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NEWS | LOCAL
EVENTS | LOCAVORES
GUIDE | FARM
MARKETS
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The Pollinator
The monthly newsletter of Sonoma County
Farm Trails
Dear Farm Trails
Members and Friends:
Welcome to the
June edition of the Pollinator. It's another busy month here
at the office as we start to gear up for the Gravenstein Apple Fair (August 15-16) and Weekend Along the Farm Trails (September 26-27). In
fact, you might say we're as busy as the bees at Lavender Bee
Farm! (Check out the feature on the right hand side to read about
the thousands of hard workers hosted and tended by Rick and JoAnn
Wallenstein.)
Cheers,
The staff at
Sonoma County Farm Trails
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President's Message
June is off to a Spring-like start. We are so accustomed to having our
seasons jump from winter to summer but not this year! As a farmer we
are watching our little plants slow down as the heat has dropped.
Not slowing down, however, is the opening of Farmers' Markets! All of
the markets are now open and those smart and courageous farmers that
started planting before the frost warnings were past are now the first
to have summer squash along with Swiss chard, lettuces, radishes,
carrots and artichokes.
Looking at the calendar, Farm Trails is gearing up for our two big fund
raising events for the year, the Gravenstein Apple Fair in August and
Weekend Along the Farm Trails (WAFT). These events are made possible by
volunteers from both our membership and friends of Farm Trails that
believe in promoting the farming community in Sonoma County. We are
looking to sign up volunteers for both events. Please contact the
office at 837-8896 to volunteer. Be sure to leave a phone number
and email address.
Have a great month and we will see you at the Farmers' Markets!
Kind regards,
Susan Mall
President, Sonoma County Farm Trails
Owner, Eastside Farm
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No June Early Bird Breakfast Club
We won't be hosting a June Early
Bird Breakfast Club, but you can still get your monthly Farm
Trails fix. Simply pick up a copy of our 2009-2010 Map &
Guide and head out to a farm this month to experience
up-close-and-personal agriculture!
Stay tuned for July's Early Bird Breakfast Club which will
feature Four-Legged Lawnmowers -- sheep and goats of all different
shapes and sizes.
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Sonoma Marin Fair :
Fresh Out of the Jar
Exciting projects are afoot at the Sonoma-Marin Fair, which
runs from June 24-28. Visitors will find a renewed focus on local food
and the story behind it: the dedicated farmers of Sonoma and
Marin Counties who grow produce and raise animals for local residents
to enjoy.
Sonoma County Farm Trails will be sponsoring a "Fresh Out of the
Jar" tasting and sales booth, featuring jarred products grown and
processed by local farmers. Visitors will be able to learn how and
where the products are made, while savoring the floral notes of
seasonal honeys, the bright berry tastes of local jams, and even canned
condiments and sauces.
An accompanying "Farm to Table" display will offer additional
information on local farm families. At the other end of the room,
an olive oil tasting bar will remind you that our climate is similar to
that which nurtures the olive groves of Italy -- and our olive oils are
just as delectable.
This is a don't-miss event, so be sure to stop by and taste the
flavors of the North Bay! The tasting booth featuring Farm Trails
members will be open from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
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Goats, and Sheep, and
Poultry -- Oh My! 
Interested in backyard
livestock? There are plenty of fairs in Sonoma County where you
can ogle, play with, and purchase livestock -- such as the Sonoma-Marin fair from June 25th to 28th,
and the Sonoma County Fair from July 28th to
August 9th. But don't forget, many Sonoma County Farm Trails
members have livestock available year round for you to visit, and
may have animals for sale at different times of the year (offering baby
animals for sale in Spring or trimming down their herds and flocks
later in the Summer or Fall.) Farm Trails members who sell
livestock include: Pick up a copy of the 2009-2010 Sonoma County Farm
Trails Map & Guide to find other livestock sellers. (For
instance, members listed under "Eggs" have chickens, and often offer
fertilized eggs for you to incubate at home -- which is a very fun
way of starting up your own backyard chicken flock.) So head to
the fair, ogle the animals -- and talk to a Sonoma County Farm Trails
member about starting up a small flock or herd of your own.
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Go ahead, brag --
and invite us over.
If you're a Sonoma County Farm Trails member and have any
exciting news or events to share with other members and SCFT friends,
please contact us. We're happy to share your good news in next
month's Pollinator.
Also, office staff will be scheduling visits to
member farms this summer. We'll be interviewing our
members to develop feature-length
articles for inclusion in future Map & Guides,
newsletters, and on our website. We'll also take photographs of your farm to help us
build a database of digital images to send to media outlets, use on our
website, and include in future Map & Guides.
So, are you interested in having us visit to develop publicity
materials for you? Call 837-8896 or email farmtrails@farmtrails.org.
This service is available on a first-come, first-served basis for full
members only -- we will be visiting different areas of Sonoma
County on different days, so contact us soon to schedule a visit.
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Member
Feature: Morita's Backyard
Benjamin Morita
If you've been hankering to swing by a good old-fashioned country farm
stand, Morita's Backyard is just the spot you're looking for.
With a rich family history behind them, the current generation of
Moritas is working hard to make sure their family farm stays productive
and community-oriented.
Benjamin Morita's grandparents originally bought the property back in
the 1930s. They put in berries to provide them with a crop while
their apple trees matured, and they harvested apples before the
war. During World War II, they were taken away from the land and
placed in a camp. Benjamin's father was born in camp, and was
only able to return home when he was two years old. From then on,
though, the farm would truly become his home - a seed planted deep
inside him, a place he would eventually return to, no matter where his
life took him in the meantime.
It's a seed that also took root in the third generation of the Morita
family. Now, Morita's Backyard is cut flowers, beans, lettuces,
gourds, and of course berries and apples. (And yes, some of the
trees planted by Benjamin's grandparents are still bearing
fruit.) The gourds become birdhouses; Benjamin's sister also
makes potpourri from the flowers. Benjamin and his
brother-in-law, Jason Gramm, run the farm stand. So drop on by
and familiarize yourself with one of the county's local treasures - and
pick up some farm-fresh produce, too.
Of course, you might want to know what the farmstand's hours are.
This is a true country store, so the answer is, anytime. If
you're in the neighborhood, just drive up to the farm stand and honk -
you're guaranteed to find someone on a weekend, but there's a good
chance of finding them on a weekday, too. After all, when it
comes to their farm, it seems like the Morita family is the kind to
stick around no matter what.
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'Tis the
Season: Berries & Fruit
June is the month when juicy berries and succulent
fruits start to appear at local farmers markets and in the fields
of your neighborhood farms. Some of our orchardists suffered
losses from late rains this year, but you'll still be able to ease your
way into summer with fruit and berries from our member businesses like Dry Creek Peaches, Sebastopol Berry Farm, and Golden Nectar Farm. Just look them up
in the 2009 Map and Guide and give them a call -- or drop by your local
farmers market and make your way to a Sonoma County Farm Trails member
booth to taste the sweetness of the season.
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| Lavender Bee Farm:
JoAnn and Rick
Wallenstein
Fields filled with fragrant lavender, bees busily
collecting pollen from the flowers: such is life at Lavender Bee Farm.
And while a visitor might think he's stumbled across the land of milk
and honey -- actually, make that Mel
the camel and honey -- it's just another day in the life of Rick
and JoAnn Wallenstein.
Rick and JoAnn Wallenstein are longtime Petaluma residents
and the proud owners of Lavender Bee Farm. The ranch was
purchased by JoAnn's father in 1947; she was raised there. When
her father passed away in 2000, she and her husband set about
researching different crops and ways of making a living from the
land. Eventually, they settled on lavender -- a multipurpose
plant that would suit their sandy loam soil and gently sloping
property. The ranch is currently home to approximately 5,000
plants, the majority of which are of the Provence or English
variety.
Rick and JoAnn cut the plants by hand twice a year: once in July
for drying, and again in November. The July cuttings are also
used to make essential oils and linen spray.
And while the Wallensteins' artisanal essential oils, lotion
bars, sachets and linen sprays offer users the fragrance of summer
year-round, it's their 60 bee hives and locally-famous lavender honey
that has captured the hearts (and taste buds) of customers across the
country.
As JoAnn put it, "There are a lot of wonderful honeys, but I
would say that the lavender honey is in the top few. It's very
flavorful, with a flowery essence to it."
Honey can be purchased at Rex Hardware in Petaluma, and Petaluma
Market. You can also visit www.lavenderbeefarm.com
to order honey and have it shipped directly to your door. Other
farm products, like lavender sachets and essential oils, are also
available on the website. And you'd better visit soon -- because
if history has anything to say about it, Lavender Bee Farm will be
entirely sold out of its delightful lavender honey by September.
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| Sonoma County Farm Trails
930 Shiloh Road,
Suite 7, Windsor
(707) 837-8896
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FARM TRAILS NEWS
| Sonoma
County Farm Trails awards Agricultural Scholarships |
Heather Borck and Megan Renker
awarded scholarships by Scholarship Committee Chairperson
Phebe Sorensen at the 2005 Gravenstein Apple Fair.
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A Gravenstein Apple Fair tradition awards the Santa Rosa Junior College Farm Trails Memorial Scholarship and a second scholarship, the John Smith Memorial Scholarship which honors the Farm Advisor who encouraged farmers to create Farm Trails almost 30 years ago.
2007 Scholarship
Recipeints:
Jacqueline Hull,
Sonoma County Farm Trails John Smith Memorial Scholarship
James Bachor,
Sonoma County Farm Trails Memorial Scholarship
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| In
the Spring, Farm Trails also awards scholarships to four
local FFA students who have demonstrated achievements in
Agricultural endeavors These awards contribute to agriculture
education in Sonoma County, a goal of the Farm Trails organization.
For more information on supporting or receiving the SRJC
or FFA awards, call (707)837-8896 |
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Locate
food, wine, spirits and beer events in your area at LocalWineEvents.com
For more information on upcoming local events,
visit the websites listed on our Links page
under “Visitor Information". These are tourism
related organizations and provide details on some of the fun
things happening in Sonoma County!
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Spending the weekend in Sonoma County?
Here is a list of accommodations to make your stay a good
one!
Locavores
Guide
click image to view larger image
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