This week, we welcomed three new WWOOFers to the farm — Jess, Andromeda, and Teara. We told them to bring full rain gear: jackets, boots, the whole deal. Naturally, they’ve spent the week weeding and harvesting in tank tops, shorts, and ball caps. That’s winter farming on the Central Coast for you. We prepare for mud and need sunscreen instead.
The goats are loving it. They’re propped up on their play structure, soaking in the rays, and quietly demanding their fair share of weeds. The garden has finally dried out enough that we can start turning over beds again, which feels like a small win after all the rain. Dry soil makes everything better — including our moods.
We placed our big spring seed order this week. It’s a real mouthful! Summer squash, kohlrabi, leeks, collards, kale, habaneros, colorful bell peppers, slicing and lemon cucumbers, eggplant, patty pan, spaghetti squash, butternut, zucchini, and more tomatoes than we probably need — Juliet grapes, sauce tomatoes, Cherokee Purples, and Supersweet cherries in addition to what we already had in stock from 2025 and our fall seed order. We also ordered flowers: snapdragons, lavender, marigolds, and zinnias. They help pollinators, make bouquets, and, honestly, just make the place nicer to look at when we’re tired and dirty.
Most of these seeds will get started in our seed room under the barn, which we lovingly call “the dungeon.” We’ll be using our new vacuum seeder to blast through our spring seed starting for the first time. We’ll keep extra starts on hand in case of a late frost, and whatever we don’t plant will end up for sale at the farm stand for urban gardeners
We’ve got at least ten more hours of weed-whacking ahead of us — in the garden and around the farm — trying to stay ahead of what popped up after all the rain and sunshine. The garlic field is getting most of our attention right now. Jack dragged his amp into the garlic field and played guitar to make the work more of a “weeding party”. Half an acre of garlic means a lot of weeding by hand, and perimeter weed-whacking, but if we keep the weed pressure down and the weather behaves, we should be harvesting the bulbs in April.
One big piece of exciting news you may have heard: California is officially drought-free for the first time in decades. It’s good news, and it tracks with the severity of the last several rain seasons. We’re grateful for the water recharging the ground water at a slower pace this year, and we’re so happy to see the creek flowing steadily with fresh, clear water.
This Week’s Farm Box
Recipe
Storage Tips
Roots: sweet potatoes, carrots, red beets → carrots & beets in fridge crisper, bagged; remove greens. Sweet potatoes in a cool, dark spot (not the fridge).
Greens: lettuce, chard, pak choy, arugula → wrap loosely in a towel, store in a bag in the fridge.
Herbs: rosemary → in fridge wrapped in a slightly damp towel, or dry and store for later use.
Fruit/Citrus: grapes, blood oranges → grapes straight to the fridge; oranges on the counter for a few days or fridge up to 2+ weeks.
Alliums: shallots → store in a cool, dry place with good airflow; no fridge.
Other: fennel → fridge in a loose bag; best used within 5–7 days.
