How it all got started

How did it all get started? Basically I'm a first generation, self-educated, hobby gone wild farmer.

At first it was a hobby. A garden in my front yard between the street and the side walk. Then a half acre to see how much of my own food I could grow. Then bigger, then bigger.
That was almost twenty years ago. My friends said "You should sell you veggies at farmers market" , I put it off for the usual reasons. I don't have enough stuff, it dosn't look good enough to sell, or I can't get into Farmers Market cause there's a waiting list. Then one day about 9 years ago an old girlfreind said let's go to the Grass Valley mkt. and see if you can get in there. Well I did, started selling my stuff, people loved it and I started to transition to becoming a full time farmer.

The first few years I cultivated about 2 acres. Buisness grew, I grew, I learned a whole lot; about farming, about Life, about everything. My motto for farming and life is "Just don't make the same mistake twice!" Easy to say challenging to do.

Six years ago I was able to buy this Farm. It was an almond orchard many years ago, but it had no trees, no fertillity, nothing but grass, and a whole lot of potential.
The soil was hard as cement black clay, but with careful tilth and care it has unlocked it's true potential and become more clay-loam like, soft, full of organic matter, active, and bursting with Life. It still takes a bitof time to dry enough to work with it, but it holds moisture well, keeps fertillity in the root zone, and is packed with minerals making for some of the best tasting and nutritious vegtables.

My buisness has grown along with the Farm. First one market a week, next two. Now it's one year round, two on Saturday in the summer, and two others midweek in the summer/fall. I also sell to 5 natural food stores, and a few restaurants. I've gone from struggling to pay my bills, to making a decent living.

All of this I couldn't have done without my mother, my friends, old girlfriends, past and present apprentices, ( hey and blessings to Mike, Rob, David, Judith, Helen, Axel & Jane ) and certainly last but not least My Life Partner Lisa.

In my blog you'll read about the Farm, my view on Life, and hopefully gain some knoledge or motivation like I do.