Introduction

Terra Firma was started by Paul Holmes (Pablote) over seventeen years ago, with a old VW van and a rototiller -- a mile up the road and five hundred feet uphill from its present location, on less than an acre of land.  Over the years, the farm moved down to the fertile alluvial soils along Putah Creek just west of Winters, at the hilly edge of the Sacramento Valley.

In 1994, Paul was joined by Paul Underhill -- Pablito, and they began to organize friends and acquaintances in San Francisco who wanted to get fresh, local organic vegetables on a regular basis.  The CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture project, started with about 50 people and has now expanded to feed over 700 people weekly.  In the meantime, the farm has grown to include over 99 acres of fields and orchards, including walnuts, apricots, and citrus.
Hector Melendez worked the fields and currently drives the delivery truck became an owner in the farm.  Many of his family members including his mother, father, brothers and cousins all work here together.

Terra Firma, rare among California farms today, is as much about people as it is about produce.  Our farm supports 42 employees, many of whom have been with us for five years or more.  Some, like our delivery driver Hector Melendez, have been with Paul Holmes almost since day one.  Valerie Engelman has been our CSA Coordinator, office manager and bookkeeper for twelve years.   People become part of the farm and their personlities come to define their jobs. A far cry from "migrant farmworkers", they have been essential in making our farm what it is today.

Our customers also play an crucial role in helping our business succeed, and in inspiring us.  Many of our subcribers have been with us since the beginning of the CSA, and they visit us each year at our fall farm day.  Their kids have grown up with the memories of running through our fields and playing in our orchards, and they've grown up healthy while eating our vegetables.
We hope you choose to join us.