boxes. She says: “Well, for example, we grow everything that we sell. Or almost everything. If we don’t grow it, we know who does.”

She points to the field behind the Farm Stand: “Those are the strawberries that we’re selling today. We pick what’s ready and sell them as soon as they come in from the field.” Then she motions to the tractor that’s appeared behind me. “Those are the carrots that are going in the CSA boxes.” I grab my camera and take an action shot.

As I’m trying to finish prepping the garlic, a van rolls up and somebody shouts, “It’s the group from Santa Rosa.” Then, there’s hustle and bustle everywhere because the arrival signals the start of everybody else arriving to pick up their boxes.

Tierra Vegetables grows, harvests, and preps the produce. But you actually have to assemble your own box when you come to pick it up. Also, you provide your own “box”. It can be a paper bag, a cloth bag, a basket–whatever you want it to be. As long as you reuse it every week. Two guys get out of the van and start their assembly line.

I wait until it gets organized before I ask a fellow: “Where are you from?”

“Winzler and Kelly,” he replies.

“What’s that?”

“An engineering firm in Santa Rosa.”

“How come you have so many bags?” There seems to be about twenty different bags they need to fill.

“Well,” he explains. “There’s a group of us at work. Every Tuesday, somebody different has pick-up duty. We come out and fill up everybody’s bag and bring it back to the office.”

They’re on a timeline and by now, more and more people are arriving to pick up their CSA boxes. I wander out to the front of the Farm Stand to get out of the way and see what’s going on there. Evie’s chatting to everybody as she rings them up–she knows everybody’s names.

It finally occurs to me to ask: “What does CSA stand for?” As it comes out of my mouth, I remember reading about it on their website: “Community Supported Agriculture”.

COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE

Evie explains that the idea of CSA is to connect the local community with local farmers. It’s about creating a relationship between the consumers of the food and the farmers growing the food and about knowing about how the food is grown.

I ask Evie, “How long have you been selling these boxes?

She thinks for a minute. “I think our CSA program started in 1992. We started with about 10 families. We’ve grown some every year and last year we topped around 200.”

A customer comes round front from assembly line out behind the Farm Stand. Evie introduces us, “Denise, meet Jennifer. She’s writing an article for a Healdsburg Magazine. Jennifer, why don’t you talk to Denise?”

I start talking to her. She’s been part of the Tierra Vegetables CSA program for over three years. “What do you like about it?” I ask.

“Well,” she ponders. “I really like that it’s fresh. I like that it’s fixed. I mean. I just arrive and my vegetables are already chosen for me.” She pauses, “I guess I like that I don’t really have to think about what I’m going to be eating this week. They’ve done it already.”

What do you mean? “, I prompt her to explain more.

“Not only is the produce grown and picked for me, Evie also emails recipes for what’s in the box that week. It just makes my life easier. And,” she perks up, “I never would have some of the vegetables if they hadn’t been in the box–like cactus!”

I nod my head. I know what she means. Having somebody else think about planning my meals every week would definitely make my life easier.

I ask Evie how to sign up for their CSA program? She tells me there is a waiting list of about 25 or so right now. But all the information is on their website: TierraVegetables.com. Or just email, call, or stop by the Farm Stand. She repeats with a laugh, “You can always just stop by the Farm Stand.”

SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES

I talk to Wayne as he finishes preparing the bushels of garlic. He’s set himself up in the shade and he stands with one leg up resting on the bench. I notice he doesn’t wear shoes. And I remember somebody telling me once that he never wears shoes. He’s always barefoot in the fields. I make a mental note to ask him about it.

Now, I ask about his history with farming and with farmer’s markets.

“We’ve been farming most of our lives. In the 70s, I was running a produce farm up in Potter Valley. Farming has been our way of life for over 25 years. CSA is only part of it.”

“Part of what?” I ask.

“Sustainability.” He states the obvious. “Everything we do here is environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable. It has to be all three.”

I email him later to ask him to elaborate on this explanation. He sends me his own words:

Sustainability is economically, socially, and environmentally friendly practices. To make it work, you have to have all three parts and all three parts must be as equal as possible.

