Member News

If you’ve been a Terra Firma subscriber for a while — or a subscriber to any CSA farm — you’re accustomed to hearing a million reasons why there are certain items in your boxes and not others.  The weather is … Continue reading →

Almonds have been grown in California for hundreds of years, since the Spanish missionaries arrived here in the 1600s.  And walnuts are actually native to the state, Black Walnuts, that is.  Spanish settlers figured out long ago that you could … Continue reading →

One of the most amazing things about soil — or dirt, as we so often call it — is its interaction with water.  And there is no better time to watch this interaction than during a storm like the one … Continue reading →

Fourteen years ago, Congress passed a set of national standards for organic food and established the National Organic Program to regulate it.  The legislation was hundreds of pages long, but the core principles were clear: – No synthetic pesticides or … Continue reading →

Scale is a hot topic when people discuss agriculture.  In the media, and in certain circles, “big farms” is a derogatory term often associated with ecological destruction and social injustice. What is a big farm and what is a small … Continue reading →

This is the time of year when we at Terra Firma have a few moments to sit back and think about things we might want to do differently in the coming year.  It is much, much easier, however, to conduct … Continue reading →

Dirt was in the news last week.  Scientists at Northeastern University in Massachusetts appear to have isolated a brand new type of antibiotic found in the soil in a farm field in Maine.  Teixobactin is said to aggressively kill even … Continue reading →

Welcome back!  I hope that everyone had a restful and relaxing holiday season.   We had hoped to keep the farm completely closed for a full two weeks this year during our “winter break”, but the weather (as usual) had … Continue reading →

This week is our final week of deliveries for 2014.  Thank you for supporting our farm for another year.   For many farmers and ranchers in California, this year was a slow-motion disaster thanks to the drought.  We are cautiously … Continue reading →

I have written a few times in the past about the reality of our food supply versus the perceptions that many folks have about it, especially those living in urban areas like New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.  But … Continue reading →