As members of our farm share at Hidden Villa, you are actively choosing to support a small farm and have a direct connection to where your food is coming from. And we thank you for that! That decision, whether it is for the freshness and quality of your produce, the opportunity to foster understanding within your family of where food comes from, or the practice of eating with the changing of the seasons, fosters a personal connection to, and understanding of, sustainable food practices. The framework for the CSA program that we offer here at Hidden Villa has become popular not only in California, but throughout the United States as more people are beginning to value the importance of sustainable agricultural production and find the most transparent ways to support food production they believe in. Yet not all of our food choices can be so easily traced to its source. As consumers, we have become tasked with educating ourselves on where food found at the supermarket is coming from, and how it was grown.
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This week I am house sitting at a home that has a special perk: wireless Internet in the house! I have been saturating myself online, including some non productive catching up on friends’ latest photos, and some more productive perusing of websites of other small-scale farms. Last night I discovered a small farm in Vermont that offers a year round CSA, something I had not considered until then, especially for a farm in such a cold weather climate. Upon further investigation, I found that the farm employs people specifically to preserve the year’s harvest through canning and freezing. In this way they ensure that CSA members have access to farm raised food, year round. I was equally impressed and inspired, and started thinking more about successful marketing styles utilized by small farms.
Last week there was a mother picking up her share box who was carefully explaining to her son that we did not have strawberries this week and that we would probably not have them this year. It is probably the saddest thing for me to hear when a long time share member has the expectation of receiving something with which I know we are having difficult problems.
Wednesday of last week was homemade roasted tomatillo salsa and chicken enchiladas, fresh guacamole, Spanish style rice and homegrown pinto beans. Saturday afternoon was Czech style cabbage, slow roasted pork, Peruvian style onions, fresh slaw, double and triple cream brie, fluffy ciabatta, and homemade blueberry cheesecake ice cream. Monday of this week was homemade pizzas with sausage, broccoli, padron peppers, onions, tomato sauce and beets all from Hidden Villa, a beautiful handmade peach pie with homemade vanilla ice cream.
Well, Summer is definitely in full swing. These days our work typically revolves around weeding, harvesting, eating, preserving, and more weeding. Amidst the weeds I have been working on improving my new farming skills, learning entirely new ones, and reflecting on the lasting impact of first experiences.
Hello share members, my name is Lanette Anderson, I work here at Hidden Villa as the Horticulturist and flower farmer. Some of you, who’ve been CSA members for a few years, might remember me from my time here as a CSA intern and Journeyman farmer. I am happy to announce that I’m back on the ranch and back to pursuing my passion of growing and working with flowers, now as a more permanent member of the HV community. Your wonderful CSA crew has granted me a guest spot in this week’s newsletter to chat with you about our flowers on the farm; why we’re growing them, why you should care, and how you can get some for your very own.
So much of the motivation for farming the way that we do comes from a hope for a better future. Striving towards a means of producing food that is less resource intensive, more locally adapted, and respectful of ecology feels like an important route for agriculture to take. The most significant necessary ingredient in leading us to this kind of food future is a new population of willing and able farmers. We offer our agriculture interns an insight and a working experience operating this kind of farm in a way that is well-aligned with our mission of "inspiring a just and sustainable future." More people practicing small-scale, locally rooted agriculture is laying the groundwork for self-sufficient, environmentally friendly, localized community.
It was a beautiful and rare sunny day on the coast at Pie Ranch. Sitting on a straw bale and listening to the blue grass band strum away, I took in the scene. In the open valley below the eucalyptus grove, people in the crowd chatted, shook hands, and exchanged information. Others waited in line for the potluck, to slip enchiladas and homemade pie onto their plates. Some casually stopped at tables to try samples and pick up information about the showcased entrepreneurs. Farm Fest, an event organized by Slow Money, brought together food entrepreneurs and local investors. As the program started, people took their seats, eager to hear about the new businesses taking their place in the local food economy.
Hi CSA Members, Summer is finally here! I was looking forward to watching our summer crops come on, and long days of hiking and swimming. However, back in May I injured my knee. Being couch and crutch-ridden has forced me to slow down, and I’ve struggled to adjust to this change of pace. But there’s always a silver lining, right? As I heal, I’ve had time to work with other departments at Hidden Villa. (And I caught up on my reading. Seriously, ask me for suggestions.) As the sidelined Farm Crew member, I want to share what I’ve been working on in the past month or so.