• Economically means that the farm can support not only the farmers and the farmers families but also all the farm workers and their families.
• Socially means that it needs to support the local community and be part of the local community by supporting the local businesses, supporting the local residents (don’t spray, don’t disrupt the farm’s neighbors, etc, paying our workers living wages, and supporting them how we can).
• Environmentally means that we use practices that least impact the environment, from not using plastic for coverings in the beds, to not using pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, etc.

This is the balance we strive to achieve and it means keeping our money in the community. It’s very complex, and we have a long way to go. But every day, we are working towards this definition of sustainability.

FARMER’S MARKET vs FARM STAND

I ask Wayne about selling the produce. Do they only have this Farm Stand? Or do they sell at other Farmer’s Markets?

He sort of sighs and says, “We used to do Farmer’s Markets everyday around the Bay Area. At one point, we were travelling to Farmer’s Markets as far away as Danville.”

“But really, with the cost of everything–time and transport–it was soon not becoming worth it. When this land became available, I knew it was where we needed to set up and start the Farm Stand. “

“Now, our transportation costs consist of bringing the food from the field (he waves his hand behind him)—to the Farm Stand. And, we use those (he motions to the huge wheelbarrows) as transportation.”

Tierra Vegetables leases 17 acres of farmland from the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District. And a few more acres out by their own home. Everything they sell they grow on the land they farm.

If they don’t sell it, it goes back to their licensed kitchen to become part of their prepared food offerings. If it doesn’t sell or get prepared in the kitchen, it’ll go back into the land or fed to the animals. They have chickens, sheep, and sometimes pigs at home on their farm.

I ask him if he knows how many people buy from Tierra Vegetables and he works out the figures right there.

“We have about 500 families who buy from the Farm Stand in peak season.

“We have about 200 families subscribing to the CSA program.”

“And Lee sells to about 100 different customers on Saturdays in San Fran (because they continue to sell at the Farmer’s Market at the Ferry Plaza on Saturdays). So—I guess roughly, that’s about 800 families who we supply from our land.” He looks satisfied as he realizes the numbers.

I say to Wayne: “Roxie said that you built everything here at the Farm Stand from recycled materials.” And I ask him to explain.

He laughs and says: “How do you want me to explain? What do you want me to explain?”

I think. “For example, where did you get the materials to build the stand?”

He shrugs and points to the wood framed boxes that display the produce. “That wood came from the old Frizelle-Enos feed store out in Sebastopol when they tore down the old building.”

He points his shears at the structure where he’s shucking garlic. “This wood is from when the fence out there (and he motions to the field) blew down and we had to replace it.”

“Those pipes (that hold the shade tarp over the actual stand itself), those pipes are from our old well out on the farm.”

“The shade tarp is actually an old billboard that you see out on the highway.” He smiles, “One of my friends got it for me.”

“And that’s an old shipping container.”

I get the idea. Everything. Everything to do with Tierra Vegetables –quite literally from soup to nuts—is either grown from seed, recycled, or re-used. They support their family, their worker’s families, and (in peak season) up to 800 other families.

And how can you not support that?

MORE INFORMATION

Before you go somewhere else, have a look at the photo album of this day on Flickr.
Visit the Tierra Vegetables Farm Stand (directions)
Open 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday (Wednesday when tomato season starts)

Tierra Vegetables CSA program
Tierra Vegetables website
Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District
More on CSA in general

Tuesdays in the Plaza

During the summer, the City of Healdsburg organizes a public concert every Tuesday evening from 6h00 pm to 8h00 pm in the Healdsburg Park Plaza. Chuck Prophet played the first concert of the season last Tuesday. It may have been Chuck Prophet, or it may have been because it was the first concert of the season, but it looked like the whole town came out.

How could live music in the open air get better? Each Tuesday, the concert is deemed a special event and you can bring a wine country picnic to enjoy or share with your friends. Some local businesses like the Oakville Grocery or the Palette Art Cafe cater boxed picnics or you can just pack one yourself. Not to mention if you arrive earlier, you can shop the Farmer’s Market for some tasty delectables.

Regardless, whatever you decide to eat, stop by and say hello. I’ll be on the northwest corner of the square with the crowd from Jordan Winery.

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