Whole Foods Event

On Aug. 10 we had the pleasure of hosting our friends from the Southern California Whole Foods Markets at our farm in Tehachapi.  A caravan of white vans arrived around 10am where upon they were able to observe us hard at work in the fields, specifically weeding a field of Parsnips that were just planted and picking Persian Mulberries for the Santa Monica Farmers Market.

 What a beautiful summer day it was!  The temperature was around 85 degrees with the cool mountain breeze.  We walked around showing the freshly plowed fields that had just been planted for our Fall season coming up.  In just 60 days or so and these fields will all be green with a rainbow of colored carrots, romanesco cauliflower, parsnips, brussel sprouts, crosnes, and onions.

 After the tour of the main farm, we jumped into our vehicles and drove a few miles to our potato fields in Cummings Valley that are getting close to harvest . Volunteers from  the Whole Foods group were selected to dig up some Red Thumb Fingerlings and Purple Peruvians so we could check on their progress.  I must say they’re looking pretty good. It would appear like we’ll need just a few weeks of growth at which point the crop will be set.  Looks like we’ll have a nice crop in the ground!

 

After enjoying the views and breathing in some fresh air, we capped off the tour with a short drive to Brites Lake.  There, Chef Claud Beltran from Noir Restaurant in Pasadena made us a marvelous barbecue featuring Weiser Family Farms vegetables.  Featured were Claud’s fantastic heirloom potato and carrot salads, and a mixed melon dish with curry leaves and vanilla.  But that’s not all! Fresh roasted Padron Peppers, roasted Bermuda Onions and Fingerling Potato chips that were also a huge hit.  For the carnivores among us, barbecued Tri-Tip and the Chicken, smoked with apple wood, was prepared. It was fantastic!

Thanks to Whole Foods and all theTeam members  and Martin Anenberg of Freshpoint for coming out to visit and for having such enthusiasm for the crops we grow and the supporting local sustainable farms.  Finally, a special thank you also goes out to Daniel Beaman Photography for taking great photos.

Want to see more photos from the event? Check out this album on Daniel Beaman's Flickr site