At my Nana's 88th birthday celebration, last weekend, she received two touched up photos of her eighteen year old self that were taken shortly after Pearl Harbor was bombed. One of the photos is a portrait of her sitting on an old, horse drawn, harvester and the other is a wider shot of her on what looks like a 1936 steel wheeled John Deer tractor, hitched to a trailer piled high with hay; included are two young farmhands, one standing in front of the trailer and another sitting on top of the hay. In both photos my Nana is fashionably clad in loafers.
I think I speak for all of the farm crew when I say that some frustration has colored the last few days on the farm. The source of this disturbance to our normall ebullient field conversation comes from a strange influx of new pests. If you were to drive by our fields right now, you would probably see a large gathering of ravens. They might look like relatively happy, healthy ravens. They probably are. They should be, seeing as they are dining like kings and queens on the best seed sprouts and lettuce starts we can give them. In fact, they are probably eating ALL of the seeds and starts we plant. Next door to the feasting ravens is a massive invasion of leaf miners and flea beetles. Beyond that lies the usual but constant threat of cucumber beetles, slugs, rabbits, gophers, voles, and squirrels.
It’s hard to compete with the Bay Area in terms of its foodie passion and support of locavore eating. Nonetheless, I find that people I meet from San Francisco or the Silicon Valley are still surprised to hear that I’m a farmer. I see a look in their eye that says, “Whoa… that’s crazy.” But the longer I farm, the more I wonder how much is wrong with our food system if people have never met a farmer. How much trouble are we in if people my age (27) haven’t heard of anyone choosing it as a career? Next time I get that look, I want to say, “Don’t you eat? How do you not know a farmer?"
Photo Credit: Laurie Aubuchon
On our field walk today we saw newly sprouted bush beans coming in healthily next to fifteen lines of hearty looking potato plants. At the same time our old strawberry patch is almost completely inundated with noxious bind weed and some of the tomatoes that we planted on Friday have already been eaten by voles. It also rained on us, which was both good and bad. Getting a little extra water helps our crops grow but it also made it so that we couldn’t get into the field to do some needed tractor work and planting. The rain will also increase the weed pressure on all our crops.
This is why I love small scale diversified organic farming. Everyday is a new and different challenge and I get to work outside with a small crew of good friends to grow some of the best food I have ever had in my life.
The Hidden Villa Farm Crew picks what to plant not just from seed catalogues but also through trial and error and collective memory. What varieties of peppers have done well here? Which broccoli gave us the best heads and regrowth? I am learning that there are a lot of considerations when choosing seeds and plant varieties. Each seed we grow is a dedication of time and resources, so we make careful selections based on what has been successful in the past, what works for our climate, and what other local growers recommend.
Everyone on the farm has a favorite cooking method or prized tips for turning dark, leafy kale, into a bowl of tender, tasty (and incredibly healthy) greens. This recipe combines the Farm Crew's favorite tips on how to make the perfect greens.
Don't forget that you can purchase fresh veggies, fruits, eggs, and meats from Hidden Villa's stall every week Los Altos Farmers' Market, held 4 to 8 pm every Thursday in downtown Los Altos.
By Suzanne Allcroft, Agriculture Intern
Hidden Villa's Interns recently had our weekly enrichment class at Community Services Agency (CSA) Mountain View to learn about the organization and volunteer at its food bank. We donate a quarter of the produce we grow at Hidden Villa to the CSA Mountain View food bank during the farm season, so I was curious to see where our produce goes and how it's distributed.
Hi CSA members! I’m Suzanne Allcroft, and I’m grateful to be entering my second year as an intern at Hidden Villa. With one farming season under my belt, I’m looking forward to what I can learn from my second. Last year I think my eyes were so wide open from moving to the farm from San Francisco, I wonder if I farmed half of last season in shock (a good shock).
Photo: Interns Nathan and Jeff at Hidden Villa's stall at the Los Altos Farmers' Market. Photo Credit: Laurie Aubuchon
Radish, beet, or turnip greens are just as edible as the vegetables they top, so don't throw them away! This CSA recipe pairs Japanese turnips with their greens, which you can find in this week's basket. And remember, even if you aren't a CSA member, you can purchase fresh veggies, fruits, eggs, and meats from Hidden Villa's stall every week Los Altos Farmers' Market, held 4 to 8 pm every Thursday in downtown Los Altos.
By Suzanne Allcroft, Agriculture Intern
Last fall the Agriculture Team at Hidden Villa decided we wanted to improve upon our pasture-raised egg production. What if we built chicken coops that were mobile? While our previous laying hens could wander freely, their coops stayed put. But with mobile coops, each coop could house a flock of laying hens and move locations every few days. We were excited about this new system because it would enable our hens to continuously graze on fresh grass, fertilize the areas they passed over, and eat insect pests such as flies, mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas.