True colors at the farm

Discovered this welcome sight at the farm just this week!

This strawberry is a beautiful burst of color at the farm.  

beds a few weeks ago

This luscious strawberry, harbinger of summer, reminds us 
that soon the palette of the farm beds will be awash 

in other colors–certainly lush greens and then rainbows of yellow, orange, red, purples. 
Yes, it is a very encouraging time at the farm.
A few weeks ago, Matt from Local Landscapers inspected
the raspberry bushes which were beginning to flourish.

The "sticks" are the raspberry canes

See the small cane in the midst of the leaves.
We could take that cutting, dip in a rooting gel (with root hormone)
and transplant to create a brand new raspberry bush.

Did you know, you can use honey as a "rooting gel?"

It's natural for suckers to pop up near the bushes,
and this is how raspberry bushes spread. Not a problem, if that's what you want
but needs controlling if you don't. Here are some tips on pruning raspberries.

Watch this for tips on planting, growing and caring for raspberries.

Now, a few weeks later, our raspberry bushes are full and lush green bushes.

And hopefully, soon, this is where they will be, dotted with these red gems!

Besides how colorful and abundant the farm will look 

as our plants are thriving, it's also a good idea for your plate 

to reflect a varied color wheel of vegetables and fruits. 

Did you know that "different colors indicate different nutrient profiles?" 

Here's a good breakdown of how to think about vegetable color groupings 

Check out this video about benefits of different colored fruits and vegetables. 

 Your home garden can be colorful as well.
No matter how small the space, it's possible to

grow some of your own vegetables and herbs.

Here are some good resources for you:

How much to plant for a family of four

Sunset Magazine steps to create an edible garden
One of our favorite sources for great ideas, Smart Gardener
can help you create a vertical garden!

And for those of you want to be more self-sufficient and
produce more of your own food, even in a small space:

 Here are some great tips for making the most of your own.farm.

While we encourage you to grow your food, create a garden, 

we still hope you will treat yourself to a visit to the girl & the fig or the fig café
 to enjoy some of the bounty from our farm. 

This week's star for Plats du Jour at "the fig:"

risotto, house-made smoked ham, garden peas, st. jorge cheese, charred pea tendrils 

And the seasons they go round and round...

We talk frequently about transition and ongoing changes at the farm—not to be repetitive 

but because these changes are in fact, the constant at the farm. 

Every day there is growth, some things wither and die while new things blossom. 

A simple but significant metaphor for our lives, the work at the farm 

keeps us focused on the flow of nature.

raspberry bushes going dormant after bountiful summer

a few golden raspberries still wanting to party

Did you know that 90% of all raspberries sold in the United States 

come from Washington, Oregon and California. We are lucky to grow our own at the farm. And more raspberry trivia: Raspberries can be either 

red, purple, gold or black in color. 

The golden ones are sweeter than the other varieties. Lucky us! 

Once raspberries are picked, they won't ripen any further, so even as we 

are past harvesting these gems for this season, 

we'll let the last few hardy ones do their thing!

Persimmons in the Orchard not quite ready, but soon!

At the same time that some of our bounty is past harvest time, 
we begin to look ahead to what will soon be ready to pick 
as well as what we will plant next at the farm.

But the chard and purslane planted in the Orchard bed are ready now!

Following the rhythm of the farm, we pay attention to these cycles.

While these transitions occur on their own, there are other changes that require 
our assistance. Knowing the summer squash 
was past its prime and needing to replenish the beds for winter planting, 

we recently set to work on the lower quad.  

Actually whether you plant a winter garden or not, 

fall should not really be viewed as the end of summer gardening season, 

but rather the beginning of a new garden for next spring. 

So much of what we do—harvesting what's grown and our dedicated attention 

to the soil now—goes a long way to improving next year's harvest, 

even reducing the amount of work next spring to prep the farm. 

While any seasonal change encourages you to stop and take stock,

 it seems like this time of year particularly inspires some reflection. 

As days get shorter and we hurry to harvest summer's bounty, preparing for winter, 

we appreciate what the farm has given us and make a commitment to give back. 

A wonderful book celebrating "the cyclical rhythms of nature" that came out in 2009 

(but is still relevant) is The Seasons on Henry's Farm. 

Worth the read to understand how "sustainable agriculture which mimics nature, 

and the life of an extended family that not only believes in 

the importance of stewarding the land but lives it every day. 

The author invites us to recognize our place in the cosmos, 

and to understand that growing good food does not mean 

destroying soil and water, and that we can eat well and live well, 

and still leave this earth a better place than we found it."

We try to do our part. 

The farm project is an important aspect of our business and our philosophy.

As is sharing the fruits of our labors with you, at our tables and in this blog.  

Let us know how you celebrate the change of seasons.

And follow us here to experience the next cycle for us at the girl & the fig farm project. 

Farm Blossoms

Don't you just love squash blossoms?  

We agree with these musings from "The Kitchn:" 

When stuffed, battered, and fried, they are one of summer's chief delicacies. 

But we always had a slight sense of unease when buying them. 

Wasn't it quite a sacrifice for the farmer to sell each flower, 

since he was essentially sacrificing a future squash? 

Wouldn't this flower someday grow into a much larger (and more substantial) vegetable? 

It seemed almost greedy to eat a flower and deny it its future as a squash!

Well, it turns out that we were wrong. Not all squash blossoms will turn into a squash, and we can eat most of the blossoms in our own squash patch with impunity. Why?"

"The answer is really quite simple. 

Squash blossoms come in two genders: male and female. 

Only female squash blossoms mature into a squash. 

The male is just there to, well, fertilize them."

Here is a little more technical info on male and female squash blossoms.

You must be seeing the beautiful squash blossoms at Farmers Markets. 

One simple way to prepare them is to fill squash blossoms 

with a soft herbed cheese, brush with olive oil and 

bake until wilted and heated through. 

What do you like to do with squash blossoms?

summer squash bounty at our farm

Summer squash at the farm inspired Chef at the girl & the fig 

to create a grilled summer squash ratatouille to serve with day boat scallops.

And our friend Kristin Jorgensen featured a great recipe 

for Ribbon Zucchini Salad in Sonoma "Sun Eats" column. 

A lot of squash inspiration for our Chefs
What do you do with summer squash?

The sunchokes are looming over the squash rows. 

Did you know they can grow to be 10' tall?

We had so many sunchokes last season that
Chef John created sunchoke chips! Rivaled potato chips.

Nearby the fertile squash beds, our raspberries are also in full bloom. 

Besides being hard to resist, there are so many health benefits to raspberries.

so delicious right off the vine

we almost can't be sure they will make it to the bowl! 

Here are some great tips from Smart Gardener about growing berries. 

Perfect for dessert just as they are....

Or do you have a favorite recipe that showcases berries?

The farm is fertile and alluring right now.
What's growing especially beautifully in your garden?